{TSS} A Tailor Hmm? - RP Log

Aeryn knelt among the leaves under the broken and singed canopy. Acid had rained down upon the land not more than a week before, leaving the forest a shadow of it's former glory. Rustling the sparse leaves as she shifted through the undergrowth, looking for the small leather pouch of buttons that just fell out of her bag. With a small sound of triumph, she found it and stood up, putting it back in its place before continuing on her walk.

The long, thin form of Erudraith curled among the trees, moving slowly as he roved the trees, nostrils flaring, searching for something edible. With a low rumble deep in his damaged chest, he folded tattered wings close to his sides and continued on his way. His breath rattled between his dull teeth, result of long ago inflicted wounds. His long tail dragged along the ground, a great furrow following him as he went.

After a few moments Aeryn heard rattling noise, accompanied by a rumble and the crunching of undergrowth. A large, pale shape appeared far to her right, and the bird animen froze like a squirrel, staring long and hard at the steadily growing shape. Panic caught in Aeryn's chest, a dragon! she thought, taking a few hasty steps back. A few twigs snapped under her feet, causing her to let out a strangled noise. Here she was, a flightless bird caught in the wilderness at the mercy of a strange dragon. Goodie.

Eru slowed as he sensed the presence of someone nearby. He lifted his head from the ground and sniffed, nostrils flaring as he did so. He pulled his front end up a bit, front limbs folding out to support himself. His wings unfolded as well and spread out across the ground, also pulling their weight in keeping him upright, though they shuddered with the weight of the task. His eyes were small and ice blue, sunken and surrounded by sleep deprived purplish shadows. pink scars burrowed through his flesh, pulling at his face, throat and chest. His jaw was kicked at an angle, giving him a regal but clearly beaten air.

After a moment, he spoke, voice rumbling out in a mental wave to whoever was near. "WHo are you?" he rumbled. His voice was hoarse and crackled with age and disuse. (he sounds like Charles Dance mixed with Smaug). His long tail curled near his side, wings spread out to hide his bony, skeletal frame. He didn't want a newcomer to see his weakness so soon.

As the large dragon became aware of her presence, Aeryn nearly fell over. Tattered wings unfurled, and the dragon seemed to grow larger. Then he spoke, and Aeryn almost lost it, stumbling backwards and landing on her butt. "A-Aeryn Va-Valoran," she stammered, hardly more than a whisper, taking another breath, she repeated it, louder this time, and the fear in her voice was more apparent. Her feathers ruffled as she gripped the tree next to her in attempts to make her unsteady legs hold her as she stood. She had little chance of getting away, should the pale dragon be hostile, but it would be worth a shot if that was the case...

A low rumble thrummed through his chest. "mmm.... it seems i have frightened you" he said, able to hear the fast scared thrum of her heart. "I apologize, i am nothing to fear" he said, sliding a bit closer to hear. His clawed hands were large, but extremely thin and knobbed, with swollen painful knuckles and long dull claws.

"I am Erudraith, it is a pleasure to meet you Aeryn Valoran" he said calmly, resting his head back on the ground. Small lumps around the back of his head gave the impresson of an impressive mantle ofspikes that had long since worn away or broken off. His chest was terribly scarred, she could see that past the translucent wing membranes that hid mostt of hiself from her. That scarred chest heaved as he spoke, breathing very obviously an issue. His eyes, while blue and chilly, were soft and friendly, and he didnt seem to be trying to be threatening at all.

Aeryn barely relaxed, still hanging onto the tree with one hand. the hem of her dress was ripped slightly from her stumble. "Nice to meet you," She managed, her heart still threatening to give out with how fast it beat. Sucking in a breath, she attempted to calm herself. "I'm glad you're .. friendly, I fear I wouldn't have gotten very far." She murmured, attempting a faint smile."And, please, call me Aeryn. I'm a tailor in the village nearby." The bird animen said, trying to be courteous.

Eru gave a bit of a dry laugh that rattled thorugh his chest. He lowered himself to the ground with a sigh, giving himself a rest. "A tailor hm?" he asked, his pale eyes locked on hers, seeming genuinely interested. His pale tongue flashed out to like his lips idly, not a threat. He folded his wings slightly, knowing she wasnt a threat to him even if she saw how bad a shape he was in.

Upon seeing the pale dragon, Erudraith, relax, Aeryn found it much easier to breath. "A tailor indeed. Not to boast, but I've been well credited by many as a fine tailor." She replied, setting herself onto a root of the tree next to her. "When I was a little girl I remember when a star fell from the sky, and then after that stories of dragons. Despite how long I've lived, which I admit isn't especially long, I've never met or seen one." Aeryn said, rather absent mindedly. "If someone had told me yesterday that I would meet a dragon today, I would have scarcely believed them." A small laugh escaped her beak at that.

"well, i must say there seem to be more and more of my kind runnign around" he rumbled. "im rather surprising that you havent seen one of us yet" he said, pausing to catch his breath. The ancient dragon coughed several times, hard ugly sounds rattling dangerously in his chest. They didn't sound good. His wings folded a bt further, revealing the rest of him. He was dreadfully thin, bones pressing against his worn, scaly hide. It became relatively clear that he was unwell, though  in what way was yet to be known.

"I tend to keep to my tailor shop most days, I admit." Aeryn replied, letting out a tiny sigh. As he coughed, Aeryn looked closer at Erudraith, her brow furrowed slightly. After a moment she decided not to comment, as most wouldn't appreciate a stranger pointing out that there's something very obviously wrong. "I'm not exactly the most outgoing of people." She said, her face falling. It didn't take long for her to regain her posture, though.

"oh goodness knows im not terribly sociable myself" he said with a gentle smile. He sighed and fell silent, terrible at small talk yet unwilling to move. His nostrils flared, frost forming along the edges of his nostrils. It seemed he was a frost dragon, it made sense, given his pale colour and blue eyes.

Aeryn's hands had started to fidget, so she glanced at her bag and fished out a swatch of fabric, a needle and a spool of thread. "Forgive me, I'm not exactly the most talkative of people." She said after a moment, threading her needle, a sad smile hung on her face. After a moment of absent minded stitching, she looked back up to Erudraith. "I mean do not mean to pry, but pray tell, what sadness dampens your features?" Aeryn asked cautiously.

"Who ever said I was sad?" he asked. He tilted his gigantic head and flared his nostrils once more, a suppressed cough slipping through them. He did have an inkling of sadness about him, a lonely abandonment lingering around the edges, but he didnt much like showing that to others.

Aeryn should have known better than to ask, and his reaction was no more than she expected. "It takes one to know one, I think they say." She answered, dropping her gaze back to her fabric. "My sincerest apologies." She added, pushing the needle through the fabric, then pulling it through in another spot, then repeating this a few times, making more stitches.

"mmm... its allright, no need for apologies" he said calmly, his lowered torso rolling to one side, revealing a myriad of long, deep ugly scars that ran along his underside, making it clear he'd seen many battles in his time. His ribcage expanded and collapsed with his breaths, which seemed labored and uneasy. He folded his wing back over his side, hiding his much too thin ribs once more. He allowed pale blue eyes to close, and though he remained awake and aware, he relaxed, settling into the earth and leaves.

Stitch, stitch, stitch. Aeryn let out a quiet yawn, raising one hand to cover her mouth. The fabric was a shade sky blue, the thread deep purple. Little designs had been made out of Aeryn's random stitching. Letting out a sigh, she glanced back up from her work for a moment, looking over Erudraith's very relaxed appearance before again returning to her stitching. "I said it takes one to know one, didn't I? Perhaps I'll elaborate on that..." she murmured. "I don't believe I've told anyone about my life in the past hundred years or more." A tiny laugh escaped her beak. "Perhaps it's because no one is ever very interested in a tailors life. All they ever want is the button on their shirt to be sewn back on, or the holes in their pants or socks to be repaired." She said, a somewhat bitter note underlaid her words.

"mmm.... i suppose your life is short... well compared to mine at least... isnt it?" he asked, eyes still closed, still relaxed as a hound. He swiped his tongue across his teeth and exhaled with a slight yawn, tail curling.

"Short indeed." Aeryn sighed "At least I enjoy my work, yes? That makes it better." Thinking back to her mother, she frowned a tiny frown, barely noticeable. She missed her family. It had been so long since she'd seen them. Although it must have been far longer for Erudraith, as he was far older than she. "I used to be married, once upon a time..." she murmured. Stitch, stitch, stitch. Then she faltered, remembering the handsome man clearly. Pricking a finger, she sucked in a breath. A bead of blood formed on where she'd poked, and she squeezed her eyes shut from the memories.

"mmm, ive never had a "marriage" then again thats not something we dragons do. Though... i did have a rider once" he rumbled quietly. He coudlnt remember his rider as well as hed like. Everything before waking from the stone sleep was ragged and patchy and hazed over. "i suppose missing him is much like missing another." he said, pursing his lips slightly.

"My husband was a very handsome man. But I suppose one can never trust handsome men, can they?" Aeryn's bitter remark was punctuated with her sad smile returning. "Here I am, telling someone whom I've just met, things I haven't told anyone in many, many years..." Sighing slightly while the bird animen shook her head ever so slightly. "I can sympathize only that I miss my mother, as I do not miss my husband, I'm afraid."

Erudraith chuckled, though the chuckle didnt last long before descending into a round of hard, wet coughs. He was certainly unwell, because this was definitely not normal for dragons, or for any other creature for that matter. His long tail curled in agitation and whipped around a bit in displeasure.

After the dragon's coughing faded, Aeryn placed the fabric, needle, and thread back into her bag, before turning back to Erudraith. Taking a breath, she looked hard at him before speaking; "I hate to point out the obvious here, but you sound very unwell. Is there anything that I could do to help you?" Aeryn asked, her brow furrowed slightly in worry.

"are you a magician?" he asked her, looking rather tired. "if so... yes, if not, im afraid not" he said, even his mental voice was cracking. He sounded tired too, nearly downright exhausted. Whatever this was it was kicking his ass. His breaths were more ragged than before, but slowly evening out again.

"There are healers in the Vanguard, the faction I'm a part of. You could visit one of them?" Aeryn said, laying her hands across her lap. She would not be surprised if the old dragon declined.

Erudraith let out a shuddering breath. "Ive already spoken with Ronan" he said calmly. "I have stone, or rather gravel inside my right lung, its not like one can just pull it out" he said, nostrils flaring as he curled his tail around himself.

Aeryn sighed, "I'm sorry, I suppose. I'm not exactly sure what to say here." The bird animen looked sympathetic for a while. "I guess there's not much one can do, then." She murmured, breathing in deeply, "If you would like, I could tell you about my life. Many of my choices haven't been the best, and I'm not proud of my past, but if you would like to hear, I wouldn't mind telling you."

"well, if youd like to share, i can hear. I apologize beforehand if i happen to doze off. Its not because you're boring." he rumbled, settling in to listen to her.

"Very well then," Aeryn replied, shutting her eyes for a moment before she began to tell her story. "I was born in a small, rather uneventful village. I was only six years old when the star fell, which I admit was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me at the time. After that, I heard whispers of dragons, but never were there any sightings or any of the sort near my village. After that, everything went back to it's uneventful ways." The bird animen laughed slightly at that. "I grew into a young woman, and I began to work at my mothers shop, I loved working with fabric, watching how it changed and shaped with how you sewed it." A smile lit up Aeryn's features as she said that. "My mother gave me my sewing scissors, which have been in my mothers family for generations. More years passed by, and a young man began to come into the shop weekly. He would say that he needed something on his clothing fixed each time, an embarrassed smile would light up is handsome features. Finally one day I asked him why he came in so often. He told me that he came in so much because I was 'the most beautiful woman he had ever met'." Aeryn practically spat the last sentence. "I foolishly believed him, falling head over heels for the young handsome man. Within months of that day we married, but despite having a 'wonderful woman' waiting at home, he was sickeningly unfaithful."

Erudraith snorted as she began to mention this fellow, and though his eyes were closed, his eyebrows lowered slightly and he shifted his shoulders. "go on" he rumbled, his dep bass voice rumbling as he spoke.

Aeryn took in a deep breath, "The first day I saw him with a girl, she was very pretty, her hair all pinned up in a pretty way, wearing colorful garments, and he was being very friendly.. after a few days the village w-was rather uneasy, I suppose.." The look on Aeryn's face finally showed the true sadness and guilt that she held. She shook her head slightly. "I- a few days after, maybe a week or two after I saw him again, different girl this time. I remembered her then because I had tailored her pink dress... another few days passed, and the village was even more unsettled.. Another week after, he was with a younger girl than usual. He'd bought her a necklace." Aeryn paused again, "I-- I'm not proud of what I did. I made bad choices..." an unsteady breath fuelled her next words "The afternoon after that, I found my husband one day in the town. I'd pinned up my hair the way that the first girl had, I'd made myself a pink dress, styled the way the second girls was, and I had a small necklace on. When he saw me-- when he saw me, he didn't even recognize me, it seemed. He said 'Nice to meet you'" A pause. "I.. it took a few days for me to realize what I'd done. I- I killed those g-girls, my husband-" Aeryn cracked and she sobbed into her hands. She remembered finally why she never told anyone about her past.

"you mean you murdered your cheating husband?" he rumbled, not moving. "my goodness killing... ugh its nevermind." he said, shifting his shoulders.

Aeryn swayed for a moment. "It's- it's not like I c-can do anything about it! Don't you think I wish that I could? I'm not p-proud of what I did, I wish I hadn't d-done it!" stuttering through her fresh tears, Aeryn was speaking in a loud whisper, shaking her head in a slight hysteria, her normally calm self forgotten. She was overreacting, but she'd exposed herself and the response was a somewhat disgusted reaction, what was to be expected? Holding tightly to her bag and it's items she swung her feet around and fled in the direction of town. What was expected of her? To stay and defend her awful choices? To defend what she wished she had not done? Nay, she couldn't and wouldn't if given the choice. So here she was, running from the pale form of Erudraith.

Eru let her go, too tired to follow. He rumbled and laid his chin on his claws. She'd been scared of him already, it was likely best he didnt pursue her and scare her further.