Sometimes, that's just how life works

[ScaleIron]

So I have recently had my main character transfered over to the Order shard, and while I was in the middle of it I decided to come up with my own story. Reading everyone else's stories kind of inspired my muse, and I actually managed to come up with something I'm more or less pleased with.

I don't claim that it's a wonderful story, simply something I threw together over the course of a couple days. It's been a while since I've done any serious writing, so I may actually be more rusty than I think I am.

Anyway, enjoy.

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The kwellen stared down into the chasm, as if trying to will something out of it's black depths. Kneeling down, perhaps to see farther into the darkness, the creature growled, gripping the edge of the cliff to balance himself.

There. Now he could see. The spot in the darkness, a warp, and if his commander was correct, a rift. A rift between worlds... two Istarias. The concept was somewhat beyond the grasp of the kwellen, but that didn't matter much. He had done his job, by throwing his adversary through this... tear. His opponent, though young by its species standards, was admittedly strong. Perhaps its strength came from sheer will? It's will to survive? It didn't make sense that one that wasn't even full grown could be that much of an obstacle.

No matter. It was gone now. It didn't matter if the beast survived the trip through the realms, all that was important was that it wasn't HERE anymore. Nodding with a snort of approval, the kwellen stood and picked up his weapon. This job was finished, time to move on to the n-

"Where are you going?" The kwellen stopped at the raspy voice. Though faint, and sounding much like the owner was in dire need of a drink, it struck a certain amount of apprehension in the kwellens mind. The large creature turned and stared at the source, a humanoid being draped in black, tattered robes that covered it from head to toe; not even it's face could be seen. A mage, and the kwellen's "master". "Finish it. Make sure it can never come back! I am tired of the blasted animal getting in the way." With a disapproving huff, the mage turned and stalked away.

Once he was sure the mage was out of hearing range, the kwellen growled. It obviously wasn't enough that he managed to wrestle the Dragon juvenile, throw it through the warp, and live to tell about it. Absently, the kwellen proded at the bite marks on his shoulder. Wincing, he looked at himself more closely, spotting two oozing gashes on one thigh and another bite on the right hand. Growling a second time, he stomped back to the edge of the cliff, then looked down. How was he to know he would survive the trip? What if it just dumped him out in some random place in THIS Istaria? For a moment, he considered simply walking away, or maybe even forcing one of his own lessers to do it. Fear of what the mage would do, though, prevented him from doing so.

With a nervous breath, the kwellen stepped off the cliff and dropped through the rift. The moment he disappeared through it, the warp closed completely.



******


Somewhere within the canyon west of Tazoon, a large gray, scaley lump stirred in the sand. Groaning, with a hint of a pained whine thrown in, it shifted and sat up. Wings unfolded slowly, stiffly, and the juvenile Dragon pulled itself to its feet, cringing as it found one of it's wings broken. Confusion clouded it's red eyes, and it took a moment to shake as much of the sand from it's scales as possible without jarring the injured wing. The motion sent it tumbling; it felt drugged. "This must be what it is like for a Naka to be drunk..." It croaked. It's throat was dry, it's vision was distorted, and it wasn't quite sure how many legs it had, or why none of them were doing what it wanted them to do.

"Oy!" A voice hollared from above. The Dragon winced at the volume, despite the fact the voice came from more than a hundred feet up. "Are you all right, Dragon? Took quite a tumble there!"

Baring it's teeth, the Dragon tried to look up to glare at the speaker, only to ram it's domed head into the side of the canyon wall. Grimacing, it leaned against the offending wall and waited for it's head to quit ringing. "I'm... I'm fine." It called back, fighting the urge to cough. "I just need to get my bearings..." It muttered, more to itself than anything else.

"Well, I'll be coming down anyway! Just because you've got Lunus insignia on, doesn't mean I can't help you!" Came the answer. "There's a big nasty golem wandering around here someplace, and I'd feel pretty bad if it got you!"

"And what makes you think I can't handle myself?" The Dragon growled quietly, and made a mental note to chew off the head of whoever was yelling to it. The sun was out, and it was bright. With the orange and yellow of the rock and sand around it, the light was starting to be a problem for the silver Dragon's eyes. Squinting, the young Dragon stumbled to it's feet once more, and slowly took one step at a time until it was sure it wasn't going to trip again. Still feeling a bit foggy in the head, it took a few minutes to get the hang of walking again, before it took a better look at its surroundings.

It remembered hunting here. Or, at least in a place much like it. It looked exactly like the canyons near Tazoon... and if it didn't know any better, it would have been sure that's where it was. But the canyon looked... different, somehow. While it smelled mostly the same, it also had a tint of something alien. For all it knew, it wasn't anywhere NEAR Tazoon.

Small pebbles and bits of sand rained down on the Dragon. Scowling, it glared upwards (without smacking its head) to see a gnome sliding down the side of the canyon wall. Watching with interest, the winged reptile waited for the little naka to reach the ground before turning it's glare on him. The gnome drew back hesitantly, eyeing the teeth in the Dragon's maw. "Now, before I get closer, promise you won't eat me?"

"You naka stink and taste horrible, I have no intention of eating you." The small Dragon narrowed it's eyes. "Make a wrong move, however, and I will chew something off. I just won't swallow."

The gnome stared at it for a second, before gulping and taking a step forward. Still eyeing the Dragon's teeth and claws apprehensively, he walked around it, until it held out one of it's wings. He could see the break in the bone, but at least it hadn't broken through the leathery hide of the appendage. "Hrm, that's no good..." He dropped his pack on the ground and rummaged through it for a moment. From it, he pulled out a splint and a clamp to keep it together. Before approaching the Dragon, he held up the items, as if asking for permission. Once getting a nod of what he hoped was approval, he set to work resetting and binding the wing bone. "So, mind if I ask where you're from? What's your name? Don't see too many hatchlings about on their own, especially one so armored as yourself. Shouldn't you have grown up by now? You look it, that's for sure, you got all that armor on."

The Dragon tilted it's head for a moment. "I am called Kandrin." It bared it's teeth in a grimace as it's wingbone was set together again, causing the gnome to flinch away. "I am not from anywhere, as I do not have a home. And why do you care of I can't fly or not?"

He laughed. "Oh, no reason. Everyone has a home. Where were you before you came here? You sort of just popped into existance, at least that's how it looked to me. New travel spell that doesn't require a gate?." The gnome fiddled with the clamp a bit. "My name is Gavin."

Kandrin frowned. "I was... sent here. This doesn't smell like my world."

Gavin paused. "You were "sent" here? By who? From where?"

"From Istaria... Some of the undead had attempted to overrun an outpost, and I went with several others to help fight them off. I was thrown into a crevice and... somehow ended up here."

Gavin stared up at the Dragon. He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if considering his options, before finally speaking. "So... you're from another of Istaria's Realms? I've never met someone like you! What's it like over there? Any different from here?"

Kandrin was beginning to regret not chewing on the gnome. "That's complete nonsense, I've never heard of something so..." It paused, fishing for a word.

"Outlandish? Absurd?" Gavin chuckled, clamping the splint together and quickly stepping back in case the Dragon snapped at him. "But there are others here that claim to come from such a place. I think it's fascinating!" He picked up his pack as Kandrin stood up and lifting it's wing tentatively before tucking it against it's back. "So, suppose you are in a different Istaria now. Is it any different?"

Kandrin squinted at Gavin momentarily, before deciding to humor him a little. "Well... it smells differently. The colors seem a bit off, kind of like when you've opened your eyes after having them closed for a while." It paused, sniffed the air, and looked around. "It also seems to be a bit green."

"Green? This is a desert, Kandrin, there's nothing green here."

"Not that sort of green." The Dragon bared it's teeth and hissed, it's scales bristling with small spikes. "Find a place to hide. Quick!"

The gnome did as he was told, making for a large crack in the nearby canyon wall. He squeezed himself in and pulled his pack in after him, squirming around to get a better view of the Dragon outside. He watched as Kandrin paced around in a circle, teeth bared and red eyes glaring. Though the Dragon was much smaller than the ones he often had to avoid being eaten by, this one struck a different sort of fear in him. He had never seen a Dragon that young who was that... ferocious. Vicious.

Feral.

The air thickened slightly, and he could smell a foul odor as a green mist began to appear. It wasn't horribly thick, but it did give a slightly green tint to everything. Aside from the occassional lightning bolt, he couldn't hear much else besides the low growls coming from Kandrin.

Kandrin stopped pacing, and stared up towards the top of the canyon walls. It crouched down, suddenly very cat like in appearance, and continued to stare daggers at whatever was above them. Had it been the color of the sand and stone around them, and had it's eyes been closed, Gavin never would have been able to see it. It was that still.

With a sudden roar, the Dragon reared up and hurled an orb of primal fire upwards. Something above the gnome answered with a roar of it's own, and a second later a huge winged, bipedal creature landed with a earth-shaking crash a few feet away from his hiding spot. It was a kwellen... or, at least Gavin thought it was a kwellen. He had heard descriptions of what they looked like, but he had never actually seen one. It growled, Kandrin bared its teeth and growled back, and the two beasts began to circle each other.

It occured to Gavin that suddenly, Kandrin seemed as much a monster as the kwellen it was snarling at. Spikes bristled all along it's body, making him think of a porcupine. It's eyes practically glowed with bloodlust, and as it paced around it's adversary it's claws left shallow gashes in the sandstone ground. The mental image Gavin had of a typical hatchling of Istaria, bouncy yet cautious, curious, impressionable, and eager to accept items they saw as valuable, vaporized in an instant.

This young Dragon really scared him. Gavin wasn't even sure this Dragon qualified as "hatchling" anymore.

Kwellen and Dragon lunged simutaniously, snarling and hissing furiously as they traded blows. Kandrin reared up and thrust it's head forward, clamping it's jaws around the forearm of the kwellen. Bellowing angrily, the monster tried to jerk it's arm free, causing Kandrin to just bite down harder and use it's claws to anchor itself to the ground. The kwellen brought up it's weapon, and rained blows against the Dragon's armored hide. Most simply connected against the armor Kandrin wore, and it was able to stand most of the attacks. One strike, however, connected with Kandrin's broken wing, and it released the kwellen's arm with a screech of pain.

While Kandrin took a moment to steady itself, it's enemy raised it's staff high into the air. With a bellow, the kwellen brought the end of the weapon down, and narrowly missed it's target as Kandrin skirted away. Crouching, Kandrin leapt at the kwellen, it's jaws latching on to the monster's neck as the two crashed to the ground. The Dragon kicked and clawed with all four paws desperately, even as the winged creature tried to pry Kandrin's jaws apart.

Gavin almost couldn't prevent himself from crawling out of his hiding place to jump up and down. He mentally cheered the Dragon on, even as Kandrin's claws finally tore past the hide of the kwellen to the tissue beneith. The monster roared and wailed, the two thrashing around on the bloodied ground. Finally, with a weak gurgle, the kwellen lay silent and still, and the silver Dragon pulled it's fangs free from the kwellen's throat.

The gnome scrambled out of his hole, nearly leaving his pack behind, and raced over to Kandrin. The Dragon layed down stiffly on the ground, panting, a somewhat dazed look in it's red eyes. "Are you alright?" Gavin asked, gingerly stepping over what looked like a piece of the kwellen's hide. It was actually hard to tell what blood spatters belonged to which combatant.

Kandrin bared it's teeth in a weak grin. "Believe it or not, I've been worse." It grimaced and shifted off it's limp wing. "This, however, could be a bit of a problem."

Without a word, Gavin pulled out another splint and clamp from his pack, and set to work mending Kandrin's wing. This time, the Dragon simply rested it's head on it's paws while the bones were reset a second time. Gavin found he had to use a couple healing spells to make the process easier on both of them. "I don't think I've ever seen a Dragon as young as you put up a fight like that, that was amazing!"

Kandrin peered at him out of the corner of one eye. "You give the young ones of my race very little credit." It paused as the gnome secured the clamp and leaned back to inspect his work. When Gavin nodded, Kandrin stood up slowly, it's injured wing held close to it's side. "But, I thank you for your help. You are not so bad for a Naka."

"Do I still stink?"

"Yes."

Gavin frowned to himself as Kandrin turned and began to walk away. "Hey.... hey, wait!" The gnome picked up his pack and raced after it. "Where are you going?"

The Dragon looked at him sideways as they continued walking. "I need to find my way to Dralk, maybe there is someone there who can tell me how I can get back home." Kandrin squinted at him carefully. "And I do not think Dralk is such a safe place for a little Naka like yourself."

"Well, yes... but why would you want to go back? It's really no different there than it is here. You said you didn't have a home."

Kandrin stopped walking to glare at Gavin dangerously. It bared it's teeth slightly, almost as if preparing to bite him, before relaxing enough to at least close it's maw. "And how will this Istaria be any more a home than the last one?"

"Exactly!" Now that he was sure he wasn't going to be eaten, Gavin was feeling a little bold. He even stood in front of the Dragon and dropped his pack on the ground for good measure. "So, why bother trying to go back to an Istaria where you didn't have a home, when you can make one here?"

The Dragon lifted it's head back slightly, almost like a snake preparing to strike. Kandrin paused, suddenly uncertain, and tried to lift it's wings slightly in a defensive manner. "I..." It frowned, appearing more and more unsure of itself the longer Gavin tried to stare it down. It was quite an amazing feat, actually, he wasn't exactly sure why he was still alive. It was possible that the Dragon in front of him, despite being strong for one so young, was just now entering a state of shock.

He found that his theory was correct. Kandrin reared up on it's haunches and put it's forepaws together, like it was holding something. For a second, Gavin thought it was actually going to attack him with one of the Dragon's offensive spells. Instead, he noticed faint energy swirling around the Dragon. A couple nervous blinks later, and Kandrin actually recalled away from him.

Gavin frowned, somewhat worried that he may have put himself on a Dragon's hitlist. While Kandrin appeared to be following the ways of a Lunus, the juvenile didn't seem all that bad. Picking up his pack, he looked back at the kwellen's corpse before resuming his walk out of the canyon.

*****

The second Kandrin felt her paws hit the hard surface of whatever shrine she recalled to, she took off running. Her vision wasn't even completely clear when she started. She ran. And ran. And ran. Fear drove her to run, and anger, and sadness. Resentment nipped at her tail as she passed what looked to be a Helian guard. Not even caring that she was racing through and out of Chiconis, Kandrin kept running.

Something here had to be familiar. A smell, a taste, a sound or sight. SOMETHING. But the more she looked for it, the harder it was to see. Absentmindly running, she turned west once outside the Helian city. She passed hills and brighter spiders, she passed kenaf plants. She even ran past silver golems.

And Kandrin kept running.

Finally, her lungs and limbs complaining almost as loudly as her mended wing, she came to rest on a beach. The salty air also smelled and tasted strange. Kandrin bared her teeth and growled at everything and nothing, laying down to catch her breath. Across the water she could see another shore... must be that of Selen. She hated how everything was so familiar, yet she felt as though she was seeing it all for the first time. It was almost like awakening to her Gift all over again.

She looked up and stared at the darkening sky. Why her? Why now? She wasn't even an adult, why did she have to go through this? Sighing, she lowered her gaze, suddenly tired. She was in the middle of drifting into a somewhat fitfull sleep when a slight noise roused her. Down by the shore, she watched as a seabird pecked at a couple newly hatched turtles as they struggled to reach the safety of the water with the rest of their nest. For whatever reason, it reminded her of something she used to say back "home." "The strong push the weak, that's how life works. If the weak wish to survive, they must either become strong or stay out of the way."

The seabird snapped at a turtle, managed to pick it up in it's beak, only to have the reptile thrash and flop back onto the ground.

Kandrin's stomach growled, and brought her mind back from the clouds. Watching nature at it's best and worst was somewhat calming to the Dragon. Again, the bird failed to catch a turtle, and another one flopped to the sand and kept scrambling away. Tilting her head to one side thoughtfully, Kandrin continued to watch the bird. She felt calmer... and hungry.

Her stomach growled again.

Standing up, Kandrin walked closer to the crowd of turtles and the bird. The seabird squawked at her, as if telling her to back off, and then ignored her when she sat behind it. Kandrin eyed a few of the turtles... they were so small. She'd have to eat quite a few to satisfy her appetite. Making a shrugging motion, she opened her maw and her head shot forward, snapping at her unsuspecting prey.

A second later, Kandrin walked away from the water, the dead seabird clenched tightly in her fangs and her tail swishing back and forth in a pleased manner. There was no reason for her to sit around and mope. Gavin was right, as she claimed to not have a home, she could make one in this "new Istaria." Kandrin had always been proud of being able to take care of herself; she never had parents to teach her. Her egg, like others, had hatched within the safety of Skalkaar Island. However, unlike some of them, she never found her parents, or even a mated pair to adopt her. She had raised herself, taught herself to hunt, and with the guidance of Dragon trainers learned about crafting, spells, and the finer points of combat.

She felt somewhat humbled. Kandrin felt that the entire experience, while it caused her to feel emotions she wasn't familiar or comfortable with, had made her a better being in the end. Accepting help, even from a Naka, hadn't been that bad at all. Perhaps it even made her stronger. As Kandrin sat down with her catch, it occured to her that perhaps she should change her saying a bit.

"The strong push the weak, that's just how life works. If the weak wish to survive, they must either become strong on their own, or rely on the help of others to make them strong."

[velveeta]

very good introduction to your new home, scale!

[Shian]

This is very well written! nomnomnom

[Vaz]

Very nice. Welcome to Order.

You're welcome to join the Azuranous Clan roleplaying channel. It's set in the place where Kandrin ended up, so things tie together quite conveniently, if you want.

[Frith-Rae]

Aye I enjoyed it greatly - and welcome to Order!! I hope you like it here with us .

[Hraefn]

Good stuff! Welcome to Order! As Vhaz said, the Clan Azuranous chat is set in Shivek, where Kandrin ended up and you're more than welcome to join it. It'd be great having you in there with us. :3

[ScaleIron]

Thanks for all the welcomes! I'll start popping into different channels to check them out.

Quick blurb on Kandrin's progress, here. It'll be kinda short, but whatever.


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It really hadn't taken her long to settle. Once she was use to how things looked and smelled, it was almost as though she were back where she came from.

When Kandrin had been wandering through Dralk, she had found a lair she hadn't ever seen before "back then." It had taken her a couple of Istarian days to explore the place, and she still wasn't sure she was done. She had found a library, where she was able to find a form she had been missing as well as drop off a few she didn't need, and she also found a gate. She wasn't entirely sure who it was for, or where it would go, and she hadn't really bothered to try walking through it. She was far too busy exploring the vast network of caves and tunnels; it was entirely likely that it tunneled deep beneith Dralk, and maybe out into the surrounding lands.

Afterwords, while resting, she hesitantly tapped into some of the energy channels that Gifted Ones like herself had access to. She had never liked the experience that much, even before coming here, and it was strange to feel so many alien minds. From them, she learned some words and phrases in Old Draconic, and found she was curious about the language she had never been taught. So, delving back into the library in Dralk's huge lair, she found a number of short references to the old tongue, and managed to make a copy or two to study on her own.

She had communicated with a couple of other Dragons, who explained a number of things to her about this new world. Kandrin was also invited to speak with them or seek them out, should she ever need their assistance. A sslik even gave her a handful of coins, and though she was uncomfortable with the strange gesture she accepted them. Interacting with Naka was never something she was good at, but her interactions with Gavin had taught her that some were not all that bad, and the effort may very well be worth it.

But they still smelled funny.

Finally, she came across a trainer while exploring Chiconis. This Dragon's name was Memni, and he had knowledge of making the crystals that many Dragons and Naka used to augment their armor, tools, and weapons. He offered to make one for her, in exchange for a favor. She had to kill a number of ogres in Old Rachival and retrieve a splinter from one of their clubs, then she had to travel to Grayling to find a Guardian, so that she could obtain a shard from it. The process itself was almost longer than Kandrin was willing to wait, but he only asked for an hour and three essence orbs after she was done.

So she sat and waited. While she waited, she attempted to study the texts that she retrieved from the lair in Dralk. She learned several words and phrases; a couple greetings, a way to say good bye, and a few of the more commonly used nouns and pronouns.

The words she had a harder time with were "A'mea" and "A'meo," mother and father. It wasn't that she couldn't understand and retain them, no, but she had never had these figures in her life. Kandrin had grown up without parents, without close friends and relations. She never knew if her parents were alive or dead, or off fighting the Aegis, or even wanted their hatchling. So she had grown up somewhat resentful of other hatchlings that had parents, or adoptive parents, or even mentors.

In the middle of her brooding, Memni had finished her crystal. While it wasn't one of the most radiant crystals she had ever seen, Kandrin could see the value of it. Memni called it "Lasting Embers", and explained that it would help her to actually use her Dragonbreath to light her opponents on fire. The thought of it made her giddy and eager to try it out, so off she ran for some oak treants. How she had dreamed of burning them to a crisp!

However, halfway there she found she was suddenly tired. After days of running around, Kandrin was finally beginning to wear herself out. With her new prize tucked safely between her hide and her chest scale, she found a safe place to bed down for a while. It wasn't so bad here, not really. She found it difficult to socialize with other members of her race, but Kandrin decided it would just take time.

If not, she could always try to track down Gavin. At least he was responsive. Besides, she had no idea how to take off the blasted splint that was still clamped to her wing. The bone wasn't completely healed yet, but Kandrin didn't think she still needed to have that horrid Naka contraption still stuck to it either.

Maybe she could light his backpack on fire....

[Vaz]

*enjoyed the blurb* ^_^

[ScaleIron]

Finally, a little bit of conflict. I thought I was going to have to make Kandrin act like a jerk or something. I would have liked some more, but I guess I'll just have to work with what I've got for now... I got plans for this Dragon, just wait... XP


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She was sick of it.

Sick of being treated like some human's red headed step child (she still wondered at where that term came from). She was sick of being treated like she was some Sslik who had the misfortune to wander through a small human town. She was sick of the animosity and DRULKAR'S SCALES SHE WAS SICK OF IT!

Kandrin stopped pacing and stared at some spot on the stone wall before her. She had been at it for a couple days, digging and digging and trying to stay calm, making metal bars and metal scales and then taking her anger out on the scales and tearing them up to make more bars and...

She was tired. Few of these Dragons payed her any mind, and fewer still were considerate about it. She never demanded an enormous amount of respect, as she was still just a juvenile. She never demanded anyone's trust. Scales, she didn't even ask them for any help, she simply continued about her business.

But a little kindness and consideration would have gone a long way at that point.

It wasn't as though some hadn't been kind to her, no. A Dragon named Shymmer had helped made her a new set of scales to help her dig for rocks and ore better, and Kandrin adored them. Vhazshyn had helped to remove the clamp that been stuck to Kandrin's wing after the bones had finished healing, and for nearly an hour afterward Kandrin couldn't keep herself from bounding around and waving her wing about. A male named Maekrux (at least, she believed that was the correct name, a lot of these names sounded so much alike) had spoken with her on the Island of New Trismus, and she had greatly enjoyed the conversation.

Another Dragon, Tsargoth, had taken her to an old lair and shown her the library; it was dark and misty and things looked strange. He had said that it was possible that it was a spot where the barriers between the different Primes was thin, and though extremely dangerous, it was also possible one would be able to cross between the two.

And that thought lingered in her mind. It lingered for quite some time, actually. In fact, the angrier and more frustrated she became, the more tempting the ridiculous idea was. So what if it was dangerous? She had laughed while taking on mobs of Aegis, she had danced around Gigaroth's blasted spawn on her way to Draak (though he quite nearly smeared her across the rocks...), and she had survived her initial trip through the barriers between the Primes.

So what could keep her from doing it again?

Kandrin struggled to squash that thought as soon as it appeared. She didn't have the means or knowledge to get herself back. Was this Istaria driving her insane? Was she really loosing her mind? Maybe that's what happened to beings who came through the barriers unwillingly. All of the others that she had spoken to seemed to be in their right mind... but then, they call came through willingly. Perhaps it was because they had been prepared, where as for her it just happened.

But maybe she could ask... someone. Maybe a Fiend would know, they knew all about weird stuff like that, and-

NO!

But at least on the other Prime, Dragons and Naka had been considerate. None belittled her, none threatened her, and while several larger Dragons had tried to eat her none of them had succeeded, so she couldn't hate them for something they hadn't actually done. And none of them had accused her of being rude and disrespectful without telling her WHY she had been rude and disrespectful.

And that was the thing that had currently made her so angry.

Kandrin had attended a juvenile's ascention into adulthood. She sat there and watched the hatchling and her family members interact, and while a part of her was jealous, most of her was happy for the young Dragon's achievements. She didn't want to act morose at such an event, so she kept it masked as well as she could. It certainly wasn't something she was comfortable or even familiar with; before coming to this new Prime, she never cared that she had no family or siblings. When some latecomers had shown up for the ceremony, Kandrin had jumped up with a few others and beat down the ghosts that had dared to come too close to them. And while she didn't like fireworks (unnecessarily loud and unecessarily bright, in her opinion), she hadn't snarled and hissed and spit about it. Before she left to continue her hunting, she had congratulated the new Adult Dragon.

Shortly after, someone invaded her mind. At first she wasn't sure who it was, but then she recognized them... and they accused her of being rude and disrespectful and having a poor attitude. It made her quite angry, angry enough to gouge the rocks around her. How DARE they! Not only to they make such statements in vague terms that she could barely comprehend, not only did they refuse to tell her WHAT she did to offend them, but the did it from a distance

That thought made Kandrin snarl out loud and tear more chunks out of the rock around her.

Panting, she stopped and looked around. It was relatively quite north of Dralk. No ogres or pygmies or oastics wandered by the area she was in. It was rare she even saw anyone around. That usually ensured she could do her digging in peace, mental invaders notwithstanding. When she shut all the energies out of her mind, the kind that allowed her to hear the minds of others, then she felt she could really be at peace.

Unless someone barged into her head.

Kandrin sat down on the ground. Digging in the dirt wasn't calming her down enough. There had to be something she could do to get it out of her head so it wouldn't drive her more insane than she was already-

"No, I'm NOT INSANE!" Kandrin snapped out loud. A dragon happened to be passing by on the road at that exact moment, and it paused to look at her. She could only lower her head, embarrassed.

An idea popped into her head, then. Turning south, she began to trot back to Dralk and it's teleportation gate.

********

Kandrin soon arrived at the silver fields in Shivek. She wandered around some, looking at the vacant lairs, before finding a lone silver golem. She pounced on it, and in mere moments ripped it apart. The dragon never really gave it a chance to fight back. Baring her teeth angrily, she sprinted past the smelter and killed the next one she found. This one put up a bit more of a fight, but maybe that was because it heard her snarl as she approached.

A couple kills later, she found a silver golem fragment. In the angry haze that slowed her mind, it occured to her that she may need these for something later on. She knew what it was she needed them for, but in her current mood it was hard to think of it. All she wanted to do at that moment was rip golems apart until they were too scared to put themselves back together.

She decided that, while she was at it, she may as well collect these shards.

She'd remember what it was she needed them for by the time she could think straight.

[ScaleIron]

So I finally got around to checking out The Pickle. As I was killing the elementals and ghosts looking for bottle caps, I really wasn't even paying attention that I practically leveled off mobs that were nearly twenty levels below me. o.O

I think I was having too much fun imagining a drunk Dragon. XP (This'll be short. Kandrin really hasn't been up to much, lately.)

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Kandrin had heard of "The Bitter Pickle". For a while, she had no idea what it was exactly. When she learned that it was once a pub, and a rather popular one, she merely shrugged it off. She was Dragon, what did it matter to her if naka went to one big building to drink themselves silly? She had come to accept that her brain might have rattled a bit loose in her trip to the Prime of Order, and in that act (as well as speaking with a few older Dragons about a number of things that had been troubling her) she accepted her new fault. Why would she need to drink the drinks of naka to loose her mind?

For a moment, she strained to remember the names of the Dragons she had spoken with. Deep within her mind, she knew, but for the life of her she couldn't recall them right then.

Kandrin's head bobbed slightly as a hiccup escaped her.

For you see, curiousity had finally won out over her Draconic reasoning. It was the time for the naka's festival celebrating the changing of the seasons, their little spawn dressed up in all sorts of things and asked people for candy, and their elders sat around tables to drink the nights away. Several of her fellow Gifted were wandering the festival grounds, and she did for a short while... but aside of the stories that were told, there was really nothing interesting going on.

But then she remembered The Bitter Pickle...

Kandrin was racked with another hiccup. The bold ale elemental (she never knew elementals could be made of booze) before her grew more so, and swung at her. It connected, and in the back of her mind she knew she should have felt it, but all it really felt like was a light tap that sent her stumbling. Slurring a snarl, she swung back, missed, and swung again. The second strike connected, and the elemental fell apart.

It should have occured to her that perhaps biting them, and having her maw open in general while near them, was not such a great idea. However, her pride had gotten the better of her, and at first she went in with much roaring and snarling and noise. After accidently swallowing quite a bit of the stuff, she soon found herself sitting awkwardly on her haunches, giggling to herself in between burps and hiccups, and batting down whatever elemental or ghost came her way. She found a number of bottle caps as she was... enjoying herself, and she stashed them in a bag. Kandrin managed to stay just sober enough to realize when she had to heal her wounds, but that act in and of itself was difficult. The alcohol had dulled her senses and her nerves, and while it gave her a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling, it also made her a bit more volatile than normal. The Dragon would go from being happy and giggling at absolutely nothing, to snarling in a mad rage while tearing apart an elemental foolish enough to come too close.

Kandrin wasn't sure exactly how long she was there, but she somehow managed to find her way back to the road. Drunk enough to know she was, but still too much of a Dragon to admit it outright, she stumbled around until she found a spot that appeared more or less secure. With another head-bobbing hiccup, and a slurred mumble that mentioned something about the nearby trees doing a little jig to some of the festival music that could be heard, she dropped to the ground.

The Dragon was out before her head even hit her paws.

[Vaz]

xD Nice depiction.

[ScaleIron]

Well, since I can't play while visiting the parents (their internet connection is less than ideal) I've had some time to do some writing. And since I haven't done anything like that lately, figured I'd add on to Kandrin's story. Enjoy.
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She had spotted the Fiend sneaking around her lair opening from above, while preparing herself to drop down into the natural bowl the opening sat in. Kandrin crouched low to the ground and watched the naka female carefully. Normally, she wouldn't care much about what was hanging around; she hadn't started to store any valuables there.

However, the Fiend didn't look to be interested in what the lair could store; she looked much more interested in the lair itself.

As soon as the Fiend slipped into the lair, Kandrin anchored her cargo disk next to a large tree and climbed down the steep earthen wall. Dropping to the floor as quietly as possible, she snuck down the winding ramp of the entry. Poking her head out a bit, she noticed the blue female investigating the stone cutter and pedastle. Kandrin couldn't understand why a naka would be so interested in the workings of a Dragon's lair... not only could they not use certain things, but in a naka's hands the equipment was unwieldy. It was built for Dragon paws, not humanoid hands!

Narrowing her red eyes, Kandrin pulled back so the Fiend wouldn't notice her as she exited the stoneworking chamber and continued down the hall. Twisting her neck around, the Dragon watched the blue-skinned naka stroll down the tunnel; she paused at an opening to a spiral ramp that delved deeper into the ground, then decided to investigate the current level farther instead.

Kandrin padded after her target quietly, pausing in a little nook while the Fiend peered into a storage chamber. Finding nothing of interest, the Fiend turned around and approached the incomplete smelting chamber. Ducking under a jagged piece of stone, the naka stood within the half-finished room and looked around at the work. The juvenile Dragon watched her carefully, should it try to destroy what progress had already been made.

The Fiend didn't, though. She simply examined the walls, the claw marks, the partially built smelter and scaleforge. She picked up different pieces and held them up to others, as if trying to figure out how they would go together. Pieces of crystal or metal or stone littered the floor, and these were also inspected. She even took interest in the pieces of crystalline lattice.

While the Fiend was busy in the smelting chamber, Kandrin retreated to the spiral tunnel. Digging her claws into the stone, she hefted herself up off the ground. Pulling her weight up the wall, Kandrin carefully perched in a space at the top of the spiral.

And the Dragon waited.

When her muscles began to finally weaken, she heard light footsteps approaching. Raising her tail, Kandrin prepared to jump. The spikes that covered the end of her tail came together tightly when she tensed her tail muscles, becoming mace-like. The unsuspecting Fiend passed under the Dragon, and that's when Kandrin made her move.

She clubbed the intruder in the back of the head with her tail.

As the female crumpled to the ground, Kandrin dropped down and relaxed, the spikes on her tail tip separating. She carefully sniffed the Fiend, and noted that she still breathed. Grabbing a mouthful of tunic, Kandrin dragged her quarry down the tunnel, dumping the form unceremoniously in front of the wall it ended at.

Sitting down, Kandrin patiently waited for the Fiend to come to. It took some time, but finally the biped groaned and shifted in the packed dirt. Muttering something about putting a sharp stick in unsavory places, she raised a hand to cradle her forehead. She continued to mutter threats and insults as she looked around, still reeling from the blow she had recieved.

"I'll ask you once, naka, and only once." Kandrin started, once she was sure the Fiend hadn't suffered any mental damage. "Why are you so curious about my home? You looked very interested in my work."

The Fiend stared at her for a moment. It was difficult for Kandrin to read her, her expression was neither of fear or confusion. It simply... was. The Dragon was so busy trying to decifer the look on the naka's face that she almost didn't hear the reply. "It's simply for knowledge."

"Of?"

"Anything and everything." The Fiend eyed her quizically. "And you are?"

"The owner of this lair." Kandrin bared her sharp teeth. "Your "knowledge" doesn't tell you this?"

The Fiend smirked. The act actually annoyed Kandrin for a second. "I ment your name, wyrm. What do you call yourself?"

Kandrin growled. "My name is no business of yours." Her head snapped forward, snagging the Fiend's sleeve. Yanking her to her two feet, Kandrin proceeded to drag her up the ramp. "You will leave my territory, and you will not return. Understood?"

"And if I say no?" It angered Kandrin farther at the lack of fear in this stupid naka. "I'd much rather stick around. I've never studied a wyrm up close."

The Dragon jerked her head and sent the Fiend sprawling. "Then I'll tear your head from your shoulders!" Without waiting for a response, Kandrin reared up on her hind legs and swung her tail around, intending to follow through with her threat.

A sudden pain shot up her side, causing her to jerk and squeal. The Fiend quickly yanked her dagger from Kandrin's hip, and crambled to her feet in an attempt to escape. Snarling, Kandrin bounded after her, ignoring the small twinges of pain as she went. The Fiend nearly made it to the ramp at the lair entrance before Kandrin smacked her with a paw, causing her to collide with an archway. Jumping at the Fiend, Kandrin opened her maw, her fangs seeking their soft, scaleless target.

A flare of fire caused the Dragon to veer to the side, landing between the Fiend and the ramp. The naka was on her feet again, hands held out and tongues of mage fire dancing over her fingers. The fire quickly drew in on itself, forming a small orb that was thrown at Kandrin's head, followed by a second and a third. Refusing to back up, Kandrin lowered her head to protect her eyes, allowing her thick hide to bear the brunt of the attack. It suprised Kandrin that the fire hurt so much, not even Tarn's repeated incarnations could burn her anymore. Roaring, the Dragon charged forward, ramming her shoulder into the Fiend. The two ended up back inside the lair proper, glaring at each other and panting.

Kandrin realized it shouldn't be this hard to beat up a pseudo-human. Honestly, the stupid thing couldn't have had fifteen seasons worth of combat experience! She was about to draw power from her hoard when she saw it -- a necklace strung around the Fiend's neck. It looked simple enough, like a harmless little bauble, but Kandrin could feel the power coming off it. Baring her teeth, the Dragon darted forward, her speed and agility startling her smaller opponent. Reaching out with a paw, she slashed at the Fiend's neck, stretching her talons out to strike her target.

Success! Kandrin siezed the chain on a claw and jerked back, snapping several of the delicate links. The Fiend swore rather violently, and made a desparate grab for the pendant. "No, I think not." Kandrin sneered and swung it away, grabbing it with her teeth. "You like this little thing, don't you?"

"Give that back!"

"Why? It's so pretty, so shiney... and so special." Kandrin glowered at the Fiend. "You think me daft? There was no way that pathetic little spell of yours should have hurt me, yet it did. I give you credit for the dagger, very sly, but the spell? You cheat!" She batted at the female with a paw, knocking her back and giving herself space to sit down comfortably.

"That's not yours!" Came the protest.

Kandrin almost couldn't keep herself from laughing. "And I suspect this wasn't yours at first, either! Tell me, where'd you get this pretty little charm?"

The Fiend glared at her for a moment, before smirking. "I... borrowed it. From my teacher."

"Oh? Is that so..." Kandrin paused to take a better look at the necklace, the crystal in particular. It seemed to be some sort of magick amplifier... she hadn't ever seen one before, but somehow it made a magick user more powerful than they should be... perhaps by lessening the strain a stronger spell caused? She could remember her own failed attempts to use stronger spells; the result was usually rather uncomfortable. Her body and mind just wasn't physically strong enough to handle the stress of the spell.

But with this thing...

"Hand it over, Dragon. I don't need it to beat you." Kandrin could spot a bluff easily, and this was definitely a bluff. The Fiend stank of fear, despite the fact that she hid it well. As if to try to prove herself, the Fiend tossed her dagger back and forth between her hands.

Kandrin tilted her head thoughtfully. "How about no?" Releasing the chain, she let it clatter to the stone floor. In one motion, she brought her paw down on top of it, reducing the thing to nothing more besides bent metal and powdered crystal. Kandrin's paw and leg tingled, almost pinched, and then the power was gone.

The Fiend lunged furiously in a vain attempt to save the necklace. Laughing, Kandrin batted her down again with the same paw that destroyed the crystal. "Now what?" The Dragon continued to laugh. "Without your little gem, your magick tricks can't hurt me!" She was impressed that the Fiend continued to put up a fight, even if it was out of anger. This one had a little potential.

"I'll skin you and turn your hide into boots!" Anger had replaced fear. The Fiend snapped around and swung her dagger, trying to hit Kandrin in the eyes. The Dragon simply danced back, then pounced on her.

"No, but maybe I can use you as a chew toy." Kandrin opened her mouth, acting as though she really would take a bite. However, she paused and drew back her head thoughtfully. She stared off in mock concentration, the Fiend squirming under her bulk. "No, no, I can think of something better." Kandrin shifted to sit on the Fiend, ignoring her loud protests. "Maybe you can be of some use to me, yes?"

"Get off me, you filthy animal!"

"Now now, no need to get mean. Besides, I stink no more than you do, naka." Proping her weight up with one forepaw, she lifted the other to scratch at her muzzle. "Now, what can you do for me to make up for today's... incident?"

"I'm not doing a da-" The Fiend was silenced when Kandrin's free paw came down to cover her face. She continued to issue threats, though they were considerably muffled.

"Come on, no reason to talk like that." Kandrin was really enjoying her little game. But if her prey kept squirming, Kandrin thought she'd have to sit down a bit harder. "Oh! I know what you can do for me." She angled her head to get a good look at her blue seat. The Fiend glared up at her in response. "But first, I need to know your name."

Carefully, Kandrin raised her paw enough for the Fiend to speak. She expected to hear another string of threats and insults, but none came. While the Fiend continued to glare daggers at Kandrin, she opened her mouth to speak. "Zephyrin."

"Zephyrin, hrm?" Kandrin replaced her paw, muffling the next few insults the came out of Zephyrin's mouth. "Well then, Zephyrin, here's what you can do for me. I will allow you to stay in my lair, to seek whatever knowledge you want, and even poke around a little. I'll provide you shelter and coin, and food, and maybe some of those trophies to turn in to the collectors if you're good. But you have to be REALLY good. As in, model pet of the year." She paused, as though to allow the idea to sink in. "I require services from you. There are things naka hands can make that Dragon paws cannot. You are also capable of getting into places I am unable to. Granted, you aren't very strong, but we can fix that. But I need eyes and ears, even if they belong to a naka."

The Dragon raised her paw again to listen to Zephyrin's reply. "I'm not your pet! Or your slave, or your servant! You're the one with four legs and a tail, YOU should be the one wearing a collar!" Kandrin dropped her paw again, muffling Zephyrin's complaints.

"Well, think of it this way. You get my protection and my guidance, maybe even my favor. You can continue to seek your "knowledge" -- by the way, would that happen to lead to power too? You naka are so predictable." The reply, though unclear, sounded a lot like "Of course, you idiot." Kandrin made a shrugging motion with her wings. "Well, either way, no matter to me why you seek it. However, if you don't agree to this... and believe me, I think it would be in your best interests if you did... I'll simply make you my new chew toy, like I said earlier." She bared her teeth in a menacing grin to emphasize her point. Even though she still couldn't fly, she was still much bigger than the Fiend, and more dangerous. "Now, what say you?"

Again the paw was raised. "You can't kill me, wyrm. I'm Gifted." Zephyrin made a sneer of her own. "So chew on me all you want, I'll just come back anyway. Then when I'm stronger, I'll do a better job of killing you!"

"Gifted, huh? Well, imagine that, so am I!" Kandrin's maw split apart in a nasty smile. "So, all in favor of chew toy?"

Zephyrin glared up at Kandrin angrily for a moment, before finally averting her gaze. "Fine, get off me.." Came the mumbled answer.

"What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear." Kandrin lowered her head, still taunting the Fiend. "Say that again?"

"I said get off!"

With that, Kandrin hopped forward, leaving Zephyrin in the dirt. "That's what I thought." The Dragon padded down the hall to the storage chamber, and rummaged around in it for a bit. She had turned it into a makeshift sleeping area for herself, though rarely did she keep anything valuable in it. Eventually it would be used to hold supplies of one sort or another. As Kandrin searched for whatever it was she needed, Zephyrin sat up and dusted off her tunic.

It was absolutely humiliating for the young Fiend. She was subservient to no one! But here she was, submitting to the demands of some wyrmling that couldn't even fly. What had she gotten herself into? And even worse, the pendant was completely destroyed. Annoyed, Zephyrin picked up the gold chain, then tossed it away in disdain. She had to find a way to avoid the Dragon... maybe if she stayed away long enough, it would forget about her completely...

"Alright, here we go." Kandrin sauntered back, a small bag hanging from her teeth. "You, naka-"

"Zephyrin."

"Come again?"

"Use my name, wyrm."

"You're technically my property now, I'll call you what I want." Kandrin spat the bag out, depositing it before Zephyrin. "Now, as I was saying, NAKA... in that bag you will find several silver pieces, and some trophies that I haven't gotten around to getting rid of. If the collectors won't accept them from you for whatever reason... do whatever you want with them. Keep them, sell them, eat them, I don't care."

Zephyrin glared at her. "What's your name? "Wyrm" gets old after a while."

The Dragon didn't even hesitate. "Kandrin."

"Well, Kandrin, what if I still don't want anything to do with you?"

"Then you're of no use to me as weak as you are. I'll just have to chew on you until you change your mind." Kandrin narrowed her eyes. "Now, are we done playing games?"

Zephyrin seemed to study the Dragon for a moment, before snatching up the bag and it's contents. "Fine." Using the wall for leverage, she got to her feet. "Don't think that just because you've forced me into this... rediculous deal of servitude... that I won't make you pay."

Kandrin rolled her eyes. "I'd be disappointed in you if you didn't. This would be boring." She turned and moved deeper into her lair, but continued to talk over her shoulder. "Now get out. Check back often, but get strong. You're worthless until then."

The Fiend paused. "What is it you want, then? Can't do my "job" if I don't know what you want." She scowled.

Kandrin stopped walking, her posture suggesting a state of thought. After a minute, she turned and looked at Zephyrin. The look in her red eyes was.. different. It was strange, how the appearance of one's eyes could give a hint at what could be going through their mind. But this wasn't the same. It was an almost unnerving look, really. It made Zephyrin's skin crawl. "Same thing you want, naka." Without another word, she vanished through an opening to another part of the lair, leaving the Fiend to ponder the answer.

[Litarath]

ooh, I am liking Kandrin ^^
very well done ^^

[ScaleIron]

I'll have a couple more coming up... sometime after this.

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Kandrin scrambled backwards as the Shadow Dragon lashed out at her, snarling his frustration as she skirted away yet again. No one had been joking; this really was the toughest thing to do for her Rite.

The undead Dragon lunged again, claws raking the air in search of their target. A pair of pale hatchlings, eyes glazed, grabbed Kandrin in an attempt to pin her down. Roaring, Kandrin wrenched herself free, ignoring the blows that came from the Shadow's helpers. Rearing up on her hind legs, she spat her Phylactery into her paws and pushed it against the Shadow Dragon's head, willing it to do whatever it was it did to the undead. Just once more...

With a pained, angry keen, the huge Dragon fell to the ground with a thud. The group of undead that had tried to stop Kandrin paused, almost uncertain, then focused on her. The juvenile simply bared her teeth in a malicious grin, before pouncing on the nearest hatchling.

***************

Some time later, Kandrin rested at the opening of her lair. It was quiet, very refreshing to her pounding head. Something about the blight always made her feel ill, weak. If she stayed in it too long, she'd start to hear or see things. Kandrin made it a point to spend as little time as possible in it, though sometimes she didn't have much of a choice. Such as during her Rites, when most of what she had to do involved being in the stuff. Once she could fly, she intended to spend as little time as possible in the blighted lands.

Footsteps sounded along the stone above her. Kandrin quickly shoved her Phylactery into her scalepack as a humanoid form dropped down to the dirt in front of her. "Trying to hide something, wyrm?" Came the taunt, before Kandrin ever looked up.

"It doesn't matter to you, naka." Kandrin spat, glaring at the fiend. "Your payment's laying in the usual spot, just leave whatever you found."

Zephyrin seemed to study the Dragon. "What if I didn't find anything important? Unless lentil soup and dinner rolls are what you're after." She dug around in her satchel, the sound of rustling papers filling the air. "That stupid gnome thought we were looking at some important piece of arcane information, yet I only found dinner recipies. And some of these aren't even good! Look at this; "One part diced carrot, onion, tomatoe, a handful of chopped beans, two pinches garlic and basil, simmer over low fire for an hour" - Wyrm, this sounds horrid, dwarven trail mix is better than this."

The fiend continued on, ignoring Kandrin's growing frustration. Soon, the Dragon snarled and snapped her teeth at Zephyrin, who actually paused in her taunting. "Just get out! Get you payment, and get out of my sight! I've no time for this!" Kandrin's growls afterwards made it clear she wasn't joking.

Zephyrin didn't move. "I may not be an adept phsycic, Dragon, but I can tell when something's wrong." She shoved the papers back into her satchel, before withdrawing a couple scrolls. "Normally, you're more entertaining than this. Now I just feel like I'm picking on some poor human."

Kandrin continued to growl, even after the fiend had disappeared inside her lair. She wasn't sure what was exactly wrong, but her patience for everything was almost nonexistant. It certainly wasn't like her. Normally she would have snarked back, even bantered. Not completely snap like that. Even if the fiend was annoying and caused problems, she was still useful. More or less.

Sleep. Maybe that's what she needed. Perhaps a good nap would make her feel better... Kandrin's head raised a little as Zephyrin was heard coming up the ramp. "Come back soon, fiend. I'll have something for you. But bring me something useful, yes?" She bared her teeth in a sneer.

Zephyrin glanced back. "Oh, I will. I left those scrolls in your... sleeping chamber. But you might want to put that stonecutter back together. It looks so shoddy laying there in pieces." She sneered back, and took off up the hill before Kandrin could react.

Oh yes. The fiend was going to get it one day.