Walking in the Sky (Nayru/Elly)

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

It continued to amaze and amuse Nayru in equal parts that the day had gone as it had. What she had not told Aerious - that she had very nearly given up hope for the world she had spoke of, despaired of ever seeing it happen; those fatalistic feelings seemed determined to return and taunt her for having been so weak as to indulge in them. To have so very nearly accepted complete failure, to life in a world so flawed that it was already crumbling apart beneath their feet.

Maybe it was that, the vague realization of what locking herself into a shell of distrust in order to avoid being hurt again had very nearly cost her, that led Nayru to give Elly's speech even a moment's thought. Her first reaction was the opposite; for a mere instant she had thought that she and Aerious would be all that was needed, even as much as she had gone on about it being everyone's dream. A flawed dragon posturing in her own mind above flawed humans. The ludicrous irony of the situation did not escape her. "That was not exactly what I meant, Elly - people need to find their own happiness. You cannot give it to them. You cannot give them inner peace; they need to find their own. You can help sometimes, you can provide the anchor that holds them to sanity, but you cannot simply..." She gestured vaguely, not entirely sure how to phrase her intent. "happiness comes from within, not without."

Their idea - how would they realize it, exactly? Certainly there would be a need to lend humanity some aid to help them survive the coming storm; not solving the problem for them, but perhaps nudging them towards enough unification to not all be swept away singly by the tide. What then, though? Inspiring words at street corners? Abducting and indoctrinating impressionable, overly-enthusiastic pegasus riders?

Aerious' words came back to her, of his warning about the timeframe their project would take. She had known it all along, the sheer enormity of the task cowing her so thoroughly that she ahd never managed to muster the courage to actually begin it, but - she measured time in centuries, not decades as humans did, and in centuries she would still live to pursue that dream, barring death at the hands of another. Elly would be dead long before their dream would ever be realized

It was a sobering thought. Like Alina, another innocent girl would die to the cruel world they lived in long before a better one was brought forth. Like Alina, though, both would do their part to bring about that world, their deaths meaning every bit as much as their lives.

And like Alina, she would remember both of their stories, record them in her mind so that they would live on to see that world even if their fleshly forms had faded away long since. The dragon felt very old and tired for a moment, the irrepressible weight of her dream pressing down on her shoulders. So much left to do, and still so many ways that everything could go wrong. "You do not need to ask permission, Elly. It is your dream now, too. Not just mine and Aeri..." She trailed off, realizing that Aerious might go by a false name, and certainly would be unlikely to react well to a random human girl knowing his name and the fact that he was a dragon. His life story, too, if she continued talking too much longer.

"Well, a friend of mine that you will meet tomorrow. He and I will be leaving around dawn, so if you wish to join us, you should get some sleep." Nayru felt it unnecessary to mention that Zelphiam and Jasper had not been clued into the arrangement - nor that she had originally intended to leave Elly behind alongside them, having had no interest whatsoever in traveling with a group at the time. Amusing how times - and plans - changed so quickly. "But... Elly, we may not be heroes for a long time, if ever. If I can realize this dream - I am content to fade into obscurity. Merely seeing that world would be a reward far more sacred than anything humanity could shower upon me. I would be happy to walk that path with you, but be sure that you are doing this for the right reasons."

It wasn't exactly intended as a lecture, but something about her companion's use of "heroine" had bothered her a little. Maybe it was just that she too wanted to be a heroine, her idealistic mindset warring with the harsh pragmatism of logic, of knowing that much of their work would have to be done from the shadows of history, something that humanity might - should - never know.

[Elly]

Elly let out a deep sigh, relaxing once more. She looked up as Nayru talked, lifting her head from the older woman's shoulder slightly; it was filled with stars now, and the clouds were barely visible under the moonlight, but it was still the same sky she had flown in today, wasn't it? The notion was comforing, somehow, almost like a warm blanket wrapped around her. The same sky every pegasus knight had flown in...it was like a link between them in her eyes. With the wyvern riders, too; their partners might be different, but the sky was the same, right? It was a moment of realization, of understanding that barely tickled at the edges of her consciousness, skirting away before the young girl could grasp it tightly. Not just the sky; the entire world, they were all part of it, part of the same Elibe.

She could feel it. A deep connection, a link between her and the world and through it, every other living being on the planet. All they had to do was get along. Work together. "Everyone can be happy, y'know?" She stopped, suddenly realizing she had spoken out loud; she let her head rest on Nayru's shoulder once more, the comforting warmth warding off the night's chill breeze. "Y'know, it's like I said, I wanna make everyone happy, but, uh..." She struggled with her words, trying to find a way to explain to Nayru what she meant. "Uh, y' were talkin' about a world where everyone worked together, right, and helped each other and stuff, and, uh..." She bit her lips, deep in thought, her brow furrowed. "What I mean is, everyone can be happy at the same time!" She paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. "We oughtta make a world where, y'know, people can follow their dreams, and help each other reach them, so everyone'd be happy with somethin' like that! Everyone helping each other, y'know!" That was it, that was what she wanted to say. That the happiness of everyone could coexist in harmony, that they all could follow their dreams...that was the world she wanted to see!

Nayru's last words struck her as odd, though. They wouldn't be heroines? "Y'know, Nayru? Uh, about what y' said before? What did y' mean by us not being heroines? Like, not being famous?" She reached up slowly, placing her hand on the arm around her shoulders. "Cuz', y'know, fame is nice and all, but lots of the heroines in the stories weren't famous, right? So, uh, being a heroine is 'bout what y' think of yourself, y'know! Always doing good, and beating up the villains!" She practically glowed, a smile coming unbidden to her lips. A true heroine was always a heroine, no matter what other people thought!

Elly fell quiet, her thoughts turning inward as her breathing grew ever steadier, more relaxed. She was still so far away from becoming a real knight, and how could she really help Nayru if she wasn't good enough to become a heroine yet, herself? But...it was scary. "Uh, Nayru?" Her tone was hesitant. Part of her wanted to stay quiet, screamed at her to fall silent, to show Nayru how great she could be, just like she wanted to prove herself to the commander, but..."Nayru, could y' teach me?" The words slipped out before she could catch them, and she bit her tongue. She swallowed before ploughing on, relaxing again now that the question was out between them. "Y'know, I, uh...you always seem all graceful, y'know, and know all those fancy words, and, uh...th' heroines in the stories, um, I've always wanted t' be like them, right? And, uh...y'know, y' make me think a bit of them, Nayru?"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

POST OST: endlessvideo.com/watch?v=uZ_7xq1TIW4

"I wish it were that simple, Elly, but if it were, it would have been accomplished long ago. People are flawed - humanity is capable of great deeds, but equally capable of perpetrating horrors beyond imagining, propelled by the weakness in their hearts. A world in which everyone can be happy is the end result of my goal, not the goal itself; I would stoke the spark inside humanity to become greater than it is, to evolve as a race into what they could be. Free of the weakness that leads to the horrors of reality, of hatred and meaningless killing and wars over land. It will not happen quickly, likely in neither of our lifetimes, and it may require great sacrifice."

Sacrifices like Alina, torn from the world by sheer human ignorance and pettiness, like Aerious's innocence, lke the countless lives lost in pointless wars. The sheer weight of what she had set her mind to never ceased to stagger Nayru, to make her wonder if maybe she hadn't set her sights a bit high. Who the hell was she to decide what emotions an entire race should be able to feel? The idea of a magically happy world was nice, but the more she thought about the specifics, the harder it seemed. Baby steps, though. The journey of a thousand miles began with a single step, can't make an omelette without killing some bandits, so on and so forth - there were plenty of witty sayings that vaguely applied.

Nayru smiled, chuckling shortly as she stared up at the sky. Maybe she could try that again without the preaching. "No, I suppose that for now we should keep it simple. The spark that I have seen in so many" humans "people that hints of the great things they could accomplish - that is all I wish to see. I count myself no god or judge of humanity, merely a wanderer who would see the race pull itself forwards into a brighter future, where... all kinds of beings can live in harmony." It was so easy to say that that was future was impossible, that it could never happen.

"It seems so far away; countless others have dreamed of a utopia and none have managed to realize it, and yet I am arrogant enough to believe I can change the world so drastically when I cannot even change myself?" There it was, the self-loathing and defeatism that characterized her more than she liked to show. Nayru paused for a moment, then continued, her voice softer than before, less recriminatory. Dreamy. "But the moment we say it is impossible, the instant that we truly give up, it becomes fact. Only by keeping the dream alive can we tell if there is a flicker of hope, and only centuries or millennia will bring those seeds to fruition, but it all starts with a dream.

A dream that we can share, that we can share with others. A dream that will go on long after we are both one with mother earth, with father sky above." She wasn't sure that she believed in the idea of an afterlife at all, though definitely none of that religious foolishness the Etrurians seemed to cling to - Elimine had been a woman, not a divine! - but the idea of finally being free to forever ride the winds, to soar through the sky for eternity; there was a certain draw to it that she could not deny. "We all share the same sky, Elly. There are - differences between us, between people, but in the end we are all the guardians of this world. Our world."

She wanted to mention dragons, but that was a story for a very different time, one that she could not do justice. Not when she was such a poor example of one. Elly's questions just got harder to answer, the girl picking up the pace in intensity and depth. It was vaguely amusing. Not that the manakete had ever been particularly good at taking compliments, but that was neither here nor there. "I am willing to teach you what I can, but so many lessons must be learned - they cannot be taught, encapsulated in a tidy lecture or endless sermon. I may have some relevant wisdom from my experiences to share, but I am nothing more than a flawed woman, one who has spent far too long drifting throughout life without purpose or value to the world."

In the end, she would be lucky to escape being a victim of a witch hunt, or just as likely, a bold adventurer eager to mount a dragon's head above their fireplace. "It will be your kind that lead the way into the future, not I. All I can do is poke and prod, try to draw out those sparks I see that my dream may see fruition one day."

[Elly]

Elly sighed to herself happily. She was glad her newest friend wasn't disappointed; for some reason, the thought of letting the older woman down made her queasy. However, listening to the older woman criticize herself...it made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe she had only known her for a day, but what she had seen of the former wyvern rider was anything but flawed. She was every bit as noble as the heroines in the stories, corageous and selfless, trying to save the world. What could ever be flawed in someone like that?

"Uh, y'know...I think you're pretty cool, Nayru? So, uh, y' said y' had, uh, no value to th' world, or something fancy, but I think..." She paused, closing her eyes. "Yeah, th' world would be a lot closer to that one with more Nayrus in it, y'know!" She pursed her lips. "And, what did y' mean, my kind? I'm not that young, y'know, I'm not a little girl!" She snorted derisively. Really, she had turned fifteen a few months ago! The nerve!

Nayru's words echoed her earlier thoughts much more eloquently than she could ever voice them. That connection, that link; she felt a bit guilty about her blind hatred towards wyvern riders. Yes, the sky was the same, no matter if she crossed it on the wings of a pegasus or the scaly...lizardy...leathery...flapping...ugh. Okay, maybe there was a tiny difference there, and it wasn't like she ever planned to fly on a mount other than Heather, but wyvern riders could be heroines, too!

"I won't give up!" She knew she was being stubborn, but..."Y' never know until y' try, y'know! Like y' said? It's not impossible! So, I'm gonna try my hardest to help everyone be happy, Nayru!" She bit her lip, continuing in a softer tone. "It's gonna be long, right? And...I, y'know, I've no idea where I ought to start, Nayru? What should I do?"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"Of course. I apologize; you are a fine young woman, not a child." Pacification, granted, but Nayru had begun to think that perhaps there was something to that. Elly had shown more willingness to face her prejudices than most, at any rate; time alone would tell if her human companion would stick to her dreams when they were were tested. Time would also tell if Elly ever managed to stop jumping to conclusions or entirely misreading situations, but the dragon was a little less optimistic about that.

She chose to avoid replying to Elly's first few comments intentionally, uncomfortable in the wake of the haphazard praise. It was touching that the girl meant well, but Nayru had no idea how to reply to the sentiments. She'd always been awkward at that, pausing only long enough for a vague smile or fumbled reply to grateful villagers before resuming her endless journey, but Elly was someone she was going to have to deal with for a while, and she had no idea what to do.

On the bright side, maybe it would be a learning experience. For both of them. She latched onto her companion's last few words with the desperate grip of a drowning man, eager to move on with the conversation rather than deal with her turbulent emotions. "For now, Elly, we simply travel. I suspect that my companion may have more specific ideas" or at least she hoped he did because she really didn't "but I feel that it would be healthy for you to travel, to learn more of the world about you as it truly is. We both have much to learn."

[Elly]

Nayru's declaration filled her with glee. She hadn't laughed her off! The older knights always treated her like a child. A fine young woman, too! She couldn't have kept the smile off her face if she had tried to; Nayru had her undying devotion. A yawn rose unbidden from her chest, causing her eyes to close briefly. Heavens, but it was comfortable here. She looked up towards the sky once more, turning her head slightly upwards. That was funny; she didn't think she'd ever flown at night before. "Travel?" She breathed in deeply. Now that she thought about it...where the stars the same everywhere? She honestly hadn't ever paid them enough attention back in Ilia, so she had no idea. Well, the sky was the same, and the sun was the same, so the stars should be the same too, no?

"Uh, Nayru," she spoke quietly, her tone curious. "You've flown at night before, right?" If anyone would know, it'd probably be her. "Uh, are the stars the same everywhere? Y'know, they don't move, but I can't remember if they're the same in Ilia." Oh, thinking of Ilia made her feel a little hungry.

She missed her papa's food. He always kept going on and on about how he'd teach her how to cook when she was old enough, so she could run the pub later on. As if she'd want to do something as boring as running the place! But, still, she missed not having learned from him...only because she could have prepared them for herself, of course, not for any other reason at all, nope. She just wanted to try them again. Especially his stew special, that one was so delicious! Well, she did remember some of what he added to it, and she supposed it wouldn't be too hard to find replacements for the rest at the general store, no?

"Uh, Nayru," she spoke once more, her tone laced with muted excitement. "Do y' like stew?"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Well, at least Elly was happy. The little hellion's enthusiasm was infectious - Nayru found herself fighting back a thin smile, the corners of her lips inexorably rising upwards despite her best efforts. "Everything moves, Elly." That sobering memory served to very quickly solve the issue of smiling. If only she had realized that fundamental truth so much earlier, Nayru desperately wished that she could have avoided the mistakes that had cost her so much.

Those errors had made her who she was today, though - and without having learned that truth then, she would simply have had to learn it every bit as painfully later on. If she could teach it to someone less painfully, it was her duty to do so. "The world surges ever forwards, propelled by the inexorable tide of humanity. Progress cannot be stopped - the technology of war, the research of magic, the personalities of individuals." Humanity and other things, thank you very much, but that was neither here nor there. "The stars move, too. That is how navigation works; if everyone had the same stars they wouldn't of as much use. The difference is only notable over vast distances, though, like the width of Elibe."

Perhaps it would be best to save the lecture for another time, Nayru decided. Elly was enjoying the night too much for her to stomach an attempt to ruin it for the girl, and there would be other opportunities. Gracious, but she had no idea how this mentoring thing was supposed to work. That would be an interesting challenge. Maybe she could copy Aerious.

The change of subjects to food caught her off guard; Nayru was somewhat of a wandering food critic, always interested in local delicasies, but had never really thought of it entirely in terms of food; even the more delicious local specialties rarely served to draw her back, all the more because in the interim decades between visits, vendors tended to disappear and be replaced. Made it ridiculously difficult to come back to a specific place. That was likely not something Elly needed to know, though, so the manakete opted for a more neutral response. "Stew is excellent - highly nutritious, can be made to serve any number, and reasonably affordable." There was an awkward pause for a moment as she realized Professor Nayru mode had come back on. "...By which I mean yes that sounds delicious. Can you make us some?"

[Elly]

"No way! Really?" The words burst forth as soon as Nayru finished speaking, shock and surprise overwhelming her, her head rising slightly from her friend's shoulder. She'd thought there might be different sets of stars, but to think they actually moved! She squinted at the sky intently, hoping to catch one of them moving. "Hey, y'know, now I remember! I saw one of 'em move once?" She giggled to herself softly, recalling the scene fondly. "When I was a little girl, Papa an' I used to go out to walk after dinner, y'know, just the two of us? Oh, that was before he bought that old pub."

The young squire wrinkled her nose at the mention of the building, a tinge of disdain entering her voice. She never understood why her Papa would ever want to own such a shoddy place, or have a pub at all. The people that went there were rude, smelled and fought all the time. Plus, all they did was get drunk. Papa had even done the same once, that one night he had gotten carried away."Anyways, y'know, there was this really cool hill by town, we used to go there all the time?" She shivered, and leaned against Nayru once more. "So, uh, that time, we saw one of 'em move, Nayru? It was really fast, y'know, like...woosh!" She raised her hand, fingers extended, moving it from side to side in a swift motion, talking excitedly. "Papa said I oughta make a wish, so I did. And, y'know what, Nayru?" She paused, holding her breath. "It came true!" She sighed happily. It'd be great if she could find one of those again. She wondered if the one she'd seen was still around; it had fallen from the sky, so it ought to be someplace, right?

"Huh?" She uttered, not completely sure she had heard Nayru's last question properly. Did she really want to try her food? "Well, sure! Papa has a great recipe, I'm sure you're gonna love it!" So, maybe she wasn't a great chef. But, she could certainly get better with practice, right? "Oh, but, y'know, we're leavin' tomorrow, aren't we? So, y'know, uh..." She paused, trying to come up with a solution. There was no way she could buy ingredients this late, and they'd leave before the store opened, so..."I know! Next time we're in a town, Nayru, I'll make you a stew you'll never forget!"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Nayru felt vaguely bad for some reason, as though she were taking advantage of the human child for some dastardly purpose, manipulating her to fulfill the evil dragon's nefarious goals. It wasn't her damn fault that the girl was so bloody well easily excited! Humans needed to come with instructions, she decided. Say this, expect this reaction. Say that, expect to get stabbed in the face. Five hundred years and she still couldn't understand them half the time - which was arguably more her failure than any fault of humanity's, but at least most dragons had certain similar fault lines in specific parts of their world views, common grounds based on shared experiences that kept many of them grounded. Arcadian dragons, anyways - the wandering sort were much harder to pre-judge in her limited experience. Humans were so wildly diverse that there was no way to even work with general templates.

Shooting stars. There were as many explanations for them as there were stars in the sky. She had heard that each falling star represented a dragon getting their wings - or dying, depending on who you asked. She had heard that each represented a human's life, which actually sounded relatively reasonable given how unfathomably many there were of each quantity. Ill omens or bringers of joy, deeply related to modern events or completely uncaring of mortal existence; all of them equally based on factual evidence, which was to say that she didn't actually subscribe to any of them. They were a beautiful sight, and as far as she was concerned, that was good enough.

Until she figured out how to inspect them in person, anyways.

"I will look forwards to that, then." Which was entirely true - she loved to eat, and the more local recipes, the better. Maybe someday she'd try to remember some of them. "For now, though, you ought to sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day for the both of us. I will stay here a little longer; I have yet much to ponder."

Nayru smiled, realizing that she was feeling significantly better than she had been before Elly's arrival. Funny how that worked. In playing at helping the girl, she had ended up the better for the experience herself as well. "Good night, Elly."

[Elly]

Elly yawned, the mention of sleep making her feel slightly drowsy, yet the excitement of the conversation she had just been part of refused to leave her. She felt restless, anxious to leave on their journey to save the world. She rubbed her eyes, stretching for a moment before leaning against Nayru once more. It was warm and comfy here in the roof. Did she really have to go down?

She decided to speak up against it. "Naw, I don't wanna leave yet, I..." The rest of her words were drowned as another yawn overcame her, longer than the first one, forcing her eyes shut for a few moments. Well, there was no need to open them right away, was there? She snuggled closer to the source of heat next to her instinctively. It was rather funny, Ilia was much colder in general, but tonight, even the southern breeze felt cold. She giggled to herself quietly, a smile on her face.

"Not sleepy yet, y'know..." She mumbled softly, the day's events catching up to her as her limbs grew heavy, and her breathing slowed down to a steady rhythm. Her body relaxed, and for an instant, she felt as though she were drifting, soaring through the clouds, not with Heather, but by herself...walking in the sky.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"Mmmh."

The breath came out slowly, drawn out as Nayru allowd herself to relax completely, the remaining stress flowing out of her body as muscles uncoiled. She had hoped that Elly would make it to bed before collapsing, but apparently the girl's constant state of unreasonable excitement tired her out as much as it exhausted the dragon to watch it. She really didn't see how anyone, human or dragon be damned, could stay that constantly riled up - certainly it had to wear on one's psyche.

It was amusing how much like a light Elly was, given all the talk of sparks earlier. From a bonfire of vigor to going out as quickly as though her candle had been snuffed. ...Which was a horrible, horrible simile in retrospect. Nayru had the decency to look slightly ashamed of herself, though it was hard to actually feel all that terrible with such a warm lump burrowed into her side. A lump who was going to make it very hard to go anywhere until it moved. Had Elly not been so horrendously guileless, the dragon might have suspected that Elly had seen her earlier thoughts about leaving during the night and decided to stave off the possibility of that ever happening.

She gave in with little more than a token show of resistance, not really having planned to move from the spot for the duration of the night anyways - much to think about and little actual need of sleep led to bad habits, and not always remembering to sleep certainly numbered amongst them. A mishapen half-smile came to her face, unbidden, as Nayru draped the royal blue of the fabric forever hanging her shoulder over Elly's, a makeshift blanket of sorts that she could only hope the girl didn't drool on. When she spoke, her words were quiet, so tiny that they barely even reached her own ears, but fond.

"Sleep well, Elly."

~Topic finished~