[M] A Normal day, A Normal.... Death

Jabari shrugged his shoulder, with a light roll of his eyes as well, a deep sigh escaping through his lips. “I don’t know, I’m just going to assume that you’ve done... ALL the bad stuff!” the young half-elf fling his hands up dramatically, fingers spread wide in his gesture, “I wouldn’t know, we have only been together for such a little time... at least for you. I don’t know the crazy stuff you got into before me. Hell, for all I know you murdered all the elves! And now you’re waiting for your time to strike and kill me too!” There was no way Jabari was actually being serious about it all, shown for the soft smirk on his face the entire time. It held some truth, no way Dei didn’t have secrets he kept from his bonded; things he wouldn’t tell anyone.


“Hey... I’m at least size feet tall you know...” he huffed lightly, “ugh you’re so mean to me you know and here I though you actually did love me. Guess I was wrong the whole time.” The young man put a soft frown on his face, but he found himself wrapping his arms around the dragon’s muzzle; his own face gently resting upon the male’s face. He sighed gently, nuzzling into him as well, his teasing frown now turning into a gentle smile. It was moments like this he enjoyed the most, it was more than living between the two. He even gently stroked the male’s face with his hands. 

Small ripples in the middle of the lake, a slender snout silently appearing above the surface. It was almost difficult to notice it, blue scales shimmering in color with the lake. 
Then a slow inhale, whiskers twitching. New scents in the air, the snout became wrinkled with the briefest of agitation. 

Finally a pair of golden eyes peered over the surface, staring eerily at the new arrivals. Affections between dragon and… 

A small sniff.

Human? Elf? It was a strange scent he couldn't identify. The eyes scrutinize the pair as they nuzzled one another. A sharp snort, the waters shifting as a head emerge from beneath the depths. 

An eastern dragon with shimmering scales akin of the water and the waves. The lavender fur along his cheeks and mane smoothed as he shook loose the water clinging to him. In his jaws was a prize fish, flopping to no avail to get free. 

He just secured a hunt and his eyes seemed to narrow with displeasure at the sight of the two, lingering on the western dragon. 

Not one to be wary of a challenge, the eastern dragon swam to the shore, his gaze unflinching, never leaving the both of them.

Deimos was unaware of the dragon approaching them at first. He had been too wrapped up in cuddling his bonded allowing Jabari to stroke his scales along his face. He wasn't too cruel to the boy. He had never intentionally hurt him even though some western dragons often went crazy when bonded for hatred of their freedoms being taken away from them. He was actually very okay with it all in all. He preferred living with a companion like this. At least then he didn't feel so alone all the time.

The male gave a soft chuffing sound of affection at his bonded before pulling away. He paused hesitating as he flicked his tail. Something wasn't okay... He could feel eyes on them but he hadn't seen anyone when they landed and well- it was not easy to hide a large dragon. His tail lashed again and he gave a small low growl of warning. He would protect Jabari and that growl was a warning to stay away from the boy. He was not a small dragon himself, but if needed he would fight. He preferred not to, but the fact that the other dragon hadn't really made their presence known was unsettling to him. More so that they were away of them, but he hadn't see the dragon at all. Was it hiding? 

His eyes scanned the area again trying to see if he could see anyone or thing. They had skimmed over the lake not really seeing the small head at first. He was looking for something much bigger and that was his fault.

"Jabari... Get behind me. Something isn't right here..."

It wasn't until the dragon was almost on them that the male saw him and he looked at the other dragon warily. He had a fish... Maybe he wasn't hungry so Jabari would be safe from being a snack at least. 

"Hello, I am Deimos and this is Jabari," the western spoke slowly with purpose. His orange eyes glowing as he watched the other male. "What is your name?"

Jabari sighed softly through his nose, it was times like this he enjoyed with the male; even if he'd finally pulled away from him. He himself though, didn't even sense the possible danger lurking in the same area. Hell, all he could really smell was their own bodies, mixed with nature and any other animals around; that, and the water the other seemed to be hidden in as well.

It sort of masked their presence to him an Dei as well, but he was quick to look about once his bonded spoke. "Ok..." he spoke softly, his body moved as slowly as it could behind his bonded, his hands gently moving across dark scales.

"What's wrong?" he spoke soft, a gentle whisper of uncertainly in his voice, "is someone else here?" That was soon answered when Deimos spoke, greeting another it seemed. This caused Jabari to look around the large male, only for his eyes to spoke another dragon coming from the water before them. So that was why Deimos was so worried, having himself go behind him for safty.

The eastern dragon gauged the both of them, his golden gaze darting back and forth but never making the mistake from keeping watch of the western male. His size was daunting, the possible strength within those muscles giving cause to the Eastern to be wary. At best at his full height he came to the bruteish male's chest and that was worrisome. So only his forelegs emerged out of the water, the rest of his serpentine body hidden beneath the depths, the powerful stroke of his tail keeping him aloft. 

The lake was always a good escape route if he needed it.

He crossed his forelegs in front of him, making a quick snack of the fish in his jaws. The western had spoken, Deimos, asked for his name. It was only polite to share back.

The Eastern inclined his head. "My name is Jun. I would ask why are you here but this is no territory of mine and your business is your own." He spoke in a polite tone, never rising, staying even. It was a forethought in the back of his mind to see a western stray so far away with… 

He gave another quick glance. An elf? 

"But I assume you have come here for some sort of… purpose." His eyes narrowed, becoming flat. "No one was to know I was here." His mane and whiskers bristled. "Now I ask, why you are here?"

The western saw the bristling towards the end of the dragon's speech and this us what he was worried about. He never knew if another dragon would be friendly or dumb enough to attack his bonded. He still wasn't completely sure with this one either. He had stopped away not daring to come to close.

"We just came simply to find and meet other dragons, and nothing more," the western said keeping his tone calm as his claws dug into the ground a bit with anticipation. "I decided it was time to actually try to meet other dragons that lived here instead of living with the elves all the time. My friend here decided to tag along."

It was the honest answer but he wasn't sure if the other dragon would like it. He knew nothing about easterns really and his mom had died when he was young. So needless to say even his time with other dragons were limited.

Orange eyes blinked and his tail twitched slightly. "I mean when you grow up in a continent with other dragons you might as well try to make friends even if you're not the same type. Don't you agree Jabari and Jun, was it?"

Jabari wasn't sure what to think of the new dragon, but he was certainly worried with how the other talked. Not aggressively, something he might have assumed they'd speak with, but monotone in a way? Soft, gentle, like he didn't want to start a fight. Surely though, if he did, he could easily maneuver around the larger of the two. This caused the half-elf to slowly pull himself further behind his bonded; his own purple eyes doing to there best to keep tabs on the Eastern... Jun? Yeah, Jun.

A soft, low growl seemed to rumble in his chest, more like warning to be honest; possibly something he should not have done. Yet, it he couldn't stop himself, but he was safe where he was. The growl was cut off by Dei's own words, causing the young man to look up towards his bonded. "Yeah... sure."

…

There was a wealthy pause of silence as Jun listened to Deimos, the mane resuming its normal shape. 

He was forced to inclined his head… puzzled.

He couldn't decide whether his words were innocent or a ploy. Coming from a big brute of a dragon, there hardly seemed to be a reason for the both of them to be friends. Species was no barrier, he wasn't one to judge based on such trivial things alone, but they knew nothing of each other. 

Strangers. Yet there was no denying the honesty in his tone, giving him pause to dismiss them both outright.

The subtle growl reached his ears, his head whipping to stare at Jabari with intensity. 

He returned the growl with a subtle snarl of his own. The water shifted once more as he completely emerged from the lake. Barely coming Deimos' chest, he still stood tall and proud in a majestic manner, his tail moving to coil around himself in an almost protective manner. 

"If this is how you wish to begin a friendship with a dragon, then you have a long way to go." He exhaled sharply, a puff of air shooting towards Jabari, his nostrils flaring before steeling his gaze towards Deimos. "I see you have few interactions with our kind. It is not as simple as you state. A certain level of trust must be earned and clearly it isn't here. I only just met you."

Deimos rolled his eyes as Jabari growled. Sometimes the boy just had bad timing and needless to say the big brute didn't find the boy behind him terrifying. However, that didn't mean he wasn't worried about how Jun would take it and when Jun growled slightly he felt protective. He didn't want Jabari hurt. The boy was only here for him, and not because he actually wanted to meet other dragons. It was dangerous for him and as that dawned on Dei, he felt wariness come over him. Fighting was one thing, but was he able to fight another male dragon and protect Jabari at the same time? He wasn't entirely sure he could and that scared him. He was afraid he might be the one to hurt him...

His eyes became almost sad in appearance as these dark thoughts and fears troubled him and at first he was silent to what Jun was saying. His mind wheeling trying to calm himself down. He was so scared of losing Jabari. "I am not expecting us to be friends right away, but I was hoping to at least start the process by making contact with our kind. I am afraid I am only around those who are cursed to age. Losing everyone you know gets very tiresome after a few millenniums," a pause and a deep sigh. "And no time doesn't make it easier, just makes you not want to get close to people especially if you know they will be gone sooner rather than later."

The male shifted his wings feeling slightly uncomfortable. He didn't like this next topic so much, but it was worth mentioning. Maybe the other male knew something and could help. "I wanted to find a way to immortality for my rider here, but I am not sure where to look. I was hoping my own kind my have some clues or even be able to help. I'd be willing to offer services in return for helping me from losing another friend or in this case a child." 

In truth, even thought Jabari was not related to the male it didn't not stop him from feeling like it was his kid. He loved the boy deeply and was willing to even owe a debt to another dragon. His tail moved to gently press against Jabari to let him feel some comfort. "I am not sure what type of immortality Jabari would be comfortable with, but I only want to stop his aging if possible. I don't want him to die of old age," his head turned to look at the boy. His neck now exposed to Jun which was very trusting not to have the eastern attack him. "What kind would you want? Or what would you want from this immortality?"

Jabari, once the other dragon snarled and moved from the water, found himself back behind Deimos more; his hands gently clung at the scales of the male's large legs. This eastern, Jun, may not have been larger than Dei, but her certainly outmatched his own height. He towered feet above him, it was more than a worrisome thing, but he kept his ground as much as he could; upper lip curled into a soft snarl of his own. Dei was there, there was no doubt he'd protect him if anything happened; yet there was no way he would show weakness around the other.

The young man snorted slightly towards Jun, though he kept himself where Dei wanted him to be. It was only when Dei started to speak, that Jabari's attitude changed softly; his head hanging gently while the boy looked towards the ground. The large dragon's fears and worries were just in the open now, not that Jabari didn't know of them, but they were now in the head of another.

His own expression saddened as well, his brows knit together and lips curled down into a frown. The feelings his bonded had were the same he felt in himself. For years and years he'd been passed down to those of his family, only for those bonded before him to die. It would happen to him too eventually, and the thought ot leaving Dei behind on his own once again bothered him as well. He didn't want to leave him behind, he loved Deimos more than he loved his own father. The dragon was there for him as he grew into the young man he was now; the thoughts of being away even in death hurt his heart.

Jabari leaned himself into Dei's tail now, allowing himself to press against it, providing both of them with some subtle comfort. "I don't know," he spoke softly, his eyes softly gazing towards Dei's own, "I'm ok with anything, as long as I get to stay with you..."