Fantasy The Dragon

[usagi froggy]

Ephraim "Effy" Bellevue
​

Ephraim yawned as he sat back in his rocking chair, the warm fire crackling in front of him. He was a young man of 18 years old with soft blue eyes, white hair, and a sleepy, yet pleasant expression on his face. He had recently come to the small town of Fairhill, a town that was said to be on the outskirts of one of the largest draconic cities. Well, before they had all gone extinct, of course.

Dragons were a very secluded race of creatures, mostly keeping to themselves in places other races couldn't find them. However, that didn't stop them from being hunted to extinction. Whether it was out of fear of their abilities, desire for the value of their scales, or simply to say that they've done it, the greed of humanity destroyed all of them. They supposedly went extinct many years before Effy was born, but he couldn't help being extremely curious about them. All his life he had heard stories about their awesome power, and it simply fascinated him.

Legend said that somewhere close to Fairhill was a draconic city, hidden from all but those draconic sight. Effy had absolutely no clue where it could be, but he wanted nothing more than to find it. And so, he spent his waking hours looking through every grimoire, encyclopedia, and atlas in the library of the town's Scholar's Guild, hoping to find a clue that would lead him even an inch in the right direction. Sadly, he had found nothing, but with his research being generously sponsored by one of the higher-ups of the guild, he had nothing but encouragement to keep up his research.

As he took a nibble of his piece of bread, some warm brie cheese slathered over it, his cat, Opal, jumped on his lap with a resounding "Mrrp." He smiled at her, scratching her head. "Well, good evening, Miss Opal~ You must have missed me today, haven't you?" he asked, leaning down to give her a kiss.

iJoeyMonster

​

 

[iJoeyMonster]

Azza Saigo "The Last"​

---

Wind whipped past his ears and through his hair, his bangs whipping around his face. A grin plastered itself onto his mouth as he ran through the forest, his heart pounding. Skidding to a stop at the top of the cliff, he looked down to see the town of Fairhill. Taking in a deep breath of the crisp air, his grin widened. "Finally." He said, putting his hands on his hips, the strap of his bag starting to slide off his shoulder. He hiked the strap back up and patted the bag. He made his way down quickly, his boots gripping the ground easily. As he exited the forest to the path that led to the front gates of the town, he stretched his arms above his head. "After some sleepless nights, I'll finally be able to sell what I sto-cough- I mean, acquired." He snickered to himself. The items in his bag were stolen, plain and simple. He'd been making a living stealing from the wealthy and royalty lately, and his latest thievery was from the Lord of the capital town in the country. Of course, he would've liked to steal from the king himself, but the security was tight knit and he didn't have that much time to indulge on reconnaissance before he'd be moving on. Per his policy, he never stayed more than a week in the same place due to his past experiences of nearly being found out.

He wasn't human.. completely. He was a hybrid human-dragon. He didn't know who his father was, but his mother had been a human woman living alone, raising him from the day he'd hatched. He couldn't remember much of his hatching, but he knew his father had died. His mother never really talked about him. His mother had died over twenty years ago though, and the first ten years was spent as a street urchin in different towns and cities. Of course, he aged so slowly, people knew he wasn't human if he stayed too long. Many humans hated non-humans, therefore he'd been chased out of many places and orphanages. Despite his appearance of eighteen human years, he was actually over one hundred years old. It was only the past twenty or so years that he'd started thieving. Of course, he wasn't known or anything, as he was very careful to hide his identity and keep a low profile wherever he went. People weren't that stupid as to not put two and two together with his arrival and thievery locations.

Coming to the gate, the guards watched him walk through, one of them giving him a friendly smile. Surprised, he'd merely nodded back in acknowledgement. It was rare to find places that were welcoming of non-humans and hybrids like himself. Though what he was a hybrid of was a secret to those he came across, the brightness of his eyes and unrealistic color gave him away that he wasn't fully human. He hated his eyes most times, as people had a big problem when he looked at them and often couldn't look him in the eye.

He began making his way to the market place to sell his stolen goods. Most people never inquired as to where he'd gotten them, and as long as there was no magic on the object it couldn't be traced. He was very careful to remove any tracing magic on any objects he stole, if it had any. Stopping at a jewelry stall, he pawned off a few of the gold necklaces and bejeweled earrings in his possession, earning himself a decent amount of money. He went stall to stall until the last thing he had was a grimoire. No one had been interested, as the binding was old, worn and plain. The language of it was old script, which many couldn't read. Old script was something from ancient ancestors of humans, a language that had died off long ago. Some scholars could read it still, though, so he thought maybe he could sell it to them.

Before he could go on his way to do just that, his stomach rumbled loudly. With a snort of amusement - as well as ignoring the gazes of those around him - he headed further into the market place, following the smell of delicious foods. He was really craving some honey bread.

 

[usagi froggy]

Opal rubbed at Effy's arm. "Meoooow..." she murred, rubbing her head against his hand as he tried to scratch her. "What is it, little miss?" he asked, giving her a good scratch on the head. She turned quickly, grabbing his fingers with her teeth, gnawing on them. It didn't hurt, but Effy knew it was a sign that his little princess wasn't exactly pleased.

"Ooh, someone's feisty this evening," he laughed, picking her up in his arms and standing up, "alright, alright, I suppose it's dinner time, isn't it?" He set her down and walked into his kitchen, searching through his cupboards for a scrap of food for her to eat. But, with every cupboard he opened, it seemed more and more likely that he was going to have to go out and buy something...

Effy sighed, "Alright, alright, the sun isn't quite down yet. I can pop out to the market for a bit and grab you a bite to eat. You're so spoiled aren't you~" He leaned down to give Opal a kiss and a scritch before exiting his little cottage and walking over to the marketplace just a few blocks away. Compared to the rest of the villagers, he was quite noticeable. Most of them opted for drab browns and dull whites, while Effy proudly wore his bright blue and white coat, complete with gold trimmings, signifying himself as a member of the Scholar's Guild.

He entered the food tent, smelling the delicious mingling of meats and desserts, his own stomach growling despite having dinner just an hour earlier. He approached one of the stalls selling chicken, thinking that would make a fine meal for Opal that night. But... as he went to pay, he realized he hadn't brought any money with him.

"Oh, fiddlesticks..." he muttered to himself, "u-um, I'm sorry, this is quite embarrassing..." he laughed weakly. The food tent was fairly deserted, aside from one other fellow dressed in all black who had entered alongside him. Perhaps he could find the goodness in his heart to lend him a few pieces of gold?

"Um, excuse me sir!" he called to him, beckoning him over. "Th-This is embarrassing really, but I was wondering if you could lend me a few pieces of gold to pay for some chicken? I-It's for my cat, you see, and she's a very picky girl," he rambled when he arrived.

 

[iJoeyMonster]

He'd been examining some tasty looking bread when he heard a voice calling to him. He startled a little bit and looked towards the sound of the voice, eyes landing on a male in a white and blue coat. He looked around to make sure he was actually the one being called to, and upon confirming it to be true, he looked back to the male and rose his eyebrow. His lips twitched before he schooled his expression.

"Cat?" He asked, his eyes widening a little. He quite liked cats. "Well, if it's for your cat, then absolutely. How much do you need?" He asked. He handed over a gold piece to the vendor who thanked him and handed him a wrapped bundle of glossy honey bread. "Though, I do have a request." He added as he stepped towards the other male. "I'd like to see your cat." His head tilted slightly as he watched the other, his gaze intense due to the color and brightness of his eyes. Even if the male denied his request he'd still help, as the request itself was more of a joke to amuse himself. Cats usually liked him and he like cats. They were cute companions that didn't demand too much from him.

The scent of chicken hit his nose then and he swallowed saliva. "We have a buy one get one 50% off deal." The vendor told him, noticing the look in his eyes. "That is tempting." He murmured to himself. "Very well, I'll take two orders." He handed over the gold pieces, receiving a wrapped package of two orders of chicken. His stomach growled loudly at the smell. He held out a hand with one bundle towards the male, waiting for him to take it. With a grin, he winked and said, "I was joking about that request."

 

[usagi froggy]

As the other man turned to him, Effy immediately noticed those piercing green eyes of his, set into his face like two bright emeralds. They were a sharp contrast to his pale skin, immediately tipping off to the boy that this guy was someone to watch out for.

"Oh, just five gold pieces would be fine-- and you can definitely see my cat! If you feed her some chicken, I bet she'll love you," he insisted. Though Opal was a total princess, she could easily be won over by food. Didn't matter if it was from a stranger or from Effy himself, she'd give all her loving to whoever gave her food.

Effy watched carefully as the other man purchased the two chickens, curiously looking at them. Man, he was never lucky enough to get deals like that... "Oh, that's okay! You can still meet her. I-I mean, if you want," he said with a chuckle, taking the wrapped package from him. Yeah, Opal was gonna eat like a queen tonight.

 

[iJoeyMonster]

Azza was surprised that the other agreed. He felt his heart beat a little faster before calming down. His love for cats was something that most, if not all, dragons shared. Cats were the perfect companions for dragons, as both were solitary creatures, shrewd and distrustful of most. It took a lot to gain their trust, and just like cats, if you betrayed a dragon, you were on their shitlist for the rest of your life. Dragons may not have nine lives like a cat does, but their one life is quite long. Some dragon species would also take to copying cat behaviors, such as purring and kneading. Humans called the latter action 'making biscuits', which was quite amusing to think about.

"I'd love to." He said. His eyes squinted a little with his smile. He motion for the other to move with a show of a bow like a gentleman would do for a lady. "Show me the way." He decided to begin eating as he moved though, as the smell of the bread and chicken was soon to make him salivate openly. Tearing off a piece of bread, he stuff it into his mouth and began to chew. A noise came from deep in his throat, though it was soft. If one were to have good ears, they'd be able to identify it as a noise of pleasure, such as a purr. Swallowing the piece in his mouth, he began to unwrap the chicken. "My name is Azza." He introduced. "I've just arrived in this town today." He added. "Tearing off a piece of the chicken, he tore into it with his sharper than normal canines. The chicken was fresh and juicy, the skin slightly crispy.

 

[usagi froggy]

Effy was plenty friendly, if not a little bit naive, so inviting a complete stranger into his house was nothing out of the ordinary for him. He'd invited tons of people over before! It's not like anything bad could happen. Besides, Opal liked new people, and if this stranger had chicken for her, that would just make it even better.

"Oh, good!" he chirped, clapping his hands together softly. "You're one of those formal types, huh?" he giggled at the bow. He'd never been one for grand gestures or theatrics like that, but it DID make him feel pretty special. He turned around on his heel and started back to his house, occasionally glancing back to make sure the mystery man was following him. "It's nice to meet you, Azza! I'm Ephraim, but most people just call me Effy. What brings you here? I gotta say, unless you're a scholar like me, there's not too much reason to be here."

 

[iJoeyMonster]

A smile turned his lips at Effy's giggle, making him glad he could at least amuse the other. He followed the other, his strides making it easy to keep up with the other. "So this place is for scholars, huh?" He mused. "I guess you could say I came here to sell some goods I'd acquired, but I'm also looking for information." He hummed to himself, his expression the picture of relaxation as he walked. "I'm also simply exploring what the world has to offer." He added as an afterthought. "So you're a scholar?" He asked, peering at the other.

The sun was beginning to set into late evening. Soon, vendors would begin to pack up so they could be home before dark. Even in the safety of a town, there were monsters that still lurked, and no one wanted to be caught out after dark alone. Most vendors had an early start for their days too, from the things he'd observed in the capital. "Say, do you know of any cheap inns in this town?" He asked. He figured he'd have to check into a room soon so he'd have a place to sleep tonight. Hopefully the rooms weren't all full by now. It didn't seem like the town itself had too much traffic.

 

[usagi froggy]

Effy was short and slow, making him easy to keep up with as he shuffled along the stone roads of the town. "Yup! The Scholar's Guild is basically the only interesting thing here, and even then, there's bigger ones in other towns," he laughed. "Scholars really only come here if they're interested in dragons like I am. If you're looking to sell stuff, I could probably point you in the right direction! Though, I dunno if you're gonna get any good offers," he said. Fairhill was nice enough, but it was not wealthy in the slightest.

"Yup, I'm a scholar through and through! I was never really cut out for exploring or being a knight or anything, so studying it is!" he laughed. He always liked the weather at this time of the year. Nice and warm, but not too hot. "Cheap inns? Ummm, well, there's one inn, but at this point they're probably filled..." he mused, "you could stay with me if you like? I've got an extra room! I make sure to keep it nice and cozy!"