Between Scales and Fire

[Syrrus]

Ryake was sitting, tired, in the library of his great castle. It was one of the only places where he could be for himself and not be disturbed by castellans, maids and other servants. Of course, the reason for why he wanted to be by himself was not what one might thing, the way he had his nose down one of the thicker and older tomes about dragons and elves but because he didn't want to hid the whelp which had been following him for the past six months.


The little thing lay in a ball on top of the homemade nest he had created out of the prince's jacket. It was sleeping with a loud snoring and puffs of smoke kept boiling out of his nostrils. Ryake's studying about the forgotten world kept being interrupted by the small thing sneezing fire in its sleep, lighting something on fire which he - without looking up from his book - put out with a very tall and heavy glass of water.


After countless burns and bite marks the young man had gotten used to the dragons mischief and know now too well how to deal with them in the most practical of ways. The problem he seemed to have with the little thing was the constant crying at night. The ball of scales kept him awake, every night with the never ending crying and loud noises, which was why the prince had taken to sneak out at night and try to get to sleep under the old oak tree in the woods behind the castle. Neither of them got any sleep during the night and it seemed as if only the little one would get to sleep during the day.


Every night the little whelp would, after feeding of course - raw venison and fish seemed to be the most popular, curl up against Ryake and cry into his ear. No matter how warm, how close or how long the man talked to the little dragon it never stopped crying. The book didn't help him with his problem either, seeing as most of it had now been on fire three times and was falling into pieces in his hands.


The prince sighed and leaned his chin against the back of the hand as he watched the little whelp, who gladly slept now when the prince was awake.

 

[Kattz]

Adalina silently flew through the skies on the back of her brother, Tatsuo. With sadness and jealousy in her heart she leaned down against him and soaked up his warmth. "Tatsuo?" She asked with a sigh. When he hummed in response she continued on. "What's it like to be able to fly without needing to rely on someone else?" Her question earned her a smack to the head in the next moment that he flapped his wings. "Ow!"


"How many times have I told you not to worry over such things. With out bond we are near one and the same. Yes you may rely on my but you will need no one else. To answer your question, think of wings as separate beings that we beasts must rely on and we are not so different. I am your wings Ada."


When he was done with his chastisement, Ada quickly changed the subject to their destination. "Are you sure the child is this way?" She asked for possibly the hundredth time. When Tatsuo patiently replied in the affirmative yet again, Ada simply scanned the horizon in an impatient manner. "I see it!" She exclaimed at the sight of their destination. A human stronghold such as this couldn't just be attacked head on for one child. Adalina was therefore dressed in nothing but her hunting gear with a spear and dagger and no one but Tatsuo was accompanying her.


"Ready?"


"Ready?! No one just takes our nephew after slaughtering Adeline and her family! Of course I am!!" And with that, Tatsuo put on a burst of speed.

 

[Syrrus]

Ryake blinked when he noticed the whelp waking up. Odd, he usually slept till late afternoon. The little thing was looking around almost looking nervous and worried. "Father isn't coming home until next week.. I assure you, you're safe here." He said and patted the little whelp on the head. The dragon didn't seem to agree with him however and quickly leaped onto the man's lap. This caused the prince to be even more confused and he made sure to wrap the baby up in his jacket. "You'll be alright.." He mumbled.


The prince did however start to look around himself, worried that something was going wrong. Why would the little thing be so worried. He didn't know of course that the whelp was sensing another dragon, a bigger dragon and without knowing who this dragon was he of course got scared, a dragon could mean many things but it could mean a predator who was out to kill him and his nonexistent siblings to mate with his mother alone.

 

[Kattz]

(Sorry for the late response, I wasn't feeling too well)


As planned, Tatsuo flew over and dropped his sister in as stealthily as possible. He would try to fly away unnoticed if possible, but if not, he would make sure to draw attention away from his Ada. Adalina touched down with a heavy thump and a roll before crouching and sniffing the air. She looked about her surroundings and closed her eyes in order to activate the draconian magic of "living sense". With this she gained a sense of all living creatures within a several foot radius as she began searching for the little one. "Ah-ha! There your are." She whispered to herself after she finally found him while avoiding yet another patrol. She failed to notice the presence with the young dragon because she saw them as one for some reason. Almost as if they had already bonded.

 

[Syrrus]

The little whelp was trying his hardest to crawl into the Prince's shirt, it clearly wanted to hide from something but Ryake could hardly understand what that something could be. Instead he simply tried his hardest to lull the creature into a sense of security. He leaned back in his seat and stroke the little dragon over it's back scales, mumbling to himself about this and that. Everytime the little whelp acted like this or when it cried at night he always got filled up with such awful sorrow. This was all his fault. If he never would have accepted the trial of the Seven Kings nothing of this would have happened. The poor thing would still have had it's mother and siblings and not have to be around a prince all day and all night.

 

[Kattz]

Ada was close. She picked up her pace, just narrowly missing being found out by a passing patrol. She eventually heard the crying in which there was no need to continue spending her mana on her Living Sense. Ada paused for a moment to effectively shut it off and get a better look at her surroundings before following the sound with her heightened senses.


When she silently entered the room, spear gripped in her hand, Adalina couldn't believe what she was seeing. Yes, the child was crying, but it seemed as if he was being comforted, by the look of the clothing, by a noble of some sort. Was this some form of new sport? After killing off the family they now take younglings as if they were some new form of entertainment? With the nobleman preoccupied, Adalina crept up behind him and brandished her spear before saying. "Hand over the child and no harm shall come to you."

 

[Syrrus]

Twitching, the prince slowly stared in front of him. His heart sank and his eyes widened. This wasn't good - not something he had expected but the woman behind him had used the term child. He came to the conclusion that she was indeed not just a thief here to grab a big price, nor a guard to finish her duties but someone who perhaps had found a respect and perhaps even love for the creature which was grunting against his stomach with awfully hot nostrils.


The prince only hoped that the whelp wouldn't burn him. Being burned on a hand, leg or arm was one thing but the stomach was an awfully sensitive aria and he really didn't want to relive the sensation.


She wanted the dragon, his guilt. Frowning the prince moved one of his hands towards a dagger which he had hidden by his belt just for an occasion like this. He wouldn't let her have it, it was his guilt and only by protecting what he had broken would remedy his actions, until it was strong enough to live on its own and leave him behind like a long lasting nightmare.


"Never."

 

[Kattz]

Adalina was still for a moment, analyzing his answer, the situation, and her potential responses to it. She hadn't quite expected such a determined answer or one without a large amount of fear. This nobleman was very brave, very foolish, or had been expecting her. There had been no others near the book filled room so she assumed that it couldn't be the latter. Even so, one could never be too careful so she aimed to wrap this up and escape quickly. "You want a fight? Fine. At any time you may relinquish your hold on the little one and depart. I will not chase after you." Ada had no intentions of killing the human. She continued on in a more dangerous tone. "But if you choose continue on with your foolish, mistaken 'bravery'..." Adalina lunged forward and aimed for a painful, but non fatal strike towards his leg. "Die!"

 

[Syrrus]

Rolling down onto the floor was the least graceful thing the prince had done his whole life. He held his dagger in one strong hand as he got up on his knees. "You shouldn't make so much noise when threaten man. Loud shouts and raised voices can only to do much." The little dragon had fallen out of the man's shirt and was now sitting, confused upon the floor, it didn't seem to know what was happening until it noticed the stranger with the weapon.

 

[Kattz]

The nobleman had a point. Most dragons, however, usually didn't have much use for silence in most battle tactics so, although this was primarily a stealth mission, Ada had instinctively let go of her "inside voice". It didn't matter much to her at the moment as the young hatchling was now sitting with a confused expression on the floor. Adalina saw her chance and let loose a series of growls and calls. The kind a mother or other form of caretaker calls out to young ones who need to return home when the sun sets.

 

[Syrrus]

The whelp looked up at the stranger who spoke words that he could understand perfectly. She was telling him that he had to go back home, danger was near and he needed to be safe. He of course chirped happily back at her and bounced his way towards the prince who had been staring at the whole scene for what seemed like an eternity. He dropped the dagger and caught the little dragon as it leaped up into his arms. "You can talk to dragons? Why did you tell him?"

 

[Kattz]

Adalina had her hands outstretched, ready to receive her nephew. To her utter shock, he slept into the arms of the human! "You can talk to dragons? What did you tell him?"


"Wha-... Ah..." Ada opened and closed her mouth several times. Young dragons have often been lost and some even captured, but this was the first time she had ever received this kind of response when calling out to one. "What have you done to him?" She asked after brandishing her spear again. Was this some form of new magic? A new threat to her kind?

 

[Syrrus]

"I didn't.. I didn't do anything!" The prince shouted in surprised as she held the spear, hugging the little whelp who had decided to sleep against the man's shoulder. It was clearly tired. It made the man look rather happy though, the little thing had picked him over.. the dragon savage lady who now stood in front of him. Frowning he added: "How did you get past the guards?"

 

[Kattz]

Whatever it was, Adalina did not like it. Of course there was the possibility that he could be marked by the hatchling but no... that couldn't be possible. "Fine. If the little one stays attached to you then you come with me too." Ada was wrapped up in her own world of completing her mission, making her somewhat unintentionally ignore the nobleman. "You have the choice of coming along quietly or me forcing you along by possibly incapacitating you. Choose." Ada deposited the bottom of her spear on the floor as she held it upright in a less hostile, yet still fierce, position and waited for the nobleman's answer.

 

[Syrrus]

"I- What?" The prince blinked a few times in surprised. Ryake did not feel any sort of urge to follow the strange and awfully rude woman. Peering down at the little whelp in his arms, who looked up at him with those big green eyes, the eyes that made him feel like he wanted to cry. He couldn't leave, could he? Peering around himself, wondering what his father, his kingdom.... his people would say if he suddenly vanished. He looked back at the young woman. "Why?"

 

[Kattz]

(Sorry, I was filming all day.)


Adalina blinked at the man in irritation as if he should know the answer to that question. "Because that child," She pointed to the hatchling in his arms. "Is the grandson of the Great Matriarch Tiamat, Dragoness of the Elder Forest. And he is apparently the only surviving grandchild she has. Keeping the child of her most beloved daughter here would be an act of war. Assuming you would like to avoid that, I need you to come with me and explain why this little one is so attached to you."

 

[Syrrus]

"But how am I suppose to answer a question I don't know the answer to?!" He asked, panicking slightly. Of course he didn't wish for war. He never wanted to see more blood spill, no matter if it was human or Dragon. Sighing, he nodded. "But if you simply take me, that will also be an act of war. You simply will have to wait until I can speak to father and schedule a trip away from our kingdom. I don't wish for any more death! Dragon or otherwise."

 

[Kattz]

Adalina considered the words of the nobleman. Perhaps she was being rather rash as she tended to do often, never thinking of the other side. Ada narrowed her eyes as she thought things over. He did have a point after all, based on the way he was dressed, taking him would most likely result in the same situation only with the positions reversed. This would be even more so if he had a high ranking in- "Wait a minute... what is your ranking in this human society?"

 

[Syrrus]

"Ranking?" Blinking in confusion. This woman didn't know? How was that even possible! He sighed and peered down at the little dragon. What had he gotten himself into? "I am the Prince of Man." He said, looking up at the lady who apparently attacked him without knowing anything what so ever. He who had studied dragons like a mad man before slaughtering them, at least he gave them that much honor, to know their nature, name and breed before cutting them down. She didn't even know who he was.

 

[Kattz]

Adalina stiffened with surprise. She never cared much for mankind, but the one standing here in front of her with her nephew in his arms was not a, but the Prince?! Getting over her shock, curiosity took over and she twirled her spear back into a non threatening position as she tentatively crept forward. She circled the Prince, eyes brimming with a strange light at the peculiar sight as she occasionally sniffed him. "Strange." She said after a while. "You are not much like the cowardly noble who dresses himself in gaudy finery and has cruel tastes in entertainment. Well at least not the last part nor the 'cowardly' bit." She recounted her childhood stories when she came to a stop. "Though perhaps you are the exception to the royal rule, or maybe..." Ada pointed her spear at the "Prince" with deadly precision and grace. "You are lying to me for some unfathomable reason."

 

[Syrrus]

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the young woman walking around him, and sniffing him like a dog or some other animal. This had never happened to him before. Usually someone would get beheaded by just touching him, he wasn't sure what would happen if someone... sniffed him. She was speaking about nobles, once again he found that she knew very little about his culture. Well, some nobles were exactly like that but not the royal family. They were all fierce warriors, fighters, duelers and magicians. Only one who proves his worth is allowed to sit upon the throne, after all. All his brothers had already gone into war - twice, and they were only the age of six-teen.


She then called him a liar and again he felt that stupid spear being pointed at him. This time getting rather frustrated. The little whelp climbing up on his shoulder, it started to hiss at her; clearly just as frustrated. "I am not a liar. Don't point that thing at me. It is you who know nothing of them who you hunt. You have no respect in that body of yours, do you? Coming all the way here from the Gods knows where, without even knowing what the one you hunted looks like? Disgraceful." The prince took a steady and dancing step to the side, so he could face het yet again. "I am the Prince of Man, Lord Ryake, Rightfully ruler of the Sun's lands and the Moon's mountains. It's future King."

 

[Kattz]

Adalina was startled again when the little one hissed at her. Younglings were ones without initial prejudices so she therefore never had one hiss at her before unless they were playing some form of game. He, however, seemed to be in the same emotional wavelength the longer she stared at the two, increasing the possibility that he was marked and they were bonded. Ada was lost in her thoughts again until he accused her of hunting them. She listened to his further accusations, bristling all the way through their inaccuracies.


"First of all I am not 'hunting' you, I only seek the child whom you took from us. Do not confuse us with the other tribes and clans rightfully itching for the blood of your kind. If it were them, you wouldn't have been given the option of handing the child over, he would have been taken, this place would have possibly even been attacked by an entire clan by now." A fiery light burned in Ada's eyes. "You are the disgraceful one. 'Rightfully ruler of the Sun's lands and the Moon's mountains.' As if one species could rule over this entire world as if they owned it. Your kind takes and takes leaves barely enough for the rest of us to get by. If the Tribe of Matriarch Tiamat actually cared enough for your kind and were truly hunting you, you would be dead already."


Adalina probably would have continued on with her speech if it hadn't been for her brother sending over a wave of impatience through the link of their bond. She recalled that the dragons of her Tribe were getting antsy over the missing child. They could easily go against Matriarch Tiamat's neutral ways, so time was a luxury she didn't have. Ada moved the spear away from the Prince and sighed in exhaustion and exasperation. "Fine. Speak with this father of yours to get permission. Two weeks from now you and the little one will come to the edge of the Elder Forest to begin peace talks of how this incident can be smoothed over without war." With nothing else to say she turned to leave.

 

[Syrrus]

"I didn't take him!" The prince shouted. Clearly she had pushed one of his button by using that very sentence. He looked down at the whelp who now was rolling around in his arms, happily as if this argument was the best argument he had heard all day. Stupid little... The prince sighed and looked back at the feral woman. "He followed me. The guards would have slay him if I didn't take him with me. That's what they do. I kill the brood mother and they destroy the eggs and whelps I--" He looked down at the child again, guild boiling in his throat. "I never thought it would be so hard." The fight had been easy, his training had been good but it was the after math that had been difficult.


The prince frowned with annoyance, holding the child in his arms. "And you think our people feel safe with Dragons roaming the sky?! You- Eh... Dragons, does the same amount of damage as men do! They can destroy a village with a sneeze of fire and leave everything to die in ashes and flames! How is that justice?!" It surely wasn't justice, but killing fire with fire wasn't the way to do it either. His people would never be safe and the same could be said about the Dragons.


He agreed on speaking to his father however, but he wasn't home just yet. Sitting back down, this time upon the floor as he didn't trust the feral woman he wrapped his cape around the small and scaly lizard he had in his arms, sighing heavily.

 

[Kattz]

(Sorry, I was having issues with my internet connection.)


Adalina had stopped and slightly tilted her head back to hear his rebuttal without giving him the courtesy of her full attention. He made some good points. Though many of the draconian races were neutral parties and did not attack without some form of provocation, there always were the groups that were unnecessarily aggressive. Whether they were young upstarts that left their tribes in search of their own territory or just hateful towards humans, the events he claimed of did tend to happen. However that would never justify the murders of the innocent members of Dragon kind. Without anything to say in response lest it be out of heated anger, which probably wasn't a smart move towards a Prince of Man, Ada left to join up with her brother.


After reactivating "living sense", Ada retraced her route as close as possible and stealthily made it out of the human stronghold with knocking out only a single guard. As she waited on the highest tower she could quietly climb in the darkness, she used her link to call her brother.

 

[Syrrus]

Stubborn as a mule was one way to call it and it frustrated him, surely. He peered down at the whelp tucked in with his cape and between his two strong arms. Nonsense, frustrating and damnable. HE sighed heavily and this if course caused the little ball of scales to peer up at him, wondering what was wrong with its jaws hanging open in that special fashion. "Nothing." The prince muttered and covered the dragon up again before leaving the library, not wishing any guards or servants to notice him. Ryoke actually hoped that the woman had gone and left for good, it would make his life a lot easier and perhaps even livable. Though he knew for a fact that his guilt would eat him alive, it was already gnawing at him, and the fact that the whelp was nibbling on his finger just made it all worse.


Entering his bedchambers and making sure no one of the maids were there he quickly popped the Dragon down on top of the bad and simply acted upon impulse. He started to back his big bag, it was small enough to hang over his back but big enough to carry everything he needed to survive in the wilderness. His father was going to be furious but he left him a note, a small one explaining were he had gone; a lie and then he waited, silently, hoping that the lady dragon wouldn't show up again.