Sometimes Your Ally is also Your Enemy (Read Only)

Celestia wrote:"I said the adults are in the ocean you can find the young ones in like creeks and.......oh supernova!" Astral exclaimed as she kicked at the ground with great force showering dirt in the direction of her kick. "Look all I want to do is learn about humans alright and you are nice and I like you for more reasons than just that. You are worried about other humans killing you because you are an assassin. I can offer protection nobody else can and nobody else would. The reason I can do this is because I'm a dragon the same dragon that drove off that manticore for you actually. Can't have my guide getting eaten now can I?" To prove her point she started shifting back into her dragon form before his eyes. At the end of it she was the same height but on all fours far longer in length with black scales and a mass an elephant wouldn't scoff at. Not that elephants were sentient. Dragon muzzles weren't the best for the human language so she would just speak to him telepathically. "Surprise!"

Svadilfare was taken aback when Celestia kicked the ground. She sent dirt flying at him and then started speaking as if she weren't human... And then she came right out and said she wasn't.. Svadilfare was going to ask if she had hit her head when she went hunting, but didn't get the chance. Celestia changed, physically changed, from a human female to a dragon. Naturally, the warrior went for his swords and held them in front of him defensively. He barely registered the fact that he suddenly could hear Celestia's voice even though her mouth wasn't moving. He took several steps back, keeping his gaze on the dragon. "Protection?! I don't need protection from my own kind! Why would you want to learn about us anyway, all you do is kill us! And why are you just standing there instead of--" The Kryoan stopped and shook his head, trying to clear it. It just occurred to him that this dragon had helped him with the Manticore. But why? What on Pyrria would possess a dragon to help a human? Without completely realizing it, Svadilfare dropped one sword and started pacing. Yes, it was an incredible stupid thing to do, but for some reason he knew this dragon was going to attack him... yet. "Why me?" he asked finally when he stopped pacing and looked at Celestia again.

Astral watched the human carefully. He grabbed his swords and took a defensive posture but otherwise made no moves on her. Her gaze followed the sword he dropped harmlessly before snapping back to him as he started pacing. She decided to let her guard down at this point and lay down comfortably. She already missed resting comfortably as a dragon. He stopped himself to ask a question she thought she had already answered. Her head titled as if asking if he was serious. "Like I said you're nice among other qualities I enjoy about you. You are also one of few if not the only human that would be willing to go along with this as evident by the fact you haven't foolishly tried to poke me with that already. And fine even if you don't need protection against your own kind I can at least offer you protection against my kind as well as things like those manticores. Could even open to you shorter routes that are normally too dangerous to travel. I know there are areas between settlements humans are never seen in due to a high concentration of dragons. In fact you might be surprised to know that there are very few human settlements that lay outside of dragon tribe territories. As for why I want to find out about humans. Well there was one time recently actually in which I was vulnerable. There was a human that had an opportunity to kill me. Instead he showed me kindness. I had never before questioned our perceptions of humans before, but now I seek the truth. I want to learn everything there is to know about humans. I clearly can't do it on my own. I was failing pretty miserably at pretending to be human around you. And hey if you'd rather have money I could find something worth more than any job you've ever been hired for."

"Just because I'm smart enough not to attack a Dragon doesn't mean I won't." For a long time, this was all he said. It was a lot to take in, that this strange woman he was traveling with was actually a Dragon. After a great deal of pacing and thinking, Svadilfare put down his other sword and took a few steps toward Celestia. And then he kneeled and bowed his head. "You did save my life... Dragon or not, I am in your debt. I hold no quarrel with you but that does not extend to your kin. If you want to learn of mankind, I will tell you what you wish. If you know a shorter path to Ammos, I'd learn of it."

Astral had rested her head while he thought over whatever it was he was thinking over. She didn't feel like aggravating him any so she avoided saying anything about his comment. It wasn't until he dropped his other sword and approached her that she raised her head. "You don't have to bow." This human had no idea who she was and she had only protected him for her own selfish ends. It was nothing to bow over.

"I wouldn't expect you to extend it to the others. They'd probably kill you on sight anyways. I assume Ammos is that settlement in that desert. On foot I don't know any faster way there. I was speaking more generally." Astral said waving one of her paws in a circular motion. "This is a long term deal I'm trying to make here. I'm not going to learn nearly enough to even function on my own on one or two trips. As long as I'm with you, you would't have to worry about your family needing food and could probably buy whatever you fancy. Don't quote me on that I don't actually know what human luxury items are or how much they cost, but you get the point." Astral brought out a red moonstone from under her and held it up with one paw. "I can compensate you with this. It is the rarest moonstone. It helps one learn and understand magic when they otherwise wouldn't and I have modified it to translate the energy it gains from light into magical energy. Dragons would give anything to get their paws on this I can't even imagine what a human would do for it and all you have to do for it is allow me to accompany you where ever you go and answer my questions. Sound like a fair deal?" Astral offered with a dragonic grin that probably wouldn't translate well to human body language.

Celestia told him he didn't have to bow--he did anyway. Svadilfare listened to what she had to say, to her offer. She intended to travel with him for quite some time. Well, he couldn't really decline at this point--he had already said he would answer whatever questions she had. And then she offered him a... moonstone? He'd never heard of a moonstone before, but apparently it was highly sought after by Dragons and Humans alike. He took the moonstone from Celestia and examined it. "Well... at least now I'll have something to give to my children." Svadilfare turned and walked back to where he'd been sitting before all this and settled down. He stayed silent for several more minutes while he considered the Dragon's offer. "Alright. We have a deal. But I do have one condition. I want to learn a few things about Dragons. Nothing... that could be used against you. Just things I have wondered about."

Svadilfare got up then and started packing up everything so they could move on. He wrapped up the leftover fish to eat later, folded up the blanket and put it back in the saddlebag. He threw dirt on the fire to put it out, then picked up and sheathed his swords. "I think we'll make it to the Blood Forest before dark, maybe just after."

Astral was very glad he planned on passing it down to his children rather than selling it. Add that to another thing on her list of why she likes him. She remained still as the human thought it over. The moment he said yes though her tail came alive with excitement. "Yay I don't have to pretend I'm human around my guide anymore and I don't have to ride that stupid horse! No offense to your horse. I just...I hate...I just can't." Astral was unconcerned about his questions. She could only think of a couple things that could be used against a dragon and Svadilfare likely had no idea they were questions that could be asked. "That's fine, it's nice to know you have some interest in us." The human began packing his things up so they could continue their journey. He likely was going to ask while they were traveling. The small dragon had no plans on traveling as a human. She would turn back into a human when they reached areas that had humans or even if a human got too close to them while they were traveling. "I'll ask you my questions as they come up. Why don't you start off with yours."

6 days later...

The desert, its air and sky, was arid. Svadilfare had already emptied 5 of his 12 canteens, against his better judgement. But who could blame a man who was born in a frozen land, had lived there his whole life? He had yet to ask Celestia any questioins; there were so many to consider, but he didn't want to ask more than 4. Why? Well, it seemed a reasonable enough number of questions to ask. Besides, at the moment he wanted to focus solely on getting to Ammos. He couldn't stand being in this inhospitable place any longer. Fortunately, Ammos was in the oasis, at the heart of the desert and they weren't more than half a day away. They could have been there already, if not for the sandstorm the day before. The sun was at its highest point now and Svadilfare couldn't have been more miserable. He had since shed his Kryoan clothing in favor of the lighter clothing he'd bought in Brysur... And still he burned like firewood.

Even with frequent stops to allow the horse to rest or give her water, Ammos was in sight by last light. Svadilfare stood at the top of a dune, looking down at the surprisingly large camp. It wasn"t as large as a city, mind you, only slightly bigger than a village, and that was bigger than he had expected. Svadilfare decided to go into the camp now, so he could inquire about his target and perhaps even fullfill his task. The less time he was here, the better. He left the horse and Dragon behind, taking only his weapons and his empty canteens.

He finally reached the refugee and first went to fill his canteens. If not for the location of this place, he'd take the time to explore. But instead he went right to work, ask people if they had seen the woman he was sent to kill--of course he didn't use those exact words. All he had was the woman's name, so it took quite a bit of time finding someone who knew her. When he finally did, he paid them a few coins to lead him to her tent. Most of the homes in Ammos were tents, but there were a few actual houses that perhaps belonged to people who intended this place to be a permanent home. Judging by the size of them, Svadilfare guessed they probably also served as shelters during sand storms. The tents weren't grouped together as one might have imagined. Rather, they were quite a distance apart, though not so much as to suggest this wasn't a community.

His guide departed and the Kyroan was left standing alone in front of his target's tent. He listened for any sounds coming from within. There was a chance no one was home--when he arrived in Ammos, he saw some sort of party taking place by the water. Hearing nothing, he decided to call out, "Evening there! Is anyone home?" A few moments later, a man exited the tent, looking quite disspleased.

"Have you any idea of the time? It's late and I am trying to sleep."

"Late? Ha, no sir! The sun had barely shut his eyes, nor the moon opened hers. Late. But I do apologize for calling upon you whilst you sleep. You see, I have traveled a great distance and need quarter for the night. Will you permit a weary traveler shelter til first light?" Svadilfare asked with a smile and respectful bow.

The man hardly cared why Svadilfare was here. He only cared that he was losing sleep the longer he stood here listening to him. With a sharp turn, he held the tent open to allow Svadilfare inside. He led him over to a spot by the fire in the middle. "You sleep here. You don't touch anything, you don't look at anything. I want you gone before first light. Understand?" Without waiting for an answer, the man went to his bed and laid down. Svadilfare settled himself down by the fire and decided to have a piece of deer meat he'd put in his coin bag. He ate slowly to pass the time. When he was sure his host was sleeping, he got up and walked over to the bed. To his relief, his target was there as well, sound asleep. But he wanted to kill her husband first, just in case this didn't go as planned. So Svad went around to the other side of the bed, slowly pulling out a knife. The sleeping man stirred a little, but didn't wake. Now, the Kryoan was standing over him, knife raised, ready to plunge into the man's chest... when cloth rustled just slightly, as if a breeze disturbed it.

A woman crept into the tent unnoticed--or so she thought--and it was one Svadilfare kew well. A light gasp left the woman's mouth as a knife just barely grazed her cheek. "Hello, Nari." Svadilfare whispered as he walked up to the female assassin. The woman frowned and picked up the knife, tossing it back to its owner.

"Leo. I havent seen you since Anthropinos. How long has that been, two years?" Nari asked in a hushed tone. Nari Taloe was a Gynaikes woman and Svad's rival. She made it her mission in life to be the bane of the Kyroan's exsistence, stealing jobs from and being as annoying as possible. And yet Svadilfare would go so far as to call her a friend... actually, that was a bit to far. Rival fit perfectly.

Svadilfare caught the knife and pulled Nari outside the tent. "Two years and five months, actually. And I told you not to call me Leo. You aren't worthy enough to utter my father's name. Now what do you want? I have a job to do here."

The woman smirked. "Keeping track? You do care. And what do I have to do to be worthy enough? Save your life another 20 times? I'm here for lesiure, an old friend calls this wasteland home. I saw you and thought I'd say hello."

"No time for hello, it was 3 at least, and I don"t. Now please, go find another assassin to steal from." He turned around and made his way back to the sleeping couple. Nari just stood there, watching him, debating whether she'd mess up this job. It certainly was tempting. Svadilfare clamped his hand over the man's mouth and at the same time brought his knife across his throat. And then he moved over to the woman and covered her mouth. But he wanted her awake so he didn't do anything until she woke up.

The woman woke with a start and tried to scream when she saw the assassin standing over her, his hand keeping her silent. Her eyes darted over to her husband and widened when she saw that he was dead. She looked back at her husband's killer, tears streaming down her face as she whimpered. Svadilfare moved the knife to her chest. "If the payment had been given to me in full, I would have spared you and only taken a finger as proof of having been here. As it were, I must take your life. I took your husband's in mercy, that he would never have to wake to find his love no longer a part of his world. Know that I didn't want to do this, if that is any comfort to you. You gave your word to your former husband and knew the consequences if you broke it. But I will give you a swift death at least." And with that, Svadilfare plunged his blade into the woman's chest, piercing her heart. After, he lowered her eyelids then cut a lock of her hair.

Nari walked over to Svadilfare and handed him a cloth to clean off his knife. "I don't know why you do that. Some people just deserve to die and we're paid to make sure they do."

Svad took the cloth and cleaned off his knife then wrapped the hair in it and put it in his bag. "Hm, I've missed your coldhearted outlook on life. Yes, some people deserve death, but not all. These two certainly didn't. Do what you will here, I'm leaving. I would like to get the rest of my payment for this job and get back home."

"Nice to hear you finally admit it. And if we let ourselves think that, we'd never make a single coin. Speaking of home, how are your little ones? Has your wife showed up yet?"

The Kryoan rolled his eyes and walked out of the tent, Nari close behind. "They're good. She hasn't... and I don't want to hear one word. I expect you to save my life next time i see you, Nari. And stop following me!" he called over his shoulder as Nari walked off in the opposite direction to catch up with whatever friend she was visiting.

"Great, send them my love. And not a chance!" the woman laughed before going about her own business.

Svadilfare left Ammos behind and made his way back to Celestia.

The trip to Ammos had been rather uneventful if you're only counting the part after the manticore. Svad hadn't asked any questions and likewise Astral hadn't asked any either. Though they had a deal the little human no doubt was still wrapping his brain around what deal he had just made and she didn't think it a good idea to intrude upon that process.

It wasn't until the two were nearing the settlement and Astral was transforming into a human that they spoke to each other again. Apparently he didn't want her coming in with him. She had traveled all this way exposing herself so that she could go into the desert with him only to be blocked once again this time from entering the settlement. Apparently she was a distraction that he couldn't afford getting in the way of his work. She understood killing people was serious business and one slip up could cost you your life. However she really wanted to come with and promised she wouldn't get in the way but he was having none of it. She considered enchanting him to be susceptible to her cute begging face, but as tempting as it was she decided against it due to it violating her morals. She gave in but made him promise next time she got to come with him.

Patiently she waited for his return and as she waited she kept herself entertained by watching him with her powers. She was upset with herself for not casting a scury spell on him after he went into a tent. Hidden from the daylight she couldn't see what was going on in there. She made a mental note to cast the spell the moment he came out into the open again. Astral got her chance when some women came out with him. After casting the undetectable spell upon him she could see and hear everything he did. The part that stood out to Astral was when the female asked Svad if his wife had returned. When Svad started to leave Astral considered offering some assistance with whatever was going on with his wife. She decided she would do so only if he felt the need to tell her about his wife though.

When Svad returned she'd greet him with an impatient attitude before they set off to whatever was next.