Sunlight Darkness

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

A great burning eye gazed down, unblinking at the world below. Heat seemed to be poured out on this land without mercy. All that could survive was brittle grasses, tall and sharp along with a few spattering of twisted, gnarled, trees whose branches were covered sparsely. It was in this place that a figure traveled. He looked like a panther weaving through the grasses, as they seemed to lash out at him with long fingers, trying to grab hold and tear at his skin.

Strangely the man did not seem to care about the bite or the heat, all he seemed to care about was the sun. "Blasted, bloody sun." His green eyes squinted slightly at the sky. It was high noon, and everything was flooded with light, making even those who lived in the wretched place run for any scrap of shade that could be found. So far this man had found none, well none that could shelter him. The rocks were full of scorpions and snakes, and the grass full of bugs that bit and gnawed at you. It was a crazy place to live, this Savannah. Hopefully nothing here was too crazy. There was a tree ahead hopefully not to far, and hopefully it would grant some shelter that was being sought.

His black hair was starting to stick to his forehead where little beads of perspiration were rolling down his face. To the eye it might seem strange that someone like him would be out in this heat. His skin was pallid, and his clothing all black, the only variation was the texture of cloth. Black hair hung down into his eyes, making him push it back constantly in order to see the world through his emerald eyes. There something about him that seemed to radiate a strange mix of contradictory emotions, he was stoic for the most part but the way he walked was carefree, yet annoyed, his eyes had a harsh look to them, but there was a sort of insecurity within. Usually a characteristic smirk would be on his face, but due to the heat, even that had died on his face.

The tree was closer now and soon he was within the small amount of shade it provided. Leaning his back against the trunk he glared at the light shade about him. " This won't do." Holding out his hand the shadows about him darkened and then slithered up his legs, winding from the tree to his form, until a shade was created around him that would be more characteristic of Sunset instead of noon. With a little scoff he tilted his head back onto the tree as the smirk was resurrected on his lips. Even the sun had no power over him. Darkness, it killed the light, stifling it slowly. Light was so weak or it disguised itself to be. A frown came to his face at a memory.

[saerwen]

~Inaria~

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The day was hot, sweltering in fact. The ground of the savannah was parched, aching for water and care, but continually being refused. It seemed that all of creation had abandoned this place. The once fertile earth had turned to harsh sand that pounded against your skin as the scorching winds blazed over the ground.

The sun beat down relentlessly, causing all living things to cower behind whatever solitude they could find. In such a barren place, shelter for a human would be practically impossible to find. It had been a mistake coming here. While it was hot and a perfect place to play with fire, that had not been the original intent. Inaria could almost feel the suns intense heat burning her skin off. She might have been able to move about in the daytime, but doing this kind of thing was just not wise. She had come here on a strange kind of mission, but now that she was weighing the pro's with the current predicament, she realized it would have been better to just stay home. However, now that she had come so far, there was no way that she was turning back. After all, what person gave up when they were more than halfway to their destination? A coward would, and a coward was something that Inaria was not. She would finish her quest and reap the consequences later.

What was she searching for? That was harder to say. There was a certain pendant that she was looking for and she happened to know that it was somewhere in the area. She had dropped it on her way to meet a friend. Inaria was now searching for her lost trinket knowing that it had to be close by, but she couldn't pinpoint an exact location. She knew that it was somewhere near a tree that had a row of knots lined up like buttons on a shirt, all of them pointing to the east. If she could only remember where that tree was.

Her dark brown eyes scanned the area and then stopped as they pinpointed a tree somewhat in the distance. It was a good size and might provide her with a little bit of shade that she could rest under even if it wasn't the exact tree she was looking for. There was a strange sort of shadow covering the tree that reminded her of a certain someone's magic. She hoped that he wasn't there. However, even if he was, she still needed to find that necklace. Sighing, she closed her eyes and focused. Suddenly, burning red flames consumed her being. A few moments later, her pale frame was no longer there, but it appeared underneath the branches of the tree, the final burst of her magic causing some of the already dying twigs of the tree to burn slightly. She looked up at it as quieted it with a single glance.

Turning around, she gasped slightly to find that she was right about the shadow. It had indeed been created by magic. The source was standing under the exact same tree, not far from her. Her brown eyes gazed at him, completely speechless for a moment and then she found her ground again. She had never seen this man before, but she couldn't help admitting she was glad to see him now. He was quite handsome to say the least. Her mind soon began to wonder into the thought of how he might taste. She recovered from her thoughts by the time she had found her voice. In the most soothing and polite manner she could ever have possessed, a sweet smile playing on her face, giving her pale and dark features a strangely out of place look, she spoke apologetically, "Sorry for disturbing you. I was unaware there was anyone else nearby." She carried herself with a regal gait and she seemed to look down on the man even though he was easily a whole foot taller than her. Her prim and proper manners were meant to be attractive, but if they failed to work, then Inaria would have no problem using her harsher side on him. After all, that was definitely the most natural side of her. It was her vampiric side.[/blockquote]

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

The sound of sizzling came to Neron's ears. Surely the sun could not be that powerful. It must have been from the hands of a person. His green gaze slid over but the intruder was behind him. Closing his eyes she let his ears take care of watch duty. If this person wanted trouble, they had come to the right place to get it. Neron didn't care what was about to happen, or even about the person by him. If they wanted to disturb his peace, then so be it, but they would pay, dearly.

There was a faint sound of footsteps approaching, the were close together, showing the person's height was not on the tall size, and considering how careful and light they were, it was either a girl or a small boy. A smooth voice seemed to glide over his ears as a feminine voice rang out clearly. There was a sense of apology to it. "So it is the former. Lovely." Neron didn't budge. His relaxing form leaned against the tree. "Then perhaps you would go find yourself your own bloody tree."

Straightening up to his full height Neron let his burning green gaze stare straight into her eyes. "Or." He took a step away and held his hand out. "I will find my own." The deep shadows seemed to cling to his hand like some sort of barrier had form about him. Then slowly it crawled into his hand, forming a tightly compressed ball that then disappeared. Now the tree had no shade besides the slightest shadow, and so it would remain for a good couple hours until the sun descended from the sky's throne.

It might be strange that Neron's gaze didn't look the girl up and down, as many men would have. This woman before him was not lacking in the beauty department by any means, but such things were lost of Neron. Women, he had seen them all, beautiful, ugly, alive, and dead. Now they all seemed to look the same to him. Once he knew the feeling of love, but that was long ago. It was nothing but a distant memory, a moment long passed.

[saerwen]

~Inaria~

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Inaria felt her eyes flashing at him as he spoke. He certainly wasn't a charmer, whatever his looks might have suggested. She had to admit that his green eyes were quite intense and they only added to his good looks, but she was quickly repelled by them. Someone else she knew that happened to leave a bad taste in her mouth also possessed green eyes, black hair, and a talent for dark magic. Inaria felt a shiver rush down her spine as she thought of him. That was enough of that. The less that she focused on him, the better she would be.

Inaria was about to reply with one stinging comment when she noticed something on the tree. There was a row of knots, lined up like the buttons on a shirt, just like she remembered. This guy would have to physically drag her away from this tree before she would leave, and even then he would have a hard time of it.

Her eyes narrowed at him, all sweetness blown away by her anger with him for his annoying resistance. It was a blow to her pride if nothing else. Her sweet, polite act usually fixed any man's problems, but this one seemed ignorant of all functions that his body should be performing right now. He wasn't even looking at her, at least, not with the kind of gaze she was used to. Granted, it was nice to not feel like a piece of meat for once, but it still bruised her pride. She knew after all that she was pretty, but this was like a total dis to her features.

"Well excuse me if I found you on the wrong side of this tree, but I happen to be looking for something and I am not leaving until I find it. If you really want me gone, then perhaps you might help me locate it. If your shade and piece are so precious to you then perhaps you should have chosen somewhere a little less open and a little less known." She then turned her attention to the ground around the tree. She was scanning around for the pendant. It was on a silver chain that looked like twisted chords. The pendant itself was stunning and immaculate. A round, brilliant, red ruby set in the center surrounded by a silver plaiting that was inset with small diamonds on all four sides of the ruby. The silver was crafted into floral designs that drew to point to the left and right, the top and bottom were rounded like flower petals. Despite her great eyesight, she was unable to spot her necklace. However, she had not given up yet. She had only just begun her search. She then looked back over her shoulder where she had left the man.

"Hey blacky, while you're standing there, make yourself useful and make some more shade...after all we wouldn't want the sun to ruin your dark mood." She turned away a satisfied smirk on her face. It felt good to call him a name. It felt good to say mean things, more often than not. She wondered how he would take it though. She almost expected him to just walk away. That would be the ultimate ruining of her fun.

This is a picture of the pendant....it is kinda hard to describe

[/blockquote]

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

Neron stared at the girl with hatred filling his eyes. "Excuse me you little wench, but what is less well known then a godforsaken place like this whichI presume is your precious little home? Nothing lives here, nothing. I hate to burst your little bubble but this place is about as empty as your mind."

He could feel anger build within his soul. A blackness was crawling from the depths of his heart upward into his mind. It felt so good, this anger. There was something satisfying about it, something powerful. Her words and command only enhanced it, quickening its feet. Already his green eyes began to turn snake like, and his hands started to darken. A smirk came to his face. "I'm sorry." The smirk turned to an evil sort of smile that revealed sharp teeth. To be truthful he was beginning to look like some sort of demon or evil spirit. " I don't take orders from nitwits like yourself." He turned and started to stalk away, calling back to her. "Do not think the sun could harm my dark mood, not even the guardians could do that." His foot kicked something, and his sharp ears heard the different from the crunching grass, and the clods of dirt that sprinkled the ground. Stooping down he picked up something metal and peered down at it. What he saw caused the smirk to deepen. "Good luck searching for whatever you are little mole. I just hope it isn't this." With a flick of his hand a little pendant seemed to appear between his forefinger and his thumb. The large ruby in the center flashed for a moment before the pendant was seen no longer and Neron slinked off. Let the little girl follow if she wished.

[saerwen]

~Inaria~

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Inaria scoffed at the man. Who would live in a place like this. Even if they were completely daft, the only creatures that would reasonably live here were the scorpions and other crawling creatures immune to the needs of water, coolness, and cover. It might have been little known to him, but people with the darker powers came through this savannah for traveling purposes. Of course it would be more empty than some places, but there were plenty of other places that could provide more of a shelter from watching eyes. She didn't even think it worth it to defend herself though. This guy wasn't worth anyone's time, let alone hers. She was too busy to play his foolish games.

Inaria had determined to completely ignore him if he didn't agree to help her. She doubted very seriously that he would. When he began to speak again, she got her answer, however, she could tell that something was changing quickly. She took a moment to glance over her shoulder just in time to see him holding the shining pendant in his hand. She let out a small gasp. "How did you of all people find that so quickly, you snake? What a dirty know-it-all. He probably had it the whole time. Just like Caden would have." She took long strides to follow him.

"As a matter of fact, it is. I think you should be giving that back to me now." Inaria was only going to ask nicely once. If he gave her slack about it, she would fix his problem right away with some very happy chemical changes to his body's normal functions. She felt anger rising in her slightly, but she would hold it back until she needed it. It might just happen that she would find out what his blood tasted like today. [/blockquote]

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

A glimmer of satisfaction rose to Neron's eyes as he continued to stride forth. By the sound of heavy, angry footsteps, she wasn't happy and his little guess paid off. Glancing down at the little trinket in his hand he turned it around with his fingers. It was a pretty little jewel. The ruby looked like a drop of blood sitting on top of snow. "A wonderful little trinket, no doubt worth a good deal in today's market." His gaze turned moody, 'Though I doubt that female will let me just have it."

As her voice called out Neron let his body drift a step or two away from her before stopping. "Hmmm." He let the little pendant roll around in his hand before tossing it up and catching it deftly. "Perhaps I will." He turned around and took a step towards her, "I should just hand it right back to you like a good "chap" as they say." His green eyes glittered, "But that wouldn't be any fun now would it?" Flicking his wrist the little jewel flew out away from the both of them, soared above her head and landed among the roots of the tree once more. "Oops." Staring at the girl as a smirk grew on his lips, his stance was ready for any sort of attack she could throw at him.

"Now why don't you go back to your tree little mole. Perhaps you will find a treasure to hold in your grubby paws." Turning again he sauntered off, his senses tuned to their highest to detect any movement coming toward him. It was nice having super sensitive hearing, even in the human form. It allowed one to be prepared for what the eye cannot see. In this case, he had a feeling he might just need this useful tool.

[saerwen]

~Inaria~

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Inaria's blood was literally boiling. She could feel herself on the breach of grasping onto that guys next and squeezing the life out of him. She watched him like a hawk, her eyes narrowing as he threw her necklace into the air.

"Be careful with that!" she exclaimed, then watched as he caught it again. "At least he is smooth enough to be able to catch it again." She had not thought of what she would do if that smoothness was turned upon her.

When he threw it over her head Inaria knew that it was useless to try and catch it. It was too high for her much shorter frame to catch it. That was the bad part about being a woman. However, she knew she could find it later. She was so angry right now, the necklace had taken second place. She watched as he turned his back. Her eyes were fairly boring holes into his back. Her eyes were a blazing crimson red. Inhaling sharply, Inaria drew her hands from her sides, reaching out with one and keeping the other on an even level with and very close to her shoulder. Her eyes flashed as she sent and invisible force of magic at him. However, instead of pushing him, it was pulling him. It would have been nearly impossible to completely avoid unless he had been very well prepared with some sort of shielding.

"I am just about sick of you and your little games. You've obviously been thirsting for a fight and I am suffering from a bad temper and slight starvation, so we might as well have fun tearing each other apart while we can." Her voice was slightly deeper now, but more than anything, it was quiet and very confident. Fire began to blaze in a ring around her, the flames rippling and lapping at the surrounding grass. Her red eyes gave a challenging look at the man.[/blockquote]

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

Neron shook his head as his feet carried him away. Peace, it truely was forsaken in these lands. He went here to be alone, to think, to enjoy not having another annoying fly buzzing around him. It seems that even in the most barren of places there were interruptions and distractions. "Just by luck." Just as he was lifting his hand to run it through his black mop of hair, he felt something hit him in the back and suddenly yank at him. Stumbling backward he heard the girl's voice calling out to him. "Great she's not only a mole, but a witch as well. Today is going to be a great day."

"Sorry girl, you aren't my type." He smirked. Inwardly, when he saw the ring blazing coming towards him, to form a ring about them, he just sighed. Great. It was time to get out of this puny frame he was in. Yes, it was time for his true beast to burst forth. The first thing she would have noticed from his smirking visage were his eyes. They shifted from a humans to a snakes, then his teeth grew sharper, his hands dark as scales began to crawl up. His whole form suddenly looked nothing but a shadow, where it grew and grew, transforming into a what looked to be a monster.

When the darkness cleared what now stood before he was a large and enraged dragon whose back stood about two and a half stories tall. The scales seemed to glow in the sunlight like polished ebony. His frame was strong but sleek, a testimony to his speed and agility. Dark wings spread from his back with sharp points like daggers protruding from every point. The membrane was laced with dark grey scars, proving his battling spirit. These scars were not anything compared to the ones seen on his side. It was thick and gnarled, and crawled up his side looking like some body had carved something into his side.

The fire that passed him and did nothing to him, instead his scales seemed to be laughing at the fire, it would need a lot more before Neron felt any pain from the heat. This large form of his would also bring a high tax to the girl's magic, considering his claws were burrowing deep into the soil and his weight was considerably greater. Stretching out his neck to look at he a bit closer he hissed. "I prefer the more scaly type. Though many of your type have filled my belly. human." His eyes narrowed at her giving her a look just as challenging. Opening his mouth a giant roar erupted from him, all heading to the girl close to him. No doubt it would leave her stunned, and that wasn't even his loudest roar. Shutting his mouth Neron looked at her narrowly. "Now go to your tree and find your little trinket, I grow tired of your presence, as I am sure you are of mine.." His eyes showed something more, something telling her that she would be better off not messing with him.

[saerwen]

~Inaria~

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Inaria watched in wonder as the man changed forms. She knew that dragons existed, and that they were walking around in human form, but she had never really seen one actually shift forms this close to her. It was awe-inspiring to say the least, even though she did feel something inside of her telling her that her anger might have bitten off more than she could chew, even if it could. She was tempted to back down for a moment, but his Roar in her face served as a goad to fight. It was probably because she hadn't been expecting it. She was expecting him to just huff at her and then fly away, but instead he actually took the time to roar in her face. At first she had wanted to squeal and turn her face away, but she didn't. She just stood there, her eyes straining to stay open against the force of his blast.

When he was done, she gave her head a little shake as her now thoroughly windblown hair fell back into place. She cleared her throat, "My gracious, I bet you have been holding that in all day. I doubt you have filled your belly with many of my kind though." She then chuckled at him. "Oh please, I am just starting to find a use for you. You are quite the amusing fiend. However, since you suddenly seem so concerned about me finding my necklace, let me ease your mind." She reached her hand back and made a grabbing motion with her hand, then a jerking one. The little silver trinket came flying towards her, making its nest in the palm of her hand. Since she had seen him throw it, she had known where it landed this time, so she was able to easily access it.

She turned back to him and her eyes made direct contact with his. He wanted her to back off. He was warning her, but she wasn't one to give up easily. She still hadn't pacified her anger, and she knew that it might be a while before she did. She had decided however that she wouldn't attack him again. At least, she wouldn't attack him until he was ready to fight.

"Although, I am wondering, if you really are so sick of me, and you are so mighty a beast, why is it you haven't just killed me? You have obviously shown that I am not appealing to you as anything other than a meal, so why not just eat me? Are you full? Poor little lizard, I suppose you really are just too nice to eat me at heart." She was speaking to him as though he were a child. Her thirst for a release of anger was causing her to take on something more than ten times her size, and even worse, to antagonize him. The back of her mind told her it would be better if he could ignore her and walk away, but there was no way on heaven or earth she was going to take back the words she had just spoken. Her pride was too great.[/blockquote]

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

Neron's eyes were hard as he gazed at her, listening to her words. A flame sparked in his eyes and slowly grew until it would have looked like she was gazing into a furnace of green flame. "I could ask you the same thing, from the moment you say me you have been staring at me with eyes thirsting for blood. I am not blind, do not think I didn't notice your flawless skin, your scent, or your fangs. One mythical creature can sense another, some just don't tune into that capability. Your kind is the same as human, your bones crunch the same, and you scream the same. Do not forget that."

A toothy smirk came from her last words as he pondered on them. "No, I do not feel like eating you, because I am not hungry, if I were, you would be dead." He narrowed his eyes at her as he read her expression. This woman was begging for a fight, and she was trying to find a way to vent his anger. Obviously he had turned into her punching bag. What better way to annoy her more than to let her keep her anger and not vent it. This was a fight he was not going to start. "Now go crawl back to the hole you sprang from."

[saerwen]

~Inaria~

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Inaria just glanced at him as he easily identified her. She was more than slightly angered by his casual dismisal of her race and their powers, but she figured that just has he had hurt her own pride, he had plenty of pride himself. She wasn't aobut to let him see that he really had wounded her pride a little, so she put on a mask and simply replied, "You must not have met very many of my kind that are actually worthwhile. It would be a lot harder to crunch my bones than you think, and we wouldn't want anything happening to those razor sharp-pearly whites now would we? It might ruin your image as a big and scary dragon."

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I didn't spring from a hole. But I am sure that you have had more than your fare share of cowering in holes in the ground. So I suppose that we can both go our separate ways. Maybe you'll go find a shrink to reapir your aweful attitude toward people that would otherwise have been very kind, and I can go find some suitably nice place to cool off. Farewell, fiend. Don't let that pent up temper turn you into monster, since it's already quite obvious you are a hopeless animal. Oh wait...My mistake. It's too late for that." WIth that Inaria turned around and began to walk away. She had failed in her attempt to make him mad and fight, but that was okay. She needed to get out of the sun anyways. There would be other days. She just hoped that she wouldn't run into that scaly bad mood ever again.[/blockquote]

[»Míríel«]

-Neron-

"My teeth are just fine thank you, I could show you just how well they crunch the bones of your kind, if you like." He snarled at her.

When she mentioned that she didn't crawl from a hole he almost laughed. Instead he gave her a face that looked annoyed. "You are literal aren't you? How drab. I hope you go and repair your sense of humor, it is apparent you have none. Don't worry about me becoming a monster." He grinned. "I already am." He was tired of being around this person who was a simpering, backstabbing, female. It was obvious that she was from the stock that had a mask in front of their face that hid the ugly and bloody figure beneath. Disgusting. Stretching his wings out with one beat he launched himself into the air and was soon gone from the place. "What a stupid region."