Verdandi got up from her comfy royal bed, slurped on some royal coffu, brushed her hair with a royal brush and... well you get the gist of it. She was back home in Yuki for a while now. The spoils of war were great for her Clan. She had obtained so many artefacts she had no idea what to do with them anymore. The Sharingan had already been planted into her face. The legendary items were still being sorted and she had already consumed the scroll that contained the basic applications of thee Rasengan. Last but not least. The Dragon Scroll was about to get molested. Verd had brought it to her own study room up from Urd's library. Her nerdy sister didn't really find anything off about it. Supposedly it was the real deal. She however mentioned that the last contract person to use it had been wiped from the blood contract. Deacon had helped Urd analyse the last blood stains with medical and sensory techniques. Figuring that thee former owner of the scroll had signed this contract many hundreds of years ago and ever since no one had touched it. Verd was aware of thee supposed existence of Dragons. She had met a couple of people that came pretty close to be dragons themselves. But she had never seen the real deal. Pretty sure that the lot of them were insanely rare and didn't really belong to this plane of existence. Verd wondered whom might have been the first one to ever visit their home land far away from the shinobi continents. She gazed down at the scroll. Trying to get a feeling of how the whole blood seal worked.

Verd went through Urd's notes and the books she had found that explained the basic usage of summoning. Specifically, a 'Kuchiyose for dummies' was laying around somewhere. Having never before done anything like that. Verd would accept it as a challenge. Not long after she figured the basic idea, she would prepare the process in her mind. First, she'd have to infuse her chakra into the scroll to awaken it. Verdandi would quickly do so. To her surprise the crossed-out name of the previous owner including his partly wiped away blood mark, completely disappeared from the scroll as she did so. Apparently, the dragons had severed their promise to that last contract holder. Making the list of people allowed to call on them turn back down to zero. Verd gulped. Those creatures were probably going to eat her alive. For long moments she would hesitate. Placing the scroll away. Then eventually she couldn't help but be curious about it. Moving to step two, Verd knew she was close to summoning the evil creature in question. So, she grabbed the scroll, leaving her notes and books behind and moved outside. First into the courtyard, but then figured, she had no idea how big a dragon would be. Verd sighed. She didn't want to summon him into the ice-cold winter of Yuki either. What if they were sensitive?

Verd moved on to the huge garden that the Senjew created for her. Mokuzai's flowers and trees were still blooming. But the huge grassy area would give plenty of space even for a nasty large monster to appear. Verd placed the scroll to the floor. Biting her sharp tooth into her finger. Blood spilling slowly forth. Pressuring the finger as she wrote her name onto the scroll. "Why do I have such a fricking long name… that’s a lot of blood…" she complained to herself. The kanji for her name were complex and large. But eventually she had it all together. Happy that her family name wasn't huge either. At last she had to dip her five fingers in blood and then place the bloody fingerprints onto the scroll. The scroll itself would glow faintly and temporarily accept the contract. However, Verd seemed to have forgotten something. Glaring through the notes she had noticed the 'Moon Clan' thingy on the front. She had no idea what a moon clan is but it did sound quite fancy. What Verd should have done now. Since the previous user had been banished from the scroll, was to teleport herself to the dragon's home world. Where she would eventually negotiate the terms of a new contract and become the new official contract holder and owner. But Verdandi didn't knew that and what she had read from her books was about far more basic summoning scrolls. So instead of trying to port herself to Dragon Land. She'd form the Kuchiyose technique that she hadn't even mastered yet. Placing her palm on the ground. Verd shivered. She was ready to summon the moon dragon! But without real contract active... what would happen?

(800)

Ess woke up that morning feeling relief. Finally, Yi, Er and San were back with her, contract established and renegotiated to allow them a few days off a month. The three rabbits would rotate so that she was always tended to and once a month, all four of them would dedicate a day to hanging out and bonding. Already Ess had ideas of what they could do. She was planning a trip to Konoha for the purpose of sightseeing. Las time she had visited - over ten years ago - the village had had a lovely little hot spring. If it was still there (gods knew humans were fickle enough to change the entire layout of a city in ten years) she and the bunnies could take a spa day to relax. Oh, just the thought sounded wonderful.

The dragon princess remembered renegotiating the terms of service with her, well, servants, and smiled fondly.

"So one monthly crate of carrots for each, sound good?" She asked. There was a brief silence while the rabbits looked at each other. "Oh fine, two crates each," she groaned, scratching out the old clause and scribbling in a new one in a graceful cursive. The rabbits hopped up and down in glee.

Ess looked at the spread out scroll and read the terms again. "So we have that, one day off a week - rotating. No more cruel and unusual punishments. I never liked those. They require way too much creativity. At least one day long bonding session a month. And then we have your alone time hours every day along with luxury accommodations, as long as there's a reduction in the overly dramatic suicide attempts. Also, you're responsible for cleaning up after yourselves when you inevitably come back from the dead or undead or whatever it is that happens before you dig yourselves out of the ground. We good?" she asked them. Once again, they looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement.

Ess was ready to let go of a heavy sigh and go back to negotiating. Yi placed one paw over the last clause and tapped it. "What's wrong with that one?" Ess asked. She really wasn't willing straighten up the messes they made in their eternal quest to find the sweet release of death - and with it the destruction of the entire world. Yi motioned for the dragon princess to hand him the brush and paper.

Ess did so and watched as the large rabbit added his own clause. With the scroll in hand once again, she read the clumsy handwriting to the best of her ability. "Should we succeed in dying and setting off a chain reaction of nuclear destruction upon the world, we promise to spare Fāng Cheng'e and her Darling," Ess read out loud. She was taken aback as all three looked at her expectantly. This was the last thing she had expected. Her eyes started to water. She drew all three into a tight hug. "Oh you do care!"

That brought them to where they were right now - Ess languidly waking up and stretching in her bed, cuddled with Yi, Er and San as she had been all night. Ess yawned, revealing the large fangs of her true form. She groggily got up, tail swishing slightly. She felt like she needed grooming. It was as if her servants read her mind. Promptly, they began to scrub her scales, braid her mane, sharpen her claws and polish her horns. Yes, all three deserved a spa day. The young dragon closed her eyes, almost letting herself doze off again.

And suddenly, the ministrations stopped. Odd. They were perfectionists. They never stopped until the job was done, even at Ess's own insistence. "Y'all doing alright?" She asked, cracking one eye open. Her surroundings had changed. No longer was she in the tent in Sunagakure's desert. She saw stone walls instead of velvet cloth. She stood up, her five meter form towering over a girl with silvery white hair. A Shinobi? Well, at least she probably knew where they both were.

With all the calm in the world, Ess lowered her head to the girl's eye level. She wasn't worried at all that she wasn't where she was supposed to be. The young dragon was under the genuine impression that no real harm could ever come to her in the human world. If anything, she was slightly annoyed at the inconvenience. "Hello there, tiny person. Do you know where we are?" She asked politely.

[806]

Verdandi used to study the lore and intel on the Dragon Clans. Most of them were hidden to the human realm. Most of them came out of their own homes so rarely that hundreds if not thousands of years would pass between their visits. Certainly, longer than most human life spans, especially in a world of shinobi where most men and women barely lived to about thirty to fifty years. Everyone above such age had but always been seen as an elder and worshipped for their skill in survival. Civilians on the other hand. They tended to get older. Maybe sixty to seventy. Having a lot of nasty tales to tell. So it came, on a cold winter night in the castle. That the Dao Clans past vizier, Nobu-san, used to talk about stories of days where apparently the frost dragons of Yuki visited their people. Their home to be on top of mount Aisu, far away from reaches that humans could venture for. The highest mountain in the world. Covered in a land of eternal snow and ice. One of the tales insists. That the frost dragons were but children of the moon itself. Or at least that’s what the old story tellers used to say. But the moon having children made no sense to Verdandi. She however used to love listening to uncle Nobu and his wonderful stories. Little did she know. That they were no fairy tales or fun ideas to lure the kids to become tired and fall asleep.

No. The Frost Dragons were real. As real as any other Clan of scaled, flying beasts. Rumours of a few of them apparently visiting the lands of humans once again were often not taken seriously. Determined to be made up stories to scare children. Again, little did they know that all of the stories were true. That some dragons were already living beneath humans in disguise. That the Earth Clan of Lava Dragons was rising back from the depth of their volcanic mountains to the surface. The wind Dragons above the clouds. The Water Dragons far below the ocean's surface. The Frost Dragons in the farthest reaches of the land of snow. They were about to return and once again, meddle in the affairs of men. They were about to return and cause havoc amongst those that were to oppose them. But whilst this threat would linger, truth to be told, neither of those dragons had much interest in the human world. They were doing their own thing. Had their own squabbles between each other and would try to work for either peace or rivalry between themselves. Reading the imprints on the top of her scroll, Verdandi had expected to see a Frost Dragon. One of those supposedly huge, ice covered monsters that would scream its frozen breath at her. Instead she'd see something else. A large, pure alabaster white creature. Seemingly harmless in expression. Mighty and giant in view. The dragons features appearing far more majestic than threatening.

Multiple insignia and additions to the patterns in their skin, or rather scales. Clearly hinted the dragons specific relation to the moon. Verdandi gasped. Holding her breath in awe as she stared up at the large creature. Many of Heidel's guards were quickly startled by the sudden appearance of the 'monster' in their garden. Dozens of them running for the open area. Surrounding the dragon at first and threatening to use their bows if it would dare to try anything funny. But Verdandi would show quickly that such actions displeased her greatly. In an angry shout she screamed to her men. "Freeze!" leaving the guards to gaze at each other while lowering their bows quickly. Taking multiple steps back again. The dragons eyes would eventually open, quickly fixating on the snow princess. Verd was still staring in awe at the creature above. A moon dragon? Didn't Nobu used to say that Frost Dragons were born from the moon? Why didn't this one show any signs of frost on her body? Verdandi was confused. But still in awe. It had been many years since last a human had laid eyes upon a dragon in Yuki. Verd would without doubt figure that the contract had worked. But seemingly, since she didn't really have one to begin with, the scroll seemed to have but summoned one of the very creators of the scroll itself. Verdandi had no clue what was going on but she wasn't stupid either. If you stand in front of a potentially all-powerful being you don't play games.

Verdandi would kneel and seeing her do this the guards would quickly join her bidding and do the same. Verd kept her head lowered a bit but tried to gaze into her dragon friends' eyes on a respected, almost equal ground. The dragon would casually ask as to where they would possibly be, its voice, despite draconic, certainly soft and warm, Verd would guess it to be female, fitting the aesthetic features of the dragons appearance. "Greetings oh powerful Dragon, it seems I must have accidentally stolen you from your peace and summoned you here. To Heidel. In the land of Snow. Near the top of the world."

(880 / 1680)

Soldiers came rushing in before the young dragon could get a proper answer. They pointed their weapons at the young dragon, arrows knocked and at the ready. In her current form, though, they were more akin to toothpicks for Ess. She had no doubt that they would merely bounce off of her scaled. She reached out and plucked one out of the guard's bow. "You see, now that's just rude," she said as she examined it closely. It was about the size of one of her clawed fingers. Unable to properly control her strength, it snapped in two. Clearly, she wasn't used to handling such frail things while transformed. Everything in the Lunar Palace was made for dragons such as herself, after all.

"Begone, ancient beast!" The guard next to him cried, hands slightly shaking. It had been a while since a human had been afraid of her. The last time had been... A century ago? Truth be told she had frequented the human world a few times since, but mostly always in her human form. It was easier to tour around that way - less screaming involved. Albeit, she did like to play pranks on people in her dragon form so there was that.

Ess pursed her lips in consideration. "Ancient beast? And wait, did y'all just call me old? Double rude. You don't hear me calling you overly glorified monkeys, smh. Besides, I'm barely an adult dragon. I'm still in the late dragon teens, thank you very much. You people need to work on your diplomacy skills," she said, shaking her large head. "Seriously, I doubt you'd be saying this if it were pops you dragged out here," she mumbled under her breath. It was hard for a young dragon to demand the amount of respect afforded to their elder counterparts.

Still, Ess watched as the girl bowed and her entourage reluctantly followed suit. It filled her chest up with a tingling feeling. She smiled - a gesture that seemed odd, given her current form. She flashed her toothy grin at the girl, eyes squinting, her expression clearly pleased. "Oh sweetheart, flattery will get you everywhere with me," she said to the girl, tail curling under her chin, propping up her head. A thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to know someone who can summon rabbits here? I'm no scribe, but I should be able to modify the contract to summon mine specifically. That's how you got me here, yeah?," she explained, thinking of San, Er and Yi. The dragon princess assumed she had been summoned here, probably by the girl. It was the first time it ever happened to her. In fact, she had rarely ever heard of one of the royal dragons being called upon by a human. Usually it was lesser dragons from the tribes that made contracts with the children of man. She tried to think what it would be like if her father - worse yet, her grandfather - were summoned by a human. She shuddered. They disliked being bothered by their own kind. Knowing how they looked down on humans, she knew this would not have made them happy. Either one would have gone on a destructive rampage. Ess decided this girl was lucky to have summoned her instead.

Her thoughts shifted back to her servants. "Poor dears have to be shook right now, shook!" Ess said. She was a little worried about them and, well, felt a little bad about up and disappearing like that. Albeit, this was by no means part of her own design. Maybe there was a way to get a message over to them if they couldn't be summoned?

Elsewhere in Sunagakure, three rabbits desperately scrambled to search for their mistress. One had already tried to hang himself from the beams of a (ruined) neighboring house while the other two sobbed in each other's arms. Of course, the rabbit poofed away and resurfaced from the ground, still alive (much to their collective dismay).

Standing up straight once again, Ess examined her surroundings more closely. This place - Heidel - was colder than the Hidden Sand by far. It was more akin to home. Speaking of... Was that snow? The young dragon's face brightened considerably. Her large form leaped over the humans, crashing on a bank of snow behind them. "It's snow!" She cheered happily, rolling in it excitedly. "Oh it's been a while! This feels so nice," she said, momentarily forgetting that she had company.

"Bee tee dubs, you can call me Ess," she said, still rolling around in the icy snow.

[778]

Verdandi quickly exhaled her specific displeasure over the guard's rudeness and was visibly overjoyed as the dragon would not linger in their misdeeds. Verd would quickly shoo the lot of them aside after a short while of watching 'Ess' being seemingly harmless. Also, the contrast of her dragon strength towards the simple weapons of the puny human guards had long since been made clear. She was playful. Lively. Radiant and childish even. But in a very heartful and warm way. Verdandi, as major empath, would feel warm and welcome in her presence. Ever more so reason to shoo them guards away. Some would only leave reluctantly. Others would simply withdraw back to their guard posts but certainly remain their eyes on the rather strange visitor. Ess must have noticed the open part of the garden area. Where snow piled up in masses. The clouds above Heidel town were grey and gloomy. Upon a simple, chakra infused command of Verdandi. Snowflakes dropped down from the heaven above. She would try to make it as subtle as possible. But the dragon might have still noticed how Verd just casually switched the weather in her favour. The ice princess would chuckle to herself. It certainly was not within her expectations to have such a bright persona before her. She'd have expected a cold-blooded killer that would have requested a battle to death and defeat. A sacrifice or payment in flesh maybe? But certainly not a potentially young… well for dragons at least… young, cheerful soul like Ess.

Verdandi casually tilted her head in slight confusion at the remark of rabbits. But the request itself was not unreasonable. The princess would lift her hand and quickly a maid from her staff would speed to her side. Verd would casually whisper something in her ear. Requesting the presence of a special certain someone. The maid would nod. Bow and quickly run towards the castle. Verd would slowly step forward. Her hands casually folded before her. The long silver dress faintly moving along. The little steps she took would appear as if she might be hovering along the ground. Approaching the dragon whom was seemingly overjoyed by the thick, powdery snow and cool sensation of the fluffy white element surrounding her. Verdandi would gaze in awe as she realized, that just like a Yuki Clan, the dragon's skin… or scales… did not cause the snow to melt. The moon princess's body temperature must be just as aligned to the night, to the darkness and to the cold as Verdandi's. If that was the case. The dragon might indeed also feel the cold aura surrounding Verd's heavy Hyouton clad persona. Dandi's breath, was chilly. Her skin icy. Her hair snow-white. If the dragon had ever laid eyes upon the embodiment of snow within a human being, it would certainly be Dandi to come closest to a little frosty icicle or snowflake herself. Would such a thing potentially fascinate the mythic creature from the moon? But how was she related to the frost dragons? If she really was from the moon clan, then she was a pure blood. Related but not part of the dragons Verdandi had tried to summon.

It was about then when Verd realized her mistake during the summoning process. Having tried to call for someone without having already sealed a contract. But maybe. Maybe it wasn't that wrong after all. If Ess could provide a key to the frost dragons contract, she as a pure-blooded relative could potentially give Verdandi all she needed for her summoning contract. But, all in due time. Verd sat down and tried to sense what the dragon desired. But before they could get all chatty with each other. A rather old man in hunter clothes appeared.

"You requested my presence, my Lady Dao?" he would speak in a low voice. Seemingly nervous as his eyes would jump between Verdandi and Ess. His pupils wide open. Trying however, to hide that he was absolutely terrified by what he saw.

"Genbo-san, you can summon snow-hares, right? I think Lady Ess, the noble dragon here, could use your assistance…" Verdandi spoke. Demanding. Making it clear to her hunter that this was an order and he better swallows that angst in his stomach and get on with his job. Genbo nod, Ess would casually instruct him and he unsealed his contract. Verd would watch how Ess added her own words and symbols to it and Genbo proceeded to summon the new creatures' names. Three rabbits suddenly appeared on the ground. Most of them dramatically hugging and sobbing as if they had just attended a funeral. Genbo just left his contract there for a while in case it was still needed. Verd would pull it to the side of the makeshift snow-pad she was using as a seat. Her palm motioning for Genbo that he could leave. "Well done." She'd speak with an honest smile but demanding still that the man lacking diplomatic talents to move his butt and hurry away to be gone.

Verdandi would watch the rabbits, the three of them still scared, irritated, angsty and crying away into the snow. Not yet having realized that their wonderful Ess was lurking right above them and gazing down onto the rabbits. Verd would gently exhale a few subtle lines from a childhood song 'Snow Girl' from her lips. The soothing noise of Verdandi's soft voice potentially calming the little immortal monsters and allowing them to chill enough to finally notice their Master's gaze upon them. Seemingly overjoyed in an almost fanatic way to be, once again, reunited.

950 / 2630

Ess stuck a forked tongue out at the guards as they left. She could have sworn one  of them went two shades more pale, but that could have just been a trick of the light as the clouds grew darker. From corner of her eye, Ess saw Verdandi examining her form. Her look was inquisitive, taking in every detail and committing it to memory. "I know that look, you were expecting someone else, yeah? Big bad dragon monster? Fee fie foe fum, come out or I'll blow your house down sort of thing?" Ess asked. There was no resentment or accusation in her tone of voice. Instead, she sounded amused. She giggled. Ess had long been aware of the fact that she was different from most dragons. She cared little for formalities. Tradition bored her.

Ess looked up at the sky, seeing the snow gently rain down. With a light kick, she floated a few feet into the air and opened her mouth - jaw wide, displaying all of her razor sharp teeth - to catch some of the snowflakes that started falling from the sky. She caught a few as she swept through the air. They tingled as soon as they hit her tongue. "Ooh!" She said, shivering a little. Her face scrunched up as if she had just eaten something quite sour. Her eyes widened. "Tastes like ki! Tell me, did you make these?" She asked Verdandi, coming closer to her. The young dragon had once again landed on the bank of snow. Her long tail swished back and forth, brushing against the nearest window a little too close for comfort. She could feel the cold pleasantly radiating from the girl. Thanks dragon inhaled a few quick breaths. No, despite her cold skin, she didn't smell like a dragon. She had to be one of those strange humans, the special kind.

When the man entered the courtyard, Ess was curled up around Verdandi, enjoying the nice temperature. She let out a pleased sigh. This was definitely better than Sunagakure. She snickered at the man's obvious fear. Even if she couldn't see it in his eyes, she would have been able to smell it. She slowly walked up to him, making sure that he got a clear view of her claws. She smiled widely, displaying her fangs. "Thanks for the help, fam," she said.

Between two claws, Ess gingerly took the contract and read what was written on it. She couldn't understand most, but she knew what she had to modify. Dragons often used similar methods to call on their yokai - or in the Moon's case, rabbits. She scribbled on it. Claw dipped in ink, she was careful not to tear through the piece of paper, no matter how tempted she was to see the old man's reaction. Summoning her servants was her priority.

Soon enough, they came in a puff of smoke, clutching each other and looking generally miserable. "Oh come here my dears! Let me hug you!" She said to all three, wrapping her draconic arms awkwardly around all three. She sniffed their fur. "Is that smoke I smell?" She asked. The rabbits looked at each other nervously. "Oh, whatever," she dismissed the question.

Elsewhere in Sunagakure, several tents and makeshift houses were burning down as villagers and refugees alike were struggling to put the fire out. Screams echoed everywhere. People ran. All in all, it was a terrible day for everyone involved.

Gently, she set the rabbits on the ground. Light surrounded her body, changing colors and mimicking the northern lights. Where once stood a tall dragon now stood a young girl with green hair and antlers on her head. She shivered. Her kimono was far too revealing for this weather, but where a normal human would have suffered hypothermia, Ess was only mildly chilly.

"Get me a coat, yeah?" She asked her servants. They nodded and immediately set off. After considering for a second, she added, "And not one made from yourselves, please! You know that takes ages and ends up disappearing anyways," Ess called after them. She didn't know if Verdandi caught the implications of what she said - that the rabbits had skinned themselves repeatedly on at least one occasion to make garments. To Ess, this was completely normal. She was used to the rabbits and their antics.

"As much as I love scaring the living crap out of your guards, I think it'll be easier for everyone if I stay like this for a while," Ess explained with a shrug. Once they returned with the coat, Ess would slip it on without wondering where it had come from. "So! Introductions are in order! As I've told you, you may call me Ess. These are my valets, Yi, Er and San,"the three rabbits waved innocently. "I'm guessing  you're the Lady of the castle - Queen maybe? No, you look young. You're young, right? It's hard to tell with humans sometimes," the young dragon said.

[888]

The guards would keep their eyes open at the scary creature but Ess seemed to take it with a certain level of humour. Leaving Dandi to chuckle slightly at the display of her teasing them playfully. Verd blushed slightly as Ess caught her quickly on the slight surprise over whom Verd might have expected. Dandi didn't know if this sort of thing happened often to the dragon or not. Being summoned and all. Well she certainly hadn't been to the land of snow in quite a while considering the joy she expressed over both, the falling flakes and the piles of cool powder surrounding them. Verdandi gazed at her while she floated around casually. What a wonderful feeling it must be. Learning the heights of Levitation was still on Verdandi's vast and seemingly endless to-do list. She would giggle to herself in slight joy over the playful dragons' whirls and motions. "I have to admit, that going by the tales we heard about frost dragons, they must be quite a scary bunch. But alas, I forgot to summon myself to their home world. It seems, without contract bound to them in blood, I must have accidentally summoned someone else of the moon clan." Verd was starting to get the picture of the different Clans. Takao had a link to the dragons of the west. Nayoko to the dragons of the east and this would be the dragons of the north. The frozen kin. Directly descended from the moon clan.

"I keep reading about the Moon Clan in these scripts and scrolls. Are you really from the moon? As like… the moon that orbits our planet? How do you guys even get down here from up there?" Verd wondered in slight disbelief over creatures being able to travel back and forth a celestial object. Even though the moon was closest to any and all of them. Were dragons that powerful that they could just… fly down from up there? Or did they use sealing portals? How does it look on the moon? Do they have like… dragon houses built on its surface or do they live inside the moon? Verd was honestly unsure what to think of it! For now, she seemed busy however, the rabbits had been taken care off. Some of them emitting dangerous levels of heat as if they had freshly escaped a forest burning. Verd got a creepy feeling from them. Something wasn't right with those rabbits. They did look cute and cuddly but they exhaled a rather dangerous aura. Verd would make sure that she kept an eye on them before they suddenly did anything creepy to her village as well and what was that about the coat made of rabbit skin? She was joking right? They didn't seriously pull their… ok that was just awful to imagine. Verd shook her head and made sure to pretend she didn't hear that. One didn't have to know all intimate details over the nasty hobby's supposedly… uhm… immortal? Bunnies? Were able to dwell into.

To Verdandi's surprise, this dragon had the power to change her form. The human appearance she had chosen for herself seemed to resemble the dragon form. However, the massive jugs were something Dandi didn't see coming as the transformation happened. They were giant. Like, in a way that one would get jealous, curious and at the same time worry about the owner's massive back-pain supposedly involved with donning such fabulous front equipment. Verd chuckled to herself. It certainly added to the already quite alluring mommy-like behaviour of the dragon lady. But the transformation left a lot of the guards baffled and incredibly surprised if not confused. Ess seemed to certainly enjoy the reactions of each party given. Slowly slipping into her seemingly comfortable wear now that the rabbits had somehow… pulled that one out. Verd gazed down over the gown they had fetched. One of mother's coats. She didn't say anything. The feudal lord of Heidel surely had the riches to buy a new one. It still humoured Verd at the though that the dragon lady would blasphemously walk around in the royal coat as if she had just claimed the throne for herself. It was hilarious to see the absolute terror in the eyes of the guards as the weirdness just kept getting better and better. Verd coughed once into her palm as she realized that she hadn't had the chance to properly introduce herself alike to the dragon. Once again, she'd bow deeply knowing such sign of respect had brought a smile before to the dragons' lips.

"Indeed, welcome to Heidel my Lady Ess. You and your trusted valets are free to roam the castle at your own delight. It’s the least I can offer after disturbing you in such an unannounced way. My name is Verdandi Yuki. I'm third heir to Yuki and Dao Clan in these lands. A princess at best you could say? My elder sisters are however much more suited to such title than myself. I tend to lack a certain depth to my manners I am told. I hope still, that I can somehow make this a pleasant stay for you." With that being said. Verd would wink again to one of the cute servant girls and let the maid quickly bring forth, even if she moved a bit clumsy, a small table. A less clumsy butler would soon fill a few cups of fine jasmine tea supposedly from a rather famous local tea shop. Bowing gently before leaving the pot next to the cups for refill purposes. Verd gently picked up on one of them and sipped from it carefully as not to burn her icy tongue. While they were talking. The butler sometimes returned with quite a load of carrots. Tending to the needs of the bunny guests as well.

990 / 3620

Ess threw the coat over her shoulders. It fit nicely and the fabric felt soft against her skin. “Third born, huh?” She said as she adjusted the garment. “I’m from mother’s second clutch of eggs. I have about twelve siblings. The clutch all hatches around the same time, so it’s hard to tell what order we’re in. I’m either 4th or 5th, but we don’t pay much attention to that. It’ll be several thousand years before my generation gets to take over,” she shrugged. The young princess settled down on the chair took the tea cup gingerly between her hands and sipped on it. Impeccable manners and posture were drilled into her very being. Rebellious as she was - by royal standards, anyways - there were still things she couldn’t help. Usually, they were small details in the way she moved, the way she held herself. When the warm liquid reached her lips, Ess smiled. “This tea is delicious!” She said. She took another sip. Best to drink it quickly before the cold air around her dulled the temperature.


“Yes, we do live on the moon,” she said absently. “The center of it is carved out. We used to share that with the Otsusuki, but there are so few of them left now,” she explained. “We’re also terraformed what you humans call the dark side of the moon,” she lifted her fingers to mimic air quotes at that phrase. “It’s a popular vacation spot! Very lovely, even has a little ocean. I suppose we could do the same to the other side, but most dragons value their privacy. We’ve known humans to be a curious bunch since you spawned a couple of eons ago, so most would rather keep our kingdom to themselves. No visitors allowed. Or I suppose it’d be more like uninvited guests? Illegal immigrants?” She listed the options out loud, as if consulting herself on the right term. One term was noticeably absent, one that captured the greedy and violent tendencies humans had - Invader. Any dragon would have laughed at the thought. To them, the possibility of human conquest was, well, laughable. How could being that were so fragile and so short-lived outfight or outsmart dragons?


“I for one have always liked your kind. You’re all so resourceful! You manage to make so much out of such short lives. You learn so much and there’s so much variety among you,” Ess stated. Her words may have come off as condescending, but she meant them as praise. It was difficult for her to see humans as equals, having been raised her entire life to think the contrary. The fact that dragons outlived them by several thousand years only served as evidence to their superiority, in their eyes. “I’ve decided to stay here for a while, maybe a century or so. Darling says I should get a job if I plan on blending in with humans,” she explained. The idea of having a job as anything other than a royal official or public servant was foreign to the young dragon. She had worked at the archives and had helped develop many of the public policies that were currently in place. Doing the same thing here sounded boring,  though. “I’m good at music, so I’ve decided I’m going to be a pop idol,” she said nonchalantly, as if one could become a famous musician on nothing more than a whim. Funny enough, that was exactly what Ess thought.


A thought suddenly occurred to her. What if… Yes! That was a brilliant idea!  Her eyes went wide with excitement. She slammed her hands against the table and stood up straight. The tea cups rattled, their contents sloshing around, nearly spilling. “That’s it! I’ll throw a concert here! Free of charge, of course. All I need is a stage, I can take care of the rest, I think. Getting instruments and sound equipment would be a plus, but I’m sure my valets can manage if you don’t have any on hand.” Her voice left little room for questions. Ess had decided. This was going to happen. “Hear that, friends? We’re throwing a concert tonight. You know what to do! Spread the word!” Munching on their carrots, the rabbits lifted their heads in unison. They nodded and with that, they were off, set free into the town of Yukigakure. Although they did double back to take the remaining crate of carrots with them. She turned to smile at Verdandi. “It’ll be fun, I promise,” she said. “While they arrange everything, we can hang out and maybe you can show me around, yeah?”

[866]

Verdandi continuously refilled the cups as long as Ess was willing to accept and drink the deliciousness. While Verd didn't have any fire element to heat the cups, her ice control would be suitable enough to bend the elements around the tea pot a bit. Telling the wind and cold to stay away. Leaving simply more space for the heat on its own. Verdandi was well aware that Yuki no Kuni could be a fridge sometimes. She'd be sipping herself too. Greedy for that specific flowery and fruity taste in this one. 'So, they turn into humans… I mean I heard the legends but wow…'. Verd would ogle the dragon lady once again, pretty aware of how weird the situation initially should be. But she actually enjoyed it. Why would anyone want to trade a normal boring day against the oddness of weird and slightly creepy fun? There was a human-formed dragon with pretty insane looking bunnies here. Supping tea. While she talked about… coming from the 'dark side of the moon'. With an ocean. Potentially Otsusuki neighbours. HNNN. Verd was definitely in need for more tea on this one. When she dropped the final bomb about the illegal immigrants Verd couldn't help it but giggle away. "Maybe they should build a wall… around the dark side." Verd mumbled to it. But she didn't really get why it was so funny for her. Dandi would still linger with a cheeky grin on her face anyway. Having a grand time so far with the dragon lady.

Ess would continue. Dwelling deep into the utter depths of philosophy over existence. Having a liking to the humans. Mainly implying that she probably was the oddball in the family regarding this topic. Reminding Verd that she probably had a lucky streak when she didn't accidentally summon a rather grumpy moon dragon to Heidel. As she however dropped the pop idol bomb, Verd almost spit the tea from her lips. Maybe because, at first, she imagined Ess becoming a singer in her dragon form. Despite that becoming one in her human form was less ridiculous, it was still quite an unusual idea to begin with. Verd tried to add to it but Ess already sent her bunnies off into thee distance. "They aren't going to burn down my village, right?" Verd casually added. Ess would probably laugh and take it as a joke. But Verd was actually quite serious. These rabbits had something incredibly dangerous to them. Something odd that she couldn't really deal with just yet. Despite being quite cuddly and cute… Maybe she just needed some time to get warm with them. Verd called for one of her maids and tried to explain the situation with the… concert… to her and one could see that the maid was seriously looking in Verd's expression if she's making jokes or secretly calling for help or something. But Verdandi stressed that she should just invite the lower congress and families for some entertainment in the lobby hall tonight.

Verd sighed to herself. This Dragon Lady was a lot of work. But in time the tea would be all used up and the warmth was spreading in their bodies. Verdandi stood and took Ess casually by the arm to escort the lady as it was common in places of good manner. They would roam through the streets of the snowy town. Come by the bar where Ess would certainly smell a multitude of mead, liqueur and beer. By the butcher and the cheese maker. The actual animal farms were on the second, outer ring of the castle walls. Verd would still lead Ess to the edge of the inner walls so she could put a peek to the glass dome covered farms. A lot of ice ninjutsu was visible within many structures. But in a place where the ice never melts once it is created. Structures like this were highly useful for terraforming. Verdandi explained how, thick ice usually generated by a very strong or multiple normal ice users could turn into ever-frost. An ice that would even refrain from melting in hot climates. Or at least take ages to do so. They would wander towards the castle. Showing Ess the rather gigantic building. With the courtyard and not far off the wide-open garden dome. A lot of it semi-covered by many layers of said Hyouton created glass. Many of the villagers were clothed in thick furs. Mostly from wild wolves they hunted on regular basis.

The watch towers and walls were populated by guard. Human soldiers but still. Enough protection for such an exiled village far up and far away from humanity. The large ship filled docks were built of floating, solid woodwork that could withstand some of the frost. However, the ice wasn't even clogging to the boats. Verdandi explained to Ess how there was a slumbering lava source beneath this mountain and how its exhaled heat, far beneath the ocean, was seeping into the water and melting every ice around the ship bay. Making it the main reason as to why they initially built the docks here, to create the first draft of Heidel as it was born into a fisher village. However, despite being seemingly interested by a lot of these little pretty details. Ess was obviously not here for simple sight seeing or 'cool facts about my village'. So, in time, Verdandi would lead her to the White Lotus courtyard. Where she used to spar and train under the guidance of the sages and legendary warriors of Heidel. "This is my favourite training ground. I think I learned most of my ice techniques here!"


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Ess continued to sip on her tea for as long as Verdandi kept serving it. She would pause to appreciate the flavor and to speak from time to time, but she found even the calm silence in between enjoyable. She giggled at the bit about building a wall. "Funny enough, someone tried to get that done a couple hundred years ago but everybody thought it was stupid. We portal in and out of the moon, so unless you like... put a wall around the portal or something, it does absolutely nothing," she shrugged. Though portals were limited in the human world, there were more than enough to travel in between the dragon kingdoms. Simply put, there wasn't much of an interest to go visit humans. The Southern Kingdom made it here more often, but only as part of their job to oversee human evolution. The Northern Kingdom never had such an excuse. Ess supposed that was why she had jumped at the chance to travel when she heard Tianlan - her betrothed in what was currently an arranged marriage - had run away from home. The young man was still unaware of his relationship status changing.

Looking back at the human princess, Ess wanted to ease some of her worries. Despite her largely inexpressive features, the comment was enough to come to the conclusion that many people before her had drawn - these rabbits were dangerous and gods help whoever they had their sights on. "They know we're guests, so they'll be on their best behavior. Also, anything they break, I'll pay for," she added the last bit with a smile to alleviate any of Verdandi's worries. Ess had more than enough money on her to rebuild an entire village. After all, dragons relied on a different kind of currency that humans usually found much more valuable - emeralds, diamonds and other precious stones were a very common sight on the moon, for instance. The young princess had multiple bags of them with her at any given time, since she had yet to figure out any sort of currency exchange rate. Better to have more and not need it, right?

While Verdandi was planning to invite the nobles of her village, the rabbits were already handing out flyers to the common folk. Ess had stated that she wanted a crowd and dammit, the rabbits would give her one. They were nothing if not thorough. Soon-to-be-international pop sensation Ess needed the largest - nay, best - audience for her debut. Later in the day, they would harass the servants into setting up a stage at the public plaza, but that was yet to happen. For now, they were content with getting just about anyone they could see to RSVP to the event.

The tour was a more than nice addition to her day. The dragon princess liked seeing new things and learning how humans fared in different parts of the world. They had such variety over such short distances. At the bar, Ess insisted in drinking a few of the man's best selections before leaving. How could she just leave without sampling what he had? It would have been insulting, for sure. She did the same with the cheese maker and bought an entire wheel of his best product. When she dropped four pristine diamonds on his counter, the man nearly had a heart attack. It was a good thing that the following area was under an ice dome. If it hadn't been, the young dragon would have spent  good deal of time pestering the people there, asking every cow and farmer in sight what the proper technique to care for such an animal was. It wasn't reaching to say that she might have tried to buy a cow or two that struck her fancy.

"You really have a beautiful little town. There's so much to see! It's lovely," Ess stated when they were back to touring the castle. To most people, that might have been the main event. Ess, however, had grown up visiting one palace after another. There was little that could impress her, now. She did have to admit that she liked watching the differently clothed men and women and how the guards behaved in front of royalty. The dark looming towers and fancy decor did little to grab her attention, but she listened happily to Verdandi as she gave her explanations. "Humans are so clever. You find a way to make the most inhospitable landscapes work for you," She stated as she watched one of the ships dock from the castle walls.

Finally, when they reached the training grounds, her eyes lit up as they always did when she had an idea. "Oh a training ground! This looks fantastic! I should've guessed you were one of those shinobi from the start. Most people don't usually try to summon a dragon," she said, tapping herself twice on the head for being so absentminded. She looked around at the open space, the frosted walls lining the area and the racks of weapons off to one side. "Say, I'm not the best fighter in my family, but what do you say we spar for a bit, yeah? Doubt you find many people willing to actually fight you seriously up here, what with you being royalty," Ess proposed with a cheeky grin on her face.

[904]

Verdandi was micro managing her people silently and gracefully tactful without even drawing much of Ess attention towards it. Few hand signs often answered the stewards and servants' questions as they were being a bit overwhelmed by the unusual requests that followed one after the other. The guard captains informed their men over the looming 'threat' of the rabbits and kept an eye on them from their walls and guard posts while being strictly told not to interfere. A steward would be appointed to provide the little monsters with the resources they requested for setting the stage. Ess was currently being considered the highest VIP in these lands on Verdandi's specific order. Her envoys would hereby, despite being… of odd appearance, treated accordingly. Verd was sure that either of her closer staff would be fit for a reward after this visit was over. For now, all Verd had in mind was making this as much fun as potentially possible. Some servants would be trotting after the two on their journey through the streets. In time the gifts Ess wanted to buy for herself would pile up over the servants. Verd was amazed by her thirst and hunger. But she was paying in currency that would probably pay a year's income to either of the traders. Leaving them to be as generous as anyhow possible. Over time the pile of goodies seemed complete. Especially a large variety of alcohol seemed to have struck her fancy. Once the shopping tour seemed to have reached its end. Verd would tell the servants to bag it all together save for a bottle of honey wine.

Verdandi would casually seal the bag of food, clothes and gifts into a scroll. Leaving but one servant to stay around with them that was carrying said scroll and the honey wine. Verd strategically kept that bottle because she could smell that the dragon lady would be sooner or later intrigued to taste it. She didn't seem like the patient kind that would wait a few to taste the goodies she purchased. After all she insisted on a tasting spree in the bar already. Verd was continuously amazed how much dragons seemed to be able to consume without any specific affect on them other than feeling quite groovy and good. Needless to say, Verd was glad when they arrived at the training grounds and Ess specifically asked for a sparing match. At last, she could drop the act of the ever so perfect ice princess for a moment. Having a very valid excuse to return to her more natural self as a warrior. Meanwhile the staff was working to support the rabbits, whom probably have had harassed half the townsfolk already about joining the spectacle yet to come. Everything was fine. Nothing was burned down, yet. Ess was seemingly enjoying herself a lot. Her fondness of the ice people was warming Verdandi's heart. Having deep pride in her native heritage any kind word towards its beauty would always bring joy to the snow princess.

But it was time to settle in for combat. Verd would remove the outer layer that worked as a kimono setup. Leaving but simple linen garments of blue colour behind. Looking like gentle clothing wraps that were playfully treaded together into a one-piece. The fabric was thin and lightweight. Exposing forearm and lower legs to the cold. It seemed slightly abstract. Ess in her scantily clad kimono. Verdandi in her barely warming pieced up Haori, while the servants and guards around the place were all wearing at least three layers of heavy, warm clothing. Verdandi enjoyed it thoroughly to feel the chill of her homeland rushing over her skin. Her body temperature was reaching a point that exhaled Hyouton particles from her body just from breathing. It was beautiful. She was back home. Ess couldn't potentially know how much Verd had missed her homeland. Spending months in the desert. Always covered in a thin line of ice just to barely protect herself from the unforgiving sun. Feeling as if she was melting there. It was a torture. One that certainly made her stronger. But certainly, didn't make her feel comfortable. Being back here, in the land of frost. To feel the chills brace over her skin. It excited her thoroughly and made her smile wider than one could even relate to. The weapon rack was nearby. If Ess wished to pick one, Verdandi would follow suit and pick a simple katana equal to it. If Ess preferred to test the princess over hand to hand combat. Verd would gently sink down into a defensive position. Legs apart. Hips lowered. One foot forward straight. One behind, sideways tilted. Arms lifted. Flat palms extended to face her opponent. "Ready when you are, my lady Ess. Please go easy on me."

---

Time would pass and the sparring match would begin. The two dragons would eventually show their teeth to each other. One a real dragon, the other an aspiring sage within their kin. If there was anything that Verdandi would learn that day, aside from not trusting crazy undead bunnies, is that there is no better teacher to learn your own sage arts from, then someone who has no clue what they are but naturally uses them anyway. A mystic creature, a goddess like Ess was something Verd had never met before as of yet. She would ultimately change the way Verdandi understood how dragons worked and where they came from and that they, somewhat, aren’t that different from us in strange ways.


[EXIT]

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