Smoke and Mirrors (Private with Haven)

It was a dark and misty night when Smoke had returned to the same little campsite she’d made for herself in the Shveki. There was a small canopy that consisted of leaves and branches, while a fire sat only a few feet away. Due to the dampness of the nighttime air, the dragoness had quickly been running out of anything dry enough to fuel the fire.

It was times like these that she’d wished she had big beautiful flames that could help keep her warm and illuminated, but alas, all she had was her smoke. Useless, ineffective smoke. Of all the afflictions she could have been born with, of course she’d been born with the one that made her an utter disappointment.

Regardless, Smoke retired to her canopy and attempted to sleep the discomfort away. Such an effort would prove to be fruitless however, as cold chills began to crawl across her bones.

With a bit of resolve, she stood up. She needed to go into town, and possibly purchase some blankets. Assuming, of course anything was still open at this time of night. She stood up, spread her wings, then launched forward and began soaring over the foliage. She’d hoped with all of her heart that someone was still awake to help her in her battle against the moist, cool air.

Haven chuckled, laughing out loud with some guards that were standing at attention outside of the village he was visiting. Giving the guard a rather... Hard pat to the back, nearly sending the soldier flying, Haven had a smile on his face. He had visited all day with the dragons here, and he was just about to leave. He was reassuring everyone that the dam would be built to proved a pool of water, and not just a trickle of water they had now. The sun had set well over an hour ago. His platoon of soldiers staying at guard. Haven gave a dashing grin once more, even under his scars, he was a handsome dragon. Haven turned to leave, before hearing wingbeats. He huffed, his guards immediately on alert. "I thought you said everyone in this village was accounted for." Haven snarled toward the guard he was just talking to.

"Your Majesty!" The village guard said, almost desperately, "All of the dragons are!"

Haven look toward the sound of the wingbeats, standing tall, his wide stance would keep his ground steady if this was an attack of some kind. "Get ready..." Haven roared to his own soldiers, he had come to make sure this village was safe, and he was going to make sure that whatever this new threat was, wouldn't even get close. Haven spread his wings suddenly, giving out a thunderous roar, shaking the trees and making dirt scatter. If anything, the dragon wouldn't even dare think about attacking now. As the wingbeats faltered at the slightest, a dragoness tumbled into view, terror on her face, Haven's mouth open, neck arched back, ready for a breath attack... Haven sputtered, coughing down his smoke, a small puff escaping his open mouth. His tail swung around, the dragon didn't even look like a threat. You told me you accounted for all your dragons!" Haven bellowed, tail slamming the ground, making rocks tumble from the houses. He growled again, fiercely swiveling his head back toward the dragoness. "I almost killed you. You shouldn't be out past curfew being this late at night! And who... Are... You." He said, lowly, voice laced with venom.

The glide over to the village had been somewhat quiet, the wind and the night air providing a peaceful serenade that lulled Smoke into a state of relaxation. Oh how she pined to simply land, curl up, and fall asleep...but she knew the nip in the air would keep her awake. It was perhaps the only thing keeping her awake during her flight.

The eruption of a loud roar made Smoke's wings lock up for a second. Her heart felt like it had jumped into her throat and, for a moment, she thought she would die from fear before whatever had made that noise could actually kill her.

Any sort of relaxation had turned to tense, trembling alertness. As she looked ahead, her eyes took a moment to properly identify a large Xoyan in the distance, one that seemed to be quite ready to attack.

Smoke fretted, thinking that perhaps she’d traveled in their territory one too many times. That perhaps her presence had finally been noted, and was now to be removed. A long list of equally horrible scenarios began to flash through her mind, while she very reluctantly made her way toward the village.

Suddenly, the large Xoyan began loudly shouting his frustration at what looked to be village guards. Upon hearing his voice, and seeing how he commanded with such ferocity, she knew there was only one dragon that possessed both traits and utilized them so effectively.

Kommandant Haven.

Smoke’s brain felt like it didn’t know what to do with her body. Should she keep flying straight? Should she turn and fly away? Was she supposed to just drop to the ground and and hide away in the nearest ditch? Admittedly, that last option was what she wanted to do most.

Ultimately, she had decided to simply land before the enraged king. She hit the ground with a thud, stumbling as she lost her footing for a moment. The king’s terrifying roar had chased her basic flying knowledge out of her mind, and left her no better at flying than a weak hatchling.

The gray dragoness gulped and looked up at the dragon who stood before her, his colossal size making her tremble. It truly was him, the ruler of the Xoyans. The one whom she’d dreamed of one day meeting...but certainly not like this. The scowl, mixed with his slow and threatening words drove daggers into Smoke’s chest.

“I’m…” Smoke said, her throat tightening so much she could barely make a sound. “I, uh, I’m, I just…

“S-Sorry,” she finally managed to shake out her words, “Smoke. My name is Smoke.” Her head was low and her eyes were filled to the brim with fear. She looked up at him like he was an immortal god, mostly because in her eyes, he was. If he were to try and strike her down, she wouldn’t do anything to stop it. As the leader of the Xoyans, his judgement was perhaps the fairest and most justified.

"I am so sorry, Kommandant Haven. I didn't know there was a curfew, please have mercy!"

He registered the small dragon, eyes boring into her. "Smoke..." She said, letting the name tumble off of his tongue. He didn't quite like how the dragoness stuttered, but he didn't blame her. He gave a sneer, his tail whipping through the air, "Smoke. This guard here-" He whacked the village guard toward the female with a mighty swoosh of his tail. The village guard screeched with surprise, trying to brace himself before hitting the ground, and his screech was cut off as his face dug into the dirt. The guard got up, staggering to all fours, horror on his face, a small scratch producing blood along his nose. His eyes instantly looked to the ground, showing full obedience.

Now, Haven was known to be a good King... But even this King had his goods and bads. His training from being on the front lines really shone brightly at times. His rough personality would escape tonight, he was mainly frustrated that he didn't get to kill a dragon tonight. His distaste for bad leadership and guarding capabilities just... Rubbed his scales the wrong way.

Haven's guards stood at full attention, not flinching once as the village guard was thrown to the ground, quite roughly even. The full moon shone on Haven, and his large figure poured a mighty shadow down on the newcomer and village guard. His scales shimmered in the light, reflecting a dark, deep, and soft purple along the wooden wall behind him.

"Y-Yo-Your Majesty I-" The village guard began. Haven snarled a wicked snarl, the King's wings blasting open, sending a gush of air in all directions, his neck arched forward, like a snake spraying venom, "You speak when I tell you to speak." He spat, "Is this one of your village members?" Haven asked, non to politely as he stepped down from the step he was perched on, his talons digging into the ground as if it were butter. He left large footprints. He walked up to the guard and the female who was seemingly begging for her life. She was small, maybe fragile, but every dragon was fragile in his eyes. She showed respect, good thinking for a dragon he almost slaughtered.

The guard finally got a closer look to the dragoness that was before them, his eyes growing wide. If he lied to the King, he'd be killed. If he said this dragon wasn't a dragon he had ever seen before.. He would get them both killed. The village guard gulped, "I-I... I..."

Haven slammed his foot on the ground, trembling it. "Is it a yes or no." His strong accent would reverberate through both of the dragon's skulls as he was standing so close.

The guard took a deep gulp of air again, shaking like a leaf. "No... I... Don't know this dragon..." He looked at Smoke with terror on his face, Haven giving a tremendous roar that would nearly blow their eardrums. The guard reached for Smoke, tears streaming down his face before Haven's teeth were around his neck, blood spurting and sprayed upward. Bones could be heard being snapped, his skull being crushed within the weight of Haven's jaw. Haven lifted his head quickly with a slight angled degree and... Once the guard had a head... And the next... It was gone. Maybe the King could kill someone tonight... Thankfully it wasn't Smoke.

Haven wiped his mouth, breathing a deep sigh as he stood there, almost disappointed. It seemed as if he'd eaten the head of the guard. "That was the Head of Defense here." He said, almost sadly, and mainly to himself but where Smoke stood, she'd hear him. He'd place new guards here, straight from the castle to protect this town, which was filled with drunk, old, and fat dragons. Haven would whip them into shape real quick.

He turned to Smoke, taking a deep breath, "Yes well... What are you? Rouge? I hope you're not a rouge. I just killed about 50 of them last week." He rose both of his crested eyebrows, giving a slight shrug, "What you say next will keep your life."

Most of Smoke’s fear came from not knowing how the Kommandant would react to her presence. In addition to that, she absolutely dreaded being given any sort of attention, be it positive or negative. Albeit, at this point should would certainly rather be in a position where he was praising her for something rather than glowering.

The gray dragoness scolded herself. What was she thinking? Of course the Xoyans wouldn’t take kindly to a stranger flying in and out of their lands. Smoke only did it because she assumed nobody would really notice nor care what she did, the same as many others in her life.

Regardless, such an assumption might just end up costing her her life.

Much to the dragoness’ surprise, one of the guards was struck by the mighty king’s tail and pushed roughly forward and onto the ground. She stared at him with wide eyes, observing him for a moment before recognizing his face. She’d seen him before. In fact, she’d stalked him for a little bit when she first discovered the village, keeping notes on his mannerisms and schedule in the journal that was still tied securely to her front leg.

Despite the conclusions some might have drawn with her actions, she certainly didn’t feel any affection towards the guard. She was simply enthralled with Xoyans in general, and he happened to pass by when she was looking for one to follow. They’d exchanged a few words when she asked for directions to a local shop, but not much beyond that.

When Smoke’s eyes returned to Haven, she was immediately greeted with a majestic sight. The moon had danced off his scales with such grace, reflecting beauty onto the wooden wall behind him and his stoic guards. The figure before her was a mountain of cold judgement. A colossal monument to how insignificant she was in this world.

His body looked indestructible, while his presence carried a weight that made Smoke’s legs falter. It felt as though his mere gaze brought a great force down against her back, pushing her down in an attempt to make her lower than the dirt she stood upon.

Thus far, what she felt upon meeting the king was much more powerful than what she’d expected.

Smoke flinched from the air that was pushed forward by the large ruler’s wings. The guard had apparently spoken out of turn, and seemed to be being reminded of his place. Even a Stormcaller knew better than to give anything but respect to a Xoyan superior.

That was when Haven had asked if Smoke herself was a village member.

The gray dragoness froze in terror. Why would he ask such a question? What was going to happen depending on the guard’s answer? By no means was she a Xoyan, in fact, she never attempted to join their tribe because she knew full well she wasn’t strong enough. Only the best dragons deserved to be part of such a group...and that certainly wasn’t her.

The guard had stammered, and Haven stamped and shouted in a way that rattled her bones. It was enough to make her lower herself until her underbelly was brushing against the dirt. Her eyes were shut tight as she awaited the final judgement, her heart beating her chest as though it were trying to escape.

“Please, please, please, please…” she murmured under her breath.

The guard presented his answer. Though she couldn’t quite see what was happening, Smoke heard a loud roar, and something splattering against the scales on her face. Opening her eyes and looking to the left, she nearly yelped at the now headless corpse that was laying on the ground. Of course she’d learned some time ago that screaming never solved anything, even if she’d seen something traumatizing.

When her grandfather had scarred her with words or weapons, screaming only made things worse. It drew attention to her and provided too much insight into her thoughts. Insead she just stayed silent...as always.

Perhaps the only thing she felt like she’d mistakenly done was look up into Haven’s eyes and stare at them for a moment, even after he’d queried her about who she was. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was so ruthless and firm with his decisions, both traits that made a ruler great in Smoke’s eyes.

“I’m from the Sto--” Smoke’s words slowly creaked, until she felt her throat tighten up and a brief fit of coughing escape her. She coughed up small puffs of smoke, while at the same time trying to recompose herself. After about a minute, she stopped coughing and sat with a straight posture.

“I’m...a Stormcaller.” She hesitated, “I-I’m sorry, Kommandant Haven, the night was unbearably cold, and I only sought to purchase blankets for myself.” Her eyes returned to the body, distress ever present in her expression. The grotesque display was making her sick to her stomach. “I didn’t mean to cause any of this…”

Do you still want to continue this?

Hey hey! Long time no chat!

I'd be down to resurrect this RP if you are lol