By the Sea

[Kida]

The salt air smelled good on the breeze, the wind running it's invisable fingers through her hair. It was Kida's first time seeing the ocean and she loved it, being on a cliff so close. But she had other things on her mind at that moment.

"Kyuu! Kyuu kyuu kyuuuuu!"


Kida laughed. "Yeah, RIGHT!" She chased after her little green buddy. "I'll catch you!" Kida hadn't had her little companion too long, but she already loved him dearly. This was the first time Bec had been playfull enough to start a small game of tag. Or chase. Or whatever it was they were doing.

Bec would flutter around her, taunting almost, and when she tried to pet him or hug him he would dart away and call at her. Kida knew that it must be to follow. Her laughter got louder when she was finally able to capture him in her arms and give him a little squeeze.

He made that famous little 'kyuu' of his and licked at her. "Aw, I'm so glad I got you, Bec. Good boy." Kida gave him a cuddle before he scrambled to take up his favorite spot on her shoulder. "Darel would be sooo jealous if he saw you." Her brother probably wouldn't admit to liking Bec, just because he was small and cute, but would say it was because he was an 'awesome little dragon'.

{Tyr}

[Tyr]

Tyr sat upon an upturned rock near the water after successfully climbing down from the lowest point of the pathway that led up to the lighthouse. Orlith, his Silver Dragon, adamantly told him that she wanted a nice cool bath in this part of the shoreline, saying that the sand made her itch when it got in-between her scales. From the onset, Tyr didn't have much of a choice, so he accompanied his dragon near the lighthouse to bathe quietly near the rocks. Luckily, the winds weren't as violent as they have been the last week or else Try would have to deal with waves slapping hard against the shore rocks. Today, though, the waves merely covered the rocks with white foam gently before subsiding back into the sea.

"Are you done yet?" He asked, albeit impatiently. They have been there for almost an hour and Orlith was still diving her great shiny neck above and below the surface while using her large wings to keep herself afloat.

"Not yet..." Orlith spoke to him through her thoughts but let out a croon sounding growl from her throat before dipping her nose down on the water again.

"Alright, fine, but just a few more minutes, okay?" Tyr resigned and scratched his brown head. Settling into a comfortable silence, Tyr resumed watching his dragon bathe until he heard a familiar sounding chirp from a distance away.

"Firelizard...?" He thought as he looked around, seeking anything remotely looking like a miniature dragon. Wild firelizards do litter this part of the coast, so it wasn't such a surprise but Tyr was still curious. He leaned back to get a better view of the grass covered pathway that led up to the lighthouse and saw a shade of green flying around before it was capture was a silhouette of a person.

Thinking that maybe that person was some poacher that were fairly common around these parts that capture wild firelizards to breed and sell their eggs, Tyr hopped up and back onto the pathway, yelling, "Hey, you!"

[Kida]

"Hey who? Me?" Kida stopped walking when she saw the man jump onto the pathway. She hadn't seen him before, not that she'd seen many people since arriving here, but that naturally made her curious. His expression made her think she had done something wrong. Trespassing perhaps? She doubted it. There had been no fences or signs of the like anywhere around here.

Maybe he just wasn't a people person. Or she really had done something wrong and hadn't realized it. "I didn't know anybody else was around, but I guess that's expected. The weather is pretty nice right now." He looked like he was the type to be serious most of the time, but that didn't stop Kida from being friendly. Afterall you weren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover, she knew that well enough.

Despite that, the look he was giving her didn't sit well. It was very accusing, not for something as small as missing a sign or anything like that. Kida didn't like it. Bec sat on her shoulder blinking, very curious to the new comer. He gave his little chirp and fluttered over. Kida thought it was strange. Though the little creature would look at people curiously, he never went to them.

What Kida didn't know was that Bec had caught the scent of another dragon in the wind. The closest source was on the new comer and Bec couldn't resist sniffing at him. "Kyuu!"

[Tyr]

The firelizard chirping happily and flapping over to him without so much of a fuzz from the lady voided Tyr's suspicions instantly, completely in fact when he finally got the chance to see the small green dragon closely.

"Oh, I remember you." Tyr chuckled as he held an arm up for the firelizard to perch on, "You're one from Belam's clutch. Hmn, the green...little Bec, maybe?"

He then turned to the young woman. Tyr have this knack of remembering dragons but not people's faces. It was a weird sort of skill that his younger brother Taichi would usually tease him about. Tyr remembered horns and scales better than faces and because of that he didn't recognize Kida as one of the people who came and adopted a firelizard egg from the Riders.

Though he couldn't remember her face, Tyr had an inkling as to what her name was since he studied the lists of firelizard adopters as his take home work. He looked at the other human's face and frowned slightly as he tried to come up with her name. "You must be...Kid...?" He said unsure. Tyr knew a person named Kid and he was sure that this wasn't her although he knew that Bec's owner's name started with a K.

[Kida]

Kida blinked and watched the exchange between her tiny dragon and the man. Apparently he knew him. Someone from the keep maybe? That would make the most sense, but Kida didn't really recognize him. Then again she hadn't been paying much attention after she'd seen Bec's adorable little face.

A frown changed her expression. "Kida. Ki-da, like a key." He hadn't been the first person to ever call her 'kid' and it didn't matter if it was on purpose or not. So the english spelling was really close to a word for child, so what? It didn't make her one like her brother liked to tease. "And yeah, he's Bec." Kida crossed her arms. "I take it that I'm not under arrest anymore." Saying that out loud made her realize that that's what he had reminded her of before. A policeman who'd come across someone commiting a crime.

Well, whatever it was she'd somehow been absolved by Bec. Either he was really just that adorable or this guy had a soft spot for dragons.

Bec perched on Tyr's arm and crooned a little. His expression was as close to a tiny smile as a reptile-like face could get. A little urgently, and almost like a dog, Bec sniffed from his hand to his elbow with short and quick draws of air. "Kyuu!" He wriggled and caught his balance again to stretch out his neck and sniff at Tyr's face.

[Tyr]

Tyr grinned and chuckled at the behavior of the little dragon on his arm. Really happy at the fact that Bec seemed very healthy, Tyr rubbed his fingers along the underside of Bec's little muzzle because there was a sensitive, thinly scaled area there that dragons loved to be scratched.

To Bec's owner he said, "Oh, right, Kida. I remember now, you're also a new student in the school aren't you?" He could vague remember a document that had that name during his paperwork duty early yesterday morning. Responding to her question about being under arrest, Tyr said, "Oh, that...yeah, you're not. Sorry 'bout that, just have to keep my eyes peeled for firelizard poachers. Since these little guys are virtually defenseless, some people take advantage of them. You probably read or heard something like that around."

"Is everything alright, Tyr?" Orlith asked from she was in the water. She didn't feel anything threatening and she was confident Tyr was more than capable enough for self-defense when the opponent was another biped.

"Nothing to worry about. I just met a firelizard and his owner wandering about." Tyr answered her in his mind. While, as a human, Tyr was incapable of telekinesis unless he actually learned the ability through formal magical classes, being a Rider and connected to a highly magical and powerful entity like a dragon, Tyr has been gifted with some magical powers. Although most of these abilities serve merely as a connection between him and his dragon. Tyr thought that he'd still need to work hard to be able to magical throw a fireball anytime soon.

Realizing that he had been dazed for a moment because he was speaking to Orlith, Tyr smiled sheepishly to Kida. "Sorry, was talking to my better half. Where are you from anyway, Kida?" Tyr asked as he idly petted Bec who still rested upon his arm.

[Kida]

Poacher? Her?! Kida's gaze went straight to Bec. How could anyone want to steal something so helpless and happy? It was a good thing that the guy had obviously realized his mistake or Kida would have been seriously insulted. It only served to put her on the look out for people so low.

She nodded to his question about her being a student, though she really wasn't happy about it. Being in yet another school was a drag and she hadn't been here long enough to see any real promise of entertainment or adventure. Blah, and classes, classes sucked, even if the subjects did seem like something of interest to her. "Yeah, I haven't been here too long." Which, now that she thought of it, might have given him more of a reason to think she was a poacher before.

"You seem to know a bit about me, but I don't know you. Well...At least I don't think I do." Kida watched him, "What's your name?" She wait, but he didn't answer. His eyes, though they were looking at her, were distant and unfocused. "Hello? ...Are you okay in there?"

Bec, thoroughly enjoying the attention, only took notice when the scratches seemed to slow. He craned his neck and blinked down at the man. "Kyuu!" Though his protest was small, he wanted the attention. After all his owner was still new to dragons and didn't really know all the right places to scratch just yet.


When the guy had seem to regain consciousness, or whatever he was doing, he still hadn't answered Kida's question. Instead his comment only served to give her more. "Better half?" she asked, brows furrowed. "I'm from Longstarch. Don't be surprised if you don't know it, it's far from here and barely qualified to get on any map." Kida chuckled.

"Your name? And that of...your better half?" If whatever he meant actually had one, that is.

[Tyr]

Tyr thought for a minute, "Yeah, Longstarch doesn't ring a bell at all. My name is Tyr and I pretty much watch over this area, including the school and what not. So we might see other quite frequently since you're a student." The domain was quite large and it had been a miracle that Tyr was able to keep all together for this long. He had help though, something that he was really thankful for.

"My better half...?" Tyr grinned because of her confusion as what he meant. Most people think that when he said 'better half' he meant his wife but no, despite currently being a relationship, Tyr would only reserve that term for his dragon, who was literally his better half.

"Her name is Orlith and she was just wondering who I met up here. She's bathing in the sea right now. Been there for an hour actually." Tyr sighed and gave Bec another set of petting since he was really enjoying it. He then turned to make his way back to the edge of the path. "Come meet her." He invited Kida along since Tyr had a feeling that Orlith would like to meet her sooner or later.

[Kida]

"Sure. C'mere squirt, don't bother new friends." she chuckled at Bec. He only looked back at her, blinked and 'kyuu'ed again. Before she followed Tyr she stared at his face and chanted his name over and over again in her mind so she could remember. Often in the past she had made the mistake of calling people by the wrong name and she liked to avoid that as much as possible.

As Kida followed him down to the shore, absently watching Bec enjoy himself, she wondered just who or what she would be meeting. Normally by the term he'd used she would think she was meeting a spouse, but Tyr didn't look like he was hitched. He didn't even have a wedding ring. She shrugged, it didn't really matter, because a better half could really be anything from a pet dog to a best friend for particular people.

What was really on her mind was how he communicated with said Better Half. A telekinesis user perhaps? Kida had known a few in her home town, as well as met a few on the road, but didn't possess any sort of....telekin-radar? Teledar? ...Hmn, voices locator? No, Teledar sounded best. Like gaydar, but for the brain. Not that she had either.

"You said Orlith?" she asked once they were on the sand. "It's a nice name, haven't heard many...." Kida's voice trailed off when she saw something peek out of the water. Something big. "Is that...?" Her brain had said 'shark' before she noticed the scales.

"Wow."

[Tyr]

"Still not done?" Tyr half-yelled teasingly to his dragon. He climbed over to the upturned rock that he had been sitting on until his attention was taken by Kida. He stood there to at least meet Orlith eye to eye.

Orlith surfaced, well at least the majority of her neck and head, as well as the upper part of her back. Water dripped down from her frills and horn as she opened the said frills, a gesture akin to cats when they perked their ears. "Almost..." She said but didn't bother to center her telepathy to only her Rider. She noticed the other human standing on the sand and gathered that she might the firelizard's owner.

Tyr looked back at Kida and grinned, "This is my better half, my dragon, Orlith. We've been here for a while now because she's being such a lady, taking too long to bathe." That comment earned him a good splashing from Orlith, who raised her huge silver wings up on the air as she started to climb out of the water and onto a large flat rock to sun.

Tyr flicked his arms since his shirt sleeves were now wet. Bec, who had become a victim of the splashing as well, protested in earnest as far as Tyr could hear. At least he wasn't all soaked.

"Never complain or else you are not fit to be called a man, Tyr." Orlith said wisely, although there was a hint of annoyance within the comment. It wasn't like she bathed like this everyday.

[Kida]

Kida watched and listened to the exchange and then burst into laughter. "Wow, you picked the wrong lady to insult."


Bec, on the other hand, was not so amused. "Kyyyyyyuu!" he protested and shook the water from his tiny body. Looking himself over, satisfied that he was as dry as he could be Bec fluttered back over to Kida's shoulder.

But Kida's attention was directed to the large dragon that had just emerged from the water. "This is the first time I've gotten to see one of your kind so close before." She chuckled, "I was kind of wondering what you meant by 'better half', now I see you weren't kidding." Kida climbed on top of a large rock and hopped to another, a little closer. "I'm Kida. Nice to meet you, Orlith."

"Kyuuuuu..." Bec crooned and stuck his minisculine neck out as far as it would go, sniffing in the larger dragons direction.

[Tyr]

Tyr rolled up his wet sleeves so he wouldn't end up freezing due to the chilly breeze. Sheepishly, he chuckled and said, "She's really the only lady I have failed to charm." Tyr had been the resident flirt of the domain until he decided to settle down and be a one woman man when he met Iku. And as far as he could remember, he managed to get several women like him, except Orlith. His dragon could see right through him and every small compliment or flattery didn't go without suspicion. Then again, it was impossible keep a secret from ones own dragon.

"You are easy to read." Orlith retorted decisively. She then lowered her great head towards Kida and her firelizard. She took a big whiff of their scent to get familiarized, though she inhaled too hard that Kida's hair actually moved the same direction.

"Nice to meet you as well, Kida. Welcome."

[Kida]

"Thanks." she chuckled, "You put him back into place, hmn?" She hooked some of her hair behind her ears at the little breeze the dragon breath had created. "Well, don't lump me in with him when I tell you that you're gorgeous." Kida's eyes wandered over the dragon's scales and frame, taking it in and analysing just a little. "Too bad you'll never get that magnificent, huh, Buddy?" She chuckled and moved her shoulder, refering to Bec.


Bec wasn't listening. And a moment later he wasn't even on her shoulder the little firelizard fluttered to sniff at the large dragon's nose, then, rather quickly perched himself on her shoulder. If a lizard could blush happily, he was.

Kida blinked. "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be my buddy." But when the little dragon didn't even acknowledge that she had spoken Kida laughed. "I think he's in love."

[Tyr]

Tyr laughed, "And another lil guy infatuated with you, Orlith." He walked over and patted the silver dragon's large, albeit wet forearm. Orlith seem to have that effect with younger dragons and firelizards. Maybe not as profound as little Bec was displaying, but Orlith always had this attractive presence when it came to other dragons. It was a pity, Tyr thought, because Orlith was sterile and would never experience motherhood. Come to think of it, Tyr wasn't sure that Orlith would even take a mate despite being able to. She was the only silver dragon he had come across, as well as, the only one recorded to exist in the last five hundred years.

Orlith craned her neck to see the little dragon on her shoulder. "So it seems..." She spread her frills, again as a gesture of curiousity. Orlith wasn't overtly fond of the miniature dragons but she did find them entertaining to be around sometimes. What she did not get though was their strange attraction to her. She admitted that little Bec broke the record so far though.

Orlith lowered her head once again on Kida's level and slowly touched the tip of her snout onto Kida's black head. She typically did that to new humans she meets, sort of like a greeting since bipeds seem to enjoy touching. "Thank you for the compliment, Kida."

"She just moved into the area and enrolled into the school." Tyr mentioned to Orlith. "And one of the first things she was take a firelizard egg." He chuckled.

To Kida, he said, "Orlith is one of the few dragons at call this place home. Quite a bit of the Dragon Riders here are also students in the school so might be able to meet them. Some other still are firelizard owners like you." Tyr then leaned forward to peek at the small green dragon on Orlith's silver bulk and grinned. The sight was endearing to say the least and if there's one thing that Tyr had a soft spot for, it was the dragons.

[Kida]

Kida blinked and stayed still as the large silver head desended to her. "Oh. You're welcome, I meant it." She leaned over and watched at Bed just sat, thorough enjoying and happy with himself. The little guy had just had the best day of his life, apparently.

"I'm glad there are dragons around because, like I said, I haven't seen many. And well...I have pretty much no experience of any kind. And, uh....I can pry him off your shoulder if you want...."


Bec started up chirping a little song for his new love, swaying a little to keep time.