by napsii » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:53 am
Kiralise said nothing for a while, surprised by the generosity of the dragon -- Lixia, was her name.
In her time, Veyenias had told Kiralise of many names. The names of mortals, of cities and countries, and of dragons. The dragonslayer could run over a hundred names off the top of her head in any moment, some living, some long dead and then some who had been felled by her blade. Lixia was one of the less familiar ones -- not entirely unknown, but skirting the very limits of her knowledge. It concerned the dragonslayer little, though. Rather, what made her fists clench was the mention of Veyenias' death. Perhaps in impulse, Kiralise grit her teeth, the rest of Lixia's words almost escaping her. Before she had slain them, many of the dragons she had fought were insistent that the famous red dragon once known as Veyenias had died at Vayne's claw, but the dragonslayer would not believe it. Her heart jumped, the pressure of emotion building... and then fading. Her nose felt itchy and she sniffed back the first symptoms of a cold, already unsettled by what the black dragon before her had said. Yes, she was the bastard child... birthed by humans, and yet raised among dragons. That reputation was not unknown to her, and with time, its insult to her had crumbled away. It was no surprise that her deeds would have reached Lixia, particularly in the recent years. Looking dark, the dragonslayer crossed her arms and looked to the ground, the rainwater feeling colder against her skin. Always, she believed herself justified in the task she had chosen for herself, but hearing of Vayne and Veyenias being spoken of by the dragons she had regarded as both enemies and friends was always unsettling.
She looked up at Lixia as the dragon gestured for her again to sit closer. To kill a mate...
As awkward as it might have been for her, the dragonslayer eventually rose to her feet. The dragon had a point, and it was in her interest to respect it. Carefully, she shrugged Dragon's Guilt off of her back. The massive sword clinked as, with two hands, Kiralise thrust it readily into the ground in the corner of the cave. Her hand slowly fell from it as she walked over, with infinite caution settling down in the gap that Lixia had highlighted for her. Shifting closer, she leaned in toward the immediate warmth that radiated from the natural fires that burned inside the dragon's body. The relief was palpable, and she felt the bitter cold start to wash away. It was comforting for her thoughts, as well -- perhaps the cold had upset her sense of reason -- but the reasons for Vayne's attack still retained their icy presence in her mind. The claim that Vayne had slain her in a fit of rage was nothing new, and not entirely unbelievable. The emotions and feelings of dragons were intense and often confusing, and yet it just seemed so... disrespectful to think of it. Veyenias would have never fallen to such a thing, would she? The dragonslayer shivered and moved a bit closer, slowly coming to appreciate the refuge of Lixia's warm scales. And then there was the fear. Dragons were prideful, but her reputation had spread far among their kind. She might never truly know their feelings toward her, but she sought no extermination, nor to start a war. She wanted peace. She wanted for the evil of Vayne and all the other dangerous dragons and beasts to be gone from this world. That was the justice that needed to be enforced.
"Thank you." she said quietly, already feeling her hair and body start to dry from the black dragon's natural warmth. She shifted again, looking at how the red blade of Dragon's Guilt caught the light from the fire orb.
"Veyenias always told me that Vayne was evil and had no regard for life, dragon or mortal," she said after a time, feeling unusually sour this evening. Around people, Kiralise was known as warm and generous, and yet around dragons... her quest was a bitter one.
"I hope you believe me when I say I don't seek suffering. I only want what Veyenias would have wanted." she said. Her voice had a somber note to it, as if she felt bad attempting to justify the deaths of several dragons, no matter how verifiable evil or dangerous they had been.
