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Nhim has been making her way south from Nebraska-she'd rather head north towards her preferred climate, truth be told...but she also knows that food is more likely to be plentiful-not to mention easier to catch-towards the south, and right now, her stomach is the most pressing matter on her mind. Of course, there's still matter of finding a cave or the like that she can't get stuck in to make into a lair, and then outfitting it with a new hoard. For now, though? It's all about food.

She peers down at the landscape, her ears pricking forward as she spots an group of cattle wandering along. The dragon goes into a dive and easily slams into one as the rest of the herd flees, then, after a moment of covering her kill with her wings and looking around-old habits die hard-begins to eat. Despite being a ravenous giant carnivore, she'd actually welcome company. She hasn't run into many things that talk thus far.

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Roughly? T-rex sized, though how she holds her head can tack a few feet on, depending. Her ears flick forward, pleased. "I'd say of course I talk, but it seems that this isn't my world, and humans aren't familiar with dragons. It's a pity."

"Dragon!" Willow squees, and throws herself into a hug across Nhims nose. It's just, well, she had all the Pern books growing up, and despite everything else, a real live dragon has not been one of those things she's seen in her travels.

Nhim snorts a bit in surprise but allows it, adjusting her muzzle slightly so Willow can avoid getting poked by the number of spikes on it. "...You may not be familiar, but you certainly are more enthusiastic than most of the humans from my world."

"Dragon." Willow says in agreement. Okay, give her a couple more seconds... All right, she's done now. Will backs off a bit, her face lit by a wide smile. "Hi!"

"Hello," she says, dipping her head in a greeting nod. She would do a full bow, but given her bad leg? She'd more likely go nose-first into the ground. "I should introduce myself-I am Nhim."

"I am in awe. I mean willow! Yes, I'm Willow. Willow, that's me! Hi, again. Wow." She will not say dragon again, she will not say "Dragon...." She draws it out, a little breathy. Dear Diary, I met a dragon today. and it was awesome.

Nhim's ears flick in amusement-just because she rarely laughs doesn't mean she can't show it in other ways. "In that case-I am pleased to meet you, Willow. And to be honest, hearing the word repeated that way is unusual-generally, if someone says 'dragon', it would be someone who is misinformed and shouting."

"But you're so pretty! I mean, I would understand if you were the fire breathing I want to eat a maiden and destroy your village type, but that just doesn't look like something you would do!" But then, willow is an optimist.

Willow is also skilled at pleasing draconic egos. Nhim's ears remain pricked forward, and her jaws gape slightly in an approximation of a smile. "Thank you. But looks are no way to judge a dragon's character, I'm afraid. Tsin the Heartless was beautiful...and had a notable tendency to set people on fire for her own amusement."

"Oh... But, you're good, right?" Right? Please?

"Of course. And I have the marks on me to prove it," she adds dryly.

"Marks?" Willow peers at the dragon, looking for any such marks

Nhim shifts a bit so Willow can see her right hind leg better. It looks like it was managled at some point in the past-the leg obvious healed wrong, with scar tissue twisting around it, and the toes bent and malformed. The dragon doesn't seem to put much weight on it-likely because it can't hold very much.

"An old war wound, from the last battle I fought in. I lost the half of my horn before that," she adds, turning her head so Willow can better see that the right horn has been snapped off at the halfway point.

"Oh you poor thing! Willow shakes her head. "That's just horrible!"

Nhim shrugs, a bit stiffly. (Damned joints.) "It was almost two hundred and fifty years ago-I've long since grown used to it. And I've seen far worse happen."

"I... wow." Willow closes her eyes. "Did I introduce my self yet?"

Nhim nods, her jaws gaping again in a smile. "You did. You're one of the few to do so so far, in fact."

"Oh, all right." She gestures at the greenery around her. "I was just trying to sort of, encourage the land."

"You practice nature magic of some sort?" she guesses. "I've meet druids who could work those sorts of spells."

"I practice, well, magic, really. I try for light and fluffy, but sometimes, there' just no help for it but a big old fireball." Especially in the middle of a nest of vampires.

"A fireball has saved many a life," she agrees, nodding. "I know nothing of magic myself, but I do have my claws and teeth-and acid."

"Acid?" Perky Willow is interested! In, well, anything about dragons, really.

Nhim nods again, then rears her head back, her fins bristling automatically. The dragon suddenly makes a noise that's halfway between a hacking cough and roar, and a black, slimy glob of something flies out from her jaws, landing with a splat several yards away. (Its appearance is probably nature's way of saying 'DO NOT TOUCH'.)

The reason for that becomes apparent seconds later, as the acid works through its protective coat and begins eating into the ground, smoking and hissing.

"Oh...cool!" Willow is of course, instantly upon it, watching as it does it's thing. "Obviously highly corrosive, is it air contact that does it? No, that's not right, cause then every time you breathe you'd be burning a hole in your throat." She picks up a stick and pokes the bubbling acid, delight on her face as the stick melts away. "I bet it's held in two different sacks, and the act of spitting mixes them together, resulting in an acidic mix. Man, evolution really had to stretch for that one!"

Nhim nods. "Something like that-I'll admit that anatomy isn't my strong point, though some dragons are quite knowledgeable. But I do know that there's a coat that covers it for a matter of seconds before it's eaten through. I believe that's why I still have an upper jaw," she adds, dryly.