Teran was back. Somewhere out here, somewhere in the wilderness, where he wasn't spooking the hell out of all the students or having trouble hunting for food. And Blake wanted to see him again, see how much he's grown up in that time. He also wanted to see what else was going on for the young and supposedly giant dragon. Aside from Rose he was the most experienced person around when it came to the impressive beasts. Teran though... was harder to track than he should have been. It didn't help Blake was intentionally steering clear of the other dragon's territory. "Freaking towering dragon, black scales, and in the woods. Should NOT be this hard to find. Come on big fella, where are you?" One thing Blake neglected to consider is that Teran would be moving, and quite possibly following him.

Today the winds had an edge to them, trying to bite through his scales to make him shiver. But it wasn't that easy; not only that, but he was too big for a few strong breezes to put a chill through his skin.
Other than that, though, the day was a beautiful one so far. The morning shone bright and clear, the sky tinged by the sun where it was coming up. He could smell nothing but good weather for the rest of the day - atleast no storms. If that meant it might get quite cold, that was okay with him. He'd have to visit Grace again tonight and share warmth and thoughts.
Teran had woken bare hours ago. No hunger stirred his stomach so he had started out the dawn with practicing draconic. Speaking, mostly. Some time after that he had started his flying. When he had the time for it, he now tended to fly atleast half a day. His endurance was getting better.

He was gliding low over the forest when his sensitive nose picked up a vaguely familiar scent, and then his earholes a familiar voice and the words that voice spoke.
"Freaking towering dragon, black scales, and in the woods. Should NOT be this hard to find. Come on big fella, where are you?"
The black dragon smiled internally, quite amused.
"Well," he thought, "maybe I'll make him wait a little bit? Surely people do that sort of thing for a reason? It must be fun."
Honestly, though, he also wanted to see Blake. They hadn't talked much when he was younger, but he still felt responsible for atleast letting him know he was here and okay. It wasn't to say he didn't have patience, but he wasn't really into making people wait if he didn't have to.

"Hey Blake! Up here."
He dropped a little lower and slowed down - slowly gaining until the shadow of his head was over the anthro dragon - and looking ahead for a clearing. The dragon was pretty familiar with the wilderness overall, but he had frequented this stretch less.
Ah, there it was. He was passing Blake now, so he raised his voice.
"There's a clearing big enough for me to land in just a few hundred feet straight ahead for you. The path through the woods is clear enough from what I can see. I'll talk to you there."

Up. Why the hell hadn't he thought of UP before? Of course if a dragon had wings it'd tend to use them. So why hadn't he been flying through the woods to search for Teran? Must be losing his touch. "I'll see you there!" The anthro black ran forward so he could catch up, glad the path was indeed clear. Ok... so maybe some of the reason he was out here looking for the dragon was because he was jealous. Not that he'd outright admit that but he kind of wished he could be that big and strong. Coming into the clearing he barely managed to avoid a jaw dropping moment. "Wow... you grew up nice and strong. Good to see you again. Heh, I remember the days when I was still about your size and just about stronger. How have you been?" And where, and what had he learned, and how long would he be back, so many questions on his mind.

He climbed up a bit before he dropped down into the clearing, the ground shuddering a bit in the immediate radius. Normally he'd be more careful, but it was easier this way, and he figured Blake could take anything he might feel from where he was...which wasn't far.
He got there seconds after him, and proceeded to talk to him and ask him how he'd been.
"Ah, yes. It's good to see you again too, and I've been quite well. Made some connections with family while I was gone, learned many good things. And about me growing up, the most I've got left to grow is maybe a few feet, if that. I've reached the typical maturing age, but I still grew a bit after that, so we'll see how much more I have left."
Teran smiled a very white, very toothy grin, and rolled his shoulders as his version of a shrug. Then he laid down onto his underbelly, stretching his legs out and keeping his wings tucked in close, while he curled his tail around a few trees behind him.
Lowering his head until it was more level with Blake, he stayed back and blinked his golden eyes. If the man wanted to get closer, then he could do that himself. After all, they'd never known each other too well. The true dragon would let him decide what he wanted to do with the situation.

"Very good, very good to hear. Heh, if you grow up any more I'm afraid you'll be able to knock me down just by breathing in my direction. You certainly are impressive, and one of the nicest dragons I've ever met." Though that wasn't saying too much. Blake had met some nice dragons but they always wanted something at the same time. And there were plenty of more menacing ones, a few like that Frosk character were downright mean. "And I don't see any scars or missing scales, so I'm guessing you either stayed out of trouble or got into tons and always won without much effort." Those golden eyes of his were like mirrors, Blake hoped Teran didn't see all his inferior traits like he himself was beginning to notice. Damn... why couldn't he be a true dragon too? Or like those really ancient stories of anthros being able to shift back and forth?

Teran turned his head slightly away, not so much that he couldn't look at Blake again if he wished, and laid his head on the ground. For now he looked into the trees, listening and thinking.
The compliments were nice and made him feel good, he wouldn't deny that, but he didn't let those sorts of things get to his head either.
"No, I stayed out of fights. I am generally...liked by most. I did have some small relationship...problems. But those weren't a big deal either. What about you, Blake - how have you been?"
He was curious, but he also wanted to turn the conversation away from the little things he done wrong and the mistakes he made. They weren't being denied; he simply didn't want to talk about them. Thinking about them was enough for now.

"Overall I'd say I'm doing pretty good. Got a couple kids now, still pretty young but they like to grow up fast. Haven't had too much trouble around the school lately, just that other big dragon sometimes bugging us and that's about it. Still doing security at the school, and sculpting and other art things in my spare time. Think I still have a little figurine somewhere of you when you were little. Heh, guess I should make a new one for the young adult Teran?" Aside from the kids not much had changed in his life. No serious injuries, no changes in career, just a few changes in family. "Oh, and my brother Drake is planning on getting married it seems. So I'm glad he found a nice person." And hopefully that wouldn't bring up a string of questions about his kids and who their parent was.

(this takes place before he actually meets Frosk...partially cuz the thread isn't done yet and I'm not sure how it's gonna turn out)

Ah...he had had suspicions as to another dragon, of course. But no one had told him anything clear yet. Well, those suspicions were confirmed now.
"Married, hm? That's good."
Teran let his thoughts flow for a few moments before continuing.
"And maybe I can see the little ones some time? Don't feel like I'm trying to impose on you - refuse if you wish. I just don't often get to interact with kids...then again, maybe it's not often a good idea. I suppose I am large and...relatively spiky. Black is often an intimidating colour too."
After moving his head to his left a little and curling his tail around himself, he continued.
"Oh and yes, an updated figurine would be a good idea. Could I see it? I don't remember if I saw the one before or not, but I do enjoy art. But surely you must have questions for me? I can say that I should be staying indefinitely for now. I do not wish to go back to my family, only to visit. I'll be staying with Grace wherever she goes, and...it's quite hard to hide a true dragon, isn't it? She thinks she might stay here. If she goes looking...I can't go with her."
He stopped at that, not wanting to explain what it was she was looking for, and also giving the other black dragon a chance to answer his questions and ask some of his own.

"Heheh, if black is an intimidating color for the kids then I'm in trouble aren't I? I'd love to bring them around so you can meet them, or if you feel like taking a trip to the school some time. I can show you the old figure and get to work on the new one too. Maybe make a little collection of sculptures for you to keep, Grace and other people and dragons you know, things like that." The black dragon laughed, smiling at Teran. "I would have agreed with you on how hard it is to hide a true dragon but then again I was having trouble finding you today so I guess it's easier than we'd think." He was picturing the kids getting to meet Teran and how much they'd "terrorize" him, climbing all over him and practically using him as a new playground. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it was still a cute thought.

Teran laughed, a deep rumble in his chest.
"I'd be worried if they were actually scared of their father. I don't go to the school often enough either, so I'd love to visit."
The true dragon once again readjusted himself, positioning his head so that he could look straight at the other black drake. He neglected to mention that his family wasn't the type to keep many material items, especially such tiny ones as he imagined these were. They couldn't be bigger than one of his jaw spikes, and even that was small. And one and a half feet was quite big for something that sounded so easy to carry around and such.
Well, he'd just have to see them.
"I'm still not very big compared to the entire forest, or the mountains. Though still considerably larger than the rest of you..."
Maybe Blake didn't want to ask questions after all? He'd effectively stopped the conversation, though that was fine with him, honestly. It would pick up again easily enough...a thought occurred to him, though.
"Could I not meet them today? I have much free time, unless you're busy...? Or they are," he said, laughing again at the last.

"Sure, come on back to the school with me. I'm not busy, they'd be happy to see you I'm sure. Heh, I'm glad you're a big softie Teran. There's another out here somewhere that's not so friendly, and right around your size too. So... I know you'd be able to handle yourself but Id like to see you around the school more and not have to worry about it. Heh... ya know... there's been... this thing that's crossed my mind once in a while. Sometimes when I'm standing here around you it makes me feel more like... I dunno, usually I'm the tough guy around here but it almost feels good, ya know? Someone out there, right in front of me now, is bigger, tougher, more reliable. Probably sounds strange or stupid but I dunno."