~Phoenix~

do you watch anime?

(let's not forget @Widdershins) Phoenix simply sat there and watched as the golden stream of magic whisped it's way from her horn and into Smokey's. as she did so, she couldn't help but think about how Smokey seemed to care for her well-being. "why is that?" she wondered. perhaps he was growing fond of her too. it brought back some memories. images of her old village played like a slideshow in her head. she remembered the friends she had. the feeling was very similar. was she beginning to consider her a friend? that's a lot considering what she had put him through. without a doubt she was not the easiest pony to put up with. she closed her eyes as the stream of magic continued. she was feeling a bit dizzy, as if she had been overcome by vertigo. that, and her muscles simply seemed to be less responsive than normal. but, if she put up a good act, perhaps she could convince Smokey that it's nothing to worry about. after a couple more moments, the stream of magic seemed to fade, making sounds like the whipping of wind as it disappeared. she had finished doing what she needed to do. if she was correct, Smokey should now be back to around 90% of his normal strength. she would have gone farther, but Smokey was right. much farther and she wouldn't be able to simply shake it off. after she had finished, she pushed herself up onto all fours, and dug her hooves in a little bit in order to anchor herself. otherwise she might stumble or collapse. she looked down at Smokey, waiting for him to get up as well.

( @Widdershins as well) Phoenix lifted her head as she heard the grass rustle beside her. she saw Smokey as he rolled away, trying to avoid her magic. she simply watched him, and listened in silence as he made his pleas. she simply stood up and stared down at him. she gave it a bit of thought. she could decide to abide his request and stop, or she could keep going the way she saw it, smokey wasn't going too far. she could simply keep making attempt to heal him, and he wouldn't have very much say in it. or, she could be selfish, and use this as an excuse not to reveal the true extent of her magical ability. of course, smokey also made a point of his own. using this magic was fairly draining. as a light breeze blew by, her own legs began to wobble. her strength was temporarily faded, but she was determined. she dug her hooves into the ground, and made an effort to make her way towards Smokey, as she moved each of her hooves one by one, making sure each was dug in enough to give her a bit of stability before attempting to move another. after a few quiet moments, she began again, as the stream of magic made it's way over to smokey. this wasn't an easy decision for her. not in the slightest. never before has she shown another pony any of her magic. at least, none who survived. she chuckled lightly to herself as she realized what it was she was doing "i guess i'm growing fond of him" she thought to herself. she was having mixed feelings about it. part of her was upset, possibly even angry that she was letting this stallion see her magic. the magic that she had researched for years. although she was a mare of reason, her fighting instincts were still fighting their way to the surface. she wanted to stop. such an act she was currently performing was an act of mercy, and that could easily be taken advantage of. it's a risk she's never been willing to take, at least not until now. part of her felt... okay with this, as odd as it was.

@Widdershins Phoenix retorted to his first statement "you seem like the type of pony who would be upset that i just attacked someone..." she said, as she took a few steps off to the side, away from the burnt corpse. she heard the light thud as smokey fell to the ground, but she didn't turn to look at him. simply, she listened to him ask himself all of those questions. of course, she wasn't feeling too well either, after she had carelessly cast all of that magic. she lifted up a hoof to rub her horn as she winced. now, she had quite the headache. as she listened to smokey, she couldn't help but think that he brought up a good point. draconequui are supposed to be immortal. it wasn't unreasonable to think that it was simply playing dead for the time being. "what a bummer" she thought to herself as she glanced over once more at the corpse. then she looked at smokey, who was laying on the ground. clearly he was exhausted from all of that. then, she was shocked a little by his last question. it's almost as if he cared more about her and not himself. why would he feel the need to ask her if she was alright? perhaps he was simply the selfless type. in any case, Phoenix could see no reason why he'd need to know. "i'm fine" she answered with a bit of a huff. another detail about his last statement that caught her attention, was the fact that he said he couldn't see her very well. was something wrong with his eyes? she trot over towards him, stopping only a few feet away. she squinted as she looked him in the face. she noticed that his eyes had a visible cloudiness to him "if anything, i should be the one asking you that" she said as she looked away from him. for some odd reason, she couldn't bare to look at him. not with the current circumstances, at least. "but why?" she asked herself, as she stood there. certainly, she thought he'd be upset with all of this going on. after all, it was seemingly her fault that he was in this condition. could it be that she was feeling a bit of guilt? in any case, the only way she could possibly make things right is if she tried to heal him. very gently, she knelt herself down at his side, and her horn began to glow with a warm friendly yellow color, lighting up the surrounding area. a gentle stream of magic began to flow into Smokey, as she attempted to help rejuvenate him.

so, how would you describe yourself? how would you explain where you come from?

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom Phoenix's eyes widened after she had cast off her attack, and she reveled in the chaos that took place afterward. Never before had she seen someone sing while getting attacked. in any case, it seemed to work for a moment, to her disappointment. as the fire seemed to swirl around him, she quickly realized that he had no controll over the situation, and she took a few steps back. her horn began to glow once more, and a weak blue energy field surrounded her. she didn't know much magic other than fire and healing, but she had learned a few spells over the years to defend herself. usefull as it was, as one of the fireballs was thrown off of the draconicuus and straight towards her! it had struck her weak field and the fireball dissipated, but at a cost. she wasn't knowledgeable enough to cast a very strong shield, and in one strike, it had shattered. but luckily, it seems the other fireballs all flew in unique directions of their own, and had avoided her thereafter. after the craziness had died down, she looked over in the direction she thought widdershins would be, but instead she saw... nothing but a pile of ash? "did i really just kill him?" she thought to herself as she stared wide-eyed at the aftermath. she walked towards the remains, glancing up at smokey who seemed rather displeased "what's the face for? he was just as much a threat to you as he was to me" she said in her defense. she, of course was the cynical type and she was quite numb towards the idea of killing someone. it's not anything she'd avoid if it meant protecting herself. that, and it wouldn't have been the first time, either. she looked back down at the remains and began to ponder if killing him was really that easy. after all, he was a draconicuus. she may have been living in the woods most of her life, but she wasn't unaware of what else there was in the world.

@Widdershins that certainly is interesting, and in a way i can agree with you. to be honest, i don't think i have a pony waifu. i suppose twilight sparkle would be my first go since i'm pretty damn nerdy. even dated a girl once who was obsessively into books. even took her to a convention where she met some of her favorite authors. so, i suppose that's my take on that. though i could deffinately see the appeal of someone who is strong and dependable. i'll have to think of more things to ask to avoid boredome

@Widdershins i mean, that mane certainly is a large factor in braeburns overall attractiveness. almost like a mares mane. that and his generally small stature may make him simply feminine enough to be attractive to most males. hey! that gives me an idea for a question. which pony would you date? other than princess celestia, i mean. (i could be making incorrect assumptions) edit: i did assume wrong. just reread your character page and it mentions that the relationship is platonic.

@Widdershins fair enough. so then, ooc talk, you havn't actually hadn any ongoing relationships with him? just as part of his "possible" backstory? if so, is it an idea you'd explore in the future? though, it may be hard finding somepony who can handle such a personality. maybe the won't even be a pony. sidenote: we can all come to a consensus that braeburn is hot

has widdershins ever had any crushes? better yet, has he ever done anything crazy for a female he likes? like i dunno *cough* crushing a planet?

if you can controll pancakes, does that make you a pancake bender? why can't you controll other types of cakey foods? what's the craziest/most wierd/most creative thing you've done with pancakes?

are there any powers that widdershins actually can controll?

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom it was becoming increasingly clear to Phoenix that this mis-matched monster wasn't getting the point. even going as far as to reveal something about Smokey, or so she assumed. at this point, she saw the thing as a threat. it was unclear as to whether or not more was going to be revealed about her, and she wasn't going to wait and find out unfortunate it was that Widdershins was oblivious to Phoenix's combative stance, because she was mere seconds away from releasing the tension onto him. she scrunched up her nose in anger, and she grit her teeth as the aura on her horn began to glow more intensely. while her voice may have seemed clear, and calm, it was merely because she was trying with all of her might to come across clearly. but since she realized some sort of filter within the creatures own head prevented that, she had to take matters further. she planted her hooves firmly into the soil, and it wasn't before long that a flurry of fireballs began to fly forth. there were about half a dozen of them, give or take, and their aim was not at all precise. she merely hoped in her anger, that at least one would hit the creature.

@Widdershins maybe if i mention you you'll actually see this faster

in truth, what does widdershins think of Phoenix?

well, if you've never played skyrim, then what games have you played? how does widdershins typically play games?

are you friends with sheogorath?

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom Phoenix sighed and rolled her eyes as she heard the draconicuus appear behind her. she lifted up her head and sighed as she turned to face him. of course, with both her and Smokey leaving him alone, it wasn't going to be long before he came to find them. it seemed to Phoenix that he was the type that thrived when there was somepony around him to annoy. in any case, it seemed as though she needed to do something to make him understand she slowly walked over to the draconicuus. her body language was very tense, and her eyes were staring him down with an intense glare. the curly ends of her mane began to float up and wave in a way that resembled flames. she got right up to the draconicus, their noses almost touching she opened up her muzzle to speak, but her voice was eerily calm "i keep these secrets, because they remind me of an old life i'd rather leave behind. any reminder is simply torture. i know my situation and i certainly don't need the likes of you nosing into anything" she explained to him. if she weren't so concerned with the situation at hand, she might wonder why the hell someone would even be able to tell all of those details in the first place. is it possible that he had something to do with it? had he been watching her ever since? either way, it seemed like this vile creature was a threat to her. and if need be she would certainly deal with him in the manner she sees fit. her horn began to glow with a cyan aura, as if she was getting ready to defend herself. all of this prodding and probing from him certainly made her feel exposed, and vulnerable. such was a difficult thing to do. and it was only typically in situations like this that prompted such a response from her.

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins Phoenix's ears perked up as she heard Smokey approaching. he went on talking about things, and she listened the entire time. however she looked off into the trees, avoiding eye contact the entire time, seeing as how she had just been put through quite an embarrassing moment. she planned to talk about it no further. perhaps that would be more detrimental to things rather than getting things out in the open, but Phoenix was much too stubborn for that. his last couple of sentences certainly caught her attention, however. "if i wanted to hurt him, i could have easily done so MYSELF" she said with a scoff, when he offered to duel. but his next sentence caught her attention even more. at dawn? certainly they weren't planning on spending the rest of the night here. and if they didn't, she certainly had no interest in returning to this place. just the thought of sleeping near anypony else bothered her... alot. as her mind went off into these tangents, she thought about how she could easily split off and be fine on her own. but why didn't she want to do that? she shook her head as she tried to ponder this mystery. remaining still before Smokey

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom Phoenix was rather caught by surprise when the creature grabbed her and picked her up. she was rather dazed by the whole ordeal, but all she could hear coming from the Draconicus's mouth was a bunch of gibberish. she, of course wasn't too fond of the attention, and as such she was going to try and get herself out of the situation. she squirmed and wiggled a bit, doing as much as she could being held in those positions. eventually, she got a rear hoof to push herself out of the creatures grip, as she fell to the floor with an "oof." she very quickly got herself up off the floor and darted out of the room they were in. it was very clear that the creature had struck a nerve with her, and she would much rather escape the situation. she contemplated running even farther, but still, she felt compelled not to. whether or not part of her past has been compromised, she still wanted to learn from smokey. she would wait there until they were finished inside, and then they would continue on, hopefully "without that creature made of leftover undesirable parts", she thought to herself.

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins Phoenix simply follows Smokey as they enter the strange area. she looked side to side, taking in all of the strange details as they make their way towards a room. she remains silent through the whole process. she wasn't much of a talker if she didn't have to be. a polar opposite to smokey, who could go on for ages, she thought to herself. as they entered the room, she was greeted by the sight of a strange creature. it looked like a mish mash of various other animals. ah yes, that is indeed what she was expecting to see. however, it seems as though each draconicus is different. it was always a surprise to see just what animals made up a single one. she glanced over at it with a steely gaze, as she took it in. she watched as he made some strange gestures, and listened as he said some strange things that seemed nonsensical to her. then he made his way to his greetings. when he got to her, it seemed only natural that he'd be confused. after all, they had never met before. but one thing certainly caught her off guard. when he opened his mouth to say "Huh. Neat. ...Where'd you get a genderswap curse put on you?". she winced as he said this, as it had struck a nerve with her. however, she said nothing after that as she looked away to hid the fact that her cheeks were glowing a crimson red. it was a part of her past that she had long since accepted, and any mention of it only made things worse, as she didn't enjoy drawing attention towards herself. she might have been able to play it off and act as though she didn't know what he was talking about, but with a being like him, it may have only made things worse. besides, she was caught so off guard that she had no time to prepare herself for something like that.

Phoenix remained silent, simply giving Smokey a light nod before they moved along. it certainly was awkward for her that Smokey had to bring up such a topic. she had gotten over it years ago, and any mention of it was simply an unwelcomed reminder of what had happened. it's not like she needed the sympathy of other ponies either. she knew what happened better than anypony else, and it simply bothered her that anypony would care. through all of these thoughts, her face remained blank it took some effort, though. she would deffinately try her best to keep such further hints from slipping over her tongue in ways she hadn't even realized. she shook her head a bit as she got her thoughts away from what had happened. rather, she began to ponder what was ahead. what was this draconeques going to be like?

@Blitz Boom Phoenix heard Smokey's comment and she stopped walking. clearly, he had seen through the little hole in the way she had worded her previous statements. was she really that much of an open book? no, surely Smokey was simply alot more keen and smart than she was giving him credit for. of course, she also hated bringing attention to this sort of thing. after all, it wasn't the business of strangers. she simply remained silent, keeping her gaze forward as she continued to trot along towards their objective.

@Blitz Boom phoenix cocked her head a bit at smokey. she wasn't expecting him to be able to see the fact that she was rolling her eyes. although, she wasn't attempting to hide it either "it was a bit cheesy, i'll admit" she spoke up, as they continued to trot. "and yeah, i suppose you assumed by my name that i'm interested in that sort of thing" she says with a sigh "i am. so were my people" she said continuing "and as much as it pains me to admit, i enjoyed learning those few things from you" she said as she blushed, avoiding eye contact. it certainly was embarrassing to admit, seeing as she was the type of pony who held her pride a little too dearly. her enjoyment for learning, as well as her curiosity certainly could be her biggest weaknesses, if played at correctly.

Phoenix looked back as she heard Smokey catching up with her. she kept trotting along, with him beside her. she would have been perfectly find on her own, if smokey got caught up in his situation, and couldn't keep up with her. but alas, something was wrong with Phoenix. at least, she thought there was. a part of her enjoyed the fact that smokey caught up with her. perhaps it was because she could learn more from him? that was likely the case. sticking around him for now surely would be her best option. as smokey made his remark, however, Phoenix couldn't help but roll her eyes.