[CC] Meeth: Prestige

Part 1 - Mercenary

The mechant train trundled slowly through the open plains, barely anything for miles around; the wind cold and brisk as they slowly made their way to the city west of the town; pacing besides them with ease the purple avian dragon kept a careful eye out, and he wasn't the only one, far above the train; a dark form circled, his sharp gaze keeping watch fo any signs of trouble..... for this was the third merchant train to head out this way; the other two having been raided and destroyed, long before they made it to the safety of the citys patrols. Meeth reined Zeke in, slipping back to shake her head, much to the relief of the merhant leader, before returning to the outer permiter, Zeke's whistling happily as he worked, his strength and endurance continiuing to increase the more work he did. Above, Whisper sent a myriad of images, nothing out of the ordinary, but some deer... and he was hungry.

Still... it was too quiet, years of training and strategy swarmed as she nudged Zeke further out.... while it was true there was no where to hide in the open plains..... except in plain sight...... Zeke flared his crest, and tensed as he felt his rider do just that, but he continued to whistle as if nothing was wrong.... and Whisper relayed that the herd was isolated and on alert, with no water or greenery nearby, as if they were spooked.

A slight gust of wind flared her cloak.... and beyond, the earth fluttered... just slighty, but it was out of place enough that Meeth spotted it, her mind calculating the best course of action, the train was not yet witihin easy striking distance... and it was likely surprise that gave them the advantage. Reaching Whisper through her bond, she told him what to look for, even as her and Zeke drew closer.... taking the risk that they may attack her before the winged dragon could find any other 'pockets. Still, if they did lash out at here, she was not at the disadvantage that it seemed.

Meeth tightened her wings below the cloak as she neared the 'hidden' raiders, far above her she felt Whisper ready himself, he'd spotted another group, this one the same distance that these were from the caravan, perfect for a pincer attack. She leaned forward ever so slightly and Zeke surged, crest flat and his whistling non existant, Meeth leaned close, leaving the initial attack for the earth hybrid; in front of her, the raiders yelled, eaping to meet her, the first several knocked back as Zeke barreled through them, hunting one or two down and causing confusion, at that point a scream rippled through the air, as Whisper dove, a warning to the caravan and a cry of battle. Trusting the dark dragon, Meeth leapt from Zeke's back, her sword materilising and she struck at the those nearest her, even as Zeke lashed out.

Whisper plummeted, he had no worry that Meeth would be in trouble, the slight gleam of her sword glinting from this distance, his focus was on the pests hiding, he cared little for anyone other than his rider, even the caravan trundling along was not his worry.... but it was a job his rider had taken, and that was enough for him, Unlike Zeke, he didn't lash out with his physical body, instead he pulled the shadows, striking at those hidden... so focused on the caravan, that they failed to look upwards, the hunt was on... and he would suceed.

It didn't take long, the majority running... though a few lay where they'd fallen, food for the scavengers; Meeth pulled Zeke next to the leader of the caravan. "Both groups have been taken out." She relayed, though she'd continue to escort them to the city. The leader grinned. "Thank you." Above Whisper continued to circle, his hunger abated, for he'd taken out a deer as had Zeke after rampaging through the raiders. Meeth nodded, before urging Zeke to return to his scouting; though she didn't accept these type of jobs very often anymore, for larger ones like this she made an exception... and she felt it was her duty to clear off any remaining raiders or bandits in the area, afterall, many had once made their home in the very Fort that was now hers; and... she felt responsible for the settlement and its people; and it never hurt to improve relationships with a nearby settlement; experiance had taught her that such things were beneficial in the long run. She returned her attention to the plain in front of her, and to the city that was now visible.

Zeke whistled, his crest raised once more, for he'd spotted the massive walls of the city that signalled the end of the job... which meant he could play, though.. he did enjoy bowling over raiders and bandits, they all made the same mistake, and took him for a wind dragon... He felt Meeth stroke his neck, praise for a job well done, as above Whisper screamed again, this time in triumph and pride....

WC: 857

--

Part 2 - Blacksmith

The forge glowed, the embers burning gently, a soft glow in the darkened fort; most of the inhabitants were asleep, beneath the watchful gaze of the winged dragons that soared far above then; not all were asleep though, Meeth checked the ores and materials that she needed, next to her Enderia pored over the sketch her rider had concocted, the small dragon having a project of her own, but she'd been patient, waiting until Meeth had a few orders, she'd felt bad getting the forged fired up for such a small reason. "That should do, Riva." Meeth said, looking at the second dragon, he towered over her and was a recent addition, though much like Nyx, he didn't need a rider to survive, something Meeth had only just realised about the dragons, most dragons needed a rider to survive, the exceptions were those such as Nyx and Riva, a mutation of sorts... the opposite to the mutation Enderia had. Even now she was still learning about them.

Above them the raven watched, the black avian in an alcove above; it was warm as a small breeze flitered through, enough to keep the corvid at a reasonable temperature. It often lurked around the forge, for once everything was done, it could often find small things to collect.

The ocean hybrid eased off the bellows, of all the dragons, only Enderia and Riva had shown a true interest in the forge, and, they were the only ones suited; she knew she could draft any of the others in to help, but they each had their own skills; Riva's size and strength meant it was easier for him to manage the bellows, while Enderia helped with the finer smithing, her nimble claws (and magic) helped with smaller, more intricate details. Leaving the bellows for a moment, the quiet dragon walked over, careful that the scythed wings on his hims caught nothing, Meeth knew how sharp they were, a weapon in their own right; following her directions he helped move the larger crates of ores, so they were within easy reach.

Meeth choose the first chunks with care, checking for the more 'pure' ones, and then getting both dragons to check it over, their sense for things like this far better than hers. Her reputation in the nearby town as a blacksmith was slowly growing, though she knew not to take on more than she could handle, one of the reasons she was glad for Riva's presence; her priority still was 'working' blacksmithing, such as repairs or reforging of tools, though in the quiter periods she did take on more aesthetic work, it did pay better. Today though, she was forging replacement tools for the miners; having come to an arrangement with them, she'd repair or replace their axes and picks for a much cheaper price, in return they'd bring her samples of the ores and other minerals they found. So far the agreement was working in both their favors.

The first several sections were completed by the time the sun rose, the heat of the forge sweltering as the hearth blazed, the three working together to maintain the temperature needed to make the most durable of tools, finally, the last of them lay cooling on the bench nearby, her wings flared in an attempt to cool herself, even the draft from outside barely cooling her down. "Go on Enderia." Meeth said softly, letting the small dragon take over; with such care, the dragoness collected her materials, and softly asked Riva to cool the embers somewhat, for she was using softer materials than Meeth had for the tools; gold, silver and another dark ore that none of them knew the name off; then slowly she placed them into the hearth, using her magic to keep an eye on them, happy, she got Meeth to remove them, and then she wove her magic, the silver hue encompassing the molten ore, weaving and binding it into a large 'band', satisfied, Meeth dunked it in the water, cooling it and solidifying it. as it cooled, the woven colors glinted in the flickering embers, as Enderia pulled it out. "It looks good." Riva commented, kneeling down to peer at the band. Enderia smiled pressing in thanks. "Do you think he'll like it?" She asked as Meeth opened the doors, the cool air circulating in the forge, the embers cooling, becoming dormant. She nodded, for the band was a gift to the dragon that occasionally lurked in the Fort's Hot Springs... who Nyx swore was courting Enderia, not that Meeth had pried into that very much. "Yes." She said softly, much to Enderia's delight. All in all, it had been a productive morning, and she thanke both dragons for their help; eventually she may even be able to leave the two to do smaller repair jobs. Folding her wings tight, she checked over the forge, satisfied it was a stage where it could be left, at least long enough for them to get some food.

WC: 836

--

Part 3 - Trainer

The moon and stars glittered down on the fort, the wind warm and gentle despite the time of night it was, the shadows long and inviting, though most of the Fort was asleep. "Pull." A patient voice sounded, the tone stern. The black, long wyrm like dragon simply stared at Meeth, its eyes blinking at the order as it stood, ropes carefull looped around its body, the 3 pairs of limbs on the ground, a faint black cloud escaping from its body, at length the two stared at one another, before Void's jaws opened in a grin, sitting back on his haunches, the hand tail waving at her.... while the other tail slowly bit through the ropes connecting Void to the boulder. From the shadows a chuckles sounded, the dragoness stretching, laughing agan as Meeth ignored her. Void lunged as soon as the rope was bitten, arms spread wide as if to hug Meeth. The woment narrowed her eyes, before folding her arms and turning her head to look at Nyx, completetly ignoring Void, the dragon stumbling to a stop, puzzled.... his rider had never ignored him before; inching round her slowly he did his best to get her attention, but nothing... looking at the larger dragoness he hissed a question... but Nyx also ignored him.

Nyx found Void amusing,the youngster so friendly and affectionate that he was more akin to canine, still she knew how important is was for him to be trained, he was simply to big to be allowed to 'run free', and Meeth had been working with Void for several days now with no progress, even getting Zeke to show Void hadn't helped. But this.... this would work. Meeth continued to ignore Void, she'd tried the normal methods that seemed to work for most dragons, and nothing.... but she could feel the confusion through her bond with Void, he was upset and confused as to why she was ignoring him; though she knew she couldn't keep it up for long, soon he'd forget the training completely....

Void sat back, whining and starting at black clad back of his rider, not getting a response, he looked around for a way to get her to look at him, his gaze landing on the large boulder that just sat there, the ropes loose around it. He hesitated..... and sidled over to it, the companion on his tail spotting Meeth turn slightly to watch him, taking hold of the ropes with his first pair of legs, be began to pull the boulder, slowly it gave way... and his limbs shook before it had moved very far, tired he let it go, sitting back as Meeth approached, Nyx trailing behind her. "Good." Meeth said, lifting a hand to pet Voids head.... and causing Nyx to laugh as Meeth was pulled into a Void hug, "He still needs a lot of work." Nyx commented, as Meeth extracated herself. "Yes." she replied as Void loped off. "But its a start." And... it was good experiance shood she train anothers dragon, not something she'd done so far, but there was an oppurtunity in the future. "Well, i say we call it a night." Nyx said, placing her claw on Meeth's shoulder, before slinking of towards the fort, Void's tail vanishing from view. Meeth flared her wings underneath the cloak, the warm night air soothing, she didn't immediately follow her dragons, but looked up, staring at the star studded sky above, even now it took her a while to remember she wasn't home, the stars here so different, and yet, they provided the same sense of peace. "You coming." A voice sounded from beyond, Nyx, her eye glinting back in the darkness; with slow movement she set off, the faint light from the fort a welcome sight.

WC: 633

-

Total WC: 2326