Overgrown Ruins [Usque]

This place... it made his very whiskers quiver. Something about this forest had drawn him in, like it was alive. Or more than alive, as if the very air was teeming with life. It was very different from home. He had opted to will himself to a smaller form of his grand being, maybe only twenty feet or so from nose to tail, and descend to the grasses and the roots of the looming trees. The woods were warm and colorful, though nothing that matched his scales save the waters, but it made him feel at ease being surrounded by it.

The water had drawn him in this direction, and after finding the cool river quietly running by did a hum settle through his bones - it was subtle, but it was there. There was magic in this place, and he lifted his head from the water to find abandoned structures that were already being reclaimed by nature up on the short cliffs. His whiskered quivered a bit faster from the feel, and he began to leisurely pad up to the closest rocks and carefully climb them - like a elongated, blue lizard. As the head rounded the edge of the cut stone and his bright eyes found the first empty building, the neck curved easily around the cliff side and the head hovered closer even as his body remained lodged on the sheer face - sniffing calmly for whatever he could find, mana or flora or fauna, while his ears twitched around with interest. This place was fascinating.

The rustle-shuffle of a creature through the trees hadn't drawn his attention, and he had continued to nose about after the buildings in earnest. He had climbed further where his forelegs disappeared over the rocks and his hind half was still latched to the stone with his tail swaying gently from side to side, unaware he was casting a gentle breeze repeatedly behind him. The splash brought his head up and on a quick swivel, looking for anything new or disturbed that caused the sound.

Somehow, he missed the human woman in the water directly below his body, and returned to slowly making his way up onto the cliff and closer to the structure nearest him - his nose huffing along as he went. He gently pressed the tip of his nose to the wall, waiting to see if he could feel a hum from the bricks.

The laughter made his ears come up first and then his head. His long neck allowed him to swivel and bring his snout back to the edge of the cliff without having the backpedal or readjust his grip. Now he could see there was, indeed, a woman in the stream below him - bathing. A nude human wasn't anything new to him, but in his mannerisms it was rather rude to look upon someone's natural form without their permission, and certainly so if the two involved were NOT a pairing of some formal sort.

So his ears folded forward and softly covered over his eyes as he murmured an "Oh dear". Before he could ask her forgiveness, he felt something flick at the fluffy fur of his tail - making his tail twitch in response away from the paw. Now he lifted one ear up and pointed his nose down to the strange little cat that seemed to take an interest in his limb.

The laughter drew a grin upon his scaly lips - it was a lovely thing to hear. He had anticipated someone to start screaming, but instead it was just the opposite. He covered his eyes once more after the creature left his tail alone and he heard the disturbance in the water once again. He didn't try to move, but heard her speak to the once called Glearsaby - he assumed was the feline.

Now, he cleared his throat and spoke quite clearly with a gentle but masculine voice. "Excuse me, anata, but are you decent now?" he asked, nose pointing around her general direction as if trying to find her in his blind state.

The ears perked back and revealed the bright eyes as they settled on Varia, the long flowing whiskers flicking more in her direction just a bit as he watched her. His head came up with a majestic curve of his elongated neck like a proud beast as he pointed his nose wholly at her. "I care because where I hail from, to see a woman exposed before any joining ceremony is rather shameful. For her to bare herself before said ceremony is dishonorable, but as it is," he added with a soft chuckle, "we are not there, are we?

"I am Tao of House Ruogang, of Yangjin," he announced with a subtle shake of his head that swayed the soft fur of his mane. "And you are?"

A lot of... oh dear.

The name and gesture made his ears perk up in interest, and he carefully descended the cliff side to settle at ground level where she stood. He kept a respectful distance from her and the skeptical critter behind her, coiling his lengthy body around a few times and sitting up in a considerably smaller space as he looked down at her from a slight upright stance. " 'Beast Mistress', you say? What does that title mean for you, Varia-san?" he inquired, watching her with keen interest as his tail swayed like a lazy cat's tail.

"You don't say," he exclaimed, his eyes settling on the new arrival upon the woman's shoulder. He leaned in and lowered his head as he carefully sniffed at the trio at a still reasonable distance. "Can you read my thoughts, Varia-san?" he asked, genuinely curious if she could hear how divine a figure she had for a foreigner, in his opinion.

"Ahhhhh. I imagine that comes in quite handy."

Tao watched the cat saunter off into the trees with a soft chuckle, finding it rather hilarious as he heard Varia's end of the conversation between them. The note from the fellow flying creature made him sit up a little higher and a watery sheen like a calm pool surface in the sun rippled across his scales. "Well, please tell your friend that I appreciate the compliment. Although, my colors pale in comparison to her feathers - I imagine they are softer than my mane," he replied, leaning his snout in a litter closer to the two of them.

Tao watched the bird take her leave, a rumbling sound in his being like a deep cat's purr sounding momentarily from the thanks that she left in her wake.

His ears perked up and pointed at Varia as she peered at him, and he leaned in even closer with his head coming lower to the ground to level with her eyes. He sniffed at her in his own curiosity as his flowing pair of whiskers flicked around his ears. "Why do you look at me so, Varia-san?" he asked. "Am I as strange to you as you are to me?" he added with a subtle grin tugging at his scaly lips.