Jace

Jace let the questions pass him by, though he couldn’t have explained why, and truly, it didn’t even occur to him that he had. His attention had always been flighty and brief, and so it wasn’t too unusual for him. He frowned, and his shouldered squared slightly as she hid her face, arms encircling her more securely. The dragon pressed a kiss to her hair, staying there until she pulled back, and looked up at him, his hand brushing her hair back carefully to meet her eyes.

His own face was serious, now, not sad or overly agitated, but concerned and loving. He had left a true friend behind, and now she was hurting. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just his eyes looking into hers, and then he pulled her into his chest again, giving her some space to be upset without being observed. “Tell me everything.” He said, softly, and the levity and frivolity was gone from his voice. It carried a tone now which conveyed each of his almost a thousand years of life, of pain and love and experience. His hand gently stroked her hair, tucking her securely between his elbow and chest, calm and protective.

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.

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.

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?

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.”

The Return || Open

“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?”

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.

The Return || Open

Jace let out a shriek of delight as he looped over the island. His wings tilted back just a little, the front edges lifting a hair, and he soared higher, before tucking in and diving, the ground rushing up at him, and then abruptly falling away as he looped, once, twice, letting out another shriek which he knew would be heard the island over. He was back! The memories had bloomed in his head, but for now, he was ignoring them. The true nature of the island, of how he and Simon had met… it was in the past, and it was staying there. Firmly. 

He did a barrel roll between two buildings, narrowly missing some students, shrieking again as they ducked, and then opened his wings, controlling his flight easily, flapping once, twice, slowing himself. He looked about for a spot to land, slowly coming in on top of the pile of clothes he had dumped on the beach, transforming before he hit the ground, the distance judged with a precision that came with hundreds of years of practise. He huffed out a breath, ruffling his hair, feeling good from the exertion, and glanced up, suddenly aware he had an audience. “Hi!”

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.

Jace elbowed Dominick gently at the teasing, but didn’t duck out from under his arm. “Not too much. Flew around a lot. Had some dragon time.” His mind was actually a little vague about what he had been doing. For someone usually so engaged in the world around him, it was strange, but really, he didn’t want to examine it too closely. “Scared some rabbits. Caught a goose! Ate the goose. What about you, Mister Dominick? Any naughtiness you have been up to. Probably lots.” 

“An entire goose?” He asked. “I stopped eating goose, it reminds me too much of those gees in that cartoon. Remember? They are far too funny to be eaten.” He said laughing out loud at the thought of those goose wandering around. “Oh you know me. Naughty is my second name.  I love seeking the pleasures and sins of this island. I wouldn’t say lots… but I’d say..” He left that sentence there, with a dirty smile on his face and a casual shrug of shoulders. “So… what you wanna do for your first day back?” 

Jace just laughed at her embarrassment - he wasn’t exactly shy, and nobody had ever called him vain. He was also old enough to have stopped really caring what people thought about him. “Griff was also pretty picky.” His energy dipped a little, and his eyes softened, as he nodded - they had been close. “He was very slow. Everything about him was… like… a glacier moving. Slow, so calm and so unstoppable. He was… a nice place to be.” Jace gave her a slow blink, and then perked up again. “Oh, really? Yes! Yesyesyes! Very much. I promise I will be very nice and hopefully he will like me.” He couldn’t believe his new dragon friend had a bear friend - but the world was funny that way, sometimes.

Booker was kinda glad he didn’t seem offended by her comment, dragons really got to her head. Then, she did notice that slight shift in his mood again. He was super cheery but clearly something was bothering him, at least Booker could understand that feeling. “What kinda bear was he? Sounds like a sloth.” Booker chuckled softly as she tried to imagine the very slow and calm shifter. “Well, unfortunately mine is like… a ball of energy that drank five Red Bull’s, but he’s nice if he likes ye.” Booker was excited to bring him to her home and show him Alejo, maybe that could cheer him up. “There’s only one way tae find out!” Booker then turned around and began to walk back to her place. This… this wasn’t so bad, at all, he wasn’t like the Bluefires, he was actually kind of sweet and she liked it. “Any other animals ye like? I’ve got wee Pygmy goats, bunnies and chickens at home too… they are pretty tasty too.” She let out a laugh and glanced at him.

@dhanilyman

[anonymous letter in Dhani’s handwriting] Jace, meet me at the waterfall. Come alone. - xoxo

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.

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.

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. 

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.

The Return || Open

Jace let out a shriek of delight as he looped over the island. His wings tilted back just a little, the front edges lifting a hair, and he soared higher, before tucking in and diving, the ground rushing up at him, and then abruptly falling away as he looped, once, twice, letting out another shriek which he knew would be heard the island over. He was back! The memories had bloomed in his head, but for now, he was ignoring them. The true nature of the island, of how he and Simon had met… it was in the past, and it was staying there. Firmly. 

He did a barrel roll between two buildings, narrowly missing some students, shrieking again as they ducked, and then opened his wings, controlling his flight easily, flapping once, twice, slowing himself. He looked about for a spot to land, slowly coming in on top of the pile of clothes he had dumped on the beach, transforming before he hit the ground, the distance judged with a precision that came with hundreds of years of practise. He huffed out a breath, ruffling his hair, feeling good from the exertion, and glanced up, suddenly aware he had an audience. “Hi!”

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.