Sparks {Solo}

[Shara Tiinedra]

Succeeded by Ignite and then Burn, respectively.

I recommend they be read after, in that order.

---

Recent events had been...interesting, for Shara. The hospitality that Sacaen maiden had shown her. Her journey with the Ilian mage, her discussion with the island sorceress, her first time meeting a fellow dragon outside of Nabata, and then...Bern. She didn't really know to describe that aspect of her journey. It had all slowly opened her eyes to something that she had failed to notice, even as she had embarked on those journeys.

Yet what that something was, exactly, well...that was a different story. More difficult to put into words. What didn't help was the frustration that had gnawed at the back of her mind. It wasn't like her mind was clouded, like it had been after her discussion with Nayru. This sensation was far more familiar to her, for she had experienced it ever since she was young: she had needed to full-shift. Not to fight, not to kill or hunt or anything of the sort. She just needed to let her true self out, even against the stifling air of Elibe.

Apparently Elibe, before the Scouring, had air rich with magic. It could be that the lack of this ambient magic has led to technological advancements for mankind, and thus for Elibe, but imagine what another millennia of more powerful magic could have led to? Magic did not just destroy. If used properly Shara had little doubt it could create as well. There was nothing primitive about magic, and really just about any human could learn to utilize it if they bothered.

Many still preferred the sword. And the sword...it could only destroy.

But yes, destruction had not been why Shara returned to Lycia. With the monsters about the average Lycian did not risk to venture off TOO deep into the woods. Aside from going deep into the desert, or deep into Ilia's mountains, the deep woods of Lycia seemed to be the best place for her to release her true self. And she had. While she was shifted she did little but rest and meditate. Attempt to further clear her mind.

It had done wonders indeed, and so when Shara reverted back to her “human form” she did so with a content smile etched upon her features, and proceeded to walk back towards civilization. Oh yes and she walked...and walked...and walked...

Hours went by and with each tick of the time, Shara's smile began to fade. The dragoness had been rather positive that she was headed in the direction from which she had arrived to the forest, and yet no matter how far she continued to walk it all looked to be the same. Shara gazed up at the sky and squinted. Had she read the position of the sun incorrectly? By her ancestors THAT would be embarrassing.

Admittedly not the first time it happened. That had been what led to the Sacaen incident. Which meant it was a far greater possibility than Shara would have ever cared to admit. In fact the blonde dragoness had been so caught up in her own thoughts, as she often was, that she failed to notice the scarred and shattered bark of the tree she had begun to walk beneath. As if fate conspired against her the tree began to topple forward, slowly.

Shara was not THAT oblivious, though. She gazed up and saw that the tree slowly began to come down on her. A small smirk stretched across her lips. Sure, she could just MOVE out of the way, but thanks to her true nature she could actually-

“LOOK OUT!” A deep voice roared out. Shara's eyes blinked open wide as she felt a great force push her forward. She staggered and barely managed to keep her balance. No! Had some idiot human shoved her out of the way? She would have been fine, better off than they would...

...Be...

Shara looked over her shoulder and saw what appeared to be a man. He had a salt-and-pepper beard, kept relatively short, with short hair to match. He was built strong, too strong to simply be a farmer or even a soldier. Yet he was dressed plain, in a simple cloth shirt with rolled up sleeves. The buttons of the shirt seemed fit to burst, and not simply due to the impressive size of his torso.

It was likely from the pressure of the tree, which the “man” held above his head.

With one hand.

Now this you didn't see everyday.

[Shara Tiinedra]

“Are you all right?” Well, that was almost as amusing as what had just happened. The man who currently held the bulk of a tree trunk over his head with one hand, asked HER if SHE was okay. Hah! If she were just about anyone else in Elibe she'd be either immensely confused or outright horrified. To the man's credit, there were only few signs that he had drawn from his true heritage, assuming that he was of course what Shara believed him to be.

So he truly did just look like Elibe's strongest man.

“I'm quite all right.” Shara dusted her dress off as she straightened her posture. “Your assistance was unnecessary but...thank you, nonetheless.” Shara didn't want to reveal all just yet. The first guess was, of course, that the man was a dragon. This hadn't been as blatant a display as Nayru's, but really what other answer was there? Those Arum creatures? Could they perfectly impersonate a human? Shara found that to be doubtful.

If they could, they'd pose a MUCH larger problem, most likely.

“In all honesty, I should be asking you that question.” Shara quirked a brow and shot the man a wry smirk. He grunted and let the tree trunk roll off his hand, allowing it to fall to the ground with a heavy thud. The ground literally quaked, just a bit, from the force, and a few birds nestled away in nearby trees took to the sky.

“The fact that you aren't asking me that question is what's got me so concerned.” The almost definitely a dragon replied. He rolled his shoulders and regarded Shara with scrutiny. Shara kept her smirk, but she did not say another word. The two seemed to be at an impasse. Neither was willing to fully reveal their hand to the other. It made the air between them tense, but not in the way that a fight was about to break out. In the way that a...

Well, Shara was going to liken it to a chess match, but the male sighed and reached into the collar of his cloth shirt. Mostly likely drawn from an inner pocket, the man held out a rugged stone. It was neither particularly large nor particularly small, and was slate grey in colour. It would have looked like some ordinary jewel to just about anyone else, at least at a first glance.

But Shara knew exactly what it was. So, in return, she reached into the collar of her dress. Worn attached to a necklace as always, Shara withdrew her own stone. Dull amber in colour, due to its inactive state, and roughly the same size as the male's.

“I go by Shara Tiinedra, kin.” Shara stated calmly as released her stone, allowing it to slip beneath the collar of her dress once more. Shara didn't often use the term 'kin', but it was a safe way to acknowledge the nature of the male before her. He seemed to appreciate it, and gave a curt nod of his own before he slipped his own stone back into its pocket.

“Just Ragnis, for me.” He grunted before he folded his large arms over his chest. “What're you doing out here?”

“Something I could ask you, as well.” Shara retorted, with a pinch of playfulness. Shara didn't particularly enjoy admitting her NEED to shift, to allow for her baser nature to take over at least in some way, about once a month or so. Yet she couldn't quite think up another reason for winding up...wherever she was.

“Mhm. I asked you first.” Ragnis wasn't having it, it seemed. So Shara sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“I needed somewhere to...shift in peace.” Shara answered, with no small amount of hesitation. Not so much out of lack of trust towards her fellow dragon, but just in case. She hadn't noticed HIS presence, after all. There could be other humans about as well. Ragnis seemed to understand all the same, and nodded his head. “So what about you, then?”

“I live near here.” The answer was so simple and straight-forward that, admittedly, it had surprised her a bit. Nayru seemed to be a wanderer, as was Shara. She never really imagined that one of their kind would settle anywhere. Besides, Shara had wandered those woods for...the better part of a day. The sun had even begun to set. As far as she knew these woods led only to mountains. Where did Ragnis live, in a cave?

“...Really?” Rather than blatantly insult her fellow dragon, she simply decided to put forth her natural curious nature. Curiosity was innocent, after all, at least for the most part. Ragnis merely nodded before he quirked a brow of his own.

“Yes, really. Got a house I live in about thirty minutes north of here.” Ah, he lives in an actual building! And that was good to hear. No doubt he kept his home at least remotely close to society.

“North? Splendid. I believe that's where I need to be headed, if I want to-”

“No.”

“...Pardon?”

Ragnis unfolded his arms and pointed towards Shara. Just over her, in fact. “You're already heading North, and I doubt that's where you wanted to go. There's nothing out there, besides my house.”

...R-Really? Shara cleared her throat and looked up to the man. Sheesh, her human form was fairly tall for a human female, but Ragnis still had about half a foot on her. “I-I see...”

“You're lost, then?”

“...It would seem so.”

Ragnis let out a sigh before he started to walk past Shara. “Come on then. The sun'll be setting soon, and if I let you wander out in these woods at night you'll get even more lost or worse. You're welcome to stay with me.”

[Shara Tiinedra]

Ragnis seemed rather confident that Shara would take him up on his offer. He did not so much as cast a single glance over his shoulder to see if the blonde dragoness would follow. Likely because he was no fool. Shara would certainly take the chance of resting for the night in a comfortable home rather than wandering the thick woods well into the night.

So without another word she quickly caught stride alongside the tall dragon. Shara had...her fair share of questions. In fact she never truly got out Nayru's story. If she had been alive pre-Scouring or at least during. From the way Nayru had spoken, though not necessarily her tone or dialect, it sounded like she had been born post-Scouring. Just as Shara had been. Was it the same with Ragnis? Unfortunately Shara was at least savvy enough to know that Ragnis was...not likely to simply spew out that information.

There was still a bit of tension between the two. They were both dragons, but that did not automatically warrant trust. In fact Shara was grateful that the male was wise enough NOT to trust her. Some of the dragons from her tribe were naive enough to belief that species truly was everything. In this day and age, where dragons were few and far between, they would immediately trust another dragon while immediately condemning a human.

So, Shara opted to pursue a different curiosity that had pricked at her mind since Ragnis had swooped in to make his daring save. Aside from the fact that he clearly risked exposing himself to someone who, as far as he had known at the time, was a human.

“That tree had suffered quite a bit of damage in a strange spot.” Shara opened, with an almost idle tone. Ragnis had seemed to be content with silence, so Shara did not want to appear as though she was starved for conversation. She wasn't, but she desperately needed answers. “Cracks and scratches along the base of the trunk. It had likely been tilting over for the better part of a day, and I just happened to be fortunate enough to walk beneath it when it finally fell.”

Shara turned her gaze up at her fellow dragon, her eyes glinting as she knew she was onto something. “Does that happen often, in this neck of the woods?”

“...You're sharp.” Ragnis answered with a gruff grunt. He didn't meet her gaze at all, his set straight ahead, but at least he was willing to speak. “Didn't happen too often before. Recently, though, strange occurances have become less strange and more common. Tree was damaged by a creature.”

“A creature.” Shara repeated, clearly dissatisfied with that description. The white haired imbecile she had met in Bern could be described as a “creature” for all she cared, same as the blue haired woman's wyvern could be called a “creature”. Hell, even Shara knew that both she and Ragnis could be described as “creatures” by most men and women. It was NOT a term that offered her the clarity she craved.

“Mhm. Nasty, dog-like monster. Bigger than a dog or a wolf, and a whole lot meaner. A big pack of them showed up about a month back, and they've been causing more and more problems as of late.”

“Aaah. One of these so called 'monsters', then.” It was...a bit odd that Shara was excited at the prospect. No, that wasn't what was odd. What was odd was how Shara RECOGNIZED that this knowledge excited her. Before it would have been simple. 'Ah, monsters. Excellent. A new field of study to explore at last'. It was not so simple now. These monsters had proven themselves to be grave threats to humans, and the stronger ones had even been threats to Nayru.

That knowledge made Shara's excitement feel...selfish. Petty. Wrong. Yet she could not help it all the same.

“You could call 'em that. Most folks do.”

“Most folks? I thought you lived out here alone, or do you visit the closest village often?” Heh, Shara had Ragnis trapped now. It was unlikely the dragon made any trips out to civilization, given just how long of a walk the trip would be. It had taken Shara the better part of an entire day to get out into this area of the woods. Unfortunately Ragnis opted not to acknowledge Shara's play, or at least not vocally, so she decided to take the silent victory and prod back at the issue of the monsters.

“So you were worried for me, then? Not of getting lost, but of being attacked by these monsters?”

“Mhm.”

“You know better than most that I can take care of myself.” Which was fascinating, given that Shara had just met him. Only Nayru could attest otherwise...though Shara was nowhere near her level. Not in terms of power OR skill.

“You probably can. Doesn't mean I want some dragon tearing up these woods. If the whole pack set upon you who knows what damage you'd cause fending them off.” Hmm, Ragnis had a good point here. If things got too bad she could wind up starting ah, quite the forest fire. It wouldn't lead to a situation quite like how Nayru had described her incident in Bern, but it would be problematic all the same. For a variety of reasons.

“Fair point.” Shara conceded with a small shrug.

“Mhm. We're almost there now.” Ragnis didn't have to point that bit out to her. There were...buildings. Barns, and farm houses, nestled away in clearings past the tree-line. Beyond even then Shara could begin to make out what looked like a wide fence. Farms and...a village? There was civilization out here?

“...You lied to me.” Shara was not annoyed, but rather amused. She looked up at Ragnis with a wry smirk. He lived in a community? Was this a village founded by dragons, hidden away like her old tribe?

“Didn't know if I could trust you.” Ragnis gave a simple reply, but at least spared Shara a quick glance this time.

“And are you certain you can trust me now?” Shara questioned.

Silence on Ragnis' end.

[Shara Tiinedra]

Though the duo passed the farmland and approached the village beyond it, Shara noticed that they were not necessarily headed for the village. In fact Ragnis seemed to lead in her in a rather wide arc around the fence that no doubt served as some manner of deterrent for bears, wolves, and the odd bandit. Still the idea of a hidden village was rather amusing, and intriguing. Especially since a dragon was one of its denizens.

“The people that live here. Are they all...?”

“No. I'm the only one of us that lives here.”

“Do they know?”

“Most don't.” Mhm, even more intriguing. The villagers that resided in this hamlet, tucked away from civilization proper, weren't even aware of the literal dragon in their midst. That still only served to raise further questions. Why would a dragon settle in with humans, especially all the way out here. One reason she could have imagined was that the humans were all aware of his true nature, and yet 'most' weren't. That only brought up yet another question: most didn't know, but evidently not all? Who did?

“I suppose you're not going to tell me which humans DO know.” Shara's voice quieted a bit. They were passing the front gates to the village, and she could hear the hustle and bustle of everyday life going on beyond them. Given there was likely little to no trade, those that farmed the land just outside the village were likely did so for the entire village. A sort of 'everyone has their role to play' sort of deal, where provisions were free and provided to all who resided there, so long as they worked. It probably sounded ludicrous to the average person, but it made sense to Shara. Where would coin flow from without trade, and where would they spend it if they did have it? It would simply circulate the community endlessly and serve no actual purpose.

“I'd rather just show you.” Ragnis replied, his gaze once again fixed on the horizon. Gah, Shara was intensely curious about so many things now. How was this hidden village founded, for example? Communities were easier to start than some might expect, but extremely difficult to maintain. Other cities and towns already existed, so if the people in your community were dissatisfied then they would simply move to one of their other options.

Still, Shara figured she'd gathered about as much as she could from questioning Ragnis. Instead she as well kept her gaze fixed on the horizon, and began to see what the dragon could very well have been looking at. A house, fairly modest in size, that stood isolated from the rest of the village. Yet another question raised. Was this the house Ragnis lived-

...Another question. Was that a child, playing on the front steps?

“Papa!” ...I-Indeed. A young girl with dirty blonde hair came bounding down the steps. Given that the only male in sight was Ragnis, she was...referring to him as “papa”. Shara stood, speechless, as Ragnis stepped forward to meet the young girl. Her eyes were thrown open wide, as if she expected a hug, and the dragon smiled as he gave her more than that. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up.

“Hey there, Kara.” Ragnis said, his tone far softer than Shara had heard it since meeting him. The girl giggled as Ragnis spun around, holding her in his arms, before he set her down on her feet once again. “Where's mama?”

“Mama's just inside!” The girl practically chirped, joy clear in her tone and expression. Soon enough her gaze turned to Shara, who was still stunned speechless, and she tilted her head inquisitively.

“Don't be shy now. Introduce yourself.” Ragnis said, a ghost of a chuckle carried in his voice.

“Hi there miss! My name's Kara! You're very pretty!” The young girl spoke quickly, her tone filled with excitement, . It was enough to shake Shara from her minor stupor, before she offered a smile in return and gave a polite bow.

“It's...nice to meet you, Kara.” There was a trace of uncertainty in her tone. Not because she had about ten thousand questions regarding the young girl's exact relation to Ragnis, but because Shara had never been entirely...spectacular with children. At least not in her own opinion. More often than not they had annoyed her in the past, yet already she found Kara to be a bit more endearing. “My name is Shara, and thank you so much for the compliment.”

“Careful now. That's how she gets ya.” Ragnis joked with a bit of a grunt. Kara didn't seem to take any offense, mock or otherwise, to the statement, and instead giggled a...bit mischievously. Warning noted. He then gestured towards the house and smiled down at Kara. “Come on now, go tell Mama that I'm here, and that we have a guest. I'll be right in.”

“Okay!” Kara and her seemingly boundless energy had her rushing back up the front steps, calling out for her 'Mama' as she raced into the house. Shara waited for her to go inside before she turned to Ragnis, eyes still a bit wide.

“Kara is...”

“My daughter, but not my blood.” Ragnis' tone was back to normal. Not quite stoic, but gruff all the same. He started to walk towards the house and gestured for Shara to follow. “Tess and I'll explain everything to you later tonight. When Kara's asleep. For now just...wait before you ask more questions, all right?”

[Shara Tiinedra]

Shara opted to respect Ragnis' request. No further questions regarding that matter until the child was put to bed. It wasn't as if she would have to wait long. Children went to bed extremely early, didn't they? Hm, Shara tried to recall her own childhood for some quick reference. Her parents would put her to bed, and she would stay there, just...she wouldn't exactly fall asleep. She'd stay up for hours just pondering questions. Questions her elders never cared to answer for her. It continued on and on until, eventually, she's set out to look for those answers herself.

And here she was again. Traveling away from home, looking for answers. Except instead of questions about the world and answers that could be found in books, she was looking for answers from herself.

“Shara?” The blonde dragoness blinked when Ragnis called back to her. He was halfway up the steps into the house already, and she had been lost in her own thoughts.

“Apologies. Coming.” Shara stated after taking a few strides to catch up to Ragnis. He held the door open for her and she stepped into the home. It was...cozy. Had a simple entrance, with a rack for jackets and cloaks. Just beyond the short hall Shara could hear the excited voice of Kara, likely talking her mother's ear off about something. She couldn't QUITE make out the words just yet.

“Tess.” Again, Ragnis' tone softened as he stepped deeper into the house. Shara followed him into what appeared to be a kitchen, complete with a table to eat at. Little Kara was standing beside a taller, older woman, chatting away until she saw Ragnis and Shara enter. The woman appeared to be cleaning off some wooden plates, using a bucket of water kept on the counter to aid her, along with a small cloth, but when she turned to see Ragnis and Shara, she set both down and smiled.

“Welcome home, dear.” Tess spoke softly. Regardless of Kara being Ragnis' child or not, it seemed that the girl had heavily taken after her mother. The two had the same dirty blonde hair and green eyes, but Tess' wore hers straight and long, while Kara's hair was tied into two small pigtails. Tess, much like Ragnis, was dressed rather plainly, in a simple cloth dress. “Kara told me you brought company?”

“Mhm. This is Shara. Found her out in the woods.” FOUND her, as if she had been some lost puppy. Okay, she HAD been lost, but...ugh. Shara ignored Ragnis' poor phrasing and instead tapped her chest lightly and gave a small bow.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Tess. As Ragnis said I had been lost in the woods when he came across me.” There, that was better. Still Shara managed to hold a small smile while Tess nodded. Kara seemed to have become distracted with the little doll she kept in her hand.

“It's good that he did. You don't...I'm sorry, but you don't look to really be the travelling type.” Tess returned gently, gesturing to Shara's dress. “It looks lovely, though. Your dress. Are you some sort of nobility or...aristocrat?”

Was...Shara really THAT overdressed? Yes, she did like her “fancy dresses” and the like, and she certianly stuck out in a countryside or village such as this one, she supposed. But the one Shara currently wore wasn't even her most expensive piece. Still, she supposed she'd take the question as a compliment and gave a smile to Tess.

“Hardly, I'm afraid. I'm a travelling researcher, I've just a fondness for well-made dresses.” Shara decided to explain. None of what she had just said was a lie, really. No senseless, self-imposed titles like “Mage Advocate” either, whatever that was even supposed to mean in the first place. All that she had left out was that she was a dragon.

Either way Tess seemed to buy it. The woman's gentle smile lingered on as she spoke on, “Oh, a researcher? We don't get many travelers around here, but especially not researchers.” Already Shara could begin to see where Kara's excitable nature seemed to come from as Tess stepped a bit closer. “Do you mind if I ask what you-”

“Tess.” Ragnis interrupted to draw the woman's attention. She turned her gaze to Ragnis and cocked her head, curious as to what he had to say. “She's like me.”

It was simple and short, yet effective. Shara could literally watch the realization dawn upon Tess. Her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth opened into a proper “O” shape. Kara seemed to catch this statement as well, looking up at the three adults inquisitively, but to Shara's surprise she remained silent all the same.

“O-Oh. Ahem. I see then.” Tess composed herself remarkably quickly, given just how shocked she had been mere seconds ago. Rather than press her questions on Shara further she instead let a smile return to her face once more. “Well Shara, I take it you'll be staying for dinner? It's far too late for you to travel on, especially during these times...”

Shara cocked her head a bit, particularly at the mention of “these times”, but before she could speak Tess' earlier energy seemed to return once again. “If so you're more than welcome to stay! We even have an extra cot for you to spend the night! Dinner will be prepped and ready in just an hour or so, so please, make yourself at home.”

[Shara Tiinedra]

Dinner with the family had been...different from what Shara had expected. Tess seemed to ask very few questions about Shara, despite the fact that the dragoness was very much a stranger in her house. Neither Tess nor Ragnis seemed to care how much food Shara ate, either. Not that the blonde dragon had been ravenous or anything, but she imagined food wasn't entirely plentiful, given what she had concluded about the village.

Again, lack of currency meant lack of wealth. If they all lived together trade was rather pointless as well. Which meant provisions were the closest to currency one could deal out. Still, she would have to inquire about the nature of the village another time. Instead she had been...transfixed by the site of the family eating together. Ragnis, a dragon, getting along just fine with little Kara and his er, significant other in Tess.

There was no doubt in Shara's mind that Tess knew what Ragnis was. She had to. Yet the three were completely comfortable with each other. In fact they...loved each other. The way they treated one another was beyond what Shara had ever seen. There was no tension, even with a stranger present. Not like her home life had been at all: and both of her parents were dragons as well.

It all had left Shara mostly speechless during dinner. She was polite enough, thanking Tess for the wondrous meal enough to have the dirty blonde blushing, but beyond that she didn't have anything to say. She didn't really WANT to say anything, either, lest she disturb the scene that played out before her. For the majority of the dinner Shara simply enjoyed the food and smiled. She honestly couldn't recall when she had last enjoyed company quite like this...

---

“The meal was delicious Tess, thank you.” Shara said to the woman as she came around the table to collect her plate. Tess met the praise with a humble smile and giggled a bit.

“Really it was nothing special, but I'm glad you liked it all the same.” Her eyes drifted from Shara to Kara as the young girl let out a yawn. Shara couldn't really fault her for getting tired after that dinner: she was stuffed as well, quite frankly. “Looks like someone's just about ready to go to bed.”

“I'm not that sleepy...” Kara attempted to insist, but as she blinked her eyes she failed to convince anyone in the room. Ragnis let out a soft chuckle as Tess walked over to Kara's seat.

“I'll get her ready for bed, Tess.”

“No no, it's all right.” Tess said as she picked up the apparently exhausted Kara. “I can get her ready. Just clean up the dishes and make sure your guest is comfortable.” To Shara's surprise Tess shot her a wink before she began to stride out of the dining room. Ragnis watched the two go in silence for a moment before he got out of his seat.

Shara...had a feeling she knew what was going on. Tess was giving Ragnis and her the chance to speak about things, without Kara knowing or around to hear. Not wishing to simply sit while Ragnis collected the wooden plates, Shara got out of her seat and began to collect them as well.

“So...” She began, mind steadily working at a spot to begin at. Really, where did she even start? The dragoness had so many questions she wasn't even sure which was best to lead with.

“What'd you want to know?” Ragnis, however, ever the blunt hammer, called her out as she handed him her plate.

“I guess...the beginning, really. How did you come to find this village?” As far as Shara was concerned that was as good a start as any. Ragnis was silent for a moment as he brought the wooden plates and utensils over to the counter.

“...How old are you, Shara?”

“Hm? The exact year is hard to recall...but I believe 425.” Shara replied, blinking twice in curiosity. Ragnis let out a sigh as he began to dunk the plates in a bucket of water.

“You're just a child, then.” Shara was uh, admittedly glad that Ragnis couldn't see the slight pout she made in response. She was well aware of her relative youth given the longevity of dragons, but she didn't quite appreciate being called a child all the same. “What do you know about the war, then?”

Shara had been under the impression she was the one asking questions, but all the same, she decided to clarify. “Which one? Etruria against Ilia? Etruria against Lycia? Et-”

“No no no...THE war, Shara.” Ragnis turned his head to look at her, over his shoulder. “Our war.”

...Ah.

“...It is known as the Scouring now.” Shara began to reply, steadily moving around the table and closer to the counter. “It ended over a millennia ago. If you count back the current recorded year to year “One”, I believe that marks the war's end, when mankind...”

“Determined our kind extinct.” Ragnis finished the thought. He proceeded to dry the first cleaned plate with a cloth, as the dragon continued to gather his thoughts. “Over a thousand years ago...that's how long I've slept, then.”

“Slept?” Shara cocked her head, immensely curious behind what that meant.

“I was injured in the war...badly.” Ragnis proceeded to explain for her. “Honestly I'm surprised I even survived. I don't know about these current wars, the ones you mentioned, but the...“Scouring”...it was like a nightmare come to life.”

“Anywhere and everywhere had become a battlefield, and every single battlefield became ravaged with magic. Not just the breath and power of our kind, but the unfathomable might of the most powerful human mages as well. The elements tore apart the earth and even threatened to crack open the sky.”

Shara had only heard off-hand, from the elders in her tribe, about the terror that was The Scouring. The sheer number of casualties on both sides were...even with all of Etruria's wars in recent years, even with Bern and Hargus' wars before them, if one tallied up the death toll from them all, it didn't even come close to scratching at the Scouring's. The death tolls were so high that one side was believed to have been driven to extinction, and even mankind had just barely managed to recover.

But Shara remained silent as Ragnis continued to speak. “Every...everyone was fair game during the war. Females, heavy with child...elders...even children themselves.” Shara could hear Ragnis' voice tighten a bit towards the end. Her tactless self couldn't be certain why at first, but as he paused to draw a deep breath, Shara's eyes went wide with understanding.

“Ragnis...”

“I wasn't strong enough to protect them.” He cut her off, almost in a bid of desperation. As if he couldn't afford to be given pity over the matter. Instead he went straight to cleaning the next plate. “Hell it had taken every last bit of strength in my body to crawl away from the battlefield, towards a cave that, for the most part, seemed to be ignored.”

“My body was broken, but it would heal with time. I knew even then. My...my spirit, though. My heart...” Ragnis took the second plate out of the bucket and sighed. “They ached far more than the pain that had wracked my body. It was all too much to bear, and so as I slinked deeper into the cave, driven by my instincts to survive, I locked myself away. My mind, my energy, and my soul, as darkness began to set in.”

“...You went into hibernation.” Shara responded, her voice soft and quiet. Ragnis gave a firm nod. Shara had...heard about this before. Her tribe believed that many dragons had survived through hibernation, and Shara had always been skeptical. She had always thought they were the wild, desperate beliefs of dragons who still could not move past their defeat during The Scouring.

“It felt like both an age and a second. When I finally awoke I was in my human form, deep beneath the first layers of the cave.” Ragnis continued, drying the second plate with his cloth. “The entire cave was shaking, but I was so tired and groggy I could barely register just what the hell was happening. I stumbled and tripped my way through the tunnels, barely managing to throw myself out of the cave and into the light when the whole damn thing collapsed behind me.”

Shara didn't have anything to say. She didn't dare interrupt this story. So instead she simply nodded, eyes transfixed on Ragnis' face even as his gaze grew distant. As if he was...truly reliving his memories. Shara wondered if Ragnis was even aware of her presence, at this point.

“The world I entered was...different than the one I had left. The air was clean, yet it felt stifling. There was no magic in it anymore. The plains and forests before me were not devastated by battle, and there was nary a single person in sight...” Ragnis gave a dry chuckle as he moved on to clean the third plate. “For a moment I thought I was dead. That I had traveled successfully to the afterlife.”

“I tried to make my way forward, towards the forest ahead of me. My wounds from the war had healed, but my energy...I'd never felt so drained in my life. I could only manage a few steps before my legs gave out, and I collapsed face first onto the ground, only for sleep to take me again.”

A brief pause while Ragnis washed his plate. Shara was happy to give him a moment to gather his thoughts, before he continued.

“When I woke up again my world was different. Instead of the hard ground I was laid out on a soft bed. A ceiling above my head, and a table with a wet cloth and food placed next to me.” A small smile began to stretch across Ragnis' face. “I dared not move, my body was still too exhausted, but the food was...very tempting.”

“It didn't last. In a matter of moments a woman came in. Dirty blonde hair, modest cloths, she carried with her a cup of water.” Ragnis' smile faltered, every so slightly. “She said she was glad to see I had awoken...and immediately I felt my stone burn against my chest. She was no dragon. She was the enemy. I watched as her eyes widened, in shock and fear, as my eyes slowly began to change. Most of my energy was still depleted but I could manage enough for some reinforcement, enough to half-shift just a bit...”

“And then I heard a sound. A gurgling chatter. My gaze turned from the woman's and to the doorway she had come through, only to see what looked to be a human infant. She crawled on four legs, attempting to talk but unable to, as she looked up at me not in fear but...curiosity.”

And then Shara saw it. The barest trace of tears, forming in the corners of Ragnis' eyes. His voice tightened again as he began to dry the third plate. “I don't know the exact difference in aging between humans and dragons. I didn't need to know. All that mattered was...was that the baby I lost, when I had last seen her, was about as old as that human infant looked.”

“Any anger or fear I had melted away, the memories of my failure filling the void left by them. I couldn't let myself cry. Not in front of a stranger. Not in front of a human, but...while I went from fury to weakness, Tess had somehow gone from fear to strength. She set the water on the table beside me, and told me to rest. Said she'd come check up on me in a few hours...”

Ragnis, at last turned to look at Shara. The tears didn't run down his cheeks, but they had built up in his eyes all the same. It tugged at Shara's heart, in a way that she was...far from accustomed to, when she met his gaze.

“Tess nursed me back to health, all while taking care of baby Kara by herself. By the end it didn't matter to me if she was human or not, I couldn't just take her hospitality without giving back. Since Tess had...seen that I was something other than human, I told her the honest truth. It took her some moments to process but...she didn't really seem to care beyond that.”

“I helped out around the house. Did chores, did labor, and over time Tess even began to entrust baby Kara to me. Told me she could use a good male influence. And...”

Ragnis didn't need to finish the sentence. Shara already knew how it ended: they fell in love. A human born in modern Elibe, and a dragon awoken from the era of the Scouring, had managed to fall in love. In spite of their differences. In spite of...everything.

"I should have died during the Scouring. I should have died when I lost my family. But Tess and Kara...they gave me another chance. A chance to do right by myself. By my family...because they are my family now." There was silence between the two dragons. There had been such meaning and power to Ragnis' words. The emphasis of family and the...sheer love that he managed to project in his voice. What could Shara say to that?

“That's how I came to be here.” Ragnis' voice began to return to normal. To the gruff, almost stoic tone that he managed to maintain. He gripped the final dirty plate and proceeded to wash it in the bucket of water before he asked. “What's your story, Shara?”

[Shara Tiinedra]

And what was Shara's story? She'd always been swift to answer it in the past. She was Shara Tiinedra, a mage adovcate from Nabata. Shara traveled Elibe in search of knowledge and fascinating individuals, dismissing that which she had already known along with those who she deemed uninteresting. A wanderer, vagabond even, who dressed lavishly to hide the fact. Someone who intentionally drew attention to themselves everywhere they turned yet, more often than not, dismissed any attention she may have received.

Having heard out Ragnis' story, his past, a disturbing realization had crept up on her slowly.

She was uninteresting.

How was she to match Ragnis' tale? Forget even matching it, this was no competition, but how was she to seriously present herself at all similarly to how she had done since she left Nabata? The lie that was her mage advocate aside, what had she done? Travel around Elibe and study, yes, but what had she DONE. Shara had no family to show for her efforts. No recognition, as she had done nothing to deserve any. The thought had begun to realize itself since her conversation with Morrigan, becoming harder to ignore when she met Nayru, but now it was...

“...I'm not sure there's much of one to tell.” Shara practically laughed as she replied. It felt disrespectful, to laugh after Ragnis had shared with her what he had, but the laughter was not directed at him in the slightest. Shara shrugged her shoulders and decided to be forthcoming. “I hail from a tribe, deep in the Nabatan desert. They are stubborn isolationists, refusing to merge with any other tribe or society in sight.”

Shara could mention Arcadia, but she wasn't quite sure they had the time for that discussion. To talk about a small, lost jewel of a city, where liberty and equality and tolerance existed in totality.

“An entire tribe survived the war?” Ragnis asked. He'd turned his body to face her completely, drying the last plate with his wash cloth. “Just...how many of us survived?”

“To be fair the tribe is rather small. It numbers at about twenty adult dragons, last I was there.” Granted that was about three centuries ago. Shara couldn't begin to tell if those numbers had increased or decreased in any significant manner, but if she had to guess, she'd say there was little to no change. “As for our numbers as a whole...more than you probably think, and yet...not enough.”

Shara had always detested her kind, or so she had told herself. The justification being the general ideologies of her old tribe: that dragons owned Elibe by right of birth and deserved to inherit it from humanity, even if it meant conquest and war. Lunatics, the lot of them. Battle hungry fools who failed to learn a damn thing from history, and about half of them had even lived through it!

Ragnis merely nodded his head, though, in silent agreement with Shara's deduction. It must have sounded about right to him, as depressing as that may have been for him.

“Well, I hate to interrupt...” The two dragons turned their head to the doorway, and saw that Tess had just walked through. She gave a sheepish smile before her gaze turned to Ragnis. “Kara wants her bedtime story.”

Ragnis gave a soft chuckle and nodded. With he set the fourth plate atop the other three in a stack and strode over to the doorway. “All right. I'll see her off to sleep, then.” As he passed Tess he paused before continuing. “You'll keep our guest company, yeah?”

“Was even going to set up the spare bed for her.” Tess replied with a smile. Ragnis nodded before he moved on past Tess, while the young woman gestured for Shara to come towards her. “We don't have another room upstairs, but we do have a cot we can set up in the main room out here.”

“Ah, well by all means, let me help.” Shara said as she strode over to the woman.

[Shara Tiinedra]

Shara hadn't noticed when she had first arrived to Ragnis and Tess' house, but they had kept a spare cot pushed off against the wall of the main room. The two females lifted either end of the cot and gradually began to move it away from the wall it had been pressed up against. With a slight grunt from each of them they set the cot down once more. A blanket and pillow were already set atop the mattress, which meant they'd only needed to move the thing so Shara had a touch more space.

“Phew...” Tess sat down on the mattress and smiled up at the blonde dragoness. “It's heavier than I remember it being. Thanks for the help!”

“It's least I could do.” Shara uttered the honest truth as she took a seat beside Tess. Really she...hadn't done anything to deserve such treatment. She had little to offer them in return, even. Coin was of no use to them if they lived in an isolationist village. Food and work meant something, but coin did not. “Really. You, Ragnis, and even little Kara have been nothing but good to me. I...can't express my gratitude enough.”

Tess giggled a bit, particularly at the mention of Kara, and held her smile all the same. “Well, if I can help it, I try to be good to everyone.” A simple philosophy, one that...Shara would have turned her nose up on perhaps even a month ago. Now she had to admit, it sounded nice, even beyond the fact that she happened to benefit from it. “Besides, it's not every day we meet someone else like Ragnis...in fact I've never met another one of his kind.”

Though the woman's smile remained, a tiny glint of curiosity shone in her eyes. She leaned forward a bit as she proceeded to ask: “Um...can you tell me what Elibe is like?”

Shara blinked, a bit caught off-guard by the question. She was also still fairly ah, distracted by what Ragnis had spoke of earlier. The older dragon's tale and how her own story was...nothing in comparison. So Shara gave a light shake of her head, a small attempt to get her to focus on Tess and the present. “I'm not entirely sure I follow you. What exactly would you like to know?”

“Just...oh I don't know.” Tess admitted with a small sigh. That smile never did leave her lips, though. “I just wanted to hear about the world beyond this village is like. Don't get me wrong, I was born here and I'll pass away here, but...I've always been a little bit curious, ever since I was a girl.”

Now that sounded familiar. Shara began to understand Tess a bit more, giving a small smile of her own before she replied. “I can relate to that.” It was an apt description of her when she was younger. Though she grew to become disillusioned with her home, and those she shared it with, she certainly knew what it was like to harbor a curiosity for the wider world.

So Shara began to try and piece together some sort of description. Tess probably didn't need details, no, in fact Shara was positive Tess wouldn't need details. Something short and small, but accurate. A summary of what Elibe was like beyond this little village. Tess waited patiently as the words came to Shara's mind slowly, but surely.

“Elibe is...dangerous. Deadly, and riddled with tragedy.” Shara started with harsh honesty. Wars raged on from nation to nation. People rebelled against those that governed them with sword and fire. Debate and words had seemed to fail just about everyone. Negotiations were a child's dream. Not to mention the threats that Nayru had spoken of. Monsters of all shapes and sizes...and of course those enigmatic Arum.

At first Tess' smile had begun to falter, but Shara wasn't finished yet. Yes, all of those things did exist in Elibe. Yes, Elibe had become a deadly and dangerous land to traverse.

But...

Throughout that deadly and dangerous land there were people like Midori, who would welcome a stranger to their home and nurse them back to health if need be. There were people like Samantha, who sought power simply to protect their home. There were people like Morrigan, who sought out knowledge so that she could bring people together, rather than keep them divided. There were people like Nayru, who would fight monstrosities that most humans never could, if it meant protecting her friends.

...There were people like Tess, who could fall in love with the core aspect of a person. Species, race, or creed be damned.

“But Elibe is...also very beautiful.” Even though the words belonged to Shara, it was as much a discovery for herself as it was for Tess. Shara had never really seen all these different sides to Elibe before. She'd never understood the simple beauty behind small acts of kindness, or just how far reaching and impactful those small acts could be.

War-mongers, monsters, and Arum be damned. So long as there were people on Elibe. Good people like all those that had come to mind. So long as they existed, there was...

Tess' smile returned, and she giggled just a little bit. “That sounds about right. Really I...don't rightly know what I expected. But that sure sounds like the truth.”

“From all that I've seen..." Shara's smile came in earnest, this time. For perhaps the first time since she had met Nayru, that small mental block that had frustrated her to no end had finally begun to truly lift. "It is.”

"So long as Elibe has people like you...there's hope."

[Shara Tiinedra]

It wasn't long before Tess decided to go upstairs and join Ragnis for bed. She wished Shara a good night and made her way up the stairs. All the candles had been blown out, and only the moon provided any light for the house as Shara settled in, dressing down before climbing beneath the bed sheets. It was more comfortable than she would have imagined it to be.

Yet despite the comfort of warm sheets and a soft pillow, likely stuffed with goose down or something of the sort, sleep did not come easily to the dragoness. The myriad of thoughts that had only grown throughout the day continued to assail her well into the night. Questions she wanted to ask, but was not certain if she SHOULD ask. Questions about the Scouring, about what Elibe was like before the war between dragon and man engulfed it. Questions about a world rich with magic, wonder, and infinite potential.

Shara even had smaller questions. About how the village came to be. Why the people who resided here chose to do so or, those born here, chose to stay? And those were but a few of the questions that plagued Shara. Yet even still they were far more pleasant than the thoughts that lurked beneath them. Ragnis' story had...awakened a realization within Shara. The realization that she had no story. She had nothing to offer Elibe. All she did was wander and take, yet had nothing to show for all that she had absorbed. Perhaps...perhaps that was why she sought out individuals who “stood out” to her?

Because they were something she wasn't. They DID things that she couldn't...no, didn't.

It was worrisome. It made Shara feel small, as if she were a child back in the desert once more, yet no matter how long she kept her eyes shut, such thoughts continued to worm their way to the forefront of her mind. Questions she could not yet resolve and thoughts that she could not yet appease.

It was for this reason that Shara was able to hear the sound of tiny feet slowly climbind down the stairs. Given how faint the creaking of the stairs was beneath these steps, Shara could take a guess that the source was Kara. Shara cracked an eye open and, sure enough, she watched the young child make her way across the room. When Kara's gaze turned to Shara the dragoness closed her eye, just in case. She was curious as to what Kara was up to, but she did not wish to disturb the child either.

Though from what she had seen Kara had carried two small dolls, or some such, down the stairs from her room. She made her way a bit further from Shara's bed and sat onto the floor, giving a very light yawn before she began to play. Only tiny sounds and whispers escaped the tired girl's lips as she enacted what appeared to be a scene from a some story or another, using the dolls as characters from the story.

Shara bore no anger towards Kara, but unfortunately sleep would only be more difficult to find if the young girl was going to keep playing near her bed. So instead she figured she ought to help the girl pass the time.

“I'm surprised you're awake.” Kara let out an adorable squeak before she covered her mouth with both hands, wide eyes turned to Shara. The dragoness gave Kara a small smile to help her relax before she continued on. “You can't sleep?”

“Mmhmm...” She couldn't sleep, but she was clearly tired. The Kara before her had very little of that boundless energy she'd seen earlier.

“Me too.” Shara was sure to speak softly. She...would probably be tasked with putting Kara back to bed, but she didn't want the girl to get in trouble over it or anything. Was probably best to ensure they didn't wake Ragnis or Tess.

“You can't either?” Kara asked, shuffling a bit closer to Shara. The dragoness gave a small nod, and so Kara continued. “Could you hear papa and mama talking earlier?”

Ragnis and Tess had been speaking? Not surprising. Some final words before they went to bed. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary there. “No. But you did?”

“Mmh. I can usually hear them most nights.” ...Oh dear. They were still um, talking about overhearing CONVERSATION right? Oh ancestors and not THOSE kinds of conversations. “They try to whisper, but I can still hear them talking.”

O-okay...phew. It seemed they were still talking about conversations. Modest, normal ones. Shara let out a small breath of relief and gave a curious nod. “What sort of things do they talk about?” Was this snooping? Was she helping to air some of those questions that bounced around endlessly in her head? Perhaps, but...well, it was too late to undo it now.

“Sometimes weird things. Sometimes boring things.” Ah yes. Children. Champions of clarity. Shara didn't exactly get annoyed, but she...well, she didn't know what she expected. The dragoness did receive a surprise of sorts when Kara continued on. “I've heard Papa talk about dragons.” ...Well then. That was...interesting.

“Dragons? What about dragons?” Shara tried her best to keep her voice light and soft, rather than slip into her old scholarly mode. Fixated on objectivity and demanding a swift, clear answer. That wouldn't help her get anywhere with Kara and...well, she didn't really feel the urge to don that “persona” if one could call it as such.

“Um...I can't remember all of it.” And we return to “I don't know what I expected” again. Yet just as last time, Kara cocked her head and uttered something truly fascinating. “Is Papa a dragon?”

“I-Is Ra...Kara, what would make you think that?” A mixture of shock and genuine curiosity spurred the question onward, having spoken it before she even considered simply shooting down the question. Perhaps that was what she ought to have done...

“Sometimes Mama or Papa say that.” It was...strange. Kara spoke simply, with no fear or confusion or even wonder on her face. It was as if she didn't actually know what to think about the possibility. Granted she was still a child, perhaps she truly did not know, but it also gave off an...odd sense of maturity from her.

Either way, whether she liked it or not, the ball was still in Shara's court. Obviously it was not her place to break this news to Kara. If Tess and Ragnis hadn't told her yet, there was likely a good reason for it. No matter how well-behaved: children were children. Kara could get really excited with her friends and let it slip, and even if it were dismissed as child fantasy it would still be too close a call. Yet at the same time Shara couldn't simply ignore the subject, or the question. So rather...she'd divert it. Slowly take the focus away from Ragnis and Tess.

“...And what if your papa was a dragon?” Shara asked curiously. She kept her tone light, subtly implying that she was just entertaining Kara's fantasy. “Would that frighten you?”

“I wouldn't be scared of him.” Kara gasped, but then giggled a bit and smiled. “He's my Papa.”

And just like that, Shara was left speechless. The answer had come so swiftly to Kara's mind. As if she had thought it out beforehand or, perhaps, didn't need to think on it at all. Maybe it was just child bravado. Maybe it just played up to the fantasy. Yet Kara's voice and smile had been so...sincere.

“Yes...I suppose you're right.”