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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 10:29:11 GMT -5
Sniff, sniff...
A white fox with nine tails slammed a paw down on a stray blade of grass. She looked up, seeing a large temple made of stone, clearly not the work of human hands... Ah, humans were such a weak species. The only way Flint could have fallen to the hands of one would be a cowardly sneak attack. Sniffing the air again, it didn't stink of iron and the other tools of mankind. No. That was a dragon's scent, and dragon's blood. True dragon's blood, at that.
This dragon was likely the best source of information regarding Flint's death. Humans... it had to have been a human that killed Flint, not another dragon! Once she got what she could, Obsidian would collect their bones as a trophy and place them on Flint's grave. Val had to have made that grave. She was the only human that was perhaps more pelt than human. She wound understand traditions.
The fox entered the temple, immediately taking in the scent of fresh plants and the stench of stagnant water, crinkling her snout slightly at the latter.
"... I know you're in here."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 11:08:35 GMT -5
Deep in his chamber, the great black wyrm rested, his body sprawled out underwater along the stairs of his flooded pit, his head partially submerged in the foul-smelling water. Here and there, inky trails of acidic maroon blood flowed through the pool, and several shed scales floated across the surface. The dragon's blood was doing its part to heal the injuries they dripped from, but Vutezoth was wounded in more places that just his body.
A subtle ripple across the water brushed along his hide. His left heart skipped a beat, prompting Vutezoth to open his pale yellow eyes. The drowsiness quickly waned as he slowly lifted his head out of the pool, water dripping from his snout and chin. His nostrils flared up as he breathed in the stale air around him.
Through the door to his left, somewhere far away on the floor above, he heard something padding through the puddles along the floor. The musky scent of a fox filled his nose, but carried with it a whiff of something not quite as pedestrian as a simple animal.
Vutezoth softly groaned in a deep bass, turned himself around and let himself slink into the pool, his enormous black form disappearing in the murky waters. After a day like today, he wasn't exactly in a sociable mood, but if push came to shove, perhaps he could use some entertainment...
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 11:26:10 GMT -5
"...!"
Something was moving within the temple, Obsidian's keen nose picked that up fast. Whatever it was, it was massive. Probably the dragon she smelled earlier? Yeah, probably. But... The fox's ears pulled back slightly, side tails lashing at the ground. What was causing her to act tense all of a sudden?
Probably the stale water. Yeah. Definitely the stale water.
Try as she might, even as she descended deeper into the temple, she couldn't help but shake the feeling of wrongness. Something wasn't right. Okay, maybe allergies? Or maybe she should just ask Val.
NO!
The kitsune brought a paw to her face, quickly slapping herself, careful to avoid slashing herself on her own claws. Val was half dragon, yes, and she understood pelt traditions, yes, but sometimes... Sometimes you just had to defer to the judgment of someone with keener senses.
Obsidian stopped at the edge of a wall, seeing a pit of stagnant water, streaked with maroon, small black things floating upon its surface. Something massive was below the waterline; sniffing, she confirmed that this was another dragon.
"... Great Dragon," the fox began, trying to appeal to the sense of pride that all dragons seemed to possess. "... Who wounded you? Was it a human?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 12:32:00 GMT -5
Almost immediately after Obsidian finished her question, an enormous, scaly black hand burst out of the water and slammed to the floor dangerously close to the kitsune, claws just missing her by less than a meter. It sat there in silence for a pregnant five seconds, then the dragon lifted his head and upper body out of the pool. Nostrils flaring with hissing breaths, water sliding off his glistening black hide, corrosive saliva dripping from his lips, Vutezoth stared down at Obsidian with a wild, angry, toothy smile.
"Quite verbose for such a little creature, aren't we?"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 12:43:13 GMT -5
"Eep."
When the scaly fist slammed down before her, Obsidian jumped back slightly, bringing the side tails to cover her eyes. When she removed them, she was met by a skull-like face with large horns, glowing yellow eyes, and a murderous expression. Oh, and not to mention the probably-toxic saliva. Yeah. Let's not piss this dragon off.
In a show of deference, there was a small burst of smoke around Obsidian, quickly fading to reveal her human form, completely unarmed except for the ability to run. "I, uh, smelled the stench of humans on you. And the blood of someone close to me. I was wondering..."
Inhale. Okay, gotta do this, Obsidian. It doesn't change if he's basically the size of a small mountain. Just... remember that you have speed on your side in case this goes worse than liver with cabbage. "... Who was the culprit? How did they wound you?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 13:00:26 GMT -5
"Ha! What cause do you have to be concerned about me, shapeshifter?" Vutezoth snarled, running his claws between the loose stone tiles in the floor, small waves forming along the pool's surface as his tail slowly swished back and forth underwater. "Spare me your pity."
The dragon pulled his hand back into the water, then slowly started to turn around as if preparing to slip back into the depths. "Your quarrel against humans is none of my concern. They were no threat to me. Please, fight your battles on your own terms and let me deal with mine."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 13:18:19 GMT -5
Sniff, sniff...
Hang on, didn't she smell that before? Just a lot nicer? And didn't she smell that earlier?
"... Was it a human girl? That smelled really nice, especially when combined with the blood of an angel or two or ten?" Ah, that's the response Obsidian was waiting for. "Because I can smell her nearby. Eh, probably not near this temple, but..."
Sniff, sniff. "She's definitely close by. Stinks of iron, too..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 13:41:16 GMT -5
Vutezoth froze facing away from Obsidian, his hand gripping the edge of the pit, his smile fading in an instant. A low, annoyed growl rumbled deep in his chest, his bright eyes narrowing into glowing yellow slits. He wasn't going to stop being frustrated about that fight anytime soon.
"She was no human," Vutezoth snarled without turning back around. "Not by the purest definition. That creature possessed the foul swill of a demon parading in human flesh. An unholy abomination the likes of which I have seen only once before..."
The floor cracked as the dragon's grip tightened and and his claws sunk into the eroded stone.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 13:59:08 GMT -5
"An unholy abomination pretending to be human down to wearing a skin..."
Was there a creature like that in the fox clan's mythology? The konaki-jiji? No, this was an adult human. Whatever. It was some other being that was pretending to be a human. "That explains why she smelled like delicious human blood, at the least."
Obsidian looked down into the stagnant water below, streaked with maroon, almost as through...
"... Was that the creature that caused you to bleed? I smelled the blood of my friend on her..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 14:55:29 GMT -5
Grimy water sprayed in all directions as the dragon unfolded his leathery wings. "That creature played me for a fool. I have been wounded before, but her mere existence... her association with my sworn foe is an insult to everything I have worked towards!"
Vutezoth let out a low huff, scowling at the wall and shaking his head. Then he climbed out of the water and steadily approached Obsidian, his expression slightly calmer but full of deadpan frustration. "I know not who this friend you speak of is, and if I'm being honest, at this time, I lack the capacity to care. In light of this humiliation, I care only to rid myself of any painful reminders. So perhaps it should be in your best interest to convince me not to kill you."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 15:03:10 GMT -5
Well, when you're the size of a small mountain, it's probably hard to notice things the size of elephants...
"He had the ability to transform into a dragon, so he could've been in one of two forms," Obsidian began to explain, taking a step back to avoid inhaling in too much of that smell. "One, a human-thing with dark skin and two-toned hair, dark on top and light on the bottom, liked to wear greens and lotsa gold pieces!" AKA the boring part. Probably wouldn't be too memorable.
Time to see if this dragon remembered the fun part. "Or he was a purple dragon without front legs and green membranes and pure blue eyes. 'Bout the size of an elephant. Still would wear a gold collar." Beat. "Smelled like pine trees, meat, and for some reason, apple pie."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 15:16:32 GMT -5
Vutezoth stopped in his tracks, raising his head slightly and staring down at Obsidian with a sort of detached intrigue. Then he let out a snort through his nose and flatly gazed off to the side. "Ah, yes. The wyvern. I remember."
He started walking again, dipping into the shallow end of the pool and back out again in a sort of slow pace. "He fought. Defended himself well for a time. My attention was elsewhere, but I do recall the demon witch standing over his human form. His aura seemed one with hers after. And her breath... a stream of cold not unlike that of a white or silver of my kind. Uncommon for a demon of her merit."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 8, 2019 15:24:34 GMT -5
...!!
"I knew it," Obsidian said, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. "The first time we met, I detected something strange in her otherwise-pleasant aroma of conditioner and blood. Now, if I had known... if..." A tail popped out, quickly retracting into the fox with a yelp. "... Thank you... I... I know what I need to do..."
Obsidian bowed to Vutezoth. "May you recover fast. I... have a human to devour. If the 'sworn foe' of your's is with her, I'll leave him for you... wouldn't want to deprive you of your revenge..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 8, 2019 15:42:38 GMT -5
"Hm." Vutezoth glared back at the kitsune, uncertain how to feel at first. Her ramblings annoyed him, but even now he couldn't find the energy to take his frustrations out on this intruder. If Obsidian was so keen to hunt down that demonic abomination, then as far as the dragon cared, she could knock herself out. Best case scenario, she actually succeeded in taking the girl down and he had leeway to get to his reincarnated foe. And in the likely case that this did not result, she could at least lead him to them, given how unlikely it was that he would find Paul in the same place twice.
"Very well. See that Ulharryrth remains alive until I come for him, or his fate will become yours. Now please... leave me alone."
As the fox scurried out of his lair, Vutezoth dove back into the water without another word, wanting little more in that moment than to continue his rest and prepare himself for his next confrontation. He was going to have his work cut out for him, and he wanted to be ready for it this time. Too bad the kitsune had no idea what she was getting herself into.
It was a pity, though. Knowing what diseases festered in his swampy domain, if the demon girl didn't kill Obsidian, she was in for something much worse...
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