Can I Get A Witness (open)

[Credence Power]

Though everyone had told him what a beautiful morning it was this fine Spring day, the noble beastman had been skeptical at first. His home was beautiful, clean and pristine, a large brothel with plenty of staff cooking and cleaning, built solidly of stone and sheet rock, he slept in a large and comfortable bed with silken sheets, he had windows that looked out onto the palace and one toward the marketplace, he’d had breakfast with real silverware and had taken a shit in a real toilet. All of this completely overwhelmed him, a former slave who once slept in piss and physically fought for the right to eat at night, who had never had a warm place to lay his head. Now, he was a nobleman and all of the luxury that came with it was his. So he didn’t leave the brothel much, he had no reason to. There was food, shelter, many ways to pass the time, usually business men and sponsorship deals came to him not the other way around. So he was a bit of a homebody.

But, everyone had said today was a beautiful day so, it seemed like the opportune time to do some training with his beautiful white drake, Django. The vayron was mature, probably close to Creed’s age actually, since they lived and matured in pretty much the same way as most mortal creatures. He was an adult, so new tricks like handling a saddle and wearing a bridle were alien to him and he stubbornly bucked and kicked and fussed about them. But he and his master had been out in the field for some time, just earning each other’s trust, trying to learn what the other wanted and, by the time they stopped to take a break, Django was at least wearing a bridle without too much fanfare.

Creed watched him as he explored the meadow, curiously sniffing the ground, probably finding lots of deer feces to jam his face into. Why animals were so obsessed with each other’s poop, it seemed like he’d never know but he didn’t mind it. He’d brought some cleaning supplies with him if Django got too dirty, as a nobleman he had a reputation to uphold and while riding around on a white dragon was a pretty good status symbol, it was annoyingly high maintenance keeping his fur clean. So he watched with a deep frown as the animal started to roll in something, kicking up grass and dirt and a bit of dust. Fortunately, as he finished and rolled gracefully to his feet, his coat was only slightly tinged brown, and most of that was loose enough that, when the dragon shook himself briefly, most of the dirt simply slipped off of him.

But it was only a minute or two before the dragon found another patch of rot to roll in. Creed sighed from where he watched from beneath a lone apple tree. He was going to say something but Django was a feral animal, he didn’t know how to carry anything on his back, he didn’t know what Creed wanted from him or why they were spending so much time in this meadow. Commanding him to stop rolling in filth would probably go right over his beautiful white head. So with another more defeated sigh, the beastman leaned back into the tree’s smooth trunk, looking up into the beautiful blue sky through the pretty wide leaves.

They were all right. It was a beautiful day.

[Atish]

Atish stared at the sky. It was a wonderfully beautiful sunny Spring day. Life swirled all around in its delicate dance. Flowers bloomed, birds flew, fish swam yes beautiful in all respects. He smiled at it all. He was glad he could be apart of such beauty. For it was he that in part made it possible. For without the Sun shining down on it all life could not and would not go on. Of course it was more than the Sun but the Sun was a major component and Atish the God of Fire brought forth the sun. It was one of the duties he truly enjoyed in his role as a diety. 

 Of course he had many duties and not all of them enjoyable but all of them necessary.  Of course the others could say the same. For Atish though his role sometimes laid a path of destruction. Fire was often a double edged sword. But there was no destruction here today not now not yet. He sighed and walked along the meadow staring out at the life around him. He could see it in away only dieties could see it. The ebb and flow of the balance. 


It was beauty like no could see. He touched a wild flower and felt the life therin. He breathed in its sweet scent and then passed on.  Yes a beautiful day for sure. To bad days often ended. He could not stop them from doing so and would not if he could. But those were thoughts for later. He saw ahead something interesting. A white drake rolling in the dirt. 

He smiled at the creature. For the creature was one of his own. Something of his creation, a child of Atish. Atish approached and the drake noticed him and Atish said," Be calm my child. Stop dirtying your beauty and shine bright for all to see". Atish looked to see a form beneath an apple tree and Atish looked at the drake and said," A friend dear child?". 

[Credence Power]

Caught up in the moment of rest, steel blue eyes aimed skyward through the broad leaves of the tree that he sat beneath, originally Creed didn’t notice the figure approaching him from the road. He’d been out here many of times and not once had he crossed another soul, sure sometimes knights or other nobleman waved to him from the road, but it was too early in the day for such travelers, the perfect time to try and train a wild drake. Vayrons, as they were called in his home country, were notorious for their intelligence, often rivaling a human being in the long list of commands that they could learn. The only thing that made them differ from children was their size. So he was always cautious about Django, he was a wild vayron, he wasn’t bought from a breeder, he didn’t grow up with the hands of humans giving him good things, so now he was weary of all creatures, even the beastman who saved him from a miserable life at the end of a chain. Creed was by far his favorite person but even that just meant he’d make sure the half gnoll was dead before he began to eat him. Ah well, progress is progress.

As he counted clouds in the sky above him, something alerted him to another presence, and sure enough, as his gaze slowly lowered and his eyes managed to focus in the brilliant sunlight, he was absolutely shocked to see Django be approached by a strange man. Creed leapt to his feet, ready to call out to the strange figure- the drake was beautiful but untamed. When approached by strangers in the past he had a tendency to bite or knock people senseless with a headbutt, so while Creed was sure that the strange man meant well, his kindness was ill advised. However, as the beastman got to his feet, he found that his caution was unwarranted.

Django stood calmly, let the strange man come up and pet his thick neck, to run his fingers through his wild white mane and he even let the man put a hand to his mouth, next to his sharp carnivorous teeth, able to pull on the bridle, to hold the drake steady for a moment. Despite his usual cautious nature, Django seemed perfectly calm, welcomed the stranger as though they’d known each other forever, tossing his head a bit as though laughing, though all that really came out was a rumbling chuff- a sharp exhale of air that tossed the vayron’s bangs and mussed up the newcomer’s hair as well. Amazed, Creed stepped forward, making his way down a small hill to where his prized vayron stood beside this… stranger. The half-gnoll looked between them, dumbfounded.

“No one has ever been able to approach this guy like that…” He stammered, rubbing the back of his head with a clawed handpaw. “How did you know he wasn’t going to take your hand off?”

[Atish]

Atish stroked the mane of the drake as the figure approached. It was a magnificent creature to be sure. And only half tamed Atish could not help but smile at that.  That was as it should be. He did not mind people using them as mounts. But he always saw the relationship as one of ally and friend, rather than servant or pet. People though as people often did ignored that. He was saddened by some of the Drakes raised in captivity. They lost what they had in the wild. That special thing that made them so unique. But he could not change it, a bottle flowing freely was not easily corked. 


The figure spoke clearly surprise by the Drakes attitude toward Atish. Atish replied," Perhaps because they did not understand Drakes as I do. Show fear not dominance to a predator and you can expect to not be allowed to approach." He paused to once more stroke the mane of the drake and said," As for how I knew. I am something of a Drake Whisperer. He recognized me on a level only a Drake can. " Of course that wasn't the whole truth, it wasn't a lie either. Atish never lied but the truth he would tell you might not always be the whole of it.


It was a bit of an art form and one he had to apply a lot to mortals. After all if he always went around as Atish the God of Fire he would rarely get any enjoyment out of his time spent among mortals.  Atish said," He is truly magnificent. A lot of the wild remains within him which is often good for such creatures. I find those who lack the wild lose what is needed for Drakes. " He looked at the figure with a smile and saw that he was different. He looked something like a Gnoll but had something mixed in though he could guess what. 

Atish said," I apologize it was rude of me to approach such a magnificent creature without permission first. But I could not resist. My name is Atish. Yes I know my name is quite similar to the God of Fire but that is what I am called and has been since I can remember." 

[Credence Power]

Creed tilted his head, dislodging some of the sweat soaked locks of his having and having to pause to use one hand to tuck the loose strands back behind his ears. He was confused and it was clear on his face. ‘He recognized me on a level only a Drake can’… What the hell was that supposed to mean? The beastman’s brow furrowed as he struggled with this thought. Perhaps the man had worked with vayrons before, which was shocking in and of itself as vayrons were pretty rare this far south. So to be a vayron trainer, he must’ve traveled long harsh roads to get his hands on them, it seemed impractical but impressive if it were true. Even though he now had the means to, Creed had never been back to Oswia, he had no love for his home country, even though he loved the vayrons that lived there, it was just full of bad memories. It was a cold, harsh and desolate place, why a human would even venture that way was all the more puzzling.

“Uh… yeah, I uh found him in the basement of a fortress, the man who owned him stole some things from me, so I took his drake.” Though his voice was light and airy, his expression was still a little baffled. He tried to distract himself, knowing that Django would sense his apprehension, so he took a breath and calmed himself, running a paw gently over the vayron’s shoulder. “He was on a chain that gave him maybe five feet of room to move around. No food, no water.”

He trailed off, remembering when he first saw the vayron in his attempt to reclaim his valuables. One look at that beautiful white coat and Creed knew that he had to have this handsome boy in his life. So he cut the chain, removed the collar that was practically choking the poor beast, before leading him home to where he now sleeps in a safe, soft, cozy little stall. He is given all of the food he could ever want- kibble and raw meat and gravy and sauce, he had a ravenous appetite, even for a vayron. It seemed like he was worried that any of his meals could be his last. While the wild, feral aspect of the vayron was awe-inspiring, it was just as humbling when the beast ate food out of your hand, when he’d “chuff”, a sign of affection among vayrons, as he saw you coming from his stall. Creed let the drake run and leap and buck and roll in this new found freedom, no more life on a chain for him. But he still had to work on trusting people to not shackle him up and confine him all over again.

“Yeah, he’s one hell of a beast. Bit of a naughty child.” The beastman said, still patting the vayron affectionately as Django threw his head up a bit, enjoying the attention. “But he knew nothing but that awful chain and that dingy basement. It just makes sense for him to be a little untamed. I hope that I don’t completely ruin him, but a bit of a romp under saddle would be nice.”

“My name is Creed.” The beastman turned to introduce himself. He held out a handpaw for the fire god to shake, noticing the name immediately. “Atish? As in the Atish? God of Fire himself? I know that the Gods sometimes settle down here among the mortals but I never thought I’d meet one… Because of Django here, no less. No wonder he didn’t bite you.”