Seryan Elreng: Sight of Flame (Chapter One)

(Hi ho!! This is my first time posting on the forums, and feedback is much welcomed! This is the story of my character, Seryan. I'm starting from the beginning, so please bear with me.)

Scales the color of peppermint, Seryan was not a dragon to blend in. She was young, but not too young, though she was not yet able to leave the island that was her home since she first hatched. Most days, she would ignore the mentors of the isle and just lounge around the crystal fountain that all living, intelligent creatures were bound to that lived on the island, and sleep the days away.

She knew she wasn't well liked, knew of the snide comments over her odd habits and bright scales the other young hatchlings whispered about her when they thought she wasn't listening. Dragons came in many different colors, so she couldn't quite understand why her bright, white scales with their neon red stripes along with her light blue chest scales attracted such attention. Sure, she couldn't quite blend into anything, but she was fast. She was unusually small, but not too small, just small for a hatchling. It wasn't like any of it bothered her. She didn't care what others thought of her. As long as she held up to her own standards, she was fine.

She could admit that she was a bit odd, considering, that unlike most dragons, she couldn't use prime. The mentors had worked with her, but she just couldn't use the magic that all dragons had. It frustrated her. It was also the fact that she spoke with the old dragon's tongue, that many ancients did not know. She didn't know much, but she did use what she knew. Her "I"s were the female version of "Iea", and when she greeted someone she would say the customary "Glit'sita". It always amused her when she would say it to or around one of the other hatchlings and they'd just stare at her dumbly before muttering amongst themselves. The old language was always lost on the stupid. Well, that's what she'd think anyways.

This day was like any other, lounging around the crystal fountain as a few hatchlings, sometimes alone, sometimes in a group, would walk by, most not even sparing her a passing glance. She was stretched out next to the ledge, the end of her tail flicking every once and a while. The quiet, sluggish sound of the trickle of water from the fountain was calming. The absolutely massive trees that grew even on this small island casting there huge shadows, creating an unusual blotchy look on the deep colors of the ground. The splotches of sunlight that hit the multicolored crystals that made up the fountain made them glitter in a soft glow, the light reflecting seeming colder, but not frigidly so. The air was warm and on the humid side, so Seryan found an even bigger reason to just lounge.

She yawned wide, exposing her sharp canines as her tongue curled before she closed her jaw with a click. Resting her head against the ledge of the fountain, she closed her honey-and-hazel-hued eyes, ready to drift off into the sweet, dark abyss that was the realm of sleep, when an annoyingly happy, all-too-cheerful voice spoke up.

"Hey!"

She groaned, opening one eye to stare-- well, more like glare up at the drake greeting her. His scales were a deep blue that bordered a greyish purple, with deep, purple stripes striking their way over and across them. He had bright red chest scales that rivaled her red stripes in brightness and slate gray eyes. He was grinning at her.

"Never seen you 'round here before. Whats your name?" He asked.

That was a shock, to say the least. Most didn't want anything to do with her, and here this drake was, asking for her name with a grin. "Your one to talk," She bit out, "Iea have been here since Iea hatched. Your the one who's not been seen before."

"Hah! Nice to meet you too. Now can I have your name?"

For several moments she just stared at him. What on Istaria was wrong with him? "...Seryan," She finally sighed, "my name is Seryan."

"Heh, sounds like a boy's name to me!" He chuckled.

Seryan glared at him and stood up. She only went up to his chin, though he was a pretty big hatchling, so she tried to not let it bother her. "Iea am female, thank you very much." She growled.

"Well someone's got a temper." He stated. Her eyes narrowed.

"Watch what you say or your bound to loose a limb or two." She countered. That, somehow, made his grin widen.

"I'd like to see you try, Peppermint."

"That's it!" She snapped and tackled him. She could admit that she could be a bit of a hot-head, but she wasn't stupid. She knew how to control her temper when she actually wanted to.

This wasn't one of those times.

She dug her claws into the drake's neck, her teeth gripping one of his curved horns. He was laughing, though at the same time trying to shake her off. Seryan managed to get a hold of the arm of his wing with one of her back claws right as he went to try and hit her with it. Unfortunately, he was stronger than Seryan anticipated, and he managed to dig the tip of the claw on his wing thumb into her shoulder.

Rumbling out a hiss, Seryan released him and pushed off of his shoulder with her hind legs, leaving some sizable scratch marks with her claws. She landed a few feet away. The puncture wound on her shoulder stung and was starting to bleed, but it wasn't all that deep. She frowned at him as he turned, crouched, and grinned at her. “My turn!” And then, he pounced.

Seryan may have been fast, but the drake had the upper hand, in both strength and size.

They both hit the ground, unfortunately tumbling down the hill that the shrine was placed on top of in a heap of differently colored scales and limbs. Seryan had the great discomfort of being stuck underneath the larger, and heavier dragon.

She had bit her tongue during the fall, and it throbbed painfully, though she hadn't broken skin. A dragon, who breathed things like fire, and acid once they got the right training amongst other things, had to have had a thickly-skinned tongue, naturally. Else they would not have a tongue at all. Unfortunately that didn't help the the pain department. She huffed and grumbled, her speech slightly garbled due to her throbbing oral-appendage.

“Wha' on Istara's wron' with yah?!” She snapped, hr voice in a notably higher pitch. The drake couldn't seem to stop the peals of laughter escaping his infuriating mouth.

“B-bit yer tongue, I'd think?” He managed out, only quieting down for a moment before he erupted in his loud, throaty laughter that irritated Seryan to no end. Unfortunately, his irritating laugh was also very, very contagious.

They started as small, short tremors in her chest, before the small sounds started escaping her mouth. It didn't take long for the short, tight giggles to turn into righteous laughter that hurt her sides and made her eyes water.

It took a long while for both of them to calm down. The drake hadn't bothered to move, seeming too comfortable crushing her under his weight.

“Off,” Seryan sighed, “Off, get off!” She finally shoved him off with her front claws, heaving out a breath at the feeling of air in her lungs again.

She stretched her limbs, struggling to get back upright for a few seconds before she regained her balance. “The hell's wrong with you?” She asked, staring at him with wide, hazel eyes.

“Nothing, last time I checked,” He stated, hauling himself back to his feet. “Name's Taerin, by the way.”

She snorted slightly, a small puff of smoke leaving her mouth. “Taerin?” She asked. “Odd.”

He tilted his head, baring his teeth in a grin. “Says the peppermint.” That only made Seryan sigh and shake her head. “Odd indeed.”

And with that, she walked past him, only pausing to glance over her shoulder. “It was... nice meeting you, Taerin.”

She then continued back on her trek towards the fountain, set on relaxing for the rest of the day even if it killed her. She didn't notice that Taerin stared after her long after she had disappeared over the hill.