What The Heck (Priv/Ayato)

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It was.. Hot. Hotter then she expected. Or maybe that was just her Ice Wyvern blood talking. The humid heat was washing over her like a wave over sand, heating her till she was at boiling point. At any moment, Athena half expected to burst into flames. She wouldn't be surprised, considering her luck.


Her feathers were damp with sweat, leaning over each other to press against her back, their once bright cyan colour reduced to a dark blue. Her breaths no longer came out in misty white clouds, no, the air she was breathing out was warm too. Great. The wind brought no cold, and the sand that was swept up from the ground stung her eyes like a thousand bees. Why? You're probably asking. Why, in the name of the Gods, is she out here?

Curiosity.

Yes, it was curiosity that led Athena to the borders of the Ki'Sha. She was wandering along one of their edges, wondering how savagely she would be torn apart of she so much as stepped into their lands. The Ki'Sha weren't like their peace loving neighbors, the Stormcallers, but they weren't very nice either. It was a hard life, only the strongest survived.

Funny, that was rather appealing to her.


If one had looked, they would, have seen a white Wyvern, sticking out like a sore thumb against the sandy dunes, looking rather weakened from the heat, staring into the territory of the Ki'Sha as she paced their borders. A rather strange sight, one might say.

(Its horrendous xD)

Now that she'd been out in the heat for several minutes, she was starting to overheat again. Her pearly white scales were starting go turn black at the edges, and where there was flesh was starting to turn pale pink. Wonderful, she thought. Yet another thing to set her apart from her tribe. Lovely.

"You shouldn't be talking with your wisetail attitude," she retorted, shooting him a glare that was half serious, half joking. She knew that messing with an Aliugaan was probably a bad idea, but funny enough, she didn't see Ayato as 'Aliugaan Ayato.' Just Ayato. Maybe that was because she hadn't seen the vicious side of him yet, if he had one.

Her tail swished, causing the half-moons to wink in the light. St his words, the ice dragon's brows would furrow slightly. She inclined her head slightly, acknowledging the subtle warning he was giving her. A tad harsh, don't ya think? she wanted to say. She could've understood of if he'd lashed out at this 'Yk'skez' with a talon, but for just being cheeky?

Then again, she wasn't in a position to give her opinions on the ways of the Ki'Sha.

Athena nodded again at the Aliugaan's following words, eyes flying to the statue of a dragon that loomed over them. "Fair enough," she said quietly, admiring the stonework. It was beautifully carved with careful talons. Wonder how long it took to make that, she thought. Realising she'd slowe d down, she increased her pace to catch up with Ayato.

"Why were you out at the border?" She suddenly asked. "I mean.. Surely you'd have more important duties than patrolling?" She tilted her head, meeting his eyes if he looked at her. She knew now he wasn't the type to sit around and look pretty while the lower ranked did his dirty work, he just didn't seem that way, but still.. Wouldn't an Aliugaan be off organising things? Gathering Intel from any infiltrators he'd sent to watch other tribes?

Ayato: *sweats* I don't... I don't know why I was out there. destiny?? fate?? the Ki'Shan gods?? --

Ayato snorted at her remark, shaking his head. "What on earth is a 'wisetail'?" he asked, curling his tail around so that its tip was held up a few centimeters away from his face. "I don't see any wise expression on my tail. Do you?" He waved it at her, though quickly drew it back, not wanting it to be bitten off. He didn't know Athena that well yet, but was quite sure that she would not hesitate to do so, even if he was an Aliugaan and her a mere Ugaan.

She had asked Scortia whether she could become an Ugaan. Was she that confident in her combat skills? How vicious exactly was she, to have those scars all over? He did wonder, and was impatient to find out, but he supposed he would get his answer. Training started for her the next day, and there were no newbie Ugaan save for two others besides Athena.

He noted the change of colour on her feathers, from white to black, but decided not to ask about it, just like how she only responded to his quiet warning with a nod of her head. It would be a great disadvantage for her, though, seeing that the Ki'Shans had always been in the desert, and always would. She'd have to get used to it, he supposed. If only that weakness weren't so obvious - her feathers were curling like paper folding onto itself when fire consumed it.

Ayato inched away from her when her tail lashed about, not wishing to be cut on accident. He wondered what she was thinking of him and of the Ki'Sha. Or maybe she didn't have any opinions on that topic yet, if any at all. She slowed down, attention drawn to a statue they passed. One of the previous Ki'Shan leaders, of the Linfae family.

She hurried to catch up with him, and he glanced at her. "...boredom," he responded simply.

(Athena: FOR PLOT REASONS :D)

Athena mirrored Ayato's scowl, her mouth twisting in displeasure as he questioned the meaning of 'wisetail.' "You are," she said, fighting to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "A wisetail is a dragon who acts like they know everything or are rather witty but incredibly annoying," she clarified for him, baring her teeth slightly at his tail. He pulled it away and she bit back a smirk.

Even the sand was hot enough to burn her. Athena couldn't help the quiet sigh of irritance that escaped her when she looked down and saw the hooks on her wings turning black. The heat was weakening her mind as well. The corners of her vision had turned fuzzy, her mind clouded by, if she tried to picture it, a sandy haze. Her feathers had flattened themselves against her back without her help, turning black like burnt paper. It wasn't so much her appearance she cared about, it was her health.

Athena felt a slight smirk tug at her lips at Ayato's one-word answer. "Boredom?" She echoed. "The great and mighty Aliugaan was bored?" she feigned extreme shock, but quickly fixed her expression when two soldiers passed by, schooling her features into a calm, neutral expression. The nearest once glanced at them, but quickly adverted his eyes, not giving any other acknowledgement of their presence.

When they passed, she glanced over her shoulder to watch them go. "They look utterly delighted to be doing their job," she drawled, tone soaked in good ol' sarcasm. "It looks like sooo much fun, trudging around in the desert wearing stifling armor."

"Oh. Cool. Whatever." Ayato sounded mildly irritated at Athena for using him as an example for this... new word. New, weird word. "But I'm not annoying. You just think that I am," he pointed out. "It just depends on perspective." There was those moments where he was dull, flat and annoyed, and there were these, where he's thoughtful and it was almost disturbing how calm he sounded.

He thought of Kathyea, wondered where she was. Was she doing well? He still held a grudge, for abandoning him just like that, for not waiting. She couldn't hold out against the emotional trauma, she couldn't watch more dragons of their kind disappear magically and knowing what happened. She couldn't stand it, so she ran. Had she no hope for him? At all? Or maybe just thinking of her own self? "Say, what do you call a selfish traitor then?" he said flatly, his eyes narrowing slightly to go along with his tone. "Dead, because I don't put up with them, and neither does the Ki'Sha."

He slid a glance of irritation towards her, without moving his head. "Yes, it's possible. Boredom and the urge to wander. And you'll be wearing that armour one day. But it's time we turned back. It's evening. I'll see you tomorrow in the barracks. Bring your manners. And... get those feathers treated, if you can." Ayato smiled a little, before turning and striding away.

--

The next day, he found Athena and around nineteen other Ugaans (or ugfei) already assembled and talking to each other, or merely observing and analysing (smart). It was normal to have quite a lot in one group. If you weren't competitive enough, then it was the first sign that you weren't good enough. Use whatever you could to climb up and be the best amongst your batch.

First they would go through basic training to build their strength and endurance: Running in the desert and flipping over obstacles, etc. What was the point of, say, being good at fighting if you couldn't lift yourself up from being beaten into the ground?

Next they would be tested on different areas, such as combat and intelligence (only a few of them actually knew where Ki'Shan borders started and ended). Accuracy too, and he found some incredibly good shots. They had spikes or balls of various elements to shoot with, and could even handle whatever throwing object was given to them; he made sure to take note of their names.

There were some who were obviously cunning and sly, and there were those who fought ruthlessly, where a single blow was enough to deliver a wound that wouldn't heal too quickly. With a bit of training, they would become good Ugaans, their abilities varied. That was good.

Months passed, and soon Ayato was requested to pick the five best of his Ugaan to send them out on a border patrol - their first. An ambush would be waiting, and they would either react swiftly enough or die. Ayato would not be involved.

Sure enough, he picked Athena. Along with:

A small dark purple dragon, around twenty feet tall, as swift as a shadow, with eyes that glowed a cunning yellow. The viper - swift and cunning. Her skills of deception and planning were known by all, though her personality wasn't as pleasing. Amalyn.

A sturdy male around his height. Bulky build, but still moved fast regardless, just lacked agility. He, however, had excellent reflexes and brute force. He tended to appear gruff, but if you asked him nicely, he would patch your wounds up. His name was Ventarros.

A pair of twins, both the colour of sand, roughly fourty feet tall. They knew each other well, and functioned amazing with each other around. They got along pretty nicely with the rest, being friendly and all, but still maintaining a cautious edge; they were pretty indistinguishable save for their eyes, one with gold and the other with bronze. Tophi and Larkum.

"Keep an eye out for danger," he warned before letting them go. They were wearing armour, the standard grey steel. Heavy and able to take hits, but if you had requested, it would have been modified slightly. For example, Amalyn had thinner armour, but it allowed for faster movement.

Athena knew she'd annoyed Ayato, and loved it. She gained sadistic satisfaction from knowing she'd managed to irritate him. So when she heard the subtle vexation in his voice, she allowed a tiny, conceited smile to appear briefly on her face. At his latter words, however, she huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she snapped, smugness disappearing. "Smarttail," she added.

For a moment, she eyed him, this male of many blues. Her tail twitched as she wondered; What do you think of me? She was curious to know his opinion of her. As far as she understood, he tolerated her and had a bit of banter with her, but apart from that, he didn't seem to treat her a certain way. He didn't treat her as if she were scum -and was wise not to- and he didn't treat her as if she were an esteemed guest. So far, it seemed like he was just there to train her and make sure she knew how NOT to get into trouble.

At the mention of 'selfish traitors,' Athena raised her head slightly, the stem of her charred feathers perking slightly. She met his eyes and shrugged. "That may be true, but it depends on the type of betrayer they are," she tilted her head slightly. "And why they did it."

"Yes, it's possible," Ayato answered her mock horror with a look of exasperation. "Boredom and the urge to wander. And you'll be wearing that armour one day," at this, Athena would scowl, a low huff escaping her as she glanced back in the direction of the guards with a distasteful look. "But it's time we turned back. It's evening. I'll see you tomorrow in the barracks. Bring your manners. And... get those feathers treated, if you can."

Her head whipped around to catch Ayato's tiny smile. Athena rolled her eyes. "Aww, you care about my health? How sweet," she stuck her tongue out at him, but he could hear the good natured humor in her voice. She watched him go, and then turned and headed off.


----------------------


The training was gruelling. Even for her. What made it difficult was the heat of the desert and the high energy tasks they had to carry out. The running and flipping part was hardest for her. She wasn't built for the ground, she was meant to soar in the skies. However, she pushed through, with her dignity intact.

The dragons she trained with were of varied skills, some clever like a fox, others strong as an ox. Athena was.. Well, she wasn't sure what category she fit into. She was vicious and ruthless in a fight, but she wasn't a bull-headed titan like a couple of the others. She didn't have the slyness of the more clever dragons, nor the charisma to work well in teams. She was, however, highly competitive, and determined.


When the day came for her first border patrol, the first thing she felt was shock. Then, determination to impress. She stood quietly with the others, listening to the debriefing with a careful ear. The armor hugged her sides and was terribly uncomfortable in the heat. In an effort to stop herself from passing out mid training session, she'd asked for it to be lighter. It was somewhat less stuffy, and at least it protected her feathers and majority of her scales from the sun, but it was still highly unpleasant.

Out of the five of them, she liked Ventarros the most. She tolerated the twins, but didn't trust Amalyn. That female had a tongue that could slice through hides and weave tales so intricate with ease it was impossible to tell if she was lying. Athena was more of a 'bash the head in' type, but Amalyn was sly as a vixen.

Athena eyed Ayato for a moment before she followed the others, tail sweeping from side to side. She didn't talk much, so if she was spoken to, she replied with a nod or grunt, and otherwise didn't contribute to any conversation that took place.

Ayato sighed, visibly annoyed by the smile that briefly appeared on her face, but didn't say anything about it. She was allowed to have her own share of fun, after all, as long as she didn't toe the line that split 'rude' and 'teasing'. She seemed to not pick up on his subtle change of tone, sliding from annoyed to thoughtful, and he was grateful for that. It was a mistake on his part. He shot back, if only to lighten the mood a bit, "Nosytail," and lifted his chin ever so slightly.

Fair point," he acknowledged, nodding, but dropped the topic, not wishing to continue it. Ayato kept his eyes forward, expression distant, ignoring the curious tilt of her head, just kept walking forward, only at a slightly faster pace, as if escaping something. He didn't even know what, if he were to be honest.

"Very interesting observation," he snapped. "Why would I ever be worried about you? Worrying is so exhausting, anyway." He turned his head slightly, face holding an expression of disdain and anger, visible even if he wasn't fully facing her. Ayato eyed her briefly before striding away, and his retreating back would give off a feeling of something going and never returning.

--

Ayato nodded, a signal for them to go off, watching them as they marched as one, Amalyn in the middle as she was the smallest, with Athena leading, Ventarros at the back, and the twins on either side of Amalyn. Tophi and Larkum kept shooting small smiles at each other, as if to boost confidence, and Amalyn at last snapped, "Done with your creepy twin smiles yet?"

Larkum looked hurt but didn't say anything, turning her head away in embarrassment. Her bright golden eyes dimmed slightly. Tophi cast Amalyn a disdainful look, saying calmly, "It's sad that you don't have anyone to share your smiles with, though," leaving Amalyn fuming, beginning to snap a retort, only to be interrupted by Ventarros, whose orange eyes sparked with annoyance. "I hope you're done."

Tophi nodded at him as thanks when Amalyn's back was turned, and they soon lapsed into silence again. When they reached the place that Ayato had slammed into their heads repeatedly, the place to split, they did, the twins heading off to the left and Athena and Amalyn to the right, leaving Ventarros standing alone to look out.

All of a sudden, dragons burst up from behind sand dunes, sending fine particles of sand spraying into the air, as fire slammed into the ground next to Tophi, who yelled in alarm; courtesy of Larkum, sand rose into the air, collecting into a massive serpent that lunged for the three enemies that taunted them with bared grins. Fire rippled along the serpent, earning a surprise from the rogue who had sent the first attack, the fireball that was quickly extinguished by Tophi. The serpent spat fire at the three enemies (still unsure whether they were Ki'Shans or not, but probably not), trails of red and orange shimmering in the air.

Five would strike at Amalyn and Athena, two barrelling for the smaller female with fangs bared, while another slammed into the ground to send more sand into the air, her friend manipulating said sand to form a dusty, swirling storm around them. The last would slink up behind Athena and strike.

Athena remained silent during the brief spat between the twins and Amalyn, letting Ventarros handle it. She didn't even glance back. As long as they weren't threatening to attack each other, she wouldn't intervene in their cat fights. She did, however, glance back at Tophi's words about 'sharing smiles.' She didn't react, but she did feel something shift inside as an image of Storm popped into her head. She returned her gaze to the horizon, scanning for danger.

Athena couldn't help tensing when they split up, glancing back at the disappearing backs of the twins with a tilted head. She glanced at Amalyn, unsure of whether to make small talk or not. She decided against it when she remembered the female could be about as catty and rude as anything.


She was about to go loosen her armor a bit when the attack began.

Ambush! Immediately, she leaped around, letting out a snarl as she scanned the area. Forcing herself to calm, she got into a battle stance, quickly summarizing the situation as her tail twitched.

She spotted four headed straight for her and Amalyn. Athena growled, letting her handle the couple attacking her as she turned her attention to the two conjuring the storm. The noise of the wind and the sand whipping into her face was a sensation she hadn't wanted to experience again.

She was about to go for the one manipulating the sand when fangs sung into her shoulders, talons raking down her armor. Athena roared and flapped her wings, leaping into the air and somersaulting in an effort to slam her opponent into the sand. She knew she couldn't fly, that it would waste energy in a battle like this and the storm would prevent her from doing any fancy stuff anyways.

Athena performed a somersault, but it was hindered by the female latching onto her insistently, so both flopped to the ground - though the female was the one with her back to the sand, the force of landing with such a weight pressing down on her chest knocking the breath out of her. She was roughly sixty feet tall, scales gleaming black with dye that she had been instructed to smooth over her scales. She leaned her head forward and bit deeply into the wound she had made, before using all her strength to kick Athena away as the storm moved to obscure Amalyn, who shrieked in surprise as two males tackled her.

One of them suddenly froze as darkness slid over his eyes, into his mouth - invading his body, stopping his heart. A disgusting smirk crawled onto her face at the kill, but the other reacted swiftly, slapping her across the face before she could do anything. Amalyn stared up in shock - as the sand rushed to blind her in the eyes, fill her mouth just as she had done to their companion. She spat sand and more shadows, purple and black, gathered and swirled, wrapping tight around the wings of the sand-manipulator. He fell to the ground as shadows cut in deeper and drew blood, but sand never ceased to choke her, until Amalyn was still and quiet. Only unconscious, but still alive.

Tophi and Larkum fought the three in the air, the massive serpent writhing as yet another sand manipulator attempted to turn Larkum's ability against her. Tophi's fire rippled into the mouth of one, who turned out to be the fire-breather, who only swallowed the fire and spat it out in a flamethrower-like manner. Fire danced in the air, and suddenly the serpent seemed to explode, sand scattering everywhere - and Larkum dove straight through it, tackling one of the males into the sand while fire engulfed the other two, only to be put out by water appearing out of nowhere to extinguish the flames.

The pain in her back was like fire burning her spine and restricted her movements. Athena snarled, wiggling and twisting to try and make it as hard as possible for her attacker to harm her. It proved futile, as fangs like daggers dug into the wound on her shoulder. A piercing sound, followed by a sharp roar from Athena, filled the air.

She found herself kicked off with surprising strength. Lashing her tail, Athena spun and landed, skidding to a stop with a low 'whoosh.' She snarled at her assailant and brought her tail in front of her face, showing her the wicked half-moons on either side of it as she spread her wings to look larger, a low growl coming from her throat. If she lunged again, she'd suddenly whip down her tail and blast her breath attack, an icy breath that took the appearance of blue and white fire, before leaping away.

A shriek made the dragoness' head turn. Amalyn was struggling with two males. She dealt with one of them, but received a blow to the face from the second one. Athena watched, eyes widening, as she wrapped her opponent in shadows -another thing that she disliked about that female, her abilities- and was choked by sand.

An explosion of red light overhead made her glance up to see Tophi and Larkum locked in viscous combat with a huge serpent. They were fighting well, performing a deadly dance of fire and death together, easily taking down the serpent and moving on to the others. Where's Ventarros? Athena thought. She couldn't see him, and returned her attention to Amayln.

No matter how much she creeped her out, she was in danger, defenceless if anyone went to finish the job. Athena fled from the dragon attacking her, suddenly thankful for the running training she'd received. Leaping over a small dune, she skidded to a stop next to her fellow Ugaan and twisted around to confront the attacker if she pursued.

Feel free to control the rogue attacking Athena. --

Tophi and Larkum weren't winning, but then again, neither their opponents. Despite being outmatched by age and experience, Tophi and Larkum both had natural talent at handling their magic, one twin's creativity shaping their sand into animals that exploded in a fine spray of sand before coming back again, doing this repeatedly, and there was always bursts of fire waiting on the other side. Much to Tophi's horror, there was a wielder of water hidden amongst the three, clearly biding his time to wait til he could shock him.

His fire was, all of a sudden, put out by cold, cold water, which rushed into his mouth almost eagerly, drowning him, suffocating him; his fire tried to spark into life even submerged in its weakness. Suddenly the water would evaporate, revealing sand choking the water-wielder, clawing at their throat. Larkum, slumped against the dragon she had tackled to the ground, had obviously exhausted herself with this move, which she had always told Tophi took up a lot of energy - this scene flashed before his eyes in dramatic slow motion, black and white flickering to form an image: "I don't like using that ability. I don't like killing. But I would do it. For you."

Tophi's vision sharpened, and he was pulled back to reality, his eyes going wide as what happened seemed to slow, each second dropping with painful clarity: His sister's maw parting in a silent plead, even as fear flashed in her eyes, before one of her wings simply dissolved into ash that scattered over the winds.

Tophi shouted and rushed forward to slaughter the rest. Protect. He had to protect--

Ventarros appeared out of nowhere, shouting something about how reinforcements were coming - oh, smart, he'd done something that hadn't occurred to any of them - and he rushed to hold Larkum, staring in silent horror at her wing. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" he screamed, and Ventarros slapped him across the face, barking, "I'm healing her, you stupid idiot, now shut up and help your friends!"

The female was smirking at Athena, clearly triumphant over the fact that she had been the first to draw blood. Mocking laughter carried over the wings at Athena's move to protect Amalyn. The shadows remained around the one who had choked her with sand, but did not stop him from attacking, sand curling into the form of a dragon that towered at a height of at least ninety feet.

Four in total around Athena and Amalyn, but Tophi rushed in, fury blazing in his eyes; the sand-user and the one who had slapped Amalyn blew apart in a shower of fire, racing along the ground to lick at the other one's paws. Tophi couldn't do more than that, though, his magic reserves running out, though he did tackle the opponent with what was left of his strength. Amalyn woke, spitting sand, and looking a bit disoriented until Tophi-

"DO SOMETHING, STUPID!" and, looking stunned and offended, opened her maw to retort, until Tophi was flipped onto his back and blades sang across his eyes. Amalyn screamed and shadows suffocated the opponent, but it was too late. Tophi's eyes were gone.

The female winked at Athena. Come get me.

She heard the enemy's cackle, a mocking sound that sent the feathers on her back rising. Twisting around, Athena snarled, shielding Amalyn from her view with her body. She couldn't help the fear, snaking up her spine, that seeped into her head. She was afraid, she had to admit that, but she did not let it go. She slammed her tail into the earth as a show of strength and snarled.


"GET AWAY FROM HER!" She looked at Tophi's shout. Ventarros was holding Larkum, and suddenly slapped the twin across the face as he moved in to push him away. "I'm healing her, you stupid idiot!" The burly male exclaimed. Athena quickly scanned the female's body. She couldn't see any-


Her vision blurred at the sight of disintegrated wing. Athena cursed, talons clenching in rage. That rogue had just robbed her of what she needed the most. Flight. She cursed their names as she turned back around to face her attacker, shaking with anger.

She was surrounded. Athena spread her wings, watching them all. She didn't let any of them get behind her. "Come on then, cowards!" she roared, claws eager to start tearing flesh. "Come and meet your demise!" the adrenaline surging through her veins banished all thoughts about retreating, about fleeing with her tail between her legs.

Tophi rushed in, taking down two opponents with an explosion of flame, before moving to tackle the rogue. Athena could see the fire burning in his eyes, the livid expression twisting his maw. This dragon was angry. She heard Amalyn coughing and looked at her, watching her cough up sand. "Are you alright?" she demanded, moving away to give her breathing space.

Tophi shouted and she looked up just in time to see the blades take out his eyes. Oh gods! she wanted to scream, and moved forward to kill the rogue, but Amalyn screamed herself and did it for her. She could see the blood, oozing from the sockets. Holy gods.. she thought, eyes wide.

She felt useless, helpless. She felt a pair of eyes on her and turned her head to see the rogue who had attacked her. Her injuries burned, a cruel reminder that she hadn't drawn any blood yet. Athena's eyes narrowed at the wink, and crouched down. Challenge accepted.

"You stay with Tophi!" she shouted over the din to Amalyn, before she raced towards the female, spreading her wings and flapping them to give her more speed. Her blue eyes, once dark, were bright and blazing with fury. Her magic, her Glacier form, was just itching to be released, but she held back. I want to watch her die in my talons.


Athena stopped short and lashed her tail, sending three ice spikes at her target before she pounced, aiming to tackle her and take a chunk out of her shoulder, like she had done to her. Today, you die.


The female rolled out of the way of her spiked, and straight into her talons. Her legs collided with her chest and with a roar Athena tackled her. Her jaws snapped, but then a talon was digging into her cheek and tearing- RIIIIIIP Blood pooled into her mouth and Athena roared, digging her talons into her chest and ripping open the scales. The rogue roared and shoved her off with strength she didn't know she had.

Athena tasted the metallic substance in her jaws, and hated it. She looked up through blurry vision, jaws burning, saw the rogue standing up and fleeing. Snarling, she spread her wings, and gave chase.

Ayato was hovering in the air above his Ugaans, concealed by a clever spell from the Aliugaan next to him, a female of red slashed with black and grey, her sapphire eyes unsympathetic as she regarded the dragons clashing below them. "That's too harsh, don't you think?" he stated flatly at the crimson rubies spraying from the line slashing across Tophi's eyes, and the Aliugaan merely shrugged in response. "Going easy on them would lead to nowhere. No one said this would be easy, or that they would come out of it alive," came her equally emotionless reply.

"Healers are waiting when they get back, so there is nothing to worry about. The only problem is whether they are willing to continue as Ugaans, though abandoning their rank out of fear would certainly label them as cowards. We Ki'Sha will not hire recruits with lies of glory. We will show them the true face of battle."

"You have a point. Though, the rogues went too far. Did they think they could behave freely and get away with it? They were instructed to wound but not to this point." The female raised her chin slightly in response, eyes narrowed. "They will be punished."

He watched as the female fled, ran for her sorry life, though  she was slightly slowed by the wounds on her. He wondered if Athena would chase after her, and wouldn't blame her if she did. Ayato saw Tophi's lips move, shaping words, just at the fleeing female was caught and mauled by Athena, screams mingling with the sound of flesh ripping and teeth gnashing.

"Larkum, Larkum, where are you? I can't see you, is this normal?" his voice broke at the end, and he swung his head around wildly. Ventarros came over and hoisted him onto his back: "It's time to head back." and there was no argument. Reinforcements met them halfway through, and the injured were carried back to the barracks by dragons who were certainly in a better state.

--

They trudged back, heart heavy - what luck, their first border patrol and this happens? Truth be told, Amalyn wished she hadn't showed off so much - this wouldn't have happened to her, the sight of wounded comrades, seen by her firsthand, the image too clear for her liking. The memory was etched into her brain, never to disappear, remaining there for as long as she lived, serving as a reminder that danger was a constant presence, a shadow at the edge of her vision.

She was surprised to find healers waiting for them, and Ventarros snorted. "You thought they wouldn't treat the best Ugaans of their batch, to ensure that they're fit to continue?" though Amalyn had noticed the worry on his face, the tension falling away from his shoulders at the sight of healers restoring Tophi's vision and Larkum's wing. It was a fright for them, all right, Tophi incredibly startled and disturbed by what had happened; Larkum worried for her brother, but seeing that he refused to pull out no matter what, stayed by him.

Amalyn remained, surprisingly: "What kind of filthy weasel would I be if I backed out on you all? I won't betray you all." and Ventarros had said, his tone warm and joking, "Remaining to keep her in check."

The next day, they were informed by a bored-sounding Ayato that they had performed very well, and that the other Aliugaans had their eye on them, so keep a look out. It was, however, a Sunday, meaning they all got a break. It also meant that Ayato had nothing to do besides going on his shifts.

His wasn't til night, though. Ayato could be seen wandering around, exploring what the city had to offer: artists openly painting for crowds to observe and admire, blacksmiths selling armour, and so on. He stopped at one shop to purchase a glass carving of a teardrop, a sparkling, tiny fragment of light, and dumped it into the rapidly fattening bag he held with the claws of one wing.

Athena's talons dug into the female's back and tore downwards, ripping apart scales and flesh. Using her tail to trip her up, she made sure she had a very painful death, bloodshot eyes glowing with unused magic and rage. When the screams were abruptly cut off by a loud 'snap,' she dropped her roughly into the sand, a marker for any trespassers on Ki'Sha lands.



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Athena remained deathly silent, moving without any pride or victory in her step. Because they hadn't won. They'd lost. Despite the fact they were still breathing, the rogues were the victors. Athena loosened her arm or a tad, eager to get it off, the blistering heat collecting inside and doing more harm than good.

When the healers arrived, she was still silent, just let them do their job. The restoration of Larkum and Tophi's body parts cheered her up a bit, her eyes brightening slightly. But her brow remained creased. She glanced at Amalyn a few times, but said nothing. She just let the healers mend her cheek and her back, but there was now a new scar on her face, a three clawed mark, like the one on her eye, racing down her snout. When it was time to go home, she said two words to them all. "Good job."

That night, what sleep she could snatch was filled with horrible screams.
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She was more then relieved it was her day off. She barely registered Ayato's words, and the praise did nothing to alleviate the sickly feeling in her stomach. For the majority of the morning, she lazed around in her house, curled up on her bed.

Deciding she'd go mad if she didn't get out, she left her home and went out into the streets. Nobody spoke to her. She preferred it that way. The new scars were still a bright pink.

She wandered around for a bit, poking into stalls and shops. She stopped at some sort of painting stall and looked in. There was a brutal, bloody image of a battle between two groups of dragons. She left quickly.


She spotted Ayato and tensed, standing there in the middle of the street. Just ignore him, she thought. Don't talk, don't speak to him. Resist the urge. As she walked down the street towards him, she felt the feathers on her back rising. She went to pass him, and hesitated.

Ayato was known, among the Ki'Sha, for holding the position of Aliugaan: A far-off, unreachable figure that was cold and detached, intimidating and powerful. Of course, what made him seem normal was his inability to keep his buying impulses in check.

Said dragon had a dark blue bag hanging from the long talon on his left wing, swinging as he walked at a pace much slower than usual, admiring the array of things up for sale. Clinking sounds could be heard from the bulging bag, for he had stopped at the glass shops first, being the nearest from where he came from.

The little teardrop hadn't the only thing he bought at that shop, however; it was accompanied by a spiral of flame and an intricate carving of a dreamcatcher. Ayato liked those. Oh, and a small glass dagger purely for aesthetic purposes, and a small bird, glass eyes twinkling and catching the light sun, and some random spikes with cool patterns down its smooth surface, and...

The blacksmith's shop he paused at to get some weapons, mostly small throwing knives. He nearly went for the gleaming sword hanging down a hook at the back of the shop, but seeing that he wasn't returning home anytime soon, Ayato thought it would be a great inconvenience to lug a sword around; besides, he didn't want to look like he was going to attack someone and stab their eyes out. He hoped the knives wouldn't scratch his precious glass...thingies, because he would never keep anything in any state less than perfect.

Ayato paused briefly to watch an artist bring a battle into life, and grimaced at how beautiful it looked, because battle was never that pretty. He had to admit though, the fire on the canvas was fabulous, a shimmering trail of red and orange that caught your attention almost instantly. As he walked on, he reflected that he (kind of) missed the normalcy of holding a rank where he wasn't so closely watched as he was currently. But you couldn't have everything, right? Life was never that easy.

Jeez, why was everyone so tall? Ayato wasn't the shortest here, obviously, but everywhere he looked, he saw tall pillars of flesh and bone. Gods above. He rolled his eyes and looked around, wondering whether there would be anything interesting-- Oh, what was that? A dragon seemed to be controlling threads as blue as her wavy mane, weaving them into animals of all shapes and sizes, but all sharing the same deep hue of blue. He made to walk over, but a flash of white at the corner of his vision caught his attention.

Athena was obviously trying her best to ignore him, but he saw the slight hesitation in her steps. She could do what she wanted, though. Ayato walked off to buy something from the female, the shape of a wolf paw, and stayed to observe the process of her creations. "That's pretty cool," he said at last, and the female froze in surprise at being spoken to. She recognised him, that's for sure, but oh well. "How do you do it?"

"Um... It's a natural ability I was born with," she said, and he 'oh'ed before lapsing into silence. Pressured to do well in the face of rare interest from an Aliugaan, she hurriedly made even more things, bolts of lightning and wispy clouds and tulips. Ayato turned his head and glanced at Athena before he could stop himself. Come look at this, his eyes seemed to say.

Ayato looked as calm as a tranquil sea. A blue bag, dark in shade, hung from one of the claws on his wing. Athena couldn't help but raise a brow, the thing was bulging with items. Either he's getting a big haul, or he's a hoarder, was her reasoning. She stopped mid-step, scrutinising him for several seconds. Why? She didn't know.

A part of her was bitter towards him and the rest of the Aliugaans. The agony her teammates had gone through on their first patrol, the trauma they'd been caused, and for what? A test? We are the best out of his group, a gentle voice reasoned. We're going to end up on dangerous missions anyway.

"Fancy him, do ya?" A quavery voice sucked her out of her thoughts. Turning her head, Athena gave the elderly female next to her a confused look. "I'm sorry?" She asked, keeping her tone respectful for now.

"I dont blame ya, hes a looker, and he has a respectable rank," the old female continued as if she hadn't heard her. Her tiny eyes squinted at Ayato. "Still, I'd look elsewhere, girlie. Lots of competition for boys like that." With that, the pale green dragon disappeared into the streets. Athena stood still, watching her go. That was.. Weird. She was mildly offended, the female assuming she was admiring him like a lovestruck puppy. Dear gods, no.

Returning her gaze to Ayato, she was about to go past when he turned his head slightly and met her eyes. Cold, emotionless blue met dark yet fiery cobalt. For a moment, she felt small, like a hatchling who'd been caught stealing the last cookie. Yet she still understood the message in them.Come look.

She slowly walked over, standing next to him. Her attention flew to the female working with thread, weaving shapes like bolts and flowers. Wow.. her eyes widened slightly in wonder as she watched the blue thread twist and turn. "That's awesome," she praised, looking at her face for a moment.

For a few seconds afterwards, she was transfixed, watching the show with fascination. Her tail twitched frequently, but out of delight rather than pent up aggression.