-A Rare Occurance-(Orlonox, Artemisia)

[flybabyfly2010]

Artemisia
Shame on me, to need release.

She didn’t want to shake her eyes from his. Those eyes…so green, but it wasn’t that, he wasn’t human in those eyes, she could feel a reptile stir in those eyes. She tried to pull her eyes from his, but she was so fascinated by him. She could hear the rumbling thunder behind her, or the sound of a cart pulled by a large draft horse plopping on by, or the creaking of the pub door as it opened and drunken men tumbled out, laughing and drowning their words with slurs and drunken gurgles. She opened her mouth to let out a sigh, but she couldn’t breath. Her emotions were spinning around her, she wished so could say something, but…she just couldn’t bring words to her mouth, and even if she did, there would be no hope for her to speak without sounding a little drunk. You can do this, just let him love you….just relax She tried to convince herself to relax, but that only made her muscle more tense, she froze. She gazed into his eyes. Suddenly, everything stopped, he stopped and so did the world, all she could see where his eyes. She had never felt so strange, so alien. She didn’t know this man’s name, yet she would let him hold her, in his arms. She struggled to break free of the trance. Eventually she did.

It was to late when she did, her knee’s felt like they were going to buckle, it wouldn’t surprise her. She watched him move closer, she almost expected herself to move a step back, and leave the gap between them, but she ignored her natural instincts. Her hand fluttered for her sword, but instead she brushed her hair out of her face. Her hand, she had forgotten about it, looking down she could see that the bandage she had managed was blood soaked and inefficient. She watched as his hand turned into a claw, she would expect to be horrified, but she found it rather amazing, and beautiful. She watched him take a scrap from his robe, and bandage her hand, the whole time she kept her eyes on his. When he finished, she looked down. She couldn’t bring herself to thank him, but she knew that somehow he knew that she was thankful. She gave him a small smile. She listened to him talk, but she didn’t reply. She just gave him a small smile, and gazed at him with kind eyes.

She was fully aware of his steps closer to her, but she didn’t step away from him, she let him come closer to her. She still had not taken her eyes from his, she was drawn in by the green reptile-like color of his eyes. She let him touch her face, she knew it was in a romantic way, he was not mocking her anymore. She opened her mouth slightly, and nodded slowly. No doubt an invitation. She felt the passion concealed within the kiss, and realized that he was as mixed with emotions as she was. She didn’t want to pull back. She slid her hands up her chest, and rested them on his shoulders, she let him pull her in closer. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, even though it was a hot day she found the heat comforting. She could no longer feel her bleeding hand, she couldn’t barely feel anything.

[Desperanza]

The dragon let his hands rest at her hips, his hold was solid but gentle. He would not force her, if this was something she did not want and yet he wanted her to want this. He didn’t want to put himself forward only to suffer later for letting himself get closer to a human but the further he got, the further in he became and as he leaned in further, broadening the kiss the tension began to leave his muscles and his body relaxed. This all felt so effortless now as his right hand played slowly along her hip and along her back to cradle the back of her neck gently, worrying that he might hurt her. He was a dragon, and she was a human. He worried that for some reason even in human form he would hurt her by accident. When finally he surfaced for air, he smiled, his worries leaking away slowly as he gazed down at her thoughtfully. His arms came to wrap around her as he held her against himself, his breaths swift and steady now as his eyes scanned her features, his heart racing in his chest and causing him to take a bit of a gasp. He took a slight breath and before he knew it, he gathered her into his arms and lifted her, an arm behind her back and his other supporting her legs as he picked her up to cradle her gently against his chest with a grin. His green eyes sparkled radiantly as he gazed at the woman and carried her forward among the shadows. He came to lean his back against the brick wall of a building, lowering her gently to her feet though his arms circled her still. Sighing softly, the dragon gazed into the brunette features of the woman before himself, “My name is Orlonox. I am a dragon and I am currently one hundred and twenty six years old which is a hell of a lot older then you are and not even the same species technically but the point of the matter is that for some reason you’ve got my brain in knots, and my heart strange enough and for some reason I don’t want to leave you here. I worry that you will leave this place and then I will never be able to find you again. This town is small and I have wandered all over Murate but still, you are the one human in the entire world that I have not considered eating since I met you which is strange, for me. You are indeed a beautiful creature madam that is something that I cannot lie about.” He muttered, feeling as if words were rather insignificant at the moment but he also realized that for most humans it was in reality rather significant and helped them understand things at times that dragons would otherwise use actions to show and now, he rather hoped that she understood now as he looked into her eyes. There were emotions stirring within him that he did not understand and he wanted the chance to let them blossom and he wanted her help to help him understand them.

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[flybabyfly2010]

ARTEMISIA
SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE THROW MY HANDS UP IN THE AIR,
BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I CAN COUN’T ON YOU,
YOU’VE GOT TO LOVE.

She knew she should have been afraid, but something told her that this Dragon wasn’t interested in her as a snack. She was afraid of the power that he was struggling to control, she could easily see that he was trying to conceal it, as not to hurt her. In a sense, she would have been fine if they split their ways, but deep down in her stomach, or was that her soul? She knew that she could possibly find herself loving him, living by his side. Artemisia didn’t want anything from this man anymore, she just wanted to share. Which is a lot for Artemisia, she never shared. As the kiss suddenly came to an abrupt halt, she realized how dying for breath she was, her lungs felt as if they had shriveled up. She gasped for a breath, she could feel his warm breath down her neck, it was somewhat comforting. The looked into his eyes, something about him…wasn’t human, well, she knew he was a dragon, but the way he kissed her…he didn’t play human well. Artemisia liked that he wasn’t trying to hard to be human, he was still himself, she felt as if she knew his dragon friend, and she rather liked that.
Artemisia didn’t struggle or pull back as he carried her. A slow, graceful smile developed on to her face. She realized that she liked this man very much, he sparked her interests. She cocked her head slightly looked into his eyes. He put her down, somehow she felt as she still belonged in his arms, she couldn’t say anything, but she wanted to, she wanted to ask him what she was suppose to feel. Artemisia knew one thing for sure, if this Dragon decided to pull anything funny, no matter how close they got, she would watch her back at all times. Something deep inside her tried to tell her that she could trust him, and she did…almost. She drew a breath in, “ I’m Artemisia. I’m nineteen years old.” She looked back at him with almost pleading eyes, she wasn’t completely sure how he would react to that. No doubt she didn’t look her age, she was curvy and her womanly features were rather…abundant, so one might think she was older. “My mother named me Chloe when I was a child, but my brother changed it when I was younger.” Suddenly, staying with Orlonox, didn’t seem like such a crime. She had just told him something she had never told anyone before. She remembered being in love once, she had been used, and he paid for it. She looked into Orlonox’s brilliantly green eyes, and asked him telepathically Will you betray me? she knew he couldn’t hear her, but she didn’t think she could open her mouth and conjure the words. She tried to look away from his eyes for the umpt-teenth time, but somehow they were just glued to his. She was going to have to get used to this. “Then…maybe you shouldn’t leave me.” She didn’t want to say that she would be lost without him, that’s wasn’t true, she could fend for herself, but she could see live being so much better if he would share it with her. She swallowed, she wasn’t sure if her last comment was to forward, but then again, she was almost sure it was what he wanted to hear.

Words: 622 , skimpy post.
Lyrics: FLORANCE AND THE MACHINE. ( :
Colors:Wordsthoughts
OCC- Oh no, Artemisia is falling in looooove.

[Desperanza]

The dragon held the fellow woman’s gaze. His heart was racing wildly within his chest and casting a new radiating heat to flood his veins. He inhaled slowly to keep himself steady, feeling a roil deep within himself, an aching desire and need to keep her around. It was something that he had only held for one thing and that happened to be his horde of treasure that was hidden at the bottom of his swamp. He was feeling a strange connection with this female and it was only described in human words that he had yet to know or understand. Instead, he remained silent as she spoke, his green eyes glittering softly as the reptilian orbs shifted, giving a rather striking glance as he held her gaze now, nodding slowly to her in reply as his fingers brushed over her brunette hair to stroke the back of her neck thoughtfully for a moment, “Hmm, such a young human.” He murmured softly with a pang of worry. He felt a bundle of fear beginning to fill in his system as he thought this over. He was nervous that perhaps the next thing that she would be thinking or saying would be that she was too young. That she was not of his kind and that she had yet to live her life. What was he thinking, asking a human woman to stay with him? Asking her to chance it and let their feelings grow, perhaps into love that they could share with one another. A love between a human and a dragon now that seemed rather unreal. It was indeed unheard of and yet he was certain that he would be happy to try it. He too had a human form and so he could come to her level, he could shift into this body that basically matched her own. He had two arms and two legs, he had hair and flesh and a set of organs with the skin that layered his skeletal structure. This indeed could help them on the same level. This body felt small, tiny and weak compared to his natural form and though hi s body was still layered with muscle and his eyes were never changing, he was still himself.

Taking a deep breath, the dragon gathered her within his arms once more to pull her close, sighing softly as his green eyes fluttered closed for a moment and his head lowered, brushing gentle kisses along her neck for a moment as he simply let his thoughts trail his mind and he listened to her silently and after a few moments, he came to meet her gaze once again. Nodding thoughtfully, he smiled slightly, “Chloe.” He muttered gently to her with a spark of interest within his gaze now. “What is it that you would like me to call you? Tell me what I shall call you.” He stated almost eagerly. He was eager to figure her out, to find out how she ticked and how the human ways worked. He was eager as to how such strong emotions had bridged within himself for her so quickly and yet he didn’t really want to wait and ponder. He simply knew that here he stood with these wild emotions rolling through him and an unquenchable urge to keep her with him. Her last words caught him off guard however and he offered a rather wide eyed look for a moment, coming to hold her at arm’s length for a moment as he eyed her thoughtfully this time. His green eyes seemed to hold a distant and yet shocked look all at once, pondering this thought for a few moments before finally, a grin touched his features and he nodded slowly in return as he gathered her closer again, meeting her lips with his own as he offered another brief kiss to her before he sighed, smiling once more as he gazed at her thoughtfully once more, “Are you sure about this? I am a dragon after all, I live in a cave at the swamp, a place that not many humans ever want to travel. How on earth would I care for you?” he muttered, suddenly stricken with fear. The thought occurred that within a few weeks she might shrivel away. She didn’t eat humans and creatures raw, she ate things that humans made and surely sleeping in a damp cave would be rather unappealing to her. It didn’t occur to him that it could be the other way around now as he pondered the thoughts of humans but as a dragon, he struggled.

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[flybabyfly2010]

ARTEMISIA
Tomorrow is not a mirror in when you can look into.
It’s a dream in which you invest.

Artemisia sighed. She knew the dangers of being with him. Firstly, she could hunt for herself but that could take days if he lived somewhere uninhabited.. Artemisia realized that Orlonox didn’t particularly like being in his human form, she didn’t want him to be unhappy so that he could be with her and understand her human emotions properly. It was strange, but Artemisia was rather attracted to the fact that he wasn’t human, around him she didn’t feel human either. She didn’t want him to feel as if she was needy. “Yes, you didn’t think I was so young did you?” She wished he hadn’t asked, she could detect a hint of sadness in his eyes. It would be so easy to just say yes, to live with him wouldn’t be so easy for her but she knew that she had a desire to be with him. She looked into her eyes, she reached out and touched his face. Yes he was real, her eyes turned a shade of sadness. She wished he wasn’t real, she knew she couldn’t have feelings for someone that wasn’t real.

He gathered her up in her arms. She felt a swell of happiness. She rested her head on his chest and looked up into her eyes, letting his lips gently touch hers. She looked in his eyes, she offered a small smile, but she was really lost for words. She had no way of telling him that she was confused without seeming like she needed him. She didn’t like to feel afraid, but she wanted him to comfort her. She looked deep into his eyes “You can call me Chloe. She Smiled at him “What shall I call you, then?” She wanted him to know about her, but she was afraid.

“To be truthful, I am not sure.” She looked up at him. “ Are you sure you want a human?” She smiled sadly.

OCC- Arty has to many emotions ><

[Desperanza]

Orlonox smiled patiently to the fellow woman, his eyes downcast towards her as his hands brushed gently along her back thoughtfully as he fell silent for a few long moments. He cast a glance around himself, for the first time in a while realizing where he had brought her. The alley was narrow and darker then the street but it was quiet and they happened to be the only ones in there. Satisfied, the dragon came to glance back to Artemis once more with a soft smile, nodding slowly in return as he eyed her thoughtfully before he spoke again, “I honestly don’t know. I was born a dragon by the name of Orlonox which can be a mouthful so if you can find something that is a bit less of a tongue tier then it sounds good to me.” He returned with an amused expression this time. It was the only time that he had extended such an offer and would probably be the last, as well. He stroked her back with a comforting brush of his hands once more as he thought briefly once again before muttering softly to her once again, “Chloe.” He stated thoughtfully with a smile before he nodded slowly in reply, “Chloe you shall be then.” He stated with satisfaction as his fingers smoothed the back of her shirt and he gave a slight smile, “No, I did not realize that you were quite so young but it is no matter. Surely you did not realize that I was quite so old. I do not look as old as I am.” He returned with a quiet chuckle, “I do not come across as so strange and frail looking as the human elders and dragons live quite a bit longer then you humans do.” He stated with a soft sigh, realizing that if he did let himself love her, and she to love him that eventually he would out live her. It sent a brief lance of pain through him and he decided not to think about it as he lifted a hand to stroke her cheek gently with a slight smile once more, nodding slowly in reply as he realized that quite frankly, it did not matter. He could remain with her until eventually she passed on though past that he doubted that after her there would be any means of finding another, dragon wise either. Taking a breath, the dragon sighed and his eyes drifted closed for a brief moment before he glanced back to her again as he nodded slowly in return, “No, I do not want a human, I want you.” he replied softly to her this time in return as he met her gaze once again.

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[flybabyfly2010]

ARTEMISIA
The runaway lily.

Orlonox, Orlonox, She passed the name over and over in her mind, rolling in on her tongue silently, the name suited him very well. Artemisia fiddled with her skirt waist, to distract her from his eyes. She let her eyes follow his gaze slowly, she turned her head, and for the first time realized they were in a dark, damp alley alone. Artemisia wasn’t quite sure that she trusted this dark alley in the strange, dirty city of Ohanzee, even though it was her temporary home, she hadn’t warmed up to it as she wished she could have. It was hard to love the mid-night crime, or the constant stares of criminals as one walks down an alley way between two buildings that look as if they might collapse. Artemisia would never get used to the kindness of the people in Ohanzee, they were all so generous. She smiled, she had made a small joke. Leaving Ohanzee would be the easiest thing she would ever do, and leaving it with Orlonox by her side would make it even easier for her. Artemisia wasn’t sure exactly want he was thinking, or feeling, she could only just hope that he wanted her to stay by his side, as she almost needed him. Artemisia hated that she might have to rely on him for some basic needs, but she wanted to stay with him, no matter what the cost, she stood their wishing he would feel the same. The feeling of his burning skin brushing against hers brought her a strange feeling of hope. She was only reminded of what he truly was in his eyes. Artemisia was unsure about how he would react to her past, not that her past was horrifically dark, but how would he react to her cold treatment of those who did her wrong? Orlonox had honor, however dark that honor might be, Artemisia didn’t know, he had some justice, some good in him. Artemisia was the completely opposite, she wasn’t warm like him, she was ice cold to the touch and bitter down to the bone. Artemisia didn’t know exactly how he would react to her when he truly knew her, although she was very different around him. He seemed to have a positive effect on her, which in long term could do her some good.
Artemisia bit her lip, she was so confused. Her brother had always been there for her, she didn’t have a choice of wither of not she wanted him around, he was just always there. She wasn’t used to wanting or desiring someone like Orlonox to be around her, but she knew as soon as he left her it would be like hell, she wasn’t sure if he was the same way. Artemisia realized that living with him wouldn’t be easy, and she would probably have to fend for herself most of the time, which she didn’t mind seeing as she had all these years. She knew that there was a chance that he would find a dragon like him and forget about her, but there was also the chance that they would live together happily. If he left her know she didn’t know how she would be able to go on. She would feel so utterly lost without his warmth to surround her. She liked the feeling of protection that he carried when he had his arms around her. She didn’t know if she completely trusted him yet, but she knew that she had to give it a try, she had to try to make things work. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. She listened to him talk of age, but she had no response. “I don’t want a human I want you.” She listened to his words, and repeated them in her head. This was all happening so quickly. She knew now that he at-least felt similar to how she was feeling. She sighed relieved, she looked back into his green reptilian eyes, she wasn’t afraid of them anymore.
“Tell me Orlonox, would it be wrong for me to want to be with you?” She asked slowly, looking into his eyes and searching for some invisible force of guidance and reassurance. In that moment as she stared into his eyes, she realized she had no right to be afraid anymore.

OCC- Sorry for the a lot of explaining not that much dialogue. Sorry if I made it hard to respond. Hopefully not. : D But this is fun anyways.
Words: I’m not sure lets just say 600+ maybe?

[Desperanza]

The dragon’s eyes remained on the features of the human within his grasp. The emotions that roiled within himself he could not completely understand other than the one screaming fact that he already knew, he wanted to be with her. He wanted to take her with him and protect her from the rest of the world that had somehow brought her to be the bitter and fierce woman that he had initially met. He wanted to love her fiercely and with passion that he showed only to the one that had become his true love. The dragon smiled patiently, his hands rather eager to sort through their emotions, to explore her body and to wrap her into his arms and fly away to his cavern to hide her away within his home and have his way with her. He wanted to talk to her though as well and he never just wanted to talk to anything, it was often just to torture the creature or to eat it and thus far he had felt nothing of the sort and grinned slightly as he glanced along the woman’s body for a moment before he sighed softly and let his eyelids flutter closed over his green eyes for a moment before he came to meet her gaze once again. He offered a slight smile to her but this time he had nothing to say, simply waiting for any words that would come from her and at the moment she seemed not to have many which came across as strange to him as often humans chattered incessantly and often it grew to be tiring and yet towards her, he was eager to hear anything that she had to say.

It was strange that this creature had enticed such cares out of him. He wanted to protect her and he didn’t want to leave her. He had hoped that she wouldn’t refuse his offer and would come with him. He had hoped that she would accept his offer though it had been hard to voice simply because these emotions were something that the dragon had never felt. The traveler for which he had shown kindness was also sympathy. The man had honored him and had been respectful to the dragon and so he had in turn shown kindness to Jazz when the traveler had been stuck in the wastelands, his woman ill and the two trying to escape to the beach and when the dragon had helped them escape, he had shown the first ounce of kindness he had yet to show. As he looked upon the features of Artemis, he smiled. His eyes now shifted with the vibrant shades of green still evident but his gaze held compassion and adoration for the woman. Sighing softly, he caught the sound of her words and gave a smile, nodding slowly in reply as his hands traveled down her back once more to cup her hips gently instead, “No, Chloe. I do not think that it would be wrong. The way it would be is if you saw that it would be wrong for I would not imagine forcing you to do a damn thing that you don’t want to. I want you to come with me and be with me. I want you to come because you choose to and I want you to come because you know that you can trust me. I promise that to the best of my ability I will take care of you and as soon as I figure out all these damn emotions in me, I’m sure they will eventually make sense but you’ve stuck in my heart like a burr. I don’t think it would be easy for me to get you out of my mind or my heart at this point so even if you wound up walking away and deciding that you don’t want me anymore, I think that you would still have my protection forever anyways. You’ve spoiled me, little one. You’ve given me something far more precious than my own treasure for the first time in all my life.” He muttered softly with a grin again as he looked down at her, pressing his forehead gently to her own as he brushed a soft kiss to her once again before he spoke once more, “So come, let yourself give into me, let me have you for at least a little time because I want you, Chloe. I want you.” He whispered softly to her this time.

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[flybabyfly2010]

ARTEMISIA,
Defy gravity.

Artemisia liked the way her birth name, Chloe rolled off Orlonox’s tongue. She smiled thoughtfully at him, and listened to him speak in silence. Strangely, she wasn’t afraid to go with him anymore. She didn’t fear that he would turn on her, if he did she would be ready, and although it would hurt if he left her, at least she would know that the time they spent together was pure, and real. She played with a stray piece of hair that fell down Orlonox’s face, and smiled, for the first time it was a happy smile, without sadness curled up behind it. Orlonox brought out the best in Artemisia, she knew that even if he left her, she was a changed woman. It was a short time for a woman to change so much. She twirled the stray hair around her finger, careful as not to tug on it and hurt Orlonox. She gently closed her eyes as their foreheads touched and his lips met hers, she smiled and didn’t open her eyes even when the kiss had ended. Their foreheads remained together. She licked her lips thoughtfully. “Well, maybe, you should take me with you then.” She opened her eyes and stood before him looked up at his eyes and smiled, a happy gracefully smile not one of sadness. She didn’t want him to leave her life, and that was final. She would be wherever he was, until he wanted her no more. “I am not going to lie, or keep myself from you.” She said slowly, developing the emotion-full words slowly. “I don’t want to be away from you, and it doesn’t matter to me if you are human or not.” She regained her smile and looked deep into his eyes, making sure that her next statement would be a clear one. “I couldn’t imagine myself ever wanting to leave your side, it that is alright with you.” She brushed the hair out of his face slowly, and sighed, feeling as finally she was completely whole.

[Desperanza]

Orlonox grinned, the dragon straightened a bit and gazed down at her thoughtfully as if gauging her reply to be truthful or not but he knew that there would be no other way to say it other than as plainly as she had said it. He knew that humans were not very trusting and for her to trust him so much was pleasing. He inhaled slowly before sighing softly as he grinned and nodded slowly in reply. He growled softly and yet it was no more than a purr at the moment as his fingers shifted at her hips for a moment with a grin before he glanced to the side for a brief moment with a huff. His sensitive ears were beginning to pick up a sound that he didn’t much appreciate. The clank and sharp clang of the armor of a soldier. This time when he growled, it was much more feral and irritated. His arms lifted to wrap around Chloe once again as he cast a glance to her for a brief moment before turning his head once again as he folded her within his arms and pulled her close once again, his piercing green eyes now glancing to the end of the alley.

The sounds now grew to be able to be heard by Artemisia as well and he cast a glance to her for a brief moment before sending a glance to the end of the alley as he turned to angle Chloe behind himself a bit with a huff as Murate soldier appeared at the end of the aisle. Mihlay stood there, his cold brown eyes glancing over the pair as they stood there, held together and obviously falling deeply for each other but the sight was not sweet to the soldier, it was hilarious. The soldier did not fall for any crap of this sort, for he in turn took women to his bed to rape, not to love. He had never cared for anyone and he took pleasure in the displeasure of others. Now as the soldier stared down the aisle to the pair he laughed coldly with an arched brow as he lifted the hood of his helmet to expose his face to the pair with a chuckle, “Love birds, in Ohanzee? Home to the ugliest country on earth? So romantic.” He muttered with a grin. Orlonox gave a low snarl as he angled the woman behind himself and lifted to his full height with a sigh as he stared at the soldier and folded his arms across his chest, “You have no business here, soldier.” He muttered simply with a fire in his eyes that burned fiercely for the soldier who arched a brow at the dragon and lowered a hand to wrap it around the blade of his sword.

The dragon in turn began to laugh this time as he watched the soldier reach for his sword. His laughter was cold and taunting and he inhaled slowly, feeling that familiar boil from his core from his own fire and acid and after a moment, smoke lifted into the air as he parted his lips slightly, his human teeth lengthening and becoming rather razor sharp as his skin offered a slight glimmer of onyx. His priority at the moment was to protect Chloe. He had only just found her and he rather had no plans to lose her before he even had a chance with her. He cast a glance back at her and motioned her back a bit as he glanced back to the soldier again who had frozen for a moment, confused off his rocker over the smoke that left the nostrils of the dragon, the razors that now lined his mouth. The soldier was confused for a few long moments before he finally gasped, surprised, “A dragon…” he whispered with wide eyes, suddenly struck with fear and instead of the sword, he reached for the crossbow at his back instead, his hands swiftly moving as suddenly the ally seemed to be a flurry of movement. The dragon swiveled swiftly as the crossbow was aimed and fired, reaching to tuck Chloe against himself and suddenly, he felt the sharp and piercing pain of an arrow in his upper arm to the left. A rather raucous and furious roar filled the air, causing the walls of the buildings to either side to quiver with the thunderous sound while the soldier rushed to reload another arrow as the dragon began to grow and change. The arrow had become lodged into his arm and as he shifted and grew into the true creature that he was, he rather realized that he had done it partially without meaning to and half from instinct. His fingers lengthened and the wicked claws began to extend. His muzzle elongated and his skin suddenly flashed and melted into the rock hard scales that layered his body. Quite suddenly, he was the wild and wicked dragon that he truly was and for a brief moment, he lowered his head, one piercing green eye fixing Chloe within his stare with a compassionate and apologetic glance before he touched his cheek to her own and gently released her, giving her a gently shove towards the back of the alley for her own safety before he turned to face the soldier again with a lash of his tail that sent the soldier off his feet and crashing into a wall, the sword that he had drawn sliding out into the street.

Orlonox hissed, his jaws parting as a glow began to rise from the back of his throat and the soldier screamed. Suddenly, another armor clad soldier appeared at the mouth of the alley as Mihlay climbed onto his hands and knees and crawled towards his sword while the other soldier drew his sword. Lifting one enormous paw the dragon swiped at the new soldier, rocking back towards his haunches as he lifted the other paw to pin Mihlay before he could reach his blade. As he scooped a soldier into each paw he clashed them together and tossed them to the ground before there came a low rumbled that began from within his belly and quite suddenly a jet of emerald flames burst from his mouth, sizzling the soldiers on the spot. The piercing screams emanated and the armor began to melt on the spot, screams pierced the air from the streets at the sight of the soldiers as they burned, the dragon standing poised on his hind legs with his clawed fore-paws lingering within the air until the bodies lay there, angling towards bones as the rest of the matter burned away. He huffed, smoke escaping his nostrils as the emerald flames ended and his eyes became narrowed, staring at the ridiculous guards.

Orlonox cast a glance around himself for a few moments to the people that stared at him with frightened and shocked looks. The buildings to either side of the dragon had been crushed, tumbling in on themselves with his enormous size as he filled the alley. Suddenly however, the punishment for his shifting hit him and he gasped, his eyes rolling back for a moment as he groaned and dropped down onto four paws again. Each time he shifted either from dragon to human or vice versa, the dragon experienced a rather sudden drain to his energy until he had a chance to recuperate. He had changed from his true form to human a day before he had bothered to enter town and now, after his shift he was already beginning to feel exhaustion fill his form once his adrenaline seeped away. Inhaling slowly, his head turned, his tail lashing out quickly and gently wrapping around Artemisia as he sucked the rather large and wicked spines that lined his back, head and tail were sucked into his hide to smooth out his scales. There still remained a few edged spikes along the side scales but he left them for if anyone approached from either side, she would remain protected but at his back he offered her a smooth place to ride. He lifted her gently with his tail and sighed, lowering her to his back as his wings shifted and spread. With the last of his energy he would get them home, to his home. He feared that his sudden shift and show of power perhaps had frightened or shocked her and that when they got there she would demand to be able to leave and he would not stop her. His feelings now remained just as strong as they had been before and if she was going to love him, she should be knowledgeable of both sides of him, he supposed but with the last of his strength he gathered his wings, Hold on. he growled from his mind, casting a glance back at her for a moment before he gave a sharp gust of his wings and darted off through the air while people on the ground stared, open mouthed and wide eyed.

He made his way through the air with a few flaps of his wings but by the time he made it to the swamp, he mostly glided the rest of the way to his swamp and cavern. The vibrant roiling waters of the swamp bubbled and boiled as it always did. Geysers spouted here and there and to the opposite side of his cavern remained the trees that led into a small forest. Sighing, the dragon lit down just outside of his cavern. Withdrawing the remaining spikes, he allowed a smooth slide to the ground for the woman before he straightened again. His green eyes were growing a bit dull and he quivered for a moment, groaning. He turned his left limb, glancing at the arrow that remained lodged there into his scales. He huffed and frowned, glancing at Chloe with a dragon’s smile as he purred softly to her once more, motioning to the cavern and the swamp, presenting that this was his home but at the moment he didn’t have the energy even to worry that she would not like it. He was a dragon, and he had gone into town without a thought in the world that he would return with a lover. What was he supposed to do? Decorate his cavern with tasteful art and roses every time he laughed? A bubbling chuckle rumbled out of his chest at the thought and his paw reached out, drawing her close to his chest for a moment as he nosed her gently towards the warmth that radiated from his chest. It was for her. At this point he felt rather ridiculous for he had always held heat that radiated from the flames and the acid within his system but there, nestled amongst his natural heat was the beat of his heart that now seemed to beat only for her. Grinning, the dragon lowered his nose to nuzzle her cheek before he sighed and wandered past, carefully stepping past her with extra care so that he would not swipe her clean across the swamp with an accidental swipe of his tail, or knock her on her bum with a nudge of his massive body. He knew that he would not be able to forgive himself if he harmed her, especially here in his true form. A sharp burn radiated from where the arrow had lodged into his arm but it was nearly a mere pinch and he ignored it, figuring he could deal with it after a nap so for now he wandered into the darkened cavern, yawning. The dragon made his way forward but he did not wander far, wanting to be close if Chloe needed him for some reason and as he tucked himself to one wall to give her room to make her way into his cavern and explore or take refuge if she wanted, he laid, stretching his limbs a bit and when he did they nearly touched the opposite wall so he drew them in a bit to give her space to walk before he sighed, dropping his head to the stone floor with a thump. He glanced around for Artemisia, curious what she thought but at the moment he could not summon anything out of his body and exhaustion was flooding his veins. He gave a brief and irritated growl at the fact and his tail lashed. He wanted more time with her. He didn’t want her to lose interest just after he had found her. He didn’t want to wake up to find that this was all a ridiculous dream, he would never accept the humans again, he swore. He wanted to be here for her, to show her around and to care for her but his body refused and so he growled before sighing, his nose tucking a bit as his dull eyes stared from the cavern for a few long moments still before drifting closed slowly instead.

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