Wings Of Fire - Roleplaying Group discussion

(( if they have one, could I make Anemoiac's second-in-command? ))

Venatrix had been trying to fly on her own... Again. And it failed! Again.

The wind had decided to pick her up and fling her into this random area of where-the-seal-blubber-knows-where. Stumbling in the darkness, something she'd become so accustomed to-but always bothered her. Her old scars began to sting as the wind bore down on her, her one eye that wasn't mauled stared out at nothing-clear and clouded all at once.

Small for an IceWing, dragonet or no, Ven pushed through the snow and refused to be blown away like a flake on the wind. But it was a struggle, certainly, although her anger and frustration fueled her with enough energy to charge through. To fall down a hill. And another one. And... Another.

Pushing through the awful winds, which continued to taunt and jeer at her-shoving her around and trying to make her fall. Hah! I'd love to see you TRY!

Flinging herself forward, Venatrix crashed into a wall of ice. Wait.. Ice... Ice? That wasn't the uncommon thing, the uncommon thing was... Ice? A wall, process that, of ice. Solid ice, smooth-obviously not naturally made... Or it'd be bumpy and marked!

Pressing a claw to it, Ven yelped as she fell forward. Rolling into a cold room, the floor smooth and icy as the wall, Trix stood up and shook herself-though it was only snow that fell away. "He-hello?" Her voice echoed into empty silence, but she growled at the way it shook.

((mhm)

((hmmmhmmhmmmmmm. Is that an invitation? **as I turn to said stairs**))

((I mean... Read this post::))

Turning to the sound of approaching voices, Venatrix considered taking a stand before remembering, Oh heck, they may not like a strange, blind dragonet wandering about. So she fled, only to trip over her own feet and waste time scrambling back up. Her sense of direction jumbled by panic and her problem of not being able to see and still trying to get used to using her ears and other senses.

Inching back, Venatrix let out a screech as she slipped down a set of stairs. Falling to the bottom, she scrambled up and let out a loud roar-loud to her, anyway, probably a squeak to older dragons. But it carried with it her panic, anger, and fear.

(( mhm ))

(( mk dokie! I kinda thought so ))

(( lol, that'd be nice ))

Standing now on firmer legs, Venatrix huffed angrily as she took tiny steps to feel her surroundings. She could see just a bit out of her left eye, but it was only blurrs-nothing that her brain could make out. While her other eye saw absolutely nothing, all in all it was a bit strange-at first. By now, Ven had grown accustomed to it.

Stopping, over the course of time Ven's nose had grown strong-able to detect scents better than her eyes could've seen or her ears hearing.

Stopping, the little dragonet-graceful but with a rugged edge-brought herself up. Turning her head forward and keeping her posture ridged and tense, wings clamped to her sides instead of hanging relaxed.

"Who's there?" She spat, she would've been pretty impressive looking-if she weren't facing the wrong way.

"Look," she hissed, "I don't know who the seal fat you... You'll..? Are. But I can't see a thing, so if you'd like to ruin whatever moral beliefs you have and attack me-be my guest! But, um, I'll fight back!" By now her words were still harsh, but just a bit exaggerated. What if they have no morals? Shaking that off, Venatrix stopped. What if you're just yelling... To a wall.

Whipping around, Trix kept her balance well despite being crippled. Stretching her wings out, she bared her teeth-a collection of frost and a cloud of cold air crackled around her open mouth as her chest filled with icy cold. Indeed, Venatrix had no fighting experience-yet she was ready to fight. I'll prove to them I'm not useless! How dare they.... By now, her mind had shifted to home and all the pity and worthless apologies she got from strangers.

Hesitating, Venatrix made a snap decision and sat down. Though her claws continued to dig into the smooth ice while her wings remained open-as though ready to fly at any moment.

"Kindness doesn't keep you alive," she snapped, though regretted it instantly. This stranger sounded like a dragon-female with authority and power, and definitely older and bigger than she herself. Still, Ven refused to cower. "Venatrix, I was flying and got caught up in some freak storm that popped out of nowhere... Ice splinters and seal flubber, I have no 'business' here-I got tossed around like a toy before landing here."

((btw, ice splinters, seal flubber, and seal fat aren't official cuss words-they're words Venatrix makes up because her father used to do that.))

Wincing away as she felt a cold pressure grow below her talons, she felt the floor and found it unscathed. Interesting.

"'Dear'? Refuge? What am I, an immigrant? Some sorta stranger? We're both IceWings under the rule of a single Queen-who the deer antlers' are you?"

Oh... Is that so? But this she didn't say, though her scowl clearly explained all.

"I wouldn't say looking," she snorted, wondering for a moment if this "Queen" was deaf-hadn't Ven told her she couldn't see?

"I gave you my name," she huffed, though her voice was less fierce-now knowing that this crazy dragon believed herself a Queen. "I'm perfectly serious," Venatrix muttered, closing her wings now and relaxing her tense muscles. "Would you use violence? Wouldn't that make you as bad as a SkyWing?" Just saying the name of those dumb dragons put on a sour edge, true anger behind her words now instead of empty frustration. Her scars tingled as if mentioning or thinking about that tribe of bullies made them spark up with pain.

"I never asked if you were a SkyWing, I mean't wouldn't that make you like a SkyWing." Speaking bluntly, but quietly, she went quiet at the sudden crackle the air. The sound of ice forming at multiple times the normal rate, "Either you're an animus, or an IceWing with too much ice..?"

Too young to notice the way the older dragon had dodged her question, Venatrix went on, "I don't think you're an animus, or you would've lost a whole lotta your soul making this... Building? What-what is this, anyway?" This, being the ice they stood on and the walls/ceilings that surrounded them.

Parlour... Palace... Palace of ice? "Is it like the Queen's?" Venatrix inquired, curiosity lighting up her once vicious face.

Laying a claw on a wall behind her, Ven felt and traced the ice. In her mind, she copied the trails and swirls that she could feel, Venatrix's interest sparked up even more as she began to run from column to column-often bumping into then. And, ah yes, the childish innocence of a two year dragonet began to poke its snout out as Trix rushed about excitedly. And then bumped into an IceWing guard.

Scrambling back, she'd recognized other scents-but had been too occupied to care about them.

Huffing indignantly, sometimes her own blindness still irritated her. "So, what sort of Kingdom do you lead?" She asked, silver scales glowing a soft blue from all the light streaming through the ice.

"And... How does this ice never melt?"

Suspicious.... Venatrix turned her non-wounded eye to Anemoi, though she still couldn't see her, "Curious, but I guess that's understandable." Shrugging, she nodded along as Anemoi explained the reason for the ice never melting.

"I've been wounded for a few months now-I've gotten used to it," all her previous defiance had been spoken with passion and venom, but this particular statement was weaker than the others. As though she were still convincing herself...

Don't be silly, of course you're fine! Which is what Venatrix always told herself, "I don't need any help! What I need it for Queen Iceflake to give me a chance-as well as all her IceWing minions! They don't think I can handle myself and they won't gimme five seconds to prove it," huffing angrily, her wings flapping furiously but she-not really wanting to fly anywhere-digging her claws in to stay put, Ven brushed her scars. They felt fresh and new, but they'd already healed quite well.

Child?! I mean... Yeah, yeah it was true-she was a child. But really? CHILD??? Indignant, a strange sort of feeling for a dragonet-but a feeling all the same-Venatrix huffed, though she managed to keep her mouth shut.

"Truly? I barge into your kingdom-by accident, of course-and you're willing to take me in... Why?" It truly, honestly, completely confused her... Ven knew she could-was-sort of (very) rude... At times. So it bewildered her that this stranger might want to "recruit" her, if that's what the self-proclaimed Queen was doing. "I like the land fine, the dragons are... They're nice, sure-it's great that Iceflake got rid of the Circles that would've told the strong from the weak, the worthy from the unworthy, and the superior from the inferior. I get it, of course, she did it for.... Equality? To be liberal? All I have to say is I'd probably like it if we had Circles... My parents, Shard and Seal-their nicknames-they were both in high up Circles... Which meant they were important, and everyone knew it! And they didn't simply treat them like they couldn't handle themselves.... Which I CAN!" And, just like that, the conversation went from about her parents to Venatrix's own problem with the kind Kingdom dragons that'd tried to help her-but couldn't they see she needed know help? Support, yes, but not them trying to treat her like an actual cripple! She so wasn't a cripple...

"My parents were sent away, dubbed too irresponsible to care for dragonets by our dear Queen." Sneering at the last word, Venatrix immediately felt guilty. Iceflake wasn't a bad queen, in fact-her intentions were always to help her Kingdom. But sometimes... Sometimes the Royals-as Ven referred to those that lived a more luxurious life-didn't understand what their counterparts needed or wanted. "I have no harm, I am an orphan-and my family was taken and split apart by the Queen's own. I'd go to them if I could, but as you can see I'm in no state to do so.... And they're all in battle zones which I'm 'restricted' from... pfft." Growling, Trix plopped down in front of where she believed the older dragon was-based on how cold the air was around her. "I-I suppose I could, would, like to stay here... As long as I know you're not with Queen Iceflake! I can't be turned back into that dumb old kingdom that refuses to give me a chance!"

"I don't need replacements for my parents," Venatrix mumbled, nearly unintelligible. "So.. You made all of this yourself?" All of this being the castle they stood on and the land that was guarded by a fierce blizzard as a border.

"That's.. That's actually really cool," If I had a power like that, no one would doubt me... Shifting on her feet, Venatrix studied-blindly-the floor beneath her.

((As you can see, Ven has some issues w/ "proving her worth"))

Rlly short this time,s orry))

Stretching her claws out in an open cup, Venatrix waited for the elder dragon to place it in her talons-though the sound of crackling ice was obvious in her ears and the smell of cold filled her nose. Just a simple draft of chilly air, not enough to announce the presence of something big-so the rose was certainly around normal size.

((sorry, doing hw-I'll respond asap))

Feeling the sharp crackle of frost seeming to radiate from the elder IceWing, Venatrix frowned with curiosity. But her attention was quickly moved away on to the gentle rose-shaped flower of ice, cold to the touch but the leaves pulled apart like any flower-although it took a bit more force to do so. It wasn't soft or smelled like flowers, but still had the shape and feel down squat.

Noting the pressure of many gazes, including the IceWings she'd sensed earlier, Venatrix did her best to ignore as she squirmed a bit and scowled-her trademark facial expression.

Snorting, Venatrix rolled her eye, "I should hope not," and followed the dragon. "I never did get your name, I believe..?" Speaking with strained politeness, Ven was used to just blurting out questions and comments and expecting answers and responses. But with this IceWing, she knew she shouldn't-not only was she a dragonet, but this dragon had power and ice.

"I can call you by your long name or short," while it was meant to be an inquire, with Ven's naturally flat voice it sounded like a rude statement-this she did not notice.

"I'm fine with anything, seal is the best-though," with a sad smile, Venatrix was reminded of her slightly overweight, jolly old father who loved everyone, ate everything, and had been picked up by an old couple because he'd been abandoned. So he'd given himself the name Seal.

((sure! And I accidentally said he'd died, but he hadn't-that was my old idea before I decided to keep him alive... And I thought Seal Blubber might be a childhood nickname but his name-self given-would be Seal Catch))

Sniffing the prey before her, she could guess they were either well preserved or recently caught. Probably well preserved.. Brushing the fur with her talons, Venatrix found that the fur was slightly damp-so it'd been caught earlier, but not too late that the fur would be dry.

Humming, Ven dug into her prey with a nod of thanks to Anemoi.

((Uhmm, that'd mean Ven has a half sis she doesn't know about... They look enough alike, so I suppose it'd be fine! But just for an outline-I'd love it if he'd still be an adopted dragon in his history, be self-named Seal Catch (Blubber), and I never really considered him being crippled..... So maybe he starts out as Sheer's mate but ends up w/ Ven's mom?? But the history still won't click w/ my character's

Still-I LOVE him))

((Crystalshard is alive, but extremely distant/disconnected from Ven-I MAY kill her off, if I cn get a RPer for her death))

Finishing off her seal, Venatrix was reminded of only last year-when she could see-and how her father had pointed out that he'd teach her to hunt once she grew up... Until he.. He was forced to leave...

"Hmm? It was fine at first, we minded our business-mother was the only one who left home to fight... My dad didn't like the idea of leaving us alone, but once my sister was old enough, my mom dragged him along with her..." Shaking her head irritably Venatrix mumbled, "Everyone went hunting one day, leaving my brother and I alone-these amateur SkyWings attacked us, killed my brother, than they tortured me.... It wasn't fun." A slow snarl built in her throat at the memory, the one example of the scars they'd left that way was on her face-which she pointed to. "I had already been sick and gone blind in my left eye, but then they ripped apart my right."

"My mother is alive-I hate her-my father..." Grinning, her dead eye lighting up, Ven began to bounce like the dragonet she was, "He's alive! I can't find him, but I love him and I can't wait to see him again," because I will. I'll find him... "My sis is alive, too-I like her enouhg."

What..? Perking up, Venatrix did her best to bury the hope that lit in her. Directing her full attention to Anemoiac, she yelped, "Do you know anything? Seal's a fat old man who's always cracking jokes and eats all things seal!" The first words that popped into her head, but all spoken with an endearing smile on her face.

"I guess," which was a definite yes, in Venatrix's words. "That-that would be appreciated, ma'am! Er, Anemoiac.... Should I call you Queen, or..?" It was a question for her, Anemoi did seem awfully like Iceflake-but different, too.

"I guess it'd be my dad's choice, huh?" More question than comment, she was eager to see her father-if Anemoi really could get spies or "eyes" to fine her father....

"Yeah, I guess!" Perking up, Venatrix stood up. Comfortable and warm from the prey she'd eaten, she grinned, "Tempt him with some seal-he won't feel kidnapped at all!"

"Only about a year or so..." Feels like a century.. Next in line to being her best friend would be her father, right after her dear-now dead-brother. A brave soul, who she missed constantly-the reason for the dragon scale she always wore at her neck.

Nodding in response, Venatrix was now shaking with the attempt not to cry. "Soon as possible, please," her voice barely carried as she imagined when she'd see her sweet chubby father again.

Leaning so far it appeared as though she were about to fall, Venatrix's eyes teared up-diamonds falling from clouded opals. "Really? I thought you wouldn't be able to-since I don't know how many dragons you have-but.. Really?" Oh.. She could see him now. Chubby around the sides with a wide grin always there, wings a sudden and strange green-but beautiful to her. Which she wouldn't see, ever again....

She's a lot more cheerful than I thought... Smiling shyly, she shook out her wings-ready to... Well, fly/glide/walk. "Lead the way into this lovely kingdom you speak of," from bitter and sour to sweet and content, just like that her mood changed.

Feeling the tingling warmth of the sun, Ven paused to bathe in it's glorious light before following after the mass of cold air-which was Anemoi.

Going slower to feel out the land, she made sure to feel each step before using it. When she finally did catch up to Anemoiac, she was more than likely about half or so lengths away from her "kingdom".