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Eyes that missed little to nothing these days met Jace’s fully, soft and full of compassion. He could get away with the silence, for now. But if something was wrong, she would get it out of him eventually. For now though, she would tell him her own sad tale. And Qhuinn knew, by the tone of his voice and the look in those eyes, that he would not only understand, but not judge her for less than healthy actions. Even with that knowledge, her eyes lowered as she spoke, unable to stand just yet whatever she would see in his face.

“At the end of last summer, I..lost my entire pack. My Clay, and everyone else. My brothers, women..children. All of them were killed by hunters. My..whole family Jace. Gone in an instant, and I wasn’t there to help and fight by their side” Qhuinn had to stop then, swallowing hard. Even with the promise that she had made to Liam and the others, it was obvious that she hadn’t fully let go of that guilt yet. Maybe she never would, maybe it just wasn’t in her to try and learn from it. “I’m sorry, I just..need a minute” She mumbled, tears wetting the front of Jace’s shirt as she struggled to compose herself.

The words hit him, and while he might not have been an empath, he felt her pain. She wouldn’t look at him, and he understood. He’d been away for a while, perhaps longer than he remembered, and she had had to deal with all of this alone. To expose your pain like that to someone was hard, terrifying, even.

The dragon wrapped his arms around her, tightly, and cupped the back of her head, just holding her to him. There wasn’t anything he could do to take the pain away, but he had learned a lot over his years, and he knew of loss, kept each one of his friends, family and lovers he had outlived deep in his heart. The pain never really went away - it was why so many of his kind never ventured into the mortal realm. To lose someone who was a part of yourself was unspeakable.

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, slowing his breathing and heart rate deliberately. “It’s okay. Take your time. I’m here.” His voice had taken on a lower rumble, unlike his usual chirpy self, and he just held her, breathing into her hair, letting her unravel, if she needed it.

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Dhani smiled, happy that his instinct and thoughts were correct and Jace was here, that blur of motion he’d seen before. He swam to the side of the pool as Jace spoke to him in his mind. Hearing that he wouldn’t swim, Dhani was mildly disappointed but then got out of the pool, water dripping off his body, sticking against dark hair. 

He crouched next to the dragon and then sat down, shaking his head, looking a bit curious, “Everything is fine, Jace. I just wanted to surprise you.” He chuckled, “I thought I was being fun and mysterious with that note.”

“Oh, good!” Jace shook himself, and settled next to his friend, stretching out happily. The rocks were warmed from the sun, and he yawned, rolling about a bit. “You did surprise me! I was about to go into detective mode.”

He gazed up at the sky for a moment, thinking, once again, how lucky he was to be able to fly, and then turned his attention back to Dhani. “So what’s up? Have you been doing lots? Having fun? Anything changed since I was away?”

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The Return || Open

Damien grinned, as Jace embraced him. The Phoenix couldn’t help himself, and he returned the hug, a happy sigh escaping his lips. It was so nice to have a friend, and Jace was definitely someone he enjoyed the company of. He pulled back just a little bit in order to look at him, cocking his head to the side slightly.

“Oh, just the usual,” he said, shrugging. “But, really, things have been about the same. Some new faces here, some old…But, with you around, I think things can become a lot more fun, if you ask me. I feel as though we should do something..Maybe, go for a flight or two together.”

Jace grinned, nodding in agreement, which turned to excitement at Damien’s suggestion. “Yes! Yes!” In no time at all, he pulled himself away, and jumped into the air, twisting into his dragon form and shooting up away from him, wheeling a big circle in the air, with a delighted, high pitched trill of excitement.

Let’s go now! He made his loops progressively smaller, wings flapping to keep himself on course and off the ground, more like a bat than a dragon at this point. Let’s go let’s go let’s go! There were few things he loved more than flying, the freedom of it, the technical challenge, it was everything.

I’m starting to think dragons have it right. Hang out in a cave with all your favorite stuff and if anybody tries to bug you, you just blow fire at them and go back to sleep.

Everybody should be a dragon!

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The Return || Open

Milo couldn’t help but watch the dragon as he moved about in the air. He was making a scene after all. But uncharacteristically, Milo was not annoyed by this. No if anything, he was entertained by it. He continued to watch and he let a rare smile appear on his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. What a sight it was to watch and for once, Milo could say he was in a good mood.

When Jace stopped and transformed, Milo chuckled a little at the greeting. “Hello,” he said with a light smile. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit and smirked slightly. “Enjoying yourself, I see,” he said.

Jace beamed - here was a face he recognised, though he wasn’t sure if he’d spoken to the man before. Everything was a little hazy...

“Yes! Flying is the best thing in the world. I feel sorry for people with no wings, actually. If I was bigger I would take you for a flight but I’m not.” The dragon looked Milo over more carefully, and very appreciatively. “Are you a guard?” That might have been when he’d seen him. That thought occurred to him, but the circumstances it referred to came back blank. He dismissed it, quickly. “Or maybe a model? Or both? You could be.” He grinned hungrily, and then scrubbed his hands through his hair, which was longer than he’d had it in a while.

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The reference passed Jace by, but he wasn’t phased - that happened a lot, he had a lot of history to keep in his brain, after all. “Have you found lots of innocent souls to corrupt?” He asked, batting his eyelashes at Dominick. “Or have you found a special someone?” The dragon gasped, putting a hand to his chest in mock shock. “Mr Dominick settling down?” He grinned, and nudged against his friend’s side. “I haven’t really thought about it. I suppose I could see if...” He seemed to lose his train of thought mid-sentence - he’d been going to suggest something, he was sure of that, but what had it been? Chased away by the glimpse of a flash of scales high against the sky, the thought was gone, and he rolled with it. “Uhhh. Oh! I wanna eat for sure! I...” Suddenly, he realised how hungry he was. “I feel like it was a long flight here.” He wasn’t sure exactly how long, or why he couldn’t remember, but again, he let it go.

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Jace laughed openly at the description of Griff, and shook his head. “He was a grizzly bear! And sometimes a grizzly human shaped bear, especially when he had to use technology. Though I remember being like that when stuff like phones came around!”

Jace bounded at her side, falling in to her left and just slightly behind, a combination of his species being matriarchal and his military training making it instinctual. “I like a lot of animal! Not murderbeasts though. Dogs.” He added, darkly. “I got hunted by dogs over and over for a while. They couldn’t get through my skin, obviously, but they did rip my wing out of its... joint.” He gestured to where it would be, were he in dragon form. “And they kept me so cold I couldn’t just fry them.” He bared his teeth, instinct kicking in again, and then he shook it off, though he was slow to brighten. “I am not so scared of them any more.” The thought of his own dog brushed at the edge of his mind, but was swiftly chased away by the sound of wings and the snap of teeth, protective and swift, Jace barely aware the thought had occurred to him. “I like bunnies and goats a lot, fish is my favourite though.”

Come Alone || Dhani + Jace

Jace sniffed the letter cautiously, reading it a couple of times. He was a little older now - not much, by dragon standards, but experience mattered more. Still, it smelled like Dhani. He took wing, a bundle clutched in his claws, surfing the updraft for a little while, slow and contemplative, before spiralling down to the waterfall. Come alone? Strange, though maybe his friend was a little more cautious now, too.

He alighted at the very top, instead of down where the falls met the water below, where he assumed Dhani would meet him, and crept to the edge, black scales blending with the volcanic rock of the island - this was much like where he had grown up, if a little cooler. He peered over, keeping low, wanting to make sure there was nothing strange afoot.

Dhani slipped out from behind the waterfall, as quietly as he possibly could seeing the blur of movement. But Jace wasn’t at the pool or the slate rock and area surrounding it. He slipped into the water, sure he had seen some kind of movement, high in the torrent of water. Dhani swam out further into the pool, looking towards the top of the waterfall, but he couldn’t see anything. He was naked, except for the pale grey collar, obvious against his tanned brown skin that he had been claimed since Jace had been away. He wasn’t afraid of getting caught by the wrong person. Quinten protected him well enough and there was hardly anyone that had it out for him anymore. Besides he wanted to welcome Jace back to the island properly. He missed the horny little dragon and he was eager to hear how Simon had been since leaving, as well.

Dhani seemed to be alone, and as far as he could tell, not under any kind of duress. You have changed, young one. The thought was strange, a kind of ancestral memory, a dragon hive mind commenting from outside on his own behaviour, a sharing of knowledge which had allowed them to survive this long, neither his own thought, nor someone else’s. Satisfied, he spread his wings and glided gently down to the rocks next to the pool - mildy surprised to see the human naked - after all, he always seemed to surprise them when he was. He chirped happily, spreading his wings and rearing up in a display which to other dragons expressed a joy in seeing a friend. To Dhani, though, he sent a thought.

Hi! It’s good to see you! I will not swim, but I’m glad you are here!

He punctuated this with a little spin, bounding around, sure-footed and full of energy, before play-bowing right at the edge of the water, tail whipping around behind him. The second thought came almost as a whisper, an after-thought that he expressed without thinking.

Is everything ok?

Fanciful Creatures || Theo & Jace

With his arms and legs outstretched, Theo floated along the surface of the water, the sound of the the waterfall hitting the rocky pond muffled and gurgling in his submerged ears. When he’d left the island, his relationship with water had been severely severed, but with much work and his love for swimming, by the time he’d returned, he thankfully felt at ease with it once again. The waterfall had always been one of his favourite places on the island, and he’d already found himself sneaking off between classes for a quick dip whenever he could, enjoying the new found freedom of being a master. Flipping himself over, he did a few laps before swimming to the edge and pulling himself out, reaching for the towel that he’d stuffed into his backpack to dry off. He was rubbing the towel over his shaggy hair, noting that it was really starting to get in his eyes and maybe he’d need to get it cut soon when he heard a rustling in the trees. 

Jumpy by nature, Theo’s heart picked up a little, and he had to quietly remind himself that he was allowed to be here. “Hello?” He calls out tentatively as he hears more rustling, and takes a few steps towards the sound, peering into the trees. The rustling grew louder and closer and very suddenly a small dragon bounded out from the trees. Stunned, Theo stared for a moment in awe and wonder. He’d met a few dragons when he’d been on the island before, and had even seen one in this form, but never quite this small. A little smile spreads on his lips as he watches the small dark creature. 

“Hi.” He says, immediately crouching and reaching out a hand to offer the dragon with zero hesitation like he would with any other animal in that forest. Should he maybe be more cautious around a dragon? Probably. But Theo couldn’t help it–this little creature was adorable. “Hey there, hi, I’m Theo–you’re so cute, look at you.” He says softly with a grin. 

There was good hunting near the river - lots of little creatures taking advantage of the swarms of insects and lush greenery. He’d managed to stockpile some snacks for later, he’d left himself a small pile which he would take to Qhuinn later, for making into snacks for him, and for her murderbeast. He wanted some fish, and he had managed to grab a couple of little minnows from the shallows, but he wasn’t about to get more adventurous without a bear keeping watch.

Landing in the branch of a tree, he folded his wings, pausing to reach back and pull a bit of twig out of the leathery folds, shaking them gently, and making his way along the branch, hopping and gliding to the next, almost vanishing in the dappled light, dark scales against dark trees. He investigated here and there, tail making his movements blend in.

He stalked a bird for a while, quiet and patient, green lamplight eyes focused on it, but as full as he was, he lost interest after a while, and he circled back around to the waterfall - a much nicer way to have a bath for a dragon who wasn’t a fan of water - never mind actually being submerged in it.

He cooled himself in the spray for a while, basking in the sun, and then heard someone else. He crept closer, hopping from branch to branch, and as the stranger smiled, Jace chirped happily, perking up and moving to him, fluidly, plopping onto the rocks and nuzzling into his hand delightedly, projecting his voice into his head. I am very cute!

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The Return || Open

Damien couldn’t help himself. He had been admiring Jace from afar, in his own Phoenix form. He didn’t intrude on his fun, but when Jace landed, he was curious. He flew over, and landed just a little ways away from him. He wasn’t sure how he would be greeted, after all. He never assumed that everyone would be excited to see him.

But, that changed with Jace’s greeting. So, Damien ruffled his feathers a bit, and transformed, himself. He grinned at the other man, chuckling a little bit. “Hey!” he said, excitement in his own voice. “How are you? Enjoying your flight? And, welcome back. It’s good to see a friendly face.”

“Damien!” He hadn’t met another Phoenix since the turn of the 13th, so Damien’s was a name that came easily to him. For a moment he considered shifting back and playing chase about the reaches of the sky, but he held back - sort of. He embraced his friend, tightly, bouncing back on his heels.

“Yes! Very much. There’s some really fun updrafts around here and then you can dive off the edge.” He knew his friend would know exactly what he was talking about - similarly sized and gifted with flight, they had an experience of the world that nobody else did. “Did I miss anything fun?”