Knights of the Hood

"Honestly, we should leave now, these spines will puncture my armor when I put it back on..." He demonstrated be re-equipping his chainmail and leather, both of which now had white bony spikes poking out along he backside.

He nodded. "So where do we go? " He smiled. Randomly, he had a thought of what he might look like with spines coming from his back. He then pictured scales and the dream was ruined. "So what now?"

He thought for a moment and sighed, "I suppose it is time I met my new family? Unless you have a specific idea..." He started to wonder what it would be like to live with dragons.

He grinned. "I have no family, no friends other than yourself, and no where to be anytime soon. I am in." He slowly lowered his hood. "So how do we find them?"

"Probably over the mountains to the south. It is warm there and has a high altitude." He stretched his back and arms until they popped. "Well, shall we head out? We can take some horses or walk. We might want to stop by the market as well..."

He thought for a moment then decided. "It would be better on foot so that we wouldn't have to stop for the horses. Plus it might be hard for a horse to get over a mountain. " He agreed about the market part.

After they decided on a plan, Toravel lead them to a market in a small village surrounded by castle walls and soldiers. They bought any items needed and from there left towards the mountains to the south.

A few hours later, they were walking along a dirt road surrounded by nothing but countryside, "Feels good to be away from those cramped spaces..." He yawned quietly and rotated his elbows. He arched around to a pack he purchased and pulled out a loaf of bread, he dusted it off and took a bite.

He had begun to notice certain new things about his friend. He hadn't known him long but it seemed weird. Hinin shrugged it off though and enjoyed the quiet walk of their journey. "So. Feeling ok?"

He shrugged, "I'm...okay I guess..." He looked at the claws on his hand and suddenly noted a stream of blood and examined to fond the source. Apparently, in the time they travelled he gained a few scales on both hands, as well as having the entire underside of his vary being covered on soft pale green scales: Chest, stomach, inner thights, under arms, and even a pit on the throat of his neck. "Ah..." He frowned a bit. He was about to say something but stopped himself, sagging his head a bit. "Think it'll rain?" He pointed at se dark clouds over a few hills in the distance.

He nodded. "We should find shelter soon. Or at least make shelter unless your ok with walking in the rain." He looked around, looking for a cave of any kind. He then saw a small cave entrance a little ways off, more connected to the mountain. "Hows that?"

"That looks good, let's go!" He darted to it with his hand rested on the hilt of his blade. After examining it carefully, he walked inside; on his way he noticed a variation of claw marks and scratches on the walls and entrance. "A dragon could fit through that entrance." He noted to himself and continued. The cave got warmer the further they went in and he smiled from the comfort. He gathered some sticks and tossed them in a pile when he thought it was a suitable place to rest and then started the fire. After this he pulled out some soft bed rolls made of animal fur and other soft materials. Throwing one to Hinin, he then set up his own and laid down, the bread still in his hand.

Hinin would take a piece of bread and take a few bites from his sack that he had bought at the town. He then made his bed, laying down as well. "This place is pretty comfy. Definitely nicer than that tree. " he laughed.

"You know...you could have slept in the camp..." He sat up and took off his armor, gazing intothe fire which made his eyes brighter and become much more clear. One thing had changed that he did not notice; his iris had grown slightly larger, covering most of the whites now, and his puple had become a thin slit in the center. He groaned a bit and sneezed, and as soon as the sound burst from his throat, so did a barrage of flames that engulfed the wood that was already on fire and nearly melted the rock. He then blinked and stared at the fire, "..."

He laughed. "Try not to melt us in ok? " He relaxed. "And I am not used to being welcomed anywhere. I have been raised not to trust anyone so consider yourself special. " He then chuckled again at this because his friend was special in more than one way. "You ok? Even your eyes have changed. "

He nodded a bit and leaned his back against the stone wall, "I think so..." He gazed at the fire, "If I could do that at will...it'd come in handy." He chuckled to himself, looking at the soft scales covering the palms of his hands. "Man this feels weird...and I thought puberty sucked...hair is one thing but spikes, claws, and scales are another." He shook his head and them caught more claw marks in the walls. He raised a brow as his curiosity started to peak as he examined them further. He eventually notices that they were not all random, some were on purpose it seemed and made a unique design with flowing lines and dots that covered the entire cave in smooth ridges carved out by the talon of great dragons. "This is amazing to look at..." He pointed to the engravings with a smile. "I wonder if they mean anything."

He shrugged and relaxed against the wall. "Maybe they are where the legends of the dragons' powerful reign come from?" He really had no clue but he was sure there was a explanation. there was an explanation to everything in life. Hinin smiled. "Well maybe you could be in there or maybe that dragon who gave you your gift of talons. "

He winced as a few more scales formed in various places hidden behind his clothig, leaving blood stains as a clue of their whereabouts. Then he nearly passed out as a surge of pain overtook him and forcing the dragon child to double over on all fours. A few hours would go by and by the end the pain had subsided, and in the place of pain he now had a new lizard like tail that had inched out through the hours, as well as small horns coming about an inch from his skull. "Blast it...that hurt..." He tightened his jaw showing his jagged teeth and then felt his new features with a chuckle, "Looks like we made the right call by leaving."

throughout these hours, Hinin watched and waited. He didn't think there was much he could do. As it seemed, his friend would live so he just waited. Eventually he went outside though, he couldn't bare to hear the screaming any longer. It had started raining. Hinin smiled at this. He wasn't entirely sure why but he always had loved the rain. He sniffed the air, filling himself with air. When the screaming subsided, he returned to his friend to his surprise. "So ...A tail huh? Your right, good call on the leave. "He chuckled at this.

He stood up, noticing his body felt stroger and his bones were larger. This made him curious and then a hunger set in, a hunger for heat. His eyes were set on the fire and for some odd reason he reached into it as if it were water and grabbed a piece of glowing hot wood that had broken off from a larger log. He stared at it and examined his own hand, it wasn't burning, it felt good to him. A smile curved through his lips and he chuckled, tossing the piece of amber wood and catching it in his hand again. "I'm starting to like this."

He grinned as well. "Well now we know at least who will be the brute of our little duo. " He chuckled and folded his arms, leaning against the wall. "So I suggest we get some rest. It is late already and we have a big day ahead of us. " With this, he chose his side of the cave and laid down, getting himself comfortable.

He nodded a bit, even though he felt like he could ransack an entire castle on his own at this point. He took of the top portion of his equipment leaving his torso bare, and as new instinct was guiding him, lay his back on to the fire. His spines made crackling sounds as they poked through the charred ruble and shuffled the coals. He smiled at this, as if it felt like he was laying in one of the finest beds ever made. He then drifted into an odd slumber.

Hinin chuckled at this. He thought to himself that the way his companion did this reminded him of owning a pet or what it would be like to have a pet since he never had a pet. He shook his head at this. At this point, he fell asleep. When he woke the next morning, he felt himself completely refreshed. He woke before Tovarel which was odd because he usually was the one who overslept. Hinin smiled at this but figured it was because his lizard-like friend was sleeping on a pile of ashes. He chuckled quietly and went to hunt. He hid in the forest behind a tree, watching some deer eat grass. He prepared to make his mark. As soon as they took their next bite, he dove at them, pulling out his blade, and cutting their throats. He got two in one blow. He then proceeded to skin them and bagged them. He carried the meat back to their cave, in hopes that Tovarel was awake now.

The dragon like creature now sat away from the ashes as they lost the heat he desired and now amused himself by billowing smoke fr his nose; he picked it up this morning when attempting to blow fire to make another pit but failed. "Mornin'" His body had shifted slightly, his torso seemed more narrow around the ribs and his shoulders buckled forewards and backwards, showing an odd socket that appeared as if he was repeatingly snapping his bones around the rotator cuffs. He chuckled at he way he could move his body. He sighed and sneezed, flames darting out and nearly liquifying the charred remains, leaving red hot stone where the ashes were. "Uh...think that'll cook the food?"

He laughed. "Never thought that the term "Blowin smoke" would ever get used in a literal sense." He nodded and pulled out the deer, prepping it for cooking. He then shoved the meat onto a long stick, using his swords as holders for the stick, he placed them over the fire, letting the meat cook itself. "Hows that?"

"Fine I suppose." He picked up his clothes and piled them together. He couldn't very well wear a tunic now but he might find some use for them, so he started working, using his claws to cut and using the hot rock to heat any metal, shaping it with his hands. He eventually came up with a chainmail sleeve set that was tied in place as well strapped with leather vampraces. He also had leather pieces molded on his shoulders that would move with his freakish limbs. around his abdomen he placed more chainmail strapped up around his shoulders with various shreds of clothing and the back was hooked on the spines to stay in place. The chainmail extended to his waist and then narrowed to the width of a foot and stopped at his knees. Behind him he left alone due to the tail. He then equipped his blade to his hip and was at a loss of what to do with his bow and arrows. "It won't fit on my back now..." he sighed.