Now, Shelby wasn’t one to usually push the limits of good things happening to her, but she’d gotten a pretty decent grade on her most recent psychology paper… which really made her want test the waters a little more. She’d done it once, right? She could definitely do it again. So, with her head spinning with ideas and schemes of what to say and where specifically to go, she’d headed out and made a beeline via busses straight for the School.

Her plan was to find the Dragon God Orochi again, convince him to join her on an outing into the city, and gauge his, and other peoples, reactions. Not so hard, if the big guy wasn’t against a little socialization.

As she stepped off her most recent mode of transportation and it pulled jerkily away from the curb behind her, she followed a fellow pedestrian toward the school. She could only assume it was another student. Briefly she considered attempting to shadow the student in, rather than check in at the gates like she’d done before. It was easy to abandon the urge, and soon she found herself checking in like normal. Once she was inside the grounds though, she hunted down the first approachable person she saw and asked them about the Dragon Mutant.

Reluctantly, the poor kid agreed to hunt him down for her, and shelby waited out in front of the school on the steps.

Generally the other residents of the Mansion avoided Ryoga, too intimidated by his presence obviously. Though it might have to do with the fact that he was what you might call, difficult, to deal with. The pride and sense of superiority easily pushed other people away from talking to or interacting with him once the original awe began to run thin. So when one of the students, a small one at that came towards his shrine, the dragon was intrigued.

"Come to stare as well little mutant?" The dragon asked, though the mutant instead said someone had come calling for the dragon. This was unusual, Ryoga tended to keep to himself, and outside of the authorities he had little interaction with those outside the Mansion's walls, after all Mother had told him to stay here for the time being. The dragon dropped from his roost atop his constructed home and thanked the boy. "Thank you for fetching me, I shall head to the gate now." The boy quickly retreated from the imposing reptile as Ryoga walked from the grounds towards the gate.

The loud thump of dragon claw into Earth would be easily heard as Ryoga neared the gate, his serpentine head poking out first to get a look at who wanted him, it was that human girl from some time ago. The one who had written a report of some sort on the mutants.

"Konnichiwa Miss Shelby, we meet once more it seems." The dragon greeted her, his head bowing for a brief moment as he did so, and then he proceeded to exit through the gates a bit, his large form entering the outside world and towering over the small frame of his human acquaintance.
"What brings you back to the Mansion?" He asked, curious as to what her purpose was in visiting once more.

She felt him coming long before she heard him. When his massive head poked out she turned and smiled up at him. His proper, polite greeting instantly made her feel bad for having ulterior motives for visiting him. Even if he was a giant egotistical dinosaur, he wasn't horrible. He'd met worse humans in her time.

"Greetings, Lord Orochi." She wasn't sure if she was supposed to dip her head back, or bow... everyone always did it in the movies, but movies weren't exactly the best thing to base decisions on. They were often wrong. Instead, she waved one hand in a typically american fashion, and her grin widened.

"Well, you see..." She took a deep breath and twiddled her thumbs, with her arms hooked around her knees. He was either going to laugh at her, or maybe get mad. She was asking a god out for a sort-of date, after all. No, wait... not a date. Don't get fixated on that word! "I was actually wondering if you would like to go out into the city with me." She glanced at her watch, "...kind like a late lunch?"

Fidgeting, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

The girl waved, an American gesture when greeting someone, not as elegant as the Asian bow, but Ryoga wouldn't complain. This wasn't his homeland after all, and Asian culture was rather foreign to most of the Americans it seemed. Her greeting was acceptable though, remembering to address Ryoga with a title, which made the dragon glad to see her once more. Looking down on her, his shadow clearly swallowed the girl, perhaps making her even more nervous as she began to make a request.

She fumbled a bit with her words, before finally asking him to head out into the city with her. Some sort of lunch date, how quaint. In Japan it was much more common for women to ask a man out, or to confess interest in him, so Ryoga wasn't uncomfortable with the action itself, though the dragon thought nothing of mortals in the way or romance or even friendship most of the time. He did however, respect that she had made a polite request of him, which meant he was required to respond.

"An outing into the city with you? That sounds agreeable to me Miss Shelby." He didn't mention the word date, the dragon sure she had meant this simply as the request of one friend to another, though he did need to correct her on one thing she had mentioned. Lowering his head down to her level a bit to help create a bit of balance in the conversation, he explained his unique status when it came to food.
"However I will have to decline the offer of a meal. I do not keep any money with me, but perhaps more importantly, I do not eat at all little mortal. A God requires no sustenance." Perhaps it would sound like the usual arrogant drivel Ryoga spouted off to anyone who would listen, but in reality he didn't eat.

His unique physiology had cut the need to eat out of his lifestyle, instead converting the ambient radiation, mostly sunlight into energy for him instead. Though the dragon didn't quite realize that the light was being converted into energy, he did understand that he didn't need to eat, nor did he really ever feel hungry, at least since he'd been a very small child. "Otherwise it would be my pleasure to see the city with you. I don't get much time to go out."

Her head tilted slightly and she blinked. He... he didn't eat? How odd.

... Well, odd to her at least. She loved eating. Not in the 'pig out' way, mind you... though she did over eat quite often; Shelby was just a fan of good food. She didn't like it when everything blended together into one smear of flavor.

"Ah, I see... Forgive me then. I should have asked sooner." She fidgeted a little in an embarrassed manner. Being a dragon obviously wasn't the most unusual part of his power.

Well! If he wasn't going to eat, she wouldn't either! "I will amend the plans then. We will avoid the cafe, and visit the park instead?" Of course, just because he didn't eat, didn't mean he avoided all foods... right? What about snacks? Treats?.... ice cream? People who didn't eat ice cream weren't human. Not in any sense.

"There is supposed to be a farmers market today by Tighe Triangle park. One of my classmates told me about it."

The girl seemed confused as he explained his lack of interest in food. It seemed her view of him was still far too mortal, he'd have to reconvince her of his divinity at some point, but for now she was reasonably respectful and her company enjoyable. She quickly suggested something more within Ryoga's range of activities. The dragon couldn't smile, but his voice could show an increase in interest as his pitch changed a bit.

"I do enjoy the park, the feel of nature is far more relaxing than that of the city around it." Ryoga was like a giant cat sometimes, his whims were fickle, and tended to always include finding some bright spot to rest in for awhile, possibly even take a nap. Though his love of nature and the Sun did have purpose, as his body needed large amounts of solar energy to keep him fed. The girl would however be disappointed if she tried to spring any sort of food on him at any point, as he would shoot her down once more, though he wasn't thinking of that as he began to walk into the street.

A farmers market? The dragon wasn't sure what she meant at first, the English unfamiliar to him until he realized that it was a type of meet up of farmers to peddle their goods. Not something he'd ever attend, but this was surely the time of shopping experience women loved, perhaps the girl was picking up food for her family or friends.

"A good way to purchase fresh vegetables and goods yes?" He asked, still slightly unsure that he knew exactly what the farmer's market was, after all in Japan he never interacted with shopping or anything of the sort, all the grunt work left to worshipers and servants.

"I think we can agree on that." She smiled, standing and dusting herself off before following him. "I bet you would really like Seattle. It's surrounded by forest and mountains."

Tucking her hands into the pockets of her windbreaker, she followed along beside him and... suddenly realized she'd completely forgotten about him being so friggen big. She'd been expecting to take the bus down the block, since the school grounds were pretty large. Those thoughts were dashed now, however, as she looked over at his elbow and realized that he would never fit in a conventional vehicle. Cringing inwardly at her lack of foresight, she trudged along and tired to keep up.

"I don't know how this city's farmers markets work yet, but back home there was always an assortment of seasonal fruits and veggies, among other things."

And there was the homesickness again. A sudden, deep pang in her chest. Shelby breathed in through her nose and exhaled slowly. "Seattle always had lots of flowers, though. That was my favorite part."

She mentioned another city that he might enjoy, though Ryoga honestly just wanted to return to Japan rather than see more of America. The scenery here just couldn't compare to the natural luster of the Japanese environment. Though he did enjoy natural scenery, so perhaps Seattle was a place to visit in the near future. "I shall remember Seattle as a place to visit." He agreed.

Stomping along the streets, Ryoga couldn't help but draw the attention of anyone within eye sight, a massive mythical creature and the normal girl beside him was entirely out of the ordinary. The attention was like a snack for Ryoga, the dragon smiling inwardly as everyone looked upon his form. Just like they should he thought. She confirmed that the farmer's market was some type of shop for various fresh produce, Ryoga praised himself for remembering something unfamiliar in English.

The girl drew the conversation back to Seattle, mentioning flowers. Ryoga too had a fondness for flowers, specifically the Cherry blossoms, the most beautiful of flowers in Japan. They scattered into the wind like snowflakes in the wind, creating lovely atmosphere as the air was filled with beauty, elegant enough to match even the Dragon God himself. "In Japan we often go to flower viewings as an event. To sit beneath the Sakura and watch the blossoms spread with the wind is truly magnificent. Do you often go flower viewing in Seattle?" He asked her, unaware that the girl was from that city herself, and was homesick for it much the way he was for Japan.

Glancing up at him, she couldn't help the small smile that settled on her face. "Not often, no. I'm really more of a book worm. People usually have to try pretty hard to convince me to go anywhere." She didn't notice the looks he was receiving at first... she was too caught up with trying to brag about her favorite city.

"Seattle is pretty diverse. I think we compete with San Francisco in that regard... They throw an annual festival that involves cherry blossoms, but I've never had the pleasure of attending it." She'd been down to the Asian art museum before, once, and had spent about two hours or so wandering around Uwajimaya (a district of the city where a few different cultures converged; primarily Japanese)... but she wasn't about to lie and feign any kind of knowledge on the matter. She respected him too much... also she didn't have the time to come up with a proper lie.

"I did visit the Skagit Tulip festival quite a few times though. It was really quite beautiful, too. Entire fields filled with different colored tulips."

Okay, now she was noticing the stares. And pictures, too. Hesitantly she reached back to tug the hood of her jacket up to cover her head. Man, she hated pictures.

"...Do you mind if I ask what brought you to the states, Lord Orochi?" She'd been curious of the matter since she'd first met him.

To Ryoga, the term book worm as a good thing, considering that back at his home in Japan, he had a room with so many books you could build a chair large enough to seat the mighty God atop. "I have never understood why such an ugly creature is associated with a love of literature. To gather knowledge is an excellent use of one's time." The dragon said, showing his own love of books in response to her admission. Ryoga had been no where in the states save for this city and state, so he couldn't offer any insight or opinion on her words, but he could believe them.

"You must attend one when given the chance, the flowers of the cherry tree are especially beautiful." He said, taking every chance to praise a culture from his homeland to a foreigner. Ryoga didn't know too much about tulips, and so he couldn't think of what would happen at a festival for them, save enjoying the beauty. "I imagine it was quite breathtaking." He mused aloud as they continued to wade deeper into the city and the sea of onlookers hooked upon Ryoga's form.

A few flashes went off, and on que as someone took a picture Ryoga managed to show the best side of his face, a natural affinity for photography he'd picked up from loving the attention. However it seemed Shelby didn't enjoy being absorbed into Ryoga's aura of fame. "You dislike the attention Miss Shelby?" He murmured to between moments of admiration from various onlookers and their camera phones.

It seemed she had more concerns over getting to know Ryoga better, or at least to be polite enough to ask. "My Mother asked me to come. She wished me to get away from my relaxed home in Hiroshima and to learn something from this place." The dragon sneered a bit, still unsure of what his Mother expected him to learn from people so far removed from civility. Then he remembered some words another friend had given him, and he dropped his frustration. "She wanted me to see a different world than the one I had grown accustomed too." He said, though it had a bit of a questioning tone, as if he wasn't exactly sure if that was true.

A true giggle escaped, and she clamped her mouth shut. The comment had brought up funny images in her head... "They aren't that ugly, actually..." She liked bugs, after all. Caterpillars and other similar larvae in particular. They were pretty cute, in her opinion. "but for me at least, the term fits. I may as well eat the books like a book worm, what with how engrossed I get into them."

As for the flowers, well..."Eh, I wouldn't say it was breathtaking, really. It's a lot less magical, and a lot more..." She struggled for the word for a moment. "... natural."

Hopefully that made enough sense. "I mean, I've seen cherry blossoms before. They used to plant them all over the place in my city to make it seem more inviting. It would rain pink when there was any kind of wind. That's what i'd consider breathtaking, if only because it looked unnatural. Walking through the tulip fields just made me feel like was a little bit closer to nature; my feet planted in the soil, bees buzzing around, butterflies fluttering." She flushed, and fidgeted. She felt like she was talking too much. The dragon question her next about the cameras, and a frustrated frown settled on her lips.

"I'm not really a fan of cameras. I'm not in any way as magnificent as you are, so when my face shows up on Myface all flushed and embarrassed it's not exactly a welcome surprise."

His explanation caught her by surprise, and yet.. totally made sense. Maybe his mom was trying to break him of his delusion? See more of the world, realize your not the most awesome thing ever, be humbled and go home? Meh. "I see... I suppose it is a lords duty to know about what kingdoms he rules over, right?" She was painfully, obviously sucking up. She really needed to be more careful with her words, lest she start to sound sarcastic. She didn't really mind in someways, though... This was no different some someone who had a superiority complex because they were pretty, right? He was just... dragon-y. She was catering to his dragon-ness.

"Spread the word, reach out to the masses... all that jazz. Didn't great kings used to do that way back when?"

The dragon's eyebrow raised a bit, a woman who didn't detest a worm? How odd, generally women despised vermin of all sorts. "The worm is a poor imitation of the serpent, and the serpent is a poor imitation of Me" He said, his words stern and arrogant, considering Ryoga disliked things he considered ugly, even in nature. Ugly things worked behind the scenes, and that's how it should be. He was however, a book wyrm himself. "Much of my time has been spent between the pages of a book. It is perhaps the only hobby I have." He mused.

She tried to seperate the terms magical and natural as if they couldn't over lap. "The works of nature could often be compared to magic, or is it natural when a man shoots fire from his hands?" Ryoga often wondered about the physical aspects of mutants, how exactly did they accomplish the things they did without some sort of magic? Ryoga at least understood where his power came from, and it might as well be the most powerful of magics. As she described the scene of cherry blossoms in the wind, the dragon felt a rush of warmth from his core. The idea of something that reminded him of his home brought him great joy, and as if to match it his cells flushed with energy. "A wind scattered with the blossoms of sakura, the ashes of the old making way for the new. Such a sight never fails to bring me joy." He mumbled on a bit, his mind lost in the conversation as he began to ignore the various bits of attention still being heaped upon him by the various onlookers.

Ryoga adored camera's, a picture of him meant that person would look upon him again and again, almost like a prayer. "I welcome the attention. I was born to be seen." He said proudly, showing that the dragon was 100% in love with himself if Shelby hadn't realized that just yet. "The nature of beauty and power is to be adored. I'm surprised as a woman you don't enjoy some attention. Beauty is more important to your gender than the men." Perhaps the girl simply didn't care about appearances, though she was certainly appealing enough. At least for a mortal he thought.

Perhaps it was a lesson for Ryoga to learn about ruling, but Mother wasn't always so keen on the idea of Ryoga ruling more than his own compound. Father believed in the right to rule, Mother seemed more convinced that Ryoga would be a force rather than a sovereign. "Mother is cryptic at times, and her whims are often difficult to follow. However I believe she sees me as a son rather than a king. She sees the best in people, and I assume she wants me to see it as well." Ryoga didn't care much about the feelings of normal men, and even the mutants were still beneath him. But he did know that living here, in this world meant that he had to interact with them.

There was something to be learned here, from these mutants and humans, he just hadn't quite understood the lesson yet. 

"It was mine too, for a while. Before I took up drawing." She didn't elaborate further, choosing not to bring up her younger years when she moodily avoided other kids her age, content with trapping herself in a library or her room with a book.

She flushed red instead, when he pointed out the flaws of what she'd mentioned. "Well, I mean, a man shooting fire from his hands could be considered natural, depending on his genetics."

Dammit, she didn't like having to think all science-y. Her thoughts often blended together, and that made it hard to pull anything concise out. "A common theory is that we are all made up of energy. We are born from it, we feed ourselves on it, and when we die what's left of it is dispersed into other things... it's only natural given how a mutant has evolved, that their energy could be different... and can be used differently, right?"

She tried to think back to all of the studying she'd done, and sighed. In theory, it could explain a lot of things, but that was neither here nor there. She wasn't an expert in any sense, and therefor her musings were virtually moot on the grand scheme of things.

"...but, I guess I get what your saying. Tulips probably won't ever be 'magical' to me, but to each his own. Everybody finds beauty in something different. I have an odd eye for beauty, anyway, and i'm rubbish at explaining things."

His next statement made the inner feminist in her stir, and she blinked at him. "Sure, that could be true.. but I am not an average woman though. I don't find beauty in myself nearly as appealing as finding beauty in others. If it comes down to admiring, or being admired, i'd rather be the one admiring." A truth, if a little vague. She'd spent most of her life dressing and acting like a boy... Girls who put value strictly on how they looked were just about as alien to her as actual aliens. But, when she was looking for an artistic spin on things, she often found herself looking in the opposite direction of conventional beauty.

"It's almost always a cultural thing, anyway. Women and men here are pretty much equally obsessed with looking good, for a variety of reasons." Glancing around, she pointed out a man walking on the other side of the street, with a dainty blonde hooked around one arm. "See them? They are a perfect example. She works to meet the standards of 'American' beauty for women, and he works his hardest to meet the male equivalent. They probably both wax, shave, and tan... he might even wear makeup."

Watching the two walk off, she sighed through her nostrils. "You either fit into a 'perfect' mold here, or you spend your whole life desperately trying to change yourself. It's a repeating pattern of shame, jealousy, and desperation.. Me? I'd rather not bother. I've got too much on my plate as it is, too worry about whether the male population will find me attractive or not."

She didn't know what to make of his mother, as she didn't have any background on it. She did however have a very prominent mother figure herself. "Not to try and compare myself to you, but my mother tends to view me as a golden child. If only because i'm the only one of my siblings who hasn't made any terrible life choices. Mom's tend to be like that... I think it's hard for them to see their kids as anything other than their babies..."

A smell wafting on a breeze caught her attention and she petered off with her conversation, sniffing the air like it would help her decipher where it was coming from.

"...I know that smell." A grin curled her lips, an almost whimsical expression settled on her face. Her brain reeled back a few years to the last fair she'd been too, and she instantly knew what she wanted to eat. "Elephant ears!" It was almost a universal smell to her. Bread-y and buttery, with a little hint of cinnamon. She would have purred, had she been a cat.

Art was another worthwhile past time, the creation of beauty was an excellent gift to possess, one which Ryoga would never know. At least not within the human spectrum of tastes, his claws were not very nimble or precise. The dragon chuckled a bit at her response, as she explained in this world that such a feat could be natural considering the nature of mutation. "Perhaps you could, but such a feat is still certainly fantastic compared to the average person." She moved on to some theory about energy, which caught Ryoga's attention. He knew he didn't eat, and he wasn't quite sure how it worked, but he could absorb energy himself, an aspect of his dragonic nature. "So if all things are made of energy, would a creature which eats energy be considered a God?" He asked idly, giving away his interest but not his own special ability.

The girl seemed a bit bothered by her rambling words, cutting short the conversation they'd been having and moving onto another topic. Her company was enjoyable enough, but Ryoga noted her lack of confidence. But that was to be expected, she was merely a human woman. "A follower rather than a leader? Many would avoid such a description of themselves, or perhaps you're perception is out of the norm for your society." The ideal of beauty easily changed between cultures, especially if you compared say America to Japan, with one country in love with excess and the other with respect for modesty.

Ah, speak of the devil it seemed Shelby had come onto a similar thought as she pointed out two typical American's and their apperance. He sneered a bit, as the ideal beauty of America didn't fit with Ryoga's taste, he preferred to be the center of attention, never to compete for it. "The Japanese prefer to respect a sense of modesty. Must everything here be excessive?" He asked her, a possibly offensive question if one took pride in their country's standards.

So the girl simply detested the effort required to play the game of American fashion? A fair enough feeling, Ryoga couldn't imagine having to constantly try and match some variable standard of perfection. After all, he was a dragon, his magnificence was eternal. "A loss for your people should you miss the age to marry, I on the other hand, need not fit any mold. I am one of a kind." He said with pride. "I enjoy the attention, but have no need to seek it."

The girl brought up her own mother, pointing out how a mother tended to just enjoy doting upon or raising her child, even once he'd well passed into the age of adulthood. Mother certainly enjoyed teaching lessons, but she wasn't the affectionate kind of mother who would try and spoil him, such a sight would truly be humorous. He was going to respond but the girl suddenly grew distracted and said something about the smell of a pachyderm's ear. The dragon watched as she looked about for the source of the smell. Ryoga smelled food, but it didn't smell like any meat he'd know. "American's really have no restraint, you would eat the ear of an elephant? It can't be more than a giant piece of leather!" He said aloud, not realizing that his image of the food, and the reality were quite different.

Sometimes the language barrier proved truly entertaining.

"So if all things are made of energy, would a creature which eats energy be considered a God?"

"Well..." She started carefully, reflecting back on her previous words. "In most cases gods are either born from power-- they make themselves god-like through great demonstrations of power, which cow weaker beings into worshiping them, or show some sort of trait humans find admirable... like Greek gods, Zeus and the likes -- or they simply are from the very beginning. Beings that are omnipresent, who have always been and always will be. Faceless, formless... probably made up of pure energy. Both can be considered gods for different reasons... but one who eats the energy? I wonder if that would almost be like an anti-god. The yin to the yang of unlimited power." She shrugged, and scratched the side of her cheek. "In my opinion, if you have the power and sway to form a following, and the ability to hold it against opposition, you may as well call yourself one."

"The Japanese prefer to respect a sense of modesty. Must everything here be excessive?"

"Depending on what definition of modesty your using, my answers could be slightly different. But in general modesty pretty much died here a long time ago. I think when a culture like mine decides to do something, they go big. Restraint is hard, so why try? Beauty standards swing so wildly that big hair is all the rage for a few years, then it switches to flat, straight hair, and god help the girls with natural curls."

She glanced around-- the closer they got to the market, the more crowded the streets became. And, on top of that, the more attention the dragon beside her acquired. "The problem with that mindset is that once a new standard appears and everyone latches onto it, the old ones are taboo to go back to. So, in our never ending pursuit for we're forced to build higher and higher, a top the stacked bodies of all the standards that came before."

With one of her favorite treats on her mind, she almost missed what he said. Did didn't thankfully, and really had to work hard on biting back a laugh. She didn't think he was the type to take her laughing at him and not be insulted. Instead, she schooled her expression and turned back to him. "Oh, sorry. It's a nickname for a pastry." She could remember being really young and having a similar reaction. 'An elephant ear! How awful!'

"It's sweet bread rolled into a patty about yay big," She used her hands to mime the size, "... that you bake, spread butter on, and add sugar and cinnamon. It comes out roughly the shape of an elephants ear. Hence the nickname."