naptime, interrupted [open!]

[finchlings]

The young dragonness is reclining in a shaded glade deep within the Everbloom Gardens of the Viridian Labyrinth, bright emerald eyes occasionally slipping shut before she jerks awake with a snort. She's supposed to be keeping watch, as charged by the lair-queen (her grandmother, a righteous old hag), but it's just so hard to stay awake. Especially in the midday heat, the sun beating down on the damp grounds and making the air wet and hot. It's perfect for a nap.

She stands, unsteadily, in an attempt to further awaken herself; when that fails to do the trick, she plops back down with a sigh.

"Grandmother won't notice if I sleep," she reasons, yawning, "because no one is going to dare try and trespass." They're deep within the Gladekeeper's lands, where no one is a stranger and all Flightmates are welcome, and no undesirables dare venture. The very roots of the Gladekeeper surround the Gardens, protecting the glade from harm, and so her watch is pointless. No one has tried to enter the Everbloom Gardens without invitation in years.

She closes her eyes, clutching her pearl close to her chest, and lets sleep take her. She's not going to sleep for long - just a few moments, really - so it doesn't matter in the long run, right?

[qmiricle]

Everbloom Gardens was far from where Ardner wished to be. He was a follower of Shadowbinder himself, but allegiances aside, the hot weather and dense vegetation were far from his ideal environment. He would never be here by choice, but he had a... friend he was visiting. A short stay with her in the gardens, meeting her clan, catching up on old times; that sort of thing. But there was only so much of the same small clan he could tolerate for so long. He had taken the day to get out for some peace and quiet, and maybe the possibility of finding an area where it was slightly less hot and humid.

He was ready to give up on the latter when he spotted a small dragon dozing off through the undergrowth. Her shimmering, bright coloration was a dead giveaway in the neutral, dark forest floor. He twitched his thumb claws and narrowed his eyes at the pearlcatcher, fairly sure that if it ended in conflict his size would give him enough of an advantage to escape reasonably unscathed. He straightened his posture before stepping towards the sleeping fellow, quiet as to not startle her.

"Good afternoon, miss," he said clearly, from a safe distance.

[finchlings]

She doesn't quite jerk awake - the movement is all too sleep-slow for that - but when she opens her eyes to behold the much-larger dragon watching her from afar, she does let out a rather undignified squeak, clawing her pearl closer to her chest. She's by no means a large dragon (one could even go so far as to call her small), and is hardly used to seeing creatures all that much larger than her. In her own clan, the largest dragon is a rather ancient Imperial male that is as far from intimidating as possible, mostly due to his grandfatherly nature. But this fellow?

He towers above her, huge black wings and all-over burgundy scales and matching Plague-red eyes, and oh, her grandmother had warned her about Plague dragons-

She scrambles up to her feet, pearl clutched in her left hindclaws, and hisses at him. So much for guard duty being an uneventful affair. Surely, if there was one nasty dragon about, there were more? She's always heard that the Plaguemother's children roam in packs.

Where's the Gladekeeper when you need her?

"Who are you?" She growls, wings flaring open in an abortive move to look intimidating. Really, she just manages to unbalance herself and she wobbles a little, squawking.

[qmiricle]

Ardner was not entirely sure what her pitiful display was about for a few moments. He at least figured she was startled, which was understandable enough, considering; but what was she trying to accomplish beyond that? Did she really think a dragon as small as her would frighten a Ridgeback with a stumbling hiss?

Politely, he took half a step back and lowered his head. He didn't mean any harm, truly, but that was difficult to show when you looked like he did.
"My apologies," he said, voice saccharine. "I didn't mean to startle you." He raised his head in a dignified gesture as he continued, "what is a young miss like you doing out here all alone?"

[Dundee]

^{guys i havent roleplayed like this in so long if i mess up pls feel free to throw me out okie doke here we go}

Spiraling above the clearing came two squabbling voices, one high, young, and exasperated, and one slow, measured, and deep enough to rattle bones. "Father, I told you, we're going the wrong way!"

"Calm down, dear, we're perfectly fine. I know exactly where we're going."

"You said this was going to be a quick visit! We've been flying over the same treetops for hours! I don't think you even know where you're going-can we please ask those people for directions?"

The deep, ponderous voice rumbled a sigh, and the two hidden dragons revealed themselves in the air.

The smaller of the two, a sharp-eyed Wildclaw, landed efficiently on the smooth grass. Though her landing was graceful, she seemed quite out of breath, and her bright copper vest was dull with dust. The larger, a golden Guardian, took a bit more time with his descent, having to maneuver with his massive wings. Safely on the ground, he tucked his wings to his sides, and bowed his great head towards the small Pearlcatcher.

"Forgive us our intrusion, young ward; might you direct us towards the residence of Clan Nomed? It has been a long time since I visited my old home, and the beautiful forests of the Labyrinth seem to have led me astray."

As Zahavah spoke with the diminutive Pearlcatcher, Elaia forgot to breath as she stared up and up at the enormous Shadow Ridgeback. Elaia was not a weathered fighter like her father, and her first instincts to battle the behemoth were quickly washed away by an intense need to run away. Though very nearly fully grown and with children of her own, Elaia slowly backed away until she was safe in the shade of Zahavah's wing, bright eyes never leaving the threat.

Zahavah peered down at his uncharacteristically cautious daughter, then up at the great Ridgeback, and chortled a deep, rumbling chuckle. "Be calm, Elaia, he's just another dragon. Don't be so quick to judge by appearances."