A Legend... or Destruction?

[Xenoxice]

Feeling the brush of Jolene's fingers across his cheek sent chills down his spine.  Her touch was one thing he hoped he would never get used to, wishing every touch and stroke would feel as exhilarating as the first time he felt it.  "Indeed.... we certainly could use it.  Hop on my back and I'll take us down to the cave since my shifting is much easier than yours.  I fully planned to allow you to stay in your natural form until we decide to leave."  Zenithe would await for Jolene to hop onto his back in a piggy back manner before he would walk over to the cliff whilst holding onto her and lean forward.  Allowing himself to free fall about half way down where he shifted quickly enough to catch their descent and come in for a smooth landing where he shifted back, allowing her to drop smoothly and easily off his back, onto her feet and into the sand.  "I feel this will be one of the most relaxing nights of my life...." He paused momentarily to turn his gaze towards her, thinking back to that night they had spent by the lake.  "Besides one other I can think of..." he spoke with with a small laugh in his voice and a playful grin as he started walking towards the cave, holding his hand out behind him, fully expecting her to catch up to him and grab hold.

[Relairah]

Jolene felt warmth as Zenithe agreed to her stipulation and she nodded, allowing him to take them down from the cliff. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the rush of wind zooming past while her fingers gripped him in a familiar way. She stepped back as they were once more on the ground, smiling knowingly when he commented about relaxing that night and indicating their first night together. She had to agree...

OoC: Annddd skipping time XD

The next day, Jolene stirred, peeking an eye open to see if Zenithe were lying beside her or had already gotten up.
She couldn't believe how entirely at ease she felt, her muscles still aching from the previous day and yet somehow the tension was entirely gone. This was exactly what she had needed.

[Xenoxice]

The evening had come and gone and so had the night.  Zenithe's own stamina and magic supply recovered at remarkable rates, a gift of being dragonkin which he was sure Jolene would start noticing by now, especially after doing so much the day before.  He lifted his head from the mound of sand he had made in the cave to rest upon and twisted his neck sideways a bit to crack it, getting the morning stiffness out.  He looked over to see Jolene peeking at him where she lay and he smiled.  "Good morning beautiful."  He stated half teasingly and half warm heartedly.  "How are you feeling after that nice long sleep?  Well rested and ready to go I hope maybe after something to eat?  I'm sure you're not at the point you can go a few weeks without eating yet."  He joked with her but was also making a passing statement at the same time as dragonkin were certainly able to do just that, while those married had to train themselves to handle it.  "What would you prefer?  Food from the ocean, or from the forest up the cliff a bit?  Maybe try your hands at eating raw prey in your dragon form?"  For some reason this morning he just felt the urge to tease his love a bit.  Perhaps it was the fact it was the first time they had been alone and in a relaxed environment since before everything started happening back to back.  "It's actually far more nutritious and quite tasty.  Ninety percent of the nutrients are found in the blood you know.  You should try it."  His gaze upon her was both soft and endearing, he figured she would enjoy his teasing and joking, keeping things relaxed before they had to go on their little adventure.  He leaned over to where Jolene laid and grinned.  Holding his head there for just a few moments perfectly still before attempting to steal a quick kiss from her.

[Relairah]

When Jolene saw that he was awake and noticed her peeking, she opened both eyes fully, grinning playfully. "Good morning," she replied in kind, "I feel amazing! You?" She could tell even if he didn't answer he was feeling as good as she did. She pretended to pout at his teasing, playfully jabbing her fist at him. "Well, you're not wrong. I'm absolutely starved. Especially after that round of training."

She frowned as he mentioned eating raw meat, though she supposed it made sense. "I thought we had agreed I could remain in human form until we're ready to leave." She quirked a brow at him, unable to hide that she was enjoying the playful banter. Regardless of if he were teasing, she always had had a quick response with her tongue. "Although, if it's really so nutrient-dense, I suppose I don't have much choice?" She smiled into his kiss, accepting it readily and stirring slightly beneath him.

"Perhaps I could, instead, practice my flame magic and make a deliciously seared meal," she suggested in soft tones once their lips would part.

[Xenoxice]

Zenithe yawned widely as he stood up and stretched. "Yes, yes we agreed no shifting for you until we're ready to leave, it was just an option." He turned his head to smirk at her playfully. "And of course, you can practice anything you wish to and whenever you want to mind you. As for me, I think I'm craving a nice small whale. Have a little dip into the ocean to fetch it. Help wake me up a bit. If nothing else, it will be a great way to start this nice warm morning with a dive into that cool water right?  There's only one thing that makes it better..." His eyes showed he was poking at her, inviting her to join. "Of course feel free to lounge about the cave and relax until I get back unless you want me to fetch you something from the forest as well? You never did tell me what you were in the mood for." Zenithe stood, doing various stretching exercises as he spoke. Everything from touching his toes with legs straight to bending over backwards and transitioning into a hand stand. "Either way a seared meal does sound quite delicious though..."

[Relairah]

Jolene giggled slightly. "You can do what you want, of course." She stretched. "Though you're right, I didn't specify." She touched a finger to her chin, as if thinking. "Why don't we race?" she suggested with a sly grin. "You can fetch whatever you wish from the ocean. Personally, I haven't had a chance to hunt in a while and I feel the forest calling my name. Whoever can get their game and return here first wins. What do you think?"

Her fiery gaze watched him. She waited with anticipation.

[Xenoxice]

Jolene's little challenge was enough to pop a smirk across Zenithe's face. "A Race eh?" he retorted playfully. "Fine. But why not spice it up a bit and wager on it?" His voice seemed to get a bit more teasing as he spoke. "The winner gets to have a single wish granted by the loser." Zenithe now had finished his morning stretches and seemed eager to get ready for this race Jolene had so wonderfully suggested. "Ground rules. What are they? Only large prey or small? Shifting or not? And let's say.... if you're not back within 15 minutes you lose automatically. That should be plenty of time for skilled people such as ourselves don't you agree? More than enough time." He really seemed to be getting into this race as it felt like the first time they had actually done anything fun as a married couple. All the time spent together thus far has been fighting, training and recouping from the fights and training. "I'm ready whenever you are. Just say the word and let's see who can hunt faster. You in the forest? Or me in the sea!"

[Relairah]

A glimmer sparked in her eyes and a smirk curled on her lips when he mentioned a wager. Already her mind was planning what she would ask for should she win. Of course, she was confident she would do so, as any competitive person might be. As he mentioned ground rules, she thought for a moment to consider. "Shifting is fine and prey size does not matter. The only rule is no magic. Otherwise you might say I cheated since I can twist time."

She moved toward the edge of the cliff, enjoying the feel of sun on her skin. She had no desire to shift into dragon form... and not merely because she had been training. She wished simply to relish in the feeling of hunting in a way she always had - nostalgia perhaps.

As Zenithe announced he was ready, she crouched. If she were still able to shift into cat form, she might have done that. Either way she was poised, eager. Once more she was reminded of her first encounter with her beloved. She focused her mind, and then she said, "I'm ready!" With that, she darted away.

She ran swiftly, leaping from rocks and making her way toward the tree-lining not far away. She wasn't sure exactly what sort of prey she would find so near the ocean, but she was confident that she would make a good catch regardless. As soon as she was a decent way into the woodland, she paused, having leapt to a lower hanging branch of one of the trees. She stilled, listening. Only the sounds of the forest surrounded her. She had even quieted her own breath.

For only a few beats she was nothing more than a part of the surroundings. Snap! There. She spotted a small deer not far off, its form illuminated only in stripes of shadow and light filtering through the trees. She leapt once more, springing between trees. The song of the leaves would be mistaken for the dance of wind through the branches. The deer would be none the wiser. She was just above it, crouched as a lioness. With a soft zing and a flick of her wrist, one of her daggers was plunged through its chest. She grinned. Yes, this felt good.

She leaped down from the tree, throwing her prey over her shoulder and once more was off. Maybe she should be grateful for the training which had strengthened her body. Only now, for the sake of the race, did she decide to shift. She came upon a clearing she had passed before and closed her eyes, breathing slowly. She focused, her body once more taking on its draconian form. With a powerful beat of her wings, she zoomed skyward, the deer clutched in her mouth, and with another flap the world was a blur as she approached the cave.

She rolled, as she had trained, letting gravity enhance her speed and finally stopped from her dive, her wings exploding outward and she slowed, landing easily on the earth once more. She shifted once more into human form after dropping the deer, and looked to see who had won.

[Xenoxice]

As Jolene had darted off leaping up the cliff face with ease headed towards the forest, Zenithe shifted near instantaneously and gave one powerful flap of his wings which sent him soaring outward and into the depths of the sea in a beautifully executed dive.  Holding his breathe for extended periods of time came easily and naturally in dragon form.  Maneuvering through the water more like a serpent and occasionally using his wings for a burst of speed, he quickly spotted his prey.  A medium sized whale.  A great meal to a creature as large as a dragon and would fill him up to be sure.  Eating until he was full was something he rarely did.  But he figured he would this time just because.  It wasn't hard to catch up to the poor creature, its size may have been big but it was still quite slow in the water in comparison.  A single snap of his jaws around the head crushed into the skull and only a few moments of wiggling and A LOT of blood, before the creature now lay lifeless in his mouth.  He smirked to himself as he started using his wings to bolt up and out of the water.  Only to see as soon as he had surfaced that his beloved was well on her way back and shifted herself as well.  Ohhhhh no you don't.... he thought to himself playfully.  He thrust himself skyward and sent himself into a dive, the extra weight of the whale made his descent all the faster before finally catching himself into a speedy glide.  Trailing just above the waters surface,the wind behind him was creating quite an impressive sight.  A large wake following behind his approach with water spewing to either side in the form of a singular large wave.  He was determined to catch up even if only to tie the race as he saw she was clearly ahead of him.  Mere moments passed before the rocky cliff seemed to be right on his nose.  She was descending and readying to catch herself when he flashed by and slammed himself into the cliff wall, catching himself with his legs and wings, large boulders came crumbling off the side and landing in the sand below with enormous thuds.  Pushing himself off the cliff face with his legs and a single beat of the wings he just barely managed to catch up in time as he threw the whale down and shifted back right after, the momentum carrying himself forward rapidly until he drew his blade and ran it into the stony wall, arresting his momentum.  With an increase in his breathing he was obviously exerting himself to perform such maneuvers.  "Looks like.. We tied."  he said half laughing and half catching his breath a bit.  "I didn't expect you to get back that quickly."  He shot Jolene a playful smirk and shrugged.  "Well then, how do we judge this?  Did we both win?"  With a narrowing of his eyes he grinned even more.  "Or did we both lose?"

[Relairah]

OoC: So sorry for the long absence and reply delay DX I hope that we can continue this ^-^
iC:
As they both returned and Zenithe announced their tie, Jolene dropped her prey and placed one fist on her hip. The question of whether they'd both won or lost... she pretended to stare at him with a pout, but soon broke into a laugh. "Well I was sure you were going to win! But either way, I wouldn't mind having a wish granted." She grinned. Indeed, having some time alone to enjoy each other's company without some crisis or other issue going on was wonderful. Even if it was only for now. She knew that soon, they would need to begin their own journey to a place from her past. Otherwise, they would be unprepared to deal with Sidrith and his Sun Dragons. They needed to begin their journey in order to return within the two week period they had agreed on with Seionax. But first, she wanted to enjoy time of pleasure with Zenithe.

[Xenoxice]

((Ooc: sorry this took sooooooo long and it’s so short but I’ve been rather distracted tonight!  At least it can get things moving again!))

ic:

Zenithe took a few moments to catch his breath after their little race, taking the time to admire his beloved as well as figure out how he wanted to eat the catches they had brought in.  But the thought as to having a wish granted to each other, by each other, was one that lingered on his mind longer than the rest.  Before long he spoke aloud to Jolene.  “Well my love, your wish is my desire.”  A smirk formed across his lips.  His voice was both teasing and playful in nature.  “If I’m not mistaken, is this not the first time we have been together without some form of events rushing us headlong into chaos or danger?”  It was a question in earnest as well as truth.  A small sigh escaped Zenithe’s lips as he sat himself down next to the whale he had hauled out of the sea.  His gaze fell upon Jolene as he smiled happily.  “I know this won’t last very long, but I’m going to enjoy every second together.  Training and everything else can wait.  Now, what is your hearts desire?”  His tone once more became playful.