Silver and Black (Whitebrand and Incursu)

[Whitebrand]

“Ye might as well toss your cloak aside,” Brand said. “Nothing ye can hide will scare the likes o’ me. As for carrying me...I really doubt ye would get off the ground with the likes of me in tow. Bein’ a mere slip of a girl and all.”

He smirked, looking particularly charming as he got a knowing expression across his face.

“Of course ye’re more than a mere girl. Ye be someone special,I think. So I’ll warn ye now...if ye want to go on to his lair and he finds ye, he will be wanting to keep you for his own. I would, if ye don’t mind me saying so.”

[Incursu]

Inc gave him a little head tilt, wondering what he expected under her cloak...? Hopefully, he wasn't going to be disappointed. Whilst she didn't bother taking it off fully, she simply lifts up the long cloak, revealing a perfectly normal, if a tad chubby body. Her legs were toned, it was clear her leg strength was better than the rest of her. Though, as she beamed with sharp teeth, she playfully allows the cloak to fall back down, giggling.

"Nothing scary under here, apart from uhm, my missing eye and, weird hands, I always look fairly normal. By human standards" she chirps, still attempting to offer a gloved hand to him " I can make someone feel a little more weightless in the air...If I can actually hold onto em. I couldn't carry a giant by any means"

She scoffs softly at the keeping comment, shaking her head.

"Nah...Hopefully the cloak makes me look like a weirdo. I'm sure I'll keep outta his ha-Scales"

[Whitebrand]

Brand smiled back. He reached out and took her hand. There was a faint electrical jolt as he touched her but he didn't seem to have noticed.

"Well all right then," he said. He took a deep breath as though steadying himself. "I guess I just can't let a filly go into a place like that on her own. I'm sure there are all kinds of surprises there. I'll point the way. Just let me know if yer in danger of dropping me.""

[Incursu]

It didn't register as something, too strange. She shrugged off the jolt as a small bit of static electricity, nothing more. Smiling softly, she seemed to tense up...before slowly rising off the ground. Though clumsy at first, she began to almost walk upon invisible steps, slowly seemingly to pass on the newfound weightlessness to brand. Soon, she didn't need to use steps for momentum, levitating through the air as her head seemed to serve as her source of direction...

"I'm not a filly...And I won't. I couldn't carry you on my back, but I can at least hold your hand like this. I haven't ever managed more than one person" she admits, though, in all honesty, this was the first person she had carried that was awake...

"Don't think I'll outfly a dragon, but hopefully you enjoy the view" she giggles " Not that this proud dragon you mentioned, seems like the mount-type"

[Whitebrand]

"This is...interesting," Brand said, looking down. He took the receding ground fairly well for someone normally bound to it. Instead of panicking he pointed north.

"Third peak," he said. "The entrance stands out in the snow...a big cave entrance sloping upwards into the mountain. Right...there."

Once he described it it was easy for Incursu to make out. The dragon evidently made regular use of his entrance even during the winter...piles of snow had been shoved down the face of the cliff, leaving a hole in the southern side of the northernmost peak. The entrance was about halfway up the mountain's face and looked big enough for five horses standing side by side to enter. No trail led to the entrance that she could see. If there was one it was buried beneath the snow.

Brand's hand tightened a bit on her hand. Probably more nervous than he was letting on. The two of them stood out quite clearly in the sky.

"I was sure ye had wings under your cloak," he commented. "But this is different."

[Incursu]

Somewhat flatted by the way he seemed to experience this, she supposed to a human, it really would be surprising. Even she could recall her first time as a child, finding how, free she felt when flying like this. Aiming for the entrance he pointed out, she gently returns the gesture to her hand, with a comforting squeeze.

"It's okay, I promise I won't drop you. I'm fast when I get a bit of the wind on my back" she says softly, angling herself after some time, feet aiming to land on the ground below " Hmm? Well, I can make wings out of my blood for, faster flights but...it looks very threatening, I prefer not to, hehe"

[Whitebrand]

"Out of your blood?" Brand said. "That sounds painful."

They touched down neatly just inside the open tunnel. There were plenty of signs of use here. A few more scales of various sizes rested at the corners of the tunnel and the floor showed unmistakeable signs of regular use by something very big with strong claws. The tunnel arched above their heads with smoothness that could only have come from the finest skill. The hall sloped upward into the mountain, presumably as a defense against potential invaders or rain. After a short distance the tunnel curved until Incursu was unable to see where it led.

Brand took in a deep breath and looked out at the valley below. The view was breathtaking. From this height and angle nearly everything in the valley below was visible.

[Incursu]

"It is. I'm a fast healer when compared to humans, but....it still hurts, and it takes me a whole month or two to grow back a finger, or arm" she shivers, detesting the thought of ever being damaged that badly, she then perked up considerably, at the sight of the fallen scales and carved walls.

She released Brand from her grasp, as soon as both their feet finally touched the ground, gasping audibly, in wonder at how beautiful and...magical, this lair looked. Inc seemed to have forgotten all about staying covert, and quiet, squealing as she grabbed a particularly large scale, holding it up proudly.

"Look!!!! Look at this!!! Did you ever see a scale so pretty!! It's so big!!"

[Whitebrand]

Brand smiled widely at her excitement. She was in for a surprise, surely. He looked at the scale carefully.

“Probably from his chest or shoulder,” he said clinically. “I imagine he gets a bit grumpy when he moly’s. If dragons molt.”

Then he looked into the tunnel. He took a steadying breath.

“Doesn’t stink like any other lair,” he noted. “This is your party, lass. Are we going in deeper, and who leads the way?”

[Incursu]

"Wow, I hope I can get a good look at the ones on his chest then. I bet they must look stunning, when they're freshly molted" she says, her voice practically melting at the thought, she was certainly passionate about seeing anything non human..

Scaled creatures especially.

Cocking her head however, she remembers to now lower her voice, to almost a gentle whisper, as she faces the lair once more.

"I'll....lead, I'll fly us out in case he's a bit grumpy"

[Whitebrand]

“How fast can you get us out of here?” Brand said in a low voice as he followed behind her.

The tunnel twisted a bit as they headed in, and Incursu could see a bright light around the bend. The passage led into a massive chamber that looked far less “dragon hoard” and more “museum”. Display cases, weapon racks, and armor mounts ringed the great cavern, with tapestries hanging on the walls and the occasional bust among them. The cases were filled with precious objects...gemstones, jewelry from across the continent, statuettes and other Knick knacks. Everything was lit by glowing stones and lovingly displayed at its best. In the middle of all this splendor was a massive pile of mattresses, pillows, and cloth.

At the far end of the chamber was a great vault door. Next to the closed door was a smaller, human-sized tunnel that led to gods knew where.

[Incursu]

Raising a brow, she wondered if he was getting a bit scared...The last thing on her mind was escaping, but, she humoured him for now. Inc was never too good at lying, so she gave, a vague, but honest response.

"Quick-ish, but it doesn't look like anyones home..." she replies, appearing to be incredibly puzzled by the lack of any hoard. It felt more like a human noble's collection of trophies, than the cave hoard of a dragon. Not that she had anything real to compare it to, she'd only read of dragons laying on a big pile of treasure..

"Oh, look, theres a smaller tunnel there. Maybe he squished down there, what do you think?"

[Whitebrand]

“Squished?” Brand sounded amused. “Well maybe he likes to take some kind of humanoid form or something. Dragons are some of the most powerful magical beasts in the world after all. Well if we go there, and don’t touch anything along the way, he might not even realize we’re here. Unless that area is occupied.”

As he spoke Incursu saw movement at the entrance to the tunnel. A figure that was so black that it would have vanished into the shadows had it not been for an absolute waterfall of white hair outlining the very female form.

“Speak of the gods,” Brand said.

The woman who emerged was a dark elf, one of the most feared races in the world. She was also incredibly beautiful as only elves can be. She had an hourglass waist and large firm breasts that were restrained by a satin-like top. Her hips were wrapped in a long skirt of red silk that reached the floor, her wrists were adorned with silvery bracelets and she wore a sheer veil over her mouth and nose. Around her neck was a white collar of some sort of soft ribbon. She walked gracefully towards the pair, unhurried and I afraid. If this were a stage performance surely her entrance would have been accompanied by an a cappella choir.

[Incursu]

It didn't seem to click with Inc yet, that her companion might be, something different entirely. For now, she raises a brow to his response, before jumping slightly at the sudden appearance of the elf before her. Inc had never encountered one, let alone a lady that was, quite beautiful. Inc seemed, slightly bashful, looking down and away from her gaze as she cleared her throat shyly.

"O-Oh hello, you're not the dragon, are you?" was what she ended up stammering out, dorkily assuming now, that anything strange and humanoid, was possibly a dragon in disguise.

It was adorkably precious, really.

[Whitebrand]

The dark elf crossed the cavernous room towards the pair, her violet eyes going from one to the other. When she finally reached them she knelt and bowed her head.

“I am very pleased to meet the young lady our master has been talking about so much,” she said in a high tenor. There was a faint accent that Incursu couldn’t place. Possibly elven. “Welcome home, Miss. I am Viconia. I am responsible for our master’s brides.”

[Incursu]

This only seemed to leave Inc with even more confusion. Maybe she was mistaken? Who was this master she spoke of, the dragon? Her face remained blank , all the while she nervously spoke up

"Uhm, home? My home is really far from here, Miss Viconia, but it's nice to meet you. I uh, don't know about any bride stuff but, I'm just here to look for a dragon and, then I'll be on my way" she says softly, looking at Brand awkwardly "are you sure this is his cave...?"

[Whitebrand]

Brand was standing there looking embarrassed, one hand behind his head as he looked down.

“Ah...well...I haven’t actually gotten to that part yet...but now’s as good a time as any.”

Brand seemed to balloon, gaining height and muscle mass. He had loomed over her before...now he stood at over eight feet in height. His flesh became a bright silver and the texture changed into small scales instead of mere skin. Great wings unfolded from his back, bat like and also covered with a silver sheen. A tail extended from his spine and curled around behind him. His massive hands became clawed with shining nails. His legs became digigrade, the knees folding back and the shins curving forward again to end in reptilian-like feet. His head of long hair became metallic copper. His face elongated into an almost horse-like shape an sprouted three hornlike spines at the hinge of his jaw. His eyes shifted from the golden hazel to molten gold, actually producing their own light while slit-shaped pupils stared back at her. His shirt and vest vanished, leaving the kilt still in place though much larger to accommodate his new frame. His muscles had been impressive before. Now he looked positively ripped. Two curved horns swept back from his temples and his hair lengthened into almost a mane. By the time the transformation stopped the dragon-man stood over twice Incursu’s height.

“I am Whitebrand,” he rumbled, his voice echoing in the cavern. “And you, Incursu, are being given the honor of being one of my brides. You have been tested and triumphed at every turn. You shall see sights you have never imagined and will be safer than you ever thought possible. You will have a home and family here. All this is now yours.”

He made a sweeping bow that was as grand as anyone might expect for a prince or respected king.

[Incursu]

This was more than just unexpected. In fact, unexpected was an understatement.

As Brand transformed into his true draconic form, Inc couldn't help but think how she hadn't caught on. Eyes adjusting from looking only a little upward, to eyeing him from a considerably lower height, she takes a couple of steps back to allow a more, comfortable distance between them. Also, it allowed Inc a nice distance between herself, and the cave's entrance.

Because while his appearance was shocking, and quite the surprise, his words left her more stunned than anything else. Bride? Honor of being his Bride..?

It was a bit much to say the least, let alone that she knew little of him...and had only just discovered that he was the dragon all along.

And though she gave him a polite, but non-subtle smile of complete confusion and awkwardness, she let out a soft laugh.

"Oh h-haha, oh you're one of those trickster dragons, aren't you? This was a very funny prank, I never would've expected a dragon could've fit into a small human form" she answers, taking a few more nervous steps backward " And I'm flattered, hah....I told ya I wasn't really bride material, and...uh, I have a home n' I think my snake might be wanting me back.."

Everything in her body's language, suggested the short, bashful woman was ready to bolt. But given that she didn't quite know the layout of the cavern, an escape attempt might not be so easy.

[Whitebrand]

When Incursu stepped back she bumped into the now-standing dark elf. Viconia gently put her hands on Incursu’s shoulders, steadying her...and keeping her from taking off in an inconvenient direction.

“You already made that choice,” she purred in Incursu’s ear. “When you decided to come here. Of your own. Free. Will.”

“We will fetch your pet...if you actually have one,” Brand said to her. “But you are here to stay. I even have a room prepared for you. I will not let you refuse now.”

He gave her a disapproving look.

“You have a beautiful heart, Incursu, though a wounded one. I would heal it it I could. So it shall be.”

[Incursu]

Her face barely showed an ounce of emotion, forcing out a blatant poker face as she weighed her options. The dark elf was far taller than she, as was Brand. But unfortunately, her stubborn nature took over. The chaotic nature she held over being free, pushed out her fear over a dragon.

"Well, I'll have to refuse for you then. I don't ah....I think I should go, it seems like you have a nice lady here anyway so...T-Thank you for letting me see you, your dragony you I mean" she finally declares, puffing her chest out a little in mock bravery, before crouching and making a dash between Viconia's legs. Merely to slide underneath and away, nothing of a more naughty nature.