{U}nexpected {E}ncounters [Setcher]

[steampunkepsilon]

Setcher was out like a candleflame in a downpour, exhausted and sore and vaguely hungry. He would have never allowed himself to relax to the point of unconciousness in the home of a human, but he supposed that habit gave in to his tired, ever-so-slightly-trusting nature and thrown him into sleep. As Thorgrim touched him he shifted in his state of exhaustion, his spines stiffening slightly and then going limp along with the rest of him -- and with that, he was gone into dreamland.


--

The exhausted dragon didn't wake again until well into the night, perhaps two or three hours before dawn. He laid there, curled up on the floor fo the shack, for a few moments, then eventually unwrapped himself and scanned the dark room slowly. He was alone... no sign of Thorgrim. His first reaction was concerned panic, but he calmed himself and hurriedly slipped out of the building, feeling far less cramped outside in the open air of the empty street. He wavered, stretching stiffly and feeling suddenly very... exposed, even considering the general lack of people. This wide open space was very uneasing,, and he couldn't help but feel the familiar urge to disappear in the comforting shelter of the thick nearby forest.

But where as Thorgrim? He felt it would be... somehow rude to just disappear, though considering how they'd been running into one another as of late it wasn't as if he'd never see the boy again. He inhaled a couple of times, trying to pick out his scent amidst all sorts of other human and animal and food scents, circling the large cabin twice before his nostrils located a familiar smell, and he followed it. It led him through the edges of the village, which pleased him considering it kept him away from the denser streets and homes.

He wondered for the longest time where in the world a trail of this nature was leading him, but eventually it stopped near one of the thatch-roofed houses and he hesitated, studying the window of the shacklike home to see if any movement was obvious enough to blame it on concious persons moving about. Was this where the boy lived? Was he even welcome here? It wasn't... entirely impossible, but it was unlikely that he would be graciously welcomed or even allow himself to be graciously welcomed, for that matter. It seemed so much safer to just go find somewhere to hide and lie in wait, somewhere more secluded than the wide and empty patch of choppy, rocky, grassy dirt he stood on now....

After debating intensely, he finally just found a thick enough cluster of trees and eased himself down between the trunks of the tall pines, surrounded somewhat safely by shrubs and undergrowth and preparing himself to wait until Thorgrim left the hut, or until he fell asleep again.

[don't worry about it, I'm rusty on this one as well. It shall evolve into something more solid eventually!!]

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

As Thorgrim rested back in the chair, his eyelids began to feel even more heavier. The seductive lullaby of sleep was beckoning towards him, inviting him to a deep slumber that looked so very relieving. His eyelids closed, but then snapepd open again. Thorgrim rubbed his eyes, and yawned. He could not fall asleep here. Perhaps he should return to his own hut.

Looking at Setcher, though, Thorgrim realized there was one problem - what would happen if he left the dragon here? Shrugging his shoulders, Thorgrim decided there really was not much he could do. Besides, Setcher looked so peaceful in his well-deserved rest that Thorgrim would have hated to spoil it for him. And so, with that, Thorgrim left, in a sleepiness-inebriated haze, lured by the desire of a good night's rest.

---

Thorgrim awoke with a jolt, almost as if someone had run an electric current through his body. The golden sunlight peering through the partially drawn curtains informed him that it was already late morning. He had obviously slept longer than he thought he would! Quickly, Thorgrim jumped out of bed, and got dressed, which only took a minute, considering all he had done before he had climbed into bed was remove his boots, helmet and overcoat. Within the span of a few minutes, the young Viking was sprinting through the village to the healer's hut.

He quickly made haste, dodging and weaving through villagers, some of whom greeted him, and others who, with little tolerance for young men almost running into them, yelled a less-than-friendly warning to be more careful. But Thorgrim knew he had good reason to be in such a rush. The healer's hut came into sight around a corner.

As soon as he arrived, Thorgrim wasted no time in knocking on the door in a most urgent manner. Every second seemed to drip more urgency into him. Was Setcher still there? The healer opened the door, and promptly informed a rather anxious-looking Thorgrim that Setcher had already left. That confirmed the young Viking's fears.

Alarmed, Thorgrim turned and ran, leaving the bewildered healer to ponder over the scenario, to the one place he knew he could find his dragon-friend - the forest. Wasting no time, Thorgrim hastily ran out the gate, and into the shadows of the tall, looming trees of the forest. What concerned him was not the fact that Setcher had fled the village, but the possibility that perhaps there was a reason he had fled the village. Thorgrim only hoped something had not happened while he had been asleep...
His pace quickened.

[steampunkepsilon]

Setcher had managed, in his state of exhaustion, to fall asleep once again. Camoflouged by both his scales and their tendency to turn colors, and the thick underbrush, he was deep enough into the forest to be invisible as Thorgrim rushed by. he woke up a few minutes later, groggy and wondering how long he'd been asleep for... the brightness of his surroundings told him, far, far too long.

Stretching and slowly standing, he studied the hut and sniffed at the air briefly, catching nothing on the wind and furrowing his brow slightly, ears flickering. Where could the boy have gone? Was he still asleep, or had he left to do errands or... something? He didn't know, and he didn't want to leave, but he couldn't just sit here.

A sudden thought struck him. What if something had happened while he was asleep? The smell of smoke was lingering, and he could have attributed it the smoke of early-morning wood fires, but the chance of an attack having happened were always present. No, he thought, no. The village was fine, he could see people milling about -- they would be panicking, fleeing. The village was fine. But where was Thorgrim?

Slowly, the dragon slipped out of his hiding place and climbed up the hill, then continued on parallel to the boundaries of the village, sniffing, scenting the air for any sign of the teen. He found none, and it concerned him even more, and Setcher let out a disgruntled murmer before the crackle of snapping twigs and branches caught his ear, and he wheeled around, managing to make a bit more noise than intended as he made the tight spin and then lunged over a large fallen log he had just climbed over. It was only by a stroke of luck that he didn't land on top pf Thorgrim, managing to leap over him and clear him by just a short distance, turning again to face the boy. He seemed perfectly fine, and Setcher exhaled, shoulders slacking with relief.

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

The recent chain of events seemed to be one which stretched on endlessly - the discovery of Setcher, the battle with the wolves, Setcher's fleeing, and so on. It surprised Thorgrim that he actually didn't need more sleep than he had already received. Registering this thought, Thorgrim's body agreed with a brief, furtive surge of fatigue as the boy ran, but his pace did not falter.

Even though concern was what pressed him on, Thorgrim trusted Setcher enough to know the dragon was more than capable of handling himself in almost any given situation. The two unlikely friends had met not too long ago, but, already, Thorgrim had seen what Setcher was capable of. Despite this, however, the effects of the gravity of the entire situation were still evident in the hurried pace of Thorgrim.

Suddenly, a large form bulleted past Thorgrim, and, stifling a yelp of surprise, the teenager skidded to a stop, and spun around, surprised, to see what had almost collided into him. His green eyes widened as he saw it was none other than Setcher!

"Setcher!" called out Thorgrim, quickly jogging up to the dragon, a broad grin radiating with happiness clear on his tanned face, "Here you are!”

Thorgrim could not hide the relief and happiness in his voice, and reached out, resting his hand gently on Setcher’s snout. He hated to think what might have happened alternatively – the village was known for its dragons, and almost every inhabitant was tolerant of even a seemingly new one wandering around, but Setcher was most likely not accustomed to the hustle and bustle of a Viking village, and the almost alien environment may have incited in him a sense of confusion that may have lead him to do something the inhabitants would not be tolerant of.

But, quite obviously, that was not the case. And Thorgrim was relieved it was not.

He was still puzzled as to what Setcher was doing out here, though. In all honesty, Thorgrim held himself responsible – he should have stayed with the dragon. However, such thoughts did not matter now. At least they were both together again.

[steampunkepsilon]

The dragon didn't flinch at Thorgrim's contact this time, comfortable enough to expect such a gesture and more concerned about whether the boy had been endangered, or if by disappearing he'd caused any trouble for him...

It was so strange, how in such a short span of time as a few days they had managed to become... well, companions. Friends. Strangers turned allies through a series of ridiculously difficult --though at the same time oddly -- circumstances. He had felt fear, bitterness, even aggression towards the Viking teen when he had first scaled the hillside and invaded his hiding place, the dragon still wounded, weak and prone to lash out. But now, though he didn't trust him completely, the beginnings of a trust had formed that same moment, or when the wolves attacked, or when they attacked yet again, or even last night or now or all of them. Thorgrim had brought him food, bandaged his wounds, fought off wounds and trusted him enough to climb atop his back in the heat of battle; alternatively, Setcher had spared him, protected him, and saved him, then stepped onto human ground with the same sense of forced trust between them. He felt the need to feel suspicious, but he couldn't -- if Thorgrim wanted him dead, captive, wounded, he'd have done it, long before now.

He couldn't make himself be afraid of the boy, and though before it would had irritated him, he felt no such thing now.

He did trust Thorgrim.

Shaking his head, he nudged the teen's hand gently, moving his head closer to nuzzle the side of his head affectionately. Pulling away, he let out a long, he let out a heavy sigh and sat back on his haunches, hunched forward and yawning. His wings hadn't moved during the whole of his search, clamped tightly against his body so to avoid damaging his already-torn wing and to remain streamlined and fast in motion. Though the wounds from the last few days were entirely unpleasant, the help of Thorgrim and the healer were definitely paying off -- already he felt much, much better, and perhaps he would be able to fly within the next couple of weeks. He could hunt from the ground and climb to safety just fine until then, and even though the steady throbbing pain tried to convince him otherwise, the bites and scratches weren't as deep as he thought, so they would heal quickly enough.

Now that he thought about it, Thorgrim had taken his fair share of hits, fighting off the wolves and running right beside Setcher.... had he been treated? He knew he hadn't right away, when they reached the village -- they'd been too busy trying to find a healer and fixing up his own injuries -- but perhaps he had been tended to after the dragon dozed off. Setcher stared at the Viking for a moment, remembering places of contact -- his arm had been hurt, his forearm and shoulder, he'd been hit several times... but he was covered in clothing. All he supposed he could do was hope that Thorgrim's injuries had been bandaged...

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

Now that he had found Setcher, Thorgrim was not too sure what to do.
Here they were, standing together. Reunited, once again. Suddenly, as if to punctuate their reunion, Thorgrim felt Setcher nuzzle him, and, even though this display of affection surprised him, he simply could not suppress a soft, affectionate smile appearing on his face.

The young Viking teen's mind flashed back to the fateful day, not too long ago, when they had encountered the voracious wolf pack. It had been a terrifying experience, and one Thorgrim had not been ready for. It had happened so suddenly, and in such an instant that it had left Thorgrim as startled as he was wounded. However, he could not dismiss the fact that it had, in a way, given him experience. Not only in the traditional sense of the word, but it had also allowed him to experience something he had only imagined before - friendship with a dragon. While such a bond was fairly common, it was not until one personally experienced it oneself that one could properly understand how unique it actually was. It had, in a way, been an eye-opener to something amazing - an almost unseverable bond of trust between two very different creatures.

Thorgrim lifted his arm to stroke Setcher's neck fondly, but a sharp pain in his shoulder caused him to flinch slightly. Clutching his shoulder as if trying to extinguish the flaring pain, Thorgrim grimaced, but his expression soon returned to normal, and he chuckled, laughing it off lightly. His wounds had been treated, at least, and so he did not have to worry about it becoming infected. That did not mean it would not pain, however. That much was clear.

Thorgrim then came to the realization of something: Setcher was currently almost completely unable to use his wings. That meant that, right now, perhaps he was not able to return to the cave that the dragon had made his home.

"Can you get back?" Thorgrim asked, almost as if he were expecting Setcher to understand. Carefully, Thorgrim's finger traced, very lightly, over the edges of Setcher's wings. Maybe he could climb, but even Thorgrim was not too sure.

[steampunkepsilon]

Setcher was relieved to see that his... friend... was in one piece and seemed to be coping well with his wounds from before. The dragon had wondered how his arm was doing, for better or worse, and even though it obviously pained Thorgrim to strain or lift it, it appeared to be healing well, and quickly. For a moment as the boy's face contorted with discomfort, Setcher grew slightly concerned, but he relaxed again as the Viking did and worried about it no more.

When the concern of whether or not he could physically return to his cavern that he had been making his home in for the past couple of weeks arose, Setcher pondered the idea for a moment. His wings were off-limits -- after all the damage he dealt them, they wouldn't be completely healed for at least two to three weeks, inside and out -- but he could easily scale that ragged cliff with claws alone. He turned, peering across the forest floor, seeking out a large enough tree...

Finally locating one that he deemed suitable, Setcher flattened his wings to his body tightly. Coiling up, he lunged, pushing off of the ground with first his forepaws, then his hind, and throwing his weight towards a large, wide tree trunk, latchign onto it and immediately beginning to climb up its height, stopping once he was high enough that his nail didn't drag and peering over his shoulder to look at Thorgrim, expecting him to understand that yes, he would be fine to return to his cavern. After a few minutes, he shimmied back down the trunk and slid to the ground carefully, avoiding other aches and pains he had as he walked back towards Thorgrim and sat heavily, yawning.

[steampunkepsilon]

[thank you mods <3]

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

Thorgrim's wound grew irritant again, and his fingers probed beneath the fabric of his clothing. Had his wound opened again? The material did not feel damp, nor did a red discolouring betray an open wound. It was probably just his muscle, and thus nothing to be concerned about. After all, the physical exertion alone would have caused some lasting discomfort aside from the wounds. And, besides, his own hurt was not worrisome - unlike his concern for Setcher. But even Setcher appeared to be coping quite well, and this caused Thorgrim to feel relief at long last: they were both well and safe.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thorgrim saw movement, and he turned his head, focusing back on Setcher. The dragon lunged forward in a spontaneous display of agility, and, using his impressive claws, clambered up a nearby tree to a fairly elevated height. Confused at first, Thorgrim then understood what the dragon was trying to display: his ability to climb up the cliff-face and back to his cave. Blinking for a few seconds - startled by the dragon's ability to understand what he had asked - Thorgrim said nothing. Setcher had been able to fully understand him...

The viking had heard of and seen the bond some humans and dragons shared, wherein each seemed to understand the other almost entirely, despite any linguistic barriers. But experiencing such a feat firsthand was mind-blowing, and exciting.

Snapping back to the present, Thorgrim smiled as Setcher came back down from up the tree trunk. So, Setcher would be able to return to the cave, at least. That was good news - Thorgrim hated to think what would have to happen if Setcher had not been able to.
As Setcher sat, rather heavily, the young Viking noticed that the dragon appeared to be quite tired.
"Well, I don't think you'd like to return to the village,"

[/b] said Thorgrim, "Um, why don't you go back to the cave?"[/b]

Once again, Thorgrim felt ridiculous - was Setcher truly able to understand him? Somehow, Thorgrim had he faith he was. Walking towards the direction of the cave in which Setcher had made his home.[/color]


((OoC: Hmm, I'm planning for something exciting/interesting to happen quite soon. XD))
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[steampunkepsilon]

Though he was quite tired, bone and muscle still recovering from the last few days of insanity that had plagued him, he most certainly would feel more comfortable in the cavern than here, and he supposed it wasn't altogether too far. Sighing with the slightest bit of irritation at being suddenly pulled back into physical motion, he shifted and rose up again, exhaling and following the boy, then walking beside him. He felt so at ease around the young male, and it amused him vageuly to think that when the teen had first scrambled his way up the cliffside and offered him food and a friendly helping hand he'd had to resist the urge to rip his hand off. Eyes narrowing and shying away from a patch of sunlight, he shifted his wings and kept to the middle of the path, the darkness of the canopy's shade a constant through this part of the paths and trails.

It was a long but relatively straightforward trek back to the cavern, though by the time they actually reached the familiar cliffside Setcher was far too tired to climb it immediately, and laid down at the hillside's base for a few minutes to rest in a heap, not even caring about the heavy sunlight in this area. Normally he'd have shied away from direct contact with the light, merely because he was a beast of nightly adaptation, but he was too tired to care.

Once he had rested, the dragon stood and tensed, then lunged at the cliffside and scaled his way up the forty-foot incline, claws finding each useful crevice and crag for him to use as a foothold until he finally pulled himself uo over the ledge and turned, peering down over the edge of the cliff and watchign Thorgrim, wondering whether he planned to stay down there, or come up or return to the village... he didn't want the boy to be too far from help should his wounds cause him trouble, so if he decided to leave that would bear Setcher no ill will.

[ooc: ooh, I'm interested now. Super top secret? ]

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

Thorgrim followed Setcher to the base of the cliff. Sunlight flooded into the open space, bathing the tan sand in gold, lighting up the wrinkled, aged face of the cliff, and crowned its jagged sandstone peak with a white glow. Thorgrim noticed he had been walking closer to Setcher than usual; most likely because he was still on his nerves after what had happened with the wolves. Even though he felt reasonably safe in the wood, he now understood just how serious an unexpected encounter with vicious wolves truly is. And, just in case he forgot, a solid reminder manifested itself as wounds across his body.

Hearing something, Thorgrim turned around to see Setcher resting against the foot of the cliff, evidently quite tired. Amused, Thorgrim smiled. At least he was not the only one here who was still a slight bit fatigued. Walking up to Setcher, Thorgrim sat a few feet away from him, resting his back against the cliff, and shutting his eyes briefly. He did not intend to sleep - it was far too dangerous for that to be done here - but he figured there was no harm in resting a little.
Thorgrim noticed something else: with Setcher, he felt safer in the wilderness. Being a Viking, he, naturally, feared almost nothing, but the wolf encounter had left him slightly unnerved, and finding courage in this dragon's company strengthened him even more.

Thorgrim's eyelids began to feel heavy, and the alluring desire to sleep was growing stronger. Slowly, his breathing relaxed. Before he could sleep, though, small grains of stone fell on his head, pulling him out of his half-sleep. 'What the--...'

[/i] Looking up to see Setcher almost at the top of the cliff, Thorgrim's eyes widened in surprise. Wow. Either Setcher was extremely stealthy, or Thorgrim had been so deeply enticed by sleep that he had not heard the dragon ascend the cliff.

Standing up, Thorgrim nodded at Setcher, smiling. At least the dragon was safe, and at his home, now. That would be enough to put Thorgrim's concerns at rest. On that note, Thorgrim decided to return to the village, and catch up on some much-needed sleep.

"See you, Setch,"[/b] called out Thorgrim, "If you leave there, don't go too far!"[/b]

Meanwhile, a pair of unseen, calculating eyes watched the young Viking boy and his dragon-friend from behind the concealment of the bushes and trees...[/color]



[[OoC: Let's just say we may have another character who could prove to be quite contributing to the plot, hehe]]
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[steampunkepsilon]

{ I shall post very soon, tonight most likely : D }

[steampunkepsilon]

Setcher had almost hoped for the boy to want to join him, but it would be much better for Thorgrim to return to his nice warm house and get some rest, and keep his wounds clean and such -- the dragon would feel terrible if something happened out here in the wilderness that could have been easily prevented by human medicine. On most accounts, Setcher would firmly and rather stubbornly maintain that dragons and humans were equals, but in the ways of medicinal healing he would gladly let the humans claim that as their specialty.

He watched the boy disappear with no specific response to his departing farewell, then slunk away from the edge of the cavern and curled up in the more darkened back of his temporary residence. wWings tucked in and tail coiled around himself as he drifted off to sleep, he was glad for the rest and the soothing darkness, and for Thorgrim.

[[ sorry for the ridiculous short. Couldn't think of much more xD and now I'm REALLY anxious. Sounds dangerouuusssss x3 ]]

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

[[ Hate to keep you in suspense, but I will post quite soon XD ]]

[/center]

[Ӊ ӑ z ҿ]

Taking a few seconds to give Setcher's cave one last glance over his shoulder, Thorgrim concluded that the dragon would be okay. After all, Setcher was equipped to handle himself, and he was more than capable of doing so. Besides, it was high time that Thorgrim returned to the village. And so he proceeded into the forest, unaware that unwanted eyes were boring into the back of his neck, calculating, planning and scheming.

"Yes... The boy and the dragon are definitely connected."

*****

It was a fine day for a walk. Rays of golden sunlight filtered through the canopy of leaves, illuminating what appeared to be a new world of roots and creepy crawlies amidst the thick undergrowth. Fronds of the myrtle-shrubs peeked out coyly from behind the thick trunks of the solid oaks. Vines, gnarly and twisted, crept about, seeking to entangle and throttle whatever they could come into contact with. The air had a thick, musty yet eerily refreshing smell to it. The atmosphere was dense, underscored by the high-pitched chirping of birds and insects, the rustle of leaves as something snuck through the undergrowth, and the eery whisper of the wind through the leaves and branches. It was just past noon, and the sun was at its peak in the cerulean sky.

Trudging through the forest was Thorgrim, making his way back to the village. It had been approximately five minutes since he had left Setcher, but he had decided to take the long route. He was in no hurry, and he knew he would arrive at the village in good time. Besides, he wanted to take the extra distance's worth of time to just think over what had recently happened, and clear his mind.

The single beat of footsteps had become monotonous and inconspicuous to Thorgrim's ears as he pondered and thought, not entirely paying attention to his surroundings. He did, however, remain on guard. And he had remembered to bring his longsword this time, in case he did come across any trouble.
As he listened however, he realized his footsteps had, for some reason, become more frequent. But he had not hastened his pace in any way.

It was not his footsteps. What he had heard were two sets of footfalls.

Stopping, Thorgrim glanced around, eyes narrowing as his hand went to the hilt of his longsword. Was somebody following him? Looking around, he could not see anyone immediately. But he was sure he heard something.

Unbeknownst to him, expertly concealed by the bushes and trees, was another person, tracking and following him. Slowly, the person emerged from the bushes, walking towards Thorgrim. The young Viking boy caught sight of the stranger.

"Hey... Who are you?"

[/b]

The stranger smiled, walking closer to Thorgrim. This would prove to be amusing.

[/color]


[[ o o c: Augh, sorry for the wait... >< Hopefully this post is worth it ^^; I am not sure what you want to do with Setcher, but feel free to do whatever you want with him ^^ I wonder who this stranger might be... >3 ]][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]