Corrupted Ice and Tainted Flames [Private/Ardent]

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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.

The force of the impact crushed the star in her paw, and sent a shock of pain up her arm, the violence exhilarating. Panting heavily, she opened her paw, the dust spinking onto the ground, bouncing off to float just above the surface. Watching the scales distend slightly as a bruise formed under them, she nodded, turning to leave, before freezing. Slowly turning back, she stared down at Artemise, noting, only now, thanks to her pain, that she was still breathing. Standing over her, staring down at her still-beautiful face, her own contorted into another snarl, as she listened to the female speak, before it dropped, the snarl turning into a chuckle and smile.


“Artemise… darling… I want you to crack. I know the darkness that lurks in your soul. I want it to be free. To be brought to the light.” She purred, her front paws trailing along the ice dragonesses slender and elegant neck, to softly fasten around her throat, in the upper quarter. At first soft, almost loving, the grip she held around Artemise’s throat quickly tightened, and only did more so with time. It was really up to Artemise how long she could take it. “I wonder what you’re going to do now my dear… Is that fragile cage going to crack? Or are you going to hold out, even now?”

"Why...do...you...want...it...free?" Artemise choked out as she squirmed, trying to free herself from Ardent's grasp without hurting the female. Already her face was turning into the shade of blue that meant that she was suffocating, for her oxygen supply was quickly being used up. It looked like Ardent wasn't going to release her anytime soon, and Artemise wondered if she would die right then and there. What a nice way to die, she thought with an annoyed sigh. Artemise, deceived like a fool, strangled by someone younger than her. Wonderful. Just...wonderful.

A part of her really didn't want to die, but there was this other part of her that didn't want Artemisa released. Artemise really didn't know which option was better, and her indecisiveness, an unhelpful personality trait, wasn't helping at all. "Release me!" she hissed, wincing at the pain of the pressure of Ardent's paws around her fragile neck. Her air supply was already nearing zero, and she knew that it was her last chance to survive. She would have chosen to die, rather than let Artemisa free, but her mind didn't listen to her. Survival instincts kicked in, and her walls crumbled into ashes, creating a huge hole in the walls; Artemisa crawled out immediately, grinning, and shoved Artemise aside, making sure to fling her into a corner with all her strength. Then she took up the reins.

Artemisa returned to the outside world, and she noted with displeasure that she was being strangled. She made use of her claws and brought them up in a swift motion, drawing six scarlet lines across Ardent's belly and staining her clean white claws scarlet; the scratches were then followed by a kick to the belly using her hindlegs. Everything she did was just to distract Ardent from her actual weapon; her tail snaked up from behind Ardent, and quickly wrapped around her neck. Artemisa wasted no time in increasing the pressure, and soon both she and Ardent were being choked with the same pressure. She grinned at Ardent, her slitted pupils glittering in excitement, as she inquired mildly, "Do you want both of us to die?" as if she were discussing the weather.

Ardent giggled, the sound seemingly warped and distorted, before it turned into full blown laughter. “I want her free… because she isn’t…” She said simply, wondering if the rapidly asphyxiating female could understand. “You suppressed her… hid her… Why would I not want them freed?” She asked, as if it made perfect sense. She hummed a small tune as her grip tightened, fractionally, second by long, drawn out second. “I think not.” She said simply in reply to the hissed ‘release me,’ something she almost completely ignored. So lost in the violent but oddly simple and calming act, she almost missed the smallest changes in Artemise. Almost.


The underhanded swipe was the first attack, and the one that was least anticipated. The ice dragonesses claws tore through her soft underbelly, weak and fragile, even for ones underbelly. Ardent let out a cry, thankful that the wounds weren't… too serious. It was a painful, distracting, and would eventually become fatal, wound, but it wasn’t a disemboweling strike. The hind leg was next. She had been expecting… something like it, and pushed herself upwards as she felt the dragoness contract under her, receving a solid and painful strike to her belly, only intensified and redoubled by the crimson slashes already there.


“What, that’s the best you’ve go…!” Ardent cut off, as she felt that lithe and whip-like tail wind around her throat and wrench her neck back, cutting off her airflow almost completely in a single second. Choking, she looked down, a smile on her maw, at the dragoness, who was now looking up with renewed vigor in her… Slitted pupils? Didn’t she have regular… Oh my… I think we did it my dear. Her darkness cooed. Looking down, her own eyes glittering in excitement and victory, she shook her head as best she could. “I mean… We’ve already… Taken… care of Artemise… for now.” She managed to wheeze out, smiling. “On the count of… three?” She asked, giving the dragoness a second or two to register what she had said. “One… Two… Three…” She counted, as she released her grip on that beautiful blue throat. As soon as the other female released her grip, if she did, Ardent would fall forwards, onto her chest, to wheeze heavily and lie still for a time, where she would be completely vulnerable.

Ardent was at her mercy, and Artemisa could easily kill her with a quick squeeze of her tail. But Artemisa was curious about this individual, who seemed to be different from most dragons; she seemed to have...two presences, indicating that she most likely had a corrupted core. Unlike the majority of the dragons she'd met, who had struggled so hard to repress their inner darkness that she had felt a little sorry for them, Ardent seemed to embrace who she was, what she was, earning a bit of respect from Artemisa. At last, she had found someone interesting, worthy of her attention.

Her grasp around Ardent's neck loosened, and it slid back to the ground as Ardent fell onto her chest; Artemisa seized the opportunity to gain control over the situation and pushed Ardent off to the ground, leaping to her feet and pressing a paw against Ardent's chest. She increased the pressure of her paw pressing against the smaller female's chest, forcing some air out, as a smirk played about her lips. The smirk was beautiful the way a rose was; most saw its beauty, but they missed the thorns, which would prick them again and again, eventually sending them to their deaths.

Artemisa's midnight blue gaze was curious as she surveyed Ardent coolly, taking her in. Ardent's eyes were two alluring shades of silver, but they were beautiful in the way mercury was: Prepossessing in its appearance, but deadly when touched, or ingested. A minute more of surveying followed, before Artemisa finally spoke. "Hello there, darling," she purred, her voice low and silky. "It's a pleasure to meet you... Such a pity we had to meet in such an...unpleasant situation, but that's over now, is it not?" Artemisa, while speaking, locked her eyes onto Ardent, watching her, testing her.

Ardent had but a few seconds of reprieve, her breathing heavy as she tried to refill her emptied lungs. She didn’t have small lungs or anything of the ilk, but living the desert… one has very few reasons to try and learn how to hold their breath for any amount of time. Smiling, she started at the night blue scales in front of her, spying a nick in one. She had done it… cracked those wrongly constructed walls… Starting as she was pushed away from her resting place, she landed heavily, awkwardly, on the ground, somewhat on her side, pushed fully onto her back as Artemise, or rather, Artemisa, climbed to her feet.


Looking up at the towering Ice dragoness, their roles very much reversed, Ardent raised a paw, and placed it on the other female’s as it came down on her chest, somehow, oddly sure that she would not try to harm her, or at least kill her, any more than she was currently doing. Looking up at the large dragoness, she smiled, the smirk that was displayed to her… exotic. It, at first glance, seemed to sincere, so real, so beautiful… But one only had to look, for a short time longer than a glance, and it quickly became apparent it was hiding something, a mask. The eyes that sat above it, those poisonous, midnight blue eyes called it out. Like the berries of the deadly nightshade plant… At first, so beautiful and alluring… but would only lead to suffering and torment if one allowed themself to be tempted.


Listening, entranced, as Artemisa spoke, Ardent looked up at her with a look of awe, some would say… attraction. “If I may, I apologize for this… unfortunate meeting. There was very little I could think to do without harming your..." She searched for a few moments, trying to find a word to describe what Artemise was to Artemisa. “Your… jailer. She seemed, unwilling to allow you to light, and I didn’t want to damage her… Anymore, of course.” She said, a small wince escaping her as she noted the bruised area from her earlier punch. “As for… this.” She continued, gesturing to both herself and Artemisa, “It was over when she.... When you took control. After all, it was you I was trying to meet, not your jailer.”

"'Jailer' is a good word to describe Artemise," Artemisa agreed. "Do you know why she has kept me suppressed?" At Ardent's nod, she explained, "It's because the idiot thought that I was a bloodthirsty brute, an evil being. Like others, she thought that I would vanish forever if she kept me under control long enough. As if I would vanish that easily!" A small snort of contempt followed her words. "Artemise jumps to conclusions way too quickly. She thinks that I'm bloodthirsty just because I slit the throats of her parents. But did I go on a rampage and kill everyone nearby? No, I didn't." She sighed, then shook her head, as if to clear the thoughts of Artemise from her head. "What's your name?" she asked, eyeing Ardent curiously. "Let me take a guess... Belladonna? Wild guess, I know, but I think Belladonna would suit you well."

While waiting for an answer, Artemisa took the time to explore the rest of Ardent's body with her eyes. At first glance, the female looked normal, but close up, Artemisa could see some damaged scales. The slightest hint of shadows passed her face, but it was quickly gone, replaced by her usual mask of composure. So Ardent had been abused in the past. Just like her. Artemisa was positive that Ardent had killed her abusers; usually those who knew about their inner darkness had discovered it after committing some dark crime, and in Ardent's case, the dark crime was the act of killing her parents.

A small chuckle escaped Ardent’s maw, shortly after Artemisa had stopped speaking, quickly growing to loud peals of laughter. Quietning after a number of minutes, she raised a paw to wipe away a tear. “Bloodthirsty brute? Evil? That’s hilarious!” She giggled, covering her maw with a paw. Taking several deep breaths, her smile was once again directed towards the large ice dragon. “To be honest, I was like that as well… at first. I thought she was evil, but no… she was simply… me.” Letting out a fond sigh, she started, realising the large dragoness might have no idea what she was talking about. “Unlike you and… Artemise, we are one and the same. One name, one body, two faces. Our name, my dear, is Ardent. Although… Belladonna. Nightshade…” She murmured, tapping a paw in thought. “A good name… Beautiful flowers, enticing fruit… only to kill whoever draws too near.”

While she mused, Ardent’s eyes were examining Artemisa in return. She didn’t seem like one who had had a hard life. At first glance, when she had been speaking with Artemise, she had mistaken the dragoness for lacking scales. Now, looking up at her chest, it was obvious that this was far from the truth. Maybe they interlocked so well, maybe they were simply created that way, but the dragonesses scales were almost unnoticeable. Letting her eyes trail upwards, she noted, with a small wince, her almost perfect neck, graceful and elegant, marred only by a ring of slight… aggravation, from her earlier choking. Eyes roving further, she made the mistake, or maybe choice, to look the dragoness in the eye. Those deep, midnight blue eyes… that one could get lost in. Even drown in. Looking into them, she saw, not a shadow dancing in those depths, but… something else. Artemise. The smallest flicker of… anger? Regret? Sadness? Before being muffled by the shadow that was Artemisa. Entrapped by those midnight orbs, she stared, her maw twisting into an oddly content smile.

Artemisa allowed a soft chuckle to escape her. "It is indeed hilarious..." she purred, her eyes sliding from Ardent's slender, muscular body to those silvery eyes set into a pretty face. Once again, she was drawn to those two pools of shimmering silver, and she thought, almost dazedly, that there was a whole new world in them. Almost immediately after the thought crossed her mind, she shook her head, pushing away the odd thoughts that were crowding her head. She had never been so drawn to someone before. Was this because of the fact that she'd been trapped for such a long time? It was possible. But it didn't help that she wanted to lean down, press her lips against Ardent's--

No.

The single word cut through her thoughts like a knife, and a small, barely noticeable shudder rippled through Artemisa's body. How could she have thoughts like that? She was drawn to Ardent; that was okay, but her thoughts seemed to be a bit...wild. Again, it could be because of her long imprisonment. It was possible, Artemisa mused. Or maybe she was in love. She almost laughed at the idea, finding it ridiculous, but it was possible. Or was Ardent trying to seduce her? Well, if she was, she was doing it well, Artemisa would give her that. But she wasn't going to give her heart to the little belladonna, not yet. Not until her feelings were confirmed. Not until she found out if Ardent had the same feelings. Both were highly unlikely, and she knew that. Who knows, it could just be a side effect of not seeing anyone for such a long time.

"Ardent..." she murmured, her voice pitching so low that it was almost a growl. "Your appearance does not shine. Nor does your personality, at least to most. But the truly ardent parts of you are your eyes..." She moved a paw over to cup Ardent's face. "...and your personality." Artemisa suddenly lowered her head to brush her lips against Ardent's, her sudden action lasting no more than two seconds. Before Ardent could register the contact of their lips, she raised her head, dark eyes dancing in amusement as she watched Ardent. Watching her, weighing her reaction.

Belladonna... Nightshade... Perfect aliases for you and me.

Trapped. Snared. Those two words aptly described Ardent’s mental, and physical, state. Not just by the paw that was pressed to her chest, but by those midnight spheres. As they shifted, she started, as she realized she was now, not only looking Artemisa in the eye, but she was doing the same. The ice dragon’s eyes seemed to glint, something in their depths sparking every now and then, like a star in the sky, that the clouds passed over every few seconds. It… was good to meet another like herself. Or at least, that was what she told herself. That was the reason that she wanted to place her head against that almost sky blue chest, to hear her heart beat in time with her own, to wrap her arms around that fragile throat and pull that regal and beautiful head close to her own… But that won’t happen my dear… I too wish for it to come to pass, but no. You know just as well as I that it is impossible… her darker self lamented.

It was in that saddened state that almost insignificant shudder ran down Artemisa. The small movement was almost pointless, meaningless, but to Ardent, if gave her hope, her own body giving a small shudder, her heart rate increasing ever so slightly, something that would be obvious given the ice dragonesses paw placement over her heart. She… was this love? No… it couldn’t. She didn’t know the dragoness that was towering over her. Then why does it feel as if we do…?


So lost in the conflicting swirl of emotions and thoughts, she almost missed Artemisa speaking. She was instantly thankful she hadn’t… The low growl she spoke in sent shivers up Ardent’s spine, followed shortly by a violent blush. Her scales stayed their same grey-black, but under those broken few on her head and neck, where skin was visible, at the base of her frills, and around her eyes and mouth, the skin noticeably reddened. At was at this vulnerable moment, one of her paws stroking the one that was pressed to her chest, that Artemisa brushed her lips against hers.


Even if Ardent didn’t know what exactly the ice dragoness was doing, her body did.It froze, the look on her face turning to one of surprise, disbelief and joy. Staying like this, dazed and shell shocked for a time, she let a quiet purr, that, thanks to the silence, was heard easily.

~To be continued by PMs until things are less intense~

xD

Artemisa smiled at her mate adoringly, leaning in close to give her a loving nuzzle. Then she drew away, but her eyes remained on Ardent, taking in her appearance, admiring the fine strong lines of her jaw, her enthralling silver eyes, her sturdy frame. She loved the way Ardent seemed more masculine than most females, who usually had slim, fragile bodies, something that was so commonly seen that it was to her overrated. "If you say so..." she murmured in response to Ardent, and tore her gaze away from her mate, to the carcass, and dipped her head to feast, anticipation pulling her lips back in a wide grin.

But a skull-splitting pain tore through her head, and with a shrill screech, she staggered back a step, her teeth grinding against each other in pain, her eyelids lowering to veil her pained eyes. The headache dulled everything except for one voice: Artemise. I have found it... Despite the pain which made her want to snap her own neck to end the agony, she bared her teeth in a smile. Good. So how do we do it? Her mental question was immediately answered by Artemise, who filled her in, and Artemisa's grin widened. Then she opened her eyes again, the headache blurring everything in her mind except for one thing: moonlight. She tipped her head back to gaze at the full moon, shining bright in the sky that Night had veiled with her ebony wings, before closing her eyes again.

She began to chant, growling words of an old, old language flowing from her maw. Her eye ridges were pulled together in a frown of concentration, and her figure blurred before splitting into two. Two Artemises. She remained in that stiff position for quite a while, though, the harsh tones of the unfamiliar language continuing to flow from her maw in a steady stream. After about five minutes, she finally stopped, and the two blurred figures, to Ardent, would sharpen and the details would now be visible. The twins jumped apart at once, Artemise with a yelp of surprise and Artemisa with a low, hostile snarl. They stood eleven feet apart, glaring at each other, before Artemise shifted her gaze to look at Ardent; she took a step back, as if to say, Oh no.

Artemisa allowed a grin to grace her face, but it was more of a show of teeth than anything. "I am glad to be rid of you," she hissed venomously at Artemise, who drew herself into a more commanding position and stared at Artemisa with hatred-filled eyes. "Do not forget that I was the original owner of this body, and I still am," she hissed back. "You ungrateful worm should have been glad that I existed Without me, you wouldn't have existed." Artemisa's eyes, in response, narrowed until only a slit of midnight blue showed. "Oh? And I'm supposed to forget how you failed to willingly give me some fresh air, not even once after all these years?" Both of them looked like they would attack any moment, and Artemise for once wasn't going to back down. Her rigid posture said that she would not flee without a fight. Artemisa's narrowed eyes, on the other hand, said that she would ensure her slow, slow death if she didn't get her cursed face out of there soon. Artemise, at last, gave up, and with a scornful look cast in Artemisa's direction, she turned and fled. Artemisa, with Artemise gone, relaxed and smiled at Ardent. "Thank you for freeing me," she said quietly, turning and leaving as well, leaving Ardent there, standing alone.

~End of topic~