• frozen pond

@❥ ⌜ vyldani. ⌟ Arzeth was probably one of the only people around who knew Dani as well as he did. He wasn't a man who really let people in much, Arzeth knew that all too well. After all, he had pestered the giant so many times before they became true partners. So he knew that the giant's head was full of thoughts, some necessary, some probably overthought. When Arzeth wasn't his partner in the skies, he made sure to bring Dani back down from his never-ending concerns. They could worry about any potential threats when they arose because they'd be together and nothing could truly get in the way of them when they were together.

Arzeth squealed and laughed as the giant got to chasing him around. It was childish, but it was fun, and it was a way to distract Dani from his own head. Anyway, Arzeth was still technically on the younger side for a dragon. He would be silly and childish all he wanted. "Oh no~!" he cried out playfully, only to swerve in a completely different direction to avoid the giant's grasp. He never really wanted times like this to end.

@❥ ⌜ arzeth. ⌟ Dani gave the man an incredulous look, but the corners of his lips turned up in amusement as Arzeth tried to cover up his true motivations. He knew the dragon too well by now to not see right through him... but he also had known him long enough that he understood fighting him was futile. As his partner, Arzeth was only looking after him and he had to admit that the other often saw what he needed better than he did himself. Somehow, he managed to mellow the battle-hardened giant out, but he couldn't fully chase away his worries. With how peaceful things had been, Dani couldn't shake the sense that something loomed ominously on the horizon... Or perhaps that was simply what he always feared. Losing what he cared about all over again.

Those dark thoughts didn't quite have time to truly take root, though. Not with Arzeth's playful antics. By the time Dani caught up with what was happening, the dragon was speeding across the ice with otherworldly grace. "Hey!" He barked in protest before taking off after him. Stretching out his hands, the ends of his fingers took on a blueish tinge as he felt a chill spread through him, growing until it began to freeze the moisture in the air. Flurries of snow kicked up around him, swirling angrily and propelling him across the ice after his quarry. The ice crackled and morphed into a smooth path beneath his feet that he slid across with ease, getting close and closer to the dragon.

@❥ ⌜ vyldani. ⌟ There were many times over the years in which the dragon had since met Vyldani that he thought that the giant needed to let loose. And Arzeth managed to do it, slowly but surely. He got the giant out of his rather rigid lifestyle just a little bit. He knew that old habits were hard to break and so even just a day or two of getting the giant to relax was a win for the dragon.

He let out a genuine laugh as the giant followed him easily. It was funny but also nice to see Dani slide and glide across the ice with him. It was so different from his usual forms during fights and patrols, always on guard and never quite relaxed. Dani couldn't ever quite fight him in terms of strength, even in this form. Arzeth always had the element of surprise considering he had his strength as a dragon even in this form, he just liked to hide it.

"Keep you from practice? Me?? Never~!" Arzeth said with a hand on his chest in faux shock. He laughed as they spun around and suddenly grabbed onto Dani's shirt. "Only if you can catch me first," he said in a low whisper. He took advantage of the moment to take several long steps back, which were basically only a couple of steps for Dani, and then turned around to speed off to the other side of the pond.

@❥ ⌜ arzeth. ⌟ Shaking off the sense of foreboding, Dani busied himself with tossing Arzeth the pack with his clothes and didn't even bother averting his gaze as the dragon turned man slipped into them. There was a part of him that had always been fascinated by the transformation. Dragons themselves were already magnificent, powerful creatures. It should have been an insult to shed all that ethereal beauty and strength to masquerade as a simple man or woman. Yet Arzeth was nothing but captivating in every way and the giant couldn't pretend not to notice.

As Arzeth approached, he didn't shy away when he reached up to shake the little icicles clinging to his hair free. In fact, he bent just slightly to make it easier if only just to feel the man's fingers carding through his locks. Sometimes he found it amusing that the dragon was smaller than him in this form. In terms of giants, Dani wasn't even particularly tall, but he easily towered over most other races. Riding in Arzeth's back always put things in perspective, reminding him he was actually quite small in the world, but he still enjoyed teasing him from time to time. Of course, Arzeth was stronger than this form appeared and Dani had definitely been reminded more than a few times over the years.

Smiling at the fond insult, Dani lumbered out onto the ice and glided with surprising ease after the dragon. Normally he was quite clumsy with anything that took finesse, but he felt more at home on the ice than anywhere else. "You're just trying to keep me from going to practice." He tutted in fake disapproval, knowing the other well enough that he saw the compliment for what it was. Grabbing onto the man's vest, he used it as leverage to spin him around on the slick surface. "You could spar with me now instead. Then we can both be happy."

@❥ ⌜ vyldani. ⌟ Flying through the skies was one of Arzeth's favourite things to do, and being able to do it for work and in his free time was the absolute best. It wasn't like anyone could really stop him from doing it. It was freeing to be up in the sky, above the clouds or below them, being able to witness the land below from such a distance. And it was always the best when he could fly with Vyldani on his back. Not every dragon liked to have a rider, and it was highly unlikely to find a giant as a rider among those who did ride dragons.

But ever since that fateful day all those years ago, Arzeth could not and would not let Dani out of his sight, or at least, he preferred to know where his rider was most of the time. It definitely wasn't so that the dragon could bother him at any given moment.

It was as he flew down from their patrol that Arzeth could sense the hesitation, the uncertainty from his rider. It was definitely a little strange how quiet it had been recently. Almost too quiet, but neither of them wanted to say it out loud and jinx it. Perhaps it was a good thing that things were calm. They would find out eventually, right?

Arzeth shifted into his human form in a puff of powdery snow. "I don't think you could ever get rusty, Dani," he said with a chuckle. He grabbed his pants and vest, sliding into them and forgoing shows because he really couldn't be bothered with those. Shoes were so restricting. He stood on his tip-toes and reached up, shaking out the frost from the giant's hair. "Come on, aripothachi~" he said with a grin. He began dragging Dani over onto the frozen pond, gracefully sliding across the surface even without skates.

@❥ ⌜ arzeth. ⌟ Over the countless decades Vyldani had lived, there were many things said about him among the people of Y'sanora and beyond. He never put too much stock in the tall tales and whispers, but there was one thing that he couldn't dispute and that was that he was an unusual sort of giant. Most of his kind lived their entire existence with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Even when climbing mountains, there was always the assurance of solid, mostly immovable rock to cling to. The skies or seas held no fascination for his kind... but they'd never known the pleasure of riding on dragon back.

It was never something that Dani tired of. The world stretched out like a map beneath them, the lights in the snowy villages surrounding Lilhluma small and distant along with the trivial pursuits of day to day life. Up here, he was free. But it couldn't last, of course. As Arzeth started his descent, Dani gave the dragon's scales beneath his hands a gentle, appreciative caress. They were warm... Always so warm when everything else was claimed by the eternal winter's deathly embrace. This was Dani's 'solid ground', where he found his reassurance.

When the two were safely on the ground, Dani quickly removed the pack that was secured between Arzeth's wings. It held some basic supplies if things were to ever to take a turn for the worst - rations and basic medical supplies - but, most importantly, it held the dragon's human clothes. Jumping down into the snowy bank of the lake, Dani put his spear into the leather holster on his back and hulked the pack onto one shoulder while he waited for Arzeth to get himself together.

"Everything seemed quiet. Again." He murmured as his gaze drifted towards the mountain peaks which now seemed so big from down on the ground. The sun had disappeared behind them not long ago, the purplish-red glow all but a feeble silhouette. Even when it was out, though, it couldn't chase away the chill. It didn't phase either the giant or the dragon, but frosty bits clung to the ends of Dani's hair where they had been whipped around in the breeze. "It's been a while since I've had to use my spear... At this rate, I'm going to get rusty."