Theoc, on orders of his grandmother, takes Ren out of the house. It was dusk and night was coming soon, but there was still light out. Enough for one to walk around the streets without the need for any additional light source. The young man whistles and his Nadder answers his call, landing down near him. He tends to the aged beast, petting its nose and scratching its chin, much to the Nadder's delight. "This is my Dragon, Scarwing. He's been my companion as well as my mother's for many decades now. I do not trust you outsider, but I will follow the wishes of my grandmother without question. Now do you wish to ride or walk?" He asks her.
Ren thought she was free to go explore, but as with everything it came with a catch. The tall Viking catch. Mister Arrow happy escorted her from the house into the fading light of day and whistled, allowing is dragon to land next to them. Ren stepped back a little, her sharp eyes dodging from the animal to the viking and Back Again half expecting some sort of threat. Instead, he flat out told her but he didn't trust her and then offered to escort her with the dragon. "The feeling is mutual," she said, as she crossed her arms. The more she considered it, the more a bird's-eye view of the place and the opposing Islands sounded like a good idea. She could plot her course from there. "If you don't mind riding with someone you don't trust, I'll ride." The tiniest bit of curiosity swelled in her mind, as she had never ridden a dragon before.
"Then we will ride." Theoc replied and he quickly mounts Scarwing. He offers her a hand to get on. "There is not much time, and there are points of interest in the settlement." He says. "Just jump on and put your hand around my waist. Afterwards hang on and do not let go. I do not wish to disturb the villagers with the sound of screaming women." He added. Scarwing lowered his body to allow Ren on. The dragon itself is intelligent, at least enough to recognize that his rider did not trust Ren and as such Scarwing eyed Ren as if she was already a threat.
She looked at the outstretched hand and steeled her nerves .The dragon staring at her as if it wanted to eat her rather than let her ride it . "Yeah. Yeah." She huffed at the animal. "I get it I hurt him you eat me." The comment about her screaming made her shoot Theoc a hard look. "I don't scream." With that, she grabbed his hand and pulled her lightweight up and over the dragons back before wrapping her arms around the Vikings middle, making sure to grip her own forearms tightly. If he was going to toss her off, then she would make sure he would go with her.
After Ren was on, Theoc whistles and Scarwing takes off with a beat of his wings. The Deadly Nadder takes to the air in a matter of seconds before leisurely gliding just below the cloudline, allowing Ren to see the entire village from the air. Below them the villagers were barely visible as they walked around their day, trying to get back to their homes for their night. Scarwing began flying around the village as Theoc points out the various points of interests, showing little investment in actually giving Ren a proper tour. "Over there is our orchards, where we grow our fruits. Over there is our communal well, where we get our water. And over there is our Mead Hall, where our warriors gather to meet and rest."
The dragon lifted off and Ren's grip tightened 10 fold as the ground fell away. A yelp escaped her despite her best efforts and she grumbled. "That was not a scream." When they leveled out, she dared to poke her head over the vikings shoulder as he pointed out the various spots on the island. If she was honest, the view was incredible, and so was the feeling of flying. Her heart was pounding as the wind whipped at her red curls as she grew braver still and loosened her grip just a little to peer off to the side past the dragon's wings. "You all fly like this?" She asked over the wind.
"Not all of us, but many yes. Dragon Riding was once a sacred task, only used by the most honorable and skilled Druids, but after the exodus we now train all who are willing how to tame dragons, ride dragons and string a bow from atop dragons." Theoc explains. The Dragon moves into a leisurely glade across the sky, towards the horizon as Theoc allows Ren time to look down at the entirety of the village for herself. As they glide, Theoc was compelled to ask the Viking a question. "Do...you have Dragon riders outside of this island?"
Ren listened, though her attention was divided by the glade passing far below them, then the brilliant sunset on the horizon. At his question, she chuckled a little. "Not that I know of. Dragons and riders are rare and not welcome where I'm from. Have you ever been off this island?"
"No. I'm not being forced to stay or anything, but every time I had the chance, I could never do it. I won't abandon my people's ancestral home be stripped of resources and left a barren waste." Theoc tells Ren. "And what of you? Do you have a place that you left behind?"
It seemed a little sad, if not irritating to be tied down like that. A lot of work and it offered such a limited view of the world, not being able to go and do as you pleased for the most part. The irony did strike her that she was thinking this from the back of a dragon a thousand feet in the air. "Tons of places I've left behind and don't care to go back to," she replied, "The world's my home."
"The entire world huh? That sounds rather lonely. And sad. You have nowhere to call your own, no friends to greet when you return, and no one to miss you when you're gone." Theoc replies. "That is a life that I do not think I can stomach. You have visited so many places, and yet you did not learn or experience anything that would make you regret leaving?" He adds.
Ren raised a brow at him though he couldn't see her face. He had basically insulted the way she lived up until this point as if he was better than her. His delicate stomach couldn't take it. Bristling, she sat up a little straighter. "Who says I didn't learn enough to know when it was time to leave?" she replied smartly, "I don't regret leaving one of them. They've been nothing but trouble and offered nothing to me. So why should I stay in return?" She sighed and looked out over the land. Most of the people here, besides the warriors, seemed to be children and elderly from what she had seen. She didn't want to fight, but a dragon could be helpful in leaving the island and going further. "I could stay here for a bit. If that offer was real."
"The offer is always there. If you want to learn to ride, then leave right after then I will not blame you. We do not believe in forcing people to do, but giving them options." He explains. The Viking clearly was defensive about the question. For what reason Theoc didn't know and it didn't put his mind at ease. She could be on the run from pirates, or a spy for the Scavengers for all he knew, but Morga wanted to keep them and he wasn't going to push away potential allies. "If you wish to join us, then you must tame a dragon. If you so like, I can take you to where you can find them." He offers.
The offer was sudden and she still didn't quite trust the viking. Judging by the tone in his voice, neither did he trust her. Still, the offer of this kind of mobility and power was enticing. No one would dare to hunt her with a dragon standing behind her. Her grip tightened and she nodded. "Aye. take me to where the dragons are." She would join up. For now.
The moment Ren accepted Theoc's offer, the young Druid steers Scarwing out of the walled town and into the outskirts, just outside of the wall. Scarwing lands just north of the village and Theoc jumps off his ride before looking around for signs of Dragons. He kneels to the ground and touches the earth and eventually feels a small indention in the hard dirt. "Dragon claw marks. There is one closeby....just ahead I believe. Possibly sleeping." He tells her and gestures for her to stay here with Scarwing before heading into the dense brush, carefully skulking around in order to not awaken the dragon that might be just there. It was a short while before Theoc comes back out of the brush just ask quietly as he went in. "There is indeed a dragon there. I will not tell you what species, but it is there and it is distracted."
Suddenly, she was being dragged off to go find a dragon...on purpose. This was definitely a first for Ren and it screamed against most of her instincts, but the pay out would be worth it. When they landed, Theoc was like any good hunter and read the signs for the creature then relayed to her what he assumed they could mean. When he skulked off into the brush, she was left with Scarwing. "Don't suppose he lightens up after a decent ale, does he?" she remarked to the creature. It gave her a snort and she rolled her eyes. She hoped whatever dragon they had come across wasn't one of those rats with wings Monty ran around with. They weren't rideable and hardly made an impression.
Finally, the viking came back and informed her that there was a dragon and he knew what kind....but wasn't going to tell her. So much for things being offered. He could have at least told her what she was walking in to. And what exactly did distracted mean? "If 'distracted' means mating, I'll sic the both of them on you for interrupting." Without further ado, she took a deep breath and walked into the brush, red hair trailing behnd.
