In the Skies, Forever Hiding

[Verona]

Name: Matthis Westerfield
Age: 21
Personality: Matthis has always had trouble relating to others, and so comes off as a sort of cold, rude or disinterested person. He has a unique sort of skill he was born with in that he reads people's expressions, body language, and voice well enough to be a human lie detector. But people lie to each other all the time, even if it's just little white lies, or a hint of omission, and they generally don't like being called out on it. It's always been difficult for Matthis to understand that others don't see what he sees, and he hates lies and lying enough that he comes across as tactless and heartless to those he speaks to. Matthis is nothing like that, though. He detests those that lie constantly, and doesn't like himself for having been forced to do the same. The only time he can be relaxed in someone's company is if they tell him the truth.
History: Because of his 'special ability' Matthis has never really had friends. He started out life as a happy, go-lucky child, confused by the reactions of people around him, but as he grew older pessimism took its place in his heart. Most people he met would either be annoyed or frightened by his calling them on their lies or half truths, and would abandon him soon after meeting him. Even those that did their best to stick it out didn't last long before he insulted them somehow and damaged their relationship beyond repair.

In response, and out of a desire not to anger or hurt every last person he came in contact with, Matthis drew into his studies as a protection, finding books to be friendlier company, and became almost a recluse for a while, seeing only family and his family's friends, should they come to his home. The times that he went out, he would venture away from town and closer to the woods or small body of water near his home. It was easier to live with himself and not have to lie to people, not have to hold his tongue and smile when he didn't mean it.

At the age of fourteen, when he was hardly a man at all, his house was destroyed in the path of a wildfire, with his family still inside. Matthis managed to get both his mother and sister out of the building, but they died shortly after, and he hardly survived himself. He was lost, after that. Even after his injuries were healed, he hadn't much will to get out of bed. When he finally did, it was only to visit the graves that had been dug for his family. Distressed, he ran without direction into the forests near his village, away from the main roads, and soon found himself lost.

Without any sense of where he should go, and with nothing to run to if he even knew the way home, Matthis only laid down on the forest floor, and did nothing. It was late into the night, when the temperature had dropped too low to be safe, that he was found by one of the most fearsome creatures known to man - an untamed dragon. Far from attacking, though, the dragon curled around the boy to keep him warm, after a bit of sniffing and general exploration of him. The dragon was young, but still large enough to push Matthis up to his feet and support him on his way home.

Understandably, after that, the two formed a strong bond, faster than even the men and women paired up with their mounts at dragon riding academies. Matthis' wasn't quite so dark or secluded, after receiving a partner he would have with him for life. It was comforting to know that he would always have someone to lean on, even if that someone was 'just' a dragon, but recovery for him was still difficult, and it was years before he had himself and his life back together, living only with the help of a family friend that was loyal to his parents and knew him.

With his scholarly activities, and the added attention from his skill in riding his dragon, Matthis was invited to a prestigious academy at a young age. He accepted only because he could bring his dragon with him, and because there was nothing left for him in his hometown anyway. He set hard to work at the academy just as he had in his younger years, mostly alone, and with his dragon for company.
Other: Matthis has become a sort of oddity among those that know of him, even if they don't know his name. Having to hold back the truths he sees and sometimes fake his own personality stresses him out, and to blow off steam he'll go flying with his dragon. With complete and total trust in his scaley friend, he attempts risky stunts meant for those much more experienced themselves. More intriguing than that, he will fly straight up into the air, high as he can reasonably go while still breathing well, and just let himself fall. He'll spin or twist or perform some sort of aerial acrobatics on his way down, at times, but the solitary sound of just the wind in his ears and the sensation of falling help to calm him, as well as the trust he must put in his dragon to catch him safely before he hits the ground. It's just how he blows off steam, and others think it dangerous, brave, or simply stupid.








A run through the trees was all he had wanted. He'd taken a harness from the store rooms, which was not entirely out of bounds for a student but was usually supervised, and saddled Creek up to head out together. Usually he could fly without the aid of such devices, relying on Creek and on his own well-trained grip to keep him on the dragon's back, but flying through the trees required sudden banks, turns, and occasional trips upside down, and until he was very, very used to it Matthis wasn't going to chance not having a 'proper' handhold. He'd done it before, and met with little complaint so long as he was not late for lessons or disturbing others that needed the saddles. Only, this time he had waited until it was dark, the Academy lit by lamps and hardly anyone still moving about. It made sense to train at night, didn't it? He needed to learn to rely on Creek's ability to see, and to train his own eyes to seeing obstacles in the dark as best he could. He would not always be able to carry a light with him.

When he had emerged from the canopy of trees back to Academy grounds, elated and happy, there was an Advocate waiting for him.

Matthis, come morning after he had been dragged off to his dormitory and Creek to the dragons' sleeping grounds, hung his head and was appropriately cowed as he was chastised for his actions. He had endangered himself and his dragon, they said, had 'stolen' Academy property that he had the rights to use as a student, and had broken a curfew on a night when he had no classes the next day. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself, knowing it would do him no good to protest and he should say sorry at all the right times and listen as he was berated. He was always going off and trying to do things alone, avoiding contact with others as much as he could, and had unfortunately not gone as unnoticed as he had thought. He needed to 'learn to play well with others' - and thus his punishment was an unreasonable burden.

"A new student!" The young rider sat forward in his chair as if he might spring to his feet in protest or dismay. "You - You can't be serious!"

The headmistress only shook her head, her gaze disapproving enough that he settled back in his chair, clasping his hands loosely in his lap. "You have been a resident here for a long while, and if not for these little indiscretions your record would nearly be flawless - but you will never be worthy of a rider's place outside this Academy unless you learn what cannot be taught by books." She gave him a long, hard stare, the stern worry in her expression settling an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach until she finally turned her attention back to the papers on her desk, effectively dismissing him. "He will be arriving this afternoon and you will stay by his side and see to it that he and his companion have an easy transition into Academy life. There will be no further arguments."

That much was clear. Knowing protests would do him no good anymore, Matthis left without another word, closing the door quietly behind him. If he was lucky, he would not be stopped in taking Creek out for a few flyabouts to relax before he faced his fate.

 

[Blue]

Character Sheet

Name:
Cammon Lovet
Age:
Nineteen
Personality:
Cammon can be a real dick-around and he knows it well. The young man seems to have no concept of responsibility when it comes to school work, and no regard for rules others around him set; be those rules personal space boundaries or safety precautions -he throws all under the boat whenever he pleases. If he does follow the rules it is by his own choice. He likes to do things his own way, often quite creative and in his mind more efficient route, and doesn't let others get in the way of his path or goals. Quite obviously he cannot stand being told no and will often have a bit of a defiant or challenging attitude when such a circumstance presents itself. He can be seen -as a minor detail- a slight kleptomaniac and will lie about what seem to be the most preposterous of things. To outside sources.

On a social aspect Cammon seems to be a rather extroverted. He often gets a rouse out of annoying others and seems to have a fairly easy time talking to people on a general basis. He talks loud, has no regard for the feelings of others, and doesn't mind tagging along in large groups to be the center of attention and the 'life of the party' so to speak. But he never goes out of his way to make friends or have a conversation with... well, anyone really. This is because his outer picture, his outer persona of sorts, does not at all truly display what the man is like. He has created this rough careless outer shell to protect his more soft heart, and almost never lets anyone even remotely close enough to get to know him or call him friend. He created a one dimensional personality for himself and others to see, his goal of course being to keep himself distant from those around and uninteresting enough for anyone to want to dig deeper. Even if he does catch someones interest, in the past it has not been hard to shake them off. Cammon usually does not crave friendships or kindships with humans what so ever -its dragons that have an easy time squirming their way into a soft spot in his heart.

The man really does seem to have a magic touch with them. He seems to have an easier time communicating with the so told ferocious beasts, radiating a comforting and trustworthy aura they have no problem seeing right away. In turn Cammon loves dragons so much more then his own fellow humans. He feels most comfortable around them -not just his own much loved winged friend but all of the breed really. He treats them all as equal friends and never looses his temper with them, never places blame on them, never looses touch with them. When he is alone at least. In the presence of others, to twine into his rough outer shell and simply put, the man appears as though he couldn't care less. He is careful never to give his nor any other dragon extra attention or affection under the eyes of another. Cammon has his own reasons for this; not likely ones he would share any time soon.

History and Bio:
Cammon had a very happy childhood with a very happy family. He was not rich or poor but a simple middle class child, living alone with his mother. The father was never in the picture nor has he ever wanted to have been, and was never even thought about in this happy young boys life. He had a few friends but then again every child in their small village were friends, but was never a very social child really compared to the others. He also had a soft heart for blood. This worried his mother, who worked for the small town butcher, and it did so much so that she eventually convinced one of the older kids to start taking him out for hunting 'lessons' during the day. Even though the young boy of nine hated this so much he faked sick again and again and cried complaining to his mother every ear she would give, he was made to stick with it for years to come.

Six years later his happy childhood had continued despite the hunting and much to his mothers liking the boy had gained a new lifelong friend in the process -his (former) hunting teacher. The two now were basically equals in skill and would spend hours upon hours alone in the forest with nothing but them and the bows for company. And, that was the way Cammon liked it. Alone with his best friend in a quiet place. Well, alone until one day the two stumbled upon a dragon egg an decided to keep it together as a little project. See if they could hatch it. They switched it back and fourth between houses, between fires, and after a few months of nothing happening his friend started to loose interest. Cammon never did. He kept the egg under guard and watch for movement, sometimes giving up a hunting trip to tend to the little red sphere. This was the start of a beautiful and dangerous relationship.

When it finally did hatch Cammon was the first and only one that little dragon saw. Immediately they were inseparable. Not being aloud to bring it into town, he would walk around with the little female dragon around his neck on hunting trips and just through the forest. She slept in his bed, ate the meat morsels off his plate, and never once bit him. Cammons' mother actually quite liked the thing and did even more so when it would light the stove logs for them at night. The two had a special connection that anyone could see flourish more and more each passing day. Much too soon the little dragon was old enough to fend for herself however, and it was around that time that Cammon started noticing his friend acting odd. The little red dragon still came everywhere with them and was helpful on hunting trips, but quite often the young boy would give her attention and affection while his friend and hunting partner was slowly rejected, ignored, and increasingly growing colder to his friends dragon. One warm summer day his friend came out with a confession deep in the forest -a love confession for Cammon. And he was rejected. This was the day his once teacher tried to harmfully lay a hand on him, the first and only time that little red dragon sunk its teeth into someone in defense of her master.

After that day two weeks past where they did not speak. Cammon started going hunting alone, well not quite alone, but with his dragon instead. The two learned a valuable skill together -their power together once his little red dragon started to fly. Their bounty was greater then ever, their bond stronger then before, and the boy truly embarrassed his love for this special breed. He got to fly with her once and only once. That night Cammon went into town to buy some milk from the local goat man, and came back to his dragons neck sliced open as the thing was still curled up beside his bed. His former friend, former teacher, left town that night as well and never showed his face again in that small town.

Two years later Cammon was invited to a medium-high ranked riders school and promised a place among the best. The night the letter came he cut what few ties he had left since he locked himself away and turned completely to the forest on his mothers passing to the grave; He was on his way before the sun had even rose. It was then that his troublemaker reputation started, and yet somehow through exceptional grades and flight skills he managed to make his way up the latter to a much higher class school. It is really quite unknown to the man why he cares about getting to a good school, it's easy to see with his new dragon he doesn't need it and his uncaring attitude wouldn't say much to contradict that, an yet still he is first day at the door waiting to explore the new corridors.

Dragon Name: Felicity
Dragon Age: Relatively young
Dragon Description:
Felicity is still fairly small. At the size of a large horse she is just rideable, but for her thin long body type and short tail she is definitely fast in the air. Though her legs do not have much muscle on them naturally, she is built for both long distance and speed flights; making up for this lack of lower body strength with one set of almost abnormally long wings. Her wings stretch her body length and a half each one, thick webbed membrane with four strong points.
Running along her back is a shallow set of spines that can make riding bareback without a saddle painful. She sports three sets of upward pointed horns, and partruding teeth. Her skin is more of a rough leathery mix of plates and skin rather then scales.
The dragon has a relitively simple coloring. She is various shades of black all over, with light blue eyes and one coral white colored stripe running down her back. When she was younger she was much lighter, so it seems over the years she is growing darker in coloring.

Sitting on the back of one of the fastest predators in the world it was easy to make it to where he needed to go in a short and tasteless time. Still, why rush something like a windless ride across endless plains and the forests that lead to his new 'prestigious' school? For the last few days it had been so bright and hot even a high speed ride wouldn't keep them cool enough to go anywhere. Not today. No sun but a thick bright overcast to greet them this morning, the grass lightly morning frosted in fields and remaining under shade of tall pine trees, tips Felicities' black wings could just barely skim on the edges of rims if she wished as Cammons hair whipped behind him and his back curved to move with the dragons every turn and twist perfectly.

It would be an perfect ride if they had no destination. If they could just fly and run and scream like wild children through the air into the wind for hours endlessly until they both collapse onto the ground from exhaustion and laughed about the way bugs got caught in their teeth so high up. It was always they, the boy would never be without his dragon or at least without her in heart, and at a time like this that was so clear it was beautiful to feel. Unfortunately on this perfect day they did have a destination. As it came looming into sight, Felicity let out a low huff that trailed curling grey spirals of smoke behind them; the tall and wide dragon riders academy of dreams that every young rider aspired to go to. From what he could see there were no dragons in the air around it, which was odd given such the nice day in his opinion. Oh well, that just meant more sky for the two of them. "Fancy getup, hey Feli? How many stiffs do you think we'll have to deal with here..." Cammon tightened his grip on the black dragons makeshift saddle, sitting in the middle of the coral white stripe that ran down her back and just behind a long neck that lead to three long sets of horns his beautiful girl sported. They looked much like the three rising peaks coming off of the castle like academy, cloaked as well in a cloudy background.

"Fly around front or check it out a bit first?" The rider questioned to himself really as they fast approached a decision he had to make. His posture set to a comfortable lean back as he debated the decisions. On one hand he really should get signed in right away, appointed a dorm and handed off a rule book or what ever the deal was here. Just like the last one he resided at. But on the other hand, this large school really did look worth checking out a bit first. Cammon wasn't sure when he was going to get an opportunity to do so next, but sooner was always better then later.

Though in an instant, his choice ended up being made for him much quicker then he had previously thought. As the trees broke and long blank feels started his mount took a dive and a ride down strait for the ground. Immediately on instinct as he felt the shift Cammons hands were tight on the saddle and his body pressed against the thick leather so he wouldn't fall strait off at the dive. The wind was so sharp if it had not been from experience he would have had to squeeze his eyes shut just to stop them from watering up. The next moment he was upright again as Felicity pulled out of her dive and landed softly, four limbs sinking into the ground, in what seemed to be a pasture of sorts. A dragon pasture. Many of the great bests varying in sizes and colors -though most bigger then his own, which was just barely breaking the size of a horse- slept on the grass or just lazed around but many of them there were. His eyes wondered in fasination and awe for a moment before going somewhat bland from habit, and the uncaring mask was on. With gusto he hopped off and onto the grass himself, whirling around to watch as his dragon plopped right down to roll in the grass and sniff a near by other.

"Oh, really? You choose now to be lazy? I thought we were going to find the front door." He shifted his weight with a heavy scowl at the long black reptile and crossed his arms. It seemed they might not be up and going anywhere for a while. However after his eyes had wondered away from her they noticed a series of other riders around with their dragons. And many of them were staring, staring at him and his dragon, as if they had fallen out of the sky. Was it really that easy to pick out an outsider? He gave one girl a look so emotionless and blank that she cast her eyes down, making him smirk slightly.

 

[Verona]

((Agh no his poor dragon DX That was sad))

Matthis had been meant to meet the new student at the front of the Academy's property, as it was facing the direction of the rider's previous home and was the most logical place for him to come on, nevermind the directions he must have been sent to let him know he would be greeted warmly upon arrival and someone would be there to show him around. Bored, the human sat down in the shade of a tree to wait and watch the skies as best he could. It would have been better if he had kept Creek with him, but he had assumed they would tour inside first and the dragon would have to wait. It was generally best not to introduce dragons too suddenly anyway, as newer or younger fledglings could get overwhelmed. He hadn't imagined he would be left to anticipate his doom for so long.

In the dragon pastures, Creek had taken a bath in the lake and laid out in the sun to dry his shiny clean scales and have a nice rest as he waited for his human to come and get him again. He had already spent a while socializing and playing a bit with the younger dragons, even playfully bugging some of the riders tending to their own dragons, so he had wanted to rest a while. The newcomers, though, brought his attention up to watch their descent just like the others. It was unusual for one to approach so suddenly, and of course most of the dragons around knew each other despite the numbers of them that were always around and would easily be able to tell a new dragon, even a new rider. They were not stupid beasts to be led around on leashes, after all.

Intrigued, Creek thought that this must be the new person that his Matthis was so upset about having to see, and so got up to go and investigate for himself, wondering if his rider would follow soon. When he reached the newcomers, his wings folded down and his posture friendly, he stopped nearby and stretched his neck out to the new dragon with a warm rumble of greeting. New people! He liked new people, if they were nice and didn't upset his Matthis, and he wanted to greet this dragon. After a brief welcome, though, he sniffed a bit at the new human, taking in his scent, and settled back to consider. He had certainly never met this human before, so it must be right that he was who Matthis was supposed to be meeting - but a look around showed that his human was nowhere in sight.

With a few growls and motions, Creek conveyed to the new dragon that he was bringing something back for her to see and stepped away to spread his wings and take off. It was easy to find his Matthis waiting outside the property, and after a short 'argument' of sorts, Creek's 'I found something' notions reached his human as usual and Matthis got on Creek's back for the short ride.

As they came to the dragon pasture, Matthis braced himself and waited for Creek to swoop down, the red dragon spreading his wings suddenly wide to bring them to a screeching halt that would have knocked Matthis' head into the dragon's spine if it had not already been pressed there in preparation. They came to a gentle landing after that, and Matthis sat up with a bit of a confused expression before realizing they had landed next to a rider and dragon that vaguely fit the description he'd been given.

"Oh!" The light-haired rider smiled pleasantly as he slipped off Creek's back to land lightly on the ground, dusting little rumples out of his clothes for lack of anything better to do with his hands. "You must be Cammon. Good afternoon." He stopped a respectful distance away and looked to where the dragon stood, sleek and healthy and a bit smaller than his Creek which indicated her relative youth. "And you must be Felicity. I suppose Creek's hurrying to get me must mean you've already met. My name is Matthis, and I'll be here to help you settle in." Cammon's carefully blank expression cast shadows on their future, but Matthis kept smiling in a practiced, believable sort of way. This was not going to be fun.



((Forgot to add a picture of Creek. Attached below))

 

[Blue]

-- I know I'm sorry to start it off on such a sad note DX --

If Cammon had been spooked by the sudden large ruby red dragon trailing its way through the grass Felicity seemed so enticed with and coming up behind them, it might have showed just a bit when he reared around to see the large mull of the beast. Or maybe it had been surprise of something else, and recognition of a color in those fire red scales that lit up his face before adding a soft touch to it. Red dragons always did this to him. From the deepest shade of blood to a bright summers set, every color had that one special shimmer that he had woken up a hundred times beside in the past before it was taken away form him. He could see a little beast inside each one of them, squirming and chirping around his shoulders while he drew arrow after arrow in the warm heat and then sat down on a cool forest log to purge on ripe berries together that stained both their muzzles with juice.

He had to shake his head to get that long gone memory out. Especially since the new coming dragon gave his own a sniff and that was something he had to keep an eye on. There was rarely any problems with this, but on new meetings you could never be too careful and the both rider with dark steed had learned that the hard way.

Felicity seemed thrilled -much too much so for a dragon to simply be meeting another dragon. But she liked new friends too. With a sharp twist and a jerk the lightning quick dragon pulled herself upright and tucked in her abnormally long wings to sniff the red beauty in return with her black mull. She didn't seem unsettled at all by the size, and rubbed her neck along the others in a friendly notion before sitting back to rest her rather large head on Cammons' shoulder.

"Well hello there." The young man said softly in a complete under breath, his expression now impassive once more and nonchalant but his voice -so soft only the dragons sharp ears would ever be able to pick it up- was warm and smooth. He offered his hand in a sign of trust, palm face up for the dragon to sniff as he knew most respected his gesture. After all, it took a lot of respective trust to offer up your hand to a beast that could take it away with one chomp before you could even blink in response. When the dragon soon drew back he watched without change as it did its little dance of grunts and shuffles before heading off. He didn't speak dragon. Obviously he didn't think anything of it, and went to mount Felitity again when their new friend showed up -with an addition. And as much as Cammon loved dragons, he was immediately not a fan of what the dragon had brought along.

Cammon was already getting a stiff taste from this guy, and took a moment to give him a once look over before shifting his hands back into his jacket pockets and running his gaze back up. He wasn't looking to make friends day one quite yet and was slightly confused as to why the dragon had brought this student over -assuming he was a student automatically due to his age. On his tongue already formed a few dismissal excuses to get out of chit chatting or making a few acquaintance, perhaps using the excuse that he had to go sign in at the head office or something similar, when Matthis announced his temporary purpose. At that Cammon gave a toothy grin and let his shoulders droop lazily. It seemed friendly enough, and to anyone passing on a thought it would have been good enough to disregard him. But something about the smile was so fake, so relaxed and cool yet in a way that said on the inside 'I don't care and I don't want to be here having this conversation.' To be honest, he just wanted to get on Felicities back again. "Well Matthis, it's nice to meet you and Creek."

Felicity definitely had a much more honestly welcoming approach. The smallish dragon stood right up to shuffle over to their new human company with grace only a dragon held, and ignoring any hand offered out bent her head right down to sniff his chest and then his hair. Her big blue eyes wondered over to Creek to make sure the other was ok with this, and absolutely nothing about the apparently sweet smaller dragon said aggression at the moment.

Cammon watched his dragon and the other riders reaction, taking it in as valuable information before giving her hind quarters a light tap to catch her attention. "Lay off Felicity." His tone remained ever impassive but a bit more casual as he looked back to Matthis. "Help me settle in, eh? That's nice of you -let me guess, under order of a higher up authority?" His voice took a light cocky tone as if it was clear he believed the other was not doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He took a brief look around before licking his lips in habit and without warning walked up to Matthis to pat his shoulder. Almost reassuringly. "Yeah, real nice of you. But I think we would rather get a look around by ourselves." The first of what was probably going to be many blunt lies slipped past his lips. "Besides, I've been on a tour to this school before so I know it a bit well inside and out. "

Edit:
- Oh, and I suppose I'll do a quick sketch of Felicity so I'll post that when I'm done--

 

[Verona]

((Poor dragon babyyyyy DX))

Matthis wasn't quite surprised by Cammon's reaction to his arrival. He had probably hoped to look around a bit by himself, get the lay of the land. Matthis felt the same way himself, after all, and he hadn't really wanted to be toted around by any other person. He had always done better learning things by himself rather than being told by someone else. It was just how he worked, and though part of him suspected that he couldn't be alone in his particular curse there was also a part of him that was sure he was.

Smiling a bit more genuinely, Matthis had held out a palm for the dragon to sniff, and made a soft, surprised sound when Felicity bypassed it to butt her snout against his body instead. As familiar as he was with dragons, though, he could recognize a gentle, friendly sort of body language and wasn't afraid. He didn't mind when she nudged his head a bit too roughly, just gave a soft, honest laugh and let her get a sense for him. If they were going to be around a while, it would be good to be familiar with each other's dragons.

"It's quite all right," He said with a little chuckle as Felicity pulled away, reaching after her to give her snout a gentle caress before her head was out of reach. "I don't mind. I've endured much rougher treatment from Creek many times before." The red dragon was an affectionate one when it came to his rider. It had taken him a while to remember his size and not accidentally crush Matthis trying to cuddle. "Ah - I, had been informed." He continued, running a hand through his hair and forcing back a frown when Cammon touched him so suddenly. He was going to have a headache by the time this day ended, he was sure of it. "I'll be perfectly honest with you, I didn't ask to do this myself but I was asked to show you around and I would like to see you settled in comfortably. The Academy is a big place with a lot of activity and it can be a bit daunting at first. All new recruits are required to have an escort for the first few days so it's a smooth transition."

Creek, happy this new dragon was nice, let Felicity touch and smell his Matthis and gave her a rumble of approval. Moving closer to her, he rubbed their heads together as she had before he'd left to get his rider, and watched as Cammon approached Matthis a little too quickly. He huffed, disapproving, but gave Felicity a conspiratorial, playful look and moved closer to the two to lick a long stripe up the side of Cammon's face, then darted back to Felicity's side, dragon laughing all the way.

"Creek!" Matthis propped his hands on his hips, disapproving, and gave Creek a stern look. "Will you at least save such playing for the second day? We are trying to make a good first impression. I'm sorry, Cammon, he isn't usually so . . . playful with others."

((You don't have to if you don't want to lol Just a description is fine. But if you feel like it sketches are cool. Wish I could draw ))

 

[Blue]

Cammon had practically been a sitting duck for the dragon to 'attack', and didn't see Creek coming at all until it was too late to save himself. He had only enough time and reaction instinct to scrunch his eyes closed. The hair on the side of his head went up fashionably with the long lick and heavy coating of dragon goopy saliva -stuff that any experienced rider knew didn't come off easily. He was caught completely off guard, his shoulders went up stiff but hands stayed at their sides and the man did not stumble back or shuffle away even after Creek had bounded off with a rumbled laugh.

Felicity gave a snicker with Creek as the ruby red other bounded back, her lip drawn back into something of a toothy grin and a thin jet of smoke curling out of her nostrils. She bent and stretched her long neck towards Cammon with a soft coo, but knew her rider wouldn't be upset. Just smelly. "Oh, Yes well," Propping one eye open, the human dragged his hand down his face to rid it of the remnants and settle the cowlick back down. Of course he wasn't mad at Creek at all for the little prank... In fact he had to hold back a laugh that wanted to crack through. The man raised a questioning eyebrow to Matthis' stern look, wondering if the dragon was going to be scolded further for his simple playful act. What was the point in scolding a dragon at this age any way? Especially when the action had no real harm. "I get it, dragons will be dragons. Their first impression on you is what matters, and I seemed to have made a good one at least." His tone sounded loose and easy going. Widening his grin Cammon flicked his hand to speckle Matthis with the spittle just for the heck of it.

Felicity pressed her head into his chest with a light rumble, a common sign of affection from the sleek black dragon that seemed to feel cuddly at the oddest of times. But in response, Cammon gently pushed her head away without so much of a glance -an action that might have been surprising to someone who was as equally close to their mount as he was.

"Well escort, let's get this party started then." Stuffing his hands in his pockets after giving them a few flicks, Cammon looked back to Matthis and took a few steps towards the school before stopping in wait. He saw no point in arguing or trying to shake off a babysitter any more, not when there was a whole new academy to figure out the workings of. And although he would have rather done it alone, it didn't seem like he had much of a valid reasoning past that for doing so. "Where are we off to first, going to see who I'm bunking with?" Following after Felicity made graceful steps to walk beside her rider, and had no knowledge that she would not be able to come along on the whole tour. In fact Cammon himself expected she would be able to so he made no move to stop her. "Mind if I call you Matty?" He asked with another pearly white grin, cocking his head slightly with amusement. Something told him that his guy would mind. Very much.



-- Ah well I added a little description section of her in the character sheet for now. And anyone can draw! Said every artist, ever. --

 

[Verona]

Creek held his head high, haughty and unrepentant, knowing he'd done no real harm and that Cammon had relaxed a little too. He pawed at the air in front of him, clicking his claws together in a sort of equivalent of sticking out his tongue at his rider, and only rumble-laughed again when Cammon took the initiative to flick dragon drool onto Matthis as well. They were playing, he thought. If they played more they'd like each other faster and then his Matthis wouldn't have to look like he was in so much pain later in the day, when there was no but Creek around to see.

Matthis managed to close his eyes in time, squeezing them shut tight and pressing his lips together in a thin line to keep the annoyance at bay. He made only a little bit of a face as he wiped off the droplets on his skin, knowing that Cammon was much worse off and that he had probably deserved the backlash. At least, Matthis would have felt that way if every inch of Cammon didn't scream at him an almost malicious intent. This man - this boy - was trying his very hardest to make Matthis miserable, and the smiles and the candor and the camaraderie were all a ruse. Worse than that, Matthis didn't like the way Cammon was treating his dragon, pushing away her affections when they caused him no harm. He lied in every inch of his being and Matthis was sure he would develop a twitch by the end of the day if it all continued. Hopefully he would find mercy after dinner and could go and fly on his own for a while and relax. He could hold out that long.

"I mind." Matthis said after a long pause, running a hand through his hair and resisting the urge to rub his temples as he followed after the other rider, forcing a little smile back onto his face as if he were completely unbothered. "But I doubt anything I say will make you stop." It was difficult to keep the bitterness from his voice then, but he did it with practiced effort and did his best not to think of just how badly he wanted to point out every little twitch and motion that failed to camouflage the rider's lies. Normal people didn't think that way. He had to keep it to himself.

Glancing back at the dragons, Matthis stopped walking a moment to give Felicity his attention. "Oh, you can't fit inside, Felicity," He said softly, not wanting to crush her spirit in seeing the way she followed so eagerly. "We'll make that tour very fast and then we'll come right back to you. You can wait outside with Creek for a little while, all right?" For her sake and his own, he would hurry things along in guiding the tour and would refuse to rise to the bait Cammon would no doubt continue laying out in front of him.

 

[Blue]

The mans shoulders shook lightly with a silent chuckle, though he didn't look back to the other as they walked on to one of the schools inside entrances. He thought he could pull out a strand of bitter annoyance from the response, but Cammon acted simply like the possibility didn't bother him. Curious that this guy seemed to pick up so quickly on that little very accurate piece of his personality, that he indeed wouldn't care or stop if a nickname bothered Matthis; this person he had just met and carried very little regard for. Probably a lucky guess, he reasoned with himself. "Ouch, that's harsh. Well come now, if you don't like it... I could always come up with another nick name for you." He smirked lightly and despite the smile knew he was getting a rouse out of his escort. Good. Maybe then he wouldn't feel the need to stick around any longer then nessicary.

Felicity indeed was walking with an excited hop-step beside her rider, thrilled to explore their new stay along side him as they had done countless times before in new places and new schools, but looked to Matthis with a slightly confused expression as she haulted. Cammon also glanced to him, uncaring expression replaced for a moment with surprise. After all, the previous schools were accommodated to allow dragons to accompany their riders everywhere; tall wide walls and doors, endless windows and balconies, and open places where you could come and go as you pleased. Though these schools were obviously not as high end as this academy they had a very homely feel in this sense. He didn't like the idea of the dragons having to wait outside, but now that he thought about it the field and Creek out here alone before made sense. Maybe he just didn't like the idea of having to go anywhere without his dragon, of being separated even for a short time... Well not maybe, that was a definately.

Felicity sat down on her hind to lay her head on Cammons shoulder, a common move she made in public because it was in a way that he couldn't push her away so easily. He did that a lot. A small part of her knew why and wasn't sad about it any more, but couldn't help to try sometimes. After that, giving Matthis a small snort of grey smoke as understanding response, she lifted her head and doubled back over to Creek. The smaller dragon plopped herself down in the grass beside him, and let her eyes settle on her rider. Cammon had stopped completely in his walk, his eyes turned back to the two tall dragons for a moment and it was increasingly difficult to hide his unease. Then, letting off a light exhale he managed to place on a more relaxed impassive expression before turning his back once more to the dragons and facing the school. "Lead the way, Matsy-boy."

 

[Verona]

Another nickname. The prospect was as annoying as it was dangerous. Matthis had a feeling he would be enduring all sorts of mutilations of his name over the course of the next few days. Cammon had, apparently, latched on to the idea that Matthis didn't like the nicknames he was being given, after all. The older rider couldn't bring himself to regret telling the truth, only that Cammon seemed to have no qualms in exploiting it. Matthis could bemoan the twisted world he lived in for as long as he wanted. Nothing he did was going to make anyone stop lying or using the truth to their own benefit in twisted ways. He could only endure, and hope he didn't feel physically ill about it at the end of each day.

Matthis was sad to have to turn Felicity down, but there really was no room for her inside. The Academy was built to house a great number of students, after all, and needed to use as much space indoors as they could. The temporary seperations were also a test in themselves, to see that a rider and their dragon could be kept apart for a while and not go to pieces stressing about it. For those that came in like Matthis, already attached to their dragons, the transition was not an easy one, but it was necessary.

Sighing softly, Matthis turned to follow Cammon and took the lead, ignoring the name in favor of doing his job. "We'll go and get you registered and gather supplies for you first, then go to see your dorm. Most likely you will share with one or two others." Matthis had only just gotten a single himself, after fighting for it for a very long time, and it was perhaps one of the small reliefs he got for himself besides flying with Creek. But he had seniority in this place, and Cammon would likely start living with others to see how he worked with them. Hopefully he would make friends.

Creek waited for Felicity to come back to him and gave her a gentle nuzzle when she did, rumbling softly in apology and sympathy. They would see their riders again soon. In the meantime, he nudged her gently over to a nice spot in the sun so they could lay down and wait for a while, unsure if she would want to explore without Cammon. It wouldn't be long. His Matthis never lied to him.

 

[Blue]

Cammon was about to reply with something simple along the lines of 'sounds good' that would carry on his nonchalant attitude he had thus far on this little tour, when something cut his words and caught him by surprise enough to make his eyebrows shoot up. "Just one or two others?" The words spoke for themselves, even in a big fancy school with so many students he had expected to be staying in crowded dorms with at least a dozen other boys. And their dragons. This was his previous experience after all. He looked to Matthis for a few seconds before quickly looking away, the walls as they entered school suddenly becoming much more interesting then they should have been. ". . .That's not very many at all."

As they entered the school not many students cared to spare a glance at two lone walkers in the hall. It was a weekend day of relaxation, the best day for Cammon to have come. A teacher, he supposed, gave them a passing look. He raised an eyebrow to Cammon but said nothing. A few others crowded the halls, but he supposed there were many who would rather be out and about with the whole day out of class.

It made him wonder what there was to do around here, or if every free moment was simply spent by the students on the backs of their dragons getting as far away from here as they could and still be back by nightfall.

Upon being offered a spot at the Academy Cammon thought he had been given quite a bit of information at the time. Now that he thought about it, it felt like he hadn't been given much at all. A code of grounds rules, a course schedule, some information about the local town. He had not been given a map. He had not been told what the courses were going to be like, their passing standards, their requirements. No one had told him his dragon would have to stay outside -did she have to sleep outside away from him, too?

These were all things he felt he should be asking Matthis, but on another level the boy didn't really like asking others for help or information. Or those he wasn't close to, any way. He preferred fining out himself, and if necessary, suffering in ignorant silence. It was usually the latter. So for now he asked one and kept his mouth shut on the others. "Where do the dragons stay during the night?"

Felicity sat down on the grass for a moment, but much like earlier it was too warm and too comfortable not to flop own an roll right over. She stretched her shortish legs out in front of her before resting her mull in the tall grass. Waiting. The young dragon was, to put it openly, definitely a daddys girl. Any time apart from him was no fun -even with other dragons around. She looked up to Creek for a moment, letting out a long snort of smoke in habit, before being playfully silly and rolling right over onto him. Well, his legs. He was bigger then her after all.

 

[Verona]

The quick and honest surprise in Cammon's voice was enough to draw Matthis' attention as they walked into the building. The shock in it made him think that perhaps Cammon had lived in places where bunking in large groups was the norm. Matthis had lived in places like that before, but those had been shelters or refuges for those left alone like he was, and it had been difficult for him in that he couldn't be near Creek in buildings meant for just people. He had spent many a night asleep on Creek's back or laying in the cool grass with the dragon's body curled around him in a protective barrier against the world at large.

"The dorm buildings house many students," he explained when Cammon looked away from him, a bit disappointed with just how quickly the strange walls around the young man had sprung up after just a little leak of honesty had come through, "But seperate housings are provided to small groups of students. Accommodations range anywhere from space meant for just one, to space meant to house four. That is as high as the numbers go, though." Perhaps Cammon would enjoy having a little more space, a little more privacy, or perhaps he would hate the idea of not living in large throngs all pushed together. Matthis couldn't tell.

When Cammon spoke again, Matthis glanced at him, and though the concern was very well masked he knew it had to be there. Up until now, Cammon had always been with Felicity, had been surprised she would even be unable to enter the building. He hated to be the bearer of bad news. "Dragons sleep out in their pastures together, or a bit closer in an enclosed . . . barn, I suppose is the word. We call it the Cave, here, and some dragons prefer it. We even have a hatchery the Academy runs on the land here for the smallest ones, a year or younger." With so many dragons around there were bound to be eggs, and if their mother or father were off training or traveling they would need to be cared for. The Academy also doubled as a sort of rescue foundation for lost or abandoned eggs and hatchlings.

At the front office, Matthis asked his charge to wait a moment and went behind the desk to gather the necessary papers from the man currently working there. Once he had them and a pencil in hand, Matthis brought them back out to Cammon and gave a small, reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Most of the papers are for you to read at your leisure." In the small stack there were only two things for Cammon to sign, the rest of his transfer having been discussed and finalized in letters. "The most important few are on top - your schedule, your dorm assignments, and general rules of conduct for the Academy." Most of the rest outlined future prospects for dragon riders, or were simply more about how the Academy worked to train those who were special enough to have a bond with one of the mighty beasts. "Once you're used to things here you can ask to attend different classes, or simply more of them. Things may very well change on their own once your levels of skill and knowledge are tested." It would be a while before he had a proper placing, and then after that things would no doubt run smoothly for him. If he chose to stay. Matthis wasn't so sure he would, at this point.

Creek watched Felicity rolling around, amused by her playful nature and apparent fascination with the grass and sunlight. When she rolled on him he gave a dragon laugh and nudged at her head with his, biting playfully at her muzzle and giving her little shoves with his paws. He rolled like she had until he was flopped half on top of her and gave a few amused huffs as he flopped a wing over her head. He liked this dragon already. Sometimes it was hard to find dragons around that wanted to play when he did.

 

[Blue]

Cammon didn't let his face fall when he received an unhappy answer to his question, but he did huff openly at the word barn. Knowing his dragon like he did she was likely to want to sleep inside the 'caves' then out on the pasture -she was used to sleeping inside with him after all from years of school, though never alone. Then again if he really wanted to think about it, sleeping in a wide spaced open area with other dragons and a time of quiet from their human companions was probably better for the beasts then spending the night in a high tiled closed room beside a low ground bed. He gave Matthis a corner glance at the mention of a hatchery, and of course it brought the question to mind if there were any baby dragons about the school at this time. Now those little critters he definitely had a soft spot for; didn't everyone? You had to be down right cold hearted to dislike a loveable hatchling. It was elusive to get close to a batch unless you were close with the parenting dragons but baby dragons before even a year old were always little balls of overflowing personality and extreamly easy to get attached to. He would know.

As he caught the eyes of a few passing students, he couldn't help but wonder not who he would be bunked with but what type of person. If it would be someone he could relatively get along with, which meant someone he could easily mildly annoy on a daily basis and pass by with a smile knowing they wouldn't ask about his day or what he would be doing later, or if it was going to be someone that made him reluctant to want to go back to his dorm at the end of the day. In previous experiences Cammon had both.

He leaned against the wall of the office, hands behind his neck and elbows brought forward in wait while his eyes scanned the surroundings. Even from just what he had seen on their short walk, this academy was so much more extravagant then anything he was used to. It was quite the change. He returned the smile Matthis gave with a lazy smirk, and moved forward to take the papers only half listening to what the other was saying. Perhaps because some of it he knew already, but also he just wasn't a great listener when it came to things like these. "Ah right classes, the best part. I've been told I'll start with the basics despite what I was already taking before I transferred. Nice to know it won't stay that way." He didn't sound upset about the information, but it did mildly annoy him. Cammon knew he was an experienced rider and his learning record said so quite clearly but nothing he could say would have changed the way things were set here for a new student. He took the papers on the top, and without a second glance, scribbled a long chicken scratch signature on them both. To an outside eye it would look as though he had done so without a contemplating thought; the truth of the matter was the young rider had given this transfer hours of thought before jumping on the band wagon, and even with all the new information he was given this was just the final step to his decisions set in stone. He didn't really like to go against his own previous made choices.

"So is there a library in this labyrinth of a school?" He questioned, stuffing the rest of his keeper papers under one arm to look at later. The boy was already starting to walk out of the office, but wasn't making an effort to ditch his escort -yet- so waited up a bit. He turned and grinned at Matthis. "You look like the type if person who would know."

Felicity pressed her muzzle into the grass again as Creek batted at her with his big paws, and her eyes stayed on him sparking with a natural playful attitude while her tail thumped around as though she was getting ready to pounce on him. But before she could, the larger dragon rolled. She let out a squeak but barked a dragon laugh as well and stuck her long neck strait up with his wing clocked on her head. He nipped at it and shorted, smoke pooling from under the two. The black dragon managed to get one long leathery wing out as well from the way he was half laying on her and plopped it right over his head in response, per paws going out to stretch in front of her in the grass.

 

[Verona]

Matthis didn't really like the uninterested attitude he was getting from Cammon, but it wasn't as if there was much he could do about it. He had learned long ago that pointing out someone wasn't expressing what they were actually feeling was a quick road to getting slapped, punched, or dismissed as a useless form of life. It was, at least, relieving to see that Cammon seemed interested in the idea of the hatchery. Perhaps one day that was where he would find his place in life.

The older student frowned when Cammon handed him the papers and walked off, but was at least glad he didn't have to chase after anyone. Handing the papers to the man behind the desk, Matthis took a few quick steps to catch up and fell into step beside Cammon as they started to walk. He had a map so Matthis had a feeling the other rider would resist the idea of a full tour, especially when Felicity was waiting so patiently for him. Still, part of him began to wonder just how insulted he should feel when someone hinted that he must be very familiar with the library. As if they knew just how true a statement could be that 'books were his only friends'. It wasn't as if he had never heard it before.

Coming to a decision, Matthis gave Cammon a pleasant smile back and pulled a step or two ahead to lead the way towards the library. "Yes, well." He said, with a bit of cheer in his voice as if it mattered not at all, despite the bite that could be in the words themselves. "Books don't try to insult me." He was not proud of himself for 'bantering', as it could be termed, nor would he fully rise to Cammon's bait. Perhaps it was simply an urge to show the younger man he was not a fool and knew very well just how hard Cammon was trying to push his buttons.

"It's not so very hard to navigate once you've wandered around a few times," He said after a pause, going back to guide mode and remarking to himself that he was glad the halls were sparsely populated. He wasn't sure how well he would deal with others while also dealing with Cammon at the same time. He had limits, as everyone did, no matter how far they were away. "I'm sure the map in those papers will help. Here we are." He opened the door to the library and stepped aside to let Cammon go inside if he wished, unsure if he wanted to just know where it was or wanted to look in. "It's not likely anyone is here this time of week, but let us try to stay quiet just in case."

Creek made an amused rumbling whine at Felicity covering his head, swishing his tail through the smoke that had gathered around them only to fade slowly away. Happy with his new playmate, he rolled off of her again and just flopped his head atop her shoulders batting lightly at the back of her neck with a paw just to have her attention still. He wanted to let her rest since she'd flown here from who knew where, but he also wanted to play with his new friend as much as he could. Maybe later, when she wasn't tired.