thebastion | Day 218

Entry tags:

paarthurnax,
tobias

Day 218

Who: Paarthurnax and Tobias
Open: Closed
When: 218 (backdated)
Where: Out on the Skyway
What: To be a dragon is a difficult thing.
Format: log, action, etc.
Warnings: Probably a high probability of violence

It's taken some time for Paarthurnax to scout the perfect place for what they seek to accomplish. In his world, it was a rare sort that could take on his kinds form. There were Daedra, often mocking of his father and mimicking him with such in mind. There were those who had such blood flowing through their veins and which could call upon it in great stress, such as one particular king in Tamriel's lands.

This was a different case, and Paarthurnax could not deny it intrigued him. However, he knew that there was always a chance that things could go... wrong.

The instincts of dragons were powerful things.

Still, after some searching, he found a portion of the skyway that was decently large enough and a good distance from the Bastion as well. It's there he lands one day, settling on the earth and looking for his much smaller and feathered companion.

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Tobias couldn't deny that this interested him as well. Even with everything he'd seen, everything he'd fought and become and even dreamed about, he'd never thought that he'd become a dragon one day. He'd read fantasy books - who hadn't read Lord of the Rings, or watched fantasy movies where winged beast soared? At least anyone who was a bookish loner like him had.

He flew out to meet Paarthurnax, having hunted until he was full. Hopefully turning into a dragon on a full stomach would keep the instincts satisfied and not off to find people who were crunchy and good with ketchup. He landed in front of his teacher - his friend, really - and looked up at him.

<Hey there.>

"Dream yol lok." He gives a nod to the young boy in the form of a bird, glad to see him. It would be easy to immediately start things off, but there were other important matters to get out of the way first.

"Before we begin, I must ask what you know about my kind. Have you spoken to any of the others in regards to dov?"

"Only what you've told me. What information other people would give me is bound to be misinterpreted - only someone of that species can really know what that species is like."

Of course, you can make assumptions, but they're still just assumptions.

Paarthurnax gives a steady nod.

"That is true. The first thing you should know before you take my form, then, is this: we are creatures of destruction and conquest by nature. They are powerful urges... Ones which once had us with a kingdom with nothing more than slaves beneath us, or so we thought. I am not sure if it will come to you... But you should be warned regardless."

<I see.>

He approaches, hopping on the ground, and pauses.

<Acquiring... you'll just feel sleepy for a moment. It won't hurt, though... I know you have good control over your instincts, but the brain isn't really designed to see an identical twin in every way. So it might be a little disorienting on your end.>

Tobias flutters up to perch on Paarthurnax' snout. <Let me know when you're ready.>

"I see." Paarthurnax takes a moment to make himself comfortable on the ground, just in case.

"I am prepared then. Start when you please."

He closes his eyes for a brief moment as he focuses, feeling the muscles relax a little bit under him. That done, he flies off to a patch of land nearby but not too close. He doesn't want to smash into Paarthurnax.

The first thing that changes is the tail. His tail feathers melt together and push out out out, longer than the rest of his body. Feathers melt into scales, and push up to form ridges. His face extends, and his body lengthens crazily like a Silly Putty snake before bulking out. Wings restructure slightly, but most of the change is in getting big - really big. Huger than he's ever been, and -

He can feel the dragon instincts kicking in. Even as the rest of his body settles into its last changes, he can feel a cold anger and pride seep through him. It's somewhat similar to those of a hawk, a shark, or a deinonychus - but much more ancient and regal. It's... difficult for him to grab, but it's intelligent - incredibly intelligent. He spreads his wings a bit, whole and new, and stalks towards the other dragon. The intruder. He circles him, eying him up. An old dragon. One he could take easily in battle. But isn't he -

... His own thoughts slip away again, lost in the sea of time. That's what it is - a distinct feeling of time and space, difficult to fight against. He can just barely watch what's going on.

The process is... like nothing he has seen before, although he is certain there are Daedric Princes who can perform such twisted acts. He means this in a literal manner as he watches the tiny body of a hawk grow large and elongate, feathers turning to scales, talons growing on the ends of wings. When all is done with, when the creaking and stretching of bones has silenced, instinct of his own wells up in the back of his mind.

Show your strength! Speak your power! Use your native tongue, it is-

Tobias. No one else. Paarthurnax quiets the old habits with focused care and practice, a minor side task as he keeps his eyes on the other. He can already tell by the body language being presented to him that the other is lost in the natural instincts his kind possess. He had thought this would happen...

It is a different and very old habit that he draws out, one he has not used in more than centuries. It's simply a shift in his own posture- not aggressive at all. But considerably different than his usual. Instead of open and nonthreatening... Confident perhaps to the point of apathy, as if the other dragon before him has not rated high enough to be considered even a minimal threat. His lieutenant's stance.

"Tobias. Control yourself." The tone, too, is a firm order. The strangeness of speaking in such a way to a figure he only saw in the reflections of frozen lakes is brushed aside. "Remember what you truly are and grasp it tightly."

Part of him wants to roar in challenge, to launch himself at the other dov and fight until he proves his strength, but after a moment he lowers his stance. The way the body works is interesting - something like a large cat in a lot of ways. But he takes a few steps back.

"... Yes." The voice is low and rumbling, though his own speech patterns have it a bit softer than the other dragon. The voice seems to startle him a bit, as he jerks his head to the side briefly. Oh. Hm. Words feel nice like this. "Geh. I'm... I'm okay now. I think."

Paarthurnax watches him closely a bit more before relaxing. "Take some time to focus yourself. That feeling will not go away." They're words he says with experience weighing behind them. "Meditate... Keep in mind your name and past. I am patient."

They only have so much time, it's true, but to Paarthurnax that only makes it all the more important that they do this.

He settles down, closing his eyes, tail curling around his legs. He breathes in deeply, pushing aside instinct. It's still there, still informing him, but it's easier.

"I see what you meant. It's... difficult to hold on to, though I think it might be a bit easier since I have... experience battling instinct. Not in the same way... but the struggle is somewhat similar."

How many hours did he spend trying to run away from his hawk instinct? How many hours did he spend losing himself in it? He opens his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "It's powerful, but... I think it might be a little easier since it's just the two of us. It's not the hunger of a Taxxon, or the mindless obedience of an insect. The fact that the dov are intelligent creatures, capable of making their own decisions divorced from instinct... it helps."

"Capable, certainly. Yet our pride can make it difficult for us to want to do." He knows this well enough, after all. There's been his own pride, yes, but mostly speaking with others of his kind and attempting to see reason had been a difficult task on its own. If they wanted to survive, however, they would have had to listen... But that is all no longer a point. He can see that.

"Let me know when you feel at ease. Flight is one of a dov's most important things, alongside words. It will be good for us to have the wind beneath our wings."

He inclines his head briefly, and nods a bit. "I think I'll be a bit better once we take off. I like flying, even after all of this time."

"Then let us venture forth." Paarthurnax isn't foreseeing them having a difficult flight, after all. His presence alone is often enough, he has found, to make the beasts of the Wild wary. Two of his kind in the air should chase away all dangers.

He crouches low to the ground before pushing off mightily with his legs and flapping his wings. Just a few times is enough to keep him up in the air steadily, and he begins to adjust as he circles the platform of earth they're on. He'll wait for Tobias to do the same.

He spreads his wings, marveling for a moment as to how they're like the wings of a bat, and pushes off as well. It's easy enough to gain height, climbing in the air and wheeling around. It's different than when he looks for updrafts as a hawk - no amount of warm air will be enough to keep him aloft, only his own power.

He turns again, and flies near to Paarthurnax, staying below him and slightly behind. He's the teacher here, after all.

Maybe in an entirely different place- at least one of them long gone by now- there would be winds powerful enough to carry creatures of their size. But here on the Skyway, it's different, and Paarthurnax has never minded a bit of effort.

"How do you find it?" he says back to Tobias after they've flown for some minutes, curious to the answer.

"It's... different. Different than what I'm used to, because my world doesn't have creatures this big. It used to, but not anymore. Other worlds do, but I've never become those creatures." The only thing close is some unnamed creature he's seen Visser Three morph into, but he has no knowledge of that creature and he really doesn't want to try to learn it. The nightmares are enough.

A thoughtful noise rumbles out from Paarthurnax's throat. "It was much the same where I was from. Beyond my own kind, the largest beyond that would be the mammoths..." He thinks for a moment, going through his many memories of everything that once went through Tamriel.

"Daedra... They could be massive in size, if they so chose. Yet such things were rare."

"Dinosaurs used to roam my world, and I think that's where people got legends of dragons from. They looked kind of similar, though most of them didn't have wings. They were... massive. I think the biggest ever discovered was almost two hundred feet long, but that's just an estimate. Some of the bigger species were definitely over a hundred feet, though."

He shuts up for a moment, before laughing a bit - a rumbling sort of noise. "Sorry. I used to be really into dinosaurs when I was little. I read every book I could find in the library on them."

It's the same sort of noise that he gets in return. "It is good to have a passion. Do not feel the need to apologize. Speak of it all you like. I am happy to listen."

After all, it's nice to be the one listening instead of speaking so much. It's been some time before he came to the Bastion that he could listen to conversations such as this. "You spoke of only most being landbound. Were there others, then?"

"There were some, yes. Smaller, so they could fly more easily. And actually, it's thought that over time, many dinosaurs changed and got much smaller, becoming modern birds. So things like chickens are the distant descendants of dinosaurs."

He pulls up suddenly and does a loop in the air, letting out another laugh. This - this is what he dreamed of when he was little. Dragons flying through the air, large and regal beasts that could take on whatever they needed to. Wise creatures, and powerful. He rejoins Paarthurnax, but if he were on the ground he'd be wagging his tail.

To become birds? Paarthurnax makes a snorting sound, amused at the mental image. He can only imagine the reactions of his kin, aggravated that they would become something so small and weak.

The sudden sound behind him makes him look back. Very faintly, the carefree actions remind him of something. New to the world, fascinated at the feel of wind under his wings so natural, delighted at hunting, laughing with his brother-

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

"I am. The flight just isn't the same as being a hawk. I'm comfortable as a hawk, but this... this is something totally different. I like it a lot."

He opens his mouth in a sort of grin, looking up at the old dragon.

"With all you can become, I will take that as fine praise." Paarthurnax doesn't quite smile, but the emotion in his eyes seems fairly pleased.

"Enjoy yourself. Adjust to that form. There are other things we should speak of, but they can wait for another day."

"All right. Whenever you're ready." He spirals into the air, turning around and around until he gets dizzy, and lets out a roar. It's fierce and sends the squirts below them fleeing, but there's laughter in it, too.

Paarthurnax lets him have his fun for a few moments. After, however, he finally speaks up. "I need you to attempt to use your entire being and say these three words- Zul Mey Gut. Simply try- that is all that is required."

Tobias thinks over the words for a moment, and feels his body tense as he pushes all he can into it. The dragon brain knows what to do, and he lets go of part of the instincts.

"Zul Mey Gut!" His shout echoes a bit... but nothing further happens.

Edited 2014-08-23 19:20 (UTC)

It's not surprising- although it is a fine roar all on its own merit. "As I had suspected. The Thu'um is something more than the physical body of our kind can give you."

"... Yeah, all I get is the body and instincts, nothing else. It's okay, though. This is more than enough."

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Day 218

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