Shaving

[Snickerspods]

The roar sound of steel rasping against sparse hair was a barely audible sound in the tiny glade, a large portion of which was taken up by a perfectly still reflective body of water. Grass converged right up to the water, broken occasionally by a boulder or rock that had taken up residence. One such boulder was reasonably flat on the visible side and extended into the water, a slightly elevated platform seemingly floating on the surface.

Placed on this boulder in what at first glance seemed a chaotic pile but was actually a carefully placed and arranged chaotic pile was a black muscle shirt, utility belt adorned with so many pockets one wasn’t sure just how many there were and a set of pitch black welding goggles. They were set just at the edge at the furthest point of the rock within the water.

Again the somewhat hair raising sound of a blade passing over stubble rasped, followed by the sound of water splashing as the culprit blade was rinsed. Sun shafted off the blue-silver blade as it was raised to an almost clean shaved skull, where it was carefully and slowly dragged over the curve of the individual’s head. He stood waist deep within the water, his horse half invisible below the surface. His incredibly broad and well-muscled shoulders undulated as he raised his arm to perform the task of keeping his head shaven. Water dripped down between the smooth panes of him, dipping into the hollows between each well-defined muscle. He performed one more stroke of his blade, lowering his right hand occupied with his blade and raising his right he rubbed his hand over his clean skull appraising the job. He removed his hand and tilting his head to the side he rolled his head on his neck whilst rolling his shoulders. A discernable crack emanated as a result of the movement and a light smirk flickered across his lips, the look just the fraction short of creepy.

His silver shined eyes looked down on his knife, resting horizontally in his palm. With a look of smug satisfaction on the clean, though not unscarred, planes of his face he flipped his knife in a complicated movement over under and around his palm before putting it away. The corner of his lip crooking up as he put it away. He flexed his palm, his gaze flickering down to the tattoo adorning the underside of his toned forearm. He brought his other arm up alongside and switched his eyes to the tattoos twin on his other forearm.

Abandoning his contemplation of his tattoos he cupped a double handful of water and scrubbed his face, letting his hands work over his skull. He shook his head in a somewhat feral gesture, sending water droplets flying around him in a random pattern. Ripples spread out where the droplets smacked into the relatively undisturbed surface, the pattern spreading and increasing as ripple met ripple in a crossfire of incidental direction. Just as Drayl glanced down, his eye drawn by the display of pattern a particularly sharp streak of sun bounced off the water and smacked him in his sensitive eyes. He gave a roar of pain and frustration, snapping his calloused hand out to swipe up his goggles from memory and feel alone, having screwed his eyes shut. He slid them into place before opening his stinging blue/silver etched eyes, frowning darkly.

[Alluvia]

What had seemed to be the sun reflecting off the water, turned out to be the sunlight glinting off the polished scales of a nearby dragon. The green tinged female had been watching him quite curiously for some time, though he had not even noticed her presence. It puzzled her to see a centaur shaving himself...normal centaurs did not act that way. In fact, many were proud or even boastful of their long, untamed hair. Smoke lazily drifted out of her nostrils until she exhaled, blasting quite a bit of it in the centaur's direction.

[guardian]

((Does anyone mind if I bring two characters into the story? If you do I can pull one out after this post.))

Icy sparkles flew through the air, making their homes upon small rocks and oak leaves as they moved about. The sparks came from a shining body armored with blue scales. Breath came in fog from the nostrils of the scaled creature, the cool air turning his lungs as cold as his skin. His gaze was calm and collected, showing only his young age and indifference. He walked with a much smaller companion, a centauress.

The centauress's hair flowed brilliantly, she wore it down today. The black shine gleamed brightly in the sun, her emerald colored eyes shining in contrast to her black pelt. She swished her tail over her hocks as she walked, the unruly hair along her fetlocks flowing just as wildly as her dark locks upon her human head. She carried a sword in a sheath at her side along with four knives in holsters on the other side of her bodice.

She was a huntress of evil, the dragon a protector of lost souls and weak bodies. They were a match, a good team of friends, and they required no others. But as they walked they came upon a small pool of water. A centaur was shaving his face and the lady gasped in a shocked tone. She looked down at her hands and away, feeling she had stepped into a place she was not meant to be. The dragon curled his lips as he scented a lady dragon nearby, likely on the other side of the water.

The two of them stayed in the shadows, forms dark and unseen. A snake slithered across and the dragon twitched it, sending the snake, hissing, into the forest. The centauress, startled, stepped forward, snapping a small twig and muttering under her breath. The dragon's head snapped back and annoyance lit his eyes up for a brief moment before returning to their icy and cool state. He nodded and sighed, awaiting the moment when the other would call for them to come out of their hiding.

[Snickerspods]

[[ooc: tis all good with me, wat bout you Alluvia??]]

Looking down at his reflection Drayl smirked. Dragon to the left, dragon and centauress to the right. he thought as he looked dead into the pitch black reflection of his goggles. He turned his head slightly to the right, his silver shined eyes piercing the darkness the pair stood in with ease. True it would have been a clearer picture if he’d raised the goggles but it was still to light for him to comfortably go without. An eyebrow raised with a smug leer flickering across his face. He performed the same movement in the opposite direction, looking directly at the female dragoness. Dam.n I’ve never been so popular.
Turning in a slow confident movement he gathered up his stuff as he tread the sandy floor beneath the water towards the shore the pair gathered near. As he drew closer to the edge his dark horse half slowly came into view, rivulets of water rushing down the sleek hide. As sinews and tendons moved beneath the canvas muscles bulged and undulated in response, certain litheness yet aggression to the motion of his walk.
As he moved from water to land he dragged his dark shirt over his head, pulling it down over his torso covering the display of finely honed muscle. He fit his belt into place with barely a thought, keeping his eyes riveted to the shadow he knew to be the centauress and her draconic companion. He heard a twig snap, a muscle in his temple jumped in response.

Drayl was feeling decidedly confident, some would say coc.ky. Standing on the grassy shore he tilted his head to the side, simply looking at them behind his welding goggles. He’d taken them from the corpse of the human that had put a bounty on his head, well the human that had put one of the bounties on his head. To his knowledge there were still about 4 withstanding, he was worth about 2 mill to anyone with the guts to take him on. But the last bounty hunter he’d encountered had come fully armed with a small army. That army had swiftly learnt why his bounty was so high and had discovered that there are worse things than dying.

Drayl smiled a smile that usually appeared on the face of something orange, with stripes, a long tail and whom usually hangs around in jungles waiting for someone to smile at in just that way.

[Alluvia]

((I don't mind at all!))

The dragoness straightened up, sensing that she was not the only one watching the centaur. Even as that thought crossed her mind, she caught the scent of a dragon and centauress. Wondering why they would be there as well, she remained silent and surveyed the scene with growing interest. For some reason, the centaur had decided to ignore her presence and only focus on the centauress and her companion. That would be his fatal mistake, if he decided to attack.

The snapped twig sounded like a gunshot in the utter silence of the area. One of the hidden watchers had made a huge mistake. Now, the centaur was definitely alerted to their presence. Still, he ignored the dragoness' presence.....But why?

[guardian]

The centauress looked up at the dragon, her appearence full of dissapointment in herself and apology toward him. He gazed into her eyes, his orders clear and she nodded sadly. She was to step forward and take whatever punishment awaited her. That was their way. Neither would let the other die, but it was the way they trained themselves. This was how they learned, however cruel it may have seemed.

The lady took a breath and calmed her nerves. She was not afraid to take a beating, she was allowed to fight, and any that knew her knew that she would not be the one that walked away with the most cuts and scrapes over her caramel skin. She stepped silently into the sun, not quite sure where the other of her own race was but keenly aware of the dragoness hiding in the forest opposite.

She dipped her head in greeting, her black hair falling off of her neck and into her face. She flipped it back with a twist of her neck and twitched her tail slightly over her hocks. Her black horse pelt gleamed softly in the sunshine and her eyes flashed a bright green when she saw him. He was strong and well muscled as was she. He had a dark horse pelt that matched hers almost perfectly. His eyes were lovely and his body was tall and long.

It wasn't that she found him attractive so much, it was just that she'd never seen one that looked so like her in every aspect. This was something she had pondered since her arrival in the forest edge but hadn't actually realized until now. He was almost her twin!

In the forest the dragon sighed heavily and awaited the brute's reaction to her presence.

[Snickerspods]

Drayl smirked as the centauress stepped into the clearing, his eyes raking her shamelessly from gleaming head to plump enticing quarters. He growled approvingly deep in his throat, his silver eyes flashing behind his black goggles. His nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent, Not bad. he thought, a co.cksure curve flickering over his firm and just a little cruel lips.
“Been a long time since I’ve smelt beautiful.” [[OOC:BAHahahahahahahahaha! Oh that was a reference right there!]] He told her in a bland voice, one eyebrow travelling just a little higher on his brow.
“So who sent you?” He asked as he stepped forward in a movement made of tightly checked aggression and leashed power. He circled the female, making no threatening move other than to run his silver shined eyes over her in a blatant show of male prowess. He was male after all, and a virile one at that, and he’d been seriously deprived of female company within the last month. The bounty over his head meant he’d had to keep moving till recently and willing females were difficult to come by in such situations. Drayl was many things, and indeed some were justified in terming him a different kind of evil, but he was not a rapist.
Turning his head slightly he pinned his gaze on her draconic companion ‘hidden’ in the shadows. He smirked at him, seeing the dragon as clearly as it was possible with his sensitive vision. Flickering his gaze from one dragon he turned his head nonchalantly towards the third party that for god knows what reason had been watching him, and he pinned that dragon as well with his gaze. “Is that dragon you’re lackey as well?” He asked, directing his question to the other of his species. “I gotta say Roxy, you’re entourage is a bit scaly.”

Drayl rolled his shoulders, sending lean muscles rippling as sinews and tendons worked together. His hands hung by his sides, he stood so that to the casual observer he seems relaxed and casual, though a closer observation gave one the impression of brutally controlled power and strength as well as fierce will power. He pulsed it, promised it, demanded it, and controlled it.

[Alluvia]

A low snarl gurgled deep in the dragoness' throat and a part of her lip curled up in a sneer. She did not like the centaur's disrespect of the draconic race. After all, she was of a purer and more wise race than that of the centaur's. As his nonchalant glance traveled over towards her hiding spot, she pierced him with a fiery and furious gaze of her own, daring him to try her patience.

[guardian]

The centauress winked at the male she stood before, deciding it was harmless to play his game. She could leave if it got to be threatening, or call upon her ally waiting in the forest, "Perhaps you should try harder?" she suggested flirtatiously. She stood completely still as he circled her, and flicked her tail at him as he moved around behind her. She did not feel threatened, as she was aware of her own muscle that matched his very well. She looked like any other, skinny and without toning or training, but she was a match for any brute that she met, and they all found out in the end.

She brushed a loose strand of hair from her face and turned her attention back to him again. His words did not surprise him, as it was obvious that his senses had alerted him to their presence some time ago, something she herself had noticed upon her enterance to the scene. "The dragon behind me is my only companion, and he will not harm you unless you first do so to me. The dragoness which I'm sure you've already noticed, is not an ally of mine, and why she's yet to move from her place in the shadows is something I do not know."

It was her turn to move, and she did. Stepping into the water, she tightened her weaponry belt, hoisting the sword and knivery up higher on her abdomen to allow her to wade in deeper. She stepped forward until her legs were submerged, and stood for a moment, allowing the cool water to rid her of the sweat and stiffness of her travels. Stepping out, she moved back toward him, moving behind him first and then forward, checking his true reaction to her before calming. He was a handsome beast, that she had to acknowledge, and he looked so very lonely.

If she'd known a bit more about him, she might have done something to cure his lonesome spirits...

[Snickerspods]

Drayl quirked an eyebrow as this centauress flirted with him. He was no fool, he could see the sinuous dancers muscles along her finely honed body. Slim she might have looked but he knew she’d be able to bring a centaur twice her size down with the right incentive. Drayl however was no average centaur, but she didn’t know that and as long as things stayed so neutral she wouldn’t know.

Drayl looked over towards the dragoness as the female of his kind denied any association with her. He didn’t take her word as truth, but he filed the possibility away. Besides, if the dragoness had any business with him she’d make herself known. Perhaps she was one of those hired goons by one of the individuals that had put one of those bounties on his head. Some dragons would do anything for a piece of treasure that was shiny enough.

Drayl observed her as she waded into the water, though he was intimately aware of every little nuance about him. As she emerged he didn’t even flinch as she moved about him, though he made sure he kept his eye on her. Though it was for more reasons other than just efficiency. She was attractive, and seemed not altogether against the idea of him. However something in her eye, a certain compassion had him wary of her.

[Alluvia]

Elvina meandered casually out of the cover of the trees, though her guard was not let down. She was wary of the centaurs and even more so of the dragon, whom appeared to be much older and larger than herself. After all, she was only a mere two centuries of age, and had lived much of that life among the elves rather than with her own kind.

She had been lingering in the shadows in order to see if she could detect if the male centaur was a dark, if so, then she could make a quick meal of him, but now, with the arrival of the centauress and her draconic companion, she could not possibly hope to ambush him. There were too many hanging around her potential prey.

[guardian]

Finally, the large dragon hiding in the forest emerged, his blue scales glimmering in the brilliant sunlight. His neck stretched high above all of them and he looked down from his height with no fear in his heart. This centaur would not dare harm him, a creature of such wonderful danger. He dipped his head down a bit to the level of the female dragon. Though still shorter than him, it was not by more than three claw lengths. "Greetings m'lady." he said respectfully. He wanted to be respected by all of the creatures here, not feared or hated.

The centauress passed by the male of her own kind, her tail brushing his chest lightly as she walked. She hid her intentions beyond the knowledge of even the wisest creature, but they were clear in her own mind. She had not seen a male centaur in so long... She spoke, her words rolling lightly off her lips with a voice like birdsong that had shaken many a centaur, most stronger than the one before her now. "Greetings to you lady dragon," she turned her head over her shoulder, "And to you. We come peacefully, merely for a drink after a long journey. My name is Veripma, and my friend is called Guardian." She flipped her black hair over her shoulders, her powerful muscles' forming beneath her tanned skin.

Guardian brought his neck down low, eye level to the male centaur, "My greetings to you young one." His voice held a venomous kindness, one that was not challenging the young warrior, nor threatening him. Not asking friendship, nor peace. He was on neutral ground, easily swayed by any cruel or friendly movement made by the creatures around him.

Battle or alliance? They would soon know.

[Snickerspods]

His reflective eyes behind his goggles narrowed slightly as her tail brushed his chest, with a mixture of irritation and desire. Not a fool he kept his attention divided evenly amongst these three, sensing that each was dangerous in their own way. This male dragon seemed sure of himself, and Drayl admitted he had reason to be in many ways. He was big, and emanated power, a power Drayl respected. However his attempt –however subconscious- to intimidate Drayl was falling rather short of the mark.

He’d come up against dragons before, some larger, older, and perhaps more powerful than this one before him. That wasn’t to say he’d gotten out of the ensuing battle without a few scraps and bruises – one of them broke his darn arm – but at least he’d walked away under his own power with his life intact. The hide, teeth, talons and various body parts and organs of a dragon was worth a large sum of money. And Drayl had slaughtered enough of them to be a rich man, but something about looting the corpses in such a way struck a base dislike in him. He’d fought some rather evil draconic characters, but even those he had set to burning once they died to prevent some other scavenger looting the corpse and appease the dragon tradition of burning their dead.

He quirked his eyebrow as the dragon addressed him shortly after Veripma. “I’m just passing through,” he responded nonchalantly with a shrug of his broad shoulders, the movement causing sinuous plays of motion down his muscled torso. He said it as to address everyone within this clearing, which was becoming decidedly crowded. In fact Drayl rather thought it was time he was moving on, as much as he was looking forward to some form of liaison with the female centaur if her flirtation were any indication, this was not exactly his scene.

[guardian]

Veripma gave a saddened look, she had been hoping to have time with this centaur. He seemed her type, strong, cool, collected. She had only had the luck of having every centaur go directly for the thing that most males wanted from a femme. She swished her tail at the memory, flicking it away like a fly on her dark pelt. "Oh, do stay for a bit. At least so I may speak with you." She smiled, not flirtatiously, but in a friendly manner. She wanted to have a male of her own species to speak with, whether she aquired a mate or not, it would be nice to get to know him a bit better.

The other option was that she go with this centaur on his journey, whatever that may be. Guardian would not be hurt by this decision, and he could most certainly take care of himself. She would offer this if it came to it, but she wasn't sure how he would take that.

Guardian sensed the feeling of hope in his companion and smiled. She wanted to go with this creature, simply to have a friend of her own kind. He locked eyes with her and nodded. It was their destiny to part ways today, whether she went with the centaur or not. He had to find a mate and continue his own line, and he had to begin somewhere. Today was that day. He looked to the younger dragon at his right and pondered for a moment. Perhaps...no...it was to be her own choice, he could not make her, and he knew that his power as a dragon was will-bending. It must cross her mind first, or he would have forced it upon her.

The centauress and the dragon sighed together, both in a tight spot that required a spoken word from the creatures of their species.

[Snickerspods]

Drayl smiled with a certain measure of male pride as he witnessed the sad expression pass over her features. He smiled in response to her query, and his was flirtatious. “Sorry Roxy, places to go, people to fight.” But he’d have to find him first. “Come to think of it you might be able to give me some information.” He remarked. Hopefully he’d be able to get the info he needed the easy way, even if it wasn’t his favourite way. “I’m looking for a centaur, wears a silver amulet and has jet black horse torso with white tail. Wouldn’t happen to know where I might find such a centaur?” he asked with a raised brow, passing a hand over his shaved skull.

“I heard he passed by this way, but after that the trail runs cold.” Drayl was a master tracker, amongst many other things. But Thalldyn had all but disappeared. Drayl knew better than to enquire after an enchanted sword wielding worrier, most that saw Thalldyn’s sword didn’t live long enough to tell about it. So instead Drayl enquired after Thalldyn himself, since it worked just as well as his colouring was rather distinctive. That and he left an impression, probably because of all the compassion he was wont to display. Drayl scowled inwardly, he couldn’t very well understand how someone so weak could be so strong.