To Cry Away Your Sorrows [Private Shiningwater/Arkhor]

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.

Shine had heard the rumors. She'd heard them a while ago. Rayla was dead. Assassinated, to be exact. The Goddess didn't know the exact details of it, but it had been confirmed that Rayla was dead. One of her oldest friends, one of the only dragons who treated her as that and not a Goddess, gone. Dead. It had not been an easy time. Just getting used to the idea of being worshiped, and needing someone who wouldn't, and one of those few people, gone.
It had ended up becoming one of the main reasons the Goddess had grown so distant. Both that, and the strict laws about helping Tribes that had been preached to her over and over and over again. No helping any one tribe more than another. If you're going to help, it must help everyone. And while it made sense, it also hurt. There were very few threats that addressed everyone. Which mean that Shine's urge to help, was being strongly repressed and leashed. Downside number 2 of being a Goddess, not far behind the total lack of friends.
Fun times.
But...something was a bit off. Shine had been in her realm, the realm of emotion, when it had happened. The happiness and excitement sections had just grown suddenly, and at a familiar amount and rate. A rate she knew and recognized.
But...no. No there was no way.
Although...Shardas it was achingly familiar.
Uhg.
There was no harm in checking, right? It was worth checking. She could always return to her realm, just one easy portal away. No problems there.
She stood with a grunt, feeling the sandy grains of the peaceful area under her feet, and turned for a moment before lowing one wing for her catfish to climb up and onto her back, taking his usual spot between her shoulder blades, before summoning a portal back to the place where she'd felt the sudden surge and familiar aura from.
No harm in checking.
She stepped through it, and immediately her paws hit more grass one by one near a massive river. She blinked a few times and shook her head, glancing around.
A frozen....tree...
Not normal.
She glanced back at the river at another loud splash, and trotted towards the source, then smiled and settled on the riverbed, not wanting to ruin the dragoness' fun. It was enjoyable to watch, and Shine wanted to let her live it out to the fullest.

(Shine, you know what you should do in your topic with Ark? Ask him how his kids are doing ;3 Oh and if he forgets, remind him that everyone thinks Rayla is ded k?)

Laughing, Rayla would then dive back underwater, opening her eyes as a thin, waterproof, see-through eyelid would go over her eyes, allowing her to see underwater. Beating with her powerful tail, the sea dragoness would dive to the bottom of the river. It was freshwater, not saltwater, like she was used to back home, but at least she could drink this water. Taking a huge gulp, she'd let out a purr. But now she was rather hungry.

Flipping around, Rayla would snort, causing a few bubbles to float up to the surface. These bubbles would freeze, forming ice spheres when they reached the top of the river. The current wasn't very strong, but it would quickly carry any of these ice bubbles away before Shine had a chance to notice them, unless she was gazing right at the water. Another thing one could notice about the water, was that it was much colder than it was normal for rivers in this region to be, having dropped nearly ten degrees the normal temperature.

This made for some particularly sluggish fish, and an easy meal for the eager Rayla, who was happy to drown her sorrows in salmon. She caught a few fish, ate them, then caught another to save for later. Holding the struggling trout in her mouth, she'd make her way back to the surface, leaving behind a trail of ice bubbles. Once her head poked out, she'd shake the water droplets off, heading back for shore.

But it didn't take long for Rayla to notice a dragon sitting by her back. And it was someone she did not want to see her. As soon as Rayla noticed Shine, sitting by a tree on the shore, she ducked back underwater with a gasp, dropping her salmon. If Shine were paying attention, she'd feel a sudden explosion of emotions coming from Rayla. A mix of fear, guilt, sadness, anger, and happiness.

Rayla would sit underwater, wondering what to do. She couldn't show herself, that would ruin the plan! But if she changed into a reptilian, and Shine discovered her, that could complicate things. What if Shine had already seen her? Rayla didn't know the full extent of Shine's goddess powers, but from what she'd heard her friend say about them, they could sense emotions. And couldn't all gods like, immediately find you or something like that? That's what grandma Astral had done to the assassin who killed Rayla's mother....

Shine had been thoroughly enjoying watching her old friend have her fun, the mass of ice bubbles had made her smile, and she tipped her head as she watched the dragoness twist and twirl around in the water. It was nice to know he friend was doing well. Whether she'd hidden herself or not, she was doing well and she was happy. There was no fault in that.
She stood up after Rayla turned around to face her once more, now carrying a fish, then blinked a few times in surprise as Rayla ducked under the water again, and a blast of emotions hit. Shine shook her head in surprise, blinking a few times, and tried to gather her emotions once more, sorting out hers from Rayla's. The Guilt, Fear, and Anger had hit her hard and surprised her. But...happiness as well. Rayla was happy to see her. But...then why? Why all that fear?
Was Rayla...scared of her? Shine wasn't exactly a scary dragoness by any stretch, being very, very small for a Seawing, and especially for a Goddess. She didn't look like much, and only the glowing stripes hinted at her status as Goddess.
But...the fact that Rayla was scared of her was slightly saddening. She took a step towards the water, frowning, and trying to decide if she should go in after her friend or not. Maybe it would be better if she didn't? She sat down once more, looking at the ground and frowning. She wanted to help, but...maybe helping would be not going after her?

For a few moments, Rayla would continue to sit underwater, contemplating what she should do. Maybe just swim away. But... augh! If she did that, she'd have to leave the scroll behind! And she couldn't risk that! That scroll was the only thing that linked her to her past. Her real past, not the one that her father would have her believe. She needed to decipher that text. If she didn't, she'd never know what she was, and where she came from. It held more information in it than even her father knew... and Rayla wanted that information for herself.

Contemplating what to do, Rayla couldn't help imagine what would happen if her father found out she was alive... last time Rayla had shown up at the SeaWing palace, her half siblings had all disowned her, and her father was... far from happy to see her. And after that, she had left in a frenzy of anger. And that was when she had only left for like... what, a year? Now everyone thought she was dead!

And then came Aari.... Rayla had not thought about her sister in a long time. For all she knew, her sister could be dead. And Sterlynn. Out of all the dragons on this planet, she believed she could trust him the most, now that Thirahan was dead. However.... she had no idea where he was, and she was now stuck in between a rock and a hard place.... Oh what to do...

Well, she couldn't wait down here forever. And besides, Shine had seen her. There was no doubt about that. As much as Rayla wanted to jump out of the water and go greet her friend.... she just couldn't. She, after all, had no idea why Shine was here. So she would approach this... cautiously...

Slowly rising back out of the water, Rayla would spot Shine sitting by the riverbed. Grudgingly, the sea dragon would approach her, holding a cautious glare as she did so. If Shine was here to take her back to her father, she'd have another thing coming. Rayla was about the same size at Shine, having inherited a small size from her mother. However, Rayla had a much stronger, rougher looking build than Shine, not to mention the long scar that ran across her back. It had been nearly five to seven years since Rayla had last seen Shiningwater. Of course, the goddess hadn't changed a bit, unlike herself, who looked much different from when she had been but a trainee. The last time Rayla had seen Shine had been when she was around 17-19. Now she was about 37.

".... So..... what do you want?" the dragoness would growl, staring at Shine. Since they were about the same height, Rayla could stare straight into Shine's eyes, hoping she'd receive the truth from her. "Arkhor didn't send you, did he?" venom reached her tongue when she said that name. She wouldn't even carry him high enough to call him her father. After all, he never sent a search party to look for her when she 'died'. He probably forgot about her. Or maybe he even was happy she was gone.

Shine watched the water for any movement, still frowning. Maybe Rayla didn't want to see her friend. Maybe it would be better if she left. She was about to get up and leave when Rayla finally resurfaced and started towards her once more. Shine blinked a few times at all the anger and fear she was giving off, and her fins flattened slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, only to close it when Rayla beat her to it. Shine swallowed and turned her gaze away from Rayla's. She didn't want to see all that anger directed at her. "No. No he didn't." She answered quietly. "I came because I wanted to see an old friend. He wouldn't send me." To be honest, she and Ark hadn't been talking recently a whole lot. But Shine did know he'd come by when he was ready and wanted to. She glanced back up at Rayla. "I came to see an old friend I thought was dead." She stood and backed up. "But if I'm not wanted, I'll leave. If that makes you happiest."

Rayla stared angrily at Shine for a long while. She was quiet. Yes, she was happy to see her friend, but she was also angry at her family. Angry at the SeaWings. Angry at all of dragonkind. But... she didn't want to drive her friend away. Sure, Rayla was mad, but she wasn't mad at Shine. The healer had been friends with her since she was a hatchling, and it felt as if she was the only one left from her childhood who still cared about her. So how could she just ignore her, let her wander off? And who was to say Shine wouldn't tell other dragons she was still alive.

So as much as Rayla desired to snap at Shine, to tell her to get lost, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping, her head down. "No... don't go. I'm just... frustrated, that's all. It's nice to see you, Shine, it really is." she would say, trying to force a smile, but it just ended awkwardly. Her words were sincere, though. And judging by her tone, Rayla had matured a lot since Shine had last seen her.

Before, Rayla had been arrogant, cocky, ignorant, hot headed, and more. Now she was more mature. Rayla would walk over to the frozen tree, gently scraping her claw down the ice, causing it to melt. She'd gently touch the backpack she had placed under the tree, not looking at Shine. Then she'd slowly turn back to face Shine, a strange expression, one of indifference, alight on her face.

'So... everyone thinks I'm dead, then...." she said this oddly calmly, almost foreboding.

Shine smiled slightly, glad that Rayla had accepted her once more and did want her to stick around. She took a step forward again, her smile returning, then balked slightly when her friend turned away towards the tree. She frowned slightly at Rayla's next question, her gaze dropping to the ground. She sat down once more, extending a wing so Cory could get off her back, before sighting heavily and curling her tail around her feet, then looked back up. "Yea. Unless you've told someone else, I'm now the only one who knows otherwise." She flipped her tail a bit. "Rumors spread early on, then they were gradually confirmed. Someone found a patch of scales, another person some blood...as time went on and you never reappeared, you were presumed dead." Shine sighed. "There was no evidence saying you weren't, aside from the lack of a body. But everyone assumed the assassin had disposed of it."

There was another moment of silence. Rayla wasn't sure whether she was proud of that or not. Happy or sad. She was indifferent. Which was peculiar, considering how worried her friends and family no doubt had been... or maybe they didn't even care. So many questions ran through her mind. But she also dreaded the answer. If it was what she thought the reply would be... well then, she didn't even want to ask the question. And just thinking about who the question was about... made her blood boil. She couldn't stand to think of him.

"I don't suppose Arkhor knew about this, did he? Oh what do I know. He probably did, but he just didn't care. It's not like he ever cared about his kids disappearing anyway, otherwise he would have put more of an effort into stopping us..." she would growl angrily, beginning to pace, walking over to the water's edge, and flopping down onto her belly, folding her paws, and placing her head on top of them.

She stared down at her reflection in the water, thinking quietly to herself, while Shine sat next to her. She lifted her head up and sighed, trying to change the conversation, despite having been the one who started it. "So, what's up with those god duties of yours? How's that working out for you?" the dragoness would ask with a disconnected tone, rolling onto her back, letting her head just barely touch the water's surface.

Shine swallowed stiffly and looked at the ground as Rayla spoke. Honestly, it had been about that time that she'd detached from the Mortal Plane and stopped interacting with others. "I don't know what your father thought." She answered quietly. "I wasn't around a whole lot during that time, so I don't know how he handled it or what he thought."
She sighed heavily once more and pawed at the sand beneath her paws, making random shapes with her finger. "As for my duties." She snorted. "What duties? I'm not allowed to help anyone unless it benefits all of Pyrria." She sighed. "So far, all my job has been has been to monitor the emotions of the dragons, and it seems like gauge tension between tribes, predict wars and maybe prevent them a bit by calming people down." She frowned. "Not a whole lot for the Goddess of Emotion to influence. Nothing like the God of Life." She looked down at Rayla as she said this next part. "Your father has a lot more Godly duties than I do."

Even though Shine would explain to her how everything was going, Rayla remained relatively uninterested. She had heard most of this before. Sure, it was interesting hearing that Shine wasn't allowed to interact with mortal dragons unless she had a good reason to be doing so. But why? Would she be punished for it? By who? Ray knew full well her grandma Astral wouldn't have it in her to punish Shine for something like that. Or maybe she would, who knew. Rayla didn't really care much, as she would casually roll back over onto her stomach, toying with the river water, watching it spiral out in ripples as she gently touched it with her paw.

But then Shine said something that caught her attention. Something about how her dad had more godly duties than she had. This caused Rayla to be confused, and she flashed a skeptical expression at her friend. "Really? He's more busy than you? I doubt a semi god would have more work than a full god, after all. Not that he's very good at that job in the first place" she'd add, scoffing a bit at the thought of him. She had absolutely no idea about the events that had transpired after she had left.

(I just realized Rayla knows like three full gods. Shine, the goddess of emotion, is her friend. Astral, the goddess of Stars and the Moon, is her grandmother. And Arkhor, the God of Life, is her father XD)

Shine frowned at this. Did Rayla honestly not know? Maybe not, she had been away for a while, Shardas knew where, but she hadn't been around. It was possible she didn't know, but the news of a new Full God realizing his power should have spread like wildfire. "It...turns out your father isn't a Semi..." She looked away awkwardly. "We thought he was, but apparently he is a full God. Hos powers just emerged slower, leading us to believe he was just a semi." She glanced down at Rayla again, giving an awkward smile. "He's the God of Life and Tides." She sighed heavily and shifted her feet. "And he does do a good job. He's bound by the same rules as I am, but he handles it better than me." She hesitated to tell her that Arkhor also had a new mate, not sure how Rayla would take that.

// Ark can join if you wanted, and his reason for not turning up sooner would be because he couldn't find Rayla in till a few months ago which he started watching her while waiting for the right time or something. //

(Sure. But it has been a couple years since Ark's seen Rayla, and the news of her death might have reached him before he became a full god. So I would at least like him to have, at one point, thought she was dead.)

Now this was news to Rayla. It was so surprising, in fact, that it made her jump up with a start, shocked. Due to the fact Rayla had mostly been traveling in her reptilian and human forms, and thus had been in areas dragons rarely tread, she hadn't really kept up with much of the current news, considering the fact that humans don't know all that much about the goings on of dragon. So it was understandable she would be a bit distraught by the thought of her father being a full god. However... the thought also made her incredibly furious.

"Wha.... ! How! I can't believe him! Aren't full gods like, I don't know, all knowing? Surely he would be at least a little concerned about my death! Why would he never come to search for me? What, does he think that now since he's all high and mighty, he can forget about his boring mortal daughter, is that it? I may not be dead, but I almost died! Where were his god powers when I got this scar, hmm?" the dragoness snarled, growling aggressive once again, glaring over at Shine. She had so many questions.

Growing agitated, Rayla would growl out of frustration, pacing back over to her backpack. She stared down at it for a while, contemplating whether to tell Shine about her plan or not. Surely the goddess wouldn't try to stop her, would she? With a sigh, Rayla spoke up again.

"You can't imagine what I went through when I went to the IceWing kingdom, Shine...." she would start, looking distraghtly down at her paws. The scar that ran down her back was clearly visible, as well.

// yeah I was planning to do that anyways, so can let shine post first then I can post if you want. //

The goddess frowned as she listened to her friend, looking away. "We're not all-knowing, obviously. And if you're mad at him for not knowing, then you have just as much of a right to be angry at me, I'm a Goddess. If you think he should have known, I should have as well." Shine watched her friend sadly, her green gaze lingering on the scar for a moment before looking away. "And our powers can't stop rumors from spreading. Like I said, there was nothing to say that you weren't dead." She stood, walking over to he friend once more, but didn't sit. "As for what you went through, I don't pretend to know."

"It seems like my whole damn family hates me," growled Rayla angrily, clawing at the dirt. She was too mad to try and reassure Shine that she wasn't mad at her, just upset with her family. For a number of reasons. "I suppose you're going to ask why. Well, do you know why Thirahan disappeared? Do you know why he isn't with me? Why there was no news of his death when I 'died' over at the IceWing kingdom? Well, because he was murdered! I watched his horrible, ***** mate kill him right in front of me! And you know what's grand about that? Her brother also happened to be my mate, and he tried to have me killed as well. Turns out they only wanted my egg. And you know what's grand? They were both hired by my mom's cousin to have everyone in my family killed!

And that's not even the worst part!" Rayla would continue, pacing once again. "When I fled to the IceWings, I had to take care of a baby. A baby. And I was only like 21 when I had that baby! Then what happens when I get to the IceWings? My mom's stupid cousin shows up, and tries to have me killed! Dropped a huge *** boulder on me, almost broke my spine, then I'd really be dead! I had to flee, and could do nothing when the killed my only daughter, because they'd beat me to a bloody pulp! Oh, but other than that, I've been grand! Just fantastic!

Sometimes I feel like there really is a curse on this damn family..." Rayla would finish with a snarl. She did not yet want to tell Shine about her plan to leave Pyyria. She also didn't feel the need to tell Shine that Rayla had met her mom's cousin, Gaea, once before, when they had only been about ten years old. Arkhor knew who Gaea was, but had only seen her that once.

(Oh, but don't let Arkhor know about Rayla's human/reptilian form, btw)

Arkhor watched from the water as he had been watching his eldest daughter for a few months now as he realised the rumours where in fact false as he hoped. Being invisible to Rayla yet Shine would be able to notice him, only he waited for a good time to step in. Yet it was difficult as his own daughter hated him for not being there, which was true especially when she left he had lost track of her. So he waited for Rayla to release the emotions within her as he didn't want to overwhelm his daughter with him suddenly appearing.

Shine looked back at the water as she listened, frowning. She didn't want to interrupt her friend as she vented, knowing all to well that Rayla needed to let it out, probably better than the dragoness did herself. Shine could feel it, all the pent up anger, frustration, and sadness for all the people her friend had seen die. Yea, she needed to let it out a bit. And who could blame her? Probably not even her father, who Shine had indeed noticed, and decided not to point out. She didn't want to give him away. If he wanted to make himself known, he would when he was ready.
The Goddess of Emotion looked back to her friend, still frowning. "I'm sorry. I know it's a useless thing to say, but I am." And if that emotional aura hanging around the Goddess was anything to go by, she was telling the truth. "Believe me, I know what it's like to loose a mate." She sighed heavily and looked at the ground again, then shook her head. "I doubt there is." She looked back at her friend with a soft smile. "Bad things can happen to good people just because they happen, just because there are bad people in the world, and no other reason. Nothing we can do about it. But-cruel as this world is-it does things for a reason. Cruel as it has been to you in the past, it has something planned for you. Something good. You can't have all the bad luck in the world, right?"

Now that all of these things had been brought back up, in Rayla's unintentional venting session, the sheer power of the emotion was beginning to make Rayla's eyes swell up with tears. Fortunately for her pride, she was facing away from Shine, so she tried to shake her head, and rub her paw against her eyes, blinking the tears away. She couldn't let Shine know that these things still hurt her so much to think about. But it was so hard, not having any one to talk about this stuff with, and thus causing it to be all pent up inside.

But no... she needed to take her mind away from this, she thought, as she growled at herself. Even her growling sounded choked up at this point, as her throat was tight with sadness. She gasped a little bit, trying to take deep breaths, and making sure Shine didn't know she was crying. Then everything was silent once more, leaving Rayla to stare quietly at the trees, not wanting to look back at Shine.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Rayla would speak up, refusing to turn and look at Shine. Her voice was a lot calmer now, but it had oddly strong emotion mixed into it. "Shine...... how is Aari? Is she well? She isn't...." Rayla swallowed. The last time she had seen Aari had been before her last kidnapping, which had been when Rayla was around 15. And last she had heard of her, her father had found her, but being discovered had come at the cost of her eyesight, for Aari was blind. But now? Rayla hadn't seen Aari for nearly 25 years. She hadn't the faintest idea what had happened to her sister.

Deciding that he should talk to his daughter he appeared behind the older Rayla, a respectable distance as he spoke softly. "You can ask her yourself.." lowering his look as his face clearly showed his shame and sadness. "Its been a long time.. Rayla.." standing tall he waited for her to respond as he waited for a bad reaction which he couldn't blame her for. His orange eyes observing his daughter as his form waited glancing towards Shine for a moment he didn't smile as it wasn't a good time.

Rayla would sit quietly in suspense, awaiting a response from Shine. She would dig her claws nervously into the ground. While she had asked, she didn't really want to know the answer, were it to be.... not so pleasant. However, when another voice answered her question instead, she froze. But it didn't take long for her to regain her senses, as she whirled around, to see none other than a dirty dog standing behind her. She was so surprised, she almost let out a yelp. Almost. Instead, Rayla became so angry, if it had been possible, she probably would have started steaming. It's a good thing she wasn't a FireWing.

"You!" she snapped, angrily walking towards him. Her shark-like tail whipped angrily, her fins spread out, and her claws unsheathed. When she reached him, she pulled back her paw, and slapped him across the face, claws and all. "How dare you show your dumb face to me again! No **** its been a long time! When I ran off, you didn't bother to come after me. It's been 20 years, you ***. Sure, now you show up, after I nearly died! I can't believe you!" she snarled. They were about the same height, so Rayla could stare right into his eyes, fire burning. She was tense, ready to slap him again.

(Boi.)

With his gaze still lowered he was about to protect himself but knew it was necessary, hissing from the pain of the slap which caused a little bleeding which quickly healed up. Shaking his head he replied "This dumb face has been looking for you.. yeah I maybe a god but it doesn't mean I can find someone instantly..plus with the rumours I thought you had died.. I never gave up like I did with Aari..." sighing he turned his gaze into her eyes "Now hit me if you must but if you and your brother didn't run off without a word all of this wouldn't have happened. After all I had done for you.. yes it was hard.. but without your mother it was difficult"

As he waited for her lashing out he had to admire her as she had grown quite a lot since he had last seen her. Continuing "Never think I didn't care for you all, I love each and everyone of you. So if I have to be the punching bag go for it..I do deserve it  after I couldn't keep you all safe" It was clear that he was on the edge of crying with his eyes filling up, Moving his head side wards to hide it as he clearly showed he was waiting for her to strike.

Clenching the ground with her claws, Rayla would continue to glare angrily at Arkhor, grinding her fangs. Even if she listened to his reasons, she barely acknowledged them. No reason was good enough for what she had been through. Her tail would continue to whip back and forth. At this point, Rayla had mostly forgotten Shine was here. As much as the curiosity was gnawing at Rayla to ask how Aari was doing, she was too mad to keep a level head about it.

There was now blood on her claws, from where she had scratched Arkhor. Of course, him being a god, he healed up pretty quickly. Turning his face away from her, Rayla decided to let out her pent in aggression, by lifting her body up, and slashing him in the neck. Her paws bleeding, she would back up, breathing heavily.

After a moment, Rayla's eyes began to brim up with tears again, "All I wanted was to live a happy life with my brother! Was that too much to ask?...." she looked like she was going to say something more, but she stopped, and looked away, still growling. At this point she couldn't stop the tears from running down her face. "And now he's dead.... and I'll never see him again...."

Groaning slightly as she slashed at his neck causing his scales to bleed for a few seconds only to heal it back up. As he saw her expression suddenly change he frowned sadly and replied "Ray.. I know you where.. but as you know stuff happens.. mostly for a reason.. I miss Thirahan too.." deciding to get a little closer he raised a paw only to touch her chin slightly, "I'm sorry for whats happened to you.. but.. why didn't you return? I know you did before yet you didn't come again.. again with the rumour it was hard to know what you really wanted from me.." sighing he lowered his look again "Your sister.. Aari.. she has started to talk again.. but not much has changed.. I can't do much for her.. it pains me everytime I see her.." As he sat down moving his tail against his side, "A lot of bad things have happened in the family.. but it doesn't mean it has to end badly all the time.. Like I thought you would make a good leader one day.. and you could have too.."