Something hovered in the atmosphere. There was an unusual tension. The very forest itself, the way the trees swayed and animals quieted, spoke of a wrongness entering the vicinity. Rance scrambled to his feet, and moved to hover near Roma's side. Earthslasher lifted his great head, and lumbered to a standing position. The dragon's nose flared. He snorted, and turned large eyes to his rider. "Come with me. There's something unpleasant out there, and I would feel uncomfortable leaving you alone knowing that."

Roma tensed, clenching his hands, and automatically an electrical field began crackling off his fingers. "What do you mean? What's the danger?" He couldn't imagine what gave the situation such a tense feeling. Another dragon? A large maneater? Thieves or hunters? What kind of danger did Rance come with? What kind of danger followed Roma? He'd never thought about the people that would often follow him, force him to use his power because it was either that or death or some ungodly torture.

Dragon and rider lifted their heads to test the air, to try and garner more information then what they already knew. It felt foreboding, and menacing, the energy that emanated from the approaching danger. "We don't know anything, save that it's coming and it will show no mercy on anything it comes across." Ignoring the sparks lancing from the other man's hands, Rance grabbed hold of Roma's shoulder. "Come with us. Whatever is coming will have a hard time coping with a dragon."

Roma's electrical power flared and shocked Rance, but not badly this time. He jerked away and shook out his hands. "Don't force me, I know how to walk." He muttered. "Whatever's here, why not face it? Why not destroy it so it doesn't have the chance to harm others?" What if it was a malevolent entity that sought out the weak, or some demonic thing that wanted only to find unsuspecting humans and destroy them? Roma's timidity had fallen away some and was replaced by a more sturdy resolve. As long as it wasn't a dragon he would be fine.

He winced. His hands tingled and the feeling ran up and down his arms. It wasn't quite unpleasant. "I didn't intend to make you ride Slasher again." He shook his head at the mention of destroying whatever was coming. "That's out of the question. There isn't enough information to make a decision like that. " That was precisely what had led his people down such a rugged and horrible path. There were so few of them left, all because their ancestors had decided to attack an enemy they didn't understand, and their foes had proved more then they could handle.

Roma's hands clenched again and the electrical current subsided. His fingers unclenched, and the studious look on his face slackened. Either Rance thought he wasn't strong enough, or he wasn't aware of what existed in the forests. Maybe he was more afraid than he looked. Roma shook his head, stumbling slightly, a feeling of dread and cold shadow clinging to his skin and weakening him. Was this the feeling Rance and the dragon had sensed? He didn't have time to dwell on it before he was falling to the ground.

Rance dove under Roma the moment the other man falter. He landed on his back with a grunt, and his arms wrapped tight around the other man. Sensitive, that was what Roma seemed to be. And unquestionably mysterious. The clan leader shifted until he was sitting, Roma cradled against his chest and silently asking the dragon to amble as near as could be to them. He didn't want to drag Roma onto Slasher's back without cause, not after the way the other man had reacted to flight the first time. But under the circumstances ...

Shaking his head, Rance heaved the golden haired man onto the dragon's back. He followed suit, and leaned forward to make sure he held Roma steady with his arms, out of harms way. Earthslasher took off immediately. They needed to leave the menace far behind. Forest raced by them, or they flew past it. Sparkling water shone under the sun, and uninhabited shores invited someone to take possession of them, if only for a little while. Slasher angled down, aiming to land on one of the rocky banks. The sooner they landed, the better.

He couldn't quite see anything at first; the landscape was black and barren and there was no sense of up or down. When he moved, taking a step, he didn't know where his foot would land, and when it hit solid ground, it seemed to... sink. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to see his hands in front of his face but failing, until a pinprick of white light flickered into existence. It grew, and Roma stared hard at it, until it blinked and grew brighter, larger, then darkened to a pale reddish, and purple. He stumbled back and something grabbed his arm, snatching him forward and laughing. The sound of triumphant laughter. He'd heard it before. The hand around his arm dug long, sharp claws into his skin and Roma startled.

He snapped open his eyes and gasped, twisting around and throwing his arms around the nearest thing he could find. It only took a moment and a breath in to recognize Rance, and realize they were in the air again. His stomach was flopping, but not from the location. The dream---or nightmare, it felt like---was still fresh in his mind.

Earthslasher landed just as the other man woke. Rance let out a long breath when arms clamped around him. He pulled Roma close. Leaning over, he whispered comforting words into the other man's ear. "It's alright. We're far away from whatever was back there. Slasher can get us some meat, and I have a few things in my pack. We can go back to get your things latter, I promise." The clan leader glanced at their surroundings. The forest lay at their back and before them were glittering waters.

It would be easy to know if anyone approached their location. It had good visibility. The clan leader felt safe enough setting up camp there. Rance couldn't move though. There was Roma in his arms. There was Earthslasher under him, and a great blue sky above. No expectations awaited him, not here. Not with those present. It was a nice change, despite the earlier scare. Whatever it was ... It would have to be investigated later, when there was no one to protect around.

Roma shuddered, blinking, and the dream faded with the glow of the day. No trees surrounded them to take away from the glare of the sun, and he swiveled out of Rance's grip, falling onto the ground and grimacing when he hit the ground. "Don't worry about it, I can make more... later." He groaned and stood, rubbing the sharp pain out of his backside. "I had the image of a demon." He muttered, turning away from them to stare at the water. He didn't see an end---was it an ocean? No, most likely it was a lake. He knew they weren't anywhere near the ocean and he doubted he'd been out too long.

"It was a demon..." Roma repeated to himself, stepping into the water and standing. "Demon... why..." He clenched his hands. Why did he listen to Rance? He faced demons before and came out on top. That feeling he had was the influence of a demon, and he had lost consciousness because he had been holding in the urge to act.

Rance stepped forward. "Why? Do you have any idea?" There was something suspicious about the way the blonde kept repeating the word. Demon. Rance had no idea what was meant by that. Demons were non existent to him. They weren't even part of legends, to his people. "What are demons?" He slipped his feet into the water, and relished the sensation of it lapping around his ankles.

Roma blinked and stared at Rance. Did they not have demonic beings where he came from? Well, that was lucky of them. "Demons are... They're... like humans. Except they're often nearly immortal. And they come in a variety of sizes... Some have tails and others have horns, and some have both. There are a lot of different types... Some kill and eat humans. Others affect the weather, or animals, or human luck to torment towns or villages. Some wreak havoc. Others seduce humans. Some bind humans in contracts for what the human wants, an exchange of sorts. None are from this world, though. They're from some... different world, right next door to this one. But they live here too, because humanity is so... so easily manipulated. Haven't you ever faced one before?" He looked sideways to Rance.

He shook his head. "No, never." The clan leader looked to the sky. "We have lived with dragons for as long as my people can remember. They keep us safe, and we help keep them healthy. We work together to keep the lands clean, or we did. " Rance let out a long sigh. "A few centuries ago, the country was invaded. My people are dying out, and so are the dragons. We're at war. I wish we weren't..." There were so many familiar faces gone.

"Most demons are afraid of dragons I hear. Some are strong enough to kill them..." Roma closed his eyes and crouched, splashing a little. "A few years ago my entire race was wiped out... By what we thought were travelers. They wore similar clothes. Black and green, and a little silver. They looked important so we housed them. Then in the night they slaughtered everyone. I was at the lake, so they didn't know I was there... I watched them. We'd heard of war, but didn't know we were going to be a target." He lifted his cupped hand and stared at the shaking reflection of his eye before it started trickling through his hand.

He crouched down and pressed a hand against the other man's shoulder. Roma sounded so lonely. So sad. His confession explained more then Rance had even thought of wondering about. No home to return to, no place to go ... Rance couldn't imagine such a life, despite the situation his people found themselves in. At least they had a chance at peace, with a meeting coming up to negotiate an end to the war.

"That's why you're wandering. Why you're so jumpy." He leaned over, slid his arm around Roma's shoulders. "You could stay with my people, Roma. I could ... protect you." He sounded uncertain. It was hard, measuring what kind of reaction such an offer would elicit. Usually dragons helped people figure things out between themselves, cutting through the layers so it was easy for them to be open about their emotions, their intentions. If they didn't, the dragons called them out on it. Or negotiated things between them without giving their earth bound friends any choice.

Roma bit his lip, breathing out hard and shutting his eyes. "I don't need... to be protected..." He tried to swallow a sob but it came out in a low moan, rocking him back and forth for a moment as he tried to regain himself. "I just want... no, just want things to be okay again and I know it's not going to be. I won't have my kind again. And this damn... war... It's upsetting the other races..." He sighed and automatically leaned against Rance. He was solid, strong. Against what he'd tried to explain before, Roma did want to be protected.

He pulled Roma close, and slowly backed them towards the lake's dry shore. He ran his fingers through the long locks. It was so hard to imagine. "Being alone, not having anyone else to talk to, to turn to. It must be so hard." He squeezed Roma close. Ran his fingers across Roma's back. "I know you can protect yourself, but sometimes I'm sure you would like to be able to relax. Let me give you that. Alright? Safety, if only for a little while."

Roma was quiet, allowing himself to be led out of the water and onto the dry land, and sighed. "I can't." He muttered. "It's been years now." He shrugged and sat on the ground, staring at the water and hiding his head in his hands. "Years. I can't really... I don't know how..." Giving up that train of thought, Roma huffed and rubbed his temples, threading his hands through his hair. He hand't put himself in the position to be cared about for a long time. It felt too vulnerable.

Rance settled down beside the other man. "Alright." It wasn't. The clan leader just had to convince Roma to trust him. He didn't know how. The other man had known losses no one could imagine, could understand, unless they too had known the same thing. He had been hunted, was probably still hunted. "But you do know that with me, you're safe. Or at least, I hope you know that by now." Rance pressed a hand against the smaller man's arm.

Roma sat upright, plucking at the sleeve of the tunic. "I try to." He admitted. "I try to know. Logic says I should trust you, because you've done enough for me to justify trust. But... I can't just throw my caution to the wind and completely let my guard down. Because that'd not make sense to me. And I'm not even sure... You hesitated when I asked what you really do. I'm sure a dragon doesn't put their trust into just anyone, even if they're strong. You have to have... the trust of other people as well. Their faith."

"I hesitated because I wasn't sure if I could trust you. But now I know I can." He slipped his arm around the other man's shoulders, tried to pull Roma close. There was that warmth. He just wanted to have the warmth of another body close, one not pushed by their link to a dragon. "I am the leader of my clan, the one responsible for everyone else." He laughed a bit. "You see, taking care of people and keeping them safe is what I do."

Roma closed his eyes. Rance was a persistent one, he could say that much about the man. He let his locked muscles loosen, and he felt the stress in his joints fade away a bit. "Didn't trust me?" He laughed shakily. "I can do some damage if I really want to... Not that I ever do... So I never use my power. Or, I try not to." He shuddered and hid his face in the crook of the man's arm. "A protector by nature I suppose... Rare to find."

Rare? If they were going by that, then Roma was the rarest of all. Poachers, trafficers in people ... Could any of them be after the strangely entrancing man. He let his fingers lift, rub against soft locks of gold, dig through and brush up against the tender skin of Roma's neck. "Roma." The name sounded so good on his lips. He smiled a bit. The expression disappeared a second later. "Who, what, are you running from? Tell me so I can help." He could have been more forceful. Rance decided against it, kept telling himself not to fall into bad habits.

He glanced sideways, telling himself not to fall into that sense of trust that had done nothing positive for him before now. His fear was his power and if he feared everyone, he didn't have to risk being in a position to be hurt again, and again. He shook his head and sighed. "I'm not running from anyone specifically." He said tersely. "I'm not being... being hunted like some animal but if someone... if they take a liking to me... they'll try to pull me into slavery. Or prostitution. Or make me into their own personal plaything so excuse me if I'm a little... distrustful. Since my entire civilization was killed in front of me it's been a bit of a struggle to trust anyone at all, because they all have some kind of sick personal agenda. They don't want to help me like they say, they want to gain my trust so I'll be more easily persuaded to do something humiliating or awful..." He stared sideways at Rance and puffed out a breath.

"No wonder you prefer wandering through the forest, going from place to place and avoiding all people, of any kind." He wanted to change that so badly it ached. Rance forced his arm away, and looked to the lake instead of at Roma. "It also explains why you were so adamant earlier, about my proposition." The clan leader wriggled his shoulders. Then he leaned back, let himself lie down on the ground so he could look up at the sky. "Do you mind if I ask, what exactly are you?"