Welcome to Gaia! ::

He smiled and grabbed Joshua around the waist and took to the sky. Wings lengthen longer; he flew higher then the trees. ‘The legend has it that there was only one dragon, a dark dragon. He was lonely and wished for another to keep him company. So he took his blood and split his form into two, thus creating a female companion, the light dragon. When they mated, the female gave birth to four kinds of dragons. A fire, water, lightning, and earth dragon…all of which could fly and had special powers, but one day a fight broke out among some. Fire hated water, water hated lightning, lightning hated earth and earth hated fire.’ Lucian landed in one of the tree branches that over looked the waters and mountains, still holding onto Joshua’s waist. He looked at him to see if he was interested in knowing more.

Joshua gasped as Lucian pulled him into the sky. He stared as the ground became farther away. "Oh, wow...." He breathed, his voice slightly unsteady. "This is amazing!" Landing on the tree did not diminish his feelings about being so high up. He listened to the story while taking in the view. When Lucian stopped, Joshua looked up into his face, wanting more of the story. 'Please don't stop! It's fascinating! Continue the story!' Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should be afraid. Afraid of the height and falling. But trust in Lucian and wonder of the view overrode that small part, pushing it to the back of Joshua's mind.

Lucian smiled and continued, ‘well more dragons were produced and eventually there were other types…like wind, ice, metal and armor. The spread out and lived in harmony with the human, but some were hunted down for their… Well anyways, before too long the dragons were becoming fewer and fewer. Most went into hiding; others lived their lives as humans and mated with humans. Thus there blood line growing thinner. The main dragons wanted to find a place…a place where they can get away from the dragon hunters. Places where they can start out knew and keep their secrets. They heard of this other world…it wasn’t filled with humans at the time. Just wars and anger, but we decided this will be a better place for us. At least some of us thought so.’ He then glanced down at the mermaid in the water and wondered if she knew she actually migrated to this world. He then glanced at the other girl who was walking away. He will find her later and thank her for the snacks. Lucian didn’t realize his playfulness was gone until now. He was almost dry now, especially with his chest exposed to the elements. He knew he shouldn’t be telling anyone their secrets, but he was bored. Besides, no one would ever believe Joshua if he rant on about another world that was connected to this one. After seeing his parents fight constantly because they were opposites, he began to loss hope. Then having to see his brothers die in his hands is what drove him to find this place. Sighing he looked back at Joshua.

Katalina, sensing the need for privacy, had dropped out of the conversation again. Listening to Lucian's story, her thoughts had turned unwillingly to her own tales.
There was nothing pretty or fascinating about her story, she thought sadly. Only ugly, painful memories that no one would want to hear, to have.
She sure didn't want to have them.

Joshua stared at Lucian. 'That's amazing.' He said. Despite not knowing the full story, he was still awed. Slowly, Joshua reached up with one hand to stroke one of Lucian's wings. 'I'd thought it was odd you had wings, but still. I had no idea.' Joshua shook his head slowly, in amazement. 'Still, I like your wings.' A smile came over his face as he continued to pet the wing.

Katalina floated absently on the water, her eyes gently emptying of thought. She chose to hide in isolation, even under the bright sun. With the sound of birds droning, it was easy.
Wait.
Birds didn't drone.
Katalina flipped upright and stared across the water. The boat was returning.
Cursing softly, she dove under, not thinking to tell Joshua or Lucian; she was, after all, more used to handling such situations on her own.

Lucian followed Joshua’s gaze to the water. He tilted his head to the side when he seen a boat approaching. He instantly went into action by grabbing Joshua around the waist once again and jumped back into the trees to hide. ‘A ship has returned.’ He began to make his way down to the ground.

I can handle this, Katalina's voice suddenly spoke beside Joshua's ear. She sounded different; focused, eager, almost vengeful. I've been handling myself in situations like this since before you were born, my dear.
She moved swiftly towards the boat, deep under where she couldn't be seen. Without Joshua there, she didn't have to listen to the prissy ditherings of her own conscience. Weren't mermaids supposed to be soulless?
All she needed was an appropriate rock.