A Cold Reception (Private)

“Icicle, darling, how could you possibly be eating at a time like this?” Sleet said, pacing back and forth in front of her husband, who had already started digging into a polar bear. “Our daughter has been captured by bandits. Are you not devastated?”

Icicle lifted his head from his meal, looking at Sleet with disinterest. “I told you, it’s all a scam. Silver is absolutely fine on her own. Whoever gave you that note is obviously just trying trick you into giving them money.” He waved a talon dismissively, “and even if she were captured, what point would there be in starving ourselves? It’s not like either of us have the means to fly there right now and do anything about it.”

The dragon’s words were met with a glare that was colder than the snow surrounding their abode. Icicle ducked his head a little and resumed eating.

“Well, I do believe that as her parents we are obligated to look after her to some degree, darling. Whether or not she is living under our roof. Which is why I posted advertisements for someone to come with me to find her.”

Icicle sputtered and coughed, raising his head from his meal one more time as he looked at his wife with an astonished expression. “You what?! You aren’t actually going to go through with this, are you?”

“Of course I am,” Sleet said matter-of-factly. She turned toward a chest and proceeded to open it. She rummaged through various clothes inside before ultimately picking a blue-dyed fur coat and slipping it on. “Unlike some dragons in this home, I cannot stand to just stay here while our daughter gets handled by a group of ruffians.”

Sleet’s husband simply stared at her in awe as she began walking towards the door, where she paused for a moment.

The dragoness looked over her shoulder, looking over the fur of her coat. “Think of our reputation, darling. Not to mention the treasure she is currently in possession of,” Sleet said, “some of her earrings are family heirlooms!”

With that, Sleet walked gracefully through the threshold of their home, closing the door behind her. Snow had started to fall already, and there was a nip on the wind. This didn’t deter the snow white dragoness, however. She stood outside of her home, hoping that someone would come along to help her. At this point, she was even willing to accept someone who wasn’t exactly the most aesthetically pleasing.

Ah, cold.


Athena closed her eyes, letting the frosty air play with the feathers on her back and blow in her face. The crispy wind cut under her wings and sent pleasant ripples of sharp, icy cold over her hide. A feeling she'd grown to miss dreadfully during her time in the Ki'Sha. The humidity blackened her scales and caused her feathers to weaken to the point where they looked like they were going to melt, and it made her even grumpier than usual. Delightful. She almost felt like hugging the dragoness who'd sent out the notices in the first place.


She'd somehow convinced her superiors in the Ki'Sha that this was a good enough reason to let her outside of the borders. "It's a chance to get rid of some bandits, potential threats," she'd told the Aliugaan. "Plus, we get some gold for her majesty." The last part had been added with a touch of sarcasm, but they'd bought it. She'd been given a two week deadline to do this.

Athena brought her two legs to her chest, staring down at the advert in her talons. Okay.. should be somewhere around here, she thought, banking to the left with a whooshing of wind. Flapping her wings, the ice wyvern scanned the moon-pale mountainside, searching for the one who'd put up the advertisements.

Apparently, her daughter had been kidnapped by bandits, and needed someone to help her get her back. Either her precious child is stupid or terrible at defending herself, she thought, though of course she'd never say this to the dragoness out loud. What should she know anyways? She wasn't a parent.

There! A patch of blue stood out from the white surroundings. Athena made a sharp eighty degree turn towards the dragoness, circling overhead for a few moments, both to make sure this wasn't a trap and let her know she was there. As it was, nothing seemed too suspicious.

Confident that she could handle a trap anyways, Athena beat her wings and came in to land, talons crunching harshly in the hard snow. Ah, snow. A wonderful difference to the dry sand that made up the dunes of the Ki'Sha lands, soaking into her feet and making them blister.

Raising her head, Athena examined the female with two sharp blue eyes. She was paler than the moon itself, with a fur coat covering up some of her body. She was very beautiful. The way she held herself told the wyvern she was held in high esteem by others, or at least that she liked to think so.

Arching her neck, Athena dipped her head slightly before transferring the advert from her talons to her tail. She held it up, letting her see it and arching an eyebrow. This your gig?

Whilst waiting for someone to show up, Sleet let out a breath. She certainly enjoyed the snow, albeit mostly because she constantly sought a reason to wear her winter attire. Not very many dragons seemed to enjoy wearing clothing as much as she did, which was why she held herself in higher regard compared to others.

If a dragon wore anything, it was usually armor, or something else that supported practicality over beauty. Sleet grouped those people in with the lower class, seeing them as somewhat uncomfortable and even dangerous to be around.

As if right on cue, a dragon landed harshly on the ground near her. The large white dragoness looked utterly startled at first, looking at the stranger with a bit of fear. This dragoness left something to be desired in terms of first impressions.

Her scarred face and hide gave her a bit of a grizzled look. Her thick body made her look very masculine, so much so that Sleet could hardly tell whether she was male or female. The only way she could tell for sure was the eyes, feeling that they were piercing and intense enough to be female. A look that she was familiar with whilst raising her daughter.

The stranger held out the flyer that Sleet had hired others to post for her, and the mother eyed it for a moment. It took her a minute, but she finally caught onto this dragoness’ meaning.

“Oh! Silly me, and here I was beginning to think you were one of those dreadful bandits that took my daughter.” She stepped towards Athena cautiously, “I...suppose you are here to help me in ensuring Silver's safety?” Her eyes flicked up and down the other’s form judgmentally, “I guess it will take a delinquent to help deal with more delinquents.” Sleet let out a dainty chuckle before placing her talon on her own chest.

“Oh dear, how could I be so rude. I am Sleet, as I am sure you are already familiar with if you have read the flyer…” she paused for a moment as a thought crossed her mind. “...you can read, can you not?”

Sleet waved her talon to dismiss the question before it could be answered. “Nevermind, that is irrelevant. What is your name, darling?”

The chill from the snow seeped through her feet and brought Athena down to a frosty temperature she was comfortable in. Her talons curled slightly, drawing more snow to her. Her eyes never left the female in front of her, though her ears twitched every few moments, tilting back so she could hear if anything was sneaking up behind her.

She caught the look of apprehension in the dragoness' eyes and stifled a sigh. Oh for gods' sakes, I'm not going to shred you in half. She waited for her to catch on to her silent question, talons tapping impatiently. Well? Is this yours or not? she was about to demand when she suddenly spoke, realisation dawning on her.

“Oh! Silly me, and here I was beginning to think you were one of those dreadful bandits that took my daughter," she said, moving towards her. Athena didn't back away, that would make her seem nervous or frightened. She did however, narrow her eyes slightly, a warning not to get too close.



“I...suppose you are here to help me in ensuring Silver's safety?" The dragoness inquired. Athena nodded once in response. Her tail slid back around out of sight, taking the advert with it. The wyvern's calm facade cracked, however, when Sleet referred to her as a 'delinquent.'

The electric blue feathers on her back stood on end, bristling indignantly. Athena scowled, giving the older female an irritated look, which only increased to a glare when she asked her if she could read. "Yes, I can read, I'm not an idiot," she snapped, tail twitching as her tailspikes flicked, as if begging to be fired. Reeling in her temper, Athena took a deep breath and dropped the death glare she was giving Sleet. "It's Athena," she introduced herself, lowering her feathers.

Down to business. "Okay, so what happened? Tell me everything you know about the bandits."

Sleet was absolutely oblivious to Athena’s body language, not truly having seen enough aggression directed her way for her to know when she’d caused offense. This was one of the many reasons that those who weren’t in her usual circle of friends didn’t quite enjoy her company.

Upon hearing that the wyvern could read, the older dragoness felt a bit of relief. At least her helper wasn’t some tail-dragger that solved everything with brute force.

When the stranger introduced herself, Sleet mulled over the name for a moment. Athena. It sounded quite pretty. Returning her gaze to the wyvern, she suddenly felt that the name didn’t fit the stature. At least, in her own shallow point of view.

Athena questioned what had happened with Silver, and immediately Sleet broke into her overdramatic explanation.

“Oh it is simply dreadful, darling! My dearest daughter, Silver Snow, she thought she could withstand the cruel, cruel world on her own. I told her that she is far too young to leave home, but she would not listen.” Sleet reached up and fiddled with a ruby necklace that she’d been wearing, looking distraught.

“And now, not but two weeks after her departure…” the pale dragoness reached into her coat pocket and withdrew a slip of paper. She unfolded it and held it out to Athena. “I receive this! A note stating that a group of bandits captured my daughter, and that if I wish to see her safe return I will meet them at their specified location!”

Sleet looked baffled by the concept, as if she had read the letter for the first time all over again. “As you can probably tell, I have not once had to deal with bandits in my life. This, darling, is where you come in.”

The downtrodden dragoness looked to Athena with pleading eyes, “please. Will you not help me in seeing the safe return of my daughter? I would gladly compensate you for your time and effort.”

Either this female was very skilled at concealing her emotions or was incredibly oblivious, but she didn't show any reaction to her irritation either way. It was probably the latter, based on first impressions. She's a rich brat, was the description Athena would have used, had Ayato or Storm asked her to describe Sleet. Of course, she held her tongue in front of her. She didn't want to return to the Ki'Sha empty-taloned. That could earn her a public lashing. She hadn't had one yet, and didn't plan on changing that.

How dragons ended up like this one she'd never understand.

At her inquiry on the story with her daughter, Sleet broke into an almost comically melodramatic act. "Oh, it is simply dreadful, darling!" Athena was really starting to hate that word. "My dearest daughter, Silver Snow, she thought she could withstand the cruel, cruel world on her own. I told her that she is far too young to leave home, but she would not listen.” Athena arched an eyebrow at this. I wonder why.

She watched as Sleet dug into a pocket on her -clearly astronomically expensive- coat and produced a piece of paper, holding it up for her to see. The wyvern leaned forward, eyes scanning the messily written message composed on it. "So it's a ransom job," she murmured under her breath. She'd dealt with bandits before. This was clearly a 'pay or she dies' threat.


“As you can probably tell, I have not once had to deal with bandits in my life. This, darling, is where you come in," Sleet said, looking so confused by the whole thing you would have thought the letter was written in Aquatic. Athena flicked her tail out of annoyance at the use of that word again. Darling. Ugh.

The distressed mother begged her to help. The ice wyvern bit back a sigh. It's not like I have a choice. She nodded. "Aye, I'll help you," she replied, tilting her head slightly and causing her feathers to flick. "I can't promise she'll come out unscratched, but I'll do my best." She kept her tone neutral, free of emotion. She wasn't going to get emotionally invested, or pretend to be. This was just a job to give her an excuse to flee the humid dunes of the Ki'Sha for a while.


The wyvern glanced behind Sleet, to the door to what appeared to be her house. "Okay, where exactly do they want you to meet her?" she asked, a plan already forming inside her head. She took a deep breath. Bandits. Found dotted around Nuira like a hive of bees. They'd wander for a bit, then settle down in a camp and there they'd sit, like spoil on meat. Annoying to get rid of, but there was always a go-to strategy to deal with them.

The worry Sleet held for her daughter wasn’t exactly calmed when Athena referred to the situation as a ‘ransom job’. The more she thought about it, the more that description fit. It was concerning to think that she’d been caught up in such a thing.

Suddenly, a squeal of delight emitted from the worried mother as Athena agreed to help. “Oh thank you, darling! You have no idea how important she is to me.” Her elated response was muted a little when the wyvern spoke of possibly not being able to rescue her unharmed. The thought of even one scale out of place on Silver’s head made Sleet feel utterly lightheaded.

Athena asked where exactly they wanted to meet. Sleet hurriedly flipped the letter over. On the backside was a poorly drawn map.

“From what I can tell, darling, they wish for us to meet in the Aeria Mountains. I believe I can guide us there. If we depart now, we would likely be there in...hmm...approximately a month? That is assuming we do not run into any towns along the way with jewelry shops.” She looked up in thought, biting her lower lip, “I have been meaning to buy myself something a bit more modern with the fashion of today.”

Once again, the ritzy IceWing was exaggerating. Any swift dragon or dragoness could make that flight in at most a day. Of course, Sleet’s idea of transportation was very different from what most dragons had in mind.

“I know a lovely carting service that will provide the best in comfort and luxury during our travels. It even comes packaged with dining and beverages! Only the classiest of dragons use them…” Sleet eyed the wyvern for a moment, her smile turning to a bit of concern. “...we may need to dress you in something a bit more...dare I say...elegant, before we even think of using them.” Sleet perked up again, “not to worry! I know a few good shops we can go to around town that can make you look much more presentable, darling. If you give me a day, I can certainly make something out of your appearance. As challenging as that may be.”

Even though she was a complete airhead in Athena's opinion, which usually wasn't a very positive one on any subject anyways, Sleet clearly cared deeply for her daughter, as any good mother should. Something she could respect. Still, she was already tempted to either attack her or flee out of annoyance. Gods above!

At Athena's agreement to help, the middle aged female let out a loud, piercing noise that made her ears fold and cheek fins tuck in. A grimace twisted her expression as Sleet squealed her joy for the world to hear. The sound bounced off the cliffsides and carried on for miles. “Oh thank you, darling!" Sleet exclaimed.  "You have no idea how important she is to me.” The wyvern grunted in response, flexing her talons.

Sleet proceeded to fill her in on the location, and Athena hung onto her every word, analysing it for later use. The Aeria Mountains. She didn't know much about it, except that it was cold and sported treacherous cliff faces that had torn apart many novice flyers. Probably settled there to keep any prying eyes out.

When the dragoness told her they'd be there within a month, Athena's eyes widened. She stared, utterly speechless, as she spoke about fashion and buying new clothes. With the way the wyvern was looking at her, one would have thought Sleet was speaking Aquatic. Her entire body was frozen still. You've GOT to be kidding me.

“I know a lovely carting service that will provide the best in comfort and luxury during our travels. It even comes packaged with dining and beverages! Only the classiest of dragons use them…” the dragoness suddenly looked at her with… pity? Concern? she couldn't pinpoint the expression. Then again, Athena wasn't really paying attention to her face, more to her words. Carting service. She wants a carting service. To the Aeria mountains. Carts. Slow as all hell and expensive to boot.

No wonder 'Silver Snow' wanted to leave so early.

Sleet proceeded to talk about 'dressing her up in something more elegant,' to which Athena's expression morphed rapidly into a deep scowl. For several reasons. The main one was annoyance, the second one was; she hated wearing anything deemed as 'fashionable.' Anything that weighed her down in a battle was stupid and impractical. Plus, it was probably flammable.

When Sleet uttered "as challenging as that may be," Athena snorted a cloud of blue mist. She was used to being belittled for her… less than feminine appearance, so she didn't take much offence to the subtle insults, just mild irritation. It was the idea of a carting service… so many curse words were on the tip of her tongue, yet she was speechless at the same time. When she did recovered her voice, her electric blue feathers were standing on end in agitation. "A month? Your daughter is going to be dead in days, and who knows what a bunch of low life males are going to do to her before then!" she growled, a low, thunderous sound that emerged from the depths of her throat.."We're going to fly. Unless you want me to go by myself." The wyvern reared her head, peering at Sleet with a mixture of shock, aggression and disgust. "As for 'dressing me up?' She scoffed. An utterly ludicrous idea, she would have said, had she been posh. Instead, she came out with, "Hell no."

((I'm dying XDDDDD)

The excited expression that Sleet wore slowly started to melt away as Athena shouted her retort at the mother. She even went as far as to growl and say that a lot could happen in a month, and that she was going to fly to the meeting point with or without Sleet.

A sharp breath escaped the fashionista. There was a petulance deeply rooted in her that wanted to rear its ugly head, but she kept her composure. At least, as well as she possibly could.

Then, her would-be helper firmly declined the offer to dress her up.

For a moment, Sleet didn’t know what to do. She eyed the other dragoness up and down, as though Athena were some abstract art piece and she was trying to judge her worth. At the moment, she didn’t quite care for the brash dragoness’ attitude.

“Well...if those are my two options then I suppose I will have to fly with you. As uncomfortable and barbaric as that is.” Sleet looked to the ground with a sneer, feeling disgusted that she was actually agreeing.

Her expression returned to a more neutral one as she looked at the wyvern once more. “However, if you are allowed to make conditions, then I should be allowed to as well.” The pompous IceWing frowned as she stated her own terms. “Since you are not doing this work out of the kindness of your own heart, then I would require that you hold your tongue the next time you decide to speak so harshly to me.”

With a deep sigh, Sleet turned around to face her home. “I suppose I will have to change my outfit if I am going to be getting an exercise today. Do wait here, darling. I will only be a minute.”

The pristine white dragoness retreated back into her humble home. One minute turned to two, then to five, then to ten, and finally she reemerged without her coat but decorated in various jewelry. Golden rings were slipped onto both of her horns, whilst rubies dangled from gold earrings on both of her ears. Additionally there was a small, ruby-encrusted satchel that was tied around her front leg, and a gold necklace that dangled with an emerald that had been cut into the shape of a heart.. Around her wrists were gold bracelets that were lined evenly with tiny amethyst gems.

“I do believe I am now much more suited for flying.” She turned her side to Athena showing off her jewelry momentarily before hesitantly unfurling her wings. As she did so, a patch of black scales could be seen on her thigh, one that she usually tried to keep hidden from most dragons. In this scenario, she had no other option really. Her only hope was that the wyvern wasn’t the most observant of the little…’imperfection’ as Sleet would call it.

“We will ‘fly’ northeast a ways,” she squinted her eyes at the wyvern, giving her a glare that was akin to a pet being forced to take a bath. “Do you need anything before we leave, darling? If not, then I suggest we be on our way.”

It was obvious Sleet was… less than pleased. The way those eyes, green like the lush rainforest, travelled up and down her marred form as if she were a puzzle she were trying to figure out, said enough. Athena knew her temper had bested her, and now she risked returning to her tribe empty handed. That's gonna be embarrassing, so please don't sack me. She wore a mask of cold indifference, but her pupils were narrowed into thin, cat-like slits, displaying her irritation and slight worry. Her daughter's been kidnapped, and she wants to take a carriage.

“Well...if those are my two options then I suppose I will have to fly with you. As uncomfortable and barbaric as that is," Sleet was saying, shifting her gaze to the snow-covered earth. She sported an expression of utter disdain. Athena's tongue itched, though she held herself back from making a fatal comment.

The pearly white female met her gaze. Athena returned her stare with her own, harder one. “However, if you are allowed to make conditions, then I should be allowed to as well," Sleet uttered. Athena tossed her head slightly, causing the particles of snow that had caught in her feathers to scatter into the wind. She listened as her employer requested she keep her trap shut, since she wasn't doing this to be charitable. The wyvern's feathers bristled indignantly, though she stuffed her pride down and gave a curt nod. "Understood," she forced out.

“I suppose I will have to change my outfit if I am going to be getting an exercise today. Do wait here, darling. I will only be a minute." Athena groaned inwardly as the dragoness twisted around and headed inside. She said nothing, just stood outside like a silent sentinel, waiting. Her talons tapped impatiently on the earth.

When Sleet finally emerged, she was adorned in various earrings and rings. As stunning as she was colourful. She's a rich brat, but she certainly has style, Athena decided, raising her brows slightly as the older dragoness turned and momentarily sported her outfit. Her eyes skimmed over the patch of ebony that sat on her thigh. It stood out amongst the white like a sore thumb, but she didn't really care for her employer's appearance.

“We will ‘fly’ northeast a ways,” Sleet said, drawing Athena's eyes back to her. The female gave her an indigent glare, and Athena returned it with an arching of her brows. She shook her head in response to the question. "No. I'll catch something along the way if I get hungry," she said.

Rising onto her back legs, the wyvern spread her broad wings. The sunlight shone through the various holes and tears, the pink and grey marks that would never heal. Battle scars. They made her stand out in a crowd, something that sometimes irritated her as it occasionally drew unwanted attention, but she didn't mind them otherwise. They were her scars. A part of who she was. Taking a deep breath, Athena leaped into the air with a beat of her wings.

The cold air rushed into her face and she closed her eyes, a quiet sigh escaping her as she gained height. Once she was sufficiently high enough, Athena levelled out, casting a glance at Sleet.