Corrupted Ice and Tainted Flames [Private/Ardent]

Artemise, for once, wasn't assigned a task, leaving her with some free time. She should spend it wisely; it wasn't often that she got it, mostly because of the numerous tasks that someone was always loading onto her. Even if the Kaamil Tribe wasn't under siege, which meant that Defenders didn't need to do much, that didn't mean that they could laze around all day. Like her, they would be given tasks. An efficient way to make use of all your dragons, Artemise agreed, but it meant that she and the other Defenders rarely got free time. In fact, they were sometimes busier than the other members of the Kaamil Tribe who had other jobs.

Artemise was bored and had nothing to do, which was stupid, considering that she had plenty of time to do something. She wasn't in the mood to paint, nor was she in the mood to roll around in the snow and maybe eat it, but exploring was an option, and she took it. Artemise launched herself into the air with her hind legs, flapping her wings and propelling herself forward. A few more flaps and she was already nearing the border of the Kaamil Territory, and she grinned in anticipation at finally getting to explore other areas of the world. She would head for the rogue territory first, Artemise decided. She couldn't just enter another Tribe's territory without permission anyway, without possibly getting attacked for intrusion. Hopefully she would meet someone of interest in her destination.

~~

Artemise had had to stay airborne for half an hour, but that didn't bother her. The journey was worth her aching shoulders, but she couldn't help but release a sigh of relief when she finally a suitable spot to land on. She circled the clearing, scanning for any other dragons; much to her disappointment, she found none, but hopefully she'd meet one soon. A few more seconds of scanning, then Artemise tilted her body down slightly and descended to the grassy ground, landing with a soft thump. Since no one was here to talk to, she took the time to gaze around and take in her surroundings. Ahead of her was a waterfall, which ended in a large lake, while a forest was located to her left, and back. To her right was a small hill, and she could see mountains beyond it. So she was close to Vuari territory. Which could mean that one of them would come over and notice her... She sat, folding her wings to her side and waiting patiently, meanwhile admiring the waterfall. Maybe she would paint it one day.

Ahh… The joys of flight. Ardent cooed to herself, as she soared, high above world. Of course, it wasn’t all joyus. The wind stung, and air was cold, and it was many times harder to breathe, but hey. The view was amazing. Starting, as she felt one of her two accompanying stars brush against her chest and let out an almost scared hiss, she nodded in agreement. They… weren't talking to her, not in the traditional sense, no, but it was… understandable, the meanings behind each sound her stars made. To anyone other than her, it was complete gibberish of course, but what could her stars ever need to tell someone else? Descending regardless, as her star wished her to, she shuddered as she felt blood and feeling returns to the outlying edge of her wings, along with a feeling of warmth as her stars glided along underneath them, keeping her warm even in the cold temperature. The Ki’Sha were… Interesting. 400 something years, and that’s what you call them? At least be truthful. Letting out a small sigh, she mentally corrected herself, changing interesting to fun. Better. She whispered, the darker part of Ardent’s being.

Normally, she would have been far away from her current position, back in the Uoangi desert, but… put simply, she didn’t want to. While yes, as a… slave of sorts, she wasn’t exactly allowed to wander, it was almost trivial to get out of the Ki’Shan territory, now. Her scales tended to keep enough heat during the evening to stay black, and her knowledge of the desert was good enough to help her find a way out. As for the border guards… the memory made her chest swell with pride. A single star, in blood red, thrown directly upwards. The fool patrolling had stopped to stare, in wonder, as it hit it’s limit and exploded in the air, sending out a cloud of red sparks, that formed into rough approximations of Kishin. They had probably thought it a message from one of their gods, as she had hoped, and had rushed off… probably to pray or find a Nftari. But it had worked. After that, she simply left. She would return, yes, but for now, she was free. Originally, she had planned to simply travel to the rainforests… but something had pulled her further. A… Call, of some sort. Someone… in trouble? Regardless, it had taken her over an ocean, dragging her towards another landmass.


Her parents had told her about the other landmasses, of course, but she had never seen them. She could only guess, aided by the snow-covered mountains visible over the horizon, that this was Layrian. And the call was stronger. Almost yelling out to her now… She flew for several more hours, thankful for her years spent doing nothing else. For what else was there to do in an almost featureless wasteland? Gliding, at the foothills of snow-capped mountains, she was pulled still, firmly now, the call a demand. A clearing… Over yonder. Peering down and into the distance, she saw the outline of a dragon, about her size, a beautiful shade of blue, much like the sky. That was who the call was coming from… Diving down, she landed just outside the clearing, her scales a bright, almost shining, white, after being so high, for so long. Clearing her throat, as if the other dragon didn’t see her dive, she stepped forwards, a large wing sweeping into a bow. “Greetings, ma’am.” She said simply, having realised it was a female. Standing, she smiled warmly at the stranger. “I seem to be a bit lost. I’m a newcomer to these lands, and I’m afraid I’ve got no idea what to do or where to go. How grateful I am to run into you! My name is Ardent, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said, hurriedly, acting flustered, as if she was truly relieved to find another living soul, as she reached a paw out towards Artemise.

A flash of white diving in the sky drew her eyes to a slim figure diving towards the ground and landing just outside the clearing, with no more than a soft thump. As the figure approached, Artemise found herself drawn to the female's striking silver eyes, set into an elegantly structured face. She was maybe two or three years younger than the taller dragoness, yet her face...it wasn't light and carefree, like most dragons her age; rather, etched onto her face was an expression that Artemise couldn't quite describe. Her face looked...older than it should be, and Artemise couldn't help but shudder as she made eye contact with the younger dragoness. She could've sworn that a shadow lurked in those glittering silver eyes.

She quickly shook off the feeling as the other dragoness swept into a bow, a smile turning her lips upwards, the odd expression on her face vanishing. Paranoid, she had been too paranoid, she scolded herself, and let a smile appear on her face, veiling her chiding thoughts. Artemise bowed as well, a shallow dip of her torso, straightening when she heard the female's question. Ardent seemed to be rather flustered, and guilt washed through Artemise, for judging the younger female by her appearance. "I'm really sorry, but I can't help you," she said apologetically. "I'm a newcomer too, from the Kaamil Tribe, and this is my first time out of the usual territory. Maybe we could try finding your destination together, though. Where do you want to go?" Then she suddenly remembered that she'd skipped past the introductions, and added, "My name's Artemise, by the way. Feel free to call me a...punching bag." She said the last two words a bit bitterly. "I'm often vented to, whether or not I'm in the mood to listen to some other dragon's troubles."

Little did Artemise know, but her own face, at least to Ardent, showed those same, dark traits. Those beautiful, midnight eyes… It was almost impossible to see what lurked in them. Almost. As her own silvered eyes passed over those midnight blue, and she looked deeply, andsucked in a sharp breath, as she saw… herself? No… but close. And Artemise’s face. Not old, but… tired. As if she had been fighting, or holding something back for a very long time. Maybe even now, as she spoke. Shaking herself slightly, replacing whatever look had been on her face with a small smile, as she half-listened to Artemise.


Faking a small frown as the other dragoness began with her apologies, instead of a greeting, until she realised, that was what she too had done. The frown evaporated, replaced by an unsure smile. Would this be more appropriate? “I… I honestly don’t know what my destination is. I come from… across the sea. I’d heard stories about snow capped mountains, and lakes that freeze. Where I come from, Verula, such things do not exist.” Pausing to look around, taking in the shockingly high amount of life and greenery in such a small area, she took a deep breath. “The… Kaamil tribe, you say? I’m very sorry, but I must say I have never heard of them. The only two tribes I know of are the Stormcallers and Ki’Sha. Could you tell me more about this tribe… Artemise?” She asked, her eyes lighting up, like a hatchling who had just found a toy they wanted so very dearly, and was asking their mother.

Artemise caught the frown on Ardent's face, but it was quickly replaced with what looked like an unsure smile. What was that frown for? Artemise wondered. Had she been too unhelpful? Should she offer to scout the area for ways out? Ardent's next few words confirmed that it was neither of those options; what she said caught Artemise by surprise, and she stared at Ardent. She had thought that the smaller female would have a destination, but apparently not. Maybe she was just visiting, like her. Hearing snow-capped mountains and frozen lakes, Artemise's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "I think I know where you're referring to. So far, the only place that I know of with frozen lakes and snowy mountains is in the territory of the Kaamil Tribe."

"You do not know of the Kaamil Tribe? Well, I suppose it's not much of a surprise, since we rarely leave our usual territory to interact with others of my Tribe. The Kaamil Tribe could be called the Northern Tribe; this Tribe consist of ice dragons, snow dragons, and the like. We are manipulators of the element Ice. I won't start on the government; I don't think you'd want to hear about it. It's boring to listen to, and you'll probably die from boredom halfway through."

Her face lit up, as Artemise mentioned that mountains and frozen rivers were in the dominion of the the Kaamil tribe. Of course, Ardent had no interest in either, either of them. Ooooh. A rock with snow on top. So amazing. And frozen water? Jeez, you have to wait for a drink? That’s just idiotic. Her darker side chided, in both disgust and annoyance. I think I may have made a mistake here. She’s just about as dull and exciting as that welp just over your 6th birthday. Remember him? Yeah. Neither do I. That’s my point. It continued, disgusted with Artemise, a small amount of that disdain making it’s way onto Ardent’s face, thankfully timed with Artemise’s mention of government.


Looking up and down Artemise, taking in her form properly, Ardent nodded thoughtfully. “So… you’d be one of those… ‘ice dragons’, right?” She questioned, noting the blue scales, eyes and interesting and unique markings. “Does that mean you can like… create snow or ice at will?” She asked, her face once more shining with faked amazement and interest. “That must be very useful…” She admitted, before turning her head to look around. “So… this isn’t Kaamil territory?” She asked, gazing around for a few moments, before a look of dread came to her face. “But… What if this land belongs to another tribe?! And they find us here!? Oh no no no…” She muttered, her tail whipping back and forth in alarm. “We… We have to get out of here, right?”

"To be honest, I'm a snow dragon, but what's the difference? We all live in the same Tribe anyway. I can't really create snow or ice at will, though, mostly because my powers focus on something else: conjuring. Like my ability's name suggests, I can conjure up stuff, but it'll be made from ice, or snow. Which means that it can melt really easily," Artemise explained to Ardent, her voice taking on the droning tone of a professor lecturing his class. Then, seeing Ardent start to panic about being in another Tribe's territory, she attempted to reassure her, saying: "No, I don't think this clearing Vuari territory. If it were, a dragon would have confronted me long ago. So don't worry."

Artemise groped around in her head for something that could carry on the conversation and distract Ardent from territories and being attacked. The silence stretched as she looked for a topic to talk about, a question, anything-- "You come from Verula, right?" she asked, suddenly recalling what Ardent had said earlier. At Ardent's nod, she continued, a bit awkwardly, "Your parents...have you informed them of, uh, your departure? Are you even living with them at all?" As soon as the last word left her maw, she regretted it, and shifted on her feet, suddenly very uncomfortable. Parents had never been a very popular topic, but that was the only thing Artemise could think of at that time. Come to think of it, why hadn't she asked Ardent about her Tribe?

Ardent listened to Artemise, seeing past the droning tone, listening keenly to what she was saying. Yeah… I’m beginning to think we’re in the wrong place. I mean, come on. She can make things… out of ice. What does she think that’ll accomplish? Make a cold drink? Her darker self mocked, the voice trailing away into laughter. Letting out a long sigh of relief as Artemise mentioned that it was… free territory, as far as she could tell, she relaxed, her body falling into a lower pose, that better suited her, having been standing stiff necked and proper since she had first met the other dragoness, rather unknowingly.


The silence that followed was helpful, in all honestly. It allowed Ardent to seemingly get over the territory scare, her breathing growing lighter as she ‘recovered’. Glancing around, she noted that, while there wasn’t just a large amount of growing life, it was all different, a far cry from the rainforests she had visited before, and the oases of the desert. Starting, having been lost in through, it took her a moment to register what Artemise had said. “P… Parents?” She asked slowly, in her voice faltering. Obviously unnerved, and distressed by them being brought up, she shook her head slowly. “N-no… I don’t live with th-them any more…” She admitted to the older dragoness, crocodile tears falling down her face, as she looked towards the ground, those faked tears falling softly onto the ground. “The… They don’t have anyone living with them any… anymore…”

Artemise's regret as asking the question intensified upon seeing Ardent's distress. I'm seriously hopeless at this... she thought with a mental sigh. Her expression softening a bit, she reached a paw out to brush away Ardent's tears, totally unaware that they were faked, before withdrawing her paw and saying, rather hesitantly: "I...uh..." Easy, she told herself. She was going to be touching a topic that she definitely did not want to think about, much less mention, and she prayed for nothing bad to happen as she continued, "My parents, are, umm..." She faltered, the slightest hint of shadows crossing her face, before continuing in a considerably quieter voice. "Dead. They are dead." The four words came out much stiffer than she liked, and she gritted her teeth, trying to keep her expression neutral. Talking about her parents was much harder than she'd thought.

"They were killed by m--dragon. A dragon."

Me. Artemise had nearly accused her own self of murdering her own parents, which was wrong. She hadn't killed anyone, wouldn't kill anyone anytime soon, hated the thought of taking someone's life. All those desperate thoughts, conjured up by Artemise herself to act as a shield against the truth, crossed her head, messing everything up, confusing her. On the outside, her neutral face broke a bit, the tip of her eye twitching ever so slightly.

Stop lying to yourself. You know you did it...

Artemise, ignoring the voice, dearly hoped that Ardent would miss her stupid slip up. Actually, if Artemise were to be honest with herself, what she had said would have been more convincing if she hadn't sounded like she was trying to convince her own self. An exasperated sigh, directed towards herself, escaped her maw, and she resisted the urge to slap herself. Why was it that this dragoness made her feel so uncomfortable? Normally, Artemise would have had no trouble when chatting with someone, but this female was the exception. Maybe it was her own fault for bringing up this topic... But what was done was done. She'd asked about Ardent's parents, and there was no going back. And the only reason why she made herself drag up the topic she hated so much was to reassure Ardent, to say, "You're not the only one."

Oh? Please tell me you caught that? Ardent’s darker self whispered, a sort of perverted glee ‘audible’ in its thoughts. Oh my oh my… I think this might actually be who we’re after! She almost shouted in joy. She’s just like us! She cried. But… no. She’s not. She’s trapped, yes? Down there… She doesn’t like it. They’re apart, not like us. We’re stronger together, but they are apart, the true self suppressed… We must be careful here, my dear.


Lifting her head, sniffling quietly, Ardent looked up at Artemise, a saddened expression on her maw. “You… You’re alone too?” She asked quietly, taking a step closer. “Oh… I’m so sorry… I… I should have just said something else, instead of bringing up bad memories. That is truly my fault…” She apologized quietly, wondering how to work in what she wanted to say. Taking several more steps, she almost flung herself at Artemise, hoping the larger dragon wouldn’t take it as an attack, given her sniffling and crying status. Hugging against the oddly cold chest scales of the larger dragoness, Ardent spoke quietly, and quickly, in a voice that could be mistaken for or blocked out by a whisper of wind. “Mine were killed by my own hand…” She purred, a hint of joy in her voice, before she resumed her crying and saddened charade, in such a way that even if Artemise had been paying full and close attention, one could have mistaken it for nothing.

Crying softly, her head pressed against Artemise’s chest, Ardent would stay like this for several minutes, before slowly stopping, her breathing growing calm after several more. “I’m sorry about that… I… I’m not used to other people asking about them. No-one’s ever really cared enough to ask about them.” She replied, smiling internally, as it was technically true. No-one ever had asked. “I was just a small thing when it happened… no more than 5 or 6 years old… They were just… there one minute and… gone the next. Burning.” She said simply, looking towards Artemise, her eyes filled with tears and sadness, but the shadow that lurked behind looming menacingly.

Artemise's eyes widened in surprise as Ardent flung herself at her and clung to the large dragoness's chest. She awkwardly patted Ardent's head, trying to comfort her, at the same time wondering how she had gotten herself into this situation. She lowered her head to give Ardent a lick on her head, but paused when she heard Ardent's words. What. What. Was Ardent trying to play a joke on her, or something? Or had she noticed Artemise's slip up and was trying to get her to confess?

Ardent started speaking again, her voice muffled, and Artemise gave Ardent another lick on the head, once again pausing when Ardent raised her head to make eye contact with Artemise. Her silvery eyes shone with tears, but she could have sworn that she saw something else, a dark shadow lurking there, hidden behind her tears. Artemise squinted, unsure if she was imagining it or not, but she felt a stirring deep within her heart and knew that she wasn't the shadow wasn't a product of her hyperactive imagination. It was almost a call, but a call for what? Most certainly not help. But it meant nothing good if Artemise's...inner side reacted to it.

Artemise pursed her lips and went through the past few minutes. The weird expression Ardent had on her face when Artemise first met her. Ardent's words, about her killing them. The shadow in Ardent's eyes. Could it be...? No, stop thinking about it. You shouldn't be caring about whether or not Ardent is a dragoness with two faces. You should be focused on not letting HER out. Keep the walls intact. Don't let this female's words crumble them. Artemise obeyed, and stared at Ardent with eyes that were hard and flat. Unsure of what to do next.

She’s starting to slip my dear… The darkness called. She’s just like you were… trying so hard to keep the water clear of looming shadows… How annoying. She hissed. But she is breaking. She’s trying to stop. Why not help HER?


Stepping back from Artemise, her tears almost fully under control now, Ardent smiled sadly up at the larger dragoness. “I really am sorry for all of that… I just… Really wanted someone to talk to who knew what it felt like… to… experience it…” She said quietly, a shuddering passing through her. But was it a shudder of disgust and suppressed horror, or a shudder of pleasure and happiness? “I see that… you don’t feel the same way.” She said simply, letting out a small sigh. Staring her in the eye, the darkness in those beautiful silver eyes seemed to beckon to Artemise, or rather, her darker self, enticing her, supporting her, willing her on, the darkness that stared back from Artemise's still trapped, but seemingly in the process of breaking free.


“Or do you…?” She asked, retaking that step she had taken away from Artemise. “You did it, didn’t you? You killed your own parents, and now you’re hiding it away… Oh how disappointing…” It was impossible to tell which form of Ardent was in control now, the voice dropping lower, almost hissing at the larger dragoness. “You pretend that you didn’t, acting like it was some… rogue. But no… you did do it. You admitted to it! Or, at least, almost did.” Taking a step back, she unsheathed her talons, aiming to threaten or provoke the dragoness, to take that little bit more concentration away from suppressing her darkness.

Ardent was a bomb, Artemise realised, minutes too late. She was going to detonate soon, and kill Artemise... Or was Artemise the real bomb over here? Ready to explode...and wreak havoc on everything? Artemise stared at Ardent as she spoke, a shudder rippling through her whole body. She took three steps back when Ardent unsheathed her talons, but her eyes were still fixed on Ardent's smirking face. I was an idiot... she thought regretfully. I should have left the moment I saw Ardent's eyes. But there's no use crying over spilled milk; I should protect the walls. Yes, protect the walls. Protectthemprotectthemprotectthem--

The words kept on repeating in her head as she told Ardent as firmly as she could, "I did not kill my parents. It was with my own paws...but it wasn't me who killed them." It was the half-truth. While Artemisa had been the one doing the killing, Artemise had played a part in it as well, by luring her parents out, far away from the safety of their cave. "And I NEVER admitted to anything." She was trying her best...but the walls were cracking. Crumbling.

Falling...

The topic of her parents had this much of an effect on her; she didn't know, and wished that she had learnt it the easier way. She hoped that she would be able to escape this though, and she took into the air, beating her wings and flying as far as possible. Ardent would definitely follow her, but what if she hid? Gritting her teeth, Artemise tilted her wings up and vanished into the clouds.

She had hoped for peace of mind there, now that those venomous words weren't being uttered any more. But it was the opposite of what she'd expected; without anything to shield herself from, unwanted thoughts were setting in like dark clouds, and she did three loops in the air, attempting to clear her thoughts. That, however, was the worst life decision that she'd made; dizzy, she lost balance and fell, plummeting through the clouds and towards the ground. Despite both the dizziness and horrible thoughts crowding her mind, she managed to make a plan. Death was probably the only solution. But she wouldn't be ending her life anytime soon.

Artemise was free-falling, and she let herself fall, not bothering to attempt to regain balance. However, she did a small flip so that her belly was facing the ground, and as soon as she was covered by the trees, she threw her wings out and glided to the ground, immediately flopping onto her back and sprawling across the ground. I wonder what Ardent will do now...

The smirk turned nasty as Artemise spread her large wings and turned to the sky for an escape. She thinks she can run from something that she carries in her heart? Wow… She’s really good at denial. I’ll giver her that. The darkness chuckled, as they watched the blue dot wing into the distance, quickly gaining height, towards the clouds. Unfurling her own, larger wings, she leapt into the sky, almost lazily. She’s breaking. I doubt she’s even trying to deviate… she muttered. They flew, slowly, taking in the scenery, as a hidden battle occurred above them, the poisoned words chewing away at Artemise’s mind and barriers. Ahh… the darkness crooned, as the larger dragoness seemingly fell from the sky, several hundred metres in the distance, tumbling head over tail.


Watching, in interest, there was a moment of fear, even… sadness, as she disappeared into the treeline. Winging forward, with urgency, she covered the distance in what seemed like no more than a minute. Hovering, her breath caught in her throat, she looked down at the dragoness she had only just met. “No no no…” they both muttered. This wasn’t what was meant to happen… They had wanted to meet her, get to know her… but Artemise had killed her, rather than let her come out. The coward, the… murderer. Snarling, Ardent dived downwards, landing daintily on the ground, a stark contrast to the base and brutal emotion that was flaring on her face, or pure rage.


“So… This is who you truly are…” She snarled, thinking it was some sort of head trauma, due to there being almost no blood. Stepping towards the dragoness, she kicked a clod of dirt at the female’s chest, angered. “All you had to do was accept it… but no… You just had to go and kill both of you… Murderer. Your parents were defenseless as well… Is that what you do? Only go after those that can’t fight back, and flee when they can? That seems about right, given how you acted when I confronted you…” At this point, she knew she was taunting a corpse, but she honestly didn’t care. Saying those things made her feel a bit better.


Stepping towards her, Ardent looked down at Artemise. She was beautiful, even in death. Somehow… that made the grey-black female even angrier. “FINE! Be like that…” She growled, summoning a star. Sitting on her haunches, she grabbed it in a paw, curling a fist around it. It didn’t weigh much, but the extra weight would help make the punch a little more satisfying... lining up up, she punched almost straight down, aiming for the beautiful and refined jaw.

Artemise wanted to cover her ears, to shut out the poisonous words breaking down her defence. But moving would probably mean instant death; she was sure that Ardent, when Artemise revealed that she had faked her death, would be so mad that she'd kill her. She didn't see the punch coming, didn't prepare for it, and she winced in pain when Ardent's paw connected with her jaw. Her wince was accompanied by a sharp inhale of breath when the punched spot on her jaw started throbbing, for it was much more painful that she'd thought it would be.

Flee, a voice in her head screamed. Flee, before she tears down your walls again! But Artemise, despite having begun fleeing only minutes ago, was already tiring, weariness taking over. She lay there, her eyelids veiling her midnight blue eyes, protecting them from Ardent's possibly murderous face. Which would have been terrifying. "What do you want from me?" she asked, a long sigh escaping her. She prepared herself for another blow that was sure to come. Would Ardent kill her, torture her or wear down her defences? Probably all three. How depressing...