Open Dragons and Dungeons

[Madeline Kaimarama]

Maddy's favourite thing to do around the castle was exploring, and while she'd covered the grounds fairly exhaustively by now, she hadn't had many adventures inside the castle. Finding a secret passage and a new friend last year had left a great impression on her, so she was eager for more. Maddy had been down in the dungeons with her Slytherin big brother, of course, but she'd never been down there by herself. And considering her own roleplaying associations with the word dungeons, she was sure she'd find something fun down here.

To complete the image, and because she thought it would be fun, Maddy had her mini dragon, Totara, perched on her shoulder as she wandered the corridors. She'd trained him and bonded with him enough by now that she trusted him to come back when she called, so she wasn't worried when he swooped down from his perch and looped ahead of her. Maddy grinned and followed when he banked around a corner. Following a dragon through a dungeon: it didn't get much better than this.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Even after two years, Abian wasn't tired of living and going to school in an actual castle. It still felt like he was part of some adventure novel or video game, and he enjoyed exploring the castle a lot. After what had happened last year, Abian didn't really use his skateboard indoors anymore. After it was summoned away from under him by an older girl, he was more cautious. But he did use it out in the courtyard. He hoped he could get Vader to practice with him more. That had been a lot of fun. He was carrying his toad in his pocket today, as he figured Angus might like seeing some more of the school than the dormitory as well. Abian turned a corner and stopped in his tracks when a small dragon flew at him. He stared at it with wide eyes, only to then notice the girl behind it. "Is this your toy?" He asked, remembering the Hippogriff toy Jacob had shown him last year.

 

[Madeline Kaimarama]

Maddy strolled happily after Totara, looking around curiously as she did so. This was such a wonderfully fantastical place. Seb would love it, when he finally arrived. She hoped she could come across something else awesome down here, something Wills hadn't found despite being in Slytherin, that she could show both of them. She was lost in thought about this when she saw a boy up ahead. He seemed rather startled by Totara, so she called her dragon back to her, and he glided back to her shoulder as she approached the boy. "No, he's my pet!" She paused, thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose he kind of is a toy, technically. He's enchanted to act just like a real dragon, though." She smiled, and realised belatedly that she should probably introduce herself. "I'm Maddy, by the way. And this is Totara."

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian bareley glanced at the girl, as he was mostly entranced by the miniature dragon flying around. He hesitantly reached out to touch it, but then pulled his hand back quickly. "So wait, is it a pet or a toy?" He asked, confused for a moment. "So... it's not a real dragon?" He added, a little disappointed. When the girl had said it was her pet, he had hoped for a moment that it was a real miniature dragon. That would be awesome. "My friend Jacob had a Hippogriff toy, it could fly around too." He told the girl, still mostly looking at the dragon. "Oh, I'm Abian. I have a pet too, but he's in my dorm. He's a toad named Angus." He loved Angus a lot, but he wasn't a dragon. At least he was real, though.

 

[Madeline Kaimarama]

Maddy smiled, pleased to watch how fascinated the boy was with her dragon. That was exactly the sort of reaction he should produce; perhaps here was someone else who shared her enthusiasm. "You can touch him," she said. "He probably won't bite." Maddy had been trying to train him out of his biting habit, but while he didn't bite her much any more, she wasn't sure how he'd be with strangers. "He's a pet. He's not really real, but he's the closest to a real dragon we'd be allowed in school." Someday, when she grew up, Maddy would work with real dragons. Until then, she'd settle for Totara, and she loved him. "Oh, yeah, I've seen those toy hippogriffs, they're pretty cool. I've seen real ones, too," she added proudly. "Great to meet you Abian!" Privately, Maddy thought a toad was a pretty boring pet, though she supposed they could jump. Of course she wasn't going to say that to him, though.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian's hand approached the dragon cautiously as the girl said he could touch him, but then moved back again at her use of the word 'probably'. He watched warily for a moment, then gently pet the tiny scales. "He does seem pretty real, but I guess I'd still call it a toy if its not real." He said, trying to make sense of it in his mind. With magic, it was a lot harder to define when something was 'real' or 'alive', he supposed. "My toad is great too." He said as the girl didn't really react to his words. "He rides around with me on my skateboard, he's chill." He said. The girl's dragon was cool, but he still thought having a real pet was better. "I've seen real hippogriffs too." He added with a grin, proud of that fact. "Me and my friend Jacob went to the new sanctuary." He said with a grin. "It was awesome." He thought back to that trip a lot. Though not only the parts at the sanctuary.