MagiStream

Larathen could see the glow of his campfire up ahead, and quickened his pace a little. "I'd like to get to know you as well. I've never met a goddess before - that I know of, at least." Though some of the stranger people he'd met on his travels could have been minor deities in disguise, for all he knew. "I would enjoy traveling with you for a time. There's never really been anyone I could share travel stories with - I have to watch my words around humans and the other dragons tend not to be interested."

Kura saw the light ahead and from the way Larathen walked faster, she guessed that this was the campsite he wanted to get back to. "Is that common?" she asked curiously. "Traveling alone for extended periods. I thought there were packs, settlements, towns, the like." She smiled, though. "I'll be happy to hear your stories, though. I'm afraid I don't have...any of my own to share."

Edit 1/13/12 - Sorry, but I'm really not going to have the time or energy to do this RP justice.

Oh, that's a shame. =[ Are you sure? Is there anything I could do? *feels like her posts were lame in comparison to your awesome ones*

((Okay, I think I'm ready to give this another try - I believe my motivation and creativity have finally returned from wherever they were hiding.))

Larathen pondered that for a minute. "I wouldn't say it's common, no. I do have a home, and I even get back there from time to time, but I never really fit in there - my interest in humans, for one." Which was considered highly suspect, quite unnatural, or downright treasonous, depending on which member of his family one asked. Even Telnevarius hadn't fully understood. "I always wanted to see more of the world, anyway, so I was never going to be content living in the same place all my life. As for why I travel alone, well, that's simple. All the dragons I've met either don't understand why I choose to associate with humans, have no interest in leaving home, don't look human enough to not attract attention, or all three, and humans would be too much of a risk if they found out what I was." He smiled. "I've met a lot of people over the years - both humans and dragons - but you're the first person I've met I can share my secrets with."

And there, at last, was the campsite - little more than a campfire and a tent (which looked smaller than he remembered - at least it was a nice night to sleep out under the stars), but a welcome sight. "So, here we are," he said. "It might not look like much, but that tent's served me well over the years." Telnevarius had given it to Larathen as a going-away present, after first covering it in a layer of warding spells that had so far repelled everything from rain to mosquitoes to (on one rather too memorable occasion) a bear attack. Though Larathen had had the tent for years, he still hadn't figured out half of what his older brother had done to it.

((And a week later...here's my response. My apologies. DX))

Kura smiled as she surveyed the little campsite. It looked very...homey, like the place an occupational traveler would set up. "It looks lovely," she commented. "Very well-loved, and isn't that what a home should be?" She looked at the fire in interest, tentatively, almost curiously, holding her hands out to it, then grinning at the warmth. "Oh, that feels good," she murmured, smiling at Larathen and then back at the fire. "And my hands were...cold. I didn't know that until they started getting warmer."

((It's okay. I was going to send you a PM in a day or two, just in case you hadn't noticed I'd posted, but I certainly don't mind the delay.))

That statement, almost more than anything else she'd said, convinced Larathen that Kura really was a goddess. Someone who'd let a sheltered life might not know what bruises were, and a blow to the head could explain her slight confusion and uncertainty, but only someone not entirely mortal would be that unfamiliar with cold. "I'm not surprised you're cold - not with as little as you're wearing." The silver drape (or whatever it was) might be appropriate for wherever she'd come from, but would only draw attention here (if she didn't catch her death of cold first). "I have some extra blankets in my pack. Wait here, and I'll get them for you." Besides, given that the tent really wasn't large enough for two, he'd want the extra blankets. The night was nice, but not that nice. "Once you've warmed up a little bit, I'll transform for you - though not out here in the open."

Kura nodded and smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Larathen," she said. "You're very kind." Squatting closer to the fire, she looked with interest at the coals and embers that were its source. She was tempted to try to touch them, since as she got closer, the warmth got better...but something told her that'd be a bad idea. And so she settled for squatting close to the fire, leaning her hands and skin close to it with a sigh of pleasure. "Gooood. That feels good," she sighed happily.

The pack was where he'd left it, just inside the entrance to the tent, so Larathen could reach in and snag it without even having to conjure up a light spell to see by. He walked back to the campfire and sat down next to Kira, preparing to search through his pack. Noticing how close Kura had her hands to the campfire, Larathen wondered if he should warn her about the danger of burning herself. Well, better safe than trying to find the burn ointment. "Just don't get too close, no matter how good the warmth feels. I highly doubt your skin is fire-resistant. I have a friend - a dragon, of course - who occasionally juggles hot coals to impress people, but he's the exception, not the rule."

Kura nodded and pulled her hands away; they were noticeably redder than the rest of her pale skin from the warmth, but they didn't hurt. Still, she leaned a bit away and sat with an oomph on the ground, frowning at the sensation and shifting around for a moment. She brushed underneath her and scattered a few pebbles out from under her, then smiled a little sheepishly at Larathen. "I must look very foolish, mustn't I?" she said with a little roll of her eyes.