Ithil made a little squeak & ducked, just in time. She grabbed onto Drake's arm, without thinking, as she did so. Afterwards, she realized what she had done, and, slowly letting go of Drake's arm, blushed. "Sorry," she muttered.

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

Drake's shaggy brown hair had covered his face, hiding a smile. He got Granit to go to a gallop, knowing the trail was clear from there to the stable. Soon they arrived, and Drake waited for Ithil to dismount...

((hey wait... we had already gotten to the stable and you had a bay to ride! oh well... I guess we'll get to the stable again, and get the horse again!))

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Kiyoshi regained control over himself. He had to remember, his mission wasn't over yet. He whisteled softly, and a a black dragon flew down almost immediatly. "Hey Sintran!" he said giving the dragon a pat on the muzzle. Sintran nuzzled Kiyoshi's hand in a reply.

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((*sratches head* We did???? OK, sry, blonde moment, i guess. lol (I ten 2 get thsoe a lot....) OK, yea, we'll just do it again then i guess. sry about that!!))



Granit galloped away. Ithil's hair flew back behind her. She smiled as she let herself forget everything.....She loved to ride. She laughed happily, as they rode on. She forgot everything.....she even forgot that Drake was even there.

Eventually, they came to the stable. Ithil quickly dismounted, although she really didn't want to. She quickly walked up to the stable, and went inside. There were several horses there, but she went immediately to her horse, Estel. It wasn't the horse she had been riding earlier.....It was another horse; her horse; her mother's horse.....Estel had been Ithil's only comfort for a while, when her mother first died. The only thing she ever enjoyed for that first 2 years was riding on Estel....

"This is Estel," she said, walking up to him. She quickly mounted him. Estel didn't need a saddle.....At least, not if Ithil rode him. She simply told him where to go, and he went. She turned to look at Drake, and smiled. "Ready? Umm..." she scratched her head. "You lead the way."

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

Drake smiled, and neckreined Granit tward the East and started off. The wood this way was thick, with no trail, so the fastest speed he dared go, even on Granit, the horse he had raised and could speak through mind with, was a trot. Drake took out his sword and used it like a machetti to help cut a way through. He ducked under a big spider web, then looked up to the sky, it was mid-day. Good thing they were in a shaded forest, or he would have stopped them. At mid-day this time of year there was no use trying to travel in the heat...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Ithil followed Drake through the forest. Or, rather, Estel did. Ithil was too busy thinking......thinking about everything that had happened here, just in the last day. She was sitting there, minding her own business, &, in one day, she had gained 2 "guardians," raced them, cried, sparred with one, watched one be murdered, cried again, & fallen in love with one. (Although she wasn't totally crazy about admitting the last one to even herself...) She wondered what her father was doing....she hoped he wasn't worried about her. He had always been SO overprotective...

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

Finally they came to the edge of that forest and to a spanse of grassland in the far distance you could see the purple shadow of the mountains looming above the earth. The tallest one was almost one hundred miles higher than the rest, that would be dragon mountain.

Drake turned in the saddle to see Ithil, deep in thought and Estel trotting up to be beside him. The sun now showed it was about 5. Granit went into a cantered, and Drake hoped Estel would do the same. Then Granit went to a gallop, making the seven leuges between them and the mountains smaller...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Ithil was quickly jolted out of her thoughts, as Estel began to gallop beside Granit. She held on tight, & let the breeze flow through her hair. So beautiful.....so peacefull.....so quiet. So......close! She hadn't realized they were so close to the mountain....to dragon mountain. She gulped, & the butterflies in her stomach from before, returned. Her grip on Estel tightned. She knew Estel would be alright around dragons, if he saw that Ithil was. The problem was, Ithil wasn't sure that she was....

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

Drake slowed Granit down to a walk. There was a smell in the wind the smelt of fire, death, fear. This small was familiar, and almost welcoming to Drake. It was a scent only the keenest of noses could smell from a leage away, which was were they were. They had entered dragon country. Drake watched the sky, watching for any sign of a dragon...

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Ithil leaned forward slightly, & Estel moved closer to Drake; very close to Drake. She looked up to the sky, scanning for dragons. She could feel her heart pounding like crazy. This was it....now........where were the dragons??

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

"We just entered the edge of the dragon's territory," Drake explained, "You usually wouldn't spot one till closer to the mountain, but you can't be too carful. Even I'm carefull and the dragons are like family to me. It we do come by one, watch what you say, in any language for they have the gift of toung(they know all languages)"...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Kiyoshi mounted the dragon and rode up into the clouds to catch up to his chosen. He slowly made progress on catching up with them.. "Come on.. you can go faster than this!" he mumbled to the old dragon.

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Ithil nodded. He didn't have to tell her to be carefull.....family or no, it was kind of common sense. "I don't really plan on saying anything at all..." she said, quietly.

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

Drake smiled then saw a dragon's sillouett jump off the mountain's peak, and watched it sour tward them. This dragon was a big red dragon, that dragon's mother was the one who raised Drake. When she was close enouph, she landed a few feet from them.
"Greetings dragon sister. I come in a time of need of aid." Drake called.
Well mortal brother, it is a supprise to see you so soon again, the dragon's voice boomed in their minds, Who is this you ride with? A lover?. A bit of lauphter showed in her eyes...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

(can ithil hear the voice in her head, 2, or just Drake?)

Ithil gasped, and stepped back, as a dragon landed right in front of them.

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"Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness."

((she can 2 if you want!))

Drake smiled.
"No, just a job..." his eyes showed luapter too.
Hm... Now what kind of help is it you need, mortal brother?
"We need protection, shelter, and some supplies."
Oh! You know I'm not the one to ask, so you'll have to go to the great one...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08