and a partridge in a pear tree - treespasser

[fulzanin]

we'll see the sun come up again, we'll climb higher than we've been

More shouting briefly ensnared Astiar's attention. His head and gaze lifted from being tunneled on the lava to the female that had arrived to shout at the lion. When the lava stopped coming, the dragon stopped backing up. He stood there stiffly, whimpers sounding at even more shouting ensuing. He was not able to distinguish that this shouting was not directed towards him. To Astiar, it was only noise. It was noise that was just as aggressive as the shouts that came from the lion to continue pushing him back. Heavy breaths came from the insect, the result of panicking making itself known. The creature was tensed, stiff, as if he expected that the lapse in being pushed back was about to begin again with a greater ferocity. His wings were buzzing noisily still. Astiar's gaze returned back to the closest burst of lava that was near his feet. It was not getting closer. It had stopped, if for a moment. The beast heaved harshly, mandibles softly clicking. Then another sharp noise of submission came forth, now toned with breathlessness from his panic. The dragon was feeling exhaustion creep over him that came both from the energy that had been devoted to panic as well as the lack of oxygen in his veins. The air had been used to pour nonsensical noises of yield from his jaws instead of supplying oxygen to the rest of his massive form.

When the shouting ceased, the bug felt as if finally his shrieks of submission had worked. It had taken a while, but it was the only logic Astiar could go off of. It was a learned behavior. It seemed to have worked, for Astiar was unable to comprehend that it was the vixen who was the actual reason the attack ceased. The comment directed to him over how lucky he was went over his head in an equal manner. He could not understand, it was beyond every single mental process that Astiar was normally capable of. In his exhausted, fear struck, starving state it was even less so. Astiar barely could register the later shouts as being fueled by anger. Noise, it truly had been becoming noise at that point. The dragon's head and body lowered, demonstrating his lack of energy in a way that was visible rather than audible. The obnoxious buzz from his wings became almost silent, and the limbs that allowed for flight dropped by his sides. With one leg entirely unusable for the moment, Astiar stood in a near lopsided manner that could almost be considered comedical had the situation at hand not be so severe. His entire body fell into a position that was devoid of energy. Starving, a sharp growl in his stomach reminded him. It almost shook his entire body, which was rigid to try and remain standing upright. His gaze momentarily lifted, eyeing the tree that he had been feasting upon prior. The lion that had spat the burning feeling was in that direction. He couldn't go back for the tree that he'd already knocked over. Astiar knew he probably didn't have the strength to knock down another. Whines, softer, parted from his mandibles. The chattering motion flung spit freely from his mandibles.

Huffing, the dragon slowly released the tension from his limbs. He shook furiously, almost collapsing. Most animals did not handle stress well. An injured leg could kill a horse. Astiar somewhat fell into that category of having an injured leg. The stress of near death was painful, and it exhausted the little energy that he had managed to regain by partially munching the tree that he had felled. Shuffling slowly, he turned his head in an equally as unhurried mannerism. When he noted a brittle branch just a foot away from his head, Astiar wasted absolutely no time snagging it and plucking it from it's place on a nearby tree. His mandibles and jaws crushed hard against the bark. Splintering was what followed from the branch that he had eaten. Unaware Astiar was of the discussion at hand of what to do with his mere presence. Not only could he not understand the words and conversation that was in progress, but he felt lightheaded and shaky from the furious hunger that grappled at him. The dragon was starving, and when he was so deeply bound to his instincts he could not afford to devote any energy elsewhere. It was debatable, really, if Astiar would have been able to take to the sky and fly back to the Pitt in his state. A pack sort of mentality it was, the insect's thoughts towards the Pitt. It wasn't as if it was a home. It was a place that previously had enough good to sustain him. Now there was no food, and instinct supplied the thought that wherever a steady supply of food was, he needed to be. Furious was the clicking that sounded from his mandibles after he finished eating the pathetic branch, lifting himself up to try to snag and break a larger limb that was just out of reach of his head. He began trying to break it off, lower it to the ground, and begin eating the easily obtained branches of the tree that, in all honesty, he was now leaning against to combat his injured front leg.

TAGS 9/4/19:

GENERAL.
✧ Astiar | Asti, Ast, Bug
✧ physically medium, mentally easy | 7/30
✧ male | he/him
✧ the pitt | pittian

APPEARANCE.
✧ dragon (ref.) | health: 100% | cicada
— a nine foot seven inches tall cicada themed dragon. He has four antennae growing on his head from orange growths on his head. Two grow in front of his twisted horns, and two from behind. Dewclaws point backwards from the body-facing side of all six feet. He has mandibles on either side of his mouth that come from his upper jaw. The top of his upper jaw lays a hardened segment of scales, dotted with yellow dots. These extend as deep green freckles onto the face. A long stinger rests at the end of his lanky, segmented tail. His body has the segmented build of an insect, consisting of a deep orange head, brown body and abdomen, and black spine. His underbelly is a pale navy, with splotches of yellow showing the separation of the sections. His wings are tinted blue, but are translucent. The membrane for them is a bright, vibrant orange. Each wing has one claw at it's second bone, pointing down the rest of the wing's length from the body. His front paws have five fingers, while the rest of his limbs have only three toes. His red eyes are near unblinking, and are built like that of an insect. A series of jagged spikes rise from his black back, and run down his head to his neck.
— tongue and blood is yellow
— no current injuries

COMMUNICAION.
✧ Soft Buzzing
— Ambient noise. Pleased. Feels like making noise. Stretching. Curious.
✧ Loud Buzzing
— Angry. Infuriated. Sizing up. Stop. About to strike. Flying.
— IF ALONE: 'Come here'. 'Come closer'. 'Help'. 'Need assistance'. Lonely
✧ Mandible Clicking
— Ambient noise. Hungry. Curious. Nervous.
✧ Hissing
— Angry. Irritated. About to strike. Stop. 'Stay away'. 'I'm uncomfortable'. Testing vocal cords.
✧ Chattering
— Ambient noise. Mimicking speech. Pleasant.
✧ Grumbling
— Irritated. Annoyed. Being pessimistic. Bothered.
✧ Roaring
Angered. Infuriated. Enraged. Sizing up. Stop. About to strike.
✧ Rumbling
— Curious. Intrigued. Friendly. 'Come closer'. Pleased. Happy.

PERSONALITY.
✧ Curious, inquisitive, devoted, loyal, open-minded
✧ neutral sided, easily impressed, impressionable
✧ clueless, over-obedient, takes commands without hesitation


RELATIONSHIPS.
✧ adok x yitz
✧ clipyer
✧ demiromantic bisexual | single
✧ friends
— will add

INTERACTIONS.
✧ physically medium | mentally easy | no powers | no weapons | claws, teeth, talons
✧ will start/end fights on command, easy provoke | will kill
✧ very limited fighting knowledge
✧ allowed to powerplay peaceful actions | attack in bolded #B21925 | mention [member=7712]Astiar[/member] when attacking

MISC.
— mostly feral
— speaks a wordless bug language
— worker drone
✧ Obeys without question

we've got a fire that burns within, we are the dragon hearted

[deimos]

What had happened, happened faster then Piers cared to consider. Crowley, having arrived long enough to cover the situation, blocked his sight. Piers could still hear, still smell, but breathing was another story. Shock seemed to impale his senses, causing him to draw back sharply from Crowley. He uttered a cry, that seemed more necessary and impulsive then his actual feelings. "Ow." His shaken ocean blues shifted towards Crowley, and with that, it didn't take Piers long to dart around Crowley. He didn't want to see.

But he needed to.

The child shifted his gaze from the lava, to Suvi, to Aurum, then finally the beast. His tufted ears lay flat. He didn't understand- he just wanted to eat, it seemed. As Aurum spoke to Suvi, however, and the giant insect-dragon shifted away from the mess of hot substances, Piers slowly drew closer to him. He couldn't do much, he figured, but what he did want to do was help. Aurum had hurt something that just wanted to eat. Like a starving bear, defending themselves from attack, when all they were doing was eating berries. Yes, that made sense.

Piers had read a book like that once. A wolf-dog, in the wild and alone, all they wanted to do was eat. When captured for a sled-dog team, they were feral and afraid because they didn't understand. The words that Suvi spoke rang in his ear. Understand. Piers couldn't make an non-sentient beast understand. But Help, Kindness was in his vocabulary. He drew close enough to dig his tiny claws into a nearby tree, stretching his tiny body up and breaking off a twig. He shuffled towards the dragon, dropping the twig nearby.

Fear was not in Piers' vocabulary.

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[spacexual]

IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE IT [align=right]BUT YOU CAN'T KNOW WHY    —    tags 

What would happen next, it was not really a surprise, given everything. His father's approach was expected most times he goes out, the lion seemingly always aware of whatever trail the tiger places himself upon. And, the protective nature of the male was just as normal. However, he cannot hold back his shock as the male immediately threatens the creature. Perhaps childish and stupid, knowing the fact they had just finished a war, that he was used as a weapon, that violence was not uncommon here - nor really anywhere. But he cannot help it. His paws fumble backwards, breathing heavy as he is now looking away. He is looking to the ground, glowing eyes wide and seeming to go some place far away now. He hates it. He hates the sounds. The noise. The smell. It follows him wherever he goes. But he cannot talk someone out of it anymore. It was bigger than just him and his brother. It was bigger than the lab. Bigger than he could hope to stop.

At least, that is how it felt.

But, violence never felt right. It never felt the right thing to do.

And maybe he's the only person in the entire world, entire universe to feel that way, but it was how he's always felt, and it wouldn't change. He can't imagine it ever changing.

He hated how it felt.

He shouldn't hate. He shouldn't. But, he did. And it wouldn't go away. His body struggles against itself, frown present upon his features. His father was trying to protect him, surely there was something to be appreciated there. Surely that was not something to be upset over. But then more arrive. One speaks out. A familiar voice. With a message that reflected his own feelings. His gaze shoots towards her, body lowering into a crouch. He gulps, unable to speak out, unable to gain a grasp on the ground below him.

Last time, he had ran. He had ran so far that he reached the ocean, his mind buzzing just moments before going silent. Today, the same noise arises, but he finds himself stuck. No fire. No movement. Just heavy breathing, fuzzy voices.

He gives in. Lays down, head resting upon his shaking paws, sparks threatening to fly from them. The boy's eyes stare forward now.

Here on the ground, it was easier to focus. Easier to drown everything out. And so he keeps his attention on the Pittian. The large creature that had abducted him previously held little interest in the others. He had recalled, only briefly, interacting with it. What knowledge it held, he did not really know. It did not seem totally aware, that much was clear. And, when he had confronted him, he had been eating. Perhaps it was like how he had used to be. Aware of his surroundings, but driven by instinct, a need for food, for survival. "HH-Hungry," the boy would let out weakly, gesturing to the large bug. "Think...th-think he wants ff-food." It was an idea, one that he could not quite communicate.

[fulzanin]

decisions to decisions are made and not bought

Biting into a branch was both easier than harder than sinking his teeth into the flesh of a tree. It was easier to break. The branch was far more brittle and easy to snap with his jaws and mandibles than the hard bark of the trunk of the tree. Easier to break was both a blessing and a curse. It snapped when he tried to chew on it, splintering. His wings buzzed and twitched briefly. Slowly the insect tried to curl his sharp claws around the branch to keep it from being nudged away. It snapped, again, and a soft hiss of irritability came from the cicada. He could try to pin down the branches, and tear away another limb, but it was just becoming a horrific tangled mess of snapped branches to deal with. Astiar was not about to give up his attempts, though. Hunger was his motivator, it demanded for him to feast upon the food that he had already felled before even allowing the notion of searching for other sustenance. His energy was drained, and his body was situated in a manner than suggested unfamiliarity with the body he possessed as well has his utter exhaustion. Fear, too. Occasionally the bug lifted his head, looking at the smoldering lava. He was afraid that the heat would get close. He was afraid he would be pushed off of this scrap of a meal, too. Then he would have to find another branch to eat, and likely be pushed off that one as well. In the Pitt he had once offered his food to Kydobi, under the impression that the jaguar too was capable of eating the pulp of trees just as he could. He hadn't been made aware that the other was incapable. Was that why he had been pushed away from his food? Because the lion that could create lava wanted the trees for himself? It was hardly a concept able to be grasped in his basic mind, one that made sense to his lackluster sentience. Food was food, food was important, food was worth fighting over - if one could even fight in the first place. Astiar had already proven that he did not fight. When attacked he had only shook his attacker off and backed away.

The branch that Astiar had snagged was not exceptionally large. It wasn't long before he finished crunching down on the brittle limbs of the tree. The cicada remained positioned there, the equally brittle cogs of his simplistic mind turning. He was still hungry, a small series of branches was not going to sate his hunger in full by any means. His attention was ensnared by approach. His head raised from where previously Astiar had briefly laid down, a swift buzz of his wings sounding. The dragon lifted his body slowly, wincing at the use of his injured foot. It nearly led him to fall back down, but hard flaps of his wings helped him stand. Slowly he shuffled, the antennae flicking slowly from his head. There was food. It was a small branch, but food was food, food was important, food was worth fighting over. A chattering noise sounded from his mandibles and jaws. Red eyes looked down at the child that had approached him. His head lowered, and carefully his mandibles ensnared the offered branch. Astiar crunched down on the branch, chewing briefly before swallowing down the small limb. A small, lighter noise came from the cicada. A rumble of some sort. He was not capable of saying thanks to the one that had presented him with food - he hardly understood presenting gratitude in the first place. It was a brief surge from the draconic side of the beast, the body that the cicada had been thrust into. The light noise was as close as he could get. He was not about to offer food as thanks when he was starving. Again the cicada raised up his head, moving his weight so that it better compensated for his injured front leg. It remained lifted and curled, raised from the ground and rendered useless. His red gaze turned to inspect his injury again, as if Astiar expected for it to suddenly be healed from briefly resting.

His mandibles clicked together again. Uncertain was his stance. As absent minded as he was, he knew what he wanted. The tree that he had knocked over was untouched. No one else was eating it. Perhaps if he was more in tune with his draconic side he would feel cheated for being shooed from a meal that was now going to waste. He was not capable of such thoughts. Another whine sounded from the cicada as he shuffled on his feet again. There was the burning heat of the lava between him and the tree. He didn't want to risk more lava coming his way and rendering another one of his legs useless. Noise, again, noise from the creature that briefly Astiar deemed reoccuring. He had mostly dismissed kidnapping from his mind upon the taste of flesh becoming distasteful to him. The kidnapping had been his first attempt at hunting, and had not resulted in any form of nutrition being bestowed to him. He had munched upon the flesh of already deceased mammals and had found the taste lackluster and the feeling in his gut terrible. The sight was familiar, though - that much he knew. From what, he didn't know. He couldn't process thoughts deeply enough to think past the brief feeling of familiarity. There was noise, too, speech. Stuttered, not that Astiar could truly understand speaking in any form. Hunger again whisked away his brief confused chatters that had ensued without any thought given to them. Slowly the cicada began moving forward towards the tree he'd felled. He stepped around the pools of lava, not wanting to be remotely close to them. Astiar's pace was slow, and his wings were raised to prepare himself to fling backwards should he have to back away once again. The cicada's tail dragged behind him and his head was lowered, soft whines sounding from him as he carefully trudged forward towards the felled tree.

control yourself and take only what you need from it

TAGS 9/4/19:

GENERAL.
✧ Astiar | Asti, Ast, Bug
✧ physically medium, mentally easy | 7/30
✧ male | he/him
✧ unallianced
— wherever there is food, that is where Astiar will take up temporary residence. Notably most of his time is spent in the Pitt, but has distanced himself from the group due to the lack of food following the raid.

APPEARANCE.
✧ dragon (ref.) | health: 100% | cicada
— a nine foot seven inches tall cicada themed dragon. He has four antennae growing on his head from orange growths on his head. Two grow in front of his twisted horns, and two from behind. Dewclaws point backwards from the body-facing side of all six feet. He has mandibles on either side of his mouth that come from his upper jaw. The top of his upper jaw lays a hardened segment of scales, dotted with yellow dots. These extend as deep green freckles onto the face. A long stinger rests at the end of his lanky, segmented tail. His body has the segmented build of an insect, consisting of a deep orange head, brown body and abdomen, and black spine. His underbelly is a pale navy, with splotches of yellow showing the separation of the sections. His wings are tinted blue, but are translucent. The membrane for them is a bright, vibrant orange. Each wing has one claw at it's second bone, pointing down the rest of the wing's length from the body. His front paws have five fingers, while the rest of his limbs have only three toes. His red eyes are near unblinking, and are built like that of an insect. A series of jagged spikes rise from his black back, and run down his head to his neck.
— tongue and blood is yellow
— current injures: burnt front right leg, deep scratches in his front scales

COMMUNICAION.
✧ Soft Buzzing
— Ambient noise. Pleased. Feels like making noise. Stretching. Curious.
✧ Loud Buzzing
— Angry. Infuriated. Sizing up. Stop. About to strike. Flying.
— IF ALONE: 'Come here'. 'Come closer'. 'Help'. 'Need assistance'. Lonely
✧ Mandible Clicking
— Ambient noise. Hungry. Curious. Nervous.
✧ Hissing
— Angry. Irritated. About to strike. Stop. 'Stay away'. 'I'm uncomfortable'. Testing vocal cords.
✧ Chattering
— Ambient noise. Mimicking speech. Pleasant.
✧ Grumbling
— Irritated. Annoyed. Being pessimistic. Bothered.
✧ Roaring
Angered. Infuriated. Enraged. Sizing up. Stop. About to strike.
✧ Rumbling
— Curious. Intrigued. Friendly. 'Come closer'. Pleased. Happy.
✧ Screeching
— Submission. 'Stop'. 'Go away'. 'I yield'. Panic. Fear. Terror.
✧ Whining
— Submission. 'Stop'. 'Go away'. 'I yield'. 'Please don't hurt me'. Panic. Fear. Terror.

PERSONALITY.
✧ Curious, inquisitive, devoted, loyal, open-minded
✧ neutral sided, easily impressed, impressionable
✧ clueless, over-obedient, takes commands without hesitation

RELATIONSHIPS.
✧ adok x yitz
✧ clipyer
✧ demiromantic bisexual | single
✧ friends
— will add

INTERACTIONS.
✧ physically medium | mentally easy | no powers | no weapons | claws, teeth, talons
✧ will start/end fights on command, hard provoke | will kill
— notably this is for instances where Astiar must fight. If able, Astiar will never raise his claws against any other creature unless he has been directly ordered to do so
— commands must be one word. If any words follow the command, Astiar is unable to understand due to his limited intelligence. Heavy presence of emotion will equally tarnish his ability to follow commands.
✧ very limited fighting knowledge
✧ allowed to powerplay peaceful actions | attack in bolded #B21925 | mention [member=7712]Astiar[/member] when attacking

MISC.
— mostly feral
— speaks a wordless bug language
— worker drone
✧ Obeys without question as long as it is a simple command
— eats trees and other hard plant matter
— cannot understand speech

[deimos]

It was like gears suddenly clicked in his mind. They turned with intent that was understandable to Piers alone. He shifted his feet, stepping back as the oversized cicada took the branch, albeit small. Cool, ocean blue optics scanned the figure as he ate, mandibles snapping it down and it's shelled lips intaking the foot. His ears pressed flat at the sharp noise of the branch splintering in it's jaws. It wasn't hard to imagine that being bone instead, the crushed up body of a person or otherwise, but the beast wasn't.. meat hungry. The meat of a tree was different in theory, but it wasn't far off in sound. His ears perked, however, stepping to the side out of the cicada's way.

It dawned on him that the tree across the pool of lava was his target. Piers uttered a sound softly, stepping after the cicada, warily watching the lava as he stepped closer to it. He was careful to keep his distance, as not to spook the beast. He stopped besides the cicada's target, his gaze swiveling towards Aurum. His eyes scanned from Crowley, to Kiira, then back towards Aurumn again. Softly he made a cound of agreement with Roy. He sat, his tail neatly tucked an unconcerned with the presence behind him

It wasn't a threat.

"Indeed. It's only thought is of food, of the plant kind. It's not interested in meat. If that was the case, It would have eaten me." Piers spoke. His ears twitched. "The only reason he's drawn here is the trees and we have plenty of those." If he made more sense now then the Captain of the Guard, there was something bitter in Pier's soul that made him that way. He glanced over his shoulder, huffing.

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