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.

Fancy him? Pffft. yes <3 --

As he watched the female do her job, his thoughts wandered back to Athena. Honestly, Ayato wasn't totally sure why Athena had hesitated to approach him,
and wondered; was it because of hatred and dislike for what had happened the day before, or because she was naturally like that, ignoring familiar faces in a crowd, unless that face belonged to a close one? Then again, he would have behaved almost the same way, so who was he to call her out on it? He reminded himself, for the thousandth time, not to put so much energy into deciphering the enigma that was Athena; jeez, someone different appears, and already occupying most of his attention?

Ayato preferred having straightforward answers, and disliked puzzles, partly why the more he thought about Athena, the more frustrated he got, alongside with the inner voice going on and on to please think of something else. To shut it up, he did, his thoughts moving away from Athena surprisingly easily; and he eyed the sun in distaste. A bright, glowing orb of blinding white and yellow that shined at him teasingly, casting afterimages when he blinked and turned away, a huff escaping him.

Jeez. Now there were little spots of orange dancing across his vision. Yay.

His glance towards her was... How could he put it? By accident. He was just wondering about how Athena would react to this, and his eyes had just... moved to her. Great. Now he'd seem like some... Oh, whatever, he didn't give a damn. Not a single one! Though, he did find himself relaxing slightly when she moved to stand next to him. At least he wasn't rejected.

The female, flustered at the attention, stammered a "thanks, would you like me to make anything for you, miss?" and her eyes widened at the crowd shifting to watch her. The Aliugaan is there, so it's definitely something good, was the mindset for most of them, lucky for the female. She realised this, and green eyes still a bit wide, hurried to point at the objects already up for sale, and some were already coming forward, buying it, but the female's attention was still on Athena, waiting for her response.

(•shrug• <3
'enigma?' XD)

Athena couldn't help the wonder on her face. She met the female's eyes and gave her a small, genuine smile, before looking at her work again. Beautiful shapes, all crafted with skillfully woken thread. They looked so delicate, she was afraid to touch them, lest she break them, yet so.. She couldn't describe it.

When he'd looked at her, she had felt his eyes on her, piercing her hide like daggers. Burning hot like fire, yet icy cold, stinging her skin. Athena knew what it was like to be scrutinised, to be stared at, and had accustomed to it over time. She hadn't cowered under the Ku'za's gaze, for gods' sake. She'd met the eyes of monsters, of beasts that when described seemed impossible and had not flinched..


So why did she feel small under his?


Athena gave a small nod in response to the female, who was both delighted and embarrassed by the attention. Noticing Ayato, dragons were coming forward to watch and purchase. He certainly has a lot of influence, she thought, glancing at him. "Surprise me," she said to the female, tilting her head in an almost playful manner. She wanted to see how creative she was.


A dragon brushed against her a little too harshly and Athena shot him a dark look. He returned her stare with a frown. Feathers bristling indignantly, Athena returned her attention to the female, waiting to see what she would do. She glanced at Ayato again. She could still feel the bitterness. It was there. However, it had lessened now, and slowly, the creases of agitation on her forehead relaxed. For a few minutes, she forgot the screams.

'So why did she feel small under his?' this feels like... Wow. I can literally see this scene now, but it'd be in an anime LOL. Athy's voice would be echoing, because it's in her head, and her gaze would be on Ayato. It'd zoom into his blank eyes, and...yeah. :p --


The female seemed to gain confidence under Athena's... not warm, but not quite icy cold either, perhaps encouraging, curious, gaze. Her nervousness seemed to seep away a bit, releasing its tight hold on her sturdy blue shoulders; such a solid female, creating pretty, fragile-looking objects that were in reality just as strong as she was. Threads intertwined, forming a bird in midair, its wings moving up and down, an imitation of a real bird flying. It settled on the top of the steadily growing pile of shimmering thread, and folded its wings, raising its beak almost proudly.

A bit like Athena, Ayato thought, an amused smile creeping onto his face, quickly wiped away lest it give off the wrong impression. He remembered the event that had brought them together, his eyes landing for the first time on the ice dragoness that was now an Ugaan. Her unwavering, confident posture, her eyes wondering if she should step in (how stupid). Oh dear, there he went again, thinking of her. Ayato wouldn't say it was obsession - he never took it that far, and what was there about Athena to be obsessed about, besides the goddess whose pretty name she lived under?

At Athena's challenge, the female would smile a bit, tilting her head to observe Athena, before more threads appeared, one lengthening and splitting itself into many. It curled and turned, eventually taking the form of a single feather, a small crown attached to its tip by a small, barely visible line of mane. The crown was simple, but it was enough to discern what it was.

She gave the crown to Athena, and named her price. Ayato held back a smile; oh, this lady wouldn't give something out for free? Guess that's what the world was. Though, she had made Athena something, spent a bit of her time to think up of what would suit the ice dragoness the most, and yet didn't ask for more than the usual. Which was great, so...

"What is your name?"

"Wynmitus," she said, and there was that. Ayato turned and left, not really seeing if Athena followed. She wasn't obliged to, anyway, and he wouldn't blame her if she held onto a piece of bitter emotion from the day before.

(Rofl yeah! XD I love these two it's amazing)

The scorching heat on her back was almost unbearable now. Athena raised a wing, rubbing her shoulder against the once pretty feathers now keeling over as if in agony. I need some sort of heat resistant lotion for these, she thought, keeping herself from grimacing in discomfort. It was a constant problem and she hated it. It wasn't so much her appearance she cared about -she wasn't beautiful, anyway, with her scars- as her health. She wanted to be fighting fit, and having third degree burns would not help her reach that goal.

Her attention was quickly ushered back to the dragoness as she started forming a shape. Athena's dark eyes narrowed in interest as she tried to see what she was making. She didn't have to wait long, for at an impressive speed, she crafted a bird, which flapped it's wings before settling down on the quickly growing pile of woolen creatures and shapes. It raised it's beak in a regal manner, and Athena smiled softly. Beautiful. She has a gift.

At her little challenge, a small smile would appear on the lady's face. Turning her attention to the rising threads, Athena watched with keen intrigue as they spun and wove themselves together. At first, she couldn't tell what it was, but then, as the shape formed, she realised it was a feather. She felt a tad self conscious then, raising a wing to stroke the sickly looking ones on her back.

When the crown was attached and the price named, Athena counted out her coins with a light in her eye. "It's.. Wow," she said softly, exchanging the money for the shape. She held it carefully in her wing, being sure to grasp it gently so it wouldn't bend, but tightly enough it wouldn't blow away. She raised her eyes to the female, who was introducing herself to Ayato. "Thank you," she uttered with a tiny smile, inclining her head slightly.

Noticing Ayato moving away, she twisted around and followed him, still holding the feather crown. She caught up to him and walked beside him, not looking at him until they were down the street from the Thread-Weaver. "You wouldn't happen to know where there are any heat resistant lotions or something for feathers, would you?" she asked, not bothering with small talk or a 'how are you?' like question.

A small smile crossed Wynmitus's face at Athena's reaction to the feather she made. "It's alright," she said quietly, "because the inside matters, more so than the outside," and lifted her front legs a little, the feather floating up as if boosted by an invisible breeze. It turned round and round in the air, twirling motions like a feather shed from a wing and making its descent down onto earth, but Wynmitus was just checking for any imperfections, any ends that needed to be reattached.

It floated into a white bag when the female was satisfied, and she gave it to Athena, saying, "No problem. Have your handsome partner hold it if you will, seeing that your wings are needed for walking and mouth for talking," and stopped herself before she could go on any further. She sounded almost rude, darn it. Or maybe it was just her. She shrugged, as if answering her own question, and accepted Athena's money silently, nodding her head in farewell before tending to her other customers.

A gentle breeze picked up as her two customers left, swaying the leaves on the tree she made, yet another one or her creations.

Ayato shrugged at Athena. "I don't, actually, but we can walk around til we find one. I'm sure you're not the only dragon out there with this problem."

('handsome partner' ROFLLLLLLLLL)

Athena's smile stiffened slightly as her words registered in her head. She knew she was right, it was a statement that she applied to everyone she spoke with. And yet.. Why did it affect her? Her eyes flew to Ayato, and immediately all her curiosity about him returned and hit her like a brick.

What was inside him?

He wasn't like other Ki'Sha. An alien. Enigma. A puzzle she couldn't figure out. His temperament left much to be desired, and he infuriated her to no end, but.. She was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. She wanted to know why his eyes no longer sparkled. Why he was the way he was. She didn't understand her curiosity, but she wasn't going to stop it.

Her attention was snapped back to Wynmitus when she lowered the feather into the white bag. She froze, however, at her words.Handsome partner? she echoed, blinking rapidly. Deciding not to cause a scene and potentially damage her sales, Athena chose not to react, and just chuckled. "Yes, it'd be rather embarassing if I fell over," she said.

The breeze that wafted through the streets provided a bit of relief to her aching back.


Athena nodded to Ayato, carrying the bag in her mouth. When she was sure he wasn't looking, her eyes flew to his face as Wynmitus' words exchoed in her head. Handsome.. was Ayato handsome? She scrutinised his face for a few moments, eyes travelling from his long snout to the tips of his dark, ridged horns. She didn't know why she cared, but she did. Perhaps it would explain why everyone thought she fancied him.

Was he? Hmm.. If she were to rate him out of ten, she'd give him.. A seven. Now that she looked carefully, she could see that Ayato was.. Actually quite good looking. He had a bit of a 'bad boy' face, like those stereotypical wimps that females always fawned over, but without the stupid tattoos or markings. His was.. She couldn't explain it.

He's attractive, facial wise, but hes got the personality of a bull, she thought, returning her attention to what was in front of her before she walked into a pillar or something. "Mff mur may moff?" She asked, then realised her voice was incoherent with the bag in her mouth. Sighing, she took it out and glared at him, daring him to laugh as she walked along awkwardly. "This your day off too?" She asked, and then grunted as she tripped up. "Okay, hold this, I'm not stumbling around like a fool," she said, tail lashing furiously with indignation as she offered it to him.

'Handsome' and 'good-looking' were two words that he was closely acquianted with, good friends producing a familiar sound. He was used to being described with these two words, if not some other synonym meaning the same thing -- but certainly not in front of Athena. Knowing her, she would store this information somewhere in that cunning mind of hers, and use it to get back at him later, either via a distraction in combat or just normal teasing in one of their conversations.

Athena herself seemed to have grown used to hearing Ayato being called that, responding with surprisingly cool words, though she did seem to be pondering something. Something that Wynmitus said? Small matter, then; he wouldn't give much heed to words from normal civillians, and perhaps it would someday lead to his downfall, but... Whatever. He would rather cross that bridge only when he came to it.

His companion's eyes, twin lakes of lively blue guarding their secrets, kept flickering over to him and back to the road in front of them. What was she looking at? he wanted to demand, uncomfortable at being stared at so openly. Well, perhaps Athena was trying her best to be subtle, but it wasn't working; maybe he was too self-conscious, too familiar with the heavy weight of watchful gazes against his back.

Thoughts rose like smoke in his head. What had Wynmitus said, what was Athena thinking about, why did she keep glancing at him? He should've paid more attention to their conversation earlier instead of just staring out into the sky...

Ayato could feel the rough surface of the floor against his feet with each step, and holy goodness, there were so many dragons out there, reeking of sweat and whatever, the warmth of their bodies together with the sun pressing into his skin. It was hot, unbearably so, and he huffed a sigh of annoyance. One might've thought that he would get used to this after being with the Ki'Sha for so long, but noooo. His fire sparked in response, the tips of his claws briefly turning red and orange before he snuffed them out forcefully.

"You know, you could just hold it with your tail," Ayato responded, slightly irritated at having to carry yet another thing, but took her bag and hung it on his other wing talon without further comment. "No, it isn't. I have a shift at eleven, conveniently the time I'm most sleepy at." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "So, what do you plan to do today?"

The single talon on each of her wings scraped against the sandstone, creating a hypnotic rhythm that helped her to focus on her thoughts. Why am I rating his appearance? Why am I thinking about him? he was just an Aliugaan. Another voice in the sea of faces. Sure, he'd helped her during that storm, but apart from that had no real significance in her life. She glanced at him again. So why do I want to know you? she felt like the answer was there, sitting on the tip of her tongue like an annoying itch.

The warmth of the bodies near her, combined with the stifling hot air, was starting to blur the corners of her vision. When I get home, I'm grabbing a bucket of water and dunking my head inside. She needed to get cold, and soon. Hearing Ayato's sigh, she turned her head. He seemed to be experiencing discomfort as well, but who wasn't? He was hiding it well, anyways.

She caught a flash of golden orange, and her eyes flew to his talons. Nothing. Must have imagined it, she thought, shaking off the surprise. She smirked at him at his words. "Oh, and leave my chaperone without something to do?" She teased, keeping her voice down so nobody would hear the utterly unprofessional tone she was using with her, technically, superior. Still, she nodded in thanks when he took it from her without any excessive complaining.

Her tail swished at his words. "Well, that sucks," she said. "You should take a nap then before you go out," a male, clad in thick armor, strode past, brushing her flank with his haunch. "Sorry," he muttered, storming away. Athena looker over her shoulder to watch him go. Huh.

"Probably gonna sleep, try and fix my feathers," she replied. Or try and sleep. "So where are we headed?" She inquired,eyes flying to the street in front of them.

They walked on, Ayato's eyes looking for the cream Athena had requested for. To soothe her burnt, blackened feathers, so fragile-looking, as if they would scatter into dust anytime. It all felt so normal, him and a fellow tribemate, as if there were not a problem in the world, as if neither of them were chased by their own pasts, the memories and decisions that shaped them, that brought them here, to live past this moment. His eyes grew distant with these thoughts, mind in another place.

Ayato sometimes thought too much, attempting to puzzle out the meaning of his existence, to wonder what fate was playing at, why it had tugged on the strings in a particular direction to coincide with Athena's. He closed his eyes briefly, fluttering shut for a second, but it was enough for a bout of wistfulness to wash over him. Normal. A faraway dream that he could only gaze at. An unbroken family, whole, normal... He couldn't have that either, he was already shattered by the chain of events that destroyed him inside and out. As was Kathyea. Neither would forgive the other. Well, too bad. It was not his problem.

He scowled at Athena, her words tugging him back to the present. "I can manage on my own. My life doesn't revolve around you." It was the truth. Ayato had plenty of things to occupy himself with. Maybe... Maybe, this day, not something combat-related. Watching his plants, silence enveloping him, that would do.

Ayato shrugged. "Naps? I wouldn't wake til the next day." He rubbed at his eyes, suddenly feeling very sleepy, and he blinked hard. He hadn't been sleeping much lately. In truth he was avoiding his bed, because... His sister's birthday was coming soon... And he didn't really want to dream of her. Just... no. "Nowhere in particular. We're just going to walk until we find your cream," he said to Athena.

Clouds of dust had begun to gather in the streets, drifting between the houses like mist between the mountaintops. Except not with the chilling cold that she loved so much, but with a heat that itched and caused extreme discomfort. I hate this place, she thought darkly, as she lowered her head and reached up with her tail to pick out a clump of sand that had gotten lodged between her teeth. Why couldn't the Ki'Sha have picked a cooler place to settle down in?

The pair received a few curious looks from passing dragons, although it was always when Ayato wasn't looking. What, doesn't he have friends he hangs out with? she wondered, arching an eyebrow at the stares. Surely he's popular, especially amongst the ladies. She'd met far too many females who would've killed to be seen with a high ranker, and even males. Then again, she'd glimpsed the fear, the wariness, in the dragons around them when Ayato's cold blue eyes landed on them. Maybe not.

Ayato scowled, an expression that seemed to appear every few moments on his face, and responded with words that made her lip curl slightly. "I was joking, you idiot," she snapped, though she kept her voice down. She shot him a glare, feeling a tad flustered at his reply. "Gods above, I wouldn't want you following me around like a lost puppy. I can barely stand you as it is." It was true, he was rather infuriating, unbearably so at times.

The wyvern's brow creased slightly when she noted the hints of fatigue in his body language. "That's the point. You need sleep. Being tired slows your reflexes, your speed of thinking." Realising she probably sounded like she was trying to be a wisetail, she gave a shrug and glanced away. "But you already know that."

Her eyes scanned the stalls for any sign of something to help her feathers. They were starting to ache and burn, the flesh from which they grew starting to turn an angry salmon. Aha. Her eyes fell on a stall selling various potions and things in containers. "I spy.. with my one scarred eye," she said, gesturing to the stall. "Jackpot."

Ayato was fire-resistant, but that didn't mean he liked the prickly heat that accompanied his element. Unfortunately for him, Ki'Shan territory was blanketed by suffocating air that jumped randomly between humid and dry, and he had to fight back the urge to sigh in frustration. What he would give for a breath of cool air! Judging from the uncomfortable look sat on his companion's face, the emotion was mutual, and he had to hold back a smirk. At least he wasn't suffering alone. However, the satisfied feeling was blown away when the dust went to his nose, earning a quiet sneeze that pulled his head forward in a sudden, jerking motion. He spared himself a brief moment of embarrassment, and when he straightened, his face was indifferent as always. Attempting not to notice the startled glances, he pointedly stared forward without meeting anyone's gaze, though the crowd's attention was drawn away when a few more sneezes rang through the air.

Ayato wasn't oblivious to the stares: As discreet as the crowd tried to be, he saw the glances that the Ki'Shans cut them, their eyes filled with curiosity. It was normal to see an Aliugaan walking about, because they were after all dragons underneath, like everyone else; but what drew their stares were Athena, whose feathers were burnt to a crisp. Who they hadn't seen around until a few days ago, whose deeds they wondered about if she got his attention through it. He wondered too, but about something else: Was Athena secretly enjoyed the attention that she attracted? He too spared her a glance, and thought that her discomfort could also have come from all the stares.

"What," he snapped back, "so I'm an idiot now for stating the truth? He narrowed his eyes at her comparison of him to a lost puppy. "It would do you good to leash your tongue, Ugaan. I'm doing this because I have to." His response elicited a few gasps when the dragons strolling close by guessed at Athena's impertinence. (Ayato had worked hard enough for the rank, and normally he didn't tolerate rudeness because he desperately wanted to be acknowledged and respected for his efforts). An annoyed glare that told them to mind their business had them looking away.

"I don't need sleep," he said firmly, and nothing more was uttered on the matter. "Oh, good. I was getting tired of walking around aimlessly," Ayato said, walking over to the stall. It contained potions of all colours in glass vials that ranged from the size of his smallest claw to spanning his paw, and he asked politely, "Do you have a potion for her feathers?" and in response the young male - green scales patterned with black slashes - picked out a small vial with a thick white cream in it. Ayato handed him the money almost as if he were buying it for himself, and he handed the vial over to her. "Anything else you need?"

Athena knew she was pushing his buttons. She knew it was incredibly stupid to annoy her superior, but she couldn't stop the small bursts of aggressiveness that exploded from her maw. She wasn't sure why she was so comfortable with insulting him, but she was. I don't want to get myself executed, so maybe I should stop, she thought. Ayato sneezing snapped her back into reality, and the corners of her mouth curled into a small, amused smirk at the undignified noise. She quickly cleared the expression, however, and adverted her eyes.

Ayato clearly didn't appreciate being spoken to as if he were equal to her. "It would do you good to leash your tongue, Ugaan. I'm doing this because I have to," he said, deep voice dipped in irritation. Sharp inhales from the surrounding dragons made Athena glance around, bristling with indignation. She glared at the few dragons who held her gaze. Thankfully, Ayato had the lot of them adverting their eyes within moments.
"Because you have to?" she echoed his words, but not in a mocking tone. She arched an eyebrow at him. She wondered, for a moment, why he was being so tolerant. He wasn't punishing her, he wasn't publicly executing her... yet. Maybe he's just waiting for me to give him a good enough excuse.

The blue male quickly shut down the topic of his need for rest, something that irritated her and caused her tail to twitch in displeasure, but she didn't pursue the issue. If he wanted to pass out in the desert from exhaustion, he could be her guest. His health wasn't her concern.

They approached the stall, and Athena inclined her head slightly to the dragon that owned it, a male a bit younger than her, almost Storm's age. Ayato inquired for her, something that made her dying feathers twitch and her ears flick. As the vial was picked out, Athena reached for her money, but the clinking of coins made her sharply look up. Huh? She looked at Ayato and arched an eyebrow, slowly taking the thing from him. "Um.." she didn't know why she was so taken aback, but she was. "I'm good."

Giving a final nod to the green and ebony dragon, Athena briskly moved away from the stall. "So,
now what?" she asked, tail sweeping slowly back and forth across the sandy path.

Ayato, secretly grateful that Athena had finally ceased the endless remarks that trampled all over his patience, noticed the genuine want to find out behind her words and inclined his head. "I'm the one who brought you in, so the duty of showing you around falls on me. It would be irresponsible if I left you to fend for yourself, though I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have a problem with that," he observed in dry tones.

She's tough and battle-scarred

of course she can manage on her own

"... so I guess I should leave you alone after we get your cream."

she walks the path of blood

she's accustomed to being alone

He felt another wave of gratitude when Athena spoke no more on the matter of sleep, for once taking his hint to shut up. Any longer and he would think that she was actually concerned - come on, who was he kidding, why would she worry over him? Concern was a rare sentiment that rarely occupied any space in the mind of a fighter, and even rarer to a figure that only irritated her upon sight, no doubt.

Thud-thud-thud. His thoughts wandered as they walked, the chatter around him fading into white noise and his feet against the pavement the only sound that reached his ears. Impatience was creeping in when Athena finally spotted the stall, and the process of finding and buying the cream was a quick one. Surprise painted Athena's quiet "oh," to which Ayato responded by giving her the cream.

He shrugged. "I'm going to go hunt, it's nearing evening and I'm getting hungry." Then, "Bye."

--

don't fall asleprepjghl--

Ayato blinked rapidly. No one had noticed his sleepiness, luckily, and he took a step forward and back to hopefully pound some wakefulness into his closing eyes. His shift had barely started and he was already on the verge of sleep? Some Aliugaan, he chided himself. He was on border-protecting duty tonight, and he was doing his job poorly.

He didn't notice the dragons until their claws tore through his shoulder. The sky was very black, thus effectively hiding the ebony bodies of the band of rogues. White teeth, wicked sharp, glinted as curved claws extended towards him. Reflexively he backed away, his wings folding protectively to hide his shoulder. Next to him the other Aliugaans on duty were already clashing against the rogues - six against eight.

Two bore down on him, and Ayato drew his daggers, slashing up and around him with deadly swiftness. Smoky wisps arced through the air as his claws lunged for the moving targets but missed, though his dagger's edges gleamed with scarlet when he turned them over. He felt something behind him and twisted to bite down hard on the paw reaching at his vulnerable neck, obviously aiming to rip out his bone, earning a feminine squeal.

His wings flared up in red and orange as they crystallised, swinging both forward and upwards to embed their shard-like edges in the target in front of him. With a massive heave he threw them to the ground, but this move cost him yet another wound; the female's companion, a male, stabbed his deadly bladed tail into Ayato's back. Whirling around, his fire breath surged out of him, flames beautiful licks of colour against the sky. Raging red, painting his emotions. Panic, fear, anger, the urge to survive.

The opponent dodged him easily, darting to his side and clapping his wings. Thunder boomed, reverberated through him, and Ayato staggered, though managed to throw himself onto the ground as a lance ripped through the air above him. Quickly throwing himself on his back, he grabbed the lance and heated it with fire, causing the snarling female who was holding it to release their hold on the lance. He flipped it around and it whistled as it arced upwards, brutally slashing across the female's belly and forming a messy wound that dripped blood onto his face. A howl of pain as she collapsed.

"Gross," he hissed. Then his mind hissed at him to keep moving, and so he took into the air, barely missing electricity tearing through where he had just been. He darted around them, thinking it was a clever move, but another clap of thunder stunned him and the opponent's bladed tail caught his side, blood flying.

The battle raged on until Ayato finally was upon the male, strangling them, and when they fell, silenced permanently, Ayato heaved a sigh of relief. A stab through the female coming at him finished her off, too. He looked around then, noticing that they were winning. Smirked, then noticed the healers coming with some armed dragons. Smart, someone had called for help.

He got his face cleaned up and wounds healed. There was a shortage of healers, seeing that other Aliugaans had been attacked or called to defend a village being raided, and there were more urgent wounds that called for their attention. So instead of returning with fully healed wounds, he fell onto his bed with half-healed ones that were bandaged. In a day they would likely be fully healed.

And the next day, wandered around looking for Athena.

"I'm the one who brought you in, so the duty of showing you around falls on me. It would be irresponsible if I left you to fend for yourself, though I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have a problem with that," was Ayato's response, as dry as the desert sands. "... so I guess I should leave you alone after we get your cream," he added. Athena grunted in response, tail flicking.

She took the cream from Ayato and held it gently in her wing. As he spoke, she gingerly plucked her bag from the hook of his wing and placed the bottle carefully inside, next to her feather-on-a-crown string… thing. The heat from his wing was enough to create beads of sweat along the tip of her tail. She met his eyes for a moment, biting her tongue as she tried to figure out what to say. "… Bye," she finally uttered, talons flexing.


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


The next day at the barracks, Athena overheard a conversation between a few Ugaans. The border patrol that day had been attacked by a bunch or rogues. Some of the facts were twisted and exaggerated in order to enthral the listeners, but from what Athena could get, the low life scum had attacked the Aliugaans.

She didn't know why, but immediately, Ayato's face popped into her head, and she found herself losing her will to destroy the target in front of her. It wasn't concern, was it? No, of course not! She didn't give a damn about Ayato, with his annoying, sarcastic attitude and infuriating smirk he always had plastered upon his face.

Still, she had to force herself to refocus and fire her tail spikes into the dead centre of the dragon shaped target, rather than do it with the casual indifference she usually used.



The next day, she went back to the Barracks and went for something a little trickier; a spar with another Ugaan. Her opponent was a small, sneaky male who slipped beneath her talons and twisted out of her jaws whenever she snapped at him. An annoying dragon to face off against, but his weakness was he used a pattern too often.

Soon, his movements became too predictable, and as he jumped over her back for the one hundredth time and twisted around to attack her side, Athena swung around and hit him full in the body with the brunt of her tail. A loud crack bounced off the walls of the space as the male flew a good fifteen feet across the arena and landed hard on his side, sprawling out on the sand with a groan.

Athena curled her tail back in, eying him with cold indifference. "You done?" she asked, keeping all concern for his wellbeing out of her voice. He groaned in response, and she interpreted that as a yes, striding over to help him up. "I think you broke my rib…" he gasped, putting all of his weight on his left as his sides heaved.  

Athena grunted. "Go see a healer then," she responded. She eyed him for a moment. In his defence, he'd just advanced from Shemsculari, or whatever it was called, and was brand new to the whole 'fierce fighting' thing. In order to save him some dignity in front of the few dragons that were observing out of the corner of their eyes, she dipped her head slightly. "Good fight."

The male grunted and stalked away, muttering about how it was 'a lucky hit.' Athena stood there, unsure of what to do now she was standing like an idiot in the middle of the small arena. She was bleeding from small cuts in her shoulders and neck. Despite his lack of experience, he'd gotten her quite a few times.

Ayato really didn't want to go tromping around Ki'Sha with his bandages bared for the whole world to see. Just no. ...However, if he removed his bandages, there was a high possibility that his wounds would accidentally open. Then there would be a bloody mess, and hell, he didn't want that either. An Aliugaan should know better than anyone how to take care of himself.

Scoffing in annoyance to himself, he unraveled the bandages crisscrossing his body to check on them, and decided to leave the bandage circling his belly. The other small scratches and burn from the bolt of lightning narrowly brushing him - those could face the merciless, dusty winds roaming Ki'Sha. Boo-hoo if they opened up, too.

Paws crunching against the sand, he headed towards the barracks to check on the Ugaans. Maybe he could see a real spar, if he were lucky.

Maybe, if his suspicions were right, Athena would be there training.

Ayato's lip curled in annoyance as he felt a sharp nudge of discomfort in his paw, and had to pause to rid the nasty sand particles that had gotten lodged between his fingers. Then he continued, his thoughts wandering to the Ugaans that had been picked to fight against hired rogues. He found himself thinking about their wellbeing, and couldn't help but hope that they were alright.

It just wouldn't do to go through all that effort only to find them... Well, unfit.

He brightened when the barracks came into view, and hurried into the building just in time to see Athena's opponent grumbling as he limped out of sight. He couldn't help a small smile, though it would seem a bit faded to anyone watching. He looked left, right, seeking purple, Ventarros's mellow brown, and sandy scales.

There they were. They weren't exactly huddling close together, nor were they scattered all over the room, he observed. They were within hearing distance of each other. Smart, they guessed that they would likely be stuck with the others for a while. He approached them, bowing his head in greetings. They did the same, and Ayato trained his gaze on Larkum and Tophi.

"How are you? Your eyes... and your wing." Both winced, then, much to his astonishment, smiled widely. Warmly. "It's alright," Tophi reassured, rubbing at his eyes nonetheless, as if to make sure they were intact and not weeping blood. Larkum spread the previously disintegrated wing to show Ayato, saying, "It's healing fine, Aliugaan. Don't worry." The wingtips weren't fully grown back yet, but she could fly.

Amalyn huffed. "Like you actually care." Something told Ayato there was no real bite behind her words. She sounded distracted, as if everyone's presence reminded her of that day. Ventarros looked over at her, raising an eye ridge, then looking at Ayato. "I'm in one whole piece," he shrugged, then pointed at Athena. "...What about her?" Ayato demanded, mystified.

"She just walked out of a spar, you might want to check on her."