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Luffen had tucked his and Vix's home away in the woods, carefully concealing the back of it by coaxing growth and spreading leaves from the woods to the rear. But from the front, it appeared to be a quaint yet expertly built house. There were round windows as opposed to the typical square ones, and the roof was built in much more of a slope in contrast to a peak. It appeared to be no more than one or two rooms. A beaten dirt path twined its way to the doorstep, lined by trim grass with short hedges that promised brilliant flowers right beside the door.

Light poured out of the left window of the home, ensuring that there were people inside enjoying the warmth of a fire as opposed to the pleasant rain outside. The scents around the home suggested that there were no more than three people living in the house, possibly less. But the scents were fresh, if a little dampened by the storm.

Inside, Luffen was seated in his small study with the fire blazing behind him. His long beard gave the impression of many years beyond his apperance, and his own stamina didn't show years either. He was presently bent over a stack of open books, taking notes with a quill pen in one hand while his other spun a leaf in absent-minded circles. The mage had no recollection of anything approaching the home, or at least he made no notice of knowing.

There was a startle from inside - Luffen obviously miss-writing something that he considered infinitely more important than visitors. The sounds of a chair scraping back and footsteps drifted out of the window, which was opened wide in a few moments as the older-appearing gentlemen stuck his head outside, obviously about to start yelling. His glasses slipped down his nose a bit as he stared at the full grown dragon sitting in his front yard.

"H-Hakan?" He mumbled for a moment to himself under his breath, then shook his head. "I'll be right out, miss." Sharp fellow, this one, to be able to tell dragon gender so easily. He shut the window, a few moments passing before he opened the front door and stepped out under the eaves to look at her. A wooden staff was clutched in his left hand, and he leaned some of his weight on the intricately carved piece of wood. It crackled with life energy just as he did, marking him as a magic-wielder beyond a doubt.

"Now, is there something I can do for you, hmm?" He peered up at her, talking a little louder than usual to try and defeat the sound of the rain. He had no more than finished speaking when there was a loud commotion from Ebon's left in the woods as a young fox burst through the thicker growth of the forest.

"Woooow! It is another dragon!" Smiling across her muzzle, she moved closer to the giant creature with her head tilted back to see her better. The young yellow and white Furre was wearing a plain brown tunic and pants - both covered in mud - which was a strange choice in garb for someone of her gender. At her side a large, leather messenger bag hung, leaves and flowers sticking out of one side of it. She smelled strongly of the forest and of dragon.

Vix's ears shifted back a bit at the dragon's statement, but her enthusiasm didn't seem to be dappened one bit. In fact, her grin broadened until her teeth were showing at the outstretched wing - a gesture that no doubt would have startled a human and unsettled elves. Well, what's that?" Her ear flickered a bit in curiosity, still staring up at the dragon.

The older man looked like he would have whalloped her across the head if he could have reached her with his cane at that moment. "Vix! It's impolite to stare - and shut your mouth, you look like a fool!" He shook his head, sighing disagreeably. From the way that the young Kitsune shot him a broader grin, she was used to his outbursts and his frustration and probably took complete advantage of it when she could. That or she knew very well he wasn't coming out into the rain after her.

"And you-" he waved his hand absently at the dragon, "- have no reason to be sorry." He smiled up at her kindly then, nodding to himself about something or other. "It is good to see one of your kind around these parts. It has been too long since I've seen a dragon kin."

"Now, let's take care of this rain for you." Luffen stepped out from under the eaves that shielded him from the rain, his step looking too young to match his use of the cane and appearance. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before tapping the end of the staff on the ground and opening his eyes to look up at the sky. Energies wavered before bending to his will, and the winds picked up strongly for a few heartbeats. When the storm clouds and the rain had been blown farther to the east, the wind died.

Luffen rested heavily on his staff then, attention turning to the young fox and the dragon again. "There are no dragons as old as you around here - and none so big. But the clearing behind the house should be decently dry. Please, stay as long as you would like. There's no need to pay me back, for I'm sure my apprentice won't let you sleep soundly." He eyed the young fox, shaking his head. "She's harmless, if a little too rambunctious." Vix ground a bare paw into the mud, ears pinned back a bit against her head. He was chastising her, though it was subtle for the guest in front of them.

He turned back to the dragon before continuing. "If you would like, I'm sure Vix could bring something out for you to eat." The apprentice mage said nothing to his words, though had she been human she may have been blushing.

Grinning up at the dragon, she shot a triumphant glance to Luffen. She had won, as far as she was concerned, and she wasn't afraid to show it. "I'm Vix, by the way! Vix Mythrylpaw." She paused, as if waiting for recognition of some sort from the dragon.

Luffen shook his head, still resting heavily on his staff and looking in no rush to move on just yet. "That may be so, but don't feel like you have to put up with her. Send her back to the house if you get tired of entertaining." He nodded his head thoughtfully as he spoke. "Ahhh, by the way, you may call me Elwood Luffen."

The fox pricked her ears at that, then spoke up. "Master Elwood Luffen." She chided him with a grin still on her muzzle, and was met with a hard stare. "She is a guest here, and not my apprentice." Luffen corrected the youngling with the tone in his voice, making it clear that she had made a sort of misstep, something that Ebon may not understand. Of course, his change of the weather had already made it quite clear his own power.

"Come on!" Vix reached out to the dragon, hopping a bit to grab at her wingtip to lead her around the house and back into the woods. The jump jostled the bag at her side, and a startled - and rather angry - chirruping noise was the response. Vix froze where she was, looking down at the bag with a sheepish smile.

Luffen did indeed understand Ebon's situation, if only a little. A single human had troubles living alone, and they usually didn't have to hunt for their own food and escape other, non-accepting humans. He bowed his head respectfully as Ebon introduced herself, even as Vix seemed to grow more and more impatient.

As Ebon investigated the bag, peeling it open with her claw, a small red head was shoved out. The little dragon gave another squawk, obviously upset at having been woken. Vix, unthinking about Ebon with her claw in the bag, flopped down onto the damp grass, clucking lightly. "Shh, shhh, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to wake you up this time." She reached her pawed hand in, uncaring of the large foreclaw of the older dragon, and stroked the hatchling female's head and back.

"Ebon, this is Hakan. Hakan, hush now, you're gonna chase off Ebon." The fire dragon gave a heavy snort, blinking wearily up at the Furre before turning her tiny snout towards Ebon.

"I told you not to take her out in this rain. I bet she'll come in with a cold now, Vix." Luffen shook his head, still chastising his student. "And I'm sure she mauled any of the specimens you managed to bring back, if you even remembered to do that today." The fox's ears flicked down around her head, and she looked thoroughly embarassed. "I did too remember! And she didn't do that!"

Vix looked down at the tiny bundle, ears flagging down slightly at being hit from both ends. "Y-Yeah... I guess you're right." Her pawed hand still caressed the hatchling affectionately, though it was obvious that Hakan was starting to become a little chilled. To Vix's dismay, the little fire dragon issued a small sneeze. Her ears dropped a little more.

"Hurry up, now, and get inside. The fire's going already, but add some more to it. And warm her up some milk. I'll show Ebon around back." Luffen had finally straightened slightly, though it was apparent he'd be much more comfortable heading inside and letting the younger fox show the dragon around the house. He didn't, however, complain an ounce.

The Furre stood slowly, ignoring the mud that caked on her clothing and had probably soaked her to the fur on her knees. She was much more careful this time with her movements, taking a slow path towards the house with her ears down and her head slightly ducked. Her white-tipped fluffy tail was a little limp behind her, it also being covered in mud and water.

"Change your clothes before you head back out, and set those to clean and dry." Luffen placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards the house, as she came close to him. Then he turned his attention to Ebon, nodding again. "Come along, then." He took his own steps towards the back of the house, strangely unrelying on the staff. The ground under him was oddly dry and unmuddied, though when he moved his feet there was surely enough water and mud to be proof of the storm.

Finding himself a nice place to the side of the clearing to give Ebon plenty of room, the human settled himself to leaning comfortably against a tree as the dragon laid herself down. He contemplated her comment about Vix for a few moments before responding, a small smile in his eyes as he spoke.

"She is indeed a handful; too much enthusiasm for things. Nevertheless, she's a good child. Or at least, good-meaning." She clucked a bit to him himself before continuing. "She'll no doubt have plenty of questions for you. And I'll admit that her questions aren't for me for an evening." His smile deepened toward the dragon, and he bowed his head respectfully.

"Ah, but Hakan is very much like you in that respect. We have nets set-up to catch them as they move up and down stream. If you won't let us bring them to you, then at least pull them out of the nets for yourself."