forum Cities of Sand // One on One // Closed

Started July 29, 2020 by @Mojack group

tune

Whatever was of the previous world is gone. Now, only rumours, and if you’re lucky - artifacts from the old world remain.

The world is a place of immense desert, with occasional oasis and jungle, but not many. The heat in the day is hard to get used to, and even the cold, frosted nighttime is tricky to settle down in.
Massive, wheeled cities dominate the landscapes. Surprisingly with little conflict - although most of the rulers know that starting a conflict takes resources, and it’s only worth it if you win. The most conflict takes place with the underdogs, loners and bandits living outside of the cities and fending for themselves, but they’re besides the point.

Electricity exists - what would power these massive giants? Many things. Some of them are coal powered, unfortunately. Others, solar powered, moving during the night and charging during the day. You have the older cities, nuclear powered, but dangerous if it were to come under siege.
The weather is one of the most dangerous things - civilians take shelter in their homes when sandstorms roll in, making visibility low. To make things worse, raiders generally come in this time, and civilians have little means to defend themselves: the guns on the city operated by an AI or by a human are notable, but only serve a purpose if the enemy is outside of the city.

What is this world without some more excitement, though?

Magic users - nicknamed Maj, are a rarity but treasured greatly. Cities average on having 5 Maj, it is unknown why there are so few. Maj are notably Skyriders; flying on dragon like creatures which they and only them have the ability to communicate with. Maj will typically have heightened senses, varying in strength. Unfortunately, without proper training in most cities, Maj may suffer from not knowing the extent of their abilities. All Maj have either telekinetic or telepathic abilities, there is no one or the other. And generally, due to reasons unknown - the Maj are dying out, becoming less common, and much weaker. With each generation of Maj their abilities become weaker.
The dragons are typically the same age as their rider, with few exceptions. They’re big enough for one or two people to ride. Dragons either possess air elemental abilities, lightning, or fire. Not multiple, one or the other.

Rarely is a Maj discovered outside of a city.

After your (the person joining this RP) city detects a ruin of an ancient city; one from the Old World; one of the ones without wheels, you go to investigate, because generally, exploring ruins can lead to finding some good stuff. However, who knows what - or who is waiting out there.

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Hi! I’m in a much better place right now so I’ll be able to keep up with all of my RPs. Sorry to anyone in the past!

This is a RP in which you play as a Maj - ask questions as needed, I’ll try to explain in the template - a magic user. You have your partner, a dragon, of which only you can understand; they can understand you as well.
You, the Maj living in the city is sent to the ancient city, only to realize that something isn’t right. Before you know it, you come across one of the rumoured outcasted Maj and his dragon, an enigmatic man who may or may not be just as surprised.
Things happen, basically. I don’t want to spoil too much as to what I have planned, so let’s move on to the rules!

Rules

1. I will be asking for a writing sample, I've got the right to deny or accept you as needed. Have dialogue as well as text.
2. I would prefer mature RPers for this.
3. Ask before joining.
4. Cursing is allowed.
5. Violence and blood welcome - there will be a time and place for all of that, though.
6. For major fights, let's not autohit, but don't dodge everything either (in the event that happens, of course.)
7. If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to ask.
8. I would prefer semi-lit into literate RPers. Good grammar is always appreciated.
9. No one-liners.
10. I would prefer it be more, but I understand sometimes there isn't much going on, so I only ask that your reply be a minimum of two sentences.
11. List may or may not change.
12. Have your character react. Unsure of what to say? Write out their thought process. But also have them actually do things.
13. Let’s not METAGAME. (Refers to having in-rp knowledge on something told to you outside of RP)

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Template
Maj
Name:
Age: (20-27)
Gender:
Sexuality: (for your info: my character is ambiguous in terms of sexuality, so I’m fine with anything. He is a male.)

Appearance: (height, distinguishing marks, etc)
Clothing style: (What they typically wear. Do they wear different clothing depending on the weather or temperature?)
Background: (short or long as needed)
Personality:
Magic: (Maj will have heightened senses; for this choose their strongest sense and weakest one. They will either have telekinesis or telepathy, choose one of those two and how good they are with it.)
Other: (anything else, such as living situation, fun facts, etc go here)

Dragon
Name:
Age: (dragons are generally the same age as their Maj, but they can be younger or older by a year or so)
Gender:

Appearance:
Personality:
Magic: (dragons possess air, fire or lightning abilities. Not all of them, only one.)
Other: (include anything else here)

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As always - ask before joining

Maj
Name: Ceridwen "Ceria" Dahnmia
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Asexual… technically. She likes watching other relationships, but she herself isn’t incredibly interested in one. Or so she tells herself. It's a lie, though.

Appearance: Ceria is pretty, in a calm, cool way. She has beautiful skin, pale and yet sun-tanned enough to look good. She has delicate features, like a doll, but they fit her. She has long white hair, with black roots, that she usually keeps in a braid, although she'd cut it if she could, and she always has those strands of hair that just won't stay in the braid. She has bright, dancing green eyes with gold flecks in them, and she can make you feel good just by looking at you. She has long, dark eyelashes, plump lips and arched eyebrows, and could be a model if she had the desire to. She's about 5'4'', a source of pain for her, as she can rarely reach anything. She is curvy and beautiful, slender, and muscular, because of all of the dancing she does. She moves with grace and poise and purpose, but can also look meek and mild and innocent. She has an exotic tattoo on her back, a black pattern that seems like it belongs on a battlefield. It reaches from her hips to her neck, and curves around her shoulders.
Clothing style: She usually wears a short sleeve shirt, and leggings or shorts. She always wears a hooded green jacket, embroidered with symbols and pictures and fancy lettering. She wears sneakers, too, so that she can move around easily. She is always dressed to run and move, her clothes loose to allow the flow of movement. She doesn't seem to mind the weather, either, so she usually wears the same thing all the time. She doesn't dress fancy unless she really has to.
Background: When she was younger, Ceria wanted to do everything she could to earn her parents' love. She hid her dragon, Zyl, from them, because she didn't want them to kill him like they did all her other pets. They loved her little sister more than they loved her, which she later learned was because she was adopted. When she discovered her abilities at the age of 7, she went to go show her parents… when she heard them talking about when to get rid of her. She became afraid and ran, eventually picked up by a kind old woman who raised her until her death, when Ceria was 17. She's been living alone since.
Personality: Ceria is a warrior. Brave, fierce, and blunt, she hates all injustice. She is sarcastic, observant, and very clever, and loves to watch others. She has strong leadership qualities, and will take the lead if she can. She's quick to judge, and even quicker to condemn. She can be kind, though, and gentle, but that's not really what she's known for. She is confident and slightly arrogant, as well, and very, very loyal. She has a good intuition, and if she chooses to trust someone, everyone trusts them. She's quick and cunning, and prefers to use her mind to get out of trouble, rather than brute force. She is very resourceful and clever, and can judge how much it will take to do something, like knock down a wall, for example, easily. She was trained to find weaknesses. She is fiery and fun, and loves to hang around with others, but is very independent. She is terrible at following the rules, absolutely awful, unless someone is going to get hurt. She is wild and fun to be around, a bit like whirlwind. She has a kind heart, despite her job, and doesn't like to see anyone hurt. Her playful mask is just an act, however, as, deep down, she's just a broken girl looking for someone to actually see her for who she is.
Magic: Ceria's hearing is very good, which helps her hear if anyone is trying to sneak up on her. It helps her eavesdrop, too, although she usually learns things she doesn't want to hear, so she regards it as a curse more than a blessing. Her worst sense is smell, at the normal smell that humans have. She has telekinesis, and it's pretty powerful, but she isn't the best at controlling it, especially when she loses her temper, or is panicking.
Other: She likes to dance, and does it to calm herself down when she's alone and has had a bad day.

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Dragon
Name: Zyl
Age: 23
Gender: Male

Appearance: Zyl isn't what you'd expect of a fire dragon. For one thing, he's a gray-silver color, except for the underside of his wings and his underbelly, which are a dark shade of white. His claws and fangs are sharp and white, and he has glowing blue eyes. His snout, horns, tip of his tail and wings, are all a dark silver color. He has two horns on his head, and spines. His body is about the size of a horse, with an enormous wingspan. His tail ends in a spike, which is very sharp and deadly. He breathes out a light blue fire.
Personality: Zyl is a grouch. He pretends to not care, to be unfeeling and cool, but he has a soft side. He's very wary of people, and rarely trusts them, but if they gain his trust, he will give his life for them. He tries to act like a grouch, but he secretly is a big softy. He loves Ceria, and will give her anything, if he can. He's been with her since they were young, and it's been a bond between them. He's ruthless, and polite, and very clever and cunning.
Magic: Fire
Other: Here's a picture of him if you want a reference: Zyl

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(Are they okay?)

Maj
Name: Kasim Bevk
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual

Appearance: Kasim prefers to keep his full appearance hidden from most people, going to great lengths to ensure that it stays hidden. He’s about 5’10”, an ivory skin tone. Dark, golden brown hair going to slightly above his ears. His lower face tells quite a story, covered in various scars. Most from burns, others from scratches. The scars slightly verge onto his upper neck, mostly the burns.
A lightly athletic build.
Complete heterochromia. One eye is a much darker brown - appearing so dark, it almost seems black. The other is a much lighter blue.
Clothing style: Obviously, to an extent - things made with materials durable enough for drastic weather changes and some minor electric charges. Not that Onvu would do anything too bad while near Kasim, but just in case…All dark, earthy shades. Boots of course, pants and a shirt, fitted with a utility belt.
You can tell this man flies through rain (or at least unfortunate conditions quite a bit) as he also sports a poncho. Usually wears a dark purple bandana over the lower portion of his face. Has a custom made helmet worn on top of his head, one with a visor that can be switched down as needed - the hood of his poncho switched up as needed as well, combining to make quite an interesting look. Useful for going through rain, but pretty good for sandstorms..still not pleasant flying through one. Notably, the helmet has a smiley face drawn on the top/back of it, one appearing to have been drawn by someone of a younger age.
Background: Where he came from..far from ‘here.’ He’s already seen quite a bit, fought in some battles. He was sent away from whatever city (if it even was a city) he originated from, to the ‘ocean of sand’, the desert. He spent most of his days exploring smaller ruins, taking what he wanted. He doesn’t care about any ‘old ones,’ doesn’t believe that a ghost will haunt him for stealing from their city.
It was when he came across the massive city, the ancient one, that he decided to camp back a bit and explore.
Personality: Kasim comes off as a quieter person, which can make him, again, come off as a nice person. He’s not. At least..not really. He can be caring and kind, and does have empathy, he’s just a bit of a thief - unable to keep his hands off of things that look interesting to him. Anything he sees doesn’t belong to that person anymore - it’s his.
Onvu is just about the only creature he sees as good to open up to and speak to. After all, they share quite a bond.

Although he won’t hesitate to fight, he prefers to avoid conflict, but he’s not much of a people pleaser either. What I’m saying: he’s not good at diplomacy. Never trust him to resolve a conflict, he’ll likely make it worse.

Though his quieter nature exists, he does generally have a first reaction to meeting someone - make his power, his presence known. Because hopefully, they’re not gonna attack him, and instead, get the message that he’s not someone to mess around with. Hopefully. He hasn’t had much time to test that one out. Even Onvu believes that it may not be a good idea. Although intelligent, he can rush through and underestimate, leaving some flaws in his planning. Not good at picking up on cues, at all.
Even if he can come off as awkward at times, Kasim is not a merciful soul. Second chances don’t exist to him. At least..he’s not sure, yet. Maybe he’s changed since ‘before’. But Kasim prefers to end conflict quickly should it ever happen.

Magic: Telekinesis. Quite strong, only because of receiving it from an external source. At the heart, he’s not that strong with it, most of his power coming from this ‘external source.’ What he has on others is control. His strongest sense is easily smell, while his weakest is touch, which isn’t actually at the normal human level - he literally cannot feel things physically, which can be bad for himself as he won’t notice injuries unless they’re obvious.
Other: Kasim is one of those rare ‘outcasted Maj’, living alone in no city in particular. His reason for being outcasted is unknown - you usually need to do something pretty bad to get outcasted…if he was even outcasted to begin with.

Dragon
Name: Onvu
Age: 25, although slightly older than Kasim by a few months.
Gender: Female

Appearance: A dragon slightly larger than average given her young age, fitted with a large wingspan - as most dragons have, though. A longer dragon, almost like a Lung Dragon, but with scales similar to that of a Spiny Bush Viper. Her scales are a light shade of brown, with a more vibrant purple coming on the top of her body. Notably, her scales can ‘flatten’ in order to give herself a smoother look. Her pupils are almost constantly slitted, a shade of forest green. She appears to lack horns. Her tail is long, with several porcupine like spines protruding from the end of it.
Although she is a larger dragon, she usually walks closer to the ground, which can downsize her true self a lot more.
She appears to have two sets of wings, the second pair being slightly smaller. Her first pair, the larger pair, have ever so slightly, torn edges. Her teeth have two rows, long, thin and needle like.
For size reference - Onvu isn’t too too tall, but she does make up for it in length.
Personality: Although occasionally teasing towards Kasim, Onvu understands when to take her Maj seriously. She is quite close to him, and also very protective, rarely leaving his side unless Kasim specifies so. She’s wary of others, but she’s not much of an act-first dragon, instead waiting for signals from Kasim. Like a good portion of dragons, she’s been with him since he was very, very young.
Magic: Lightning.
Other: Onvu enjoys bathing in an oasis, if she ever gets the chance.

The ancient city. It wasn’t like any of those very old wheeled cities, either. It was a real, ancient and stationary city from the Old World. Kasim tried to figure out if it was really real or not, to fly down and see if it had wheels. But clearly, even if they were buried in sand, he’d be able to see them just a little bit. But there were no signs of wheels. It was real - an ancient city.

His previous discoveries had let to smaller, abandoned wheeled cities. Wheeled towns, whatever you wanted to call them. Out of power, out of fuel. Out of people, too. This, though? This was a whole new discovery for him. And who knows what would be waiting for him?
Onvu landed, waiting for him to depart from her back.
The dragon sniffed, glancing at the towering buildings of the ancient city ahead of them. Overgrown grass and moss surrounded the platform they’d landed on.
“It’s unusual, looking at a city as big as this one. No noise, no movement, only the city. Are you sure you want to go in alone?” She said, her eyes momentarily switching over to him.

Kasim, getting himself ready, responded without looking. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Onvu huffed, giving a subtle roll of her eyes. “Alright, aright,” she spoke in a playful manner for a moment, before switching to her more serious tone. “Don’t be afraid to send a signal if need be, though.”
Kasim only nodded, standing up fully now that he was ready. The buildings of this city didn’t spare of much interest to him. He was more looking forwards to the centre..the heart of this city. Most cities had a central power station of which it was all connected to. Back when it was actually running, the workers would’ve kept the city moving down there. Although there was a lack of power and it was an ancient city, it wouldn’t hurt to check, to see if it had a ‘heart’ despite being an Old World city, or if it was a waste of time.

“Are you going to keep musing to yourself there?” Onvu broke his thoughts.
With a careful look to her, Kasim stared, before winking. “No, I’m on my way now.” He jumped forwards and began to make his way to the city, not quite running, not quite walking. Onvu didn’t want to stay in the open, so she made her way to a closed spot for the time being, hidden in shelter.

It wasn’t long before he was in the city, and layout held similar to other cities as well. If it was so similar, maybe he could eventually find his way in the Heart of the city…

"They gave us another one of these stupid jobs," Zyl complained. "It's almost as if they want to get rid of us." He perched on the roof next to Ceria, and passersby looked up at him in awe, and a little bit of fear. After all, no matter how many times you see a dragon, it's still frightening.

"They might be," Ceria agreed, legs swinging over the edge of the roof. "Although I'm not sure why they'd want to do that. It's not like there are many Maj here in the first place, so trying to get rid of one just renders them weaker. And heaven knows that it's a sin to be weak." She rolled her eyes in disdain. "Seriously, why are we the only ones being sent? There are so many more Maj that have experience with this kind of thing. I think they might just be tired of our incompetence." She sighed and took another sip of her coffee, the plastic cup hot in her fingers.

When the city government sends an order to the youngest Maj they have, telling them to go and explore an ancient city, which had recently appeared, you'd think that they were crazy. And, they were, the stupid power-hungry bastards. Ceria was the most free-spirited of all of the Maj in Kalmai, and no one liked it.

Except for her, of course. She hated being held down by the shackles of duty and responsibility.

"Well, what do you say?" She asked, reaching up to rub her hand along the smooth, warm scales of her best friend, her partner, her dragon. "Should we go and see what's so special about this ancient city of theirs? I hear there's usually good stuff in places like that. We could finally get enough money to live somewhere that isn't this awful city."

Zyl nudged the palm of her hand before curling up into a ball and resting his head on his paws. "Whatever you like. It might be a nice change of scenery, though, and it'd certainly smell better than it does here."

Ceria giggled. Kalmai was famous for not only having 7 Maj, and for its size, but also for its stench. With refugees pouring in all the time, there were lots of homeless people here, and they never washed. Out in a desert-like place like this, there was little water as it was.

"Well, I guess we'll accept. Not because they ordered us, but because we can't stand being in this shitty city for a moment longer." She smiled and stood. "I'll put that in my response. It will make it much more enjoyable."

Kasim ventured into the city. The buildings, overgrown with what little vegetation that could grow - some dried - towered above him, providing shade. Although, there wasn’t much wind, and the heat was uncomfortable, he had to admit. Definitely not as bad as when he first ventured out in the desert, though. He was more of a night person himself due to the coolness.

Kasim wasn’t too focused on going into and searching buildings. He could always do that later. Right now, he would make his way into the Heart. Was it even called a Heart? It wasn’t, it was called a power station, but Kasim would always know it as a Heart. It basically had that sort of function, didn't it?
From his knowledge, he assumed he was heading in the right place as he entered a building that seemed to delve down into the ground. Underground. The air was dry in this place, filled with dust disturbed from the walls from sudden movement after so long of being still. Squinting, he attempted to brush some from his eyes, before switching down his visor for the time being. There was enough natural light in here that he was able to see where he was going.
As he looked to the walls, he found paintings. Or maybe they weren’t paintings - they didn’t really seem to be displaying any sort of symbol he could recognize.

Kasim found himself at a door after a while, and moved to pry it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Luckily, he had some tools for that. It would take some time, but he could spare some time. He kneeled down and got to work on trying to open the door.

Ceria was starting to regret the decision to go to the ancient city. Although she had wanted to get away from her stupid city and the corrupt people in it, she hadn’t thought that it would be this bad.

She and Zyl were flying through what appeared to be a sandstorm. There was lots of wind, and sand flew in their faces, stinging their eyes and getting between Zyl’s scales and in Ceria’s hair and clothes. It was hot, and uncomfortable, and they couldn’t go above the clouds to avoid the storm because the air was too thin for her to breathe. It was miserable.

“How long until we get there?” She called, her voice slightly muffled by the cloth that she had wrapped around her nose and mouth, to keep the sand out. She was hunched over Zyl’s back, eyes squinted until they almost seemed closed.

”Almost there,” he said, voice slightly strained. They had been flying for the better part of a day, and so she could see why he was tired.

“Thank the stars.”

Soon, the wind lessened, and then stopped entirely. The sun, which had been hidden before, was hot on their backs. Zyl’s slowly started to swoop down, to where ruins stood out against the golden sand, almost as if the ancient city wanted to be found. It was beautiful, and oddly lonely, with everything crumbling down, and no one around. It was easy to see why people would want to explore the ruins.

He landed, and Ceria slid off his back, brushing sand off her clothes. Zyl shook himself, and they looked around at the city.

“Where do we start?”

Kasim attempted to pry open the metal door again - and there was a loud shriek off into the distance from the old door. He stiffened, only because of the sheer noise that had came from that. Maybe because of the noise, too. Kasim didn’t push the door completely open, only enough so that he could get in.

Enter the corridor. It seemed to move in a spiral, he realized. The insides of the building here appeared to be more untouched, less worn down, if even just a bit dusty. Unfortunately, the light was also running out. There wasn’t enough natural light down here. Kasim would have to just keep going until it got too dark.

He carefully descended down some stairs once he arrived at them, taking his time. Here, there was a sudden influx of light from the ceiling, one that had caused him to blink. He only realized when he looked up, realizing the ceiling had almost been partially blown open, the sun visible through the roof of the building. He put his hand above his eyes to shield himself, then looked to the rest of the room. Complex controls - none of which would work due to lack of use, no power, and age - surrounded him. Each with their labels. Some covered in glass, others not. Kasim felt tempted to touch one, but decided not to.

Instead, his attention was drawn to a big wall. There didn’t seem to be much of a power source in this room - the heart - and yet, something had drawn him to this wall. He walked over, staring at the dark brown wall. Pacing near it, before coming to a stop.
Kasim knocked against the wall once or twice, stopping upon hearing that, there was an other side of the wall. It was hollow, it sounded different than the other walls. He couldn’t knock down the wall himself - momentarily cursing himself for not bringing Onvu along - so all Kasim could do was try to look for a door.

"Don't they usually say that the best stuff is always at the heart of the city?" Zyl asked.

"How would I know? I've never done this kind of stuff before… although I could probably figure it out if given enough time." Ceria glanced around the deserted city. It was quiet, with the wind whistling around, and the sound that it made, eery and low, made her shiver. It was a lonely place to be, but it was a bit better than another city.

"There's someone else here," Zyl said suddenly, lifting his nose into the air and sniffing. He looked around, lashing his tail, wings ruffling in unease.

"What do you mean?" She asked. She rested a hand on the smooth scales that covered his shoulder and glanced around, straining her ears for the sign of any other living creature. A scurry of small feet, most likely mice, shifting rocks, the wind, of course… there. The slight sound of something scratching on stone. It was a familiar sound, although Ceria couldn't remember where she'd heard it before.

"What I mean is that I can smell a faint scent of another human," he said, looking in the direction she had heard the noise. "And there seems to be a dragon with them."

"Another Maj? Here as well?" Ceria frowned. "This isn't good. What if they get the treasures before we do? Then we'll have to go back with nothing." She brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and looked around. There was no sign of either human or dragon, but now that she knew what it was, she could tell the general direction the dragon was in. "Where are they?"

"The dragon is over there," Zyl said, pointing with his tail. "The human seems to have vanished. I think they went underground."

"Then let's go take a look."

Finally reaching the markings of a door, he pushed at it a few times, but realized there was a handle for the door. Kasim pulled at it, and it took a few seconds, but the door opened with relatively no trouble. It was a bit of a smaller door, though. He’d need to duck through to enter.
He was faced with a cylinder container, one that could be easily grasped in one hand against the body. Inside was something that seemed to be a green tinted liquid.

It was what he was looking for. He didn’t quite expect to find this in an Old World city, though. Kasim decided not to risk taking anything else. He had probably one of the best things he’d found so far, and that was..this. Taking it, Kasim pulled it towards himself. It wasn’t too hard to carry, though he would need to advise caution while walking around in the dark with it.

Without any more business - there were no other containers in the room - Kasim departed, going to leave the station instead. He didn’t want to take risks right now, not with this in his hands. He was simply going back to Onvu, container tucked under his poncho but held by his arm. It would take less time to get back to the surface, as now there were less obstacles and he at least knew where he was going. Back to the surface.

Onvu, meanwhile, coiled inside one of the structures of the city - a watchtower, maybe? Flared her nostrils, smelling someone else. Any sign of an unfamiliar presence was something to be alerted about, but Onvu decided to stay in the top of the tower, closed in by walls around her except for a window - until her Maj came into view. Maybe they could depart from this place without seeing whoever else was there. She decided to lay low for the time being.

Ceria and Zyl started to walk through the worn streets, in search of, well… whoever it was that was here. She pulled her jacket closer around herself, pulling the hood up so that the wind stopped whipping her hair about, and to shelter her face from the sand that always seemed to be in the air, waiting to be breathed in with her every breath.

She stopped for a moment, and tied a strip of cloth around her nose and mouth, before continuing.

And then she heard a movement, that seemed to be coming from… no, that couldn't be it. Why would anyone go underground in a place like this? What if the entire place caved in on them, and they got stuck? She listened again, and heard a faint noise coming from under the earth.

"Well, I think I know where the Maj is," Ceria said wryly, and a bit amused.

"And the dragon seems to be around here," Zyl said, stopping in a circle between several towers. "I'm not sure exactly where, though. The wind keeps blowing the scent around, so I can't be exactly sure."

She was lucky for the dust and wind that covered her scent, and her ability to be very, very silent for long periods of time. Staying out of sight helped - the only thing was, the fact that they - the person and dragon; she had to presume; down there were unable to detect her location at the moment. Which meant that she was unable to get much of a detection on them, unless she risked being seen and peered through the window. The only thing she could do was wait for Kasim.

Kasim continued to run, slowing down only to pass through the metal, rusted door he’d opened a while ago.
It didn’t take long for him to exit the corridor, too. It was a straight travel from here on out, the natural light growing more and more up until he emerged into the open, closing his eyes momentarily as he adjusted to the light. But when he opened them, he was presented with a sight that he’d prefer to avoid.
There were other people here. One person - a Maj? And a dragon, of course. Together as well. Onvu was nearby, but Kasim was caught out in the open streets to which he did not enjoy. Tucking the container even closer to his chest, Kasim sidestepped, at a speed between going fast and slow. Wanting to get to some shelter, although something told him he’d probably be spotted.

“Still no sign of the dragon?” Ceria asked, one hand on Zyl’s neck. She was looking around, but her eyesight wasn’t always the best, and so it was no surprise that she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Zyl shook his great head. ”The scents are all over the place,” he said, in a frustrated tone. He lashed his tail in agitation and looked around once again, head lifted into the wind, trying to find the source of the scent.

And then Ceria heard it. The slight sound of shuffling footsteps, gradually drawing nearer, as if the person was trying to stay out of sight, and move without being detected. She whipped her head in that direction, but could see nothing. That was no surprise, though. The person was probably hiding…. although, if they hid, that meant that she and Zyl were in plain sight.

“There’s someone watching us,” she said, her voice barely a murmur.

”I can’t smell anything,” Zyl said, swiveling his head around to look in the direction Ceria was motioning to.

“But I can hear them.”

Kasim looked around, before sniffing the air. While the wind definitely scattered his sense of smell to a degree, it helped that it was his strongest sense. Onvu was nearby - and that other human and dragon. He’d made it to a wall, pressing himself against it for the time being while he considered his options. He could lay low and try to find Onvu without altering the strangers, but..
That would take a bit too long for his liking. The only other option - he didn’t like it that much - was to go out and make his presence known. While it would probably alert the strangers, presumably it would alert Onvu as well. She smelled close enough that she’d probably be able to know his location.

Deciding not to delay his plans any longer, Kasim didn’t run out into the open, but he did walk. A calm walk, despite everything. He remained silent, glancing up slightly - seeing the two figures, dragon and human becoming clearer to him. He didn’t walk right up, though. Just stopped, stayed silent. Waiting for something. But for what?

Zyl snorted. He looked around, his glowing eyes alert and wary, and lashed his tail. He couldn't sense the presence of the Maj like Ceria could, and it made his anxious.

Ceria placed a reassuring hand on his flank. She listened to the footsteps as they neared her and her dragon, and then stopped. The Maj must have spotted them, right? Why was he staying still? Was he trying to stay out of their detection? Or waiting for his dragon?

"I know you're there," she said, and then instantly felt foolish. The Maj might not have heard her. "You don't have to hide. I can hear your heartbeat."

I sound like a creep, Ceria realized with a tiny grin.