The feeling of home

Deir had spent the day touring the town. She wanted to get used to the place, and ignored the sting in her legs no matter how bad. It was in Woodenway district that she finally felt the wear and tear of overworking her legs. Not only that but the sun was beginning to bother her eye. She looked at the nearby homes, but felt it might be rude if she went inside one.

Deir's eyes then fell upon a forest. It seemed perfect, maybe even better than perfect. This forest reminded her of her birth home. She was already close to it, only a few yards away, so she walked the rest of the way just into the forest. As soon as she was out of the sun, she sat on the ground against a tree for a moment. "Oh dear, it's such a bother these human legs.." She massaged her ankles before looking around. "The darkness...though ominous, is comforting, maybe ten minutes to half an hour in my other form will help my legs feel better."

Deir stood up and closed her eyes a moment, her form shifting. Soon, she was in her Drakemaren form. She shook her head, he flaming mane almost catching onto a low branch. She stamped the ground, checking her legs to find they felt fine, and started wandering the forest, along the edge just out of the sun.

Emphadon had largely underestimated the sheer size of the island. Though the river and the lake gave him a decent idea of how large it was from north to south, he didn't have the foresight to apply this and figure out just how large it was from east to west. They'd definitely need some sort of transportation system if they expected to be able to get information out to the districts, or travel to them in general.

He'd made the decision, the bad one, to travel out to Woodenway District today to check on the construction. He'd assumed he must have been fairly close once he passed the second small river that came off the lake, but this hadn't been the case. Three hours under the hot sun was not good for Emphadon's skin type. By the time he finally reached the first buildings of Woodenway District, his shoulders had begun to feel like someone had lain hot coals over them.

He was relieved to enter the district and immediately sought refuge from the sun under one of the completed houses. Once he was safely under its shade, Emphadon let out a relieved breath. He sat with his back against the wall and an arm resting on one knee. From where he sat now he took a look around the small district. Then, a movement in the corner of his eye demanded his attention. He looked towards the treeline at the distinctly equine figure, and squinted at it, not entirely sure if he was seeing it correctly or if the sun was playing tricks on his eyes.

Deir was happily biting leaves off lower branches of the trees. A nice little treat for her in this form. Wherever she went, her tail or mane would give light to a leaf or a twig, but that immediately fizzled out with no harm to anything. She felt quite at home and was content to continue except, she suddenly felt eyes on her.

Deir's head whipped to oneside, scanning the few houses there till her blank eyes fell on a man. Her eyes gained red iris' and slitted pupils as she took a step out into the light to get a better look. She stepped her way towards the man, shaking her head with a whinney out of habit.

Once she was close enough, she bowed her head so she could look down at the man better. It did not cross her mind that her behavior at the moment may be strange.

Emphadon's heart rate picked up as the horse-like creature moved towards him. It wasn't just an ordinary horse. It had a mane of fire, and wings sprouting from its back. Already unsettled by the flames and unsure of the horse's intentions, Empha placed the hand he'd been resting on his knee onto the ground beside him, in preparation to stand.

Emphadon followed through on this action as the horse continued to approach, not favoring how the creature towered over him. At least standing, they were more on the same level, though Empha only just managed to clear the horse's shoulder in height. The horse was massive.

He looked into the horse's eyes and was surprised at the intelligence he saw in them. Maybe it wasn't just an odd or violent animal.

Deir stared at him a moment before raising her head again, seeming to smile down to the man. She then noticed the somewhat wary look in his face, and lowered her head again. She then began to morph to her human form, clothes and cane included. Once she had finished morphing she smiled up to the man, giving him a peaceful and innocent look. "I'm sorry, did I startle you? I always forget that my other form can be somewhat ominous."

Deir sighed a little, looking down. She had to shift her weight on her feet, leaning against her cane so she was more comfortable standing. She looked back to the forest, "Have you ever gone into tat forest? It has such a calming, ominous atmosphere." Her expression was sentimental as she gazed into the forest. "Though, it seems a little void of wild life."

Emphadon took a second to compose himself, not wanting to admit that he had in fact been startled by the woman. Confused at the topic she'd chosen to discuss, Empha followed the woman's gaze to the forest.

"I haven't been there myself, but I'm sure there's probably wildlife if you go deep enough." This was in no way a course of action Empha suggested. The canopy of the forest was thick and left the underlying area rather dark and foreboding, ominous, as the women had so chosen to describe it.

Emphadon drew his attention back to the woman, giving her and up on down look. She had mismatched eyes... and a tail. His eyes were drawn to the small flame on her tail and he looked at it with concerned confusion written on his face. "Your tail's on fire."

Of course, after having just seen her as the flame-maned horse, Emphadon had no doubt that this was probably normal. That, and she didn't seem to be bothered by whatever burn it should have been causing the limb otherwise. The fact that it was eating up the moisture in the air, however, demanded that he make a point of it.

Deir continued to stare dreamily into the forest almost forgetting about the man beside her. It was when he answered her that she snapped out of it. She looked to him and nodded in agreement. "Yes, true, there probably is wildlife deeper inside....Oh, by the way, sir, I am Deir Volin, new to this lovely, thoug in construction, town."

Deir gave a smile that suggested she meant no harm. It was at his next comment that the smile changed to a face of both shock and horror. She looked to her tail and jumped. "OH MY!.....Oh," she laughed embarrasedly, holding her shirt tightly as she slowed her breathe, "Silly me....That's normal, dear. I'm a drakemare, half night being and half pure fire being. My tail being on fire means I'm healthy." The flame sparked a little as if agreeing with her.

Deir Volin. Another two-namer. It seemed his was the only society that hadn't advanced far enough to include a second name yet. He wasn't sure what light to hold that in. It did, however, get awkward when when a person introduced themselves with two names and he only had one to offer in return.

Emphadon raised an eyebrow at the woman, not entirely sure if her panicked reaction had been genuine or if she was simply making a point of calling him an idiot for pointing it out so plainly. Half pure fire being. Wonderful. That meant she was only the last person he should be talking to.

Empha reach a hand up to scratch his ear. "I'm Emphadon. Please don't call me anything else." He meant for this to include the word "dear". "I don't get along too well with fire. It ruins my complexion." Though he said it in all seriousness, his complexion was the least of his worries. State of mind was more like it.

Of course, he wasn't realistically suggesting she extinguish the flame, nor he was he expressly trying to be rude in any way. However the presence of the flame in combination with the long walk in the sun he'd just taken to arrive here had done nothing for his mood.

Deir nodded, "It's very nice to meet you M...Emphadon." She corrected herself, almost putting a Mister in front of his name, but she halted herself from it. She shifted her weight, trying to make standing more comfortable.

"Oh," the flame died down to a spark. "I'm sorry. Goodness I don't want to hurt anybody."

Empha hadn't meant to come off as rude at all. Fire seemed to have that effect on him though, not to mention the walk had left him rather dehydrated. He was happy that the fire had died down a bit though.

Feeling a bit bad now for obliging the woman to.. do whatever she'd just done with her tail, Empha moved to change the subject. "You live here in Woodenway?"

Though it was tiresome, Deir didn't mind keeping her tail fire down to a spark for the time being. She hadn't thought he was rude at all, she just felt like being nice. Though now her legs were bothering her to much so she sat down against the house.

At his question she looked up at him and shook her head. "Oh no, I don't live here....I just love dark forests, they remind me of where I was born. I am the District leader of the Marketplace."

Empha couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the woman. She had been born in a dark forest? That sounded rather.. foreboding. But, then again, he himself had been born in an underwater volcano. How was that much different? Still, he'd never felt any sort connection to the place. In fact, after what it had done to his mother and half of his sisters, he'd resolved to keep a fair distance from similar areas. He'd never been one for nostalgia anyway.

"Oh you're the marketplace leader? So you own the.. was it in an antique store? Or just an odds and ends shop?" He couldn't quite remember the name of the store at the moment.

Deir smiled brightly, nodding affirmation to the fact of being the Market District leader. It was a job she hoped she would perform without to much problem. It did worry her a little that others may not be able to keep up with her sometimes, even dragons mothers she has confused during the process of turning the care of their babies over to her.

Deir laughed at his attempt to remember the name of her shop, not a malicious laugh but the type of laugh that felt more like she was laughing with you even if you weren't laughing. "You are close, my friend. My shop IS an antique shop. I sell a large assortment of items from toys to furniture, books to statuettes. Some are new but most are vintage. That being so, I named my shop Odds and Sods. There will always be something new to look at for the buyer when they enter my shop and maybe even something of which they find of use." She took a deep breath the spark on her tail flaring a little also gathering oxygen from the long bout of talking before it returned to just a spark.