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The breeze, caressing his skin and causing the light fabric of his clothes to billow, is cool as ever. Leaves rustle overhead with the occasional chirping of the birds accompanying it. From the distance, sounds of animals interrupt the silence but never long enough to cause worry. Then his surroundings falls quiet again; the usual state of the forest.
It's a normal day for Yixing as he takes a lazy walk beside his horse, feet meeting the earth, unafraid of stepping on something that might hurt him. He was more than eager to slip out of his shoes to feel the grass beneath his feet. Beside him his white stallion huffs and neighs as if to chide his lack of footwear before looking far ahead again, towards the familiar grounds of the forest.
Nymphs come out of their hiding places to greet and, hopefully, charm the elf. They all regretfully go back into hiding, however, when Yixing merely smiles back at them, showing gratitude for the flowers offered to him. Too bad they can't influence him as easily as the others. Some of the flowers ended up on his long braided grey mane with petals hanging off his circlet. The elf doesn't bother shaking them off, allowing them to sit there in a beautiful cascade.
Lumos, his white stallion, suddenly neighs when they reach the border of the thick foliage, kicking the ground beneath him before pulling the upper half of his body to do the same to the unknowing air. When Yixing's eyes flicker to the direction where his horse is directing alarmed noises at, he finds a cloaked figure and his hand instantly lands on the sword on his side, one he hasn't wielded in a real battle for quite a while now. He hears the hurried footsteps of the nymphs behind him, hiding back into their trees, frightened by the distinct change in behaviour of the elf's horse.
Yixing tries his best to calm Lumos down, marching forward and towards the hooded figure hiding behind a tree unsuccessfully because of his broad shoulders and tall stature. The elf takes careful steps while he keeps a hand ready to pull out his sword. He wishes he'd taken his bow and arrow with him but there were never any real threat around the forest that he cannot handle without having to use force that he never felt the need to bring them. Besides, he is confident enough in his sword skills.
The elf unconsciously releases just a slight bit of the sword to ready himself, meters away from the figure, voice even when he starts communicating with the other.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
No movement and no response comes from the other, causing Yixing to take another step forward, turning the volume of his voice louder than before.
"I am the guardian of this forest," he informs the stranger, "you will have to get through me to be allowed passage.”
It is slowly irking Yixing how the hooded figure doesn't even seem to acknowledge the elf's presence but then Yixing wonders if this being is still even alive or if it is just a figment of the elf's imagination.
Taking another cautious step, the elf finally draws his sword, prepared not just to fight this person but a possible second or third. But before he can even take a proper stance, the figure moves out of the protection of the tree trunk, keeping the hood over his head. Even with his face hidden, however, Yixing can see the gold that cannot be mistaken for anything else but his eyes. The elf feels his whole body tremble but he manages to quell the sudden fear at the recognition of those eyes.
A dragon.
Yixing stays quiet, hand ready on his blade as the man regards him, head to toe. The gaze is a bit unnerving but nothing the elf can handle; he's had many look him up and down for many different reasons anyway. When the other doesn't speak, the elf steps up and opens with a question again.
"What are you doing in our land, dragon?"
That seems to take the other aback, eyes widening slightly where Yixing can see them from beneath the hood. The elf can understand where the surprise comes from. One would think it's not easy to recognize a dragon when you see one because they are rarely found in places other than their kingdom. But Yixing is not any ordinary elf, trained and educated in everything. And even from a sizable distance, he can smell the reptilian blood from the being in front of him. Dragons are rarely in their human forms, so it is a shock to Yixing that the person is sticking to this physique even in front of a possible threat. If he so wished he could just turn into a dragon and whip Yixing unconscious with his tail.
"Don't make me repeat my questions, dragon. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
As if to shock the elf further, the man keeps his eyes on Yixing as he slowly pulls back his hood, revealing a handsome face, black hair tied into a half ponytail behind him. The elf's eyes dart to the cheek and further down to his neck, inspecting for any signs of scales, surprised to find none. In his past experiences when he encountered and met dragons in their human forms, parts of their bodies – mostly their necks, arms and legs – are partly covered in scales shimmering in whatever colour their dragon form has. But this man doesn't have any, though he smells distinctly of dragon.
When he finally speaks, Yixing realizes he has been staring at the man's face for too long, gaze flitting up to the stranger's eyes.
"I am in need of help." His deep voice is strong, firm and with a hint of hopelessness. The elf will not admit to the ripple of unknown feeling that travelled up his spine when he heard the dragon's words. Yixing swallows and wills himself to turn all of his attention back to the man, managing to keep his gaze on the other’s eyes.
"What kind of help? And why do you have to turn to us?"
The elf can see hesitation in the man's eyes and a bit of shame but Yixing can't be sure as the dragon looked away just as the guardian was deciphering the emotions swirling in the other's golden orbs.
"I must find a few things." The man starts eventually, words slow as if he is careful of what he might say. "My kin cannot help me in anyway."
"And why is that?" Yixing might be pushing his luck and it can turn pretty ugly if he angers the dragon but he cannot just give him a hand without knowing what he is getting himself into. Elves are always willing to offer help, they never discriminate, even to the most unfriendly of beings.
There is a moment's hesitation before the dragon responds, the shame from before now obvious as he lowers his head, "I have been banished."
"Oh."
Yixing isn't exactly aware of what to reply, what to say to console this man. But being banished must mean he did something wrong, that he could be a rogue dragon and could be a possible threat to his people.
"I should have you know that I have no recollection of why I was banished, why I'm in full human form and how I even got to your forest."
The elf furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "Then how did you know you were banished?"
"A dragon informed me when I awoke and had instructed me of what to do." Yixing discovers just then the scroll in the man's right hand, almost crumpled in half with how tightly the other is holding it.
“Do you have any weapon with you?” Yixing eyes the man, glad that at least the dragons who have banished him had the decency to throw some clothes over him. The man pats himself down, opening his cloak to show that he is not hiding anything.
“You will have to stay here and wait for me to return.” The instruction has the man looking up at him, eyes pleading not to be left anymore but he has duties and he cannot just allow this man in without the king’s approval. “I must inform the king before I can let you further into our kingdom.”
The dragon’s shoulders slump but he nods and returns to the tree he had been hiding from, sitting beside it before leaning against its trunk.
“I will be quick, uh,” Yixing doesn’t know his name yet and he isn’t quite sure if this man remembers his own.
“Yifan.”
Thankfully he does.
“Yifan,” the elf lets the name roll of his tongue, giving the other a faint smile, “You must wait for me here. Please do not wander. I will not hesitate to punish you for intruding.”
The dragon nods and watches Yixing go, the long trail of his cloak that follows him fluttering as he strides back to Lumos, swinging up to the saddle before wearing his shoes in a hurry and kicking his horse to a start. The elf feels a burning gaze on his back but he doesn’t look behind him, only forward until the sound of his stallion’s hoofbeats take his mind away from the dragon’s golden eyes.