Dragon Rider Play

Blade nodded. Perfect. If Lucious was happy, he may be more willing to talk to Blade. And he thought maybe the knowledgable man may also know what Blue called him, if anyone did besides Blue.

Mellon whined a little softly. He was starting to get pretty hungry now.

Tithenor glanced back at Blade, hiding his internal smile. Not knowing was going to drive him crazy, the elf knew, but he wasn't going to tell him. He wasn't sure why he'd called Blade that, but it felt right. He gave Mellon a pat. "Let us feed the dragons then ourselves."

The Frillback tossed his claws as he walked, trying to get the metal off. How was he supposed to get this OFF?!

Blade nodded. "Sounds good to me. What you you think about that, Erika?" He asked his dragon.

Mark sighed a little. "I will help if you promise not to do something like that again." He bargained.

Erika chirped and bobbed her head excitedly. Food! Glorious food!
"Erika? You have chosen her name?" Tithenor asked.

The Frillback whined and walked to Mark, holding up his claws hopefully. He'd be good!

Blade nodded. "Yup. This is Erika. Erika, this is Blue, or Tith.... Tithanor?" He said. He tried to remember his friend's actual name to pronounce it right.

Mark sighed and picked up his dragon. "You will not like what I will have to do..." He said. He carried his little guy to the stall they cleaned at the start of the day. Ah! There it was. He grabbed the tool and sat down with the Frillback on his lap. He then used the nail file to slowly and meticulously file down the claws to get rid of the metal. It took a long time to do right, and after that paw, he had to do the other ones so the claws were all even.

Erika looked at Blue and chirped. Hello!
"Very close," Tithenor said approvingly. The pronunciation wasn't right, but at least he tried. "Greetings, Erika."

This was not fun! The Frillback didn't fight, but he cried the whole time. The rasping of the file hurt his ears and the vibrations made his toes sore!

"How do you pronounce it again?" Blade asked. He felt the elf would prefer being called by his actual name whenever possible.

Mellon churred back at Erika. Hi! You have a name now too? That's really cool!

Mark brushed away the last of the dust. The Frillback's nails were a little shorter, but were even now too. "Now, we are not doing that again, right?" He said to reinforce the lesson.

"Tithenor," he said, the word flowing like water from his lips. "It is fine if you desire to call me Blue. Not many non-elven tongues can pronounce Elven names."

Erika purred, arching her neck proudly. Yes I do! I like my special name.

The Frillback whined and tucked his head against Mark's belly. No, he wouldn't do it ever again!

Blade said the name several times under his breath. He would learn to say it right! He mimicked how the elf said it pretty well, and said it a few more times to try and engrain it in his mind.

Mellon chirped. Special name? How so?

Mark stroked his dragon comfortingly. "All right. How about we find something for you to eat?"

Tithenor listened with amusement. "You do not give up easily, do you?"

Erika pointed her nose skyward. That's for me to know!

The Frillback looked up and chirped excitedly. Food!

"Not when I deem it important, Tithenor." Blade said. He was a lot more improved, although his accent was still a bit off.

Mellon shrugged it off. Okay. He was happy with his name.

Mark smiled and went to the cart Blackwater had left while he was filing his dragon's nails. He found a choicey piece of meat and prepared it for his dragon. It was one of the best cuts there, and would taste wonderful for his Frillback.

"Then you will do well," the elf said, raising a hand in greeting as they came up up to cart where Mark was. He chose a life of meat to freeze.

The Frillback waited, shifting impatiently.

Mellon churred in excitement. He kneaded his front paws in anticipation.

Blade picked up a freshly killed young raccoon. He showed it to Erika. "This look good, or something else?"

Mark gave the prepared prime cut meat to his Frillback. "See? Your patience is rewarded."

Tithenor set it down but held up a finger. "Min, tad, neled.... Hi." One, two, three... now. He pointed to the meat on the last word, giving Mellon permission to attack the meat.

Erika sniffed at it then chirped her approval. Fresh and untouched! Perfect! She jumped down and circled Blade impatiently.

The hatchling purred in excitement and gratitude before attacking the meat.

At "Hi," Mellon attacked the meat, eating the frozen food happily. He understood Elvish a little bit with his connection with his elvish rider. He liked the sound of the language. It sounded pretty.

Blade went to their stall and set the raccoon down for her. "It would probably taste even better once you learn how to hunt." He commented as she ate. "But we shall get there when we do."

Mark smiled and watched his dragon eat. He was glad the dragon had a healthy appetite. It was a sure sign of a healthy hatchling.

Tithenor stood back, watching Mellon with amusement. "/Good,/" he praised. "/Good./"

The Blade dragon attacked the racoon, tearing into it and opening the belly to stick her head inside, almost climbing inside.

The Frillback finished off almost all of the meat, trotting over to present the last little bit to his rider. It was his way of saying thank you. Besides, his rider needed to eat, too!

Mellon looked very happy and healthy now. The cold meat was actually key in making sure his species didn't overheat.

Blade laughed a little and watched, ready to help clean his little dragon before she went in the cage so he could go eat.

Mark smiled and ate it to make his dragon happy. He knew he was only enforcing the habit, but he liked seeing his Frillback happy, and he could think of a lot worse habits to teach his dragon.

Tithenor knelt, giving his dragon a thorough petting and showering him in affection before taking him to the cage. "/I must go eat, then I will be back for you./"

The racoon's pelt stirred strangely as Erika moved inside it, munching down every bit of meat. Finally she crawled out, happy and filled.

The Frillback purred, wriggling happily.

(Had a thought... Should we feed them After training? It's been a long time since I've trained anything.)

(Yeah, that's fine )

Mellon purred and gladly went in his cage. He trusted his rider. He went to take a small nap before Tithenor returned.

Blade laughed a little and cleaned Erika up some. "All right. Need you to go in the cage so I can eat, and then I will be right back, okay? I promise." He gave her a coin to play with while he was gone.

Mark smiled and picked his happy dragon up. "Okay. In you go for a little bit. I will return shortly." He promised.

Tithenor smiled briefly then turned to head toward the hall, walking slow so the other two could catch up.

Erika yawned widely, accepting the coin and going to curl up in her little hut.

The Frillback whined when he was put in the cage, but laid down and snuggled up to nap..

Mark and Blade caught up with Tithenor easily enough. They chatted with their friend as they walked to the mess hall.

Tithenor listened calmly, nodding along as he found a spare table with plenty of room for the three of them. He glanced at the space Pat was supposed to occupy and felt a tug. Why? He had barely known the boy for very long.

Blade frowned at the seat. "God damn it. How much trouble do you think I'd get into if I kidnapped Pat and made him sit there?" He said. He felt similarly to Tithenor on the issue.

Mark laughed. "Let's be honest. Probably a lot."

Tithenor's eyes smiled though his lips didn't. "Let him rest. If he rests now, he will be up and ready to work tomorrow. If not.... Then you may attempt to kidnap him. At your own risk."

Blade simply grinned a wicked grin.