The day was beautiful. There was a soft breeze, just enough to give live to the trees and grass populating the area. The sun was high in the sky, minimalizing shadows and illuminating most patches. There were no tents here today or grand spectacles, though the occasional drifters were around. Some off in the archery areas, others using one of the painted rings for their battles. The stands were more or less empty as well, though again figures dotted areas. Some mere drifters snoozing in the sun, others genuinely interested in watching. A few wore comatose looks, as if their body was there but their soul was not. Perhaps gazing into the realm beyond this one.

Yes, on such a perfect day it was hard to imagine anyone would be sour. Here, away from the crowds and loud shouts, could escape into a more peaceful reality. Were they to ignore the loud shrieks and hisses of irritation. Indeed, near one of the rings already was one Nathaniel Rystoff. It was one of the farther off rings, a bit smaller in size and closer to the wildlife. It'd taken no time to drag a fallen log over and sit down on it. Rather than sit beside him, his little drake Jakabok was busy snarling and hissing from his arm. With pure white feathering breaking only to reveal flawless silver scaled on the under belly and the occasional leathery flesh of the legs, tails and fingers, the creature seemed entirely pure and holy.

Such a thing couldn't be further from the truth. Jakabok was a wicked little beast, who enjoyed tormenting any smaller creatures it could find and hissing at any others that were bigger. Prone to territorial outbursts, eating important things and attacking stronger opponents, it was a wonder Nathaniel kept the beast around at all. Still, it was fiercely loyal, and the antics could be amusing when they weren't exacting heavy consequences. Like now, for instance. Nathaniel was hardly upset; far from it, he was rather entertained by it all. It seemed that little Jakabok had decided he'd quite enjoy frozen chicken wings for dinner, and the chicken had disagreed. Not only had Jakabok failed to kill it, but the owner had been most distressed.

A cat with a pet chicken. Will I cease to be amazed? Yes, the owner had been a cat. A talking one, at that. Complete with a hat. It had demanded a fair battle between their animals, and Nathaniel had been too busy laughing to say no. Jakabok had been furious at the 'betrayal', but went along with it. It wasn't that he didn't think he could kill the bird brain -- he could swallow it in one chomp! But the fact he had to stay out here, in the blistering heat (or so he perceived; it was still chilled enough for Nathaniel to wear long sleeves and be comfortable), to wait on some cat. A cat he wouldn't mind as an extra serving to go with that chicken!

Hissing softly Jakabok kneaded Nathaniel's arm some more with his razor sharp talons. The arm was protected with a few extra strips of leather, for just such an occasion. Lately Nathaniel had taken to wearing extra padding in the sleeve of his right arm, and occasionally in the shoulder of his coat so that Jakabok could rest there. The snow drake was large and heavy, but the beast was persistent. It ground its beak against itself, the sharp diamond teeth in its gums rubs faintly against one another as well. The two leathery tails wrapped around one another, then slowly unwound, the spaded tips twitching faintly in the wind.

"Calm yourself, little one. You don't want a chicken getting the better of you, do you?" Nathaniel stroked the furry feathers on one of the curled wings lightly, careful to avoid the barbed spikes along its spine. It gave a soft hiss of submission, the first layer of eyelids; the ones that closed to leave a vertical slit between them, blinking against the sun's light. They were a wet blue colour, and were very much cat-like in their appearance. Also cat like were the yellow eyes, the pupil a white slit that made him seem perpetually angry. All the better to inspire fear in the masses! Jakabok stretched his wings out, the long finger-like appendages dividing portions of feathery wings a notable trait of its reptilian heritage. On the tip were two "thumbs", good for an extra grip and holding his wings together, but little else.

Giving another hiss and murmured skree the snow drake shifted, tails beginning to lash about again as it grew anxious. Nathaniel merely shook his head in amusement, basking in the single respite from such an otherwise serious work week.

It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight…

Those were the words to the tune that Hattie absent-mindedly hummed as she happily trotted through the sweet-smelling grasses as she made her way over towards where she’d agreed to meet the strange black-haired man and that little dwarf dragon thingamabob that he towed around with him. Hattie thought the little white drake was really quite cute, although it hadn’t been a very friendly gesture to snap at poor Fudgy like that. But in the end, no one got hurt, so Hattie supposed she couldn’t complain - she just kept that smile plastered on her face. It didn’t take much to please the orange kitty, really - as long as she had her trusty hat atop her head and the surroundings were tranquil, then all was good. Of course, Fuliginousness didn’t seem to agree, seeing as he was hopping about and making those strange little noises, but Hattie was sure he was just getting pumped for the defending of his honor.

“C’mon, Fudgy! Don’t be so tense! I’m sure you can handle that mean old drake!” she squealed optimistically, though there was no doubting that the arrogant little rooster already knew this in his mind. He just couldn’t wait to get started! Oh, this was gonna be so much fun! That was what Hattie decided, and immediately afterwards, her attention began to wander and she started to ponder about dinner and if she could spend the rest of the afternoon cuddled up somewhere and just sleep the day away. Fudgy might like that - he’d be tired after such a taxing event Ooh - maybe she could go see Rasky later today! Thoughts were cut short when the druid cat unexpectedly cleared the last of the tall grass and found herself directly in front of the man she’d come to see.

“Hi!” she greeted cheerily, turning back briefly to help Fudgy struggle out of that patch he’d gotten himself tangled in. As soon as the chicken straightened himself up, however, he made an impromptu dash at the beast that had so terrorized him earlier today. Both giggling and trying to sound stern, Hattie reprimanded the little bird for being so rash, and told him that he should always be patient and polite. Of course, words seemed to have little effect on Fudgy when he worked himself up, so the cat found herself calling upon her telekinesis to pull him back - ah, how Hattie would never tire of seeing the chicken flail confusedly in the air and squawk so hilariously!

“Okey-dokie! Should we start?”

Mooshie bear plodded slowly through the grass, his head turning from side to side , so that he could take in the sights. The grasslands were very pretty! Sadly the only view of the grasslands he really had was of...well...grass. He was a bit shorter then the tall grass on all fours, and so he was only really able to see the grass and the sky. Still, the grass was very prettyful. And the sky was an inviting blue with not a cloud in sight. Mooshie wondered if hed ever find his way out of this tall grass. He had been in it for a while now, and he was starting to get really hungry. He was also a bit bored, for an hour of trudging through grass gets very old very fast.

Mooshie pushed through one last patch off grass, and found that he was in an opening. There was some sort of ring in front of him. In the middle was a giant log, and on top sat a very mean looking man. He had some sort of lizard thingy with him, and neither of them looked very happy. Then he turned his gaze to the side and saw a cat, and a chicken. He quickly forgot about the mean looking man. Mooshie got a closer look, it wasn't just any cat, it was his bestest friend Hattie! He broke in to a slightly faster trod and made his way over to Hattie. He proceeded to poke her with his paw. It had been a while since he had seen Misses Hattie. He was always happy to spend time with his bestest friends.

"Hello Misses Hattie! How are you on this beautiful day? It's so nice" He looked at the chicken who was hanging around Hattie. "Is that chicken your friend? Can he talk words like us? " Mooshie looked back around and saw the scary man again. "Misses Hattie, who is that man? He looks kinda scary, but his pet looks very very scary! Maybe we should run and run away!"

Nathaniel chuckled when the cat was revealed, trotting along as if it were usual for cats to be sentient. The rooster made a mad dash for Jakabok -- who promptly hissed, but any real encounter was stopped when the chicken was pulled backwards. Some kind of magic? This cat was fascinating! Nodding, the warrior smirked faintly. "I suppose we should. Are you sure you want to, though? This little guy can be rather, ah..." Jakabok gave a snarl, shaking his whole body, though his feet remained on his owner's arm. Nathaniel's smirk became more prominent. "He isn't exactly the most friendly animal." Normally he wouldn't have cared to kill some random chicken, but who knew how powerful that cat was? What if she could make his heart stop in his chest, or his brain immolate? No, better not to make an enemy of it yet.

He gave the friendliest smile he could muster, which admittedly wasn't much of one. Then again, he'd never really hated cats. On the sea they were one of the best animals to have around; independent, easy to care for, and great at killing vermin. This cat seemed rather friendly though, so he wasn't too certain of its mousing capabilities. Of course, this could be a ploy so the small animal could kill others swiftly. Giving a non-committed sigh, he leaned back on the log. "I'm not sure he's broken enough to come back if I call him... I'd hate to cost you your uh," Dark blue eyes roved the chicken critically, before a black eyebrow rose in question. "Pet?"

Just then a panda lumbered into the clearing, and Nathaniel jumped up in surprise. Not because the small fluff ball was frightening, but because from what he'd always learned baby bears had mama bears nearby. And those mama bears liked to chew on heads. The sharp motion had caught Jakabok off guard though, and the snow drake took to the air. At first it was awkward, but then it got a decent arc out of it and circled overhead, large wings stretched out. Given the right angle (and a short enough opponent) it could likely drench an enemy in shadow. Which would be great, except that the outsides of the shadow would still have light with which they could see by.

Just then the bear lumbered towards the cat, and Nathaniel's upper lip curled in disgust. Was he going to eat her? Devour her flesh and crush her bones? He wouldn't mourn the loss, but certainly the feast would attract buzzards and other predators. Bigger predators. Predators he'd have to fight off with the mithril blade sealed at his side. "Hello Misses Hattie! How are you on this beautiful day? It's so nice." Nathaniel did a double take, both eyes going comically wide. Not only was the bear not eating her -- it was being polite! And talking! Was there some disease going around, cursing animals to speech? Or had that inn keeper slipped something in the ale after all? He'd thought it tasted funny...

With a raspy caw that could just as easily be described as a ferocious snarl, the large snow drake landed. Nathaniel outstretched his arm to the animal partially through its descent, and Jakabok took to his forearm immediately, grinding and rubbing its claws on the surface of the sleeve as it fought the urge to tear into another creature. A soft breath of air spilled from the feet, and the sleeve seemed to harden slightly. Freezing. Such was the power of the snow drake; capable of freezing any perch it stood upon. Nathaniel winced slightly at the drop in temperature, but otherwise didn't harm the bird.

"Cat... is this your friend? We can put off the match, if you wish." He began walking towards the panda and cat. "I completely understand." He smiled ruthlessly at Mooshie, which Jakabok imitated with his own diamond teeth and narrowed yellow eyes. The two were a match made in Morring.

While Hattie half-listened to the man drone on about something chickens and whether or not his little snow drake was housebroken or not, she found her attention drifting as her quivering nose twitched at a new scent. It smelled vaguely of sugar and honey, but the orange cat failed to identify the memories that the scent triggered. Curiously - she had given up on listening to whatever the weird guy was saying - the little feline took a half-step towards the rustling grasses a little to her side, but abruptly drew back when a pudgy little panda plopped into sight. She made the connection halfway between the panda bear’s appearance and his finger poking her. Moosheh!

Squealing with delight at the reemergence of her friend from beside the lake, Hattie allowed herself to be prodded before giving Mooshie a friendly tackle. She giggled to hear his friendly voice again.

“Huh-chicken? Oops!” she mewed as she snapped her head back, only now realizing that she’d released the angry chicken, whom was presently pecking at the man’s foot with the ferocity of a thousand dragons. Luckily, he was only doing the damage of a thousandth of a dragon, or else there’d have been a mountain-sized crater in the ground. That lead to the center of the earth? Briefly, Hattie entertained the idea of exploring the center of the earth but was forced to abandon this fantasy when she realized she had to recall Fudgy.

“Bad Fudgy! You naughty chicken, you!” scolded Hattie as she dived into the offending rooster - but she made sure not to hurt him, choosing to simply sweep him off his feet - and rolled with him for a few seconds, a tumbleweed of fur and feathers. Punctuated with the occasional caw from Fuliginousness, of course. When the dust settled, of course, a resigned Fudgy, having apparently decided to obey his owner’s orders, was quietly following Hattie back to her chosen spot, whereupon she continued conversation with Mooshie as if she hadn’t just abruptly broken away to brawl with a chicken.

“Yeah, and I’ve been really great! What about you? I had so much fun and explored lotsa places since we last met! Oh, and this chicken is Mr. Fudgy. He’s one of my bestest best best friends ever too! ‘Cept he can’t talk…He’s a good listener though! He never complains or anything as long as he has food and gets to go play with the other chickens every once in a while. Ooh, but he doesn’t like it when meanie snow drakes try and eat him, so he challenged that thingie to mortal combat. Wanna watch?”

Hattie would have gone on and on and on, until Nathan, spoilsport that he is, interrupted with what must have been his second thoughts.

“Aww…You aren’t trying to chicken out, are you? Is your snow drake scared of Fudgy? It’s not his fault…He’s very fierce, y’know. But then again, when even the chicken isn’t chickening out…”

Although the drake that circled over their heads was kind of scary, Mooshie was too busy paying attention to Hattie to notice. He giggled as she tackled him, glad to see that his friend was as happy to see him. Their reuinion was abruptly interupted when Hattie went chasing after her chicken friend, who seemed to be pecking savagely at the scary man's foot. Mooshie gasped as Hattie tackled the chicken. He hoped Mr. Chicken was ok! The dust settled and the chicken followed Hattie back to Mooshie.

Then Hattie began talking. She talked about how she had traveled a lot, and talked a lot about "Mr. Fudgy." Apparently Mr. Fudgy was a very bestest friend friend to Hattie too. Mooshie was a little sad that he couldn't talk, but then again he was used to other animals not being able to talk. Then she said that The big scary mean man's pet had tried to eat Mr. Fudgy. Now they were going to fight!

Then the meanie guy asked if Mooshie was Hattie's friend or not, and offered to postpone the match. Maybe he wasn't such a meanie guy afterall. Then again the man and his pet gave a very uncomfortable look to Mooshie, and he wasn't sure that this man wouldn't try to hurt him! Either way, being friendly was the best way to go.

"Yes!" Mooshie said. "Hattie is one my very bestest friends." He gave a wide tooth filled smile. Then Hattie made fun of the scary lizard. Mooshie wasn't so sure that making fun of a big scary lizard was such a good idea, but Hattie must know what she was doing.

"Mr. scary guy? Your leezard is really mean! He tried to eat poor Mr. Fudgy..Now I think Mr. Fudgy wants to beat him up. "

Nathaniel did not enjoy having his foot pecked at by a bird. Nathaniel, generally, did not enjoy being pecked on his foot by anything. In normal circumstances, he might have snapped the bird's neck and be done with it. But this was a special case. This bird belonged to someone who could potentially kill him where he stood. Who knew how it would take to him killing the chicken? Besides, with the boots he wore (rising to his ankles, they were more like shoes really...), the gesture of the rooster was useless. If Jakabok could blow raspberries, he likely would have been.

Still, the action grew tiresome, and when Nathaniel started contemplating how quickly he could pull out his sword the cat had bowled the rooster over. No, more than that; she was wrestling with the thing. Rolling about as if it were a child's game, ending only when the chicken submitted. Nathaniel watched in bizarre shock, barely able to comprehend the sight. Only when the bizarre ritual stopped, and Hattie trotted back to Mooshie, did he seek to close his mouth. Had it been open any longer a fly no doubt would have investigated the dark, dank depths.

The panda bear took great delight in informing him Hattie was his friend once he approached. Hattie, no doubt, being the feline. The smile the bear gave was anything but flattering, as far as maturity and intelligence went. However, the important thing was Hattie's response. Not only was she accusing him of backing down, but she was implying that his snow drake was more frightened than the rooster! Nathaniel couldn't help himself. He hadn't wanted to do it, had suppressed the urge as hard as he could. But the feline had pushed his absolute last button, destroyed his final reserve.

He burst out laughing. A full, hearty laugh stemming from his diaphragm and making him double over. Jakabok was forced to take flight, who gave a vicious snarl as he landed on a low tree branch nearby. Nathaniel didn't notice, merely kept on laughing. Then all at once it stopped, like a bolt of lightening that flashes in ferocity and dies out seconds later. He righted himself, trying to look more dignified. His face still wore the creases of his amusement though, and his eyes shone mirth.

Nathaniel gave a smile to Mooshie that was no softer than mithril, yet retained less of the malice he'd held before. "Yes, yes he is. Alright, Hattie," He tested the name like he was tasting exotic spices. "If you want to go through with this, by all means. Like I said... I'm not sure your chicken is going to survive the experience." Nathaniel strode away from the grass, back to the training circle. He eyed it once, to make sure no splinters or obvious signs of poor workmanship showed, then adjourned to the log.

Jakabok snarled, offended that his master wouldn't stand for his honor. Then again, the leader clearly had more important things to do. The snow drake swooped down from his perch, flying just above the three animals so as to remain out of reach but close enough to glare. Carefully he maneuvered over to the ring, setting down slowly and flapping his wings a few times to break the momentum. Jakabok flailed both tails in a haughty gesture, then turned to stare critically at the two creatures. "Grog! Grog!" He imitated in his raspy voice, which only made Nathaniel grin all the more.

Oh, this was going to be a fun match.

(Sorry 'bout the delay/timing. My writing's just...bleh...right now.)

“Okies!” announced Hattie cheerily, her tone as light as if she were simply prattling on and on about something as light as sunshine and rainbows. But to be fair to the little feline, she really didn’t know what she was getting herself into - not only did she grossly overestimate her little Fudgy, but she also overestimated her recently gained healing powers. Plus Hattie really didn’t expect anything too violent - as in a few bruises and scratches at the most. And so, black eyes sparkling, she too began to giggle - albeit with some slight confusion - when the weird guy started to belch out a mean laugh. It was an uncomfortable, awkward laugh - and one that she was unused to. This was evident, as the mirth quickly faded from the cat’s jowls, leaving a void of awkwardness as Nathan laughed.

“Ok, Fudgy! It’s go time! You’ve gotta defend the honor of chickens everywhere! I know you can do it! And the afterwards, maybe we can visit Rasky Wasky. Ooh, Mooshie! Do you wanna come meet my other friend after this? His name is Rask. He can’t talk either but he’s really really gentle and nice.”

While the amicable orange cat found herself once more engaged in pleasant conversation with her panda friend, Fuliginousness was quietly psyching himself up as he glared at the large drake before him. Well, he’d show him! With a peck peck here, and a peck peck there, he’ll fall in no time! But, amazingly, the hot-headed rooster did not charge blindly at the white bird; instead he held his ground and simply stared. This was not a strategic maneuver of any sort, but instead simply courtesy. Mistress Hattie had spent lots and lotsa time to educate him - Fudgy wasn’t doing too well on the literature, but he seemed to have grasped the basic concepts of manners. Amazingly, he even went and gave a short peck ot the ground - the closest to a bow he could manage.

“Everybody was a-kung fu fighting” hummed Hattie absent-mindedly.