Icy Reunion [Private Astral/Cassiopeia]

Ah, Anthropinos, the city of crime. Alyar mused, her arms folded behind her back. She didn't often have a chance to visit the bustling city, though from what she had seen of it... she disliked it. The noblewoman didn't like the congestion, the loud confusion of the city. She much preferred the tranquility of Brysur. Oh well. Beggars can't be choosers, she supposed.

She actually had business to do here. Sh,e wasn't here on her own accord. If she could, she'd stay as far away from this city as possible. Her first experience with it had not... been pleasant. It had been rather much of an ordeal.

Regardless, the woman was just passing through. She would not be here long. As much as she loved to adventure around to different human settlements, and do her business personally, she did have employees and workers who could do the same work for her. But this work was not a simple delivery. It was a negotiation. And one that would help her out quite a bit. And it was in the inner city, behind more... sound walls. So perhaps that was a plus.

And she supposed she might as well finish a few smaller errands while she was here. She sighed softly, as her carriage turned a corner, and glanced out the window. The carriage was taking her into a more stable part of the city, with shops and bars and the like. She thought she might as well stop for some food, a quick break. She had been traveling quite a bit. Why not treat herself.

The carriage stopped, and Alyar got out, thanking her driver, and telling him he could go ahead and meet her at her client's house. He nodded, and headed off, leaving Alyar , and one of the guards she had brought with her, alone.

Alyar, personally, didn't see the guard as necessary. If anything he would just get in the way. Alyar was well capable of handling any threat that struck her.

She would walk down the boardwalk with the man behind her. She happened across a smaller, family style tavern, and went inside, enjoying the smell of fresh ale and cooked bread that hit her. And luckily enough, it wasn't that crowded.

"M'lady, you sure we should be here?" the guard asked nervously.

"It's fine, Cicero," Alyar dismissed him, "We're only taking a short break. Old Nerevar will not mind." she said, ordering a glass of ale. To most, she would seem like an average, middle class citizen, as she wasn't wearing anything spectacular today.

Except, of course, for the yellow moonstone necklace around her neck. A necklace that any patron of the tavern could potentially take notice of.

Celestia wasn't satisfied. It didn't matter her mate gave her all the love and affection she could want. Or all the genuine praise she received when improving her ability to fight while human. As the strongest warrior of the skywings back in the day this was very important to her. She needed to test herself and she had the great idea of doing so by taking up the same career as her mate. Celestia had sent a message to his contact the one who looked for contracts and gave Svad the ones he might be interested in. They were to meet in the huge city of Anthropinos.

Packing up her bow, short sword, and supplies for the journey Celestia let Svad know she was going to head to Anthropinos to check out some jewelry and that she was going to be taking Cass. He of course insisted he come along but she would not allow it.

While one might leave a child home to protect them on a dangerous journey such as this Celestia refused to be out of sight of her children. She was never going to lose or abandon them every again. As for why she didn't take any of her step children. She excused that Cass had special needs since she was after all only half human. Then one might also ask if both are dragons why not fly there. Why travel as human. And the answer to that would be if they attracted the attention of something that could kill a dragon they'd be screwed. Meanwhile those monsters tended to ignore little humans. While as if they came across a monster that could kill a human that would be easy to take care of. It would have been viable if they traveled at night except Cass has white scales.

The long journey was uneventful for the most part. Up until they reached the gates. A giant green skinned Ogre was assaulting the place. Celestia grabbed Cass and ducked down in the nearest cover. From the wall a giant ballistic bolt was cast at the creature which bounced harmlessly off the creatures skin. Which was incredible. Such a bolt could pierce a dragon's scales. The ogre stumbled back from the impact roaring in a pathetic ogre roar no doubt terrifying to the humans though. Swiping it's arm across the wall it destroyed the bolt caster and those manning it. From behind the wall large rocks were cast over some pelting the giant and making him stagger back again. Two ballista throwers on either end of the wall further down carefully took aim and fired. One of them hit close to the first that had been fired and managed to pierce the ogre. It screamed in pain and retreated away from the wall. It's moments jostling the bolt around causing more damage and painting the ground.

After Celestia determined the coast was clear she led left hiding and walked up to the gate. "Come no closer!" A voice from the wall rang out as men with bows peered over the edge pointing their arrows at the two.

"Wow wow wow. I'm just here to trade!" Celestia said raising one hand in surrender while the other was firmly gripped with Cass's.

"Who are you?" the voice from the wall asked.

"Celestia. I come from Kryo with my daughter Cassiopeia."

"Open the gate!" With that the archers withdrew.

"Jeez they're a little paranoid." Celestia said to her daughter.

Entering the city Celestia procured a sheet of paper from her back pack. "High Hrothgar High Hrothgar." She muttered while navigating the busy streets looking for the tavern she was suppose to meet the contact at. The city stank compared to the crisp fresh air of Kryo. She was glad she didn't have her dragon nose right now. Eventually finding it Celestia was pleased to see it wasn't one of the dirty taverns full of drunks and debauchery. She may live a modest life but still carried herself like nobility. A place of degenerates was not a place she wanted to hang out in for long.

Walking in she was greeted with an aroma of food and decent alcohol. Patrons sat at tables discussing various things. In one of the corners Celestia spotted her man. A short wide fellow with a bald head and long brown beard. "Avinash!" Celestia greeted heartily as she came to sit down at the table with Cass.

"Celestia was it? Good to see you again. Where is Svad and who is this?" The man asked indicating Cass.

"Her name is Cassiopeia, she's my daughter. And Svad won't be joining us I came to help out with some of the work."

"Wait you and Svad are...a thing?" Avinash asked with suppressed surprise.

"Yes Svad is my ma...my husband." Celestia said almost slipping her words.

"Ah and uh is it bring your daughter to work day?" He said with a hint of judgment.

"It's the family business. It's not going hurt her to see how some of it works. Besides she's made of tougher stuff than you." Celestia said with a smirk.

Celestia remained ever aware of her surroundings. She didn't have the powers of sight she used to have so she was diligent with what she did. Something struck her eye pulling her away from the conversation and taking her full attention. It was a woman followed by a man. She held herself like nobility but didn't dress unusual. It was the yellow moonstone necklace that caught Celestia's attention. A moonstone being in the possession of a human was cause enough for her to take notice but this was special. It looked familiar. Then it hit her. It was the same necklace the exact same she had given to her grand daughter Rayla. Anger quickly consumed her. She was so sick of people messing with her family. Tearing it apart. And now to think a human has the necklace belonging to her grand daughter.

"Give me one sec." Celestia said to Avinash. "Stay here." She said to Cass. With that she got up and walked at a pace and manner that betrayed her mood. It was enough to turn a couple heads but not nearly as many that were about to be. Going right up to the woman Celestia grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted it up. She wasn't very strong so it didn't do anything but it was an aggressive motion that demanded attention. "Where did you get that necklace?" Celestia growled.

At the guards at the gate, Cassiopeia was rather shy hiding halfway behind Celestia, slightly grabbing at her clothing.

She was calm and reserved, and closely followed Celestia, rather intimidated by the large city.

"Okay," she said sweetly, yet it did not seem like Celestia had heard her, as she dashed away in a rage.

Meanwhile, Cassiopeia was looking around her shoulder, rather innocently staying still obediently, but a little scared.

Alyar had been just about to sit down, when her body suddenly tensed up. She thought she heard the sudden rush of a body behind her, her mammalian hairs standing on end. When the stranger reached for her collar, instinctively, she spun around, catching the stranger by the arm, her own arm faintly seeming to sparkle for a moment, before fading back to normal. Her movement was quick, almost…. Animalistic, her senses almost… draconic in nature. When the noblewoman caught the figure of the assaultant, she relaxed. It was just a girl.

Her eyes scanned the woman, carefully analyzing her. Meanwhile, beside her, Cicero had darted up, drawing his sword. The man had a fire in him, but unfortunately, was ultimately useless. She found these humans to be so easily startled, and the youngster was nothing more than a distraction. Alyar would hold her hand up to him, as a sign to keep his distance, and to hold his assault.

Give the woman a chance to explain herself.

The woman found the strange girl’s assault rather peculiar. She glared at her with a fire in her eyes, and almost… unnatural fire, and asked her about her necklace. Questions about her necklace were not uncommon. Afterall, moonstones were quite rare. And while it wasn’t the rarest of the rare, which would be red, it still would be worth quite a fortune. But usually questions about her necklace were more along the lines of trying to get it off her, bartering. Which was why she didn’t normally wear it to places like this.

But the violence in the girl’s tone… that was something unusual. Alyar narrowed her eyes a bit. Was this an old client of hers? Alyar was sure she would have remembered someone like this. Perhaps it was a client she had made negotiations with back in her younger years, when she hadn’t been the head of her company? Regardless, Alyar did not recognize her face. So what reason would this…. Very unique woman have to try to assault her like this? Made no sense.

Alyar was calm though. She was used to human violence. She knew they could get like this, especially in taverns. It was just unusual for it to be a female that attacked her.

She thought for a moment. Did the girl deserve an answer? She had been rather disrespectful, and just when she had been about to grab a quick drink, too. Well, there was no harm in answering. Not like the human could know the story behind it.

“You certainly have a way of introducing yourself,” she said, her voice only mildly condescending, her eyes narrowed, half closed, as if bored by the interaction. When Cicero continued to glare at her, she waved her hand, “Sword down, sir knight. I’ll handle this.”

“If you must know, it was a gift from my late grandmother. A family heirloom. Now, I would advise you let go, and I will forget this whole interaction. Deal?” Alyar said, a smidge of confidence in her voice. However, Alyar kept her hand held onto the girl’s wrist, albeit loosely. She had no idea how she’d react, after all.

Meanwhile, all around them, several other patrons of the bar were watching them, making murmured conversation amongst themselves. Alyar really didn’t care to draw more attention to herself here, so she wasn’t in much of a mood to get into a fight. Hopefully this welp has sense

Celestia noticed the magic that had been briefly used. And depending on how sensitive and aware one was they may notice the magic acting differently around her in a couple of ways. The first was very subtle. It seemed to recognize Celestia as it's source of origin but otherwise did nothing out of the ordinary still preforming it's intended function. Second and more noticeable magic was almost fluid like. A floated around and dragons were like great lakes greedily sucking it up as it passed by while as humans took only a trickle of it forming small ponds. It took training and focus to bend it to ones will. However instead of a trace of it flocking to Celestia it was all blocked off none was allowed to enter and more importantly escape Celestia herself. The key to which hung upon the girls neck, a necklace of her own. A silver crescent moon holding a star. The symbol of Astral, the device Celestia used to lock her powers away and carries with her everywhere. But no human could pick up on any of that.

Celestia was pissed her aggression was so easily thwarted. This other woman she wasn't like the others. Almost moved and reacted as an assassin might but something was ever so slight different. It would be so easy for Celestia to use her other hand and draw her sword, but there was no point. Whoever this was they seemed to have an unusual amount of command over magic while as Celestia was locked away from it. That and her body guard seemed well human and ready to cleave her at a drop of a hat. Instead she listened to the woman's explanation and Celestia sensed no hint of a lie.

Celestia would attempt to yank her hand away to return it to herself. But otherwise wouldn't make another move against her. "Than how'd your grandmother get it? That necklace use to belong to a dragon. A light blue one. One of the sea dragons with gills and a tail for swimming." Celestia said throwing subtly to the wind even further. If everyone's attention wasn't on them prior it was now at the mention of a dragon. It hushed the place.

Alyar was glad that the woman seemed to recognize she was overpowered. This was a pleasant reaction, as usually, many humans often failed to recognize the power she emitted, and wouldn’t notice how outmatched they were until it was too late. Being underestimated had its perks, such as the element of surprise, but it also had its downsides. Alyar even allowed herself to relax a bit, so as to let go of the girl, as she didn’t sense much more of a fight in her, though her eyes still burned with a passion that Alyar couldn’t quite explain yet.

It was very strange, this girl. Her eyes seemed to even flash with perplexion, which was also not something Alyar had expected. And she seemed to be calculating something. Perhaps a possible means of attack? No, that didn’t make any sense. Humans were easy to read. If the girl planned to draw her sword, she’d still be tense, or at least be giving off some kind of physical cue. There had to be something else.

Then she asked how Alyar’s grandmother had gotten the necklace. What a silly question, if this poor human only knew. She was just about to answer with a roll of her eyes, when the girl followed up with an...unexpected addition and detailed description. This would have caused a vibrant reaction in Alyar, as her eyes seemed to widen for a moment, and for a second, it almost looked as if she’d just seen a ghost.

But she quickly regained her composure, her mind racing. No… that’s impossible. A human, seeing me? No, no. They’d just assume it was my power. I’ve established I have that power. Nerevar, Agradad… they made sure of that. How does she..?

Alyar became aware she hadn’t said anything in a painfully long time, and even Cicero was staring at her with concern. Her eyes went from composed and bored, to fiery in a heartbeat, as she briskly turned her attention abruptly back to the stranger, focusing with an intense stare.

“How do you-” she paused, and quickly covered up her mistake by asking, “I do not know how my grandmother acquired this necklace, and frankly, it is none of your concern. Who are you, anyway, to demand such questions?” Alyar asked, trying her best to keep her stare from turning into a glare. It was clear her voice had gone from cool and condescending to mildly heated.

She was also painfully aware of how hushed the tavern had become. Her body instinctively tensed. Who was this girl? How could she know? There was no way a human could know something like that, could they? It made no sense, and honestly, Alyar’s mind was racing, trying to find an explanation.

Thankfully the woman did allow Celestia's wrist to be pulled free. Which she was glad about. The ex-goddess was not fond of being handled so to speak. Thankfully the woman even seemed to relax somewhat. It seemed Celestia had been labeled a non-threat. It was times like these Celestia had an inkling of regret on being human. Course on the other side if they had been dragons they probably would have gotten into a brawl rather than this tense...discussion. She couldn't decide which she would have preferred.

Bingo there it was. There recognition of the dragons Celestia spoke of. This woman had seen her grand daughter. That was good. Meant this altercation had purpose. This woman had information on her grand daughter. It was strange though that she received the necklace from her grandmother yet recognized the dragons she spoke of. Now the question was how was she going to get the information she wanted out of this woman. Celestia supposed first things first the woman still needed to respond.

She did respond saying she didn't know how her grandmother got the necklace which was super confusing. It was both a lie and not a lie at the same time. Staring at her eyes Celestia could see it was the truth but something behind it was hidden. One thing Celestia was able to conclude was Rayla was probably alive. Otherwise this albeit odd human would more than likely have said it was dead and the necklace taken.

"My name is Celestia mat...wife to Svadilfare of Kryo. You needn't worry I'm not too concerned about the necklace. It's the dragon I'm looking for and I know you know. Something at least." Celestia said with confidence. Now she just needed to think of something to entice the woman. Something to make her want to talk. "That necklace is made of what is called Moonstones and I know more about them than anyone else in the world. Maybe we could do an exchange of information. I'm sure you've noticed some of it's unique properties."

Who was this human? It came off as very odd, her behavior. Alyar couldn’t quite place it. And it didn’t help that they were in a relatively public place. They had far too much attention on them, and the room had become hushed. Alyar wasn’t one to trust strangers with information this delicate, and the hairs on the back of her neck were beginning to stand on end. She was losing a bit of patience.

Celestia? Now that name was all to familiar to Alyar. Well…. Her past life had known that name too well. It had been the name of her cousin. Her… dragon cousin. But… there was no way this could be the same Celestia, right? After all, Alyar…. No, Rayla, was sure she had been the only demi goddess gifted with this power. Then again, Celestia had been the daughter of two full gods, so who knows what is possible.

And that wasn’t the only detail she had picked up. It also seemed that this Celestia had stopped herself from saying mates when she mentioned someone Alyar didn’t care about. From all her time around humans, Alyar had never heard another one refer to their significant other as their mate. Such practices might be considered barbaric.

Combine with the fact that this Celestia also had known not only about moonstones, but she also knew about Rayla. It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? Could this possibly just be a very ambitious dragon enthusiast, who perhaps had seen Rayla before she had taken this form, and recognized the necklace? That still wouldn’t make sense. Alyar didn’t think this girl was that old, and she couldn’t have been alive back when Alyar still was or often would assume her draconic form.

This had to be Rayla’s… her cousin. But… what would Celestia be doing all the way out here? Rayla didn’t remember Celestia very well. The last she’d seen her had been at a family gathering when she was maybe…. Six or seven, maybe ten, she couldn’t remember the exact details, and Celestia at the time had just been a baby. What reason would Celestia have to be a human? Was she hiding from monsters? Couldn’t her father or mother just keep her safe in their realms? It almost made Rayla scoff. Guess bad parenting ran in the family.

But all these revelations and thoughts aside, she needed to remember who she was now. She was Alyar Draekus, not some drake. And she had to come to a decision about this. On one hand, she could reveal herself to this girl. On the other… she had managed to keep this secret all her life. No one, not even her closest family, knew about this. So why should the sudden appearance of someone she might know change that? She didn’t even know what Celestia’s reaction might be to the news. Perhaps she had been sent by her father? If so how did she find her?

Regardless of how she decided to handle this, she couldn’t risk letting this interaction continue inside the tavern. If she refused to give this girl the information she wanted, things could potentially get violent…. Or bothersome in other ways.

Muttering softly, she said, “Perhaps we can come to an agreement. Follow me,” she said. If Celestia cooperated, she would lead the girl outside, around the tavern, and to somewhere, perhaps an alleyway, that was a bit more secluded.

Things were so eerily silent now. As this woman who had yet to identify herself seemed to mull it over for just a second and the rest of the patrons far too interested in their conversation to break the momentary silence.

The woman's answer did come but it was too soon to say if Celestia had gotten her request or if she was being dragged out to be killed away from public eye. It had already been established she was at their mercy or so was the case while she was human. "Sure give me just a moment. There is someone I abruptly left. I'll be back in just a moment."

Celestia headed back to the corner where Cass and Avinash were seated. "Avinash take care of Cassi for a second. I'll be right back."

"Sure but I got questions for you myself when you get back." Avinash said with a small smile.

"Anything happens to her..."

"Svadifare would kill me before you even realized something happened, don't worry."

Celestia bent down to address Cass. "Hey everything is fine, but uh if you happen to hear me roar I want you to shift and find me as fast as you can alright?" Celestia said. It was cryptic enough that none of the many eaves droppers would think much of it, just some sort of mother daughter code.

With that Celestia would make her way back over to the woman who had in her possession Celestia's family property. "Alright lets go."

Several possibilities flashed through Alyar’s head as she lead the girl away from the tavern. She made sure to keep Cicero inside, though he was incredibly resistant, so they came to the compromise of having him just wait outside the tavern. Cicero wasn’t her problem, this… Celestia was.

So many different options. Should she reveal her true nature to such a stranger? Should she lie? If so, how should she lie? She could say that the dragon she searched for, Rayla, had died. That wasn’t a complete lie, though it might make Celestia upset, and cause her to attack Alyar. And how would she even confirm this was the Celestia she was thinking about? Sure, she could speak in dragon tongue, but Alyar knew that, albeit rare, there were humans who at least had a fundamental understanding of the dragon tongue.

And if she asked the girl a question about Rayla in the dragon tongue, and she responded back, then no doubt this girl could come to conclusion about who she really was…. Or who she had once been. And worst of all, Alyar still didn’t know this girl’s purpose for being here. She still didn’t know if this girl had been sent here by someone to find her, and if so, what kind of hassle she would bring if she did.

Once they arrived far enough away from the tavern, Alyar turned towards Celestia, scanning her. And then there was something strange, that she couldn’t quite describe. It was almost like this… odd feeling, coming off of Celestia. It almost felt like magic, but…. Different. She had never felt an aura like this on a human before. Sure, Alyar had met at least one or two wizards before, but none of them had given off something akin to this.

Looking into Celestia’s eyes, she came to her resolve, “Celestia, I would advise you don’t go looking for answers you aren’t prepared for, nor delving into things you know nothing about. ‘Tis a dangerous road. The dragon you’re looking for is long gone, so I suggest forgetting we ever had this discussion to begin with, and both of us going our separate ways.”

Celestia was happy her body guard was being left behind. I mean he was overkill if she was planning on anything but the fact she told him to stay behind made her hope she wasn't planning on injuring her...she hoped.

Maybe injury would have been preferable if she got some answers. No instead the fire in Celestia's eyes was rekindled by the lack of answers. Though it seemed to be implied Rayla was dead. But at the same time somethings didn't make a whole lot of sense. How could she possibly know what Celestia was or wasn't prepared for. No human would care much if they found out a dragon was dead unless they captured it and planned on selling it or something.

"It's a dangerous world we live in and it's my business what I'm prepared for." Celestia said. She then just examined the woman for a bit. Something was off, unusual like unusual outside the unusual. She didn't even ask about the moonstones so why then grant her request now. "I've been going my separate way for far too long ignoring things I had a responsibility to. I'm done. Do you know who I am?" Celestia asked not as a threat but as a genuine question. This sucked though. This woman had all the power. She had the information she had the strength and wasn't interested in anything Celestia had to offer. She was in checkmate. Perhaps she would need to flip the board. She wasn't leaving here without answers and it seemed they were nice and alone.

(short post is short)

"I do not," Alyar said simply, "Now if you excuse me, I need to go. I have important business I need to attend to." she said swiftly, and made a movement to leave, heading back the way she had came. This girl's behavior.... It was beginning to become more and more apparent that this human wanted information out of her, information that Alyar had no intention of giving. And if such things were the case, then she would leave.

Unless, Celestia made a gamble, and said something that might just convince her to stay.

"Rayla is her name you know. Her father is Arkhor and her mother was Trinyah. Her mother died a long time ago to another dragon though. Her father also disappeared more recently and may also be dead. Wasn't the kind of dragon to vanish against his will. All she has left is Aari her sister and some half siblings. Dragons have families and feelings just as we do. If I have to be the bearer of bad news then at least I have news and what's left of her family could have some closure like her grandmother Astral." What Celestia said was heresy to humans but maybe just maybe this woman was less ignorant than others.

(also short post!)

Rayla paused. The girl’s words, Celestia’s… it was unmistakably now. This was her kin, or, at the very least, a dragon. This Rayla had already been pretty sure of, but now, she knew for sure. But why should such confirmation tilt her resolve? Well, it was the information this dragoness had that intrigued her. Her sister, her father, Delphin, her cousins, what had happened to all of them?

She was no fool. She knew damn well what had happened two years ago. The monsters had arrived. Rayla did not know much about what happened, as she had been too busy with her human life, but she knew that the monsters had significantly wiped out the seven tribes. Rayla hadn’t even known if Aari was still alive. It…. maybe.

But Rayla still had yet to know what Celestia was doing here. She sighed, her back still turned to Celestia. And there was still something Rayla didn’t understand. It was clear based on her behavior that Cele still didn’t know she, Alyar, was Rayla, but she seemed to think she could get information out of her. That being said, the girl, if her powers were similar to Rayla’s, should have still possessed the strength of a dragon, so why was Rayla able to overpower her so easily? Had she done it on purpose.

Rayla sighed, a sigh even audible to Celestia. Alright, enough running. If these dragons were going to track her down, she’d fight to keep humanity, and the life she’d made here, safe. Rayla knew one thing, and that was that Celestia’s tribe, the NightWings, kept humans as slaves. Whatever she was doing here, Rayla would fight to keep the NightWings away from what these creatures had built.

“You know,” she muttered, still turned away from Celestia, so she couldn’t see her face, “I had an aunt named Celestia, once, in a life I once lead. Her mother was the one who gave me this necklace, for my seventh… sixth birthday. I remember her vaguely, my aunt. She had been a friendly sort, though young when I met her. Maybe three, four years younger than me.”

“Funny, when I was younger, I thought my father, grandparents, they were unstoppable. How could I not? They were gods. Heh, Ol’ Nimbus must be having a heyday. All this death…...” she mused. Then paused. When she turned back to Celestia, her eyes were no longer human, but the icy, chilled glare of a dragon.

“Alright then, Celestia,” she said, but in the dragon tongue, “You wanted to talk to Rayla, well here I am. Now, you tell me something. Why are you here?”

The air around them seemed to get colder.

Wait what aunt name Celestia. Celestia was barely keeping up when suddenly this women was talking about her god elders. Then she out and said it in a way nobody else could. She was Rayla, but how was that possible. How was she human. Well now that she thought about it they had never learned what powers she had inherited from Arkhor. But the ability to turn into a human. That was just strange.

"Ray?" Celestia said completely taken aback. After a short moment of disbelief she answered the question Rayla demanded. "I just wanted to find what's left of my family. When I saw the necklace I gave you on a human I got really upset. I thought something had happened to you. What are you doing her though and how can you take human form? Where have you been?" Celestia asked though much of those questions could be directed back at her for example from her point of view it wasn't Celestia her 'aunt' who gave her the necklace.

“I’ve had these powers since birth,” Rayla said, “I discovered them when I was captured by humans around the age of 10. But the better question I believe I should be asking is what are you doing here? And…” she paused, “Did you say you gave me that necklace? If so…. Then you aren’t my aunt… Astral? Why on Pyyria are you using Celestia’s name, and parading around as a human? Did you disguise yourself just to look for me? Did the NightWings put you up to this? My father? Nimbus?”

Celestia gave a deep sigh. She wished she was still the little hatchling Celestia. But now she had to explain to everyone the results of her selfishness. "Me and Celestia are on in the same. I had turned myself into a hatchling and locked my memories away as a last ditch effort to squeeze some attention out of him. It didn't work to well and my family fell apart when my replacement vanished. Later on Nimbus caught on and had a change of heart releasing my memories to try and court me. I was in torment for a long time living with two different minds wrestling for control. I'm human because I turned myself into one after I fell in love with a human. I'm mated with Svadilfare. He's actually a well known assassin. You seem rather acclimated did you just stay with the humans? What's with the guy you left in the tavern?"

It was quite odd. Rayla hadn’t expected to see any of her family again, and certainly not as humans. In fact, that had been the last thing she had been expecting. Astral’s story was even more odd. It was like something out of a fantasy story. A sickening fantasy story. At first, Rayla found it odd. Although she had met humans before that sympathized with dragons, she didn’t know very many dragons that thought the same of humans. Especially not after the EarthWing invasion. But Astral was a goddess, who knows what goes through her head.

“You and her were the same person, huh?” Was all Rayla said in response. Honestly, it didn’t bother Rayla as much as it might to others. Rayla had never been close with Celestia. Rayla had never really been close with many of her aunts or uncles. Rayla hadn’t even known Astral or Nimbus very well, outside of a few rogue encounters with Nimbus, and back when she was still a trainee and Astral would visit every now and then.

It seemed, from the way Astral spoke, that she and Nimbus had had some kind of falling out. Rayla tried to remember what Nimbus had been like. He had been… eccentric to say the least. But she always remembered he had been pleasant to her. Even popped down to talk to her about Thirahan, after his…. She paused. Thinking about the incident was still… difficult, even after all these years. She sighed. Things sure had gotten messed up since then, hadn’t they?


When Astral mentioned Svadilfare once more, Rayla decided to think more about him. Svadilfare… she felt that named sounded familiar. An assassin? Perhaps. She vaguely remembered someone by that name attempting to kill one of her close accomplices. Or had it been the death of someone else that was connected to that accomplice? She couldn’t remember. Such things weren’t of that much concern to Rayla, considering her inherent abilities and her own confidence in herself.

To address Astral’s question, she replied, “I’ve been living amongst humans for about twenty three…. Four years now. Suffice to say, I am the owner of a profitable trading company now. He was a bodyguard… not that I need one, I just need someone to stand around and keep up this facade.” she paused.

She wanted to continue this conversation, ask about her father and siblings, about the monsters, but their current location was.... less than desirable. Looking around, Rayla would change back to human tongue.

"I do not like our current location. It is not proper for a full length conversation of this nature. I want answers, but staying here would be less than ideal." she thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you know where the upper district is? Where all the nobility live?"

Twenty three years. Dang, she couldn't believe Rayla had been with the humans that incredibly long. Well wasn't that long for an ex-goddess but she'd only been with Svad three years now and it felt like forever. She felt pretty established though but wasn't really doing anything quite like running a human business. Being the mate to the heir of Kryo was about as high up as she was. She had a little bit of pride about it but now kinda felt dwarfed by her own grand daughter who's body guard meant for acting could over power her.

Celestia barley noticed they had been speaking in their native languages only taking note when Rayla switched back over to the human tongue.

"Uhh yea I know where it is. Haven't ever been in it though. You could show me the way. Let me go grab my daughter real quick."

Heading back inside Celestia went back to the corner where her contact was. "Hey Avinash could we reschedule something has come up." The man gave her a rather unamused look at this. "I'd probably end up regretting it if I said no. Just know this line of work doesn't tolerate this kind of thing?"

"Committed to memory thank you. I assure you it is important." Celestia said as she gathered up Cass.

"Whatever."

Heading back to Rayla Celestia realized it was a little funky she was about to introduce her to her aunt who was significantly younger than her. "Hey this is my daughter Cassiopeia. Cass this is Rayla....one of your relatives."

Cassiopeia smiled sweetly though again shyly hiding behind her mother tugging at her clothes.

"Hello," she said, calmly and reserved. Her teeth appeared sharp when she spoke, though. It wasn't intentional, she just felt intimidated from being left alone before, and felt rather scared still. She felt safer with her teeth this way, and she swore she would have turned into a dragon if not for her fore warning prior to entering the city. She did keep her mouth shut up until she spake just that word, but none of the guards around seemed to notice. She refused to say much more.

Rayla was about to protest, explaining why she had cut the meeting short, when Astral had already ran off. She didn’t make any attempt to stop her. She might as well just explain when her grandmother returned. Patiently, she folded her arms, and waiting, thinking to herself. Her original idea had been to just give Astral the address of where she would be staying, since it might be a bad idea to bring the girl along with her. What if they were seen together? Rayla didn’t know what kind of reputation Astral had built for herself while she was living here, but if she was the wife of an assassin…. Well, things might become complicated.

Then again, if she just called up a carriage, the ride would be quick, and they would likely go relatively undetected. But of course there was Cicero to consider. Not that Rayla thought he would talk. The people she had hired to ‘protect’ her were pretty trustworthy and chivalrous people. They wouldn’t breach her trust. She could simply play it cool. But it wouldn’t explain Celestia’s sudden change in attitude towards her. Cicero had seen that. Well, Rayla supposed she could just shrug Celestia off as an exceptionally wrathful client, who Rayla had managed to calm down. Her guard might buy that.

But, still. There were so many possibilities. It almost made her sigh. She remembered a time back when she was a child, when she didn’t have to bother being so careful and diligent. Now it felt as if she was always on her toes. She had to give it to humans. They were awfully good at manipulation at times, and even the slightest slip up could prove your downfall, especially if you were nobility. Sometimes Rayla wondered why she bothered raising herself on the metaphorical ladder. It only made her more of a target, with more risk of exposing her secrets. But oh well, at least it kept her life exciting, she supposed.

Meanwhile, back at the tavern, Cicero was waiting outside, growing impatient. He wondered if he should go check on his Lady. When he saw the strange girl returning, but by herself, he began to grow nervous. Had something happened to Lady Draekus? Perhaps he should head over to her and make sure she was alright. Though, she had also given him direct orders to stay put… and he wasn’t braindead. He had heard the stories of Lady Alyar’s feats. But, regardless, she was still human, and had her flaws. Perhaps it would be best to check up on her now, he thought, while the girl retreated into the tavern.

He stalled for too long, though, and soon, the girl came back out, with a child of her own. He stared with a confused expression as they hurriedly walked back around the tavern, and disappeared from sight. Was that child the woman’s own? What was she doing with it? Several dozen thoughts ran through his mind. If the woman had intentions of harming his Lady, why would she bring a child with her?

After much mental arguing with himself, he decided to go check on Alyar.

Back behind the alleyway, Rayla watched as Celestia came back into view, bringing with her a young child. The girl had white hair, and when she greeted Rayla, she had sharp fangs. Rayla was able to quickly piece together that this girl must be a hybrid, which rather intrigued her, considering a half human half dragon had likely never even been considered a possibility, let alone a reality. Such a rare oddity. And it only added more question than it answered.

“Hello there, Cassiopeia. As your mother said, my name is Rayla, but around here you can call me Alyar. it’s nice to meet you,” Rayla said with a smile, crouching down to see eye to eye with Cass. That was when Rayla began to hear footsteps.

Raising herself up again, she looked over Astral’s shoulder, and spotted Cicero. A low growl emitted from her throat. Humans could be so nosy. But, she supposed that they should be heading out shortly anyway, so she wasn’t too angered.

Luckily for her, Cicero seemed to stop as soon as he saw she was okay. And seeing the look Alyar gave him, he nervously retreated a bit, until he was nearly out of sight. Glancing over at Celestia, she sighed, “Alright, staying anywhere near here is too much of a hassle, and the safest place for us to talk would be my place. At around dusk, meet me at the Indoril Estate in the nobility portion of the city. Say you are a client that has a express meeting with Lady Alyar, and show them this,” Rayla gave Celestia a small piece of parchment with some writing on it. “They’ll lead you to me, and we can talk privately there. Understood?”

Cass and Ray greeted each other and around that moment something caught Ray's attention and she glared at someone. Looking over her shoulder Celestia found it to be Ray's body guard. Seemed something she did gained his attention. He quickly retreated though.

Celestia accepted the parchment and nodded her head. "Indoril Estate, Lady Alyar, and express meeting got it."

With that the two parted ways and since she had the time soon she made her way back into the tavern over to the contact. Before she made it in the door though she realized that wasn't an option. She had drawn so much attention to herself the two wouldn't be able to speak about anything. Suddenly she found herself with an abundance of time and nothing to do with it. "Lets go check out the market." Celestia said to her daughter before leading her to it. Celestia enjoyed browsing especially the jewelry though nothing really caught her eye. Nothing could compare to the collar on her neck that held her beautiful symbol. In fact it caught the eyes of one of the traders one that seemed to dabble is some really weak human created magical artifacts.

"That's a beautiful piece there on your neck. What would make you willing to part with it?" He asked rather innocently.

She doubted he had the faintest idea of just how important it was but must be attracted to it somehow. "It's not for sale." Celestia stated definitively.

"Come now what in this world isn't negotiable?" He insisted.

"This. No amount of gold in the world or 'priceless' objects would even be considered. It is an object nobody but myself shall ever bear." With that Celestia took her leave and the trader glared at her maliciously as she walked away.

Should Cass find anything that caught her eye that wasn't too expensive Celestia didn't mind buying it for her. Time flew by and before long it was time to go meet up with Rayla again. It took a bit of direction asking but she eventually found the place she was looking for. Walking in Celestia came up to the receptionist. "I'm here to speak with Lady Alyar. It is an express meeting." Celestia said before handing her the parchment.