Shadows

[Belade]

Belade smiled as the cool air rushed against her feathers. The breeze felt great, and the clouds seemed so high today. The sky an endless blue and the entire world looking so small from so high in the air. In the air soared a giant bird of fiery red, blazing through the endless blue. With every heavy beat of her wings the land zoomed past ever below. Flying past villages in the blink of an eye, she moved at speeds that would make even pegasi envious. She would be traveling alone on this mission, so she needn't to pace herself for the sake of her comrades. It shouldn't be difficult after all, just scouting the area. Something she could do well, with her great speed and razor like eyesight, there wasn't much that could escape her.

There has been reported sightings in the area, nothing too severe. A few gargoyles in the sky, rattling bone walkers, maybe a strange shaped wolf here and there. Something to look into at the least, and if it turns out to be true she'd return to the guild where they'd start up a campaign based on the severity of the problems. While there were many fighters of the guild who were stronger then she, there was few who could claim to be a more effective scout. Though she hadn't really seen anything particularly noteworthy, it would probably be more effective to look closer to ground. There was a small village coming up, that seemed to be as good as a place to start.

So she began to dive right down from the sky, picking up speed as she flew closer and closer to the ground, almost threatening to crash into it. In her dive she began to spin, becoming a whirling flurry of red and orange, somewhere in the confusion she shifted her entire body's shape into one closer to that of a human. Stopping just a few inches before hitting the ground, a pair of wings beating as she levitates lightly above the earth, slowly lowering and touching down, her wings vanishing as soon as their job was finished. She looked around, the fields in the distance and the town that she could easily walk to from this length, and began to head over. Unsure of what she'd find there, but planning on asking questions to the populace once she arrived. Hopefully the rumors of monsters were true, she could really go for crushing some creatures right about now.

The was sounds on the wind, jingling like windchimes, but she couldn't quite make it out. Still the sun was out and it was quite warm, it reminded her of days back in the warren. She was a scout back then as well, however for different reasons then why she was now. Back then they made the children and those who were still training scout to teach them caution, to teach them how to escape, skills lost on the proud and arrogant. To be a scout you need to learn you can't take care of everything on your own, and sometimes it's better to flee. They didn't usually travel alone, but in small enough groups that they couldn't handle more then a small skirmish on their own. Those who couldn't learn these lessons died, and those who did became greater hunters for it.

A child ran by her, giggling, her long red hair tied in twin tails trailing behind her cheerfully. Belade couldn't help but grin. When she got back to her home, she'd have to visit Vincent. Perhaps she should acquire some sort of trinket for tribute? In human society it's customary to acquire cheap and poorly constructed objects with occasional messages that were considered quite humorous to those who looked upon them, and then give these objects to ones they hold in high regard. Perhaps she would purchase a wooden toy, if they have such a shop in this area.

She looked around at her surroundings, the streets weren't deserted and neither did the townfolk seem particularly on edge. Perhaps the rumors were false, rarely were people positive when these sort of things happens. It is general met with fear, and by no means would one allow their small ones to roam the streets unabated if there was risk that they would meet a grisly demise. The town was positively pleasant in its quaint charms, small and wooden and very rural. The path that lead through the town appeared to not have much use, but the people still seemed to live in moderate comfort. Unlike many of the folks with money to spare, and appear to sleep upon piles of golden coins for what else would they do with such a fortune? Their was a large fountain in what she must assume is the town's center, so she made her way there. It wasn't crowded, but there were many people in the area, from watchful mothers and their adventurous kin to working men and their laughing compatriots. One might think it'd be foolish to scout out a town that appeared to be so peaceful, but there was a certain virtue to being thorough that she liked to believe in.

[Yukaida]

How humans could stand traveling on the ground was a source of never ending confusion for Yukaida. It was slow, boring, and uncomfortable. Meanwhile, soaring through the sky was amazing. The entire world spanned out below her as she soared over the mountains. She twirled a bit in the air, enjoy the sensation of the wind whipping around her. She didn't really have a destination in mind, but she did see a town on the horizon, as she flew at a rather leisurely pace (for a dragon). As she drew closer and closer, she lowered herself a bit, so she could take a look at what was down there. Circling the town, her large form did serve to cast a rather unnerving shadow over the square, as her eyes settled upon it. Oh! Perfect, that square was big enough for her to land! That was the biggest problem with towns like this, finding a place to be able to touch down.

As she pulled herself into a circling dive, she began to see the square clearing. How nice of them! They were giving her all the room that she needed to land without injuring one of them. Humans could be such considerate creatures! Older woman taking their children by the hand, pulling them away from the square so they would not risk being underfoot. Not that Yukaida would ever trample a child, that would just be far too cruel! Her purple scales reflected in the sunlight as she gave one last flap of her wings, before settling down in the square by the fountain. The wind gust sent up by it sent a cloud of dust down some of the streets as she settled down.

Hmmm, it would be difficult to explore the city like this, she should change forms. And the large form slowly shrank away, her form taking on one much less conspicuous. Or it would normally be if she hadn't just landed in the center of a populated town. She flipped her hair out as she finished the transformation. Such an odd thing, this hair. It served no useful purpose for humans, it seemed, since they had other ways of retaining warmth. But her studies had said it was something like a bird's feathers, used to attract mates and impress others. How funny was that?

She noticed, after a moment of musing, that the square stayed empty. Those who had cleared the way for her did not return, and she paused for a moment to wonder why. It was then that a pleasant scent assailed her nose, and drew her to a small empty stand serving some sweetened bread treat. She'd never seen anything quite like this, and took one. She bit into it with a delighted squeal. Wow! These humans really did know how to make some delicious food! Almost as good as fresh calf!

[Manis]

Manis was on his way back from a job, again, and was doing his best to ignore the people of the small town. He had learned long ago there were two types of villages, the ones full of the three types of people and the one full of the fourth kind, people who didn't know him at all. These were the most dangerous. One look in the eye and everyone suddenly had problems that he could fix.

Though I could use a rest, he thought. The next town was bigger and might of heard of him, making it easier to get in and out. Thud. Thud. What was that? He turned to see a giant purple thing falling from the sky. No...

People began running for the hills while Manis just quietly moved out of the way. He continued to make his way out of town but didn't make it very far, finding a nice wall of dust thrown into his face.

"Who in the-" Manis began but lost himself in a fit of coughs. By the time the dust cleared Manis' throat was clear, and he looked around. The dragon was no longer there but some woman was. He looked around and caught one of the villager's eyes, something he immediately regretted. They were all suddenly looking at him and not the dragon girl. He looked between the road, the frightened villagers, and the dragon.

I suppose I have a little time, Manis thought, sighing. He had lost most of his morals long ago on that night, but they were still partly there. Besides, how hard can it be to explain to a dragon that she just scared the living day-lights out of a bunch of villagers?

"Excuse me miss," Manis began once he was kinda close to her. he didn't want to startle her and get trampled. His voice was dull and emotionless as usual. "Would you be so kind as to not land in the middle of a middle of no where village, it tends to scare people." His hand re-griped the strap to the bag thrown over his shoulder while he shuffled into a more comfortable position, the I don't really care position.

[Belade]

"Oh goodness." While all the people scrambled as the giant shadow loomed overhead, Belade simply stared up at the giant purple creature as it dove down in a spinning fall, the powerful gusts kicked up by it's descent causing the Taguel's hair to fly around erratically, but she managed little emotion on her face except maybe that of mild annoyance. Now how was she supposed to question the townsfolk if they were all freaked out? What a pain, how foolish was this dragon? She sighed, she had long since learned that the superstition of dragons being wise beyond compare and beyond comprehension was false, still this was particularly painful to watch. She must have just left her caves for the first time, or at the least was too preoccupied with herself to pay attention to other around her. Or perhaps it was arrogance, a disease many dragons are cursed to have. Mostly Belade was simply annoyed though, she went through the trouble of landing so far away to avoid this exact situation only for someone else to come and do it anyways. If she was planning on making the humanfolk scurry like insects, she would have just landed in the town square herself.

A large gust of dust blew past her, squinting as she stared through it. The woman taking her human form and almost gleefully robbing the local baked good concession stand of their sweetened bread treats. Still honestly, it wasn't her concern. She was no monster, and while she was partaking in thievery she was far from razing the village into cinders. The humans would take care of this, or not, whatever the case may be. Another humankin decided to take the scolding of the dragonbeast into his own hands, so instead Belade decided to go elsewhere. Perhaps the nearby tavern, the patrons may be so inebriated that they only assume the dragonic creature was merely a hallucination cause by copious consumption of alcoholic drink.

The tavern had a pair of swinglike doors that creaked as she pushed past them, unfortunately she wasn't as lucky as she assumed. People seemed to be crowded at the windows, staring outside with great concentration and intent, so she allowed herself to sigh. No one gave her much of a second glance, they were far to preoccupied with the humanoid dragonkin and her pilfering of cookies. Muttering filled the air, but it was all trivial and worthless so she paid it zero attentions. "Excuse me." She spoke up, and someone quickly shushed her.

"Quiet!" They said far more loudly then she had been to begin with. "We're trying to watch the dragon."

She rolled her eyes, groaning. "Goodness." She may have to do something about this after all.

[Yukaida]

Yukaida had only taken one of the sweets that had been so kindly left out. What a nice town this was! She looked about the square, wondering where everyone had run off to, when she heard a voice calling out. She had to assume they had called out to her, being that she saw no others present. She turned to see a human, male, and he looked rather...hmm, bored? Well that was odd, but she wouldn't criticize him for his lack of vigor.

When he spoke, she watched him, but was clearly confused. "What? But there was nowhere else I could land, this is the only open spot. And they all moved out of the way when I was really high up, so I don't think it caused a real problem. Why would it scare them? If I wanted to hurt them I wouldn't have landed..." She spoke, thinking it the most obvious thing possible. She could have used her magic from far up in the air if she'd wished them harm, that should have been obvious.

She walked up to the man there, abandoning her attention from the sweets as she looked him over. Hmmm, young, but pretty rugged. He had a sword, which meant he was likely a warrior. Her violet eyes stared into his for a moment, but he seemed so hollow, devoid of emotion. Quite a mystery here, this human.

"You look upset human, have I done something to offend you?" She asked, looking about the square. She hadn't knocked over anything when she descended, broken the fountain of even shattered a window with the air burst. As far as she was concerned, it was a pristine landing, so why did he seem upset? And why did the people not return after her arrival? Surely there wasn't anything scary about someone who didn't mean you harm?

The people of the towns around her home would never run from her if she flew around there. In fact, they would usually welcome her, since of her family she was the one that actually liked some of these humans. Why should these humans be any different?

[Manis]

No... Manis thought, trying to deny reality. First smart bandits and now a dumb dragon. He sighed and fished some coins from a pocket and put them on the bakery stand. Nothing is ever simple... He though a moment on which problem to tackle first. 

"First of all, people don't like to be called human," Manis said, shuffling his position again. He didn't like standing in one place. "And my name is Manis. Second, most people are afraid of dragons because they are big and scary and what not." He waited a second to see if it was making any sense.

"So because of this, people were running from you, not kindly moving out of the way," Manis continued. He felt stupid explaining this, he always assumed dragons were taught something along these lines before getting to go anywhere. Perhaps he was giving them more credit then he should. "The town belongs to these people, not you. It would be nice if you landed outside town and walked."

Manis sighed and rubbed his forehead. I really wish some one else was here to do this. "And that is a bakers stand, the stuff is for sale, not hand outs. You have to pay for that." And with that, he spun around and headed straight to the bar. The last couple of days had really been testing him and he was on the verge of breaking his one rule. Well, the one rule that mattered anyways.

[Belade]

She took to the windows as well, seeing as that was where the humans were congregated. It was rather a bore watching a man speak to a woman in words she could not hear. The others, however, appeared absolutely enthralled. It was trying her patience, but she remained calm and tried to calm the situation down. "You see, the dragonkin means no harm. For if she did, she would have never landed and rather rained death from above." The people began to look at her, oh by the- she made them more worried didn't she? The way their eyes were all wide like some kind of strange deer, quiet and not speaking. "Don't be alarmed."

"Who are you anyways? I don't recognize you." Someone began, then noticed the feathers sprouting from her body and she could have sworn that if it was physically possible for this rotund man to do so, he would have jumped fifty feet away from her. Doing the human 'flipping out'. Perhaps of the flipping out of the bar. "Oh by the gods you're one of those things too!"

She furrowed her brow. "I am a taguel, not a dragonkin, do not mistake us so lightly. For many of my kind are not nearly as understanding as I." She didn't sound mad, but once again irritated. This whole situation was trying her patience. "I am from the hunter's guild, sent to investigate monster sightings in the area."

"Well if you're a hunter, go take care of that dragon." He wasn't making any sense.

"I don't see the comparison between a dragon and a monster, but I would keep such words to yourself." She chided him like he was a child, despite him being clearly older then her. "I will show you there's nothing to fear, would that allow you humans to stop acting like a pack of frightened children?" She didn't wait for a reply as she walked out, heading towards where the dragon lay, passing the man who had been out earlier on the way. She walked up to the woman who seemed a bit confused, but otherwise almost innocent. It appeared she was simply ignorant, not a danger.

"Greetings dragonkin." She began, looking about at the area. It was still clear of all human presence, they must not see dragons often. Not particularly surprising, many dragon ignore smaller towns such as this. "May I ask of your desires in this town? It would put the humankin at ease to know you mean no harm."

[Yukaida]

Yukaida's brow furrowed a little bit as the human began lecturing her. Why would it be an insult to be called 'human'? They called her 'dragon' all the time. She didn't really mind it, after all it was an adequate descriptor, she was a dragon. And big things being scary? That was dumb too. Humans kept horses, which were far larger then they were. How did size make something frightening, because it might step on you? It should have been obvious pretty quickly that she wasn't intending to do that.

He was being really rude now, she felt. She hadn't claimed ownership of the town, she just landed and wanted to look around. Towns like this were open for people to do that! At the comment about the baker's cart, she glanced back to it, noting the odd discs he'd left behind. But she thought that things left out in public areas were for anyone to take? That was always how she'd seen it before, except when her family went to collect tribute. And this was, obviously, not tribute. She hadn't taken all of them, for even she knew that was rude. Leave some so others could enjoy the generosity.

And then he turned away to walk off, not allowing her even a moment to get in a word of her own. She felt her frustration growing at the arrogant little man, how old was he anyway? Eighty? A hundred? Wait...no, humans lived to about sixty didn't they? Hmmm...thirty then? Still young, how dare he be so rude to her! She began to follow him, fully intending to berate him for such an attitude.

"Hey! Now hold on a...eh?" She paused as a woman walking down the street addressed her. She turned to look at her, noting instantly that she was not human.

And that caused her interest in the rude man to vanish totally. "Oh! You're a taguel, right? I've never seen one before." She confessed. They did not live near her parent's nest, but she certainly did know of their existence. It was odd, Dragons tended to view the taguel slightly more favorably then humans, probably because they didn't think themselves above the wild animals they came from. They embraced their similarities, and their distinctions.

Yukaida's face, which had been annoyed at first, brightened to a smile as she moved over to the avian. "Hello Ms. Taguel!" She said in greeting, pondering over the question she'd been asked. "I just came down to look around, I didn't think showing up would cause this much of a stir. It never used to back home. They'd always make some room for me to land, so I thought the humans here were doing that as well. Do they have reason to suspect harm from me?"

Hmmm, if this land was presided over by Dragons who treated humans like her parents did, that might have been true.

[Khasar]

"Mister, hey mister! You gotta wake up there's a dragon outside! Mamma wants you and your doggy to go see if it's a bad dragon." Khasar was brought out of his dream abruptly by the little girl pushing him and shouting in his ears. He'd dreamed of a young woman he'd seen in the west, about slaying one of those monsters he'd heard about, maybe saving her from said monsters. The girl had had dark brown hair, that fell just around her shoulders. She'd seemed fond of him, her father did not. As the little girl continued to push him, he made no real attempts to get up. She pushed him inch by inch, shouting the word mister in his ear between each push. Khasar attempted to roll onto his stomach, and push himself up, but he failed to grasp just where he was on the bed. He fell on his face, on the hard stone floor.

As blood dripped out of his nose, the crimson haired swordsman pushed himself up, and brought his legs forward, standing briefly before his head whizzed. It was light out, but Khasar guessed he had not received a full night of sleep. The girl said, "Mister Khasa' there's a dragon outs-" Khasar looked over his shoulder, forced a smile, and cut her off, "I know Missy. How long was I asleep?" "Tree hours." Two days awake, and three hours of sleep. He'd built a tiny reputation in this town about ten minutes before his nap. He'd stooped a drunk from hitting his wife. Ready to collapse, he'd walked into the town willing to give all the gold he had to the first person with a thick patch of grass, when he saw the man screaming outside of a house, with a small group of people come to watch. Khasar was sluggish, and dragged his feet in almost every step. The man's wife stepped outside, hoping to calm him down. The man had lifted his hand behind his head, but was stopped short, with a shoulder in his ribs, and one hundred and seventy pounds flying into him from nowhere.

When the villagers lifted the swordsman off the man, he'd simply said, "Bed if you got it please?" He'd been carried into some random house, and laid down, his boots removed, just before he drifted to sleep, he heard, "Um, sir, there's a wolf who seems to be following you. It's whining outside." Khasar said, "If you let him in, he won't break anything, promise." Three hours later, he was awoken by the little girl, who'd taken his boots off. Boots he now finished tying. He stood up, barely feeling the rejuvenation one was supposed to get from sleep. He simply said, "Cu, time to get up." But the wolf was already at his side. The wolf had grown, Khasar guessed him at around five months old. Khasar slung his sword over is shoulder. He squatted next to the young girl, and ruffled her hair, "Me and the doggy here'll take care of it for you milady." Khasar opened the house's door. He rolled his shoulders back, he'd either die, or befriend his second dragon.

A very thin crowd had gathered to watch the dragon. Khasar cleared his throat, and those closest to him turned, then moved aside. Khasar held the string attached to his Nodachi closely against his right shoulder. He watched through the crowd as they began to move aside. Maybe he was going to save them front the dragon, or if they didn't get out of the way, he might attack them. Neither of which were true. He was no pessimist, but if a dragon wanted to kill him, he was dead. Cu prowled lightly behind him as he dragged along. As the final townsfolk parted, he saw no dragons. Just a trio of people talking. Two women, one very young, the other the same hold the very. There was also a scarred gentleman who seemed off put, and was walking away. His eyes were heavy, but he strolled up with a more confident air that he felt, and a smile on his face. As he came in hearing range of the women, they seemed to have a quality not exactly human. The woman with purple hair was in the midst of saying something, "-have reason to suspect harm from me?" Khasar cleared his throat rather loudly, with a grin he said, "Excuse me ladies, sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you'd seen the dragon these folks are talking about? As resident passer-through, I've been chosen to speak with him or her about her intentions. Seems a bit pointless though. I once met a dragon. Nice guy. 'Course guess I can't really judge all dragons on one friend."

[Manis]

Manis didn't even bother giving the woman a second glance as he walked past. Ah, now I just relax a little before moving on. No one will know I was here and no one will have died. A perfect endi- WHACK. He stopped dead in his tracks, completely pulled from his thoughts. Surprise almost erupted on his face.

"And where do you think you're going?" And older lady asked, her walking stick raised for another strike. She looked ancient, but kind. "You ain't gonna let that boy take on those monsters by himself, are ya?"

"I- well- he- they-" Manis stuttered, looking back to see that some boy had joined the other two. He looked back at the old lady. She reminded him of his mother. She was even scolding him the same way, always questions. "Monsters?" he managed.

"Yep, the boys say that other lady is one of them taguels," the old lady spoke knowingly, eyeing the group. Manis looked at the people behind her. He could see the questions burning in their eyes. He wouldn't get two feet without being hounded. He looked at the old lady, eyes expecting him to do the right thing.

"I suppose a little back up wouldn't hurt," Manis said with a sigh. The questions seemed to die a little in the peoples eyes as they began to whisper and talk to one another. He turned right back around and walked back to the group, only to find they hadn't gotten any farther than he had. Why me?

[Belade]

Just as she thought, her words and disposition lent to one of ignorance not arrogance. It was something she knew well, the many customs of humans confused her as well when she first found herself in the company of humankin. The dragon seemed legitimately excited simply to talk to her, her admittance of having no prior experience with her kind was not one that was untrue. Humans generally regarded her with a strange sort of caution and occasional outright disdain, even those more open minded have a hard time accepting her right away. Not that she was much better, she once thought humans as nothing more then children and fools and occasionally barbarians. Just like humans sometimes relate her with the monsters she so earnestly fought, she held patience for them to allow them to learn the truth, but she had no patience for those who simply didn't want to understand. Dragons, however, were different. Like humans, they were usually treated as almost lesser beings, but they still on the whole had a sort of respect for them. Like the difference of how a lord might treat peasants and guardsmen. They're both beneath the foot of the lord, but the soldier at least deserved respect for what he did. Of course to assume dragons all regarded her kind like this made her no different then the humans who see her as nothing as a monster.

"I just came down to look around, I didn't think showing up would cause this much of a stir. It never used to back home. They'd always make some room for me to land, so I thought the humans here were doing that as well. Do they have reason to suspect harm from me?" Belade was about to respond before being suddenly interrupted by some humankin.

"Excuse me ladies, sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you'd seen the dragon these folks are talking about? As resident passer-through, I've been chosen to speak with him or her about her intentions. Seems a bit pointless though. I once met a dragon. Nice guy. 'Course guess I can't really judge all dragons on one friend." Belade paid him a glance, taking the man in. A manchild, more like it, still this was hardly the point on display. So she decided to ignore him, his words held no meaning for her and she was already in the midst of conversation. If he wished to speak to them, he could wait like a proper sentient being.

"Humankin fear what is unknown to them, and are slow to trust. They are cautious of those who possess power, which is why these humans are wary of your presence. It is of no disrespect, they are unaccustomed to dragonkin just as they are of my own kin. Back home they were accustomed to your visits, these humans are different then the ones from there. While they may have cleared away, it was in fear and not respect or welcoming. They were unaware of your intentions and feared you may be desiring some untoward." She tried to put it as simply as she could, knowing how hard it is to understand human customs from an outsider's perspective. "They know nothing of dragons other then they are large and capable of great destruction if they so inclined, so they will treat you with fear and apprehension until you can show that you truly mean no harm. Which is why I came out here to speak with you, I know you meant nothing by it but your landing surprised the humankin that reside in this town."

[Yukaida]

Yukadia seemed to be on the receiving end of a lot of lectures today, but this tague was different. She seemed...almost normal about it. It reminded her of her own mother, instructing, but not degrading. She spoke of a fear born of unfamiliarity, that made sense. Fear of the unknown was not something that was unique to the lesser species, dragons had it too. They just got over it easier, since there was so much known to them, and little that could pose a threat. She was aware of the other human that had come over, but she followed the taguel's example, pretty much ignoring him until her current conversation was finished.

She liked this taguel, she was refined, dignified, and it seemed patient. She had made an error with her entrance to this town, it seemed, and caused panic where she had not intended to. She should probably make amends for that somehow...hmmm.

"Oh, I see...what you say makes sense, I had not expected humans might not often see dragons, and we are quite powerful, that is true..." She said, a bit of her draconian ego shinning through. "All these customs and rules and such are so confusing. I have seen many times where things would be left out in areas like this, an invitation for any to take, but now I am told that they are not to be taken? How can one possibly know the distinctions? Humans are such complicated creatures." She mused, slightly grumpy from her own error. She then deigned to pay attention to the new addition to the conversation.

"Hi! I'm a dragon, and I'm not here to eat you or break your things!" She announced, a toothy grin given to him. She could clearly speak as she wished with this taguel, she was wise, but these humans were a bit...simplistic. Best to speak in a way they could understand so she would not be misunderstood.

[Khasar]

The dark woman seemed rather cold to him for no apparent reason. Khasar would simply have to change that if he got the chance. She spoke of 'Humankin' and seemed to have a low opinion on their capacity to trust. Khasar considered himself a pretty trusting person, he never really assumed the worst of a person before he knew them, well except humans actually. So if he trusted humans less than other races, was he an opposite to what she spoke of? Probably not, he was just as cautious.

The girl with purple hair called humans complicated. Khasar began to chuckle, and that chuckle grew into a full belied laugh. Humans were complicated?! That was hysterical. Dragons were far more complicated! She should know that, she is one. Wait, she is one. SHE IS ONE! "Wait, you're the dragon?! Okay, well it's good that no one's getting hurt. Sorry if that seemed a mean assumption, it wasn't really mine though. But I did give it more credit than I should have. For that I apologize. If you don't mind, could I ask what you're doing here miss... I'm sorry, I didn't catch either of your names." Khasar turned his head, as Cu shifted his position to curiously look at the swordsman from before approaching.

[Belade]

"They are, it took me years to understand the strange ways human do things. I still don't quite get everything." She thought about it for a moment, trying to think of a proper way to explain it. "Much of human society is built on bartering, the exchange of items for things they want be it actions or physical things. They have this token called 'gold' they use as currency, it is a shiny mineral that many people desire. So people trade these gold for more useful things, and the one who received the gold in turn trades it to others for things they want. Those sweetbreads are part of a bakery, a place that specializes in the creation of such goods, and the baker requests a small gold amount in trade for the food." She decided to describe it a bit more in details, because there was a very real chance she simply didn't know what money was. Even she knew what money was before entering the human world, her tribe dealt with shrewd human merchants for items and weapons and salves. Still if she was a dragon who had lived her life outside of human society all together, which was clearly obvious from her confusion, then it would be best if she understood it. Though it was odd, dragons amassed wealth and fortune all the time, and they use gold in their own society if her recollection was correct. Perhaps she lived away from that?

"Usually there'd be a human out here to tell you whether or not the objects are free for the taking, or if they cost gold pieces in trade. In fact, I would believe that they are hidden inside one of these buildings watching right now." Well she felt like the situation was has nicely calmed itself. She looked to the human who wanted to engage in talks with the dragon, it felt like her presence was no longer needed so she obliged. "I am Belade, of the Avian tribe." She brought a feathered hand to her chest, nodding her head. "I'm in pursuit of monsters in the region."

[Yukaida]

Yukaida was very happy to listen to Belade's explanation. She felt a small tinge of annoyance when she went into the economics lecture, but she bit her tongue. "Oh yes! I know about their money and such, I'm just not too used to seeing it. Is that what this is..." She said, picking up one of the coins the other human had put down, looking over it as she spun it in the light, before setting it back down. She dug into her cloak, pulling out a small bag. Where she hid it in dragon form was anyone's guess. She tilted the bag as several gems spilled out. "When we wanted to trade with other dragons, we'd usually use these. They are much prettier then those silly little discs." She stated, not realizing that the gems she held in that pouch, things she'd found in her centuries of life, would be worth a huge sum of human money. "But I much prefer keeping them, they are really beautiful." She said, picking up an emerald between her fingers and watching as the light shining through it sent a green film across her skin.

She then turned to the human, who was babbling a bit. He must have been worried, they usually got talkative when they were concerned. "I'm just here. I saw a town and wanted to stop in, I didn't mean anything by it. Oh, yes. I'm called Yukaida, it is nice to meet you Belade of the Avian tribe." She said, repeating her entire epitaph. She didn't consider it rude or mocking, it was simply how she had introduced herself, so that is how she would address her.

However, one line caught her attention. "Monster hunting? What is a monster? You mean those walking human bones? Or maybe the flying creatures with lances and a human shape? Or the giant eyes?" She asked. She'd seen precious few of them in her home, but she did know of them. It was what her family technically 'protected' against.