Day 136 || Open!

[blackblooded]

Who: Crona, tiny dragons, and open!
Open: Open!
When: Day 136
Where: Behind the apartments
What: Crona attempts to tame a tiny dragon
Format: Eh let's prose
Warnings: None yet

Crona crouches down behind the main apartment building, a scrap of meat held out in careful fingers. The meister does not move. In the shadows, something dark and cat-sized paces back and forth. Then a little puff of flame comes from the small creature, illuminating a squat black dragon with red eyes and a unicorn horn. Crona's eyes widen, but the meister doesn't move.

Comments

[findsrisks]

Coming from the other side of the building is Nanaki. She had been following an entirely different dragon for a bit, trying to find a way to get close and maybe pet it or something. But it had darted around the corner of the building, so Nanaki had to hurry after it.

Of course, her dragon had run off entirely, and she happened to be rounding the corner opposite of Crona, coming up behind the dragon Crona was trying to approach. But she wasn't expecting to see anyone else there, so she jumps back in surprise, stepping on some twigs nearby with a loud snap.

She totally didn't mean to be loud and possibly startling there, it was an accident.

[blackblooded]

Crona jumps slightly, eyes wide and looking almost ready to run. More importantly, the dragon is startled as well, hissing at Nanaki and running off with all the speed and grace a roundish crocodile-like baby dragon can muster.

Crona looks about ready to run off as well, caught off guard and holding a scrap of food. But the meister doesn't run, just stands up and awkwardly refuses to make eye contact.

[findsrisks]

Nanaki immediately thinks that Crona is mad at her. She accidentally chased off the dragon, after all, ruining all of Crona's progress, or whatever the meat is for.

"I'm sorry," she says quickly, looking apologetic and possibly a bit guilty too, "I didn't mean to scare it away, I was following after another one, and..."

She trails off there, as she gets a better look at Crona. Kid sure does look scared. "...you alright?"

[grigorichord]

She's been out walking the Bastion as has become habit, though she's got the basic layout down now and has already familiarized herself with the land. Maka hasn't gone back out to the skyway again since coming in, and she's itching to do something aside from wander in here aimlessly. As she approaches the apartments with a plan to ask Crona to join her on a Skyway run, she is surprised to find the meister's soul in a different direction than she expected, and she follows the wavelength behind the apartment only to come across Crona crouching low and stalking something.

Her footsteps pause, and she grows quiet, not wanting to startle whatever it is her friend is being so cautious with.

[blackblooded]

Crona shifts awkwardly, folding up and tearing at the scrap of meat. Then, a low mutter, not really for Nanaki's ears.

"Oh, it's a stranger. I haven't talked to this person before, right? I don't know how to deal with introductions..."

But there was a question, wasn't there? What was it?

"The little ones, they're hard to make friends with."

[findsrisks]

Nanaki doesn't catch all of Crona's mumbling, and in fact most of it in unintelligible to her. But that last part she does get, and it makes her realize something. "Oh! Have you seen them before, then?"

Nanaki is still new to the Bastion, so she hasn't really learned about the animals here yet.

[blackblooded]

Crona feels Maka coming through the Bastion. Some part of Crona's attention is always fixed on Maka's soul, tracking the girl's wavelength. Crona's hand holding out the meat shakes, just slightly. It's difficult to try and decide if it's more important to greet Maka or not scare off the little one. But the tiny dragon wins out, at least for now.

Maka might have seen one of these dragons before, in a zoo back home, or maybe just in pictures. They're rare, but they do exist in the wild. It waddles forward, crocodilian snout sniffing at the air, and Crona doesn't move.

[blackblooded]

Crona nods.

"They're from home. They're dragons, you know?"

[findsrisks]

"Yeah. I mean, I've heard of them in stories. They didn't exist in my world."

Nanaki is already used to talking about her home in the past tense. That is just slightly troubling.

"We should see if we can get up close, and make friends with one. That's why you brought meat, right?"

[grigorichord]

Maka is far enough behind Crona that she can't see what Crona is doing and what else is there, but she stands and then kneels patiently, willing to wait for her friend to finish and doing her best not to interrupt.

She is quiet as she gently brushes her soul against her friend's in greeting.

[blackblooded]

A nod, suddenly realizing that fidgeting is resulting in the meat being torn up.

"They like meat, but if you make loud noises they'll run."

Nanaki's 'we' suddenly registers, and Crona looks at the girl in surprise.

"Do you want to try and help?"

[findsrisks]

"Well yeah. They're really cute, and it's only fair that I help, since I scared it off and all."

Poor nervous Crona. Nanaki is trying to be nice and friendly, if only to help Crona chill a bit.

[blackblooded]

Crona's soul brushes up against Maka's, full of barely restrained excitement-hope-anticipation-worry. Mostly excitment and anticipation, and a sudden spike of excited awe as the dragon cautiously waddles closer. It flares its little black wings and hisses, but Crona doesn't move, barely even breathing, staying still and quiet as a piece of the scenery.

Hopefully Ragnarok won't ruin everything.

[grigorichord]

Maka leans a little, hoping to get a better view of the little creature (because she definitely heard a hiss) that Crona is beckoning, and she can just make out a tiny black head with a horn in the center along with surprisingly large wings for its relative size.

Surprise washes over her face as she realizes what it is.

She almost wants to brush her soul against it, but she doesn't want to startle it.

[blackblooded]

Excitement bubbles up through Crona's soul as the dragon moves just close enough to snap at the meat. And Crona's hand in the process, but Ragnarok was prepared for that and goes steel-solid under Crona's skin.

With a toss of its head, the tiny dragon swallows down the scrap of meat, then sniffs at Crona's hand, and starts licking it. The meister makes a startled sound, almost a laugh, and the dragon huffs in surprise and backs away quickly.

[blackblooded]

"They... they are cute, aren't they?" Crona manages a little smile.

"I... my name's Crona."

[grigorichord]

Maka covers her mouth to stifle any sounds she might make, her own face breaking out into a smile at the sight before her. Still, she is silent, sending a light nudge of encouragement along her wavelength to Crona.

[blackblooded]

Crona reaches out cautiously, then pulls back quickly when the dragon puffs a burst of flame and continues to move backward.

"They're really shy," the meister says, quiet so as not to disturb the little one more than necessary. "But... I think maybe if you know how to deal with them, everything will be okay."

[grigorichord]

"It looks like you're doing a good job." She whispers back, just as quietly.

"I think it likes you.

[blackblooded]

The dragon isn't running away anymore, especially when Crona pulls another little scrap of meat from the messenger bag the meister's taken to carrying. That offering gets the dragon back again, biting at the meat and then staying close enough for Crona to softly pet it on the nose.

There is a simply absurd amount of bubbling excitement filling the link between Crona and Maka's souls.

[grigorichord]

Very slowly and as quietly as possible, Maka shuffles forward, watching the little dragon in case it gets started.

[blackblooded]

The dragon is distracted for now. Crona apparently knows exactly how the little creature wants to be petted.

"I didn't think I'd ever get to see one of these little ones again."

[grigorichord]

Maka watches the dragon in fascination and awe, sitting comfortably next to Crona.

"You've seen one before?"

[blackblooded]

Crona goes still, frozen, not looking up at Maka.

"I... L-lady Medusa, she..." Crona doesn't like thinking about that, about training with small things, then larger, then humans (and the way the fear in their eyes seeped into Crona's soul, the way Ragnarok started humming under Crona's skin at the sight of a human, because he was always hungry). "They don't look as big now. I was a lot smaller then."

[grigorichord]

She reaches for Crona's unoccupied hand and weaves her fingers between the meister's. Any story that involves the snake witch will not end well, and she has to push down a wave of anger that rises in her as soon as the name is past Crona's lips.

"Do you think it has a name?" Maka squeezes Crona's hand, tangling their wavelengths together as she smiles bright with warm affection.