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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Feb 15, 2012 6:46:08 GMT -6
She had been going to come up with an obstacle course, hadn't she? Nayru surveyed the scenery from her perch, sitting crosslegged atop a boulder while stewing in the realization of how horrible an idea that had been. From that perspective, perhaps it had been for the best that she had fallen asleep in the sun? The dragon pondered the idea for a few moments, head still resting against one hand, before discarding it, unwilling to push aside her failure in light of recent events. When she had first offered to help train Elly, it had seemed like an excellent idea; impart what knowledge she could to the girl in order to give focus to her training, and perhaps - though Nayru hadn't really thought of it at the time - give her an opportunity to unwind and feel useful at the same time. Now, the moment of truth near at hand, Nayru was tired, had no idea where to go with their meeting, and in an exceptionally poor mood. Bad dreams - just another reason she didn't like to sleep. The unconscious mind wandered more when not held back by conscious discipline, drifting back to her countless past failures and missed opportunities with cruel accuracy. Humans she had not saved for fear of her own nature being discovered, the countless wrongs she had never had the strength to right, unwanted emotions leaking from the unpleasantly porous labyrinth that kept them from overwhelming the morose dragon daily. For all her talk of changing the world, she couldn't even change herself.
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Elly
Pegasus Knight
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Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Feb 22, 2012 0:11:15 GMT -6
Elly hummed to herself happily as she walked across the grass-filled plains, her new dress swishing around her ankles. Why the dress had been on sale, she'd never know; it was woven from simple brown cloth, yet she thought it was rather pretty. She knew it had been an impulsive purchase, but honestly, she didn't spend all that much of her wage most of the time, anyways, and who knew when she'd be back in town? She had left her equipment in her saddlebag, with Heather; the filly hadn't looked too happy to be left alone with Aerious, but she was sure that was just her partner's natural shyness acting up. He was pretty nice, she thought, and she was sure he and the pegasus would be best friends in no time.
No, the one thing she had brought with her was a simple cloth-covered basket, the results of her earlier attempts at cooking inside. Sandwiches filled with rabbit meat; perhaps it wasn't the stew Nayru had been waiting for, but she hoped the older woman would like it. It hung from her arm, swinging dangerously back and forth, threatening to spill its contents out at every step the cheerfully-oblivious girl took.
She was glad Nayru had taken her seriously the other night, though. The heroines in the stories were always well-spoken and graceful. The older woman always seemed composed, every movement flowing out like water, her words refined and knowledgeable. That her friend was willing to train her meant a lot to the young knight. She paused, looking up at the boulder ahead, shielding her eyes from the Sacaean sun. Past the glare, she could make out the former wyvern knight's unmistakable silhouette. She waved cheerfully with her free hand before cupping it around her mouth to project her voice, shouting.
"Hey, Nayru! Over here!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Feb 25, 2012 6:37:43 GMT -6
"Hello, Elly." It came out reflexively, before she could ponder her words or form them correctly; the tone was almost plaintive, unusually subdued. Nayru shut up immediately, cursing herself for momentary weakness while turning as she rose - and paused. Elly had... not come dressed to fight. Or train. At all. And she had a basket that the dragon was willing to wage did not contain either training gear or a batch of common sense.
At least the dress looked good on the girl. Plain, though it was well tailored in a simple but fetching design. Elly made it work better than she likely ever could. Holding back an undignified snort at the thought of trying to fit her own lengthy body into something that smell, Nayru subconsciously allowed a small but genuine smile to flicker across her features, reflecting in her eyes for a moment before they grew opaque once more. "The dress looks excellent on you." It was true. "...Though I had thought we were going to train." Also true. "Where is your gear? Sparring on these plains would likely leave grass stains in your attire."
Her words carried their usual quiet intensity, but there was a cautious fondness to them uncharacteristic of the dragon. Maybe it was just that she was literally incapable of seeing Elly as a threat, the girl too incompetent and too well-meaning to consciously involve herself in chicanery. Not that it stopped the little pegasus knight from cultivating a mischievous streak and a wayward sense of morality not entirely concerned with the rules as they applied to her, but thinking outside the box was a welcome quality in any person, a trait that encouraged and rewarded curiosity and a thirst for the truth that offered an equally valid sense of... ethics, if not exactly morality.
Just how immoral would either of them have to be to realize their dream? How many deaths were permissible in the service of the greater good - Earth and Sky but she hated that idiotic concept - and how many lies would have to be told? Nayru shook her head, banishing that problematic line of thought from her mind. Focus on the subject at hand. Adjusting the skein of fabric on her shoulder with one hand, she laid the other on her hip, smill half-smiling. "It is good to see you again, though. I suspect you have an idea?"
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Elly
Pegasus Knight
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Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Feb 28, 2012 21:02:31 GMT -6
"Yeah, it does, thank you!" The young girl's modesty shone through as she pirouetted in place, showing off the dress excitedly. "Sparring?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion as she arrived at the boulder Nayru was sitting on, her expression puzzled, her mind whirling. Oh, she knew she had heard that word before...she frowned, closing her eyes as she tried to focus.
An image came to mind of a cold winter night, back when she was a little girl, sitting on her Papa's lap and listening to one of his stories. A tale of a warrior princess from a foreign country, who led a rebellion to claim her throne back from her treacherous younger sister...the arguments she had with her sister in court, she thought she remembered her Papa telling her about those when she had asked him what a spar was? It was so long ago, but she was sure that was it! Her expression cleared as she smiled. Oh, she was brilliant! Yes, that must be what Nayru had meant to say, teaching her how to fight with words. Heavens, but she could have just said that instead of using hard words again?
"Oh, yeah, that sparring, duh!" She bopped herself on the head lightly with her closed fist, smiling."Yeah, that'd be really cool, y'know, I'd like t' do that!" She winked at Nayru excitedly. This was her chance to impress her! "Yeah, I thought about grass stains," and who wouldn't, she thought to herself, she wasn't about to ruin the only dress she had on this journey. "So, I came prepared, y'know!" She smiled widely as she opened her basket, pulling out a large sheet, neatly folded away. Elly to the rescue! There was no need to worry about grass stains, as long as they sat on top of it!
The girl unfolded it excitedly, the cloth large enough to easily accommodate the two of them with room to spare. She sat down eagerly, taking care to smoothen out her dress, laying the basket at her side. The other question Nayru had asked puzzled her a little. Her gear? "Yeah, uh, about the gear..." She paused, biting her lower lip. Surely, it wasn't that unusual to travel around without books, wasn't it? Especially when one didn't know how to read in the first place? She decided it'd be better to be honest and upfront about it. "Well, uh, y'know, I was kinda hoping y' could help me with that, I don't have any. Do y' have any recommendations, Nayru?" She looked up at her expectantly."Oh, yeah! I brought sandwiches for us!" She smiled brightly, patting the basket next to her. "I don't know if y' wanna have them before or after trainin', but they're there if you'd like one, y'know!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Mar 15, 2012 20:16:10 GMT -6
"I, ah..."
Nayru trailed off, trying her best to look like Elly had not just grown an extra three heads and a tail. She checked again, just to be sure. The girl was hard to follow at the best of times, but this was a whole new level of miscommunication previously reserved for the Scouring - how "let's meet up and beat each other up for a bit" turned into "picnic time in my new dress!" was completely beyond her. She opened her mouth to begin a vain attempt at salvaging the situation, then closed it without a word, repeating the process a moment later after another pause.
...Yeah, still no idea how to handle the situation.
Didn't really help that her mind was still in the process of returning to the present, further hindering comprehension. Already exhausted by her companion, the dragon opted to just give in, allowing a tired smile as she cautiously lowered herself to a sitting position, folding her legs below her with her hands in her lap. "...Well then." It was more for her own benefit than Elly's, a verbal jolt to goad her brain into working properly again. Why Elly was asking about gear she had no idea, but - well, at least it was something she could address while trying to figure out the rest of their interaction. "What I have seen of your combat gear was adequate; heavy armor is not advantageous for fliers and your spear is appropriately light given your size and experience."
Nayru paused, uncertain whether to append anything to her appraisal, before mentally shrugging and continuing. "I will be teaching you what I know of posture, positioning, and weaknesses in the human body rather than lancework directly - you would do better with a dedicated teacher in that regard." Not least because she was hopeless with a pointed stick and didn't want to actually interfere with any legitimate training Elly had in that matter or whatever she picked up from an actual teacher in the future, admittedly. "As a - martial artist, of sorts," of sorts, indeed! "I feel that there are variables in combat that are worth keeping track of outside of simply focusing on jamming your-" oops, almost said crude human weapon "...weapon into the foe. You may be caught unawares or be disarmed in combat, and it is never wise to be caught entirely without a plan."
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Mar 20, 2012 17:52:21 GMT -6
"Combat? Uh, armor?" The puzzlement she had felt earlier seemed to double, along with a nagging suspicion that, just maybe, she had misinterpreted something. Really, what could her armor and lance have to do with learning manners? She bit down lightly on her index finger as her brow furrowed in thought. The more she thought back on what Nayru had just said, the stranger it sounded...and yet, it did make an odd kind of sense. Yes, the best way to learn was through practice! Her friend had probably chosen a topic that wasn't boring to the young girl, and had certainly landed right on the mark. At least it wasn't a boring one!
Elly sat up straighter, raising her shoulders slightly for a moment before letting them fall backwards and down, the way her commander had said they should while mounted. Honestly, she hadn't ever done it before now; she couldn't really see the point. It wasn't as though Heather cared if her rider's back was straight or not, right?
Her hands shuffled uncomfortably on her lap, opening and closing; she was unsure about what she was supposed to do with them. She busied herself with smoothening out her dress, trying to make the movement as casual as possible, yet feeling her shoulders tense up once more. She thought for a few moments after the older woman had stopped speaking before replying, shifting in place, visibly uncomfortable.
"So, it's like riding, y'know? Sort of? Like, trying to sit straight when flying, the commander always went on and on about that, and..." Elly paused mid-sentence, her words trailing off as she realized with chagrin that she should at least try to moderate her language if the training was to work at all. Maybe if she tried copying some of Nayru's odd words, it'd work out. It was definitely worth a try, at the very least.
"Uh, I, uh, sorry-" The young knight winced as she bit her tongue a bit more sharply than she intended to, before carrying on. "I apolgeize." She struggled a little with the unfamiliar word. Yeah, that sounded a lot more like what a heroine would say, just like Nayru did! "I wanna-" A wince crossed her features briefly."Want? Would like to learn 'bout posture." She swallowed heavily. Heavens, but this was harder than it seemed. How did Nayru talk like this all the time?
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 4, 2012 5:43:14 GMT -6
Well, it had only taken about fifty years - or maybe longer, time was definitely dilating pretty seriously by this point - to even partially synchronize with Elly, and she still wasn't sure what Elly was going on about. Nayru's smile was somewhat plastered on by this point, a valiant attempt to reign in her confusion and the budding seed of frustration. "...I believe that we may be working at cross purposes here. Elly, I had intended to test your combat skills in nonlethal combat - sparring - but I fear that may be unfeasible given your current attire." At this point, she was willing to go the extra mile of pre-emptively explaining her words in order to try to avoid confusing the damnable hoodlum further.
Which... left them with not a lot to do. There was no way in Arcadia that Nayru was going to let Elly ruin such a nice dress so quickly, so that entirely ruled out sparring, or even most exercises she could think of. They could talk, but Elly seemed to have been prepared for a picnic, not... proper training, and the dragon had no idea how to properly sit on a pegasus.
Desperate to salvage the situation, she leaned forwards, patting Elly on the shoulder with a slightly more genuine smile. "...Perhaps I should, ah, take you up on that picnic offer. We can always train later, and it would be a tragedy to let your work - and the food - go to waste." Nayru could feel her optimism for a fruitful training session dying, screaming in agony as it was mowed down by ear-piercing ballista fire, but there was nothing to be done for it. Better to make the best of a bad situation. She was kind of hungry anyways. "What did you make?"
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Elly
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Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Apr 4, 2012 18:46:13 GMT -6
Elly's mouth formed a small circle of surprise at her friend's words, her eyes staring blankly into Nayru's own before realization finally, finally struck. "Ah!" The soft exclamation was followed by embarassment; the teenager felt her ears grow warm as she stared abashedly at the cloth she was sitting on. "Uh, sorry." Her voice came out as a squeak, and she cleared her throat softly, trying to explain herself, her hands clenching together across the lap of her dress.
"Y'know, I sorta thought...we were talking about..." She bit her lip, mortified. "I thought y' meant training as in, how to be like you, y'know?" She turned to face Nayru once more, nearly toppling over the basket in the process; with a short yelp of alarm, her hand dove for the handle, catching it just in time. She moved it to the side, before staring at her hand. "Stuff like that, it never happens to you, right?" She smiled at the older woman wistfully. "Uh, I was hoping you could teach me? Y'know, how to stop messing up all the time?"
The young rider's mood brightened at the mention of food, and she pulled open the basket, her hand darting inside in a single fluid motion to pull out a wrapped sandwich. The bread was old and stale, bought days ago when they had left for the road, but the meat was fresh, and spiced with the very same powders her Papa had used back home. "I made 'em this morning, y'know! It's rabbit meat, dig right in!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 5, 2012 10:23:10 GMT -6
Nayru felt remarkably like a mass-murdering monster, given Elly's reaction. It was like kicking a puppy, except she wouldn't feel as bad about kicking a puppy because at least it would help tenderize the meat before eating it. ...Not... that she ate puppies. On a regular basis. The dragon despaired for a moment, fearful that she had fallen to Elly's level of thinking, and not sure what the hell was going on in her brain. It was Elly's damned influence, that much was for certain - nothing ever made sense with the girl around, and Nayru feared that too much more of this would leave her prancing around the picnic table convinced that she was a pegasus. And yet Elly kept talking, taking the situation from bad to worse.
Nayru chuckled at Elly's phrasing, but the sound was as icy cold as the grave, with no humor to be found in it. It all made a morbid sort of sense now, though the conclusion was not one she liked. "Elly, I've made mistakes more grave than you could conceive. Whatever small good I've done for the world is far overshadowed by the countless times I failed to protect people, the things I've left behind - and how I drove away the person who meant more to me than the rest of the world combined." She sighed, realizing too late that she had said more than she meant to. In trying to make her point, she had already gone too far - but she couldn't stop now. Not while Elly still had such a damn fool notion stuck in her head. "I pretend to be perfect, I bury the shame and regret under a facade of calm and control, but you would do better emulating a bandit than following my example in life. All I can teach you is how not to follow my trail of foolishness... starting with not leaving behind what you care for."
Bringing up Erim left a foul taste in her mouth, the warmth that name had once evoked - and still did - polluted by the knowledge of just how colossally she had blundered. And she had thought her friend had been trying to hold her back at the time! It was so stupid that Nayru couldn't even think of a fitting metaphor, but if she could at least keep Elly from following that path, then maybe some good would come of the whole fiasco. Erim would have probably found it funny.
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Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Apr 5, 2012 12:51:02 GMT -6
Elly stared at the bread in her hand as Nayru spoke, listening to her friend; the older woman's words spoke of sadness and regret so clearly that even she could not miss it. Her breathing stopped for a moment as she gasped in surprise, her throat tightening, hand clenching up before rising to her chest. So, that was it. She understood, it made so much sense now. The person that meant more to her than the rest of the world...the thought brought tears to her eyes, but she struggled to hold them back bravely, for Nayru's sake. She needed the comfort more at the moment. The teenager placed the food aside, shifting as she moved in to hug her friend impulsively.
It was just like the stories and songs. Nayru was in love! And she had left him behind to save the world; it was all so incredibly romantic. "Nayru!" She bawled out, her voice breaking as tears started to flow. She sobbed, her entire body shaking, before she managed to regain her self control. No, now was not the time. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress distractedly, before taking hold of the former wyvern rider's hands.
"I'm sure he's waiting for you, y'know." She said, her voice trembling as she struggled to keep from crying again. "He'll understand, the princes in the stories always do, yeah?" She smiled weakly. "All you gotta do is talk to him, y'know. Let him know how you feel!" She paused, nodding seriously. "It's never too late? Y' had to leave to save the world, and that ain't your fault, but y' can't let a...a..." She held back, her brow furrowing as she struggled to remember the word. "Misutterstanding? A misutterstanding ruin everything, yeah!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 6, 2012 11:23:43 GMT -6
Hurricane Elly struck like a thunderstorm, ninety pounds of bawling girl that left the usually stolid dragon with a puddle of pink sprawled all over her, sobbing fit for a... well, a thunderstorm. That simile actually worked out better than she had expected. Nayru would normally have been much more proud of herself, but her mind was proving to be remarkably slow to react. Something about not having expected Elly to physically assault her while sobbing dramatically, or to have the girl lecture her on matters of love.
...Oh. Oh... goodness.
Nayru let out something between a sputtering giggle and a choking gurgle when Elly's words finally hit home, unable to hold the reaction in entirely despite her best efforts. She would have done anything for Erim, but their relationship had never been defined that way, and while the idea left her a little awkward and flushed, that - did serve to make her response a little easier. The dragon, struggling to reform her composure, rested one hand on Elly's shoulder after extricating it from the girl's deathgrip. Smiling against her will - some memories simply had that power no matter how much one might wish otherwise, she icut Elly off as soon as the torrent of sobbing and speaking reached a reasonable halt. "Elly, I appreciate the sentiment, but it was a woman." ...Yeah that did a lot to make the situation sound better.
"A friend. Our relationship was purely platonic." ...Another word Elly wouldn't know. Nayru considered attempting to purchase a dictionary containing only two-syllable-or-fewer words, if it would aid their communication. "She-" Actually saying the woman's name was difficult, inordinately so, but Nayru forced herself to continue, her voice cracking. "-Erim was everything I wanted to be. Beautiful, intelligent, quick of wit and graceful to boot. And older than you can imagine; she was inordinately resourceful and experienced. She knew the answer to everything, I believed, and I'm still not sure that's far from the truth."
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Apr 6, 2012 14:28:03 GMT -6
Elly tilted her head in puzzlement as Nayru seemed to choke on herself, an odd sound coming from her friend. Was she all right? She drew closer as the older woman placed a hand on her shoulder, looking up to her idol, concern written on her face. Her eyes widened in surprise at her words, and she felt her ears heat up once more, her face growing warm. A woman? Now she'd done it, she'd blabbed on and on about princes and made Nayru feel uncomfortable.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but the former rider moved on before she could speak. Oh, duh, a friend! Elly felt like vanishing into thin air, her embarrassment growing exponentially. But, she had said something about a relationship, too. She felt dizzy. Plate-something, too. If she had learned something about Nayru's language by now, it was that a lot of these odd-sounding words meant big. Or deep. So, that was like, a big relationship, right? It was probably important to her, then.
Her heart began beating faster with excitement the more the older woman spoke about her friend. Erim, was it? Anyone that Nayru admired so much had to be amazingly cool. Older than she could imagine, though? Two plus two added in her mind to become five, and realization struck again. She was her grandmother! She felt the impulse to speak up once more, and barely managed to bite back her words, her teeth clattering audibly.
"Sorry, uh...I messed up again?" The teenager smiled sheepishly in what she hoped was a disarming manner. "And, uh, sorry 'bout calling Erim a prince, too? So, yeah..." She paused, licking her lips nervously. "She sounds really cool? And I totally get why she couldn't come with you outta town, y'know. It's got to be tough to walk so much at her age." She sighed wistfully. She'd never met her own grandparents. "Hey, that's exactly how I wanna be like too, though!" She grinned up happily at her friend, hugging her once more, though her embrace was decidedly less violent this time. "Only, you already are, y'know!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 7, 2012 9:06:40 GMT -6
Unable to hold it in any longer, Nayru simply threw her head back and laughed, a clarion ringing that flowed across the grassy plains. She couldn't have explained the exact reason behind it if she tried, and indeed there was no single explanation so much as Elly's mounting tsunami of gaffes and leaps of logic. It didn't hurt that Erim had been old enough to rank both of their grandmothers combined. "She did moonlight as a prince, once. I think the whole scene was ridiculous enough that some people were convinced. She always had a certain air of nobility to her... when she was not too busy ruining the effect by acting like herself."
So many reminders of the ancient dragon drew the happiness out of her tone; so many quirks and memories of a friend long gone. Composing herself, still wearing a warm but longing smile, Nayru continued after a few moments. "You have an - interesting talent for phrasing things, Elly. It was... difficult for her to walk freely for her." Not of old age, of course, but Erim's insistence on wandering around with wings, horns, and a tail would have never gone over well in human society. That had always been one of the things Nayru had most admired about her mentor; a stubborn resistance to changing herself for anyone else, always existing as her own unique entity, and screw anyone who didn't like it. Strength of character that the younger dragon had always aspired to, but never come close to reaching.
"I merely chase her shadow, Elly; little more than an imperfect copy wearing a cracking mask. I will never understand how she could know so much and still respond to anything instantly, always with the perfect retort for the situation." Was it wrong to speak so much of the long gone? Nayru honestly couldn't tell if it was a feeling of relief or regret that continued to flow through her.
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Apr 7, 2012 11:41:22 GMT -6
Elly smiled nervously as her friend broke into gales of laughter, a sudden unease filling her. She'd never seen Nayru laugh like this before. Had she broken her, somehow? She fretted with her hands nervously. What would Aerious say? She still remembered the old man at the pub, the one that wouldn't stop laughing after she had spilled his order on top of him four times in a row. He had seemed so kind. It had taken her Papa and two more adults to stop him from bringing down the building. She sighed thankfully when the older woman stopped and began speaking again, her body shuddering. That had been close.
"Hey, uh, y'know," she started, her tone hesitant. "I think it's okay to look up t' someone? Papa used to say there's always gotta be someone better than you, that it was a huge world!" She opened her arms widely to make her point, eyes looking up to Nayru's, grinning happily. "He said to keep tryin' to be like them, 'cause that made you become better, too!" She looked away, lowering her voice, her expression growing more sober. "'Course, he also said t' stop being mule-headed and quit tryin' to join the army." She shook her head, the gloomy mood around her lifting easily. "Hey, I have an idea, Nayru!" She smiled mischievously."Y'know, once I'm a knight, Heather and I can go anywhere, right? How 'bout we visit your hometown? It'd be so cool to see where you grew up, and you could catch up with her!" She pleaded with her eyes, doing her best to get them to tear up. "Pretty please? It won't take long if we fly there!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 7, 2012 14:43:59 GMT -6
"Mmh. The world is a wonderful place, full of countless people of all walks of life, always some further along any given path than I." What started out dreamy moonspeak disintegrated into a more grounded tone as Nayru pulled herself out of her memories, focusing on Elly a bit more. "I have had time to learn a great number of trades. If nothing else, the breadth of human knowledge is always interesting to explore. Learning to run a farm is harder than it sounds." Or maybe it was dealing with the horrible little hoodlum that stole her belts. The dragon considered mass homicide again before the sobering realization that the boy was well over a hundred years dead by now stopped that line of thought in its tracks. "...Has it really been that long?" The words came out in a whisper, a memory of how time marched ever onwards.
And sooner or later, it would claim Elly, too - would Nayru only remember her, too, a century later? Life seemed too sacrosanct to be treated so casually, but... she wasn't sure what to do. Thinking in terms of decades and centuries, rather than seasons and years, made it so easy to miss the brilliant flickers of each human life. She had never actually hated that damnable human hoodlum, but their last interaction had been chilly at best. She had always intended to go back and see how he was doing, but now even that would be impossible.
Somewhat impulsively, Nayru wrapped her arms around Elly in a bear hug, silently willing the girl to never disappear. Some flames deserved to burn eternally, regardless of the flaws of their species, uncaring of the sins of the past. "Haha. Yes, I would imagine we would need to fly there." How would the sentries respond to her bringing a human girl to the gates of the fabled city? The thought had never actually occurred to her before, but Nayru shook it off, not willing to let simple logic interfere with the moment. "Perhaps someday, Elly." Of course, returning to Arcadia would also mean returning to Erim, and Nayru knew she didn't have the strength of character or courage flickering within her to do that. Not as she was now.
"I think - we both have a long journey ahead of us before we can plan out that escapade, Elly. You have much growing to do, and I... I do as well. But those who do not learn from the past to repeat it, and I will never make that mistake again."
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