tampered | Log; Ongoing; Open!

Log; Ongoing; Open!

When; April 1st
Rating; PG
Characters; Temeraire

calculusdragon and EVERYONE
Summary; A disoriented dragon and his quest to find someone not too afraid of him to explain what the heck is going on. (You can assume you saw a gigantic black dragon flying around even if you don't comment...he's hard to miss).
Log; The dragon is roughly 100ft long, with an impressive wingspan. His scales are a glossy black, except for the blue markings at the tips, and if you dare to get close enough you can see that his blue eyes are slitted like a cat's. He has four legs with five talons each and a pair of wings with six spines each. He has a ruff around his face and tendrils that hang from his lower jaw. He's beautiful, but rather terrifying, since those are some large talons and some pretty big teeth. The more observant may note that he is wearing a sort of necklace/collar.

Having only a little a while ago been dozing on the deck of a prison transport, he was understandably disoriented to find himself splashing into the water with no sign of the boat, or indeed of anything else familiar. He spendt some time flying frantically back and forth across the city--too frantically to take much note of what is below him other than "not Britain." At some point he smacked into the barrier over the ocean, and spent a while roaring at it before collapsing on the beach in despair and exhaustion. Despite the fact that he has been acting somewhat like a caged animal, there is an air of intelligence to his movements.

There's also the fact that he's been shouting, "Laurence, Laurence, where are you? Where did you go?" at the top of his voice.

[ooc: Each tag to this entry considered a separate interaction and can take place pretty much anywhere Temeraire would actually fit...beach, forest clearing, Xanadu, mid-air, whatever. He'll be posting an actual introduction to the network in a day or so, but for Temeraire an action log arrival made the most sense.]

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The beach was a favorite place for Ken to train, especially since the weather had been getting warmer. He'd been running forms with his eyes closed when he heard something above him roaring. Startled, he ducked back and as out of sight as he could manage, content to watch things for a few minutes before he ventured out a little closer to the now downed dragon.

After all the horrors of the past few days, to say that Rosella was relieved to be able to go walking around the City in relative peace would be a grievous understatement. Though she admittedly looked a bit on the haggard side--half from the strain of the worrying she'd been putting herself through, and half from the fact that it was really rather hard to sleep through plagues of frogs and locusts and angels of death and things like that--the important part was that she was out and about, and not letting the memory of the curse get the better of her. Everything would be all right, she thought firmly, and things would get better now. They had to.

And she continued thinking that, too, right up until the point when she walked into a forest clearing on her way back from the Barn, and the massive black dragon soared by overhead.

Though common sense might've told her to run, or to hide, or even just to drop to the ground and try to avoid drawing attention to herself, the fact remained that if there was one creature that could stop Rosella dead in her tracks with fear, it was a dragon. Common sense also would've told her not to let out a bloodcurdling shriek at the sight of the monster, either, but she did that as well. It occurred to her a minute too late that standing frozen in the middle of a forest clearing and shrieking at the sight of a dragon was, in fact, a very good way to direct the aforementioned dragon's attention directly onto herself, and that was about the last thing she wanted at the moment.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much that could be done about it, now.

"Hello?" called out Temeraire, hesitantly, his big eyes flicking open when he finally noticed that someone was nearby. He'd noticed that he wasn't in an uninhabited place, but he'd been too wrapped up in dealing with being somewhere he was not supposed to be to give much thought to the locals. But it would be nice to talk to someone, assuming this person could speak one of the languages Temeraire knew. But he wasn't counting on it, because even though he did speak a great many languages, he had never been to a place this alien.

That wasn't something Ken was expecting from a dragon of any kind. Moving even closer, he glanced around, wondering if someone was trying to trick him. He'd heard about that holiday, of course, but he'd never celebrated it so he wasn't sure what to think. It took a moment to decide between using Japanese or his very limited knowledge of English, but he decided on the latter.

"Uh... hello? Are you okay?"

Temeraire might not have been paying much attention to things that did not look like Laurence (i.e. everything), but he had very good hearing and it was hard not to notice someone shrieking. He hovered above for a moment, looking around. He didn't spot anything of note so he was forced to conclude that the woman was screaming because of him, which was very annoying and also rather silly of her. But he had not seen any other dragons around, so he supposed he could not blame her for being afraid if she had not met any dragons before.

So he decided to land in the clearing and stare at her until she either calmed down or ran away.

Temeraire had no idea what the word 'okay' meant, but at least he seemed to have found someone who spoke English.

"Where am I? What kind of place is this?" he asked, unhappily.

The idea that a dragon could talk still baffled Ken, but really, around the city, weirder things had happened. Crossing his arms idly, he smiled a little, trying to be a little nicer.

"You're in the City, and before you ask, there's no other name for it. It's... a place between worlds and times. Most everyone here is pulled in from their home world or city and we're all pretty much stuck."

"But...that sounds like...that sounds like a story. I cannot be in a story, I am supposed to be with Laurence going to New South Wales." He was attempting to marshall arguments for how this was all completely impossible, but unfortuanately the impossible seemed to be happening anway. Also, he was not really in a good state for thinking coherently.

"We can a place be between worlds? And I do not see how anything could possibly be between times."

Ken shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I know it does, but believe me, it's the truth. I've been here off and on for two years now. I think... maybe give or take a month or two. Time moves kinda odd here, and don't worry too much about your friend. If and when you go back home, you'll go back to the same time you left. The exact same time."

The thing about dragons, Rosella thought in a brief moment of terror as the great black shape descended into the clearing, was that they were so big. Impossibly big. Terrifyingly big, even. Fighting back memories of being tied to a stake and waiting to meet a fiery doom as they threatened to overwhelm her, she gritted her teeth and tried to muster the willpower to make her legs move. Could she run faster than a dragon could strike? She didn't know, but she doubted it. Still, she had to try something, lest the creature snap her up in its massive jaws and in one bite.

...Except that, after what felt like perhaps some of the longest seconds of her life, it occurred to her that the dragon was simply...staring at her. And not the way she'd expect a predator to stare at a bit of prey, either. This variety of staring seemed almost, well, quizzical. Or intrigued. Or possibly exasperated.

She swallowed hard, trying to find her voice. "You're a dragon," she said at last, which was perhaps not the most eloquent statement she could've made at the moment, but she happened to be under a bit of duress at present, thank you.

Given the exhaustion that resulted from all the running around of the past three days, Tyr wouldn't have been that surprised if he were hallucinating a gigantic dragon crashing on the beach where he, ironically, was trying to clear his head and find some place to fish. Pausing and staring curiously at the dragon for a moment, the young man slowly continued his path down the beach. As massive as it was, if worse came to worse, he at least had the Soul Eater.

Any thought of having to use it, however, diminished at Temeraire's calls. Words? It could speak? He'd never heard of such a thing, but that at least meant it probably wasn't a rogue dragon. Standing a good few metres away, Tyr yelled back, "Did you lose your Knight?"

"Yes," said Temeraire patiently, "I am a dragon. My name is Temeraire. I am pleased to make your acquantance." He was not sure if he really was pleased, but it didn't hurt to be polite, and people talking to him was usually a good sign.

"Well, I would like to go home now."

Telling Temeraire not to worry about Laurence was a bit like asking him to be a little bit smaller, please. Even if he had believed everything about time moving differently--which he did not, because it did not make any sense--it would have been quite impossible.

Temeraire snapped his head around and stared at the newcomer.

"My night?" He was confused about what the person meant for a moment, since he had apparently managaged to lose a ship, all of his companions--both dragons and humans--as well as many large and important landmasses, so losing an entire time of day did not seem so odd. After all, the sun was not in the position it had been just a little while ago. Also, knights were something either in legends or to do with ceremonies and the King.

Tyr nodded, though sounded unsure of himself, "Isn't who Laurence is?"

Thinking about it, it probably wasn't that likely that this dragon was even familiar with the Knights of the Dragon's Den. Especially since, if he remembered correctly, dragons supposedly came from another world all together anyway, and this one would have stood out like a sore thumb amongst the other ones Tyr saw.

"Laurence is my Captain," said Temeraire. "We were on a ship."

Temeraire wasn't exactly clear on what had happened next, but there was one thing which was unfortunately obvious.

"And now I am here and he is not. Or at least I cannot find him if he is, and I am much too big to go looking for him inside the city."

"I see..." he said as Temeraire finished. The actual situation became clear to Tyr then. He never had to break the news to people before, but it wouldn't be fair not to.

"I'll help you look for him, but you shouldn't get your hopes up for finding him here... Almost everyone arrives alone." Pausing, he then thought to add, "He's probably still on the ship."

"The pleasure is all mine," Rosella replied automatically, the words already out of her mouth before she'd quite realized she'd even said them. Even in the face of something as terrifying as a dragon, manners were still manners.

But then, a moment later, she appeared to do a double-take as a perplexed look crossed her face. "You're...much more polite than some of the other dragons I've met, I must say," she remarked carefully, and giving him a wary glance as she did so. "You may find this something of a silly question, but...do you intend to roast me and eat me?"

"I know you do, but I don't think that's possible for now. I'm sorry."

By now, the nerves he'd felt being close to such a large dragon had mostly faded, and Ken might be surprised he was standing so close to him.

"And I'm really bad with my manners, it seems. I'm Ken. Welcome to the City?"

"Oh. But...why am I here? He is my Captain and I should not be separated from him and I would fight anyone who tried to take him away."

He spread his ruff as he spoke, looking a bit more menacing. He had fought before to get Laurence back during their adventures together. Only now there did not seem to be anyone to fight. He sighed and slumped down again, before remembering his manners.

"My name is Temeraire, by the way. It is very nice of you to offer your help."

Well, that was surprisingly friendly of someone who had been screaming a moment earlier. Of course, it was unsettling to be asked by another sentient being whether you intended to make a meal of them.

"No, I most certainly do not intend to eat you. Dragons do not eat people...although I suppose a feral dragon might, but that would only be because it would not know any better." After all he had to be honest. That kind of thing had been known to happen, but then men had once upon a time hunted dragons.

"You've met other dragons? Did they breathe fire? Iskierka breathes fire and she is very rude."

"I am Temeraire. It is a pleasure to meet you, Ken."

Temeraire felt bad that he had not introduced himself earlier. What would his mother think of his behavior?

"This city...there aren't any other dragons here, are there?"

Rosella silently kept telling herself that if there was one thing she'd learned in the City over her year and a half here, it was that things were different all over, and if there could be such things as good witches and considerate vampires, then there surely could be such things as polite and non-marauding dragons, too. At least, she hoped that was the case. She was betting her life on it, after all.

Still nervous, but willing to take the dragon at his word, she continued, "I met a dragon once in my homeland--a three-headed one. It ravaged my kingdom and very nearly ate me as a sacrifice. And yes, it breathed quite a bit of fire while it was at it, too. So you'll forgive me, I hope, for being a bit..." She paused. "You really don't eat people? Not even princesses?"

"Ooh, are you a princess? Do you own many jewels? I met a queen once, but she was not wearing jewels like I thought queens did, but then, it was a war, so I suppose she did not want them to get ruined."

He leaned in and inspected Rosella for any evidence of shiny things.

"Did you say three heads?"

Though she tried her very best to keep from jumping out of her skin as Temeraire suddenly leaned in close to her, she couldn't quite repress a small squeak of surprise and a slight flinch. Still, it seemed that he was true to his word about not eating her, and so after a moment she began to relax a fractional amount.

"I am a princess, yes, and I do own some jewels, but not nearly as many as my mother. But I do have a crown, and glass slippers, and gifts from friends like this," she answered, reaching toward her neck and producing one of the two necklaces she always wore--the one Blue had given her a year ago for her eighteenth birthday. "See?"

"And yes, I did say three heads, and great big ones at that. With very sharp teeth. But that one's scales were green, if that makes any difference at all," she added, almost as an afterthought.

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Log; Ongoing; Open!

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