To Cry Away Your Sorrows [Private Shiningwater/Arkhor]

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Iizusa.... that was the name she had given herself after the incident. It may seem strange, but this was what her life had become. Now she hid behind the false mask of something that was never meant to be. Why, then, if she wanted this, did she have so many mixed feelings about it. All that had happened to her really struck a toll on her mental state. First the kidnappings, then the betrayal of her mate, after that the death/disappearance of her brother, and then the assassination attempt, sought out by her own cousin once removed, Gaea. It had been a rough route. A variety of twists and turns. But she had survived through all of them, and come out on top. And she would never let anything pull her down.

Today, as usual, Rayla hiked in her reptilian form. Her sword was slung across her back, which was unusual, considering the fact she usually summoned it, and didn't actually hold it in a sheathe. The reason was because it was wickedly hot. The ice, while melting, was keeping her cool. The fins on either side of her head vibrated a bit. She needed some water, if there wasn't going to be anything cool. Being one of the few siblings whom had inherited gills from her father, she had rarely used them since being in the arctic lands of the IceWings. But now she was somewhere in the roguelands. At least, she assumed it was the roguelands. Maybe it was Earth kingdom.

There was a reason she had diverged this far off course. And that reason was FireWings. The second reason was NightWings. Rayla did NOT want to run into either tribe, especially not FireWings. Now that she was an adult, and having been away from the ocean for so long, Rayla had really been able to learn just how much she had inherited from her mother. And that definitely included her weakness to fire. Rayla wasn't quite sure where she was going, but she knew she had to get away from here. What did that mean? Well, Rayla knew she wouldn't be safe in a world of dragons. So, with a small group, she would leave. Leave Pyyria. That was her plan. She couldn't stay here any longer. And she knew quite a few reptilians who would agree with her.

If she had to guess, she would say that it would take her about four months to reach her destination. But once she was there she'd be home free. Of course it'd be a hassle to build the ship.... Maybe if she was lucky she could just get off the coast through the Earthwings, but then she'd have to go straight through the heart of the EarthWing territory, and that wouldn't end well for anyone involved. Even if the Earthwings had gone extinct, she still wouldn't feel safe going through that thick jungle undergrowth. Who knows what lurks in there....

But all this heavy luggage was getting exhausting. She was beginning to think that she'd have to make another stop. And she really didn't want to hang around this forest. It wasn't natural... But then, as if the stars had aligned to help guide her, the burdened Rayla finally stumbled into a clearing. Well, not a clearing. More like almost fell head first into a river.

Overjoyed by the sight of, not only a refreshing drink, but also a way to cool her scales off, Rayla almost let out a squeal of excitement. This sudden outburst caused a few animals to flee. Surely no one was around to see Rayla if she were to transform back into a dragon, just to take a quick dip, right? Maybe it was the arrogance of a self long forgotten talking, but Rayla didn't care at all about if people were there, for as soon as she saw the river, she immediately went to set all her stuff down, placing it by a tree, which she marked with some ice to make sure she remembered where it was. She couldn't afford to lose that stuff.

Letting out a whoop of laughter, a sudden spark of white lit up the forest, causing a variety of birds to flee with terror, as a large, roughly thirty foot water dragon sprung forth from nothingness, leaping into the water with great howls of laughter. The river was about a mile wide, with a depth of almost 200 feet. It offered much room for Rayla to swim about in. She would laugh underwater, playfully trying to catch some fish, but not really giving much effort into it, as many of them would swim away.

Her head would soon appear above water, and she would roll onto her back, squirting water out of her mouth. A laugh would escape her mouth. She hadn't had this much fun in a really long time. She probably looked ridiculous, but who cared? No one that mattered, especially no dragon, would see her this far out in the middle of nowhere/reptilian/human country.

Arkhor would move forward to touch her chin, only to cause Rayla to snap at him, not biting his paw, but just enough to warn him to get away. Her eyes would narrow, and her snarling features would lessen some, as she looked into his eyes. She should her head, squeezing her eyes closed, and blinking the tears away. She was nearly forty. She shouldn't be crying. No. What she should be doing is ruling over the Ice Kingdom, like her mother once had....

She contemplated telling him why she hadn't come back. She glared at the ground for a while. "Well, for one," she started, the growl still obvious in her voice, "What reason would I have to come back? I don't know if you noticed, but our last meeting didn't exactly end pleasantly. If you can't get it through that thick head of yours, last time I went there, my step mother was missing, and my half siblings hated me. Do you really think I would have been happy in that environment?" she finished, continuing to growl, looking over at the backpack, that was still laying under the tree.

Sighing he shook his head, "Yes back then... I can understand but arn't you forgetting something, It doesn't mean you have to share the same den silly.." frowning gazing towards her eyes "Its alright to cry.. like I do.. especially when I lose people that are dear to me.." continuing as he lowered his eyes again "If you want me to go then I will..but I will always love you Rayla"

Rayla would shake her head, turning away from Arkhor, and walking over to the backpack. She would hold the pack in her claws. It was quite small now, compared to when she was in her reptilian form. But the book was still big, as it had been written by an Auroran Ice Dragon. It was tied to the human sized backpack, and was about the size of a human book, until she pulled it off the backpack, and a sudden glow would emit from the book, turning it into the appropriate sized book for a dragon like her. She would gaze at it quietly, saying nothing.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Rayla would turn back to Arkhor, still holding the book in her claws. She would then growl, "I think that would be good..." was all she would say, still glaring at him.

Shine didn't answer, having noticed Arkhor rise from the water and approached, and instead stepped back to make way for the other God. She sat down again to listen respectfully to the two, flinching each time Rayla lashed out at her father, and glanced at the ground. All these negative emotions were ugly and unfriendly. She could feel Arkhor's willingness and wish to get closer, as well as his happiness to see her, but Rayla was just...angry at him. And while Shine could understand why, it was...painful to watch and listen to and feel. She finally stepped in when Rayla rejected her father. "Rayla, I know you two aren't on the best terms, but does it hurt to try?" It wasn't quite her place to say this, and she wouldn't pressure her friend, but she didn't like seeing her so angry and upset.

Frowning as he lowered his snout feeling sad that she didn't want him to here, sighing he replied "Well.. if you don't want me then till we meet again.." turning to leaving he stopped as Shine spoke out, waiting for Rayla's response as his back was towards his daughter. Drying his eyes slightly he gazed towards the water, thinking about his past.

Another deep growl would escape Rayla's throat, and, in a more aggressive tone, she would whirl around, glaring at Arkhor, and she'd snap, in an almost roaring voice, "I said leave!" she hissed, staring at him angrily. Quieting down, before Arkhor left, however, she would mutter, more quietly, "I need time to think.... just... leave me alone......" she would finish, and turn away from Ark once more, staring down at her feet.

Nodding slowly he hide his sad frown and replied "You.. know how to find me.." glancing back for a brief moment he soon disappeared into water vapour as he left the two alone, not hiding from her sight. Continuing to look back and watch the world as his mind plagued him about Rayla.

Shine visibly flinched at that, looking away. She hadn't been expecting the visit to go down that route. But...Maybe it would be good in the long run? it hurt now, but maybe letting Rayla get the anger out now would make it better for her and her father later. Maybe that would allow them to reconnect later. Shardas alone knew, but-for now-there was nothing more to do. She swallowed then looked back at Rayla. "I didn't know he was coming." She said weakly. "But...I know you don't like him much now, but he's still your father, and he still loves you, always does, and I know you do too. I can feel it." She smiled awkwardly. "But...for now...can I do anything for you?"

For a moment, all was quiet once more. This silence lasted even longer than the previous few times Rayla had become silent. Something burned inside of Rayla. Something she didn't know could burn. She needed desperately to tell Shine something. Anything. Just for someone else to know. But... would it be worth it? Perhaps another time, but not now. Rayla had too many things to think about right now. All these mixed emotions, swirling around in her head.

Turning to face Shine, she'd ask quietly, "I think.... I'm going to go. I need to think, and a good flight should help me. Shine, if you're a goddess, does that mean you can tell when I call you?" she would ask curiously. It was one thing for a god not to know where someone was if they weren't thinking of the god. But what if they were? Couldn't they feel all people who believed in them, or some cheesy stuff like that?

The dragoness bit her lip. "I...erm...I've never really tried. I'm new to this whole goddess thing." She gave an awkward smile. "I...suppose I could try and focus on a new emotion in my realm. It's....odd. Faith or something. Not entirely sure. I'm still trying to figure out the best word for it. It's new, so maybe it has something to do with it? If it gets bigger, I might know?" She shrugged awkwardly and looked at the ground. "Sorry I can't do any better. You can tell me where to meet you, or I can wait here or something though."

This news was interesting. Alright then. Rayla looked down at the river, quietly. She had no idea where she'd meet Shine. But then, an idea occurred to her, quickly popping into her being. This would work, she thought to herself positively, then turning back to Shining. "How about...... you meet me at Drakis Sancuary. You know, that big island in between the SkyWings and Lightwings, and the rest of Pyyria? I'd like you to meet me there in two years. That's when I'll be ready to talk."

But to be honest, Rayla wasn't even sure if she would be ready by then. That was still quite a short time from now. Time seemed to pass so quickly around here.

Shine nodded with a small smile. "Of course. I won't have too much going on." She gave a small snort. "So I'll definitely be there." She smiled softly again. She could understand needing time. Things like this could take a while. But, to her, two years was nothing. Two years was nothing more than a blink, a blink or less. In the grand scheme of the world. World and time and all that. It wouldn't take long or that time to arrive, and they'd talk again.

"Hah, I guess I'll see you later, then!" Rayla would say with a chuckle, heading over to the tree. Even though she laughed with enthusiasm, her mind was racing. She had no idea what to do. She was utterly stuck, and to be quite honest, she was actually really confused, in an emotional way. So even as she quickly ran over to collect her backpack, and took off into the sky - mostly because she didn't want to reveal her reptilian form to Shine - she kept a very straight face.

When she was away from Shine, her mood would drop. She honestly had no idea what she was going to do, once the two of them saw each other again.

[EXIT]

Shine smiled softly at her friend's retreating back.
Well.
That had been...interesting.
If she had to put a word to it. Something along the lines of an emotional roller coaster could be more appropriate, especially once Arkhor had showed up.
As nice as it had been to see her friend and know she was alive, it was a bit...painful to see her so angry at her father, and unwilling to see others.
But...life is what life is. Rayla had her reasons, some of which she'd explained to Shine in rather furious outbursts, but others would apparently be explained later, in two years. And she was alright with that.

~{End}~

((I assume that's the end of the topic anyway. Anything else?))