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A private 1x1 Roleplay between Donie and Shiva

It was dark beneath the surface of the of the water where a predator lays in wait. The water shifted around him as large fish slowly swam by his neck and closer to his mouth. He had his jaws open with his tongue floating in the water like a worm. His father had taught him how to do this on his first hunt. He had been told that at a certain time of the year, it was not safe over hunt land animals. For there was a creature out there that would turn him into the prey if he did. This was his first year hunting alone and now was the time of year when that creature was on the hunt. The humans.

His father had told him many stories about the humans. How hundreds of years ago they had been friends with the humans. Back then, small groups of dragons would pledge themselves to protect the many kingdoms. With dragons guarding the lands, few were foolish enough to to attack one of the kingdoms. Due to this, the lands knew a great time of peace. But it would not last forever.

A king fell to lust for power and began a war with one of the smaller kingdoms. This king did not want to wait for years of war to gain victory. So the king requested the aid of the dragons that protected his kingdom. The dragons tried to reason with the king but,he was lost to his need for power. The dragon denied his request. Angered by their answer, the king demanded them to aid him in the war and claimed that it was their duty to the kingdom to do so. Angered by his attack on their honor the dragons told the king to leave their dwellings or they would withdraw their protection of the kingdom.

The king stormed back to his castle in anger. Once their he weaved a story of lies to his men and ordered the first dragon hunt. Under the cover of night, the king and one-hundred of his best men marched to the caves where the dragons lived and slaughtered all but one dragon. Mortally wounded, the dragon traveled to the breeding grounds and home of all dragons. Before he died, he told the other dragons the king's betrayal. Angered by his action the dragons rallied in great numbers and flew to his kingdom. Their rage was great but, their mercy kept them from harming the innocent. They scorched the earth where the king's soldiers stood and ripped through the walls of his castle until they found him holding on to his family. The dragon that was to give the killing blow looked down on the king's family. She knew he had to die but, refused to kill him before his family's eyes. So, she took the king and flew away from the kingdom, calling the rest of her kin to follow her.

She landed on a mountain cliff as the rest of the dragons followed. There she looked down on the king with her piercing eyes. There she told the king of his sins against the very dragons that were his friends and protector and that the price of his sin would be the destruction of his kingdom. Mad with sorrow the king begged for mercy upon his people. The dragons took pity on the man and agreed that they would end the bloodshed with him. With great relief, the king accepted his punishment as the dragon slew him and tossed his body over the side of the mountain.

The dragons withdrew their forces from all the kingdoms across the land to avoid another kingdom from doing the same. But seeds of revenge had been planted in the children of the king and each year, when dragons were forced out of the breeding grounds for food, that kingdom would set out to hunt dragons. As years passed and rulers died, the reason for the hunt was forgotten and became a thing of sport.

The young dragon knew this story well and was well aware of the threat above the suface of the water. He drew his attention to the fish that was edging closer to his mouth. In a flurry of bubbles his jaws snapped shut around the body of the fish. With his kill in his mouth the young dragon slowly surfaced. There was no sign of humans. Tilting his head back he swallowed the large fish in a single gulp. He slowly made his way out of the water and shook the droplets from his body and wings. His deep blue scales glistened in the sunlight like sapphires as he stretched out his wings and pushed his body into the air.

He was still young and was only twice the size of a horse. Still, he was larger than any other animal in the air and had to get high in order to conceal his size from the eyes of man. The young dragon swung his head around as the wind blew past him and a strong new scent filled his nostrils. It was the same scent that his father had warned him of, the scent of man. Worried that he might be seen the dragon pushed himself through the air, away from the smell. But it was too late as arrows began to wiz by. Most bounced off his scales and only bruised him. Others nicked his wings and made him wince in pain. He pushed harder to get further away and he was soon out of the range of most arrows but, one got a lucky shot off and hit him between his wing bones. The pain almost made him pass out in the air. He growled at the pain and put everything he could into getting away.

It was not long before he could no longer take the pain and fell from the sky and into the forest below. A blow from one of the trees knocked one of his wings out of socket as his body slammed into another one, knocking it down with a crash. Knowing that if he did not hide fast the hunters would find him the dragon forced himself to get up. With his wing limp at his side, each step racked his body with pain. He was lucky enough to find a cave and slunk inside. There he knew he would either die or survive. Either way, he would incinerate any that dared to enter the cave.

((Well that was longer then I thought it would be. lol))

The dragon looked down on his wounds. There was no way for him to get away in this condition and the humans could easily wait him out. Anger boiled inside of him as he thought about the humans. His focus shifted as a new scent fell upon him. It was human but, it was not the same as the hunters. It was softer and pleasant to him. It did not reek of sweat and blood-lust. 'This could be a trick to make me let down my guard. I will not let myself fall prey to their tricks.' He thought to himself as the heat from his chest moved up his neck and smoke issued from his nostrils.

He could here the foot step as it drew closer and Darek prepared himself to attack as it moved into his vision. Darek stopped as he beheld a young child with torn and messy clothes. His eyes fell upon her face and he saw a great sadness in them. 'Why is she sad and why is she even here.' He thought as she drew closer to him. He knew this could be another trick by the humans but, he could do nothing to get away as she was now only a foot away from. The laws of his people forbade bringing harm to the innocent. He growled, trying to frighten her away but, she drew even closer. Her hand reached out to touch him but, he stood still, not knowing what to do.

Her hand fell onto his face as he closed his eyes, not sure if he was about to die. But nothing happened and he opened his glowing blue eyes and met her's. He now realized that she was not there to hurt him as she spoke to him. It was the first time he had heard the voice of human. Her touch seemed to wash away his fear of her. 'She must not be with the hunters.' Darek paused as he realized that if the hunters found her with him, they could hurt her to get to him. The words of his mother came to him. 'A dragon must protect the innocent from harm. They have never wronged our kind and still hold our vow of protection. One day you may be faced with a choice to help a human and if that day comes, I hope you will show that human that the dragons have not forsaken them.'

Darek knew that if he did nothing she would surely be harmed or worse. Using what little strength he had left he move past her to the entrance of the cave. He looked up and let a burst of flame fly from his mouth. It hit the entrance and the stone cranked and fell, blocking the entrance. The hunters would not be able to get in and be forced to find another dragon to hunt. Looked back at the girl and collapsed. He could no longer move his body and the pain made it all worse. The girl probably had no idea why he did this and would likely be frightened by the fact that she was now trapped here. He knew he had keep her calm but, he had never connected with a human mind before. He was not sure if it worked the same way as it did with his own kind. None the less, he push a strand of thought out to the girl. He made contact. He could not make scenes of her thoughts as he looked at her with one of his large blue eyes. "You are safe for now..." It was all he could say before he passed out from exhaustion and pain.

Darek drifted into hazy dreams of the past. Moments from his childhood that seemed to comfort him. But dragons did not dream like other creature. Their minds were capable of remaining slightly aware of the world around them as they sleep. Darek could feel something happening and took his attention from the dream to see what it was. He could feel magic being used. 'It must be the girl. How can she have such a gift?' Darek asked himself before he realized that the magic was being used on him. He slowly felt the pain in his wings lessen until it was no more then a dull soreness.

'She is healing me!' He thought as he felt the magic slip away. He then felt her pat his nose and curl up next to him. He could feel that the energy from her body was exhausted. 'Healing me must have taken a lot out of her. He reached out to her with his mind again and could tell that she was now dreaming and even in her dreams her could feel her concern for him' Darek smiled to himself as he reached further into her mind and manifested in her dream. "All is well dear child. I will keep you safe." He said inside her dream before he retracted his mind from her's.

Though it seemed like an instant, much time had passed when Darek pulled himself from sleep The cave was now dark but, Darek's eyes illuminated the cave with a pale blue light. The girl still lay fast asleep. Darek tried to move and winced in pain as he realized that his wing was still dislocated. The girl probably could not reset a joint with her magic and Darek was going to have to do it himself. He stood up, careful not to wake the girl as he moved. He found a log nearby that he could use to bite down on when the joint popped back into place. He took the log into his mouth and placed his wing arm against the wall and prepared himself for the pain. With great force he pushed against the wall and a loud pop came from his shoulder. The wood in his mouth began to creak and crack as he bit down on it with all his strength.

The pain soon subsided and he let the log fall from his mouth in pieces. He looked back at the girl and saw her shiver from the cold of the cave. He move the pieces of the log closer to her and lit them with a spark from his nose. The cave flickered with the light of the fire as Darek move to lay by the child and placed his wing over her like a blanket. As the night passed he kept a constant vigil over the girl.

Darek tilted his head as he looked at the girl. It seemed so strange that this girl had no fear of him as she should. He could only think to blame it on her age. She treated him as if he were one of her own and worried for him like a loved one. Darek felt warm around his face as he looked into the girl's eyes. He shook his head as she offered to heal him more. He reached into her mind again. "There is no need to worry further about my health. I am healed enough to make the flight home and what pain I do still have I will bear. You have already done enough for me and I will forever be in your debt. Upon my honor as a dragon, I will one day repay you for your kindness. The time of the hunt will soon be over for the day and as soon as it is safe I will guide you close to your home and return to my people."

Darek looked at the collapsed entrance of the cave and push his mind beyond the cave. He could not feel any other humans near by. "But before we depart, might I ask what you were doing out here? The dragon hunt should not be witnessed by one of your age. I though others of your kind felt the same way about it." He was slightly angry that any human would let a child near the hunt of a dragon. It was not the same as hunting an animal for food where the hunter would end the animals pain quickly. It was a hunt of sport and show of power. The men would take turns fighting the injured dragon and beat it with metal clubs until dead. His father had once shown him a memory of a hunt that he had escaped many years ago. However his father's brother sacrificed himself so that his father could live. A tear rolled down from his eye as he relived the memory of his father.

Darek could tell that the girl was avoiding his question and was surprised by how she knew how to do that at such a young age. He suspected that despite her messy appearance she could be the daughter of some one important. Darek knew that it would only upset her if he tried to pry further. She had seen his tear and thought it was due to his own pain. "Do not worry, I am not in pain. I was just seeing a living memory." Darek paused for a moment as he realized that the girl likely did not know what a living memory is.

"A living memory is a memory that has been passed down from one dragon to another. The memory that is passed is far more real then most other memories as it passes on the the emotions of the dragon at the time of the memory. When you go back into the memory you can feel everything they felt, hear it, smell it, and even taste it. I was just thinking about a hunt that my father had witnessed." Darek paused for a long time, not wanting to say more about the memory. He simply changed the conversation back to his debt.

"I cannot walk away from my debt. It would be the greatest dishonor to do so. It was because of one man's kindness that the dragons began their protection of the humans. You see we dragons take our debts very seriously. Though we sometimes take years to repay our debt because our debt take much time and thinking to plan out." He said as he tilted his head and drew his lip back in an intimation of a smile. He was not sure if it looked like a smile to a human as it could be frightening or comical to see a dragon smile.

He then lifted his head so that his eyes were even with hers. "What kinds of things would you like to have in your future? It does not have to be an object. It could be a preferred situation, increase in family status, wealth and many other things. Do not be exact on what you want, I must be inspired by your needs and wants to repay you properly. So, close your eyes and tell me, what do you see in your future." He said with a slow blink of his blue eyes.

Darek looked at the girl for the longest moment. It seemed as if time had stopped and the only two living things left in the world were the two of them. Her wish was not one of greed, lust, or power. Her wish was not for herself but, for two peoples that had grown so far apart that they now killed each other without reason. It was a pure and honest request that would be impossible by conventional means but, Darek would not let that stop him from making her wish come true. 'Is it possible that the wish of a single child can change the course of the future?' Darek asked himself and the answer that came to him inspired him him to do something that had never been done in the history of creation.

"I have decided upon your request. But before I make this pact with you I think we should leave this cave." Darek stood and folded his wings as he turned to the entrance. "Stand back." He said as he opened his wings, blocking off the the cave behind him, and let loose a jet of flame from his mouth. The flame hit the ruble with great force as the rocks shifted. The flame from his mouth soon flickered to a deep blue as the stone turned cherry red and began to melt away. The entrance was now completely exposed as he shut his jaws. His wings had absorbed the heat from his flames and prevented them from harming the girl behind him.

He folded his wings and turned to the girl. "The stone is too hot for you to leave on foot. Climb upon my back and I will carry you outside." He said as he knelt down low enough for her to make it up. Once she was on, he stood and walked over the hots stone. The heat did not bother him as he moved forward and he shielded the girl from it with his wings. Once far enough away from the cave he knelt back down to allow her to slide off his back and onto the ground.

Darek looked down to the child knowing that he was about to make a pact that would change to course of history. "Your wish is both complex and simple in nature and the purity of your request revealed to me a way to make it real. We will forge a bond the likes of which the world may never see again. This bonds power will reshape the world. With it we will show the land how the world should be and open the minds of your people. But it will take time for me to make preparations for this. I will leave and return home to make myself ready. I may not return for a long time. So, for you to remember me by..." Darek paused as he stood on his hind legs and reached around his back with his claws.
As he returned to his normal position he held in his claws a single blue scale. He cupped the scale with his other hand and blew on it. The scale changed into a gemstone connected a thin silver strand. "I give you this piece of my soul to keep with you. It will keep you from harm and, when the time has come, It will lead me to your side. When I return I will ask for your hand in marriage. This will be my gift to you and with it I will spend the rest of my life working to make you dream real. Will you accept this stone as a symbol of my promises to return and and marry you?" He said as he held out the stone for her.