#dragothevampire

dragothevampire

mommawolfyuri

((Not sure if you're open to OCs, but I wouldn't mind a thread with Duke))

Nal'Efi kicked the ground, a cloud of snow blowing into existence and tickling her face before settling again. She growled slightly before crossing her arms and proceeding on the barely visible path in silence.

As much as she loved the cold beauty that ice brought with it, she hated the fragility of snow. Snow was dull and transient, draining the scenery of its colors and embedded the world in a cold blanket. Not warm enough to be comfortable in, but not yet the biting numbness of frozen water.

Far too similar to life itself for the shapeshifter's liking.

-----------------------

Phirona and Nikkaidou could only watch as their companion shook her head with another growl. "...Okay, first I thought she was just grumpy," Phirona started, "but her behavious is really starting to worry me..."

The small mage nodded. "I know. Nally has her bad days, but... something's off about her today..."

"Haven't you two seen her like this before?" Drago asked the two from behind. Neither of them jumped anymore, by now used to the vampire's stealth.

Phirona shook her head, her dark-green hair flaring out behind her, as Nikkaidou answered, "No. We've been traveling together for almost a year now and this is the first time."

"...Something about the weather then?" Drago's voice had turned thoughtful, the half-elf noticed.

"Could be. She did mention something about snow before."

Drago blinked and Phirona didn't know what to make of the sudden spark in the man's eyes that had appeared after her reply. "'Could be'?" he repeated slowly, "Shouldn't you be able to gauge her better than that, after a year of traveling with her?"

Human and half-elf looked at each other, frowning at the other's expression before looking away without answering.

The silence obviously told Drago enough. For a second, he seemed like he was about to say something Phirona wouldn't like, before he backtracked and began again. "...She's afraid."

Both mages stopped walking and looked at Drago, confusion evident in their gazes.

"I don't know of what, but... she's afraid of something. That much is obvious," the vampire continued with a stern look at his companions, "even to a newcomer like me." With those words, Drago walked past the two to join the grumpy shapeshifter.

Phirona didn't have to be 200-year-old half-elf to recognize the underlying meaning of what Drago had said. She cast her eyes to the ground in thought and kept stock still.

That is, until Nikkaidou pinched her in the arm.

"Come on, Phirona. Hurry up or we'll lose them."

After a second of silence, the half-elf nodded. "Right. I know, Nikkai."

-----------------------

Nal'Efi tensed slightly at the sound of almost silent crunches against the snow. Not even sparing the other a glance, she muttered, "You were talking about me. I told you to stop that."

She could practically feel Drago's raised eybrow. "Maybe to the others you did, but not to me."

She frowned at the answer. "Well I did now."

"You know we wouldn't have to do that if you were just honest with us."

This time she flinched, before sending the man a scathing look out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah well, I'm not the only one with problems about honesty. Try asking Miss Wind Magic over there about where she's from, good luck getting a straight answer."

"You know that is not what I meant."

"Maybe not, but it's what I meant, so leave me alone."

She heard Drago sigh beside her and the matter was dropped

-----------------------

"...We're almost to Yubaris now," Phirona stated quietly, her good mood already squished by the heavy atmosphere.

"Really?" Nikkaidou asked sarcastically. "What told you that, the city gates we're standing in front of?"

"What?" Phirona blinked and looked up. Sure enough, there was a tall brick wall in front of them, the sunlight reflecting off the iron gates. "Wow... I must've really been out of it..."

"Let's just go," the shapeshifter growled, taking the lead.

The other three looked at each other before following the blue-head. Only to stare at her when she didn't keep moving after entering the city. "Oh please, no..." she breathed.

The entire city was decorated with bright colors, lights shining from every house the laid their eyes on. The sound of lively music could be heard from farther inside.

All in all, it seemed like a very warm and lively city.

"What's wrong, Nally?" Nikkaidou asked, though he had a hunch as to what her problem was.

Nal'Efi slapped a hand to her face with the upteenth growl of the day.

Ooooooooi Skyyyyyyyyyyype o3o

Nal'Efi opened her eyes to white. Immediatly she frowned and knew her day was ruined. Her point was made all the more clear when she got a snowball to the face and heard cheering and giggling from her right.

With a growl, the shapeshifter stood up and fixed her companions with a glare. "And what exactly do you find so funny?"

The green-haired half-elf was giggling uncontrollably. "Sorry~ We just couldn't resist~"

"More like, Phirona saw the snow and went completely crazy," the silver-haired 13-year-old human corrected with a sigh. Nal'Efi didn't miss his smirk though.

"More like," a male voice announced from behind the trio, "Miss Noxis was playing in the snow like a six-year-old and you, Nikkaidou, didn't stop her."

"Oh come on Drago!" Nikkaidou whined, "You didn't do anything either."

"I'll be kept out of this, thank you."

The banter was cut short by a loud whoosh of magic. The snow was blown away, making way for spikes of ice that sprouted out of the ground.

Silence reigned for a few seconds in which Nal'Efi's hair and dress settled again. When she opened her eyes to the shocked faces of the others, she was furious. "It's bad enough that it started snowing over night, I do not need a headache because you feel the need to fool around like children! Can we please just continue? I don't want to sleep outside in this weather."

And with that the shapeshifter left their little camp and went into the forest.

"Geez. And I thought she couldn't be any more of an ice princess."

Nikkaidou rolled his eyes at Phirona's comment. "Let's just go before we lose her."

Phirona and Nikkaidou walked after the shapeshifter, continuing their banter along the way.

 dragothevampire said: I thought that might be a little tough. No worries though, we haven’t talked all that much after all.

{{ Then we should talk more! (oOo)/  {If that's okay? ) }}

(ﾉ⊙ヮ⊙)ﾉ — SENPAI

A snap rang through the air as a wolf stepped on a lone twig. The ice blue color of its fur as well as the white puffs of fur on the tip of its tail and its paws made it stand out in the midst of greenery. Its green eyes wandering all over the place made it obvious that the wolf was searching for prey.

Unfortunately for the wolf, this evening's hunt seemed to be unsuccessful, so it gave a sound akin to a sigh and decided to go back to its hideout...

...until it came across a man it never met before, neither in the forest nor in any of the nearby villages. Even his scent was unfamiliar. Though not only unfamiliar, his scent was also very peculiar. Something about the man casually strolling through the woods was just... off.

...

Something akin to a grin formed on the wolf's snout, its fangs baring. Deciding that today's hunt was successful after all, the animal decided to stalk the interesting man.