Silence, Lies, and Ink (Hildrhilt)

The black drake known as Chogath often left his lab to look for ingredients for his various alchemical experiments. It was just routine. He had left his minions at home, for the time being, but today he wasn't looking for ingredients.

He was looking for dragons.

Two minions were nowhere near enough. Not for what he had planned. After buying some information from a dealer, the drake had learned of several unclaimed islands in Pyrria. He knew others would act upon this; he didn't doubt some were being taken now. But he wanted some of his own, and let another clear out the monsters said to inhabit them. Monsters he didn't understand, yet. Yet fighting dragons was his specialty.

It was only a matter of time. For now, he concentrated on flying and looking for other dragons, lone dragons he could lure into his latest experiment....

The Other experiment.

Hildrhilt lay within the woodline of a small clearing, basking within the shade it provided. It was a very warm day, the previous basking having risen her core heat to an uncomfortable level.

The dragoness had been at the clearing for most of the day, being her normal thing to do while there were social events going on and knowing she would not be disturbed. Though it seemed today would not be that day for her.

She heard the wing beats long before she saw the creator, opening a hazel eye to gaze up at the sky to observe the intruder. She inwardly cursed at herself for not picking a more secluded spot to enjoy her solitude but it was far too late for that. The dark dragon flew toward her at a slow speed, almost as though it was looking for something.

Hildrhilt's wings twitched as she contemplated a quick getaway, her hazel orbs fully open and watching as the dark shape grew ever closer, rupturing Hildrhilt's hope of a quite day.

A clearing was ahead, and the black drake smiled to himself when he saw there was indeed a dragon down there. She was looking in his direction, clearly hearing his wingbeats. He circled for a moment, weighing his options before deciding befriending it would be the best course of action.

When he landed he could immediately tell that she was a dragoness. She seemed a bit cagey, so he lowered his frills and assumed a nonthreatening posture, his black eyes gazing at her. "Hello there."

Hildrhilt watched as the dragon circled, anger pitting up in her gullet at the intruder but she pushed the feeling aside. It was too late to hide from it now, they had already seen her. She heaved a heavy sigh and stood, flicking her tail in annoyance as she peered at the black dragon landing before her.

The dragon had beautiful designs upon his skin, the streaks of grey running through the black like stripes on a tiger, causing her head to tilt slightly in admiration. Upon the dragon speaking, she then realized it was a Drake before her.

She swallowed a bit at his deep tone and his rather authoritative stance before offering a nod of acknowledgement, "Hello." She said softly, her voice smooth and calming, "Are you lost?" She asked after a moment of silence, unsure as to why a dragon would be this far out into the wilderness.

The drake smiled at her, the insinuation that he was lost amusing him. Clearly she didn't know he laired relatively nearby, at least for the time being. Of course, he wasn't exactly surprised either. He had tried his best to pick a very remote place to conduct the Other experiment.

"Not lost, just enjoying the sights. I live out here." Chogath smiled, his voice rich and suave. His negotiation voice, he called it. "What brings you here, then?"

As he spoke, Hildrhilt felt her eyes travelling over his strange markings once more. She had never seen a dragon with such bold markings before and this was utterly fascinating. She must look very plain to him in her earthy tones with no identifiable markings minus the golden cluster in the center of her forehead. She did take note of his frills, tilting her head slightly as she thought about the species that roamed this land. Seawing maybe?

She continued to admire the drake until she heard that he resided nearby. With that, she took a slight step back, “I am terribly sorry, I had no idea anyone lived this far out.” She said, spreading her wings slightly, “If you would like, I can leave?”

Chogath chuckled, shaking his head. "Relax, I have no proper claim upon this land. You are free to come and go as you please."

He took a moment to study her. It was definite that she was nervous and cagey, seeming to be eager to try and slip away. Her colors were nothing special, save for an odd patch of gold on her forehead. He suppressed a chuckle, successfully keeping it down. Her physical composition was a lot like Viran's, and would likely be suitable for his project.

In other words, she was just what he was looking for.

The dragoness was visibly uneasy, shifting her weight between her feet as she folded her wings delicately against her side once more, “I just do not wish to intrude.” She said softly, meeting his gaze with slight glances.

Hildrhilt could see that he was studying her, making her uneasiness far more palpable, the tip of her tail flicking nervously. Was he going to try and attack her? Or was he simply taking her in? She cleared her throat softly and shifted her weight once more, her wings itching for flight as she broke the silence between them, “I am sorry about my assumption, I just didn’t expect anyone to be out this far from civilization.”

Chogath shrugged. "You could say I'm one of those odd drakes who lives off by himself.... what is it the tribes call us... a rogue." His smile returned. "Besides, my work calls for me to live in the middle of nowhere."

The dark dragoness flicked her tail slightly in confusion, she hadn’t thought of a rogue drake having work. She turned her eyes away for a moment before looking back to him, “Work?” She asked, flicking her tail once more, “I didn’t think rogues had to work." She said as confusion set in, tilting head in the slightest manner.

Chogath chuckled. "It is true most rogue drakes do not have work, but I am what you would call and exception." He grinned at her. "What brings you all the way out here?"

The dark dragoness nodded at the drake’s first comment, ”What kind of work?” She asked out of curiosity, the rational voice still screaming for her to run from this odd drake. Yet she ignored it, something was intriguing about him and she intended to figure it out, despite the warnings her body was throwing her.

She was taken aback slightly by his question, searching her brain for a suitable answer before she simply lowered her eyes and decided to tell the truth, “I do not enjoy being in any form of forced interactions and I am truly avoiding an unwanted invite to come along to the Nightwing festival." She said with a soft shrug, "I just don’t feel a need to go.”

Chogath blinked. "So the Nightwings are holding a festival....interesting....." He chuckled, then returned to the prior subject. "My work is alchemy, mainly potions and salves. By the way, I don't believe I caught your name?"

In the meantime, his mind was already racing. The Nightwings had a festival! This was the big chance he had been waiting for, a chance to expand his minions. But first, to earn this dragon's trust...

The charcoal dragoness swayed her tail slightly once he explained his work, mentally nothing that he had no idea that the Nightwings were having their festival, though she had seen many rogues moving toward the event. How did he not know? It was a huge deal amongst the tribe as it was one of the only times the NIghtwings opened their borders for all to come to feast and join in comradery.

Hildrhilt shook her head of these thoughts and looked up to him upon his asking for her name, blinking slightly as she hesitated. What harm could it do to at least try to make a friend, “My name is Hildrhilt.” She said, offering a small smile of greeting.

With a similar smile, Chogath made a slightly exaggerated bow. "I am called Chogath. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hildrhilt. I get so few guests out here, each one is a treat."

All the while, his brain continued his calculations. The Nightwings had so many slaves keeping them controlled was an issue. Perhaps he could work on a various strain of the ink to make them complacent. At the same time he calculated the likelihood that she would begin trusting him and the time until that happened. Seeing as she seemed to be a cagey one, it would be a while. But the gods had gifted him with patience as a strong suit, so patient he would be. First the dealings with the Nightwings, and then he would complete the final tests of the Other experiment.

As the dark dragoness listened to the drake's words, a draconic smile spread across her lips, a courteous thing mainly. She didn't enjoy interactions with others very much but she would take it at face value and offer a bit of company to the seemingly lonely dragon.

With a bit of hesitation, she lowered herself to sit before him, curling her tail around her haunches until the tip of her tail was beneath her belly, "A pleasure to meet you Chogath." She said with a respectful dip of her head, arching her neck a bit to look up at him, "So, how long have you been a rogue?" She asked, not wanting to seem as though she was prying as simple curiosity filled her mind.

Chogath shrugged. "All my life, really. My parents weren't too keen on joining up, you see. Had some sort of crazy idea that ruling a band of rogues could replace a tribe." With a draconic chuckle, he shook his head. "I prefer a bit of a different lifestyle. How about you? Are you a tribe member, or a rogue?"

The drake smiled as his tail flicked behind him, plucking some minerals and plants to place into his bag. "As am I, in a way. Myself and my assistants live out here to have our work in peace, but the occasional conversation never hurt anyone." He tilted his head towards her as his frills ruffled, looking curious. "Why so far from your tribe, though? Do you not enjoy their company, or do you just prefer your own solitude more?"

"That we can both agree upon. I find it is much easier to work when other dragons are not distracting me, especially when I'm working with more volatile concoctions. I don't suppose you have met an alchemist before, ma'am?" The black drake drew out his satchel, taking out some vials and laying them upon the ground. "If you would like, I could give you an example. It is not often I get conversations, and well, it always helps for them to be a bit... educational." He chuckled, a smile scrolling across his snout. It would be interesting to gauge how she reacted to this. If poorly, he would not press, that would only ruin the bait he was trying to lay. If she seemed interested... well who said alchemy was not without risks?