featherbeaned | Open PSL

Open PSL

Miya is going on vacation.

It won't be for long. A couple of days, maybe a week. Less, if Things Happen. (Hopefully things won't happen.) Kit's busy with his end of year studying and exams, and Miya, well … she just wants some time to really spread her wings; to fly free without worry of causing an international incident.

… Well. More international incidents.

Luckily for her, she's got some shiny interdimensional powers that she's been just dying to play with. Just for fun, for once. So she squares it all off with Kit, gives him a hug and a big ol' kiss on the cheek, and away she goes.

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[ There's no huge fanfare when she arrives, the portal — a halo of light shimmering in all the colours of the aurora — winking out the moment the tip of her tail whiskers through. She takes a deep breath of sea-salt air, feels the wind rushing through her feathers, and, oh, oh … ]

[ She's soaring above a vast ocean, vivid blue and thriving, sunlight glinting across the rippling waves. It's beautiful. It's just what she needed. She laughs, spinning herself into an aerial dance for the sheer joy of it, and soon her laughter becomes a song, clear and as bright as the sun itself. There are no words to it — it's pure music, the type that resonates deep within the heart of anyone who hears it. ]

[The problem was, dragons kept disappearing on this island. And they had no idea why. It didn't make sense, really, they had been to this island plenty over the years, and the dragons had been fine. Then one day, they all disappeared.]

[As it was, the other dragons were unwilling to fly closer. Even Toothless was hesitant, but they both knew something was wrong. And he was the only one they could convince to come, so here he was alone to try and solve the problem.]

[They had flown around the beach, trying to see if they could see any dragons or reason for their disappearance.]

[And then they hear a song and Hiccup's reaction is immediate, hands going over his dragon's ears as he looks around for the sounds. Toothless makes an annoyed growled, shaking his head. Hiccup presses more firmly over his ears until he calms down.] Sorry bud. But strange music has never gone well before.

[He just needed the source. It sounded so clear, it had to be above ground, right?]

[ It's a song of freedom, of joy — of playful winds and billowing clouds. She dives lower, skimming the surface of a rising wave with one outstretched paw. When the wave breaks she rises again, higher and higher, spiralling into tricks and dives just because she can. She spends so much time pretending to be (sort of) human these days, it's hard to find the space to just … be. Now she can more than make up for it. ]

[ She's coming out of a series of break-neck loops when she spots the island, small and verdant green, with trees and cliffs and rocky outcroppings galore. All things she loves to play with, and a perfect place to hunt down a tasty snack. ]

[ The song fades into a happy trill as she banks, wheeling around to fly a few curious passes around the island's perimeter. Except, as she gets closer … she realises that she can smell something. ]

[ Human. And something else? Something that's almost familiar, and yet not. ]

[ Huh. ]

[ She pauses, hovering in the air, when she finally spots them down below. A human. And — is that a dragon? She doesn't remember, she's never remembered meeting another one. It doesn't look like her at all. No feathers, for a start. She tilts her head, watching them with wide-eyed curiosity. A human and a maybe-dragon. A human and a maybe-dragon, all the way out wherever-this-is ... ]

[ And then she just ... chirps at them, like an exceptionally over-sized songbird. ]

[It was a nice song, it's the kind of song Hiccup would enjoy in normal circumstances. Some dragons can carry a pretty good tune, but any strange music combined with disappearing dragons was not to be trusted. The Red Death, the Deathsongs, the Bewilderbeast, he knows dragons can hear sounds he can't and they do things to them.]

[He gets Toothless to land near some trees, where he sees some moss, and he's quick to gather some even as Toothless looks towards the sky, ear fins perked up in interest.]

[Hiccup puts a hand on his head.] Nothing dangerous yet? [Toothless shakes his head.] Still, might change. [Especially if it was still interesting. It might be a longer trap and he quickly blocks up Toothless' ears.]

[Once Hiccup was sure Toothless couldn't hear, he started walking towards the music, keeping himself to Toothless' side, ready to get on his back again, but making sure Toothless could still watch him.]

[It really doesn't sound threatening. It's almost soothing, but he can't forget things are weird. He has to keep Toothless safe and this is one of the times where Toothless is putting a lot of trust in him.]

[The sound is getting louder and he can hear the sound of wingbeats, looking up and]

[It's]

[Very different from any dragon he's seen. Is it a dragon? It has feathers. Maybe a giant bird. Maybe something that migrated in after the dragons left?]

[Hiccup moved onto Toothless back and patted his head three times, a sign for him to go up slowly.]

[Toothless obeys, though his eyes are trained on her. He can't hear the song, but he can still smell just fine and she's....very weird.]

[ She'd stopped singing when she spotted them, thoroughly distracted by the appearance of a human and a ... maybe-dragon? Winged lizard? Potential new friend? They look strong and speedy, like they're made for the air in their own way. Just like she is. ]

[ And she wants ]

[ To play ]

[ With a fluid grace and control that might be surprising in a creature as large as she is, Miya flutters down to land gently atop a convenient jumble of boulders. She wants to play (ohhh boy does she ever), but, look, she knows that she can't always just dive right into it, okay. She can be patient! And polite! All while taking the literal higher ground; she wants to be able to move quick if it turns out they're unfriendly. ]

[ She chirps again, sing-song and chirrupy, her ears pricked up and her eyes bright with curiosity. The still-damp end of her tail swishes slowly against the rock, almost like the questioning wag of a dog's tail. ]

[Hiccup is watching her with a curious, cautious gaze. Not hostile, more like he's trying to figure out a puzzle.]

[Toothless is far more suspicion. Because she almost-almost-smells like a Dragon Queen. Or a Dragon King. But she doesn't smell quite RIGHT either. She's something big, but he doesn't know what, and he doesn't want to be caught by surprise.]

[Hiccup taps his head again, having Toothless hover some distance from her, enough space for them to dive if she were to suddenly breathe fire.]

Well, you don't look like you want to fight. Either a strange bird or a strange dragon, don't think I've seen any of you guys with feathers before. But I've never seen a bird with four legs either...

[Hiccup glances at the island.] But the only one left.... [He focuses on her again.] You look friendly. Think it's all right if I take a closer look at you? [He's keeping his voice gentle, soothing and there's another few taps to Toothless' head and he growls, jerking his head at Hiccup.]

[Hiccup leans to the side, raising an eyebrow. Toothless gives her another suspicious look.] Really not getting anything from that bud....just let me take a closer look. [He gives him an apologetic smile and does the same tapping. Toothless makes a displeased growl, but starts to approach slowly.]

[ … Peep! ]

[ That's right, folks, the big ol' fluffy-feathery dragon just peeped. ]

[ At the same time, her attention swings — from mostly on the maybe-dragon, to mostly on the human, watching him avidly as he speaks. She cocks her head.. Having the power to transcend the barriers between dimensions doesn't mean she can automatically translate new languages … but she's a very, very quick learner. ]

[ Ridiculously quick. ]

[ She climbs down from her rocky perch, as nimble on her paws as she is with her wings. She pads slowly closer to meet them in the middle. And as she moves, she opens her mouth — ]

Hullo~?

[ It's not the same language as his, but it's still very clearly a word. ]

[Toothless is certainly still all sorts of tense. He's not hostile, but he's also making it very apparent he's ready to throw down if he sees a hint of aggression. The teeth are certainly still apparent.]

There we go. Nice and slow. We're not gonna hurt you. [Lightly scratching Toothless' head, to try and keep him on the calmer side of things. He knows he doesn't like hearing things.]

[Hiccup is looking her over carefully.] Definitely moves more like a dragon than a bird... [And he moves to climb off Toothless when suddenly]

[A WORD]

[His head snaps up quick, looking shocked, and his fake leg gets caught in it's stirrup and he goes down with a yelp.]

[Which startles Toothless and he jerks back, a wing hooking around Hiccup to pull him close as he backs up, barring his teeth with a warning growl as he slowly, jerkily moves his head to try and look at Hiccup without taking his eyes off her.]

I'm-Toothles please-fine- [And Hiccup is flailing a bit, trying to get his hand on a soothing spot while tangled up in wing and still trying to process POSSIBLY SPEAKING DRAGON???]

[ holy shit ]

[ She stops in her tracks ... because she's too busy dissolving into laughter. Actual, legitimate, unmistakable laughter. ]

[It takes a few attempts before he gets his hand near his chin, patting insistently to get him to stop growling. He doesn't hide his teeth though.]

[It stops him from moving so much so Hiccup can kind of orientate himself.]

[And then just flop on the ground as he determines the best way to get his leg untangled.] Aaaand now the strange Dragon is laughing at me. Today is going great. [Muttered as he detaches his leg so he can sit up and get it off properly.]

[ SORRY NOT SORRY ]

[ She's at least polite enough to stay back while he gets himself orientated, sitting back comfortably on her haunches. Her tail swishes around to wrap over her paws, the tip slowly twitching back and forth. Hm, hmm, she should maybe (probably?) stop laughing and offer to lend a paw - ]

[ But before she can make good on her thought, he takes his leg off. Just. Straight up takes it off right then and there. Her giggles become a trill of interest, and she shuffles a smidge closer, stretching out her snout some to sniff in their direction. Metal? Metal like Kit's, almost, but way more simple. Huh ]

[Toothless growls a bit louder as she moves closer, hunching more defensively over Hiccup. Doesn't matter what crazy Hiccup is insisting on, he isn't going to let him get hurt while he's vulnerable.]

[Hiccup pats his side again, briefly, before focusing on untangling his leg.] Just. Stay there for a moment. He's protective. You know, big scary dragon, squishy human, he's always a little ornery when I'm not in the best state.

[And FREE.] Ah, there we go. [And gonna reattach his leg.]

So are you like....a mimicker? Is that it? Because that sounded like a word. Heard rumors of dragons like that, but never seen one.

[ okay, mr. big scary maybe-dragon, she'll stay here ]

[ because she's a (sometimes) polite dragon with (occasionally reasonably) manners, thank you very much ]

[ settles herself back down to sit, looking between them with avid curiosity. a maybe-dragon, and a definitely-human friend ... partners, then? like she and kit? it could be something like that, she thinks, when she catches a glimpse of the maybe-dragon's prosthetic tail-fin. ]

[ rather than try to answer the human's chatter, she tilts her head ... tilts it the other way ... and, points to herself with one of her front paws. ]

Miya.

[ When in doubt, start with the basics. ]

[Mimicker seems likely. He's never had a dragon actually talk before. Make sounds kind of like words, but he thinks their throats just aren't built right? Like how a human can't really make some dragon sounds. He knows dragons can understand words, though usually that requires human exposure.]

[But this dragon was on their own and any villages close by that bonded with dragons, he was a frequent visitor of. So she was wild?]

[Except....except that sounds like a name? Or Me combined with yes?]

Is that...something someone called you? [He's getting himself to his feet, keeping a hand on Toothless' side until the dragon maybe a displeased growl, but lowers his wing now.]

[ It's … hard to tell whether or not that's progress. ]

[ Hm. ]

[ Every word he speaks, she watches just as closely as she listens. He's asking questions. That's easy enough to tell. Kit's intonation changes in similar ways; it was one of the first things she'd picked up on when she'd been learning English. ]

[ Her ears flick, and so does her tail. The feathery ridge of her brow furrows. ]

Miya. [ She points to herself again, actually patting herself on the chest this time. ] I'm a dragon. [ Then she points at him. ] And you?

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