Another beautiful day, though starting to get on the chilly side, and Verdy was out in the gardens doing his usual thing. Weeding, trimming, just relaxing with the plants. Sure there were a couple students around but so far none that he'd seen were really friendly or interesting enough to stop him in the middle of his gardening. At least not for the first half of his day. Already done with most of the work he was heading to the fountain to cool off for a second... which made little sense considering the slight chill that was building in the air, and sitting down on one of the garden walls facing it. This was a great place to him, but one thing was nagging at him today. Looking at that fountain... it was just... so... plain. "Why isn't there a statue on that fountain? Sure it's big and traditional and all but where's the finesse?"
He hadn't thought anyone would be around to hear his musings but he was wrong. The green dragon suddenly spotted a tall canine... a... handsome one at that, with some sort of sketch book or notebook. Hopefully he hadn't heard, or didn't think he was completely stupid. Maybe the canine was too busy with his art or whatever to have noticed. And maybe Verdy should stop staring at him.

Gabriel had left his dorm room in hopes to get some fresh air. After the morning run before the classes, he had be rather tired for majority of the day but as the afternoon rolled around his stamina was back up and he figured he could do an endurance drill in-between classes. That fell out the water when he went back to his dorm and found his sketch pad sitting on his desk with his pencils and charcoal just laying there being unused. The sudden brow raise at his supplies and the quick glance at his pt gear that rested on his bed started a slight dilemma. His foot paw bounced some and he turned away from his bed and gathered the supplies on his desk. Artistic muse won today as he left his room, still in his jeans and sleeveless shirt. As he made his way through the halls, he found himself going straight to the gardens. He picked the most ‘secluded’ spot which happened to be near the fountain. He looked at it and raised a brow intriguing brow at it. It was missing something. Sitting down at the bench across from it, he faced the fountain and opened his sketch book.
He tapped his muzzle a bit with the end of the pencil, his eyes glancing up at the fountain and back at the pad. He gave a soft hum and began sketching the fountain lightly. He planned on making the fountain rather extravagant, whether it was really like that or not. Besides, everyone needs a bit of ‘creativity’ every now and then. Though he was flowing with art muse, seeing the fountain defiantly helped him out on what to draw. The strokes were short and soft, the lead light on the off white paper. It was rather rough looking until he began to draw a rather strange start to the said ‘statue’ that failed to be on the fountain. It started with circles representing the shoulders as he made slender arms and legs. More orbs to represent the breasts and then other streaks coming from the shoulders of the faceless body that began to grow into wings. Each outside stroke began to darken as he began to set in stone where it would stand. He was just about to get started with the face when he heard a strange and random comment about the said fountain he was drawing.
He didn’t look up just yet; he wanted to shape the face of the feline he was drawing. After he got the face down, at least the outside of it, he glanced up and noticed another male looking at him. He was…a reptile? Winged one at that and a rather bright green. Gabriel liked the color green. Vivid and bright, the color of energy. He noticed he was being stared at but just gave a chuckle and a smile. ”I would have to agree with your comment. It is missing something.” Gabriel was Spanish, and his accent was what gave it away. His soft floppy ears perked forward at the other figure before him. He gave a loud barking laugh. “A statue would do it some good.”[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

Oh crap, he saw him staring. That was a pretty nice accent though... spanish? "Thanks. Uh... yeah, just don't know what kind of statue would make it perfect. Then again the closest I come to artistically gifted is when I'm planting and trimming the flowers around here. Nine times out of ten that's following a blueprint the head gardener gives me." Verdy finished up with a few nearby plants and walked over in the canine's direction, taking a seat close to him but not right beside him. "Still a pretty relaxing place though. All the wonderful scents, the flowing water, what's not to like? Could just stand to be a little fancier is all." Small talk accomplished, now was that the only subject he could think of? Well there was one more topic that readily came to mind. Should he save it or use it now? Probably save it... if there were an awkward pause or a need to change the subject best to have something to fall back on.

Gabriel gave a soft chuckle as the green lizard spoke. He seemed to ramble but Gabriel was giving him his full attention. His bright amber eyes watched the flow of body language until he sat down on the same bench as him. Normally Gabriel was never fond of showing his half done work but seeing as it was going to get there, he got ready in a sense to show him. He gave another soft chuckle at the male. “Nonsense. Gardening is also a sense of art. To place various of flowers with distinguished colors in certain areas, it will show off your talent as well as a very beautiful outlook on life itself. So I would have to deny your thoughts on gardening not being artist.” Gabriel brought his large paw up to tap his nose and give a wink to the other young adult. “It is rather relaxing, perfect place to let go and take in nature at its best. “ Gabriel lifted his head to gaze at the overcastting clouds that slowly moved across the sky of blue as the sun brightened the world above them. The shade of the greenery around the gardens casted over them like a blanket of protection in a way. To Gabriel the area seemed to be rather romantic, especially if he were to bring anyone of interest here. But who said he wasn’t with someone already? The bright blue eyes of the one next to him made his pupils dilate in a rather strange hunger. He was handsome and the puppy inside him wanted to reach out and see if his scales were rough or slimy. Call him strange but he was in those aspects.
Gabriel moved his sketch pad on the other side of him and placed his materials on top of the page as he dusted his paw pads off with the extra eraser crumbs that stuck to his fur and the charcoal on his fur ends. Afterwards he held out his paw to the other. “I’m Gabriel by the way.

Verdy smiled, taking the offered paw and giving a firm shake. "Verdegris, but everyone calls me Verdy. Thanks for the compliment, but I see you've got a sketchbook and that's definitely a lot more skill than I could manage." And he could say that without even seeing anything in the book. Heck stick figures made by a decent artist could look better than anything he came up with. "So you're new to the school? Can't say I've seen you around. I'm not always the most observant though so... yeah... my bad if you've been here a while. Hard to get to know everyone in the school." Phew, still didn't have to use his desperation topic. They just met after all, shouldn't be that hard to keep things going for a while. Gabriel had a pretty firm handshake too, impressive. And now that he was close Verdy was able to take in a few more details and in a more obscure manner too, just a few quick glances out the corner of his eye.

Verdy. The name made Gabriel smile wider. A slight itch was taking him over as he wanted to reach up and touch the male's head. But somethign else was itching him. He had wings...and was small. Too smooth even but probably a nice smooth. Gabriel's couldn't stop the words as they came out. "Are you some type of winged reptile?" Gabriel had been blunt before that he hadn't even heard what he asked. Gabriel's attention went fully to the green skined male, even turning his body to look at him.

Notes: Sorry it short x__x

Ouch, boy did that bring up painful memories. But the canine didn't mean it the way his former bullies had. And besides they loved teasing him by calling him a "winged iguana" not a winged reptile. "Actually I'm a dragon. I know I don't look like much of one, heh, but you can call me anything as long as I know it's not meant as an insult." He wasn't sure but it seemed like the canine wanted to just reach up and touch him? Well he wouldn't mind, but it definitely answered his question from a moment ago. Gabriel had to be new if he wasn't able to call Verdy a "dragon" considering how many there seemed to be in this school. Including the headmaster and his brother, but not everyone was fortunate enough to run across dragons every day.

Gabriel hit a nerve. He could tell he could when he saw the change of expression. But he saw it instantly leave his face when he began to speak again. Verdy was a dragon? His head tilted but he smiled, feeling slightly bad that he even called him a reptile. “Oh I’m sorry. You didn’t seem like one that is true. Your scales look very smooth to be that of a dragon. Then again I never really met one up close. I’m new to Golden Oaks. I came from the military. Figured I could get some college in before I go back active again. The only dragon I knew was my Master Chief but he never really showed his face too often.” Gabriel gave a nervous smile and turned to grab his notebook. He flipped through some pages before setting on a picture of a hybrid female holding a pup in her arms. “This was my friend, she’s still in though. I told her I would draw a family portrait for her.” Gabriel wanted to change the subject, and so he did. He showed the green dragon the picture. Her face was of a cougar but her slender body and legs as well as her ears and furry chest resembled a wolf. In her arms was a chubby little pup that held the largest smile. Behind the two, half way sketched, was a large wolf with long hair that was tied back but still a bit messy.
“She wanted to do some college too but she didn’t want to get out just yet. I don’t blame her since she has a family.” He handed his sketch book out to the dragon now. Sure he had unfinished works, being that one was unfinished, but he didn’t mind sharing them now. ”You can take a look through if you want. The last one is what I think the statue should be if this fountain had one.”

"It's quite alright, you'd be surprised how often I get that. Seems lots of dragons end up in some kind of military service though, one of our security people here was a soldier." Verdy smiled as he looked in the book, flipping through a few pages. "These are amazing. If you don't do any more service you could definitely get a good job in art." Sounded like that friend was a pretty close one, maybe he was sort of the "uncle" figure for the kid he saw in the sketch. "So I've kind of already assumed art but what are you coming to college for?" He wondered if he should bring up his conversation saver soon before things detoured too far away from it to be relevant in any sort of fashion.

Gabriel found himself leaning back some as he smiled, letting the dragon skim through his book. “Well I’m more so taking drawing as a side hobby. I want to do journalism as a side job. I would like to be a teacher or a counselor when I retire from the military. Once I finish my degree I want to go back in for about four more years. But all that can change. I really wouldn’t mind owning a bar truthfully, but “ The mutt gave a laugh. “I’m a bit young.” He brought his leg up, crossing them as he leaned forward and rested on it. It was really bothering him this time, wanting to touch him. Gabriel was reverting to his flirtatious self and having to keep it in check for four years, he wanted to finally open up how he was. And now was his chance. He bolted up, a sudden movement on his part as he leaned forward, wondering just how tall the dragon was to him since he was one of the ‘smaller’ kind.
“This may sound…odd in a way but could I touch you? I’m just curious on how your scales feel.”

"Those all sound like perfectly good jobs and ambitions to me. Even the bar, if you're not old enough well, heh, wouldn't that help keep you out of your own inventory though?" Wow, he wasn't kidding when he said it was odd. But when the canine adjusted himself and leaned forward Verdy only smiled. "Sure, no problem. I don't mind, touch as much as you like." Not normally the kind of answer one would give to such a question but... well Gabriel was hot and having those paws all over him was sort of enticing to Verdy. It was also when the canine shifted that he noticed just how much taller he was. Verdy was used to being dwarfed by other dragons and the occasional horse but by Gabriel? It was a surprise, he even managed to stand taller than a couple wolves here.

The way Verdy told him he could touch made the canine laugh out loudly in a deep barking tone. It was like he was suggesting something more but Gabriel wasn't going to do more than what he planned on anyways. Reaching out he rested his paw on the side of Verdy's cheek. The scales themselves were smooth and he was quite enjoying the first touch. Like a blind one would, he allowed his paw to reach up and even at the black horns that rested on the green dragon's head. He gave a soft chuckle and then brought his paw back, very satisifed with the feel. "A lot better than I thought. How do you keep your scales smooth?" He asked.
It was strange for Gabriel to ask such strange questions, considering he'd been in the military and rarely acted as himself. He was always wearing a mask some would say. But now he felt he didn't have to hide himself.

Verdy was blushing just a little at the gentle touch of the canine. He was tempted to put a hand up but managed to restrain himself, smiling. "Thanks. Well, they've always been pretty smooth but I keep them as nice as I can with a few oils I make. There used to be a sort of spa in town, didn't last long, but I had a job there for a bit and learned a few things. Now I make my own oils and perfumes, before I consider giving them to anyone or selling a few bottles I make sure it works right." And hopefully that didn't make him sound too girly. "It kind of comes naturally when I'm doing the gardening and have to trim off a few flowers. Shouldn't let them go to waste after all."

Gabriel watched the dragon speak so fondly and highly of his job and how he learned to make his own products. The canine was smiling broadly, giving a soft chuckle out in between his talking. Gabriel valued that in a person. Doing what you enjoy, what you love. What would life be like if you couldn’t do your favorite thing? Gabriel gave another widened smile at Verdy before replying. “I’d love to try some, maybe to help soften up my pads.” Gabriel glanced down at his furry hands before glancing back up at the dragon. “You sound like you really enjoy that, and it’s good to. The fact it comes naturally to you reminds me of my sketches. Do you have those days where you can’t figure out how you want to make it and end up messing something up? I know I have my moments.” The conversation was becoming a rather interesting one and Gabriel hoped to run into the dragon again even after it.

"Sure, I'd love to give you a few samples. You'd be able to pick which worked best for you and I can get plenty more after that." Gabe was interested! Sweet, usually his talk about those things gets people to kind of walk away or stare at him awkwardly until he stopped the conversation. "Heh, oh yeah. I have plenty of those days. Just a random example I had a few dozen scents to work with, and out of all things to do I somehow mistook something close to skunk spray scent and mixed it instead of roses. Spent the next hour or two in the shower after that little slip up. And some days I know just what I want to make but... how to make it completely escapes me. Doesn't even have to be something new, just something I haven't done in a while."