Gonna be putting this blog on a short hiatus, won’t be too long. Got some IRL business to deal with, and I’ll also be working on some new blog ideas. 

she's got her chair leaning back on two legs, vibrant blue-green watching dorian and mirai. her daughter is showing the taller woman a drawing before she runs off to join merry on their little adventure. watching them leave out the door, rangiku's gaze turns back toward her company, a small smirk curving up the corners of her mouth, ❝ ━ want to watch a movie with me? i have beer and snacks. ❞

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Visiting Rangiku and Mirai was always such a joy.

Doriane gave a fond smile as Mirai showed her the drawing, even giving a little comment of, “Looks good, kid,” before the little girl ran off to do Stars know what with Meredith. Yet Meredith knew what she was doing, she is a teacher after all, so Doriane had faith that nothing bad would happen.

She turned to Rangiku as the redhead put forth the offer, Doriane then briefly breaking eye contact to give it some thought. It had been quite some time since she last saw a movie... What harm could possibly come out of this? 

Doriane looked back to Rangiku, smiling again, and gave a nod.

"Alright. I helped with your damn knife problem, now youse gotta give me my payment. Teach me how to handle a dragon." Plopping down she brings her knees to her chest only to rest her cheek upon one. "Anything that will help me if a worst case scenario goes down and I'm the only one around who can do anything deal."

In reference to this: https://maljefe.tumblr.com/post/619941649767956480/iceborne-hunters-injury-meme-its-not

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Doriane looked over her shoulders and flexed them, giving an approving “Hmm,” as she took note of the vast improvement. Compared to having a knife stuck to one’s back, the absolute lack of knives is a definite upgrade. There was still some residual pain, being stabbed is no walk in the park after all, but Doriane had experienced worse.

She stared blankly at the ground, initially not reacting to anything Loni did or said. This continued for a good ten seconds before Doriane closed her eyes and shook her head, before finally sitting down as well. Cross-legged, she put a hand on one knee and her elbow on the other.

“First thing’s first,” Doriane started, “Dragons ain’t common. Chances are near zero that you’re ever gonna come face t’ face with one.”

Doriane leaned forward. “But dragons ain’t dumb. Trust me when I say that, dependin’ on the species, they got a whole arsenal t’ use against ya. Speakin’ o’ different species...”

    The response made Loni wonder what her companion did in her down time, but she leaves the question unasked. For now it was more pleasant just listening to what she was willing to tell. Besides, they didn’t have to go too in depth on their lives. That would require far too much thinking, or at least Loni thought so. She might have been acting unfazed, but in all reality she was anything but. Her body was aching in places it hadn’t ached in YEARS. Hell, for once in a long time she thought to herself ‘ maybe I’ll be sore ‘. Most of her fights nowadays were with humans or for fun, never as intense as this. It almost made her wish that she was twenty again- the rush after a solid punch having been something the woman relished in. Something she rarely was able to do now. 

    Silence one more ensues, and just like the previous time it was nice. Loni was honestly perfectly content with that being how their night went, but when Doriane spoke up the thought vanished. 

    “Tonight was a first time for me.” She had heard of the ring before, but with how busy she was she had little time to spare to check it out. However, with her recent change in job title she had a lot more time to run around and explore. Of course, one of the first thing she did was make her way to an underground fight club to check out power levels, and that was all it was going to be at first. Yet when she saw the woman in battle something inside Loni snapped, practically compelling her to throw her towel down and take a gander at the powerhouse known as Doriane. 

    “As for cracking skulls- no. I’ve done that plenty of times in my life. Although, I still do prefer it being in a boxing ring than anything else.” She enjoyed the sport throughly even if she had less time for it now that she was older. As a young teen she had dedicated most of her free time to it when Bellamy wasn’t teaching her how run a crime group. He had been the one to introduce it to her in the first place after having been fed up with her self destructive tendencies when it came to picking fights with strangers that could kill her if they REALLY wanted too ( she was lucky none of them had or that she had the strength to get away before they could ). “It wasn’t bad though. I might even try again in the future, but I doubt anyone will be able to compare to youse so maybe not.” 

    She offers a brief smile before shrugging. It was true. Doriane had given Loni something no one else had in a long, long time: a challenge. One that didn’t have to do with work or maintaining her territory. Just a simple opponent to battle against in order to test her strength out.  

    “Hey- want to go grab a bite to eat?” Loni chimes, thumb gesturing towards a small ‘ hole in the wall ‘ kind of place. “Not sure what they sell, but it smells pretty good. Figure we both could use something to replenish all that energy we just burnt off. I’ll buy- take it as a thanks for tonight. It’s been awhile since I last had that much fun getting my face punched in.”

Doriane herself felt quite sore, right from the beginning of the battle she could tell that there was something quite not right with Loni. But Doriane liked this. Loved it, even. Years of dominating the underground fighting scene without even breaking a sweat, it almost felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders after finally finding someone who can take her beatings. It felt good, almost a little too good even, especially considering Doriane and Loni had spent an entire evening punching and kicking and throwing each other around as if trying to tear each other into literal parts.

The taller woman raised an eyebrow at Loni’s statement, genuinely surprised and letting it show. Nothing dramatic, obviously, but Loni would be able to see Doriane’s surprise clearly as day. “You ain’t pullin’ my leg, are you?” she asked earnestly, a grin starting to tug at her lips. “The way you fought made me think I jus’ never had th’ luck o’ meetin’ you.”

Doriane’s grin grew to become genuine. “Fightin’ you was like fightin’ a demented, feral cat with rabies, possessed by th’ Devil himself, while havin’ the shittiest day o’ your life!”

She threw her head back and gave a hearty laugh, deep and loud but filled with honest amusement. Doriane did not doubt Loni’s claims for even a millisecond, the shorter woman possessing the strength and skill that was needed to almost topple Doriane in their earlier bout. She moved to slap Loni on the back, only for her grin to fade and her good hand to go back into her pocket.

The two have only met recently, after all, so best not to push boundaries.

After clearing her throat, Doriane opened her mouth to speak again. “Been at it for years, now. It’s good money, as I said, an’ it’s better than sittin’ at home all day an’ doin’ nothin’.” Another brief pause was given. “I don’t think we’ll be fightin’ each other too often, we’d be diggin’ each other early graves if we did, but we can spar if you want. I got a buddy everyone calls Spike, big an’ spiky-lookin’ dragon, he owns a gym an’ a less illegal fightin’ club.”

Doriane’s stomach gave a mighty growl the exact moment Loni commented on getting something to eat, making her give an almost disgraceful snort. Talk about comedic timing. She herself gave the air a few tentative sniffs, her mouth already salivating upon catching the scent. Doriane knew this area like the back of her hand.

“I think I’d like that, yeah,” Doriane licked her lips, “I always go to this spot when I’m near.”

She started to subconsciously walk a little faster, perhaps much to Loni’s annoyance seeing the size difference between the two. “The place is called Frank’s. Just Frank’s. Best damn burgers an’ ribs in th’ whole city, I’m tellin you. Well, ah, except mine, of course.”

Fyuga has decided to nestle herself between Spike's... spikes. She's small enough to fit between them, and definitely feels safe enough to fall asleep.

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At this point Spike had known Fyuga for roughly two weeks. He had yet to introduce her to his other friend, Doriane, as well as Doriane’s friends and the rest of both Astera and Seliana, having instead left her at a quaint and peaceful little cove on the Ancient Forest’s coasts. Spike made sure to return regularly, both to interact with this tiny furball and to bring food. It would be a surprising sight for most, seeing how parental such a normally solitary and hostile dragon could be, but Spike was intelligent enough to learn how to be a parent. 

Especially if he had a great teacher like Scarlet! How a Ruiner Nergigante could communicate with a Rathalos, however, would be beyond even the most esteemed of scholars.

Today had been just another normal day for the Ruiner. Scout a chosen region with his friend on his back, fight any monster that would be out of place, groom himself for an undefined amount of time, maybe grab ( or rather steal ) a quick bite from Astera’s canteen... And then, of course, pay his newfound youngling a visit. Spike had grown quite fond of this little furball, after all, feeling instincts and emotions he had never expected to ever experience in his entire lifetime.

So would he have minded if she squeezed in-between his nigh countless death-dealing spines, only to curl up and slumber?

Absolutely not.

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Rumours and tales have begun to spread like wildfire across the verdant lands of Toussaint, more specifically within the bustling streets of Beauclair. Excited chatters and interested murmurs spoke of a legendarily powerful duo that had recently made their presence known in this territory.

One was a woman, robust like a mountain and stronger than an army of bears, who once saved a merchant caravan from a griffin that had flown too far from its usual stomping grounds. The merchants said she had wrestled the vile beast to the ground before killing it in spectacular fashion, wrapping her arms around its neck and squeezing tightly until she choked it to death. The other was a massive beast covered in countless spines, adorned with vast wings and imposing horns. It had first been sighted chasing after a royal wyvern of all things, its pursuit sending the two monsters careening straight into the middle of the aforementioned city. Its horrified citizens could only watch as the thorny beast proceeded to beat the literal life out of the poor wyvern, then releasing a victorious roar before fleeing with its prize as quickly as it came.

These stories have continued for days on end, now. Stories of a woman who could defeat any foe she encountered. Tales of what was no doubt a dragon, one that made a meal of whatever struck its fancy. Yet these stories carried no fear, no contempt, no hatred. Even the draconic beast was seen in almost a positive light, shockingly; both the woman and the dragon seemed tied at the hips, friends even, going from place to place and helping people with whatever monster problems they were faced with.

But, of course, such tales attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Doriane stood out like a sore thumb. Her choice of attire was one thing, clad in bulky armour that looked as if made from obsidian and hellfire, occasionally pulsing with heat and better suited to a hunter of demons and unholy beasts rather than someone perusing the city’s many market stalls. Her weapon did not help in the slightest, a gnarly and brutish thing akin to a club covered in sharp fangs, wisps of black-and-crimson smoke emanating from it every so often. However, what truly gave her identity away was her incredible size. Doriane towered over virtually every denizen of Beauclair, she was a veritable giant.

And, as mentioned before, sticking out usually led to lots of undesirable interactions of many kinds. There were curious citizens who asked all sorts of questions, all grating on her nerves. Questions on who she is, questions on where she came from, questions on why she slays beasts. There were even some asking her if she knew anything on her alleged dragon companion, while others begged her to share tales of her exploits.

Then, of course, there was a fool who though he could get away with picking her pockets. However, all he got for his troubles was a wrist that was broken in broad daylight for everyone to see. That actually managed to cut down the number of people who approached her. It almost brought a smile to her face. Almost.

Finally at (temporary) peace, Doriane continued perusing the various market stalls. There were fine silks and clothes, artisanal foods and drinks, masterful pottery and arts, any and all novelties she could think of. However, to her it seemed a little too... Pricey. Expensive. Famous as she may be around these parts, Doriane did not exactly amass a lot of funding since being unceremoniously dumped into this world. Thus she continued perusing, now considering packing up and looking for places where the pickings would go easier on her wallet.

That is, until she bumped into someone.

Seeing how massive she is, this bump did hardly anything to her even with her shortened nerves. So she turned to give a quick “Sorry,” and she did, looking to continue on her way, yet she could not help but do a double take. The man she just bumped into looked awfully familiar. Hair white as snow, eyes like a vicious feline’s, a scarred yet chiseled face...

She hastily took off her maned helmet, her utter surprise more than evident.

“You know, normally…I’d question this kind of shit, but at this point my life is so fucking strange that I can just walk shit like this off.”

Ben’s appropriately rolling with this situation much like the other ones in his life. Ben kept his thoughts to himself before he responded to the other.

“Nothin’ much my spiky friend, how’s about you?”

“You’re the first goddamn soul in this city not to shit their pants upon first seein’ me. Breath of fresh air, lemme tell you.”

The dragon’s voice was gruff, though held no trace of hostility. He stood tall even as he leaned against the brick wall of a building, easily big enough to potentially crush the werewolf like a soda can, yet the dragon looked incredibly relaxed.

          All instincts within her told her that this beast – this monster – was by no means anything she wanted to mess with. The moment she even considers growling or barking or doing anything remotely challenging at it, it would retaliate and likely hurt her. Would it kill her..? Potentially, if she was eaten. She’d like to not be eaten, thank you.

          Yet, the beast appraoches her, and simply stands right before her, towering, massive… scary. And kind of spiky. But it doesn’t do anything – it just sits there, staring at her, observing her..

           And she stares back.

          Could he tell that she wasn’t human? Or even Felyne? That there were traces of other beasts – other potential elder dragons within her? It’s hard to tell. It’s especially hard to tell if he could even sniff out those traits, given how her strange biology is..

          “ … big.. “ She timidly speaks, before slowly and methodically making her way towards one of the Spike’s legs. She Looked closely at his claws, at the spikes on his legs, and at his dark but rough scales.. she’s never seen a beast like this before!

          “ … Fwiend? “

It speaks? That surprised him.

Spike lowered his head down for a few cursory sniffs, followed by a snort, letting this smaller thing get a closer look at his face. Reptilian eyes distinctly inhuman, an array of shredding fangs, two massive horns to signal strength and dominance, from looks alone anyone would be hard-pressed not to call this absolute behemoth an apex predator.

He made no hostile manoeuvres when this tiny creature approached his leg, he felt no need to, despite his instincts screaming at him to remain wary. After all, this unknown creature still smelled extremely odd, unlike anything he had ever caught the scent of before. And from scent alone Spike could tell it was potentially dangerous, even if it was small enough that he could swallow it whole and without issue. Yet this thing was far too small to even be considered a snack by something as massive as Spike. Instead he focused on what this creature said, it speaking in a tongue that was unmistakably the same that his human companion and her own companions used to communicate. 

Big... Friend? Is that what it said?

Spike snorted again, this time with enough force to perhaps knock this strange find onto its butt. Hardly a hostile move, that much was obvious. Spike did not consider himself to be this animal(?)’s friend, he only just met it, but neither party meant any harm.

@iceborne-hunters​

There Niké sits, in the canteen of Astera, pen and paper in front of her trying to write out a letter, Ratha lays in a nearby roost, watching his Rider but resting, knowing full well nothing can really hurt her in the Hunters stronghold (minus other Hunters but they wouldn’t dare).  The young Rider is so absorbed in thought that she doesn’t near the plate slamming down until it’s too late, and she jumps, only to see the one person who can be considered her friend in the New World sitting down on the stool across from her.

“Miss Doriane.” Niké smiles. “I wasn’t expecting company….”

“Neither was I, kid, but here we are.”

Doriane spoke in a jesting manner, taking a seat just across from Niké. She had chosen a table with chairs a tad too short for her, Doriane looked rather silly right now sitting so low to the ground, but she hardly did mind. Niké made for wonderful company, after all, so Doriane could ignore the uncomfortable position for now.

Spike was not too far away, either, his immense bulk following his human friend through the canteens and earning the Ruiner the occasional yelp from hunters, handlers, and what have you who did not expect a giant Elder Dragon wandering around base. He aimed a snort towards Ratha. Not much of a greeting, but it least he acknowledged the diminutive wyvern’s presence. Afterwards, he wasted no time lying down next to Doriane.

Meanwhile, Doriane had already started tearing into her meal. A veritable feast of meats, she took a hearty bite out of a turkey leg and chewed thoroughly. She only addressed Niké after swallowing, speaking with a full mouth was rude after all.