oh my god not another open post

[ofgoldenfoil]

Date & Time: OPEN! Forward dated to the 15th.
Location: throughout the city
Characters: Aurican and YOU
Summary: There's a big, shiny horse-sized baby dragon around the city. What would you do on a casual day when you see one?


Morning

The morning light has barely lifted its dreary head before a young gold dragon sets out of the apartment complex for a day at work. He's a courier now, with straps wrapped around his chest and neck so to two empty bags, one for each side, can be filled with letters and parcels. His employer at first had doubts, but when Aurican demonstrated his good speed on a trot and on a run, he is employed more readily, even though it was obvious that the employer was hoping Aurican will fly. (Aurican himself was disappointed at well, and apologized profusely.)

After taking a stop to the mail station to fill up his bags, it is off trotting through the streets, bringing those their deliveries. Sometimes he will have to pause to catch his breath - as swift as he might be, he is large and doesn't have the light-footedness of his copper cousin Blayze.


Afternoon

A time of a break, a time that Aurican learns of something called a "lunch": a meal for a certain time of a day. Aurican at first found it odd to always mark a time of a day with a meal, but after a week of work, he finally understands the necessary of it. It makes him eager for finishing work, ready to scarf down much needed food before he sets off with more deliveries.

Aurican's favorite meal is chicken, as it tends to be not only tasty, but tend to be cheaper than the red meat of cows. As a growing dragon, he usually requires one whole chicken as his meal. Today, he bought his chicken raw and ate outside, behind a pub. He scorched it with his fire until it was black enough for his likening. (He has developed a taste for cooked food, thanks to the residents of this world.)


Evening

A day drawing to its close, Aurican has done his rounds for the day. Feeling a little more tired than usual, he heads towards to the apartment complex. Pressing the door to open, he enters the main lobby, ready to climb the awkward stairs that he comes to dislike. He hopes he doesn't run into someone coming down on his way up. It is always awkward to avoid them and more often than not he had to turn around and climb down to allow them passage.

Comments

[gevurah]

Kate certainly had no plans to eat something that was probably on the ground at some point. She had done her fair share of eating snakes, bugs, and other things people normally didn't back during her globe trotting training a couple of years back.

Well, there's a magical, singing dinosaur. Why the hell not with a dragon? Kang was something called a draconian.

She took a step closer, gripping the umbrella. "I've only heard stories about dragons." She paused, "You should eat inside somewhere."

[ofgoldenfoil]

Aurican looks up and around, looking for shelter. There's a small porch right at the exit of the pub, enough for a small shelter against the impending rain. He looks back at the woman. "I'm too big for a lot of places," he says, not sure if he can really explain his sense of self conscious in a room full of staring humans as he eats his lunch.

[gevurah]

There's a soft look on amusement on her face then. "There's a synagogue -- place of prayer that is still being fixed up. It's kind of cold inside because of the broken windows, but you could eat in there."

[ofgoldenfoil]

"The cold does not bother me," he says, not mentioning the fact that it is the cold nights that usually bothers the fire-natured dragon. "So where is this synagogue?" When he first heard of prayers, he decided he likes to do one eventually. He doesn't know who to pray too. He thought of Darlantan and the others, but they aren't here to hear him.

[gevurah]

While Jewish herself and sometimes celebrating the major holidays, Kate's actually not that much of a religious person. She likes to connect to her roots, but she's not the sort to fully commit herself to religion. Rebuilding the synagogue did feel like the right thing to do. All these buildings needed to be repaired in some way; some smaller than the other.

"It's a few streets away. I could show you." If he would like. She makes no forcible movement.

[ofgoldenfoil]

"I'd like that," he accepts, unfurling his wings and stands up, lifting up the half-eaten chicken with his mouth. He's sure he's going to turn a few more heads than he already has, but he figures it doesn't matter, ultimately. He tries to speak again, but it is muffled by the chicken, so he gives up on speaking. Leaving behind tracks of his clawed feet in the soft dirt, he walks over to the sidewalk, to follow the woman to this place of prayer.

[gevurah]

It's an impressive wingspan, but Kate doesn't know any better. If he's going to get bigger, she wonders how big.

And if he'll be dangerous.

She leads the way, keeping an eye on him. "What's your name?"

[ofgoldenfoil]

It takes Aurican a moment to figure out how to speak without dropping the chicken. In a moment that feels like inspiration, he actually lowers his head and tosses his head back -

actually flinging his half-eaten into the air -

"I'm Aurican," he says quickly, watching the chicken falling back down through the air and catching it with a loud snap of his jaws. "What's your name?"

[gevurah]

She notes some of the reactions of the locals: not entirely seized by panic, but they are clearing a way when they set their eyes on the creature walking among them.

"It's Kate," she answers, trying not to think too hard about those powerful jaws. She's punched werewolves and other strange creatures before. Dragons are really something out of a fairy tale for her. "You're... not a full-sized dragon, are you?"

[ofgoldenfoil]

Aurican has to think on that question. Pondering, he answes, this time a forepaw clutching the chicken as he free his mouth to speak.

"I don't know. I never seen a dragon that looks just like me other than my sisters, and they are the same size as I. Crucible looks exactly like Burll but bigger and he says that he's related to Burll, but I'm not sure if I believe that."

Quickly realizing the implication left unsaid, Aurican hurriedly adds, "Not that I'm calling Crucible a liar. But it's just there's so many worlds out there, and I don't even know the name of my world. For all I know, there's another Burll in another world who isn't the Burll I know, but the one Crucible knows. Does that make sense?"

[gevurah]

There's something faintly amusing about a single male dragon among female dragons. However, she does have trouble picturing them as a family. It really goes to show how little Kate knows about such fantastic beasts.

"I know the feeling," she admits, deflating a little when she remembers the other Robins she's run into here. Even the Superboy and Miss Martian. "Who's Crucible?"

[ofgoldenfoil]

"Crucible is a dragon, like me," Aurican explains, findindjng himself walking on three legs as he grips his chicken tightly. "He's has bronze scales and far larger than I. I think he has a human form. Kang, my reading teacher, has told me how dragons can change shape, can turn into humans and other people."

Aurican could not stop the jealousy seeping put into his voice. Even though his experience with the human form was less than pleasant, he wishes he could have that ability.

[gevurah]

"Oh," it occurs to her then what Aurican is and the familiarity is there in her tone. She hadn't expected to actually meet these chromatic or metallic dragons. "You're a metallic dragon; Kang's told me a bit about your world."

[ofgoldenfoil]

"Metallic dragons?" He ponders about that. "I suppose that's a good way to describe my nestmates. We all shine in the light."

Aurican's tail flickers at her apparent knowledge of the world. Maybe he is from Kang's world, maybe not. It's hard to tell, when Aurican himself knows so little in the grotto. "Maybe I am from Kang's world," he says. "I like to see Kang in that world. But I was ignorant of the sun itself before I came here. I really do not know my world all that well."

[gevurah]

She turns a corner, keeping an eye out to see if he's following. For a dragon he's considerably tame. He didn't exhibit any fear of her, so he must be familiar with humans enough from being here or home to trust them not to do anything to him.

Or he's confident enough humans can't hurt him.

"It's like that for a lot of us," she says. "When humans are children, we don't know a lot about the world either."

[ofgoldenfoil]

Aurican's pace slows down as he talks, trying to keep his grip on the chicken as long as he can. He hopes this place of prayer is not far, the joints of his claws are starting to stiffen from holding his meal. He thinks he might need to cook it again.

"I suppose that can be said for every creature that has ever lived," he muses.

[gevurah]

Kate nods with a small smile. "You're probably right about that." Unless somewhere a child with genius level intellect had been born. Who knows? The multiverse is full of things Kate hadn't even dreamed of.

"You're the first dragon I've ever --" seen? "-- met."

[ofgoldenfoil]

"Really?" He's a little surprised by that. He has heard there are other dragons around here. They are not very many of them, of course, but still. "I can't say you are the first human I have met, as I have been here for a few months."

Remembering Crucible and other dragons' shape changing abilities, he frowns. "Are you a human?"

[gevurah]

"I am," she says, squinting through the sheet of rain to see ahead. It's much easier in her mask, that's for sure. "It's mostly humans where I come from, too."