#best bearded dragon in the whole world

[lizardlink]

(When all the good stuff has been picked out of the salad, leaving only greens.)

#bearded dragon #reptiles #lizards #beardies #cute animals #lizard link #best bearded dragon in the whole world #the best beardie in the world #cute reptiles #cute beardies

[psychedelic-ink]

ㅤㅤㅤ✦ 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓

ㅤㅤjoel miller x f!reader

genre: angst, hurt comfort, minors dni

word count: 5k

summary: You, both a member of David's group and one of his former victims, are already contemplating escape when Ellie arrives at the resort. Seeking Ellie, you decide to take advantage of the unexpected opportunity to run. But before you can find Ellie, you cross paths with Joel instead.

warnings: age gap, virgin!reader, mentions of past grooming attempt, mentions of cannibalism, past rape attempt, PTSD, blood, canon typical violence, no smut for now, spoilers for s01 e08

a/n: this was previously named let me follow this is also new for me because I've never written virgin!reader before (mostly because i didn't have the best experience with that) but i felt like it was fitting with the story and where i wanna take it in the future.

Revelation 13:3-4 "One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, 'Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?'"

The wind blows cold. You, a girl who has lost everything, sit on your knees on the ice. Your family has been long gone. Your hope dwindles, hanging only by a simple thread. You don't know how long you've been crying. Your hands, young yet covered in the warmth of blood. The scent of pine reaches your nose, and you sniff involuntarily, just like you did before you lost everything. Before the world ended. You hear the sound of men approaching you, and you wish they would just kill you. Sixteen and already you wish for the sweet mercy of death.

“Now what do we have here?” A man speaks, his tone is humorful. Melodic. Your mind and body already slipping and reaching towards the warmth of it. “You poor young thing. Where’s your family, girl?”

When you finally look up from your hands you see a man on a horse. Typical for this day and age. Near him hovers four others. All of them looking weathered and older than you. Your eyes move back to the one that seems in charge. He has strawberry blond hair and a thin beard of the same color. His eyes narrow slightly. They pop under the cold blue sky and the frozen lake. You don’t know what to say. How to answer this man who is an obvious threat. 

He hops off the horse, and you attempt to move away but your legs are frozen in place, your heart beating loudly against your ribcage. He kneels next to you. Observing. You swallow, fear coating your tongue with the taste of bile. His eyes soften when he takes in the sight of you. Bruised and wounded. Your eyes squeeze shut as he reaches out and pushes a loose strand of hair only for the wind to bring it back. 

“No need to be afraid, child. We’re a peaceful group and there are more like us if you want to join.” 

“J–Join?” your teeth chatter, your lips hurting as you speak. There’s a bit of light filling the cracks of the iron cage of your heart. Hope. You realize it to be. Hope that you found someone to help you. To look after you in this infected world. He must’ve seen it in your expression because his soft smile grows, eyes glimmering with mirth. 

“So afraid,” he hums. “But we’ll change that soon enough. You’ve been brought here for a reason. And I think I know what your purpose is in our small clan.” 

He swiftly stands, leaving you dumbfounded and still upon the freezing ice. Your mouth gapes, your body buzzing with a newfound need to stay alive. 

“What’s your name?” you ask. He throws an old coat over your shoulders. Not his own. But one he had extra on his horse. Probably taken from someone else who was more unfortunate than you. 

“David,” he answers gently, as if he’s scared you’ll run away. Before you reach out, he grabs your hand and lifts you. You nearly fall, only prevented thanks to the strong arm that wraps around your waist. He’s warm. Much warmer than you expected. “Lovely to have you with us.” 

The men near him don’t seem to share the same sentiment but you smile all the same. 

You don’t want to think for a while. Maybe not even for a millennia. If possible. 

10 YEARS LATER

Whispers of death surround you. The names of the fallen circling you and squeezing your heart tight. Suffocated. That’s how you feel. Helpless. Trapped. Consumed. Faint murmurs fill the hall room. The cold that seeps through the wood, the same wood that was intended for summer and not winter, worries everyone, including you. But at the same time, you think this is what you all deserve. An icy grave. Freezing to death and surrendering to the cold. 

You were never meant to feel warmth. You know that better now. 

The chair creaks next to you and when your eyes shift to the side. You see James taking a seat. A sudden rage fills you. An indescribable rage. It disappears as soon as it appears like it always does. He turns to you and gives you a curt nod. You don’t nod back. He might think he’s looking after you but he’s not. All he’s done is turn the other cheek to a faith that is spewed by a liar. A deceiver. A disgusting man that makes your stomach turn—

The aforementioned man finally stands and clears his throat. Loudly. But not loud enough to overpower Hannah’s cries. She sniffles. Rubs her eyes roughly. Her mother wraps an arm around her and starts whispering words of comfort. You have no idea what that comfort would be since it was her father that had died. You remember the day you lost your parents. You felt utterly defeated at the time. Hopeless. Swallowed by darkness. Your eyes rubbed raw and stinging from crying and crying and crying—

David opens the bible and reads. His glasses are perched innocently above his nose. His voice, despite the rasp of time, still carries that melodic lilt. You don’t listen. Refuse to. 

“And I saw a new heaven and a new Earth. For the first heaven and the first Earth were passed away. . .”

You close your eyes with a stuttered breath. Your body is thrumming. Your legs shaking and heart pounding. These are the most painful times for you. The times where you have to listen to him and pretend to be moved by God’s will. You hate hearing his voice. The same voice that told you you were his. The same voice that commanded you to strip for him completely when it was only your arm that was wounded. 

Your pulse quickens. Your cheeks grow warm. 

You can’t breathe. You can’t breathe. 

It happened years ago but it doesn’t matter. No matter the passage of time it still feels like it happened yesterday. His touch on your cheek. The way his blue eyes ate you up as he stalked around you, pretending to be worried while he was just taking in the sight of your body. A soft touch here and a soft touch there. Knuckles following the curve of your spine. Palms feeling the weight of your behind. The memory makes you sick. The way he was marinating you for something unspeakable. 

He enjoyed when you flinched. Enjoyed the way you whimpered and curled away. He laughed and did nothing else. He wrapped a bandage around your arm while you remained stark naked. Then he left. Leaving it to James to come to the room, telling you to get dressed while averting his eyes. 

You jerk, eyes going wide as a sharp cry echoes within the thin walls. 

“. . . And I heard a great voice out of heaven say, ‘Behold… the tabernacle of God is with men. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes—’”

He’s trying hard to ignore it. You can tell by the way his lips twitch ever so slightly, his nostrils flaring with annoyance when another cry is heard. 

He stops. 

And your heart stops along with it. 

You’re still afraid even when his anger isn’t directed at you. Cold beads of sweat make you feel clammy and gross. You want to hide. And even though you blame him, you want to move closer to James, hoping that whatever it is that’s going to happen, he can shield you from it. 

David turns his gaze towards Hannah and Joyce, Hannah’s mother, and lets out a sigh as if it pains him to see someone so distraught. 

“I’ve read this passage too many times,” He walks towards Hannah, his brows slightly furrowed and eyes full of rue. He places the book on the table and removes his glasses, placing it above it. You’re surprised when he kneels but your stomach twists as he places a hand above Hannah’s knee. She’s unaware, her bottom lip trembling. “Do you remember what comes next?”

She shakes her head. 

“‘And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes… ‘that there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither will there be any more pain… for the former things are passed away.’” 

Your eyes move to the crowd. Everyone holding on to one another, eyes red and wet. Hannah takes a sharp inhale, your gaze promptly landing back to the scene. 

“Do you know what that means?” She nods and when she does, David grips her shoulder. “Good.” 

He exchanges a glance with the mother and stands up, a groan dropping from his lips as he does so. You feel a momentary satisfaction at his discomfort. 

“When can we bury him?” 

The question surprises everyone, including David who doesn’t show it. The only oddity is him looking at James, a gaze so quick and short that if you hadn’t been sitting next to James you would’ve missed it. “The ground is too cold to dig. We’ll bury your father in the spring.”

Hannah seems content with the answer for now. The sermon is over when David opens the doors. His eyes linger on you as you get up, slow and groggy. Despite her recent loss, you find Hannah to be lucky. At least she had someone to protect her for a good while, her body free of being viewed as an object that belonged to someone else. 

You don’t look at either James or David as you leave. Not that it mattered. They were too busy talking amongst each other.  

You wipe the snow that catches over your eyelashes with the back of a gloved hand. Everyone had a job to do and yours today was to chop wood in the freezing weather. You hate the feeling of shivering and sweating at the same time. It’s a disgusting feeling. But you were the youngest of the group—and had fallen out of favor with David, which meant that he didn’t try to get into your good graces by giving you the stay-by-the-fire duties. Not that you missed it. You’d rather freeze to death than give any part of yourself to him. 

Your feet drag over the snow. Your biceps ache with the added weight of the firewood within your arms. Breathing from your mouth, your eyes are drawn to one of the sheds. That place always gives you the creeps. It’s always locked. The windows dusty and blocked by cabinets from the inside so no one could see. You never thought of asking what the hell was in there, no one else did either. Everyone just wanted to survive. A herd of sheep following the blood-stained mouth of their leader. Not that they knew he had a blood-stained mouth. That information was only reserved for his victims and James. 

A log slips from the top and you loudly groan towards the sky. You need to leave this hell hole. You don’t know when. But you have to. 

Just as you lean down you sense someone coming towards you at full speed. Jumping, you move back only to see James huffing and puffing with a small package in his hand. You raise a brow. “Weren’t you supposed to be hunting?” you ask, picking up the log. “What the hell are you doing here running like a maniac? ‘Scared the shit out of me.” 

“David is at gunpoint.” Good. “And the crazy girl demanded some medicine. Hopefully, I can sneak up on her.” 

You scoff, “A girl? Since when does David follow any kind of demand?” 

“It’s complicated.” He looks uncomfortable, you must’ve struck a nerve with that. “She’s with the man that killed Alec.”

“You’re taking medicine to her? Actual medicine.” 

“David said. . .” 

You raise a hand and shoo him away, “Just go. I don’t care.” 

Watching him leave, your brows knit tightly together. This had to be a joke, they found the girl and by proxy, the man who killed Alec and. . . David is helping the girl? You don’t necessarily care for revenge— but the fact that he’s actively wanting to show just how kind he is to this girl is suspicion-worthy. He likes what he sees and pulls a curtain over his true colors to obtain it. You know word of this will come out soon. You’re positive that James told at least one person when he went in to get the medicine. It would spread like wildfire. 

And most of the people here, starving and cold with no warmth left in their chests are hungry for the heat of revenge. 

Just like you had predicted rumors were spiraling. 

You’re sitting someplace unnoticeable and near the windows. Snow hits the glass like heavy rain. The clear panels freezing over, you visibly shudder. Your decades-old jacket isn’t enough anymore to keep you warm. 

Your head turns with another whisper coming nearby. Something about a girl being with the man who killed Alec. Your eyes shift to Hannah and her mother sitting in the middle, the young girl seemed furious, her eyes hardened but still carried a juvenile chubbiness in her cheeks. The look doesn’t suit her. It looks like a drop of blood on top of snow. No one is touching their food. Steaming bowls of meat sitting on top of weathered tables. You’re not hungry so you push it away. You’re hoping with every fiber in your body that they haven’t found the girl. You wouldn't wish David on even your worst enemy.

The doors open with a loud, bone-chilling creak. You jump at the sound. Soft flakes of snow hurry inside, melting as soon as the light touches them. James holds the door open for David and the latter, with great effort, drags a large stag inside. The entire room stops breathing, their eyes glued to the scene, their minds full of questions. 

The door closes. Suddenly you feel trapped and suffocated. 

“Big one,” David says, looking towards the tables with a crooked smile. Not even one person is talking now. Just deafening silence. James moves away quickly, his eyes find yours, and takes a seat next to you. You’re not sure why he hovers around you. Maybe in some sick way, he thinks you’re friends? 

David sighs loudly, bringing your attention back to him. “If you’ve heard a rumor… yes, we found a girl who was with the man who took Alec from us. When the sun rises, I’ll lead a group out to pick up her trail. Won’t be hard to find in the snow. We’ll follow it to wherever they’re hiding… and we’ll bring that man to justice.”

“You should kill him. You should kill both of them.”

David’s head snaps towards the vengeful voice. Your blood freezes, a tingle settling at the base of your neck, your skin grows taut over your muscles. You’re afraid. And your fear only grows when David stalks towards the girl, a faint smile on his lips, he removes his gloves. One by one. His movements slow, unrushed. He stands in front of Hannah, briefly stares down at her—

You flinch at the sound. The loudest smack and thud you’ve ever heard. Your eyes widen, heart beating in your throat as your eyes remain glued to Hannah who’s scrambling on the floor. David seems unbothered by it. Like he hadn’t just backhanded a young girl. The mom stands, murmurs getting louder, without thinking you attempt to get up too, thinking of all the ways you can kill the man. 

But James—fucking James—he stops you with a hand on your knee. You give him a disgusted look and he quickly pulls his hand away. But the damage was done. You settle back, the chair groaning underneath you. 

You watch as David halts the mother with a single hand, gently gesturing her to sit back down. She does—she does and it drives you insane. It’s surreal almost. There’s a loud hum in your ears as David kneels next to Hannah, her eyes looking anywhere but him. Scared, she takes David’s offered hand. You feel sick. Your stomach churns, bile rising to your throat. He helps her up and sits her down. He’s still on his knees, his eyes soft. 

Disgusting. 

“I know you think you don’t have a father anymore. But the truth is, Hannah, you will always have a father. And you will show him respect when he’s speaking.”

Tension rises with his words. You can tell from the brief glances that happen behind David’s back. However, it’s not enough. No one does anything. They just sit and wait as Hannah’s mother brings David a bowl of food. They begin to eat, the rest follows. 

Spoons clink. Wind blows. Birds caw.  

You look down at the meat, clutching the fork in your hand. You can’t. Something disturbs you. James also lingers before he takes the first bite. Something in his eyes makes you rather starve than taste. 

You look back at Hannah. Her bottom lip is trembling, her cheek red. 

She eats. 

“Where is she?” 

David’s eyes glimmer with amusement, his teeth showing as he smiles. You’re out in the open. Snow falling all around you. Your chest squeezes. You can barely breathe, yet your chest continues to rise and fall. 

“Is my little lamb jealous?” Heat simmers under your skin. How fucking dare he? “Head back. This doesn’t concern you.” 

“Like hell, it doesn’t,” you snap. His eyes narrow and for a brief moment, your mind flashes images of him tying you to the bed whenever you swore. A nasty shiver crawls up your spine. “Let her go.” 

“And why would I do that?” he shakes his head. “Do you want to know why I never touched you again? I got bored. I knew I could have you whenever and wherever I wanted. The fire in your eyes died. You had no fight left in you.” he chuckles. You’re trembling now, your legs feeling weak underneath you. “And I enjoyed seeing the fear in your eyes whenever I entered the room. . . wondering. . . thinking about when I would finally make you my own.”  

You don’t know what to say. The snowfall picks up in pace. Hurling, dancing around you both. A sign of a storm. The cold kisses your cheeks. David grins and extends his arms towards the sky, you take a step back. 

“I finally found myself a pet that’s fun to play with. Someone that won’t be so easily broken.” 

Broken. Broken. Broken. 

That’s what you are, isn’t it? Broken. Alone. Unwanted. 

You have to get to the girl and get the hell out of here. 

You lift your chin, “You’re sick.” 

Bad move. His nostrils flare with anger as he grips your chin and forcefully brings you closer to his face. As someone who went on and on about you being too submissive for his liking, he sure as hell seems to hate that you’re defying him. 

“Don’t you dare talk back to me,” he spits, squeezing your jaw until your lips part with a whimper. “I'm the one who saved you and spared you. I’m a good man but never forget that you belong to me.” Without hesitation, he cups you between your legs. You stiffen at the touch, fear chills your skin, feeling little pins needling into your muscles. “You’re mine to break and when I do, you'll love it. And you'll finally be a woman.” 

He doesn’t linger. Leaving you, he disappears between the cabins. You collapse to the snow, shaking, trembling and tears flooding your eyes. You fist at the snow, your fingers becoming numb as it melts between your fingers. You were a fool to think that you were safe. You genuinely thought that after so long he’d let you do your own thing within the community. But no. He still had his eyes on the “prize”.

You want to run into the forest but you can’t. Your eyes fall to the ground where his footsteps are perfectly visible. Now you know where the girl is. 

The door that is always locked is open. 

Your brows knit together as you observe the old wood swaying back and forth due to the wind. Your skin is icy cold. Coming closer you see that the lock had been broken, shattered. You see a spray of blood on the snow and that entices you to take a step forward into the dark cabin. You know you shouldn’t be taking any detours. Your backpack is secured tightly against your back filled with essentials and some sentimental items you gathered during the years. You should go. But you’re curious. You have to know what’s been in this shed for all these years. 

You sigh. Curiosity killed the cat. 

“But satisfaction brought it back,” you murmur. 

You pull out your gun, your finger on the trigger as you explore. It seems pretty standard. Some items, lots of dust—

Two large hands shove you roughly against the wall. You choke, all the air leaving your lungs as your gun is knocked out of your hand. Momentarily you’re pulled away and slammed back against the wall again, this time the back of your head thudding against the wood. You groan in pain. Your body screaming at you to run and hide. 

“Where is she?” you hear a man hiss through gritted teeth. “Where the fuck is she?” 

You’re slammed once more, tears prick the corner of your eyes and you barely manage to raise your hands. 

When you finally manage to open your eyes, panting heavily, you see a disheveled man. At first glance, he doesn’t make you feel that you’re in danger—which is an ironic feeling considering the throbbing at the back of your head is his doing. Lines run across his face, his eyes full of worry and anger. You immediately know who he is. There was only one girl after all. 

“You’re—” you swallow. “You’re him.” 

His hand tightens around your throat and a gun is hastily pressed against your forehead, “Tell me where she is or I’m shootin’ you.” 

“I’m actually trying to find her myself,” you answer, which by the looks of it was the wrong this to say. “I—I wanted to help her. Free her. David. . . the man that took her—he’s a monster.” 

His eyes narrow, “You from this community?” 

“He took me in when I was sixteen,” you explain. “I had no choice but to join.” 

“And why should I trust you?” 

“Because I know exactly where she is,” you bite the inside of your cheek. “And I know that you’re hurt. I can help.” 

“Then what?” 

You shake your head, not understanding. He clarifies. “You help me and then what? What’s the catch?” 

Your eyes blur with tears. You’re just so fucking tired. 

“I just want to leave.” 

Something about the way you whisper must’ve wake something in him because he lets you go. He lights the flashlight. “I ain’t in the business of takin’ in strays.” 

What? “What?” 

“Just leave. I don’t need your help.” 

“You—You don’t understand!” Just as he turns you jump towards him, fisting the back of his jacket, the fabric isn’t soft enough for you to get a good grip on him so you grab his shoulder instead. “He’s a monster! Everyone fucking underestimates him—he’ll—he’ll—!”

He stills. Rushed steps coming to a halt. You think he’s going to shove you off, push you away but he’s glued. With the fear of silence, you pull back and step to the side. He’s still not acknowledging you. His hard gaze glued to where the flashlight is illuminating. You follow the light speckled with dust. Horror curling in your stomach like a hook. 

There are three of them. Three bodies hanging like animals being prepared to cut into pieces. 

“Oh god—” 

You bring your hands to your head, your heart ramming into your chest, you shake your head. “No, no, no, no—” You take a step back. The man rips his gaze away from the bodies, away from what it implies. You take another step back and another. You’re shaking, your eyes glued to the floor. He—David—he fed you people. 

Fucking people. People that you knew.

Finally, the scent hits you. The smell of flesh and blood. 

You scream. 

The man is on you in an instant, you tumble to the ground and he goes down with you willingly. “Shit—no no no. Shut the hell up— shut the hell up.”

The knot that forms in your throat is large and uncomfortable. You bawl your eyes out, hiccuping against his chest. He takes you into his arms and you can’t be bothered to think of the why of his actions. His biceps tighten around you. You’re still shouting, still thrashing around, crying—he presses you further into his chest, muffling your sounds. You vaguely hear him shushing you, telling you it’s gonna be alright. Lies. He’s telling you lies. 

You start to quiet down and only then do you begin to make sense of his words. He’s murmuring bits of his life. Of what he’s seen. You finally learn the name of the girl: Ellie. The thick baritone of his voice is like a melody. It soothes you. Maybe not fully. But it helps calm your raging heart. You breathe. He smells like wood and snow. 

“Thank you,” you manage to whisper, pulling away. “Please let me help you.” 

“Yeah—Yeah, you can help.” He guides you to your feet in a way that your back is turned to the bodies. Just the thought of what's behind you makes your lungs cave in. 

“What’s your name?” you ask, desperate for any kind of distraction. 

“Joel.” 

“Alright, Joel,” you head towards the door. “Let’s go.” 

She escaped. 

You can’t help but be impressed at the sight of an empty cell. But the pride for a girl you haven’t officially met dies in your throat when you see who’s against the wall, covered in blood. 

“You knew him?” Joel asks, his tone lacking any kind of grief. A question asked more so as a courtesy than actual worry. 

You stare at him. His blue eyes now lifeless, lips parted. It almost looks like he’s sitting, just taking a rest on the cold floor. It would be easy to make you believe that if it wasn’t for the cleaver sticking out of his neck. 

“No,” you answer dryly. Yet, you still walk to the dead man and gently close his eyes. You warned him this would happen. Joel doesn’t ask any more questions. He doesn’t have to. “We need to find her before David gets to her.” 

Joel immediately rushes out, you following him close by. You feel utterly useless. You have no idea where Ellie might’ve run off to. It doesn’t help that some part of your brain is still occupied with James. You hated him in a way but still, he was there. You’ve known him nearly your entire life. It felt off to be the one to close his eyes. 

The storm had stopped. The sun reflecting from the snow irritating your eyes. Joel seems to be getting irritated with every step. Desperate. 

He’s the one that sees her first. 

Ellie staggers out the large building currently being engulfed in flames. Her walk is uncoordinated, her steps uneven as she breathes in the icy air. Before you can warn Joel not to startle her, he’s already running, grabbing her by the shoulders. Your heart shatters into a million tiny pieces when you hear her screams and shouts. 

“It’s me,” Joel says, cradling her face with both hands. She hits his chest with sideway fists, he holds her more firmly. “It’s me.” 

You see it in her face, the exact moment she realizes. You see blood splattered across her face, her expression hurts you. It’s the same expression you’ve seen on yourself for years. 

“Hey… look. It’s me… It’s me. It’s okay.”

She mumbles, “He—” Before Ellie can complete the sentence she wraps her thin arms around Joel, the man hugs her tight. Your heart shatters then. The damns you were so adamant on keeping locked being teared down by people you barely know. 

You cry. Salty tears just bursting out of your eyes. There’s no slow build, no single tear and then the rest. It just all comes down flooding. Your shoulders sag, your fingertips numb. 

“It’s okay. It’s okay, baby girl. I got you.”

You sniff and look up to the sky. Fuck. It’s so hard to stop when it begins. You see grey smoke rising into the crisp air. He’s dead. You don’t need to see the body to know that he is. 

Your eyes drop to the two survivors embracing infront of you. That girl saved your life while you were trying to save hers. You were too late. Both of you were. She looked the beast in the eye and slayed it. Freeing you. 

They part and Joel quickly wraps his jacket around her tiny trembling shoulders. You’re empty. What now? That was his question. You don’t know. Do you go back? Do you explain to the people who David manipulated just how horrendous he really was? Would they believe you? 

Your eyes are drawn to a flicker of movement. Joel is looking straight at you. Ellie still unaware of your presence and you can’t blame her. 

You’re lost. 

But then his eyes soften with something akin to understanding and he gestures you to follow. 

Like a lamb to a stream, you do. 

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x fem!reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fanfic #the last of us fanfic #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfic

[mammameesh]

12 days of fandom

Merry Christmas (Eve) my friends! I've been very busy, but I still wanted to participate so enjoy my 12 days of Christmas all at once!

In No Particular order:

Noble Beloved by AWorldOfDreams @a-noble-dragon

from the author : Schitt's Creek has a secret. And it's a rather large one. David's not at all pleased that this secret involves him, becoming a Dragon Liaison Officer. Because Dragons don't exist... right?

2.

Marcy's Girls by Turkey_Virgin @tyfinn

from the author: Marcy is left alone with Alexis and Stevie after David has to pick Patrick up from a vendor run. Alexis and Stevie both turn to Marcy for relationship advice, and Marcy finds herself to be a substitute mother to the girls.

3.

Marcy's Innocent Questions by Characterassassination @characterassassination-at-9am

from the author:

A series of chapters wherein Marcy Brewer, mom extraordinaire, is a little naïve about Patrick and David's relationship, and maybe gay relationships in general? "Queer things" in general? Not sure where this one's going to go, but I love Marcy and I love embarrassing her and Patrick a just a touch....so we'll see. I just thought it'd be a fun idea to explore.

4.

Apricity by Demora00 @demora00

from the author: “‘ – advised by the Council that in a bid for reconciliation, any members who cannot prove significant and meaningful attachments in North America within 60 days are to return to their originating nation.’"

5.

Conversion (Part One) by Obsessedwithdavrick @obsessedwithdavrick

from the author:

Patrick Brewer had grown up within the confines of the Catholic church.

He was baptised in the nave of the St Celeste church, received his first holy communion in tandem with his cousins and attended the small primary school adjacent to it until he was old enough for high school. He then joined his cousins and the other children of the town, travelling thirty minutes by bus to Ingleside to attend the Catholic high school, where the cohorts were split by gender.

When he wins a coveted Baseball Scholarship to play and study at the University of Toronto, he is matched with an enigmatic roommate, David Rose. David upends Patrick's life (in the best possible way) and takes him on a journey of self-discovery he hadn't realised he desperately needed.

6.

Everything's Too Cold... But You're So Hot by ApothecaRose @apothecarose

from the author:

When David's ex, Sebastien Raine, unexpectedly shows up in Schitt's Creek, David enlists the help of a stranger on the street to pretend to be his boyfriend in an attempt to get rid of Sebastien.

7.

102 Words by RamonaFlow @ramonaflow

from the author: This is a collection of 102 ficlets consisting of 102 words each using this prompt list

8.

[Art] Painted Pride by lizzie_bennetdarcy @lizzie-bennetdarcy

from the author:

David and Patrick paint themselves for Pride

9.

dinner by flowertrigger @flowertrigger

from the author:

Patrick’s parted lips are as shiny as the glazed ham Marcy pulled from the oven twenty minutes ago and looking just as delicious.

10.

Won’t Love Anyone Else Like I Love You by LikeItsAllInfinite @like-its-all-infinite

from the author:

David Rose is about to turn eighteen and his whole world is going to change when he swaps bodies with his soulmate. Patrick is here to help, but what will David do when he wakes up and Patrick isn't his soulmate? And how will he tell his soulmate he can only ever love Patrick?

11.

Hydrate. Caffeinate. Medicate. Repeat. by coffee_and_glitter @fictasticvoyage

from the author:

Patrick starts meditation to help with his mental health. He and David try a 30 day challenge to focus on their mental well-being, sometimes individually, sometimes together.

12.

It's Photoshop. by jesuisici33 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)  @jesuisici33

from the author:

TK meets a friend who also likes bearded dragons. And Carlos' secret comes out.

#12 days of fandom #all at once #mostly schitts creek

[toothbrushfingers]

i hate on The Hidden World more than anyone i know, but i have to be honest. I don’t hate it as much as I let on.

Now that certainly doesn’t mean I like it, because I don’t. But I’ll still rewatch it whenever I rewatch the rest of httyd.

There are bits of the movie that I like, and even bits that I love. The most obvious of those things is the score. Once again, John Powell really popped off with this one. Had it not been for the score I probably would like this movie even less.

I also really like the armor, I think it’s super cool, along with their outfits. Granted, they’re not as strong as the first two movies, but they’re not awful.

Another thing I like about this movie is the humor. Hiccup’s retained most of his dry humor from before, and about 85% of the movie’s jokes make me at least chuckle. I know some people thought Tuffnut’s whole “beard” thing was stupid, but I thought it was funny and very in character.

Had this been a stand alone movie as apposed to the end of a trilogy I’m sure I’d have absolutely no issues with it.

However, unfortunately, the issues outweigh the things I liked and that’s just ruined the movie for me.

Like I said before, about 85% of the jokes did in fact land with me, but there were some that I just couldn’t even smile at. Like first off, the “Who died and made you cheif?”… That. That line single handedly destroyed my view of this movie. It is one of the most out of character things I’ve ever seen. Snotlout, the man who cried when his cheif and best friend’s father died, who retrieved the arrows for his funeral, who has had some of the most character growth through this entire franchise, would not have said that. In fact Snotlout himself is really out of character this entire movie. They took his “bully”ness from the first movie and said “mmm we need more”, saying stuff like “when Hiccup blows it as cheif-“ yada yada, as well as his weird obsession with Valka, Hiccup’s mother. In the books, Snotlout and Hiccup are cousins, and while I personally don’t headcanon that for the movie verse, there are still plenty of people that do. Another joke that just didn’t land with me was the entire scene of Toothless and the Light Fury flirting in the cove. Toothless turned into a literally puppy in this movie, and i don’t mean that in a good way. And the Light Fury? She’s just mean to him. She is! For no reason! She has a reason to dislike humans, but other dragons. Especially one she’s trying to lead on.

And the sheer amount of continuity errors is unforgivable. You cannot ride a two headed dragon with only one rider so they shouldve known Ruff was gone. etc etc. There are more but that’s a tangent for another day.

Aside from bad jokes, ooc characters, and the light fury in general, the other thing that really bugs me is the hidden world in general. Like it makes no sense. It’s just Great Value Pandora and it was an easy way for the writers to get rid of the dragons. I’ll probably get into my absolute hatred for the hidden world (the place, not the movie) another time, but just know that it has 0 redeeming qualities in my eyes.

#thw salt #httyd #how to train your dragon #httyd fandom #httyd movies #httyd thw #httyd franchise #thw is a bad fanfic #thw #the hidden world #httyd 3 #how to train your dragon: the hidden world #hiccup haddock #snotlout jorgenson #toothless #light fury #light fury hate club #hicctooth

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Quick blog update

Hey all, got a sad update today, but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and let you know that I might be a little slow with posting for the next few days.

My bearded dragon, Stanley, lost his fight with cancer last night. His symptoms started coming back after only about a year after he had surgery for it, and my vet and I made the decision to euthanize. He had been doing very well and had been completely back to his normal happy self before he took a sudden turn, so it was a devastating shock.

I wanted to share this for a few reasons. The biggest one is that this is a good reminder for all reptile keepers out there - reptiles can be subtle with how they show their pain. Stanley certainly was, he was his happy self right until the end, but catching more subtle signs that his cancer was back early, like noticing how he held himself a bit differently, meant that we were able to catch it before it got very bad again, so we were able to put him to sleep before he had to suffer. I don't say this to scare anyone - this is just a reminder that, if you notice something off with your pet reptile, even if it's something subtle, it's best to take them to the vet for a checkup right away.

Secondly, even though I'm of course very sad, I want to celebrate Stanley's life with you all! Aside from being an awesome pet - he loved to ride around on my shirt, eat apples, and chase jingly cat toys - he was also an ambassador animal, and was an amazing introduction to lizards for a lot of kids. He touched a lot of lives.

Stanley was one of my best buddies in the whole world, so please be patient with me over the next few days; I might take a while to get to some asks. And here's to Stanley - he was one of the best beardies out there!

#not a rating #blog update #lizards #my pets #pet death #animal death

[ghostismybbygorl]

Alright more headcannons

Pt.1

Ale-ale-jandro

Actually hates the song alejandro by lady gaga. If rudy is mad at him he'll play the song in the car full blast to piss him off

He's 38

Hes got a BIG family. He has 7 siblings he's the oldest out if all if them

hes got a brother (36) with two daughters (6) (8)

A sister (32) with a son (10)

Twin brothers (25) one of them has a daughter (3)

A sister (20) who has a 1 year old girl

A brother (12)

A baby sister (7)

Hes roman catholic and goes to mass regularly with his family

His patron saint is St. Jude Thaddius

Him and soap will go to mass together

He's got a necklace of Guadalupe that his abuelita gave him before she passed. Every time he goes into battle he kisses the necklace and prays to his abuelita for protection

He has a tabby cat named diablo that he rescued off the streets. The cat's a total asshole to everyone but rudy.

Him and rudy are married but no one knows except for his family

This man can salsa dance like nobody's business. Dont get him near tequila or youll be learning how to dance the tango, salsa, square dance everything from him

He's a happy flirty drunk

When he's mad he'll forget how to say english words so he'll just stand there snapping his fingers trying to explain what he's trying to say but getting even more pissed because he can't remember the word.

Accidentally got high off of heroine one time. He was on a mission and somehow a bag of heroine opened up in his face causing him to inhale some. He said it was the best high he's experienced but swore to himself to never do any type of drugs after that experience in fear of getting addicted

Casually pops his neck and it'll crack LOUD

Takes a nap at 3:00 sharp. If he doesn't take his nap he will be bitchy for the rest of the day

He listens to latin r&b when he's relaxing and bad bunny when him and Rudy are alone together.

Being the oldest of the family hes a very nurturing person. When you're sick hes by your side with sopa de fideo, vics cream, and some medicinal tea

This man can and WILL cook. He used to cook with his mom and abuelita when he was younger

He loves to make tamales it reminds him of home

His family goes all out for Christmas everyone has stockings, they all get hella gifts, they sing, dance, bring over homemade food. They all will go to midnight mass and then open presents afterwords when they get home

He's always the best gift giver

His house looks like this and he still lives with his whole family (click the numbers i also have a link to the Pinterest boards if u wanna see more)

1, 2, 3

He has those candies that Abuelas give out

Rudy rudy

Hes actually savage af. He'll absolutely roast the shit out of you and hell say it in the most casual tone

Loves bad bunny

Hes 30

Hes a only child

He has the most obscene slippers

He drinks coffee religiously. He's a regular at starbucks. His favorite starbucks drink is the java chip Frappuccino with two extra shots of espresso and coconut milk

He loves del rosa cookies snd can open them without breaking them. He gets really upset if he does. It happened one time before and he was close to tears

 he loves diablo like its his own child.

He was the one to propose to Alejandro. They where sitting on a couch watching tv when he just pops the question "you want to get married?"

He's scared of anything supernatural. Dont even get him started on horror movies he will legit start praying the hail mary

He gives great massages

He's hella lactose intolerant like reenacting world war 3 in the bathroom intolerant.

since he doesn't have a big family rudy and his family will celebrate Christmas together with Alejandros family.

He absolutely loves the cheesy telenovas

He has a iguana named pakko.

He lives in Alejandro house with his family

He gets really out going when hes drunk he'll start singing and dancing

Price

Religiously plays wordle

He'll bring his bearded dragon into work ever so often. It always creeped ghost out for a while but eventually grew used to it.

He like to put little costumes on his bearded dragon

HE HAS A FAMILY PHOTO OF HIM, HIS BOYFRIEND, DOG AND DRAGON IN MATCHING CHRISTMAS SWEATERS. (He paid ghost big money to make the sweaters)

He doesn't shave his beard at all during november and his beard will get hella long. He usually does this because he dresses up as santa for christmas and goes to children shelter to give children christmas gifts.

He's like hella good with kids, babies especially. If he sees a baby crying he can instantly make it stop crying its like magic dad vibes.

When hes drunk he'll reminisce about the past and tell the same stories over and over. He also gets really nostalgic with laswell

He's the one to throw the christmas parties he takes it hella serious its a requirement that everyone wears a christmas sweater

His house looks like this

1, 2, 3

He has those LOUD sneezes

He takes dad naps. He'll just say he's resting his eyes and then just knock the fuck out.

He saws logs when he naps

Has a squatty potty

Ghost

Knows how to sew and can pretty much make anything. Every year he makes little plushies for everyone for Christmas

He keeps it a top secret but he has a 7 year old daughter that he adopted. Her name is Samantha

When the team first met her they nicknamed her ghoul and she loved it

She has her own little ghost mask and she wears it around the base when ghost brings her to work

Price absolutely adores her and will often volunteer to babysit if ghost is busy with a mission same with laswell

He plays animal crossing in his free time. He says its relaxing or that hes "taking care of the kids island"

His house looks like this

1, 2 3 bonus his daughters room 4

You know the scene in parks and rec when ron swanson was drunk off of snake juice...yeah thats him drunk

He'll face time his daughter when he's away every day

He has chronic insomnia so he'll stay up days on end until hes tired and then he'll pass out on his bed and sleep for a whole day.

He lets his daughter pain his nails. He came in one day with hot pink nails 💅🏼

He has a tattoo of one of his daughters drawing and a tattoo on his ribs of his daughter's handwriting saying "i love you daddy"

His nipples are pierced

He's giving his daughter a puppy for Christmas

Laswell

Her and her wife have a daughter who's 10

She made price her maid (or i guess man of honor?). He was so thrilled and of course sobbed when he saw her walk down the isle

She met price at a football game in london

Shes 40

When shes talking to her wife she'll refer the task as her kids. "Hey do you want to come to dinner with the kids?"

She wears scarfs all the time

Laswells daughter and Samantha are best friends and they will often schedule play dates and sleep over

She gives out the most heartfelt presents. If you talk about something you want 5 months ago she'll buy it and give it to you on Christmas.

Her house

1, 2 3

When theres a party with the boys she, her wife, price, and his boyfriend will watch all the stupid shit they would do and laugh at them

She has a Pomeranian named Annabelle

She does yoga with her wife

She gets sleepy when she's drunk and will probably fall asleep on prices sholder

She loves the smell of rosemary

Soap

He has a apartment which looks like this

1 2 3

He has a girl roommate who keeps the apartment tidy and clean while he's gone. (he very much appreciates her and always cooks and does the dishes for her). She likes to roast the shit out if him when he's home.

He has chronic pain in his right knee which causes him to wear a knee brace occasionally

Hes smokes the elf bars vapes. His favorite flavor is the rainbow candy

He got a tattoo of a heart on his butt cheek. He has absolutely no clue when he got it

He loves tequila drinks

Hes a cocktail type of bitch. The boys will be sipping on bourbon and soap will be over here with like a lemon drop martini or some fancy cocktail.

He wears jockstrap underwear. He says it makes his ass look great but he also wears those funny briefs like the ones that has emojis or cereal theme

When he's nervous he'll start rubbing his stubble

As a April fools prank he grew his beard out and cut it like price's beard. He then proceeded to walk around with his hat and a cigar and act like him for the whole day. He later convinced everyone to do it the next year. Ghost somehow sewed a beard to his mask for this.

He snorts when he laughs hard

He will do any dare someone tells him to do. Gaz jokingly dared soap to snort smarties thinking that he wouldnt do it....he did it......he still smells smarties from time to time.

Ghost and him have matching tattoos if skeletons dancing

He likes to listen to indie alternative music his favorite artist is steve lacy

When soaps drunk he gets all lovey dovey to everyone and he'll start singing sea shanties and pop songs. 

He has a snack stash. Everyone will be debriefing and he'll just randomly pull out a snack and start eating

Hes always hungry and eating. His favorite snacks are gummies, oreos, and Takis 

He will eat ANYTHING i mean ANYTHING. He's tried the weirdest foods out of curiosity and from dares.

Absolutely love's Christmas he wears ungly Christmas sweaters the whole month of december. He has a whole closet full of them

He loves candy canes and will go through multiple boxes of them throughout the month

Hes a nail biter

He's the god father of ghosts daughter.

He has a shower beer after work (a/n: its when you drink beer while you shower very life changing highly suggest it)

Hes really good at soccer

He sleeps in the most random spots and funniest positions. Ghost has a whole folder of all the weird places soap has slept. Everyone will fuck with him in his sleep and do random shit to him here's a few photos of what he would sleep like and what they do

Gazzy

He gets chronic migraines

He is a very VERY emotional drunk. He'll be happy and dancing and next he'll be crying over his goldfish that died 7 years ago

When he's mad his atlanta accent will kick in.

He's very sensitive to certain textures he loves sof blankets and has them littered around his apartment

He's a Very picky eater like the pallate of a 5 year old

He LOVES auntie annes mac and cheese and will eat that on the daily (its his comfort food)

He's allergic to bee's

Loves foo fighters

He can play cello

He's has ocd and will freak out if things dont go his way. Price usually has ti calm him down if he has a freak attack

His favorite anime is darling in the franxxs

He has a whole squishmellow collection on his bed

He really likes to paint him and soap will often chill out in the common room and just do artsy shit together

He loves sending reaction memes

He taught price the woah and now throw the woah at him

If he sees soap the both will look at each other and then do the biggest most dramatic way of the whip

He makes secret handshakes with everyone. Hes still trying to get ghost to do one

He arranges the secret santa and he always gives the most ridiculous presents

He loves to do yoga with laswell and her wife

His apartment looks like this

1 2 3 4

#call of duty #soap mactavish #simon riley #call of duty mw2 #ghost #simon ghost riley #cod #soap #fanfic #john soap mactavish #cod headcanons #kyle gaz garrick #kyle #kyle garrick #alejandro vargas #alejandro mw2 #cod mw2 #cod mwii #mw2 #kate laswell #laswell #john price #captain price #rudy #rodolfo rudy parra #rodolfo parra

[adarkrainbow]

To explain a bit more the Bluebeard situation I talked about in my previous post:

Perrault always placed Moralities at the end of his fairytales (there was a strong influence of La Fontaine’s Fables, which Perrault adored, even if the two guys were on opposite sides of the Modern VS Ancient feud). And while some of his Moralities were “serious” and helped reconsider the fairytale in a different light (for example the Morality of “Little Red Riding Hood” makes explicit the sexual meaning of the tale and how the wolf is supposed to represent a predatory male seducer), others were very clearly parody of moralities, or rather little jokes added in the end (again, Perrault’s fairytales were supposed to be like dark comedies, horrific and funny at the same time). 

And the best example is Bluebeard. I don’t think I need to tell you the story, you all know it by now. What’s the Morality for Bluebeard? Given the nature of the story it might be “Don’t just marry a guy because he is rich, ESPECIALLY IF HE HAS TON OF MISSING WIVES”. Or it might be “Maybe if a guy has a blue-beard it is because THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM, RUN GIRL GIRL”. Nope, the Morality basically condemns curiosity as a very bad thing, and as the typical, archetypal vice of all women, that they should work to fix. In the context of the story this is clearly meant as a joke-morality, since this whole “Curiosity must be punished” is the very logic used by the serial killer-antagonist of the story (who ends up defeated in a shameful situation while the curious protagonist gets rewarded). It is clearly a joke...

... and yet many people read it first degree and bought into the whole idea that somehow Perrault was a total misogynist who used his stories to teach women to be docile beings accepting everything and never questioning anyone. These people clearly didn’t pay attention to the story, or have very little knowledge of who Perrault was.

What is made even worse is that when you read the rest of the Morality, it becomes clear it is all a joke... Because the Morality basically goes “Well, we can see this is a story that happened a LONG TIME AGO. A Bluebeard case couldn’t have happened today. Why? Because nowadays it is the women that are in charge of everything, and that are the boss of the house, and who terrorize their husbands into submission, and so Bluebeards would have been faced with some dragons of a wife in modern days.” I mean... Perrault is literaly mocking the people that go “Oh darn, where are the good old days where the men were in charge of everything in the house, and when women just shut up and did as they were told? Oh sure, this Bluebeard fella might have been a killer..; BUT AT LEAST HE WORE THE PANTS IN THE RELATIONSHIP! At least he had the natural order of things in his house, and if we had more people like him to punish those rebellious women, the world would have been better today.”

This is literaly Perrault mocking this mindset by parroting them in his dubious morality. A morality that is need to be seen as dubious since Bluebeard is - I think I need to insist - expressedly depicted as a ugly, terrifying, hard-hearted, brutal and savage serial killer that is ultimately a whimp easily defeated by actually brave and noble men. And I can’t stress enough how Perrault stood on the side of the “Moderns”, and was a fervent enemy of the “Ancients” and their glorification of the “ancient ways”... 

I know that, when I read the brief Perrault section Jack Zipes had placed in his book about fairytales, this was my main problem: he painted a very dark portrait of Perrault as a sort of brainwasher of women precisely because he read the stories first-degree and completely missed the jokes spread everywhere and how Perrault’s stories are fundamentaly ironic (I mean come on... in a society of absolutism where the king is everything and nobility a sacred thing, he wrote “Puss in Boots” that heralds as heroes a stupid miller son and a cunning cat who basically steal all the belongings of an ogre-lord and then fool a drunkard of a king, faking a nobility title till they make it... That’s definitively not supposed to be a first-degree story). Apparently Jack Zipes is excellent when he deals with other topics - the Brothers Grimm for example, or comparative fairytales as a whole - but he is part of those people that completely misread the whole “French fairytales” part of fairytale history. 

#fairytales #fairytale #charles perrault #perrault fairytales #bluebeard #irony #jokes #fairy tales #blue beard

[enchantingkryptoniteheart-blog]

Just a fun little quick write, trying to pull myself out of a horrid case of writers block that I find myself struggling with. Not sure if I will continue this or not. But it was certainly amusing to write. 😂

~Arachnid Deathicus~

Part 1

 It was a rare thing to see a Dwarf of the male variety scared, Dis would know. She was surrounded by them on a daily basis. Strong willed, stubborn, and fearless are the words she would use to describe her brother and her sons. She would think no different of the 10 other dwarfs that made up the rest of the famous company that reclaimed Erebor, either. Fearless, thick headed, loyal souls the whole lot of them.

Restoring Erebor was a monumental job. Not just from a structural standpoint but from a cleanliness one as well. Dragons were not particularly good house keepers, and the amount of dust and critters that had made their home in the abandoned halls and rooms of the mountain city was astonishing.

In comparison, critters and dust bunnies should be an easy feat, or at least that’s what Dis had thought. It was shortly after her arrival from the Blue Mountains that she came to witness this well-hidden terror that each and every member of the company kept well hidden.

It was mid-day. The lunch rush was done, and everyone was heading back to their assigned tasks. She was walking along with halls, approaching the kitchens when she hear a cry of sheer terror accompanied by the cacophony of pots and pans bouncing off the walls and floors. Dis gathered her skirts and ran quickly to the kitchen, ready to come to the aid of whoever needed it.

As soon as she ran through the door, she stopped in her tracks, stunned by what she saw. Bomber was up on the counter, tediously balanced while welding a saucepan above his head, a crazed look gleaming in his eyes as he zoned in on some unknown target.

“Bombur!? What in Mahal’s name is going on?” Dis exclaimed.

The rotund dwarf jumped in surprise, eyes wide as his face turned a bright crimson red, almost a complete match to his fiery hair and beard. “Nothing your majesty! Absolutely nothing is amiss.” He chuckled nervously, lowering the sauce pan to act like he was wielding it like a sword. “Just making sure my sword arm is still in good form is all.”

Dis’s eyebrows were clear up in her hairline. “On the counter, my dear Bombur?”

“One must stay fit after all.” He huffed. “We can’t be caught unawares. Who knows when an enemy can sneak up on us from the shadows.”

“Uh huh.” The princess pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the well-fed dwarf. “Ok, well just making sure all is well. I’ll leave you to your … endeavors.”

Bombur bobbed his head up and down with dizzying speed. “Of course, your majesty.”

Dis hesitated, her eyes shifting between the discarded pots and pans laying hap-hazardously all over the kitchen, but decided it was probably for the best she leave the dwarf alone to finish whatever it was he was up too. As she turned and walked out the double doors, she heard Bombur cursing in Khuzdul under his breath, wondering how in the world he was going to get down from his perch on the counter.

 

The next instance came a few days later as she was heading back to her private chambers. As she was about to pass her son Fili’s rooms, she heard a high-pitched shriek accompanied by the sounds of crashing and terrified yelps of “Kill it! Kill it! Squash it!”

“May the Valar have mercy on your soul! You call yourself an archer?! Your aim is horrid!”

“I’d like to see you throw a boot with precise aim troll brain!”

“Crap! Where did that spawn of Mordor go?”

Silence. One could have heard a pin drop with how quiet it got in the halls as Dis stared at her son’s doors incredulously. Before she could even consider taking one step towards the door, another shriek pierced the silence, and the doors flew open with a resounding ‘BANG!’ as Fili jumped out flailing his arms while jumping up and down. “It’s in my hair! Kili! Get it out! Get it out!”

Kili stumbled out, laughing hysterically as he watched his older brother flail about. His mirth didn’t last long however, as a black speck about the size of a small coin went flying out of Fili’s hair and landed square on Kili’s nose. His eyes crossed momentarily stunned at his sudden bad luck before he let out an unbecoming shout of dismay as he began smacking his face “AAAGGGGHHHHH Get it off! Get it off!”

“BOYS!” Dis shrieked. “What in the name of Mahal is going on!?”

Fili looked up at his mom, his body still squirming and twitching as if trying to fight off some invisible force torturing him. “Amad! Hey! How was tea?” He grinned painfully,

Kili, not caring that his mom was watching, was bent over and vigorously shaking his head while scratching his hands through his hair. The black object fell from his hair onto the floor before him and he stomped on it, a gross crunch barely audible coming from under his boot. The younger dark-haired prince then looked up at this mother with a prize-winning grin. “Amad! We were just about to come check in on you.”

Dis narrowed her eyes, her hands firmly placed on her hips. “The whole mountain just heard that horrendous shrieking. What is wrong with the both of you?”

“Rats Amad.” Fili replied, dead serious.

“Disgusting creatures, hiding in all the nooks and crannies.”

“Falling from the ceilings.”

“Lying in wait for the opportune moment to strike.”

“Dreadful business Amad, truly you should go back to your chambers where you are safe.’

The two brothers played off each other flawlessly, not missing a beat as they both looked at her with a schooled innocence, she learned a long time ago to not trust. “You are the crowned princes of Erebor!” She hissed, as she shook a stern finger in their direction. “I expect you to act like it!”

“Of course, Amad.” Fili nodded towards his mom stoically, his hands grasped firmly behind his back not even caring that his blonde, braided hair was an absolute wreck.

“Forgive us Amad.” Kili added graciously, his hair sticking up at all ends as well.

DIs rolled her eyes. “Good grief boys fix your hair!”

These were not the only instances she happened across either. They were to be the first of many.

#thorin oakenshield #erebor #hobbit thorin oakenshield #thorin and company #hobbit fanfic #fili durin #kili durin #lady dis #dis durin #bombur #thorin fanfiction #alternate ending #dwarves #king thorin #the hobbit trilogy #hobbit #the company of thorin oakenshield

[hermanunworthy]

!DNDADS S2 EP47 SPOILERS!

welp. todays the day. pray for me guys this could easily be the most upsetting episode of dndads for me. im dreading this so bad

- IS THAT FUCKING HERMIE SINGING???

- I CANT DO THIS

- I WAS NOT EXPECTING THE INTRO TO BE SAD IM SICK IM SICK IM ALREADY GONNA CRY

- "HATING MY FATHER INSTEAD OF HOLDING YOUR HAND" HEY???? HEY???! IM GONNA KMS

- OAKWORTHY IS CANON. IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE.

- FROM WHAT I HEARD I THOUGHT SCAM WAS IN THE INTRO???? BUT THIS. THIS HURTS SO BAD

- i feel sick i havent been able to move on from the intro

- im gonna be so honest i was expecting a "sike" or something at the end so u can imagine my relief when the little clicks started playing

- okay. okay. time to listen to ur fun facts u sick fucks

- WILL ACCIDENTALLY CALLING THE PODCAST DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS AGAIN LMAOOO

- anthony stfu i dont want to hear ur voice (hes literally the dm)

- MASTER OF MANIPULATION LINCOLN LI WILSON

- will. what evil fact do u have for us today.

- NORMAL DOES TAROT READINGS WHAT

- WILL IS GONNA JUST DRAW A CARD RN???

- LOVERS??? THERES NO FUCKING WAY

- WILL ACKNOWLEDGING HERMIE DIED IM GONNA THROW UP

- A BROKEN MARRIAGE???? HOLY SHITTTT

- scary plays the piano omg!!!

- THATS THE DUMBEST REASON EVER

- "im really nervous about what anthonys gonna do this episode" U AND ME BOTH MATT

- MY HEART IS POUNDING. MY HANDS ARE SWEATING. MOMS SPAGHETTI /ref

- it has taken me an hour just to get through the intro + facts.

- "but at what cost?" AT WHAT COST IS RIGHT BETH.

- SO NORMAL WASNT CONSCIOUS FOR IT. UR FUCKING JOKING

- MATT SUGGESTING THEY HIDE THE TRUTH FROM NORMAL. I CAN FEEL TEARS COMING

- ATOPPP ANTHONY HELPP

- BETHS REAGAN JOKE TO THE RESCUE

- NORMAL IS AWAKE AGAIN. OH GOD. OH GOD. OH GOD

- NOOOO OFC THEYRE GETTING INTERRUPTED

- "wheres hermie?" IM DONE

- NORMAL CANT SEE HERMIES BODY OH MY LORDDD

- anthony rushing them away. i cannot. i cannot

- "well fix it" im done

- NORMAL GOES TO PICK THEM UP.

- I CANT DO THIS.

- "this marriage has one less spouse but heavens got one more little angel" MATTHEW ARNOLD CAN U NOT.

- im sitting here in shock through all of this

- "just be happy ur not in hell" shut up anthony too soon

- thank god normal didnt take damage again

- lincoln cool scar era okay

- NORMAL PANICKING LOOKING FOR SPELL COMPONENTS LIKE HE DID W TERRY JR I CANTTTT

- HENRY OAK GARCIA. SAVE ME HENRY

- LARK AND SPARROW GIVING EACH OTHER A LOOK HELP ME. HELP ME

- NORMAL DOING SENSE MOTIVE AGAIN STOP IT

- AND GETTING A 1 AGAIN!!!!!

- theyre back home.

- "VOTE WILLY"?????

- "u guys ready to see him?" NO. NO IM NOT

- ty for protecting dood scary :[

- NORMAL IS HOLDING HERMIES HAND AND TALKING TO THEM. WILL CAMPOS DONT DO THIS TO MEEEEE

- ANTHONY STOP RUBBING IN HOW DEAD THEY ARE

- "the only thing keeping u together is the absolute ignorance u have of the fact that maybe the only person who ever showed u any real affection in the last couple years of ur life is dead" anthony burch im hunting u down.

- STOPPPPP NOT THE AD

- THE OLD EARTH WHOOOA

- is the dude w the white beard that "new fan fave npc" will was talking about lol

- HENRY REVEAL. HENRY REVEAL!!!!

- BARRY?????

- I SCREAMED I ACTUALLY SCREAMED

- I DIDNT KNOW IF WE WERE GONNA GET BARRY BACK. NO WAY

- MERCEDES IS DEAD..... STOP IM CRYING AGAIN

- THEM ALL CALLING HERMIE THEIR FRIEND. OOUGH

- UR FUCKING KIDDING. ANTHONY DO NOT TEASE US LIKE THIS

- "MADE OF GOOF MATTER" UR JOKING

- NORMALS SNAPPING OHHHH GOD

- NORMAL. NORMAL ISTG.

- NORMALS TRYINF TO BRING THEM TO SCAM?????

- HOLY FUCK......

- THEYRE IN THE SIMPSONS NOW.

- SCAM LIKELY. MY FUCKING ENEMY.

- WHY DOES HE. WHY DOES HE ACTUALLY CARE. I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS THERES NO WAY

- "HES MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD" SHOOT ME.

- THEY DONT HAVE A SOUL.

- WTF IS SCAM GONNA DO

- ANTHONY I DONT TRUST U ONE BIT

- anthony burch. i hate u

- okay scam apologizing does feel good

- "I DONT WANT ANOTHER ONE I WANT THIS ONE" AND PUNCHES HIM. OH. MY GOD.

- "u feel like home for some reason" WAILS

- OH MY GOD SCARYS GONNA TELL NORMAL.

- GUYS I CANT DO THIS I REALLY CANT

- THE TREE. WILL CAMPOS PLZ

- HENRY TOLD NORMAL HES PROUD OF HIM. NOBODY TALK TO ME AGAIN EVER

- ty henry for giving normal what he needed im gonna sob my eyes out

- THEYRE GONNA PUT THE SUN BACK.

- THE FUCKING. THE FUCKING SUNRISE

- MATT OLD LADY NPC

- WHAT IS THIS FUCKING IMPROV

- CHAPARRAL.

- DONT FUCKIJF HIT ME UP

- "i liked u too" sighs.

- "GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE" END ME.

- "hermie u definitely were one of us" SOBS

- "i did notice u. thanks for everything" AAUAGAUHH

- LINK SAID NOTHING FOR HERMIE GOOD GOD

- "lark shakes ur hand, sparrow goes in for a hug" ough.

- OH MY GOD HENRYS GONNA SEE CODE PURPLE.

- HOLY SHIT YALL THIS IS BIG

- THEYRE TEACHING HERO AND NORMAL HOW TO SHOOT.

- BABY NORMALLLL

- "help me normal, only u can save me normal" WTF??? WTF????

- WHAT THE FUCK.

- guys i made it through. [confetti falls on me]

#siren says #dndads spoilers #dndads s2 spoilers

[sorcerous-caress]

Yes! Give me a Dwarf monk with a beard that can make the whole party green with envy! Way of the Long Death ( if we're using mods, Alternative monk is a wonderful mod btw) Would be perfect for a dwarf, very difficult to kill, and allows the Monk to serve as a defender more easily. A friend that will gladly brush off that waraxe for you.

Honestly, it's the only dwarf companion I can remember being treated well during recent times is Varric Tethras from Dragon Age ( Psst, It's the chest hair)

Theoretically? Hmm, I'd create a Kobold sorcerer of the Aberrant Mind variety. To play off the goblin rivalry within act 1 and to tie into psionics that will be inevitably thrown around via tadpoles. Hell, if you don't use the tadpoles, the sorcerer could be a way not to miss out on some abilities, albeit weaker.

A KOBOLD! MY BELOVED!!!

I would start a fanclub for that sorcerer kobold, first to recruit off of the gates even if he's stashed away at the end of the world. My lvl1 Tav would power walk their way through everything and ignore all other companions to reach him, after securing him only then does the game starts.

And omfg that dwarf monk, god. Something about imagining them has me twirling my hair and kicking my feet in the air. Like a powerful strong buff dwarf with the best beard ever that has charms and braids.

Imagine how easily it'd be for the dwarf to pick you up like you were a couple of grapes. Maybe the party is crossing some muddy swamp and the dwarf chatter is offering to hold you up so you don't get mud on your clothes, my heartttt.

The hearty deep laugh, the devotion and the effortless charm. A dwarf is basically humanity's standards of butch/masc and it would make anyone swoon. Also women with beards are like so pretty and breathtaking <33333 AAAAA

Imagine them offering you a drink but telling you to slow it down because your pretty little human head probably can't handle their alcohol. Or at the end of their romance, they gift you a crafted sword/weapon with gems to show their love.

The thing about dwarves is how effortlessly badass they are while playing it off, yk? Like they're that cool older mentor who always includes you in stuff and sneaks you a drink or a snack during training but making sure you're safe and protected. They have strong believes that they take to heart but also are surprisingly open minded and never assume malic. Like when humanity copied their city designs and dwarves took it as a compliment and helped the humans build it.

I haven't played dragon age yet but I searched him up and oh my- we get all of that cleavage show for free? God is not dead after all.

#♡Human kink #♡dwarves #♡githzerai anon

[ultfreakme]

What are your top ten favorite scenes in Avatar the Last Airbender?

Thank you so much for the ask!!! Oh my god. This so hard, I've never thought of individual scenes as top favorites but I've tried my best and narrowed it down I think?

Katara v Pakku 'You can't knock me down!': So I watched Avatar when it was first airing as a kid, there weren't many dark-skinned main characters around, especially not girls who fight and certainly not against sexist men who try to stop people from learning. So when I saw this scene, I was at the edge of my seat, it taught me a lot about bravery and I still cheer and clap for Katara when I re-watch the fight.

Sokka throughout The Fortuneteller: I'm an atheist and people didn't exactly take kindly to that when I was a kid & I was infamous as the 'weird kid who probably has no morals'. So seeing Sokka outwardly express skepticism about the spirits & 'higher powers' was very comforting.

Sokka inventing the air balloon solution: I think it was one of the first scenes where I really started liking Sokka. The thing about hot air actually made me read my school textbooks & google stuff to figure out how air currents work, so that helped me with a few science classes about molecules.

Aang in The Storm: It was one of our first glimpses into how he felt about running away, the guilt, the sadness, the pain of being the last of your people with no one to turn to and thinking its all your fault.

Toph fighting the Earth Rumble goons when Aang & her dad are watching: The way she moves is so freaking cool!!! It was her showing exactly how capable she is, she isn't kidding when she says she's the world's best earthbender because yeah, who the heck else could do what she does???

Hama's flashback: Once again I watched this show as a kid, so this was the first time i got confronted with the fact that there will never be a 'perfectly good' or 'perfectly bad' side. People are complicated & I understand what pushed Hama to do what she did but that doesn't excuse it so in that vein;

Katara sucking the water out of the field to fight Hama: It's just badass even if it is angsty.

Aang pulling Ozai down by his beard and encasing him in rock: I mean-- like that is just objectively cool and very embarrassing for the 40-something year old guy. Aang was in top form.

Zuko in the bunker with Ozai: I don't watch too many new cartoons but I don't think any show has ever so explicitly called out the abuser and made sure the abuser is acknowledged as unforgivable. It really put into light for me a lot of things about child-parent relationships, what its supposed to be (forever angry at Boku No Hero Academia for using their Zuko-based character to forgive and redeem his abuser, lf you don't know anything about BNHA this means nothing to you jbcfjhbh sorry).

Yuekka last kiss: They're the ship that first introduced me to tragic romances,. My heart was broken and I kept waiting the entire 3 seasons down to the last episode for Yue to make a return and say "hey guys! so I'm a spirit I'm alive!". I still like it because idk I love angst a lot and the whole story of a princess finding glimpses of freedom in a boy who's traveled the world and yearning for it gets to me.

I'm not remembering other scenes that may have had more impact on me just yet, but a few honorable mentions; Ran and Shao's dance(I LOVE DRAGONS 100/10 they make everything better always), Zuko in the Cooler, Sokka and the cactus juice, Aang's anxiety episode.

Thank you again for asking! This was so fun to do~~

#atla

[lizardlink]

I… have a ‘little bit of rainbow on my face?’ What does that even mean, human??

#bearded dragon #reptiles #lizards #beardies #lizard link #cute animals #rainbows #best bearded dragon in the whole world #the best beardie in the world #cute reptiles #cute beardies

[novaursa]

DRAGONSPAWN - 02

02 – Daughter Of Valyrian Doom

Prologue, 01, 03

- Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and other stuff you don’t recognize from the books and the show. This chapter is also highly inspired by the first book, everything you recognize belongs to our god of death George R. R. Martin.

- Warning: This story is rated M. It will contain incest, violence, blood, gore and other mature themes. It is GoT fanfiction after all. Expect more AU in the coming chapters and all the other fluffy stuff.

"When I am queen I will insist with perfect scars upon my wrists that everything you once held dear is taken away from you. When I am queen sweet girlscout's face and not a one will fall from grace if all their hearts I could replace, but until then I'll have to drown myself."

– ‘When I am Queen’ by Jack Off Jill

Dothraki loved to dance. They thought that dancing will turn them into legendary stallions and mares. They thought magical dancing will make them appear as they are horses caught in the storm, in the wild winds of a magnificent century. With their shamelessness, bloodthirst and sex they saw a future for them breaking the world with their hordes. Enemy widows and children crying and dying, begging gloriously for their deaths.

Visenya saw them differently. They are so predictable. Just chaos and brute force. No strategy. No order. Fine killers, but a terrible army. She lazily watched from the sides as women and men both danced before Daenerys and Drogo. Their wedding was anything but boring. Apparently Dothraki shared Visenya’s distaste for unnecessary bards and their tedious songs. They preferred killing and fucking in front of the whole world. And they compare themselves with horses? They are more like rabid dogs in heat. Visenya scoffed in her head. This whole thing was getting ridiculous to her. She was having seconds taught about this plan to take them across the sea. But what done is done. Khal will never give Dany back now.

"A Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair." Fat magister leaned to her brother and they laughed. Older Targaryen girl only frowned as the blood of decapitated Dothraki sprayed across the ground. They’re killing their own for pleasures of the flesh. Do they eat they dead as well? Viserys and she were seated just below Daenerys. They both wore black with scarlet dragons decorating the abyss. Illyrio and Ser Jorah sat beside him. Theirs was a place of high honor, just below the Khal’s own bloodriders

Visenya took a glass of fermented mare’s milk to her nose and quickly removed it trying not to vomit from the strong smell. Roasted horseflesh wasn’t so bad, and honey had just the right flavor to it, but this milk was too much. She soon turned back to Illyrio’s wine.

“My fellow magisters have doubled the size of the city guard,” Illyrio told them over platters of honey duck and orange snap peppers one night at the manse that had been Drogo’s. The Khal had joined his khalasar, his estate given over to Daenerys, Visenya, and their brother until the wedding.

“Best we get Princess Daenerys wedded quickly before they hand half the wealth of Pentos away to sellswords and bravos,” Ser Jorah Mormont jested. The exile had offered her brother his sword the night Dany had been sold to Khal Drogo; Viserys had accepted eagerly. Visenya, on the other hand, was suspicious of him and his name. You are just paranoid. She told herself day after. Lions and fat stag can’t get to us here.

Magister Illyrio laughed lightly through his forked beard, but Viserys and Visenya did not so much as a smile. “He can have her tomorrow, if he likes,” her brother said. He glanced over at Dany, and she lowered her eyes. “So long as he pays the price.”

Illyrio waved a languid hand in the air, rings glittering on his fat fingers. “I have told you, all is settled. Trust me. The Khal has promised you a crown, and you shall have it.”

“Yes, but when?”

“When the Khal chooses,” Illyrio said. “He will have the girl first, and after they are wed he must make his procession across the plains and present her to the dosh khaleen at Vaes Dothrak. After that, perhaps. If the omens favor war.”

Visenya’s purple eyes slightly narrowed. The magister’s answer was, even more, pleasing to Viserys who seethed with impatience. “I piss on Dothraki omens. The Usurper sits on my father’s throne. How long must I wait?”

Illyrio gave a massive shrug. “You have waited for most of your life, great king. What are another few months, another few years?”

Few more years – few more nooses around our necks. The Older silver haired girl answered in her mind.

Ser Jorah nodded in agreement, much to Visenya’s annoyance. “I counsel you to be patient, Your Grace. The Dothraki are true to their word, but they do things in their own time. A lesser man may beg a favor from the Khal, but must never presume to berate him.”

Viserys bristled. “Guard your tongue, Mormont, or I’ll have it out. I am no lesser man, I am the rightful Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. The dragon does not beg.” Ser Jorah lowered his eyes respectfully. Illyrio smiled enigmatically and tore a wing from the duck. Honey and grease ran over his fingers and dripped down into his beard as he nibbled at the tender meat.

"They will cross the sea and kill our enemies as promised. I’ll drag them in the chain there is I have to." Visenya said sharply and Mormont stiffened at her coldness but remind silent none the less. Illyrio stopped eating and grinned looking at Targaryen princess, with pieces of meat still visible between his teeth, "Now that would be an interesting sight to see."

He is mocking me. Visenya opened her mouth to bark at him. To scream and stab her host with a knife from a nearby table when she felt firm grip of her brother’s hand. Rage was replaced with disappointment as her fires were restrained, for now. Pity. Dothraki would love to see more blood. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to calm herself more. She sensed Viserys’ fingers intertwining with hers. He was holding her hand tightly, much like a man clinging to a rock that was saving him from drowning. Opening her light orbs, she met the darker shade. They promised flames, hers promised vengeance.

When at last the sun was low in the sky, Khal Drogo clapped his hands together, and the drums and the shouting and feasting came to a sudden halt. Visenya watched as Drogo stood and pulled Dany to her feet beside him. It was time for bride gifts.

Her brother Viserys gifted her with three handmaids and her sister Visenya gave her miniature dragon made of crystal, the only possession she had from Westeros.

"It’s for good luck," Visenya told her sister. "It brought our ancestors hope when they forgot who they are." Dany thank warmly at her sister’s gesture knowing it was hard for her to give up only thing she had from home. Still, Visenya was content with the knowledge that Daenerys will keep it safe. She will need it more than me after this is over.

Ser Jorah Mormont apologized for his gift. “It is a small thing, my princess, but all a poor exile could afford,” he said as he laid a small stack of old books before her. Then Illyrio murmured a command, and four burly slaves hurried forward, bearing between them a great cedar chest bound in bronze. When she opened it, she found piles of the finest velvets and damasks the Free Cities could produce … and resting on top, nestled in the soft cloth, three huge eggs. One egg was a deep green, with burnished bronze flecks. Another was pale cream streaked with gold. The last was black, as black as a midnight sea, yet alive with scarlet ripples and swirls. “What are they?” Visenya’s sister asked, her voice hushed and full of wonder.

“Dragon’s eggs, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai,” said Magister Illyrio. “The eons have turned them to stone, yet still they burn bright with beauty.”

They are not like mine. Visenya noticed quickly. Something was odd about them. She could feel them rippling from the distance. They are not like mine. I can sense them, but they are silent. And silent they were with calling of a different kind. Visenya didn’t like how they slept.

Visenya didn’t want to go with khalasar. She wanted to stay behind and make backup plans, but Viserys did not want even hear about it. And that was that no arguing or common sense could ever change his mind anymore. He wanted to make sure Drogo does what he promised. Problem was, Visenya knew, not that Drogo will not honor what he said, the problem is when he will take his khalasar across the Narrow Sea. Being so close to making that final step, so close to sailing home, Daenerys’ siblings were constantly on the edge. She was always so sheltered. Visenya often remembered. She was never there when the Red Keep fell. Sweet sister never had a responsibility of a failure. When Rhaegar was killed, the weight of the throne fell on Viserys. Targaryen loyalist filled his head every day what he must do, what is his destiny. Their father promised him the crown as it was his birthright, and when Visenya was born he promised her to Viserys as well. Older Targaryen girl was aware that she was speared mostly from such bothering of those loyal to her great House. Firstly, she was a woman. A woman can never hold the throne alone. Secondly, she was born as the third child, and the middle doesn’t favor even the male heirs. While Visenya was pestered with head filling fact about her destiny to fallow her brother like her mother did their father, she was mostly left alone. Dany, on the other hand, was never touched by such stories. She was the youngest child. A princess that everyone protected. Tales for her where gentle. No one ever died in them and dragon knights always saved their ladies.

Silver locks fell into her pretty face when khalasar was suddenly halted. She stopped her golden coated horse who obeyed instantly when one Dothraki yelled from the front of the horde. Of course, he obeyed. It was theirs after all. This stallion was one of the few palomino horses they had in their khalasar, Drogo’s bloodrider Qotho gave him to Visenya, as her black mere died few years back.

She didn’t like Qotho at all. He called her jeshven nayat; icy girl, when she ignored him when he was speaking with her. He laughed off hysterically at her confusion when she asked Ser Jorah what the last words meant. Visenya fumed at Mormont’s revelation. "It means ‘icy girl’, princess. He also complimented your eyes."

As khalasar was halted, Visenya was informed that their horses will rest here before taking them any further. She was then soon taken to her tent by one of the Dothraki girls that Daenerys sent to serve her and keep company when she couldn’t. Her younger sister was obviously trying her best to help Viserys and Visenya feel safe and welcomed here. As days when bay and more Dany spent time with these horseman, more bolder and confident she was becoming. Good. Little sister is learning. Visenya smiled when she saw her next to Khal earlier this day.

Entering her tent with Dothraki girl Nehagi, Visenya found herself once again surrounded with horse skins, furs and all kinds of breeds of mud and dirt. She wrinkled her nose before putting her black hooded cape on the bed. She was wearing her ridding attire decorated with ruby red dragons, but even that couldn’t prepare her for days of riding. This was a rare day the horde stopped, which was only to feed and water their horses, and now Visenya could feel all the aftermath of riding. Everything on her hurt. Her legs, skin, hair…

She was standing in the middle of the tent with her eyes closed trying to relax her aching muscles when Nehagi spoke up, "My lady?"

Targaryen girl opened her eyes slightly surprised. Dany must have taught her that. She slowly turned towards the dark skinned girl behind her. She was a small but visible strong young woman. Her long black hair was tied into a loose braid and her big brown eyes observed Visenya with hidden fear behind their doe innocence. "You can speak the Common tongue?"

"Little. Khaleesi spoke to me some." The girl slowly answered, her exotic accent and a weak grasp of the language clearly showing.

"That will be sufficient." Visenya nodded in approval before starting to undress herself further. "I will need a bath." Nehagi quickly did as she was ordered to do and left the tent to fetch some hot water.

The silver haired girl was about to last piece of her black attire when she felt strong pull over to the chest in the corner of skin decorated tent. Without hesitation she when to open it. It was there as always, her bloody colored dragon egg.  It’s warm. She noticed when she took it in her small hands. Do you feel the presence of your brothers? Visenya wondered as she stroked its scaly surface. Visibly, the egg was still the same. Dead as ever. But Visenya felt a sudden wave of adrenalin every time she touched it. It began when Dany got her three eggs from Illyrio. Strange feeling in Visenya’s chests was subtle at first, but as the sun went and came again over and over again, that feeling became stronger. Something has changed. Visenya knew it in her bones.

After carefully locking the red stone up again, Visenya finally full undressed herself feeling immediate relief to be out from the stench of horses and their manure. Nehagi entered the tent with a pot filled with hot water and hurriedly emptied it in the wooded tub. She swiftly turned to go fetch the next one when Visenya called her name, "You are in the hurry." She observed.

Nehagi stopped dead in her tracks as her dark eyes met purple ones. Silver princess continued archly, "When I think about it, all of you are in a hurry to run away from me. Why is that, horse girl?" The Dothraki never stuck too long around Visenya. At first, it didn’t bother her, but as time went by their running away and hushed whispering in wild language just became annoying. Except Qotho, no one of her people ever came near her.

"They are afraid of you. There are stories." Nehagi answered truthfully.

"Stories?" Visenya asked curiously now.

Nehagi nodded, "Yes. Stories. We hear Khaleesi talk about the scar on you. You have no heart, yet you alive. That’s blood magic. A bad omen. Some say you will steal their heart to replace what you lack."

Visenya’s palm subconsciously touched long scar between her breasts. At least, she is honest. "Then why do you serve me? Aren’t you afraid I will rip your heart from the chest and feast upon it like a monster that I am?"

The Dothraki girl paused before finding her words, "I serve because Khaleesi told me so. And I don’t believe in what others speak. My lady looks nothing like Doom of Valyria." After a long time, Visenya laughed. Doom of Valyria indeed. Maybe it’s better this way. As long as they fear me I will have control.

Nehagi was not affected by her lady’s sudden outburst of laughter. She observed silver haired girl a lot as she did her biding. She understood how and why so little she smiled.

Cold.

Visenya suddenly felt cold. She stopped laughing as her breath was throw out from her lungs. The pain from the memory was suddenly back. Like it was called forth by some ironic god. Falling on her knees, Visenya lost herself in the pain. She could hear Nehagi calling her name in panic and iron pot hitting the ground. The girl hurried next to Visenya trying to comprehend what is happening. But Targaryen princess was miles ways from answering. The only thing she wanted is for the pain to stop. Realizing that she couldn’t help her lady, Nehagi yelled something in Dothraki before everything went blurry for Visenya.

Next thing she remembers was many people entering the room rushing next to her naked body, shaking her and trying to get her attention. They couldn’t chase her pain away and every breath she took felt like another dagger between her breasts.

It was becoming too much for her so she just let go all of her strength. The last thing she remembers was few Dothraki keeping their distance at the entrance of the tent, Ser Jorah desperately trying to find the source of her pain, Viserys yelling and pushing him out of the way harshly, then taking her in his arms.

I am weak. Scared, weak, they are all seeing me broken. Her last toughs before blackness were of fires.

"Love always wakes the dragon and

                                          suddenly

                          flames everywhere."

– Richard Siken

#game of thrones #got #fanfic #oc #imagine #romance #daenerys targaryen #dragons #house targaryen #dark #viserys targaryen

[rallis-fatalis]

Principle and Duty

Responsibility. Virtue. Honor. These are words one might use to describe a knight or noble warrior, not a wild beast built for killing. However, one monster in the form of a small blue dragon will need to learn such ethics and virtues if she wishes to further herself in life. It’s time for Rallis to learn a thing or two on how to behave… before Sanfew beats those ideals into her head with a wooden mallet!

50 fics. 50 whole stories, ladies and gents. It has taken years to get to this point but I’ve finally done it. This fic, this annoying monstrous nightmare of a fic that I struggled to write for almost three years, is finally finished and marks a huge milestone in my writing. Please enjoy the 50th story I have written for Rallis, and be sure to enjoy the next adventures to come! We don’t stop here, folks!

Taverley was graced with perfect weather this fine day. The warm sun, the gentle breeze, the clear sky, it was a perfect day to lounge outside and enjoy the warmth, and the resident blue dragon was doing just that. Rallis was snuggled up by the river, laying atop a flat sun-heated rock. She was greatly enjoying the warmth of the stone on her scales, the comforting heat making her sleepy. She popped blueberries from a basket at her side into her mouth lazily as she slowly grew more tired and comfy. It was truly a perfect day, and nothing could ruin it.

“RRRAAALLLLLLIIISSS!!!”

Well, almost nothing. A very angry older man in white robes with an equally white beard and hair stormed over to the dragon’s snoozing spot. It was Sanfew, the grumpiest druid in town according to Rallis. She hid the blueberry basket with her tail, feathers covering it up as best she could.

The druid was at her side now, red in the face and fuming. “Rallis what do you think you’re doing?!”

“Enjoy the day,” she said and closed her eyes.

“Oh? And did you finish the chores I told you to do this morning?”

“Mhm,” she hummed noncommittally.

“Really? So you folded the dry laundry, tended the herb patches, and refilled all of Jatix’s vials you spilled?”

“Yes.” Rallis yawned.

“Then would you like to explain this?!” Sanfew snapped. He pulled out one of the vials Rallis had refilled. He was tempted to pour it on her. “This water is rancid! It’s more mud than water! We have a well for pure water! Where did you fill these up, a filthy rain puddle?!”

“It not bad,” Rallis huffed. “It fine to drink. Well water too hard to get. Puddle water easier.”

“I don’t care if it’s harder! We can’t use this! I expect you to dump them all out and fill them correctly this time!” Sanfew dumped out the vial for emphasis. “And the herbs you were supposed to look after weren’t even trimmed! You need to clip off every dead part so they can grow! Now Kaqemeex is cleaning up after your failed work!”

“I did cut them! Not my fault I miss some!”

“Then you need to be more vigilant and keep looking until you’re sure the job is done!” Sanfew was growing even madder at her lack of discipline. “And the laundry! You hardly folded anything, just crumpled it up and tossed it into the basket! Now we have to spend even more time beating wrinkles out of everything because you wouldn’t take an extra minute to fold properly! What do you have to say for this?”

Rallis shrugged on her rock. “Who care about wrinkles? No one looks. It fine.”

Sanfew grit his teeth so hard they audibly creaked. “THAT’S IT! I’M TIRED OF YOUR IRRESPONSIBLE LAZY BEHAVIOR! I’M TALKING TO THAT BLOODY FOOL KAQEMEEX RIGHT NOW! If he won’t teach you to be accountable, I know someone who will!” He stomped off angrily, furiously muttering to himself as he went off to find Kaqemeex. 

Rallis snorted and continued to eat the blueberries and soak up the sun. She paid the old druid’s ranting no mind. She was sure nothing would come of it.

…

Rallis didn’t know when she dozed off, but the sound of angry stomping and the shout of her name did wonders to bring her back to the world of wakefulness. Rallis cracked open a grumpy groggy eye to find Sanfew and Kaqemeex standing over her.

“I nap,” Rallis groaned. “Why you shout?” 

Sanfew nudged Kaqemeex and motioned for him to speak. “Rallis, we need to talk.” The dragon huffed and sat up. “Sanfew tells me you have not been doing your work lately. And you have been quite rude! This is not how I have been teaching you to act.”

Rallis pouted. “I no want to do work. Tired of it.”

“Everyone has to pull their weight around here, Rallis. That means everyone works. Even you.”

“I not want to!” she shouted. “Same thing every day! Wash and clean and boring thing! I want to do something fun! I want to play! I want to explore! Not this all day!”

Kaqemeex grimaced. He supposed this life would be boring for an adventurous dragon. But what was he to do? Rallis was in no way ready to go out into the world yet. She didn’t behave properly yet, she couldn’t read, she still struggled speaking her thoughts well, and she tore off her clothes every chance she got! No, she had to stay here until she was ready, and that meant she had to help out.

Sanfew saw Kaqemeex’s face soften and he piped up before he could say something that would make Rallis even more complacent. 

“Listen to you whine! Do you think we enjoy doing menial chores all day?! No! But we do them because we have to, because we are responsible, something you obviously haven’t learned yet. Thankfully I know of a wonderful teacher to whip you into shape.” Sanfew turned to Kaqemeex. “You’re taking her to Burthorpe tomorrow.”

“I am?”

“Yes, you are. You have failed to teach her to be accountable for her actions and to have self discipline, so I know someone who will be much more successful with the task. Some time in Imperial Guard boot camp should do her some good.”

“You can’t be serious!” Kaqemeex exclaimed. “You can’t just throw her into a combat course! She can’t be on her own like that and she’s not ready to be around all those strangers!”

“Oh and like you’re making any headway on her independence. You’re taking her tomorrow and I’ll hear nothing more of it.” He shoved a letter into Kaqemeex’s hands and stormed off before the druid could reply.

Rallis didn’t have enough of a grasp of the Common language to understand everything they said but she knew a fight when she saw one. She chirped and nosed the letter in his hands.

“We have a lot to talk about… Let’s go inside.”

Rallis started to follow the druid home and shouted ‘wait’ as she ran back to her napping spot to retrieve the mostly eaten basket of blueberries. Kaqemeex spotted the lack of berries in the basket.

“Rallis, those were my blueberries! I was going to make them into a cobbler! Why did you take them?!”

Rallis shrugged. “I want them and they taste good.” She trotted back home like she had done no wrong.

Kaqemeex sighed. ‘Maybe she will learn a thing or two in Burthorpe.’

_____________________________________

The next day, Rallis and Kaqemeex were walking to Burthorpe. Kaqemeex kept trying to explain to Rallis what was going to happen once they arrived in Burthorpe, how she was going to be training with a man named Denulth and she would be living in the town for a while, but she didn’t care to listen. Instead she chased an impling that was swiftly making its way to the Heroes’ Guild and away from the claws of the dragon. She was in her own little world, ignorant of what she was about to undergo.

Once they passed the guild, the sky grew dark. Rallis chirped at the sky. It was so cloudy but the sun was still bright in the sky just a few feet down the road. “The sky is dark near the Wilderness,” Kaqemeex explained. He pointed to the wall to the east. “Over there is the Wilderness. It is very dangerous and there is no sun. Burthorpe is nearby.”

Rallis chirped curiously. She wanted to climb the wall and take a look at this shadowy scary land. But the wall looked too difficult to climb. That exploration would have to be saved for another day.

Once Kaqemeex and Rallis crossed into Burthorpe proper, the sky was dark enough to look like the sun had set behind the mountains to the west despite it still being early morning. The shadows hid the scarce few homes she could spot and cloaked the castle in the distance in a dreary gloom. Rallis’ ears perked up as she heard the sound of scraping metal and grunts in the distance. Kaqemeex led her toward the direction of the noise. They turned the corner of a garden growing grapes and revealed dozens of people dressed head to toe in black. On each of their hands glittered a pair of steel claws, sharpened and polished to a deadly point. They shouted and slashed as someone commanded them with drills. Rallis watched the people training, interested in this group of humans using claws of all things to attack. It was just like the way she fought!

Kaqemeex motioned for her to follow him over to the trainees. Rallis watched them with greater interest as she got closer. She didn’t even notice that Kaqemeex had slipped into a nearby tent to speak with someone. Rallis watched the people in black slash their claws in practiced unison and snorted.

‘They have claws like me, but they not know how to use them.’ Rallis flexed her claws. Hers looked much more deadly and useful than the three ungainly blades of metal tightened around the soldiers’ fists.

Kaqemeex returned to Rallis’ side with someone in tow. Just like the trainees, he too was dressed in all black save for his face which was missing the shadowy faceguard. He stood tall and moved with a disciplined precision, and with not a stray hair out of place. His hair was white and gray like her druid friend’s but it was cut short and well managed unlike Kaqemeex’s messy fluff of a mane. The man in black eyed Rallis from talon to horn. She squirmed under his calculating gaze.

Kaqemeex broke the uncomfortable staring contest. “Rallis, this is Denulth. He teaches people how to fight to keep other people safe, and he teaches them other good and important things. You are going to stay here with him for just a little while so you can learn things too.”

Rallis’ ears drooped. “I not staying with you no more?”

“Oh no dear that’s not what I meant! Of course you will come back home. This is just a little training. Like a vacation!”

Rallis didn’t know what the word vacation meant but it sounded exciting. “Okay! What I do?”

“Denulth here will tell you everything. He will be looking after you while you are here. You treat him nicely now, alright? He’s going to teach you some things, then when he thinks you have learned them, he will send for me to come take you home. So you learn everything from him as fast as you can, okay!”

“Okay!” Rallis cheered.

The druid gave her a big hug and patted her head, though she didn’t see the worried frown on his face once he let go and started the walk back to Taverley. Rallis waved goodbye and bouncily turned to her new stoic caretaker, smiling bright and wide. It caught Denulth off guard, seeing someone so eager and excited to begin training, but he assumed that was because this talking beast had no idea what it was. He could tell from one glance this creature was undisciplined, with her torn to shreds attire and easily distracted attention. The letter Kaqemeex had brought him from Sanfew was strict and wanted this dragon disciplined at any cost, but Kaqemeex described her as some dainty new to the world infant who needed to be coddled. He supposed he would pick a good middle ground.

“So, your name is Rallis?” Denulth said. His voice was gruff but not unkind. “My name is Denulth and I am in charge of the Imperial Guard of Burthorpe. Those soldiers you see training are under my command. We keep the city and its people safe from threats. You will be joining them in training.”

“I fight things?!” she shouted excitedly. She flexed her claws for emphasis.

“No, you will learn how to fight, not actually fight anything. I’m not letting a green little druidic lizardman attack anything.”

“I am not green! I am blue!”

Denulth scowled and bit his tongue, ready to reprimand her sass. Kaqemeex had warned him Rallis only understood the basics of the common language. It seemed non-literal phrases were not part of that.

“Come. I’ll show you around.” He motioned for her to follow him. They passed by the trainees first. Some nervously gave Rallis a glance as she walked by, but knew better than to break formation or mess up their drills to get a better look.

“Every morning my trainees do drills with their instructor until it is time for the day’s work,” Denulth said. “You will be joining them every morning, though you won’t get a set of claws. You seem to have your own.”

Rallis smiled and showed off her pretty talons.

“You will be expected to wear our uniform every morning. And I expect it to be much cleaner and maintained than your current attire. If you rip your clothing, you will mend it immediately. If you stain your clothing, you will wash it immediately. Do you understand?”

Rallis nodded noncommittally.

Denulth sighed. “Right… While you are here, you will speak, not shake your head. You have words, use them. You will say ‘Yes, sir’ when I ask you a question. Do you understand?”

Rallis began to nod again but stopped herself. “Yes… sir? What’s a sir?”

The man grumbled. Teaching basic vocabulary was not in his paycheck. “I’m a sir. You call people higher ranked than you sir.” He could tell by Rallis’ blank stare that sentence made absolutely no sense to her. “Listen, just call me sir while you’re here. You’ll see everyone else doing it so I expect you not to forget.”

“Okay!”

Denulth gave her a corrective scowl.

“Oh, I mean uh yes sir!”

He nodded approvingly and continued on. He showed her the supply tents, the meeting and planning rooms, the armory, the kitchen, all sorts of important things all around town. There was more Imperial Guard stuff than there was actual town! As they neared the end of the tour, Rallis could hold her questions no longer. “Can I go to the castle?” she shouted excitedly. She bounced up and down and pointed to the looming gray building to the north.

“No. That isn’t for you to go poking around in.”

Rallis hissed under her breath. “Then what about that castle?” She pointed to another tall stone structure to the west, partially hidden behind the shadows.

“That’s no castle,” Denulth said. “That is the Warrior’s Guild, a place where the best warriors from all over the world go to train. Try to enter if you like on your time off. I’m sure the guard wouldn’t let you even get near the place.”

“But I am strong! I am warrior!”

“If you were, you wouldn’t have been sent here. Now enough of this. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying while you’re here.” They entered a small building full of beds and basically nothing else. A few drawers and boxes lay at the foot of the beds but that was otherwise it. But that didn’t stop Rallis from getting excited.

“Bed on bed?!”

Rallis squealed as she leapt onto the ‘bed on bed,’ or rather bunk bed. She flopped onto a perfectly made lower bunk, crumpling the sheets, before excitedly climbing to the bed above it and rolling around.

“Rallis!” Denulth barked. That got the dragon to freeze immediately. “This is not a playground and that is not your bed. Yours is over there.” He pointed to a top bunk near the back of the room. “You are a member of this corps now, even if only temporarily, and I expect you to act like a member. You will be disciplined while you are here. Now that you have decided to ruffle two of your fellow trainees’ bedsheets, you will remake their beds for them now.”

Rallis frowned at him with a confused whine. What a bossy face! But his scowl begged no argument so she huffily got to tucking in and flattening out the wrinkled sheets. She angrily waited for her next instruction when she finished.

“Good. You will make your bed every morning as well. If you don’t, I’m sure you’d love to make everyone’s for a week.” Rallis opened her mouth to protest but Denulth quickly shut her up by continuing. “You will wake up and be ready outside on time every morning or you will be woken up before anyone else until six in the morning feels like sleeping in. I expect you to be well-kept, well-organized, and well-behaved. If you don’t follow my rules, you’ll learn the consequences.”

“This all not fair!” Rallis whined. “I do not--!”

“Life isn’t fair,” Denulth cut her off. “Sanfew didn’t send you here to be coddled, he sent you to learn responsibility and discipline, so I will teach you just that. But I am a fair teacher. Do your best and follow every rule and we’ll get along just fine. Now grab a uniform.”

Denulth pointed to one of the boxes. Inside were various sizes of meticulously folded Imperial Guard uniforms. Rallis picked one that kind of looked like it would fit, most clothing initially didn’t due to her extra limbs and stature, and held it up to herself. “I can not wear this.” She held up the masked helmet very obviously not made with eight horns and a long snout in mind. “Or this.” She held up the far-too-small-for-her-feet boots. They could hold two toes at best and definitely wouldn’t be comfortable with the way her foot bent.

Denulth thought about that for a moment. “No, I suppose you can’t. Just the two-piece will be fine for your uniform then. Put the rest back.” She did. 

In a flash, Rallis was geared up in a jet black uniform that almost but not quite fit her. Her blue scales made her stand out like a sore thumb against the black. She grumbled and groaned at how uncomfortable her new clothes felt, with her wings pressed against her back at an awkward angle and her base tail feathers pinning to the hem of her pants. “This bad,” she complained.

“I can’t let you run around without a shirt and pants because they don’t feel good and you’re certainly not putting those disgusting ripped up rags back on again. You’ll have to think of your own solution to this problem. If you decide to make any tears, you will fix them. Now let’s go.”

Rallis hissily followed Denulth back to the training ground. The morning drills seemed to be done. Individual soldiers were going about their day, practicing moves in one-on-ones or against training dummies, talking strategy over a table, taking care of gear, or even helping some of the locals with whatever they needed. To Rallis it all just looked like chores, which although she didn’t like doing them at least they were nothing new. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as Denulth was making it out to be.

“As the commander of this guard, I have a great deal of work to do every day,” Denulth told Rallis. “For the rest of today, I want you to go around and meet some of the others you will be training with. Help them, learn how we do things, familiarize yourself with the place. You start for real tomorrow.”

Rallis nodded. “The next time you nod or say ‘Okay’ instead of yes sir I’m going to make you do push ups,” Denulth reprimanded her.

Rallis grimaced. She knew what those were and she did not like them. “Yes sir!”

“Good. Now go on.” He shooed her away and made his way to a tented area with a large table set up with what looked like mountains, towns, and lots of little figures of monsters and humans. Some kind of game? Denulth immediately started into a serious conversation around the ‘game’ so Rallis decided not to bother him. It was time to see if there were any new friends to be made!

She looked around, seeing who might interest her the most. Two soldiers were sparring against each other, practicing moves with wooden claws. One of them seemed to be far more advanced than the other. Rallis skipped over.

“Hello!” she trilled.

The inexperienced trainee took their eyes off their opponent to see who came to greet them and their opponent cleanly swept them off their feet and pinned a wooden claw to their throat. “Never take your eyes off the enemy, Tatiana. Now you’re dead.”

The ‘dead’ soldier groaned. “Not fair, Allen! I was distracted by… that!”

“I thought I taught you not to get distracted in a fight. Distraction means dea--.”

The second soldier stopped mid sentence as they saw what their companion was referring to. There was a… lizard? A blue lizardman? Smiling at them? Why was it wearing the guard uniform?

“Um… hello there,” the soldier on the ground said. Their companion helped them up. “Can I help you?”

“Hi!” Rallis chirped back. Hearing this beast speak back startled the two. “You two fight! Can I fight you?”

“Fight? I don’t think… Um?” 

The trainee couldn’t find their words, so the other stepped in. “You’re that lizard Commander Denulth was showing around earlier, aren’t you? Tatiana, this is a new trainee.”

“WHAT?! But it’s a monster!”

Rallis hissed, an action that scared Tatiana.”I am not lizard or monster! I am a dragon! My name is Rallis! Uncle Cake came me here to learn.”

The two were still in a bit of shock that this creature was speaking to them. Rallis’ mere presence was starting to attract a few more nearby stares, though no one came up to say or do anything. “Well then. I guess it’s nice to meet you, Rallis. My name is Tatiana. I’ve been training here for around four months now.” Tatiana took off her helmet for a proper greeting. She looked to be in her mid twenties with short cropped brown hair. She had eyes just as brown and her face was dotted with freckles.

“I’m Allen,” the other soldier said. He removed his helm in kind. His eyes were a steely blue and his black hair almost buzz cut short. He had a scar across his lip and down his chin, turning one corner of his mouth into a permanent frown. His appearance made him look older than he probably was. “I’ve been a soldier here for three years now. I’m not some trainee like Tatiana here.”

“Hey, you don’t need to say that like it’s an insult you jerk!” Tatiana stuck out her tongue and quickly put her helmet back on so she couldn’t get caught for such a childish act.

Rallis smiled. They seemed like friends and like they were nice. Maybe she could be friends too! “You two fight good! Can I fight?”

“You haven’t had a day of training,” Allen commented. “I assume you don’t know the first thing about combat here or how to use the claws. You should learn the basics before you jump into a practice session with someone.”

“I use claws!” Rallis exclaimed excitedly. She showed them her shiny sickle-like claws with a wide fanged smile. Could something look cute and menacing at the same time? “I can fight!”

Allen looked uncomfortable about the request, thinking it over. Tatiana nudged him. “It can’t hurt,” she said. “If she’s going to be staying with us, she might as well see what the training will be like.”

“I suppose that’s true. Alright Rallis, we’ll have a spar.” The dragon made a happy screech and hopped in place. “But there are rules we must follow so listen well. We never harm a fellow trainee. If it looks like you’re about to win the match, make sure you stop your blows before you cause actual harm to your opponent. If they request you stop, you stop. Understand?”

“I understand,” Rallis said. She flexed her claws with a grin. “I not hurt you when I win, do not worry.”

“Cocky,” Allen muttered with a snort. “Come here then. We each stand 15 paces away. Tatiana will count us down and on three, we fight.”

“Okay!”

Allen and Rallis met in the middle and walked 15 steps away. Allen retightened his wooden claws and mask before taking a stance. Rallis took no stance, tail wagging excitedly.

“Ready?” Tatiana called. The two nodded. “Okay! On three! One… Two… Three!”

Rallis hunched down and sped off faster than the eye could see. For a moment, her opponent was too alarmed to act. That speed was inhuman. But he refocused quickly, just in time to dodge the lunging dragon by a hair. Rallis growled as she missed, landing on all fours in the grass. She turned and lunged again with a snarl and this time Allen caught her claws on his own. Her claws shimmered much more dangerously than the steel ones they used for actual combat, and having them this close to his face made him nervous. But he swallowed his fear and pushed Rallis back, knocking her away and landing a blow on her arm with his wooden claws.

Rallis hissed and struck back. She swiped at his torso but Allen simply stepped back out of range. Rallis tried the same tactic a few more times, but her endeavor was fruitless. Allen watched her patterns as he stood on the defensive until he saw an opening. When she attacked again, he ducked down and jabbed an elbow into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her with a huff. Rallis staggered back with a furious look in her eye. This human was good, but she knew she was better.

The dragon tried a different approach. She pretended to lunge at Allen again, and as he was about to strike back, Rallis moved out of the way and caught his leg with her tail. He yelped in surprise as he stumbled but caught himself. But it was too little too late. Before he could block Rallis’ next attack, the dragon leapt onto his back, shoved him to the ground, and rolled him over on the grass. She pressed her claws to his throat with a victorious snarl. She could see Allen’s eyes go wide and sweat drip from his brow as he paled.

“I win!” Rallis cheered. She got off the man and stood proudly.

Tatiana’s jaw dropped. Rallis hardly noticed the small crowd standing nearby to watch the new recruit in action, all shocked. Quiet murmurs broke out. This dragon was no joke.

“H-How did you do that?!” Tatiana finally sputtered. “Allen is like the best! I can barely land one hit on him and I’ve been his partner for months!”

“I’m hardly the best,” Allen said as he brushed the dirt from his uniform. “Decent at most. There are far better trained here. I am impressed though, Rallis. I didn’t expect skills from a newbie! Nor did I expect a leg, tail?, sweep. I’ll have to remember that for next time. Trolls don’t have tails so I've never come across such a tactic before.”

Rallis wagged her tail happily at the praise. “What a troll?”

“They’re these big nasty monsters that live in the mountains to the west,” Tatiana explained as she pointed to the shadowy mountains in the foggy distance. “Part of our training is to learn how to fight against them. They sometimes come down from the mountains to raid the town and eat people. We have to stop them!”

“Yuck! Do not eat people! That gross.” Rallis stuck out her tongue. “I help fight too?!”

“Yeah! With another good fighter like you here, those trolls will think twice about attacking us!”

“Yeah!!!”

“Alright that’s enough cheering,” Allen chuckled. “We should get back to work. Rallis, did the commander give you work to do?”

“He said learn things and help people.”

“Ooo we can show you!” Tatiana said. “Right Allen?”

“You’re doing double training tomorrow then,” he scolded. “Saradomin knows you need it.”

Tatiana scowled playfully before excitedly leading Rallis along.

The two took turns explaining the finer details of the schedules and routines they followed every day. Rallis asked many questions, and although it was confusing the two assured her she would understand things better once she actually got to work tomorrow. After meeting some of the other guards in training, learning how to do some of the basic tasks required of them daily, and some more sparring and chatting, the trio called it a day and went their separate ways to do their own things. Rallis decided to sneak some food to eat from the kitchen she toured earlier and rest in a soft patch of grass. She didn’t realize she had dozed off until dinner was called. She snagged some food and ate next to her two new friends before everyone turned in for the night. It was a bit too early for Rallis’ tastes but she was tired from the day so she didn’t complain. She fell asleep fast, hoping tomorrow would be just as exciting.

_________________________________________________________________________

An impossibly loud bell jolted Rallis awake the next morning. She shrieked and flopped out of her top bunk, falling to the floor with a painful sounding thud. She whimpered and whined from the floor and all around her the quiet sounds of waking people greeted her ears. Someone shuffled over the dragon, pulling their folded uniform out of the drawer at the foot of their bed and began to change. Rallis pulled herself from the floor with a growl and looked around. She had been placed in the women’s dorm and all around her the female members and trainees of the Imperial Guard were getting ready for the day. Rallis glared out one of the windows. The sun wasn’t even up yet! Why was everyone getting ready for the day?!

Her new friend Tatiana came over, already dressed and awake, ready to start the day. “It’s always jarring the first time,” she smiled. “But you’ll get used to it! It took me only like a week or so.”

Rallis growled. Being woken up like this every day?! She didn’t know if she could take it. Tatiana handed Rallis her clothes and let the dragon change. Rallis quickly slipped into the gear and groaned. The outfit still felt as awful as yesterday. Tatiana saw her grabbing at the tight parts of the attire around her wings and tail and nearly ripping holes in the cloth from her claws.

“That doesn’t look comfortable,” Tatiana said. “I mean, I know the outfit isn’t comfortable to begin with. But you look like you’re almost in pain! I know a bit of sewing; I can fix that up for you after drills.”

Rallis smiled wide. “Thank you! Yes, it hurts. Like too small and squish me sometimes.”

“Of course!” Another bell sounded and all the guards and trainees immediately stood by their bed, standing straight and tall and looking forward like a statue. Even Tatiana fretted. “Come on! That means the commander is coming to inspect!”

Tatiana ran to stand perfectly by her bed. Rallis looked at the women around her and tried to copy their form. Soon, Denulth walked in. Everyone gave him a salute, still as rigid as ever. Rallis cocked her head and watched him walk down the aisle to stand right in front of her.

“Dressed and even attempting a good stance,” Denulth commended. “More than I thought you’d attempt.” He eyed her messy unmade bed. “I see you’ve forgotten a key part of the morning. Make your bed at once or you will make everyone’s for a week. Today is your first day so I will let you off with a warning.” He turned to the rest of the crowd. “And all of you, keep up the excellent work! Make sure you set the perfect example of what to strive for for our new recruit here.” With that, he exited the dorm. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Tatiana rushed back over to Rallis. “Nice job! I’m amazed you didn’t crumble under his gaze. I swear, the first time he went to me like that, I almost wet myself! The commander is terrifying! How did you stay so calm?”

Rallis shrugged. “Fighted scarier.”

“Wow,” Tatiana said with eyes shimmering. “I wish I could be that confident. That’s one of the things I want to learn here. Maybe you can help me and I can help you! Anyway, that’s for later. We need to go check our jobs and get ready for morning drills before breakfast.”

“You work before eat?!” Rallis exclaimed, appalled. 

“Of course! That way you work up an appetite and you don’t get cramps during the drills. I’ll show you to our work station board then to the yard where we train in the morning.”

Rallis trudged along with slumped shoulders. She was already ready for this to be over. In one of the tents nearby, standing over a table with paperwork and forms, was a board with everyone’s name on it and their assigned duties for the day. Everyone was in an orderly line waiting for their turn to view the board and hurried away to the training grounds swiftly after. Rallis and Tatiana made their way to the board.

“There’s you,” Tatiana said, pointing to Rallis’ name. “Looks like after training today you’ll be on kitchen duty. Yikes, that’s rough.” Rallis cocked her head. “Basically you’ll be helping with the cooking, cleaning, and dish washing. It’s one of the hardest and worst duties. I can’t believe Denulth gave that to you on your first day. He usually waits a week or so before giving it to the newbies.”

“It hard?” Rallis asked. “Cook can not be hard! Just fire on food!”

“Well not all of us can breathe fire like a dragon,” Tatiana said. Rallis frowned sadly at the comment but Tatiana didn’t notice. “And it’s not really the cooking that’s the hard part, it’s the washing. You have to do everyone’s dishes and by the end of the day it’s hundreds of things to wash. And there can’t be too many people assigned because there aren’t many sinks to wash in.”

“Sink? Put in river! Very clean.” That was how the druids did it at least, and Rallis usually got to take a bath at the same time.

“Sorry, no rivers here. Well there’s one but only the Warriors’ Guild can get to it. I’ll show you to the kitchen after drills. Now let’s go before we’re late and have to do extra planks!”

Tatiana led Rallis to the lawn where trainees were already lining up. They both waved to Allen who gave the girls a small smile and a nod and went back to his perfect stance. Tatiana showed Rallis to her spot near the back with the other most recent joinees, told her how to act and stand, and ran to her spot. Rallis shuffled awkwardly in the back of the perfectly spaced rows of waiting guards-to-be. When their instructor came, everyone stood just a little bit straighter. Rallis got on her tiptoes to get a better look. A man shorter than even Rallis strode into view, glad in his guard attire. He moved like he had decades of practice, every little motion having a purpose, and his face was as twisted and sour as an ancient pickle.

“Good morning, cadets!” he shouted shrilly.

“Good morning, Captain Eddo, sir!”

He nodded with a hmph. “I hear we have a new recruit! Come to the front, cadet!”

Rallis didn’t move until all eyes were on her. Oh, he meant her! She pranced up and stood slightly over the small man. Eddo eyed her from claw to horn, taking her appearance in with a hint of shock. But he said nothing in relation to her appearance. “Did you skip over here?!” he shouted instead. “I think not! Go back to your spot and walk back to me appropriately!”

Rallis scowled at him in confusion. When he shouted ‘NOW!,’ his voice begged no argument, so she stomped back in line, tail twitching angrily. She heel-turned when she reached her spot, walked back to the captain, and stood with an annoyed pair of eyes glaring down at Eddo.

“Better. Now wipe that scowl off your face! Stand up straighter! Arms behind your back!” He nudged the dragon every which way until she stood the way he desired. Rallis had to bite back her growls as he nitpicked her every move. Eventually, he stood back with a nod. “Good. I had better not catch you prancing, skipping, scowling, or slouching again! Now introduce yourself.”

Rallis nervously looked away from the captain and toward the crowd, not wanting any of her movements to set Eddo off even more. She decided maybe a wave would not be a good idea.

“Hello. My name is Rallis. I am a dragon. My Uncle Cake and Sanfew, they send me here. From Taverley. I here to… learn? I think?”

At once, the crowd saluted and greeted her. “Greetings and welcome, Rallis.” The synchronized movement of nearly 50 people rather startled the dragon.

“Excellent form!” Captain Eddo said. “Now Rallis, go back in line and prepare for drills! Everyone, warm-ups! Let’s go!”

The captain led the group through exercises both basic and advanced, most of which Rallis had never seen before. She had spied the black knights in Taverley Dungeon doing some of these and tried to mimic them, but not whatever a ‘plank’ or ‘burp-bee’ or whatever was. She was getting exhausted quickly. This sucked! If she had to do another sit-up or push-up or jumping jack, she was going to pass out. After what felt like hours, maybe even days, the captain ceased his instruction. He didn’t even look like he had broken a sweat! Actually, everyone around Rallis seemed to be doing fine. She was one of the few people that could hardly stand straight. Her wings and tail drooped and she panted hard through the dots in her vision.

“Excellent work! Jasmine and Devalle, work on your sit-up form today. Everyone else, dismissed for breakfast and duties! Meet back here at noon sharp!”

Everyone scattered, and with no higher up breathing down her neck, Rallis melted into the grass. Tatiana and Allen walked over. “Tired already?” Allen playfully mocked. “It’s only 7 in the morning! You’ve got at least five more hours of work.”

Rallis groaned loudly and buried her face in the grass.

Tatiana patted the dragon’s back. “Don’t worry, the first day is always the worst. Soon you’ll get used to it and be better than ever! I actually passed out doing push-ups on my second day but now I can do almost 50 of them in a row!”

Rallis didn’t even want to do one! Who strived to do 50?! She groaned louder. “I want to take a nap… And eat…”

“Lucky you’re on kitchen duty then!” Tatiana said. “The sooner everything is made, the sooner everyone eats. Let’s get to work!”

Rallis begrudgingly got up from the ground and followed Tatiana to the kitchen. Allen waved goodbye and went to begin his work setting up training dummies for combat practice later. Tatiana led Rallis to a rather decently sized kitchen connected to a huge hall of seats.

“I won’t be staying with you because I have my own morning duties, but you can always ask your fellow cooks for help! Basically all you’ll do is listen to the head chef’s commands and cook lots of food. After comes the clean-up. Good luck!”

As Tatiana bolted out the door, more trainees came in. None of them looked pleased to be there and many eyed Rallis oddly. A large tall woman with ginger hair tied back in a net stomped in behind them and eyed up everyone in the room. “Bah! None of the good cooks!” the woman complained. She glared at Rallis. “And now they’re letting animals into the kitchens?!”

Some of the trainees hid their snickers. Rallis’ ears drooped. She didn’t understand it much but she knew the tone of an insult when she heard it.

“Whatever. Let’s get to work! You two!” She pointed to the two ladies on her right. “Porridge!” The two saluted and ran off. “You three!” She pointed to the men on her left. “Sausage and eggs!” They too saluted and ran off. The woman then stared down Rallis, making her feel small and insignificant. “And you… I’ll teach you the ropes. Come.”

Rallis let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Why was everyone here so overbearing and bossy?! It was quite rude! She rolled her neck. Well, she wasn’t going to let them get under her scales! She followed the chef and watched. She explained to Rallis where things went, where ingredients we kept, how the kitchen was broken up into stations, time limits, and more. Rallis’ head was spinning with all the sudden new information. She hardly noticed the chef had stopped speaking and was handing Rallis a long wooden spoon and pointing to the massive tubs of porridge that needed to be stirred. Rallis nodded and got to work. The chef had pointers here and there for everyone in the kitchen, unnecessarily loudly and rudely, Rallis might add. By the time the sausages were sizzling and ready to be served, Rallis was drooling onto her shirt. This porridge she was stirring smelled good too. Maybe if she just snuck a lick of her spoon, no one would notice…

“ALL RIGHT, SERVE IT UP!”

Rallis yelped as she bit her tongue at the chef’s loud voice. She watched everyone carry out the massive pots and plates of breakfast to long tables to be served. As Rallis walked out, she heard the chattering and noise of every cadet, soldier, guard, and captain or otherwise ranked. Everyone was done with their morning work and ready for breakfast. Rallis watched antisily as someone brought out stacks of plates and utensils. Once everything was set down, everyone clambored to get a spot in line (though, not so unorganized they would be reprimanded by the superiors in the room). Rallis leapt as close to the front as possible, ready for all she could eat! …And she was rather disappointed when she was only allowed a small bowl of porridge, two sausages, and two eggs. She could easily eat way more than that! But she decided not to complain and scarfed down everything in nearly one bite, not even bothering with a fork and knife. She was the first to place an empty plate down in the dishwash bin and sat next to Tatiana and Allen.

“You haven’t grabbed food yet?” Tatiana asked. “Everyone knows the cooks get first food! You should go get some!”

“I eated! Not much I get. I eat more at home.”

“Much more food and you’d get sick,” Allen said. “Or fat. Or both.”

“Worth it,” Rallis nodded. “What now?”

“Breakfast is for another 15 minutes!” Tatiana said and shoved eggs into her mouth. “Relax! Rest! Our next duties are after this. For you, it’s dish washing. I’ve got town duties, so I get to wander around Burthorpe and see who needs help with anything. What do you have today, Allen?”

“Scouting by the plateau,” Allen said before taking a bite of sausage.

“Whaaaat?! Man, I wish I could get a cool job like that for once,” Tatiana whined.

“Then train harder.”

“What is that job?” Rallis asked.

“Sometimes a few of us get to join the more advanced soldiers on missions around the plateau to the west,” Tatiana explained. “That’s where a whole group of trolls live. Only the best of the trainees get to join on the scouting missions and help out. I’ve always wanted to go on one.”

“I promise you’re not missing anything,” Allen said. “It’s just a lot of walking and sneaking and trying not to slip on loose rocks. They don’t take us close enough to the trolls for the scouts to actually be interesting.”

“Still,” Tatiana pouted. “Just getting out of the town once in a while would be nice.”

Allen glanced at the other tables to see people rising to leave. He quickly shoveled down the rest of his breakfast. “I’m going to go ahead and get ready now. I’ll see you two later.” With that, he placed his dish in the wash bin and strode outside.

“Allen works so hard,” Tatiana mumbled. “Guess that’s why he gets to go do all the cool stuff.” With a newly determined face, she too finished her breakfast and stood. “I’m going to work harder too! I’ll start early too! I’ll see you later, Rallis!”

All too soon, the dragon was alone at the table. She looked around at all the recruits and soldiers and guards around her. They had all been up for hours already and had done so much work, yet they didn’t seem tired at all. They all looked ready for more work and didn’t even seem mad about it. How on Gielinor could someone want to do hours and hours of hard work all day? If it were up to Rallis, she would be asleep in the sun eating blueberries right now. She wanted to go home already…

With a sigh, Rallis got up and carried a load of dishes back to the kitchen. She supposed she ought to get to work too, and perhaps some dish washing would take her mind off missing home.

________________________________________________________________________

The amount of dishes Rallis had to wash was no joke. It was hundreds of plates, bowls, and utensils. Thank the gods Rallis wasn’t alone because that might have taken literally the entire day! Although the other five recruits washing dishes with her hated the work, Rallis actually rather enjoyed the washing part of kitchen duty, if only because she got to be a living trash can and eat all the leftovers she wanted off people’s plates. The six of them finished nearly 20 minutes early and were allowed to do whatever they liked before combat practice at noon. Rallis took the time to catch a quick nap on the grass. All too soon, she was gently awakened by a hand on her shoulder. It was Tatiana.

“Napping already?” she teased. “We’ve still got more to do! Come on, it’s time to train.”

Just like from earlier that morning, every trainee was lined up in their spot on the grass, awaiting instruction from the captains at the front. Eddo from the morning was there, alongside a stern-looking woman and Commander Denulth himself. He kept a close watch on Rallis and it made her scales crawl. Why was he watching her? She didn’t do something wrong, did she? But the commander didn’t say anything, just watched.

Captain Eddo, and the other person, Captain Rubine, took turns splitting the recruits into pairs or small groups to practice certain combat skills. Some went to the training dummies to work on forms, others went with a more practiced guard to do some basic techniques, while others were told to practice fighting against a partner. Rallis was told to fight with someone she had never met, a young man named Finn, which surprised many of the group. Newbies weren’t normally allowed to go straight into practice fights. They had to learn the rules and stances and techniques first. But Rallis fighting another recruit was a command from Denulth himself so no one could argue.

The two met on the grass and stepped 15 paces away, just as Allen had previously taught Rallis. Instead of Tatiana keeping watch, it was Commander Denulth this time. His gaze never left Rallis for a moment. As Finn and Rallis hit their 15 steps, they spun around and Rallis immediately launched herself at the young man. For a moment, he panicked over her inhuman speed, but he pulled himself together and caught Rallis’ first strike with his wooden claws. He retaliated with a shove and Rallis rolled back. She let herself roll to the ground so she could attack from below, leaping at the boy on all fours with her claws outstretched. Finn yelped as Rallis almost sank her claws into his shoulders and pushed him onto his back. He tapped out immediately; an easy win for her.

Rallis glanced over at Denulth, but he showed no emotion. Instead he commanded for another to come over, a more advanced trainee named Janice, and take Finn’s place. The young man scrambled away as the woman took his spot, and the round began anew. 

This continued for some time, Rallis fighting new people Commander Denulth called over and Rallis beating them each time. As the fights went on, they grew harder and harder, until Rallis was eventually fighting some of the actual guards instead of the trainees. The recruits around the fight watched as they worked, amazed at how well Rallis picked up on her opponent’s moves and created her own. She might not have known any formal stances or techniques, but she was a natural to fighting and a fast learner.

As she felled her newest opponent, Commander Denulth nodded. “That’s enough. I’ve seen what I wanted to see.” He waved the guard away and walked over to Rallis, who was on the ground panting hard. She was ready to collapse she was so worn out.

“You are able to defeat some of our most practiced recruits, and even some of the guards to the castle,” Denulth said with a voice that almost sounded like praise. “Kaqemeex said you have never fought before but I can see that isn’t true. Where have you trained before this?”

“Train?” Rallis questioned. “Oh I not train. But I fight, yes. My family, we live under Taverley in big dungeon. Lots of bad things there like demons and bad humans. Mom and Dad fight a lot, keep us safe, and I learn too. I watch and learn, and I do and learn. I fight bad humans there a lot so they not kill us.”

Denulth nodded in understanding. “I see. Then you will be placed with the beginners to learn basic things but practice against the advanced group. I believe you’ve already become an acquaintance with someone from the advanced group, Allen Farmount. Learn what you need from Captain Eddo then train with the others in Captain Rubine’s group.”

Rallis nodded and the commander raised his eyebrow at her. With an oops she saluted him with a ‘yes sir’ and he left. She looked over to Captain Eddo commanding a group of recruits bossily. Rallis groaned. She needed some water before she got back to work, and perhaps she would take her time getting and drinking it.

By the time the required part of the day was over, Rallis was beyond tired. Learning with Eddo was frustrating and battling with the advanced recruits was harder than fighting any of black armored humans from home. Now that it was free time, all Rallis could think about was sleep and food. She shuffled back to her bed to take a nap. She ripped off her shirt, threw it at the foot of her bed, and plopped down to go to sleep. Rallis sighed happily as she closed her eyes and buried her face into her pillow, but before she could fall asleep, Tatiana’s voice broke the silence.

“I thought you might be in here,” she said as she rested her head at the foot of Rallis’ bed. “You looked ready to pass out all day today.”

Rallis groaned into her pillow. “Make me do too much…” she grumbled. “So tired…”

“I bet,” Tatiana giggled. “I won’t bother you but I’m here to make good on my offer and stitch your clothes.”

That got Rallis’ attention. She slowly rose from the bed and sat cross-legged by Tatiana. “Make clothes feel better?”

“Yup! Things here are already tough on a newbie without clothes not fitting right. Tell me, where seems to be the problems?”

Rallis held up her discarded shirt and flipped it to the back. “Here. No room for wings. My shirt has hole in the back for wings. This one not.”

“So you just need a hole? I can do that easily! I just need to measure how big a hole I’ll need. Can you turn around?”

Rallis scooted around so she no longer faced Tatiana. Tatiana stared at Rallis’ wings with awe. They looked like a bird’s wings, cute and soft. She reached out to touch them and Rallis chirped in surprise and shuddered. She turned around and gave Tatiana a confused growl.

“Sorry! They just look so soft… I should have asked first, I’m so sorry!”

Rallis grumbled and turned away again. Tatiana began to measure how much she would need to cut and stitch. 

“What is it like to have wings?” Tatiana asked, a conversation to pass the time.

Rallis shrugged. “What is it like to not have them?”

Tatiana thought to herself. “I guess I don’t have an answer to that. Sorry, that must have been a dumb question. It just seems so magical to be something that can fly.”

Rallis drooped. “I not fly…”

“But you have wings!”

“But I not fly. Mom and Dad and brothers, they fly. But my wings too small. I am stuck.”

“Oh… I didn’t know. I didn’t think you could have wings and not fly. That must be hard.”

Rallis chirped sadly and dipped her head. “Yeah… I want to fly…”

Tatiana put a hand on Rallis’ shoulder comfortingly. “I bet one day you will! Maybe you just need to grow more. Your wings are all soft like a baby bird and baby birds can’t fly. They need to get stronger feathers. Maybe that’s all you need! Just some more time!”

Rallis smiled and nodded. Maybe so!

Tatiana quickly finished her work making a hole for Rallis' wings. When the dragon tried on her shirt again, she sighed in relief at the feeling of being able to stretch out her wings. Next, Tatiana got to work on the pants. She cut away some of the back to allow Rallis’ tail to move more freely and so her feathers wouldn’t be pinched anymore, and used an old ruined uniform shirt to cut into a makeshift skirt for the back to cover up her stitching. Although Rallis could probably get away with the wing holes, the pants holes were a little too shoddy and would be best if covered up. It wouldn’t do to have the commander reprimand her after all! Rallis gave the new uniform a few test exercises and deemed it far better than before. She thanked Tatiana profusely and put the attire away before finally taking that nap. She slept all the way to dinner, where she promptly cooked, ate, cleaned, and went straight back to sleep.

___________________________________________________________________________

For weeks, the days blended together. Every day, Rallis went to bed exhausted and woke unrested. And unless she was on kitchen duty, she was always hungry too. That being said, every day that went by she could feel herself getting stronger and faster. Perhaps Sanfew had wanted her to come here to learn discipline and responsibility, but Rallis was thoroughly enjoying becoming a better fighter far more. Although the basic nonsense and general exercises wore her out or frustrated her, she was quickly becoming a master in the mock fights. She breezed through the opponents thrown her way, and those who tripped her up the day before found themselves thoroughly beaten the next day. 

Denulth kept a close eye on her progress. He hadn’t seen someone so skilled at fighting, such a quick learner, in his recruits in a long time. He was still frustrated at her lack of discipline however, and her growing aptitude for combat seemed to make her rather cocky, much to his chagrin. He kept a thought in the back of his mind that perhaps someone would be needed to knock her down a peg soon.

But that day was not today. Today, Rallis actually had some energy once the required part of the day was over. She wouldn’t admit it, but this new schedule and regimen did force her to build her stamina and have more energy to do things. She decided today she would finally go investigate the castle in the distance, the one called the Warriors’ Guild. She was already strong before coming to Burthorpe and now with a few weeks of training, she knew she would be amazing enough to be deemed a warrior and get inside. She strode over to the castle confidently.

The castle loomed against the permanently gray sky. Its dark brick walls blended into the shadows of the mountain. The grilles of the windows were in the shape of swords, Rallis noted with a little laugh. She was sure it was meant to look thematic and imposing but to her it looked rather silly. Statues of warriors stood guard at the entrance, as did a real living breathing warrior that stood taller than any human Rallis had ever seen. He was clad in shimmering brown, gold, and black pauldrons and plateskirt that complimented his similarly dark skin. Gold tattoos and war paint decorated his bare chest and bald head. Rallis thought he must be old since his beard was pure white, but he certainly didn’t look it. He hadn’t even noticed Rallis until she was right next to him looking up in awe.

“Do you need something, tiny dragon?” his deep voice asked.

“You are so big,” Rallis replied. “I want to be your tall. Why are you so tall?”

The man did not seem offended, but confused rather. “My parents are tall so I am too. We are half-giants. And I see you are half-dragon.”

“I am not half dragon, I am all dragon!” Rallis shouted. “My name is Rallis and I am a blue dragon! Who are you?”

“I am Ghommal, guard and member of the Warriors’ Guild. I make sure only the strongest warriors in the land may enter here.”

Rallis eyed the door to the guild. “I am strong. Can I go in?”

Ghommal laughed a booming thunder of a laugh. “You are not strong! You are a trainee, still learning. Come back when you are stronger.”

“I am strong!” Rallis fumed. “I can beat anyone! I can beat you too!”

Rallis launched herself at Ghommal to begin a fight, but the half-giant simply swatted her away like an annoying insect. As she fell to the floor, she launched herself again, this time at his legs, but Ghommal simply kicked her away. When she tried her next attack, Ghommal grabbed her mid-lunge and picked her up and held her to his face. Rallis whined in shock and wriggled in his grasp.

“You are very fast, yes, but you are not strong enough yet. You are still learning.” He put her down and she huffed and growled and rubbed where he grabbed her. “You could join one day, but not yet. Keep training.”

Rallis growled and conceded. “How do you know when I go in?”

“Face me in battle and I will deem if you are worthy or not. Now run along back to your commander, tiny dragon.”

Rallis frowned and began walking back to the training ground. She shouted over her shoulder as she left. “I come back and beat you! You watch!”

Ghommal laughed after her. “I look forward to it, tiny dragon!”

________________________________________________________________________

Ever since her encounter with Ghommal, Rallis trained harder. She was determined to get into that Warriors’ Guild. Everyone noticed. She ignored Captain Eddo’s annoying commentary; She beat everyone Captain Rubine threw at her; She ignored Commander Denulth’s calculating gaze; She had only one goal, to become stronger, and paying any attention to the higher-ups was not in that plan. No one knew what had gotten into her, but it left Denulth very pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it was time to give Sanfew a little update letter.

At dinner time, Tatiana and Allen confronted her.

“I gotta say Rallis, you’ve really been kicking butt lately!” Tatiana exclaimed. “Well, I guess you’ve kicked butt since day one, but you’ve really been awesome this last week! Are you doing some secret side training we don’t know about?”

“No,” Rallis mumbled as she stuffed her face with chicken. “Just same as you. But I have something to do now.”

“Motivation is a powerful tool,” Allen nodded. “I’m glad you found something to keep you striving for higher goals. If only Tatiana could find such a thing too.”

“Hey!” she shouted and waved her potato covered spoon at him. “I do too have motivation! Just… not the same as you two. I already know Allen’s but what’s yours, Rallis?”

“I want to go to Warriors’ Guild.”

Tatiana nearly dropped her spoon and Allen choked on his drink.

“The Warriors’ Guild?!” Tatiana started. “But only the best of the best get in there! There’s no way someone from Imperial Guard boot camp is going to get in there. That place is for people who can fist fight demons or beat giant monsters with nothing but a dagger! It’s for the strongest people in the land, and we’re… not.”

Rallis shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. She set her mind to it and she was going to do it.

“If that’s really your goal, then I wish you luck,” Allen said. “Tatiana is mostly right in saying no one from here could get into the guild. Only one person has ever done it, and that’s Commander Denulth himself.”

That surprised both the ladies at the table. “Oh wow, maybe that’s why he’s so intimidating,” Tatiana shuddered. “He already looks strong but if he’s good enough to be a member of the Warriors’ Guild…”

Rallis thought about that as she finished her dinner. If an old human could get in, surely a powerful and spry dragon could too. She had her new goal now; don’t just be better than everyone else, be better than the commander himself…

…She was growing even cockier, and it was growing on Commander Denulth’s nerves. It appeared whatever newfound fervor Rallis had found, humility, discipline, and respect had not come with it. She started half-assing what she considered busy work whenever the captains weren’t looking. She complained about tasks everyone had to do, muttering that she had better things to do than wash dishes or polish weapons. She was beginning to lose respect for her fellow trainees during combat practice as she quickly learned their fighting styles and beat them mercilessly. She would push the limits of what she could do without being punished, aggravating the captains at every turn. And when she was done with her work, she would rush off towards the Warriors’ Guild and return in a foul mood every time. Even her two new friends could not calm her and Tatiana especially began to worry.

One day, Rallis snapped.

Captain Rubine herself was battling against Rallis. The dragon had shown she could hold her own with someone as strong as a captain and this was the next logical step. The other advanced students could barely keep track of each of their blows, the two zipping back and forth in a flurry of blows at inhuman speeds. Rubine would graze Rallis, Rallis would slash Rubine, Rubine would catch Rallis’ attacks, Rallis would trip Rubine with her tail. The two each had an answer for the other’s moves. 

Until they didn’t.

Rallis was getting frustrated and tired. Rubine would not fall easily, so she let herself loose. She roared and launched herself at Rubine, and in doing so broke the most important rule of combat practice: never intentionally harm your partner. Rallis snarled and flashed her teeth. Captain Rubine gasped and held her arm up to block. Rallis grabbed onto the woman’s arm with her mouth and crunched down. The scream that split the air echoed throughout all of Burthorpe. The students watching gasped and flinched at the cry and the scene before them. Blood dripped down Rallis’ chin. Captain Rubine fell backwards, and Rallis let go as she fell. As the fury cleared, Rallis’ ears drooped as she looked in horror at what she had done. She didn’t mean to hurt the captain so badly! Just a little so she could win! Whenever she bit at her brothers they never got hurt like this!

Three of the trainees on the sidelines ran over to Rubine’s side and looked over the wound. One of them ran off to the infirmary to grab some supplies while the other two peeled away the sleeve of her uniform. Puncture wounds dotted her bloody arm, outlining Rallis’ teeth perfectly. Just as Rallis was about to walk over to help, Commander Denulth came over.

“I heard a scream! Is everything–?”

Rubine crying over her wound, blood dripping onto the grass, the nearby students panicked all around the scene, Rallis standing over her defeated foe with blood dripping from her mouth, Denulth understood immediately.

“Rallis, go to my tent NOW!” he shouted. Rallis made herself as small as possible and slinked off to Denulth’s tent, while the commander hurried over to Rubine’s side. Rallis didn’t stick around to hear or see the damage she had caused.

She huddled in the corner of the command tent, worriedly waiting for Denulth to come. Why had she done that?! The only humans she had ever attacked before were people trying to harm her family or fellow creatures. Rubine had done neither. Had she really attacked someone for no other reason than she was frustrated? How could she let her emotions come to this…

Denulth stomped into the room, tent flap thrown open violently behind him. He glared daggers at Rallis, who shrunk smaller in turn. “I ought to throw you back to Taverley right now,” he snarled. “To throw you right back into the monster filled cave you crawled out of.” Rallis flinched at his words. “What the hell were you thinking?! Or clearly not thinking.”

Rallis didn’t know how to explain herself, staying silent and thinking how to begin. When a sharp ‘Well?!’ from Denulth followed her silence, she tried to find her words. “I-I am sorry. I did not want to hurt her on purpose. I do not know… Why did I hurt her? I did not purpose it. I am angry all days and I… I bite her! Why I bite her?!” She broke down crying and howled between sobs. “I do not want to hurt! She is not bad! I hurt her because I am angry and I did not purpose it!”

She broke down into unintelligible sobs, and though Denulth’s face stayed the same, his voice calmed. “Rallis, I understand you have needed to harm others to survive before coming here, and I understand you act on your impulses. But that’s why you are here, to learn to control yourself and learn discipline. You let your emotions get the better of you and you hurt someone because of it.”

Rallis bowed her head in shame. Now it truly sank in why she was here to train and the consequences of not using what she learned. “I am sorry. How do I fix this?”

“I can’t tell you how to do that,” Denulth said. “You need to figure that out for yourself. But I will suggest you start with the person you harmed.”

Rallis nodded and made her way to the tent entrance. “Oh, and Rallis,” Denulth said, stopping her. “You will be on triple work duty until Captain Rubine is healed.”

Rallis grimaced but held back her groan and muttered a yes sir. She deserved far more than that so she would take that punishment without complaint. She then slunk off to the infirmary to apologize to the captain.

___________________________________________________________________________

The following weeks since the incident with Captain Rubine were very different. Rallis woke before anyone else and got to work on her triple duty before anyone else was even thinking of their work. Rallis thought she would hate this early wake up call, but she ended up finding it peaceful, especially with how she was now treated since she bit Rubine. The other recruits glared at the dragon in hatred or kept their distance in fear. No matter how much she apologized or tried to make amends, the damage she caused would not be forgotten or forgiven so easily. The early morning was the only time Rallis could find perfect quiet peace away from the judgment of the other recruits. Thankfully Tatiana and Allen understood Rallis’ explanation and apologies and remained her friends, and Rallis was ever grateful for their continued companionship during this time where everyone else distrusted her. Captain Rubine had also seemingly gotten over the incident rather quickly, saying this wasn’t the first time she had been attacked by a monster (a comment that stung Rallis quite a bit), but Rallis checked in on her often anyway. The woman was in no shape to fight, with her broken arm in a sling, but she could still teach and command well enough. 

Rallis helped out wherever she could and made herself scarce to avoid her fellow recruits’ judgemental gazes. She tried her best to mend relations but it wasn’t going as well as she hoped. She offered to help anyone and everyone, never complained again, and listened to every rule and criticism. But even still, the glares kept coming and a constant distance was present. The dragon settled into a subdued depression, no longer really interacting with anyone unless absolutely necessary. Even her chats with Allen and Tatiana had lessened, as did her trips to Ghommal.

Weeks passed. Captain Rubine no longer needed to wear a sling but couldn’t move her arm much. The other trainees had stopped most of their whispers and glares but still gave the dragon a wide berth. Rallis had grown far more hardworking in that time, the consequences of her actions being the spur she finally needed to learn the importance of self-discipline. She still beat nearly everyone else she was allowed to spar against, but she knew now how to hold back and not let her frustrations take over, at least not too much. She began to understand the importance of what she thought were menial tasks schlepped onto her as busywork and tackled her daily work with more determination and enthusiasm than before. She felt herself begin to grow as a person; she was only upset that it took breaking an innocent person’s arm and making everyone fear or distrust her to make that change happen.

“It is unfortunate, but it is also good,” Ghommal told her. Rallis had been going to the half-giant to talk more than challenge lately since she felt she couldn’t be open to the other trainees in camp anymore. “You are learning, and sometimes learning is painful. But if you can learn from this, it is what makes you strong, what makes you a warrior.”

“A good and strong enough warrior to go in guild?” Rallis asked with a side smile.

Ghommal huffed a laugh. “Not yet, little dragon. You are not done learning.”

Rallis sighed. “What I want to learn is how to make everybody stop hate me.”

“That will take time, little dragon. Trust is easier to break than make. You can not make it go faster.”

The dragon groaned. “Wish I could…”

Ghommal gave her shoulder a rub. “Keep trying your best and things will get better.”

A shrill chime sounded in the distance. Rallis and Ghommal turned toward the noise. Someone was ringing a loud bell from the camp.

“Uh-oh,” Ghommal muttered. Rallis chirped at him in confusion. “That is the emergency bell. Something has happened. Go now, little dragon, quickly.” He shooed her away and Rallis ran back to camp like the wind.

Everyone gathered on the main training ground area where the bell was sounding. Trainee, guard, and captain alike stood waiting for answers, muttering with each other. Rallis found Tatiana and Allen and dashed beside them.

“What is going on?” the dragon asked.

“I don’t know,” Tatiana replied. “I was just about to ask the same question.”

“Whatever it is, it’s important,” Allen told them. “The last time the emergency bell was rung it was because three stray trolls had begun to wander down from the mountains.”

Tatiana paled. She sure hoped trolls weren’t invading today!

Commander Denulth marched forth and stood silently, waiting for everyone’s attention. He needn’t say a word, his mere presence enough to silence all present.

“Thank you for arriving so swiftly,” he began. “Though I expect nothing less. We have gathered you all here today to share unfortunate news. Three members of the Imperial Guard have gone missing in the mountains of Trollheim.”

Mutters and gasps broke out, and it took a bit more than a wave of a hand to quiet everyone this time.

“A foolish adventurer wandered into the mountains,” the commander continued. “Three of our guard went with him to guide his path while also performing a routine scout. None have returned since the four days they’ve been missing, save this.”

The commander pulled forth a pale blue helmet. Its purple plume had been torn to scraps and a terrifying bite mark had crunched the face guard in. Whispers of trolls quickly rose.

“Needless to say the adventurer has very likely been eaten already. More of his armor was found broken and tossed at the foot of the mountains. However, none of our own attire has been spotted, meaning our fellows may yet live. This is why I called you all here today. A rescue team must be formed, one that will scale the mountains and save our comrades. Another defensive team must also ensure no trolls come looking for more humans and stand guard at the entrance to the mountain pass. The former team will be in far more danger than the latter, and I will only ask for volunteers. I will not force anyone not prepared to face death to embark on this rescue mission. Please think for a moment if you find yourself willing to become part of one of these teams.”

For a moment, there was pure silence. The shock of the matter at hand settled in. Someone had just died. Their friends could be next unless someone was ready to step up and face the same threat. 

Captain Eddo was the first to come forward. “If you think I won’t run up there and kick some troll ass, pah! Sign me up for rescue, commander.”

Some muttering later, a few more began to raise their hands or come forth, mostly the more trained official guards. Mostly.

“Mister Farmount, you may join the rescue team,” Commander Denulth said. 

Tatiana and Rallis spun around to see Allen had raised his hand to volunteer.

“Wha–?! Allen, no, you can’t do something so dangerous!” Tatiana cried. “What if you get hurt?! Or worse!”

“I’ve been up into the mountains more than any other trainee and even more than some of the promoted guards. I should go.”

“But it’s not safe! You can’t go! C’mon Rallis back me up here!”

“Do not go,” Rallis confirmed. “You are doing a stupid.”

“I’ve already been picked,” Allen argued. “I want to go. I want to be helpful. I’m sorry but you two won’t stop me.”

Tatiana began to argue with her friend, but Rallis had a different idea in mind. She raised her hand as well. When Denulth passed his gaze over her and intentionally ignored her, she spoke up. “Denulth, sir, I go to rescue too!”

The crowd gave her odd looks and whispered to one another. Denulth ignored her outburst and began to pick volunteers for the defense team. Rallis scowled and flicked her tail angrily before turning to Allen once more.

“I go with you. We safe together.”

“I appreciate that Rallis, really I do, but there’s no way the commander will let you go on such a mission,” Allen said.

“Why not? I am just as good at fights as you. I can help too!”

“It’s not just about fighting,” Allen sighed.

Denulth cleared his throat for attention and at once the crowd silenced themselves. 

“The defensive team will be led by myself. With me will be guards Ryker, Lake, and Cunnims, as well as recruits Phabine and Thelbs. The rescue team will be led by Captain Eddo and assisted by guards Dasch, Greywell, and Jolin, as well as recruit Farmount. Captain Rubine will be in charge while I am away. Those picked, meet in the command tent for instructions. The rest of you, resume your work.” He nodded to Rubine and walked away, volunteers trailing behind. Tatiana reached for Allen, who stoically marched away without so much as a glance back.

Captain Rubine addressed the remaining recruits and guards on some other such additional drill to conduct daily in case of troll invasion, but Rallis wasn’t listening. She marched right behind Allen, who gave her a glance and a small sigh. She paid him no mind. 

Before Rallis could even reach the entrance of the command tent, a firm grasp pulled her away. She held back a hiss when she saw it was the commander that had pulled her aside.

“You’ve been here how long and you still can’t follow orders,” Denulth reprimanded. “Give me one good reason why I don’t give you bathroom cleaning duty for this.”

“I want to go,” Rallis said firmly. “I can help. I want to help.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve learned a thing or two about camaraderie, but this isn’t the time to ignore my orders in favor of your own. Now go back to Captain Rubine. I have pressing matters to attend to.”

Rallis grabbed Denulth before he could escape, earning her a harsh glare. “I not letting my friend get hurt! Not when I can help! I do anything to help!” The commander wasn’t convinced. Rallis growled. “I fight everyone and show I better! I can help more and fight stronger! I… I even fight you! I better and need to go!”

“I do not have time for this, Rallis,” Denulth growled. “You are not going, end of discussion. If you want to prove yourself so badly, go back to Rubine and follow orders. That’s what you came here to learn.”

“You scared! Scared I better for rescue! You is a coward!”

Denulth froze in silent fury and for a moment his piercing gaze made Rallis’ bravado waver. He pulled back the tent flap where the volunteers were waiting, trying very hard to look like they weren’t listening in on their argument. “Eddo, begin discussions. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The captain nodded tersely and clapped for everyone’s attention.

“Fine, dragon, you want to prove yourself so badly? I’ll let you come with us.” Rallis smiled until she saw the commander reach for the metal claws at his side. “If you can prove you’re the greatest asset here like you claim, I might even let you lead this campaign!” He flipped his protective hood over his head and strapped on his claws. “Actions speak louder than words. Back up your claim and beat me and you can go.”

Rallis’ ears drooped but her expression stayed firm. She nodded and followed the commander to the nearest sparring area, hidden away from Rubine and the others behind tents and sheds.

“I’m not one of your rookie friends,” Denulth growled. “There are no rules when fighting me. Do what you like and understand I will as well.”

Rallis’ gave him a worried glance. His confidence was diminishing her own. She had never seen the commander fight but he couldn’t be that good, right? He was only a human after all.

Rallis stood by him in the center of the sparring area and waited for him to turn away to walk 15 paces. Instead, as soon as she was close enough, Denulth grabbed her by the arm, hard. Rallis squawked and Denulth roared as he flung the dragon over his head and slammed her into the ground. She whistled a whine as she landed with a thud on the hard ground.

“Your first lesson! There are no rules in a battle against the enemy and there are no rules here!”

Denulth launched at the downed dragon with steel claws ready to slice. Rallis panicked and quickly darted out of the way. The commander slashed at the ground, leaving three deep grooves where Rallis had just been. He wasted no time following up. Denulth pushed from the ground and lashed out for Rallis’ leg. The dragon leapt into the air and dodged, landing gracefully behind him. But the attacks kept coming. Denulth spun around and launched himself at the dragon with claws outstretched. Rallis held her own claws up to catch his and the two locked themselves in a momentary stalemate. Denulth slammed his foot onto Rallis’ and the dragon howled and flinched in pain. He brought up a knee and slammed into her stomach, winding her and sending her careening backward.

Before she had a chance to recover, the commander was on her again. He lunged for her throat. “Your second lesson! The enemy is unafraid to kill you and so am I!”

Rallis hissed a gasp as she bent backward. Denulth’s claws missed her neck by a breath. The dragon let herself fall to the ground and let her back claws sink into the commander’s armor. If he was going to be this serious, she needed to be too. With a fierce kick, she ripped away the protective padding around his abdomen and flung it aside. Denulth landed on the ground and rolled to safety before launching another attack.

The striking of metal and claw rang out. Rallis and Denulth were whirs of black dancing with deadly precision. The commander had a shallow slash across his stomach and a deeper gash on his left arm, but he battled like he didn’t feel it. Rallis had shallow marks on all her limbs, her black attire hanging shredded and bloody by threads. She was starting to tire and her opponent looked like he could continue for hours.

Denulth looked over Rallis with almost a hint of disappointment as she stood before him, panting and shaking. He expected more, and perhaps if he kept pushing, he would get what he wanted. But he had work to do. It was time to end this.

In a burst of speed Rallis couldn’t even begin to follow, Denulth launched himself at his opponent one last time. Rallis gasped as the commander pummeled into her. She fell to the floor with a fwumph and something cold and sharp pressed firmly against her neck. Denulth had her pinned down, fully unable to move, with a set of steel claws against her throat. Rallis looked into her mentor’s eyes with pure fear as she panted, the feeling of metal claws scraping against her scales with every breath. And yet, despite the fear, the commander could see a hint of her usual fiery determination still lingering. He smiled a small smile to himself and got up with a groan. Rallis stared at him in disbelief as he removed his claws and hood and brushed some of the dirt from his clothes.

“I won,” he told her. “Which means you’re not coming. Now run along back to Captain Rubine. I’ve lost more time than I can regain from this and I have work to do.” But Rallis did not rise from the ground, still in shock. “What, did you think I was actually going to kill you? Your third lesson, Rallis…” He reached out a hand to the fallen dragon.

“Trust your partners, even if they happen to be against you in that moment.”

Rallis chirped and took his hand and let him haul her up. She opened her mouth to speak, but the commander stopped her.

“No, I don’t want to hear anything from you. I’m late as it is. Go fix your clothes and patch yourself up and don’t even think about arguing to join the rescue team. If your clothing isn’t fixed by the time we head out, you owe me three extra hours of community service a day for a month.”

And without another word, the commander strode away, leaving Rallis with much to think about.

_____________________________________________________________________

“You fought the commander?! You’re braver than anyone here, and maybe insaner too!”

Rallis shrugged and continued eating dinner alongside Tatiana, who was currently too stunned to eat.

“What was it like?” Tatiana asked. “Oh I wish I could’ve seen you two go at it! I bet it was amazing!”

Rallis hummed noncommittally and bit into her baked potato.

“What, that’s it? You had a chance to spar with the strongest person in the Imperial Guard’s history and all you have to say is ‘hmm?!’ I thought you of all people would be gushing about it!”

Rallis put down her fork and stared blankly at her food, thinking about the previous events of the day.

“He… very strong,” she finally said. “His fight… it teached me a lot. I have to think.”

With that, the dragon shoveled the rest of her dinner into her maw in one gaping bite. It was rather horrific to watch.

“Allen leave soon. We say bye?”

“Yes, we should,” Tatiana agreed. “I still don’t like that he’s going. But I should’ve figured he would.” The woman was too upset to eat so she scooted the remainder of her food over to Rallis, who happily chomped it down in one gulp.

“Why he want to go?” Rallis asked as they walked over to put their dishes in the bin for cleaning.

“Allen hates trolls. He used to live in a small town on the side of a mountain far from here. One day a group of trolls attacked and destroyed the town completely, wiped it off the map. Several people were killed, including his grandparents. Any time he has a chance to scout the plateau or mountains, or any time he has a chance to actually fight a troll or thwart their plans, he snatches up the task. It makes me nervous. I’m scared Allen is going to get really hurt one day up there, or worse…”

Rallis frowned in thought. She felt the same way about the black armored humans that would raid her home in the dungeon but even she wasn’t foolish enough to go looking for a fight with them. Maybe Tatiana was right to worry about Allen.

The two made their way outside just in time to see the two teams finish up their preparations to leave. Captain Eddo and his team were kitted in full combat gear, ready to commence their rescue operation. Even in their full black from head to toe, Tatiana could recognize her friend double checking his pack for the trip. She ran up and hugged him from behind. The man gave a startled yelp at first and then realized who it was and let the woman do as she pleased.

He placed a hand on one of the arms around his neck. “Tati, you worry too much. I’ll be fine.”

“You better be,” she said, muffled by her face pressing against her arms. “Otherwise Rallis and I are gonna march up there without permission and kick some troll butt and drag you home.”

Allen chuckled. “Maybe I will get captured then because I would love to see that.” Tatiana lightly swatted his cheek. “I jest! But I will be fine, I promise. If everything goes according to plan, we should be back with our rescued friends in only a few days. We just need to figure out where they’re being held, and we don’t suspect them to be in the stronghold area. We’ll be just fine, don’t you worry.”

“...Okay,” Tatiana conceded and removed herself from her friend. 

Rallis inched closer. “We want to say bye and say you be safe. You be safe?”

“Yes, we will, I promise,” Allen said.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Captain Eddo shouted. “If we leave now, we should reach Tenzing’s hut by nightfall. We have no time to waste, let’s move!”

Allen waved his companions one last goodbye and headed up to the rest of his team.

Commander Denulth spoke next. “My team, gather round as well. We must leave as well if we wish to reach Saba’s by nightfall. Gather the barricade supplies and let’s move. Hopefully we won’t need to use any of what we bring.”

The defense team gathered and began to haul their far heavier loads of defensive supplies on the chance more trolls came down looking for easy adventurers to catch. The team heaved and groaned as they began the trek to the base of the mountain pass. And soon, everyone was gone. Tatiana hummed sadly and slumped off to the sleeping quarters, ready for the day to be done. Rallis watched until they all disappeared into the rocky distance then followed suit.

…

The next two days were rather somber for all. Drills were quiet, chatter at the dining tables halted, the overall atmosphere was dour, and even Captain Rubine couldn’t find much enthusiasm in teaching. She stopped scolding the hopeful glances toward the mountains pretty quickly, hoping the same thing her trainees did, that their captured friends were still alive. Even the food didn’t taste as good with so many people missing from their usual spots in the dining hall. Rallis didn’t even eat the leftovers people had like she normally did.

“I need a walk,” she told Tatiana on the second night, and the woman just nodded absently.

The dragon blankly walked throughout Burthorpe, listening to anything that might keep her mind off things. The chittering of bats, the meowing of cats, the end of the day shuffling of the citizens, the growing chatter from the bar nearby, the wind in the tent flaps, the howling from the mountains…

“Hello, tiny dragon.”

…The voice from Ghommal?

Rallis looked up with a slow blink to find herself at the entrance to the Warriors’ Guild, right in front of Ghommal. She turned around and saw that yes she had in fact walked all the way over without realizing it. She must have really been in a funk.

“Are you okay?” the half-giant asked.

Rallis shook her head and sat on the stone steps of the guild entrance. The half-giant sat down beside her, his sheer size nearly pushing her off the step. “What is wrong?”

“Just worry. All of us is worry.” She pointed to the mountain pass entrance that wasn’t that far away. “Many of us, they go to there. Trolls take some of us and we need to rescue them. But… we worry they get hurt. It’s two days now.”

“Oh, that’s why I saw them coming this way,” Ghommal said in understanding. “I think you should worry for the trolls, not your friends! The commander is with them and he is scary. Trolls are in very big trouble.”

“Commander is scary,” Rallis agreed. “When he come into guild?”

Ghommal scratched his beard in thought. “Hm… I do not remember. Harrallak, that is the guild master, was very young when Denulth came. I think it was back when Harrallak still had hair, haha!”

“Wow,” Rallis whispered. “He strong for loooong time then. I want to be that strong.” She looked to Ghommal. “You think I can be in guild some day too?”

“I said yes before, I say yes now,” the man assured. “I can tell, you are already much stronger than when I met you. Keep that up and you will be strong enough one day, I know it.”

Rallis smiled but pouted soon after. “Not strong enough to help save friends though,” she bemoaned. “Denulth not even let me come.”

“Bah, Denulth is smarter than us both,” Ghommal said. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Rallis humphed and said no more. The two sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying the night sky and each other’s company. Time passed, and when Rallis began to feel like she should head back to go to sleep, frantic footsteps caught her attention. She turned her head toward the noise to find one of the trainees from the defense group running back to Burthorpe. Rallis' ears shot up. Was there news? She had to know! She waved bye to Ghommal and raced off.

“Wait! Stop!” she called. The trainee hardly heard her, too focused on getting back to Burthorpe. The dragon sped up and ran alongside him. “Stop I say! What is wrong? Why you run?”

The trainee stopped with heavy pants. “Rescue team… All gone… But one… He’s injured… We need help.” Rallis paled at the information. The entire rescue team was gone?! In only two days?! “We need help before… before we go up next.”

“Who came back hurt?”

“Guard Greywell,” the trainee said. “He was clubbed… or something. He’s hurt real bad. We need help before we can go up.”

Rallis clenched her jaw. At least it wasn’t Allen that was hurt, but that also meant he was now missing, likely captured by trolls. Rallis motioned for the trainee to keep going and the man continued his run toward Burthorpe. She took a step to follow him, but stopped and turned toward the mountains. 

‘They not go up to help until tomorrow or later, he said. Waiting bad. Might get eated… But I can go up now…’

She would get yelled at. She would have extra chores to do. She could be in a lot of danger by doing this. Which all meant it was the perfect kind of Rallis plan. She was going to help her comrades, and no one was going to stop her.

________________________________________________________________________

There were whispers by the mountains, discussions on the wind. Anyone else would mistake it for the wind’s howls, but Rallis could pick up the sounds clear as day. It was Denulth’s group discussing what to do next. Rallis followed the sounds, quietly and carefully, until she reached a dead end on the mountain path near a cave. Denulth’s team were talking frantically while taking care of someone atop a sleeping mat. It had to be the member of Eddo’s group that came back injured. Rallis could see torn clothing as a makeshift bandage on his bleeding head and a dent that looked like a few broken ribs. The dragon winced. Whatever a troll was, it must have been very big and very strong to do such damage.

Rallis took in her surroundings from behind her rocky cover. There were three paths for her to choose from. One that led to Denulth, one that led into the mountains, and one that led up and around the mountains. Her first instinct was to take the second path, but the sight of a small house atop a low peak on the third path caught her attention. Someone dared to live this close to nasty monsters? Rallis remembered something about Captain Eddo’s group reaching a man named Tenzing’s hut. Maybe that was it? It would be a good idea to investigate, so she took the third path.

A gentle sloping hike later and Rallis found herself at the entrance to a small front yard dotted with mountain herbs and sleeping chickens. Sneaking by quietly so as not to wake the birds, she crept up to the lit window of the house and peeked inside. There were no Burthorpe guards, not even a trace, just a man in gray wool pajamas. Rallis felt safe enough to ask him some questions without getting caught and punished by any of her superiors. She walked back to the door and knocked quietly. Shuffling grew closer to the door and a tired man in a gray nightcap opened his home to see a blue human-sized lizard looking up at him.

“Oh dear, did I fall asleep?” he mumbled. “What an odd dream.”

“No, you awake,” Rallis said. That startled the man a bit more into awakeness. “Hi, my name Rallis, I need help. You help people that look like me? They come into mountain.”

“You must be mistaken,” the man hurried. “I have never seen or helped other creatures like you.”

“No not like me me, like this me,” she clarified and pointed to her clothing. “The people in the black clothes that go into the mountain. You help them?”

The man took a closer look at her uniform. “You mean… the Burthorpe Guard? Yes, I aided them two nights ago. Are you… with them?”

Rallis nodded fervently. “I have to help them! Where they go?”

“Oh my, aren’t you the most interesting member of theirs yet. Here, follow me.” The man led Rallis through his yard, around his house, toward a perilous looking path that ran from the back of his house to the mountainous regions unknown. “They went this way. It’s the safest path into the mountains if you have the right gear.” He took a look at Rallis’ feet for a moment. “Those are some fearsome claws! You shouldn’t need my special hiking boots to get across. If you follow the path, you will reach a fork in the road. Do not take the left path and you should find your fellows.”

“Thank you much!” she chirped. “I must go now! I have to help!” And she sprinted off into the mountain. As the man waved goodbye, Rallis thought to herself. ‘Why someone put a fork in the dirt? That is for eating not climbing!’

It would not be until much climbing later she would learn fork meant where a path breaks. Goats milled about in the more spacious area where the path split in two, jumping across the rocks with ease to reach whatever small shrub they could to snack upon. Rallis followed the path she was told to follow and kept her eyes and ears open. She leaned back, back against the rock wall, and sidled across the thin path that fell down a sheer cliff face. One wrong move and she could forget about ever walking again. 

As she sidled her way across the mountain, a noise perked up her ears. It sounded like grunting, very heavy and loud grunting. It definitely wasn’t a human sound. She continued onward, more quietly this time. The farther she went, the louder the grunts grew. A foul stench began to rise toward her nostrils, making her silently gag and cover her mouth and nose. She didn’t have the words for the foulness she was smelling. It was like that bubbling pot of goo in Taverley Dungeon mixed with months of poop.

As she neared the grunts and stink, the path widened until she could finally walk normally again. The path curved around a bend in the mountain and dipped over a rockslide. Rallis scrambled behind some of the fallen rocks and crouched down. She let her eyes adjust and took in her surroundings. Huge lumpy shapes layed about on a large flat rocky surface the size of Burthorpe. The lumps snored and grunted and farted and belched. Some clutched massive makeshift clubs or boulders in their sleep. Rallis had found what she could only assume were trolls. They were absolutely disgusting.

She took a closer look around, poking her head out from behind the rockslide as much as she dared. Tent-like structures made of bones and skins acted as shelter for some of the sleeping trolls or their weapons, all crude looking. A large pot sat a good ways away, resting over a now extinguished fire. Piles of armor, clothing, weapons, and bones lay beside the pot. The sight made Rallis pale. That pot was for human cooking. And it seemed the trolls had just finished eating someone, if the fresh bones and full bellies were anything to go by. She hoped it wasn’t Allen.

Which speaking of, where were the other guards?

Rallis scanned the area for any signs of black clothing and steel claws. She didn’t see anything other than the pile of discarded gear by the pot… No, there! Under one of the bone and skin awnings, a hint of metal claws glimmering in the moonlight. When it shifted slightly and a black pant leg came into view, she knew she had hit the jackpot. Now she just had to get over there.

Not wanting to risk the sound of rocks falling from the rockslide, Rallis stealthily leapt down from the path on its ledge and onto the flat rock below. Not a single creature stirred; she was in the clear. She picked her tail up from the floor and crept quickly and low to the ground, gunning straight for the awning. Not even the scrape of her claws could be heard over the thunderous snoring; the dragon might as well have not existed.

She crept up behind the supporting bones of the open-air skin tent and peeked inside. One troll, supposedly a guard by the look of its wooden club and stone shield, was fast asleep and snoring loudly. In front of it were six human figures, bound in various ways. With her night vision, Rallis could make out every member of the rescue team, including Allen she was thankful to notice. Two others she didn’t immediately recognize were also present, likely from the trio that aided the adventurer who met an untimely demise. Something shimmered disturbingly in the moonlight and Rallis grimaced when she noticed Captain Eddo’s head was drenched with dried blood. The two guards Rallis couldn’t recognize also had large rocks placed on their legs, and it didn’t take a doctor to know one or both of their legs were broken. The other members of Captain Eddo’s team seemed to be fine in comparison, only sporting a few gashes or bruises that would heal with time.

Every one of them were fast asleep, likely worn out from their wounds. How on Gielinor was she supposed to wake them up and get them out of here without alerting the trolls? Maybe going for Allen was a good bet. He was always quiet and stoic.

Rallis snuck up behind the sleeping man and reached through the bone wall. She carefully covered Allen’s mouth and whispered in his ear.

“Allen, wake up,” she hissed, almost imperceptible above the trolls’ snoring. She shook the man slightly and hissed again and he regained consciousness. She could feel him panic for a moment until she whispered to him again. “Quiet! It Rallis. I here to save you.”

Allen froze and Rallis removed her hand from his mouth. “Rallis?!” he whispered back. “How the hell did you get up here?! Nevermind, go back to Burthorpe. We already know reinforcements are coming. Don’t get caught as well.”

“I not get caught. Too sneaky.” She examined the bindings holding them all down. It was thick rope, likely stolen from their human neighbors, held down by heavy stone. Not a bad design for a rudimentary set of cuffs, but dragon claws would make very short work of it. Rallis slashed through Allen’s bindings with ease, and the man rubbed his wrists in thanks.

“Wake up rest and I free you,” Rallis whispered. “Then you all come with me.”

“Three of us can’t walk,” Allen retorted. “How do you expect to get us all out by yourself?” Nevertheless, he carefully woke some of the others. Rallis slit through Eddo’s rope bindings, sure he wouldn’t awaken any time soon. Soon, the other two members of Eddo’s team were awake and free, and the trolls were none the wiser. The group all quietly caught up with the situation and thanked Rallis. The only ones not awake yet were the two guards that had been captured the longest, the two with the boulders holding down their legs, and poor Eddo.

“What do we do about them?” Dasch whispered and pointed to the two still asleep. “If we wake them up, they’re going to cry out in pain and alert the trolls.”

“We can’t leave them here,” Jolin argued. “They’re the whole reason we came up here.”

“We could leave them and wait for reinforcements,” Dasch said.

“No. We don’t even know if Greywell made it to the commander,” Allen said.

“He did,” Rallis confirmed. “But he hurt very bad. Someone run back to Birth-rope with your message.”

That put the team at ease a bit. “Then do we leave and wait for help?” Dasch asked.

“If we do, someone else could be eaten,” Jolin said. “You saw what they did to Gregor.” Jolin shuddered and looked at the ground.

Allen thought hard. “Let’s start by getting Captain Eddo out of here. If he has a concussion like I think he does, he needs help as soon as possible and he won’t be waking up and making noise any time soon.”

The others agreed and quietly dragged their fallen captain up. It took both Dasch and Jolin to lift his dead weight while Allen carried the captain’s weapons and armor so they wouldn’t jangle and give them away. Rallis silently scouted out the area and showed them the quietest path to the rockslide. Step by careful step, the group made their way to the rockslide and crouched behind the fallen boulders. Now for the toughest part: getting Eddo over the rockslide without making noise.

Allen hopped over the rocks and carefully placed his handful of objects down. “The three of you, pass me his legs.”

They nodded and heaved up their captain. With silent tension and gritted teeth, they managed to hand Allen Eddo’s feet over the crumbling rock pile. They inched him slowly across until all that was left were his arms and head. Rallis leapt across, lithe as a cat, and helped put the captain down. With him across and no trolls awakened, the four breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“I don’t think we’ll get that lucky with the others,” Dasch whispered.

“We still have to try,” Jolin said. 

Dasch grumbled but hopped back down the rockslide all the same. Jolin hopped down next, then Rallis. Allen neared the edge to slide down, and as he did, his foot caught a loose rock in the sloping ledge, sending it clattering across the plateau. The four froze in fear as the impossibly loud sounds of the rock clattering against stone echoed throughout the mountain, until it stopped a few yards away. 

No one dared to move a muscle. Their breath went still. Their wide eyes scanned the plateau for any sign of movement, and new sounds. One extra grunt and a fart later and all was as quiet as a group of snoring trolls could be. The four relaxed in relief and continued their mission. Rallis waved them along back to the awning.

The four huddled on the outside where they could talk more safely than directly in front of a sleeping guard.

“So what’s the plan?” Jolin asked.

“As soon as we move the rocks off them, we’re all dead,” Dasch said.

“I wake them up like you?” Rallis asked Allen.

Allen shook his head. “I’m not sure. I’d like to have that as a last resort.”

“Hmm… Well, the rockslide isn't that far from where we are now,” Dasch said. “If they do wake up and scream, we could just book it to safety.”

“Do you really think the four of us could carry those two that quickly?” Jolin questioned.

“What, have you been skipping exercises, Jolin?” Dasch chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I could carry Cuddy by myself and make it back faster than you!”

“The enthusiasm is appreciated,” Allen interrupted. “But that’s just as risky, if not riskier.”

“Well I don’t see you making any grand plans, mister trainee,” Dasch snarked. “You just shoot them down.”

Allen grumbled and thought harder. After a long moment, Rallis put a hand on his shoulder. “You three should carry the two, even if they wake up the trolls. I am very fast! I can distract!”

“No, I don’t want you being bait,” Allen said firmly.

“If she’s willing, let her,” Dasch said. Even Jolin looked like she wanted to agree.

Allen grit his teeth but Rallis smiled. “It okay. I am very fast and very good. Trolls can not catch me! You all cut the ropes and get the two. I get ready to distract.”

They agreed to the plan (mostly) and hopped to it. Jolin used her steel claws to slash through the other two guards’ bindings and the four mentally prepared themselves. Dasch and Allen stood above a boulder each and counted to three. On three they heaved the boulders off the broken legs of their comrades. At once, the two woke and could not hold their pained screams. No one tried to silence them, and by the sound of the trolls grunting awake, it would be too late anyway.

“Grab them and run!” Allen shouted.

He and Jolin grabbed one of the battered guards while Dasch carried the much shorter one by himself. The troll guard meant to watch over them roared awake. Rallis leapt onto its big nasty face and screeched. She bit into its bulbous nose and ripped it off with a fierce howl. The troll cried out and fell back, destroying one wall of bone supports. Rallis spit out the troll flesh and roared to her companions. 

“RUN NOW!”

They didn’t need to be told twice! Allen, Dasch, and Jolin hauled their wailing confused comrades to the rockslide. Rallis slid into the open of the plateau and roared. Immediately, all troll eyes were on her. Some grabbed clubs, some huge rocks to throw, some shields to bash her with, but all were equally furious and ready to kill. 

The nearest groggy troll took a swing at the dragon with his stone club. Rallis spun out of the way and right into the path of another oncoming troll. This one swiped at her from the side with a log. Rallis leapt over it and the two trolls crashed into each other. Two trolls took aim at her with their rocks. Right as they released, Rallis ducked to the ground and the two rocks collided and shattered harmlessly in the air, leaving behind a pile of granular debris. Another troll went in flailing with nothing but its fists. Rallis scraped up dirt and pebbles from the ground and threw it into the troll’s eyes, leaving the beast blinded and screaming. There were no rules here! This was kill or be killed! It was time to let loose!

The others were nearing the rockslide, only a few paces away, when a rock came hurtling toward them. It whizzed by Dasch’s head and smacked into the ledge slope with a thud. A troll was focusing on them instead of Rallis, and it was preparing another rock to throw.

“Behind the rocks, now!” Allen commanded. The three dove behind the nearest part of the rockslide, moaning baggage in tow.

Rallis spun at the commotion and hissed. She sprinted and launched herself at the thrower troll. The beast grunted and groaned as Rallis climbed up to the fat beast’s neck and sank her claws into its shoulders. Rallis bit at the back of its neck and the troll screamed. It reached back to grab at the dragon, but she bit back, ripping off a pair of fingers in her maw. The beast fell forward in pain, cradling its hand, and Rallis finished the job with a double claw strike to the fresh bite mark. The troll fell down dead in the dirt. Alas, this did not deter any of the other trolls. In fact, it only seemed to make them angrier and spur them on. A group of them rushed her, makeshift clubs and maces brandished.

Allen, Dasch, and Jolin hurriedly began their endeavor of heaving the two injured guards over the rockslide. Without the need to stay quiet, they could move a lot more quickly. They tried to move as carefully as they could, but every nudge and jostle tore new screams of pain from their injured companions. One nasty bump sent one of the guards into a spiral of pain.

“Shut up, Furlow, before I knock your ass out!” Dasch shouted. 

“You’re not the ones with shattered legs!” the other injured guard cried. “You could be more gentle!”

“Ah shut it, Cuddy,” Dasch groaned as he helped shove the screaming Furlow over the rocks. “You were next on those trolls’ menu. Be thankful you’re alive to feel this pain!”

“FUCK YOU, DASCH!” Furlow screamed. He tried to say more but cut off with a tearful howl as he finally made his way to safety with Jolin and Allen’s help.

“Keep it down before the trolls pay more attention to us,” Jolin snapped. “Rallis is risking her life for us!”

Allen looked on at the scene below him while Dasch and Jolin finished carrying Cuddy over the rocks. He could barely make out anything in the pitch dark, but flashes of bright blue in the moonlight showed Rallis still fighting hard. Claws, fangs, and blood, shimmered in the moonlight as trolls fell around her, and although Allen couldn’t see the carnage, he could most certainly hear it.

“RALLIS!” Allen shouted. “WE’RE GOOD TO GO!”

Rallis howled animalistically back at him and he could see the dragon leaping over trolls and bodies trying to reach the rest of the group.

“Quickly, get farther up the path!” Allen commanded. “Rallis is heading this way! Once she reaches us, we need to be out of thrower troll distance!”

“Right!” Dasch and Jolin said in unison. They carried an injured comrade each and hurried toward the safe distance away where they left the unconscious Captain Eddo.

Allen watched as Rallis bounded over projectiles and troll swings to reach the rockslide. The stampede of trolls were gaining on her, and it was apparent the dragon was getting tired while the dozens of trolls tailing her had energy to spare. Rallis sped toward the ledge as fast as she could.

“CATCH ME!” she shouted to Allen.

She was heading farther along the ledge toward him, not the rockslide! It was a shorter distance to run, yes, but reckless and deadly if either of them should miss.

‘Guess I can’t miss then!’ Allen’s thoughts screamed. He leaned down the ledge, arm extended. “RIGHT HERE!” he shouted.

Rallis locked on to Allen’s hand, and once she was close enough, she leapt! She threw her hand up, claws outstretched, and grabbed at air. Allen slid down farther. He felt her claws scrape his fingers, and slammed his hand shut. With a jerk and a yell, he threw the dragon onto the ledge beside him. Rallis landed on all fours, panting hard. Allen could see now that she had sustained a couple hits, light blows by troll standards but horribly painful for a human, or humanoid sized dragon.

The rush of trolls roared angrily at the base of the ledge. The beasts might have been tall, but they weren’t tall enough to reach the top of the ledge, and they were far too large and clumsy to scale the rockslide and climb the thin mountain trail. For the most part, they were safe now.

Allen helped Rallis up. “Come on, let’s get out of here and head back to–.”

“DOWN!”

Rallis shoved Allen to the ground. As he fell, the man saw Rallis splat against the rock wall beside him with a nasty thud. A heavy rock fell to his side, a smear of blood on its smooth face. Rallis slid down the wall next and fell to the ground with a soft groan.

Allen put two and two together. “Rallis! Are you okay?!” He examined her back where she had been hit and his hand came away bloody. One of her wings was bent at an odd angle, bone sticking out of the wrong end.

“Oh good Saradomin,” Allen muttered. He could hear more angry trolls winding up to pelt them with rocks. He grabbed Rallis by the arm and threw her over his shoulder. She was surprisingly light. The dragon whined at the painful jostling as Allen carried her to safety with the others up the mountain path. “I know it hurts,” Allen said as Rallis whined a little louder. “Just hang in there, we’re almost safe.”

Allen placed Rallis down once he reached the others, and the dragon let out a pathetic whimper.

“What happened?” Jolin worried.

“Thrower troll,” Allen responded. “We’re safe here though.”

As if on cue, a troll wielding a rock roared and threw it there way. It fell miserably short of its target and vanished into the canyon-like depths of the bottom mountain pass. The uninjured members of the group breathed a sigh of relief. They were free and safe at last.

“That was two days of hell,” Dasch groaned. “More for these two,” he pointed to Cuddy and Furlow. “Let’s get the hell home and never come back. I’ll carry the captain.”

“I’ll get Cuddy,” Jolin said.

Allen kneeled beside Rallis. “Are you okay to walk?” The dragon sniffled and whimpered but nodded. “Alright, good, because I need to carry Furlow. Just take the trip back down nice and slow. We’re home free now, thanks to you.”

That comment gave the dragon a bit of a smile, just a bit. She did good, and any punishment would pale in comparison to her victory. And in comparison to the pain in her wings and back.

Step by careful step, the group, battered, beaten, and exhausted, made their way down the mountain toward home.

__________________________________________________________________

The cheers from the base of the mountains were loud enough to awaken the deepest sleeper from even Catherby. Commander Denulth and his team of guards at the base of the mountain greeted the beaten rescue team and went to their aid. The injured, some of which were now passed out from the pain once more, were inspected and prepared for the trip back home. Allen, being the diligent almost-soldier he was, caught the commander up on the situation, and at one point in his tale, Rallis could see Denulth raise an eyebrow and look directly at the dragon, making her shrink under his gaze. But for a moment, she was saved from his lecture. Attending to the injured and coordinating the trip home was more important. The dragon breathed a sigh of relief and helped bandage the injured.

By sunrise, the gathered crew were heading home. The cheerful atmosphere from the beginning had been replaced with a tired somber one with the news of one of their fellow guards’ deaths. Rallis may not have known them, but she knew what it was like to lose someone. She stayed quiet and near the back of the group to give them all space. 

The group passed the Warriors’ Guild. Rallis was going to wave hi to Ghommal but it seemed even the giant needed to sleep some time, for he was not presently standing guard. Rallis huffed and stared at the ground as she walked. Gods she was tired…

Footsteps growing closer made her ears perk up. She turned to find the commander now walking beside her. Rallis internally groaned. She wasn’t in the mood to be reprimanded after the night’s adventure.

“So…” Denulth started. “Mister Farmount regaled me with the tale of your escapade. Care to tell me what you were thinking?”

“Sooner rescue better. Troll eated people, them next.” Rallis pointed to the injured Cuddy and Furlow riding in a cart up ahead. “I did not want anyone more to be eated.”

“So you thought running onto the plateau by yourself without telling anyone was the appropriate action?”

“If I say someone, they stop me. You big stop me.”

“Indeed I would,” Denulth agreed. “And for going against the order to stay put and for putting not only the entire rescue team’s lives in danger, but also your own, I should punish you the moment we return to Burthorpe.”

Rallis drooped. She knew this would happen.

“...But. Considering what you’ve done today, I suppose it would only be right to forgo punishment, just this once. But don’t expect a reward either. You still disobeyed orders and I can’t reward that behavior, no matter what grand good you did.”

Rallis was shocked. She went into this fully expecting to be cleaning toilets for a month or whatever other evil chore the commander had in mind.

“And you won’t hear me say this in front of the others, but… Thank you, Rallis. You’ve done good, kid.”

The dragon beamed. Helping people sure felt nice.

Denulth glanced at Rallis’ back. “All of the injured will head straight to the infirmary once we return. Unfortunately, I’m not sure anyone knows how to fix a wing. We don’t exactly have those. Perhaps I need to call a druid over to help. Who would you recommend?”

A druid?! Rallis would get to see her friends?! “Uncle Cake real good! He fix bird wing and deer leg and lizard toe and–!”

“Kaqemeex it is,” the commander interrupted. “I’ll send a messenger… this morning, I suppose. It’s almost sun-up.” Rallis couldn’t hide the hop in her step over the idea of seeing Kaqemeex again. “Don’t get too excited. You’re not going home yet. I’m not done with you.”

Rallis growled playfully and gave Denulth a funny face. “You like me too much! Don’t want to see me go.”

“You can keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better,” the man said as he roughly patted the dragon’s head. Rallis giggled. One of the nearby guards looked back at the noise, but the commander was already back to his stoic self. Rallis hid her next giggle and the commander gave her a subtle wink before making his way back to the front of the group to check on the others.

By sun-up, the group had made their way home. The rest of the trainees and guards were eagerly waiting alongside the messenger Denulth sent to herald their return. Everyone gathered around to greet the return of their friends or help the injured. Tatiana barrelled into Allen in a bear hug and tackled Rallis next, eliciting a sharp yelp because of her broken wing. The three caught up, Allen and Rallis telling the tale of their adventure, while the others did the same. Rallis couldn’t help but hear her name whispered throughout the camp as she told her tale, and this time her name was said with appreciative and thankful tones, not angry or worried ones. The commander was right. She had done good.

…

“UNCLE CAKE!!!”

Rallis sprinted toward the druid, smile as bright and big as the sun. The druid grinned and laughed and caught Rallis as she jumped at him, very careful not to accidentally grab her wing. She nuzzled his face and he returned the gesture in kind, making the dragon purr and giggle.

“Oh how I have missed you,” Kaqemeex said. “I came as quickly as I could. What on Gielinor did you do to break a wing?!”

“I fighted trolls!” she said proudly. “I beat them up real good! I am ‘awesome and badass!’”

The druid sputtered. He leaves her alone for a few months and she’s learning cuss words! “Don’t say ‘ass,’ dear, that’s another bad word.” Rallis paled, remembering the taste of soap in her mouth the last time she said a bad word. “And you fought trolls, you say?! My… I believe I will need to speak to Commander Denulth later! But right now let’s get you patched up and you can tell me all about what you have been doing while you have been here.”

Rallis trilled with delight and followed her uncle to the nearest place to sit down and begin the wing fixing.

By lunch time, Rallis was all fixed up with a thick layer of gauze and a splint. It felt awful and she wanted to bite and claw at it. Whenever she reached for her wing, Kaqemeex smacked her hand away. But now that the druid was meeting with the commander, Rallis could mess with her bandages freely.

“It won’t heal if you mess with it,” Tatiana scolded. She and Rallis were having lunch outside on the grass today. It was simply too lovely out not to.

“But it itchy!” the dragon whined. “I do not like!”

“The price of being a hero,” Tatiana said. Rallis reached back to claw at the bandages again. “Stop it and eat your food or I’ll… I’ll smack you!”

“Noooo you too nice,” Rallis said with puppy dog eyes. Tatiana pouted. Rallis was right and she knew it. The dragon smirked but listened and ate her food.

Kaqemeex and Denulth exited the nearby command tent, spotted Rallis, and marched over. “Your keeper seems to think I’m lying,” the commander said with a side-eye at Kaqemeex. “Rallis, tell us, who told you to go fight the trolls?”

Rallis looked at the men in confusion. “No one? I did.”

Denulth looked at the druid victoriously. Kaqemeex held back his fuming. “You should have watched her more closely then! She’s more important than you think!”

“No more important than anyone else here,” Denulth said with irritation in his voice. “We were all rather preoccupied with trying to save people’s lives and ensure we had defenses against a possible troll invasion.” Kaqemeex looked like he wanted to argue that that wasn’t his or Rallis’ problem, but he didn’t get a chance. “Anyway, now that you’ve helped your protege and we’ve had our discussion, you may return home. I thank you again for your service.”

“Indeed, I will be returning home. And so will Rallis.”

Tatiana choked on her food. Denulth glared. Rallis howled in upset confusion.

“She isn’t done here,” Denulth said. “Sanfew specifically stated–.”

“Rallis is under my care, not Sanfew’s. I have the final say with what happens with her, and I say she’s had enough here. Come, Rallis. Let us grab your things and return home.”

Rallis and Tatiana looked at each other sadly. Rallis looked up at Denulth and Kaqemeex, both tense and terse, but the commander knew he was defeated. Rallis put her plate of food down and stood, making Kaqemeex smile. He held out his hand, but the dragon did not take it.

“I not go home yet,” she said, startling the trio. “I not ready. Have things to do and learn here still. Like learn how to kick commander sir’s butt.” She smiled cheekily at Denulth.

“B-But!” Kaqemeex sputtered. “You were injured and in danger! You could have been killed!”

“No troll gonna kill me!” Rallis said adamantly. “Uncle Cake forget, I grow in danger place under the ground. I been hurt badder and it been more danger there, not here. I am okay.”

“I wanted you away from that dungeon so you wouldn’t get hurt, Rallis! And here you–!”

Rallis grabbed the druid in a hug. “It okay. I am okay. I want to be here. I want to be stronger and learn. Please do not make me leave.”

Kaqemeex stuttered, trying to find his words, but couldn’t. He relented with a sigh and rested his head on top of the dragon’s. “Alright. Stay as long as you need. But please try to stay safe. And… I am very proud of you.”

Rallis smiled with a purr and pulled away. “Thanks Uncle Cake. I come home when I am done.” And with that, she plopped back down on the grass and stuffed her face with the remainder of her lunch. Kaqemeex gave Denulth one final warning glare and headed off back to Taverley. He looked back longingly as he walked away, but also happily. Rallis was happy here, a pleasant surprise. She was starting to fit in somewhere other than little pastoral Taverley. What a change from when he had first pulled her out of the dungeon. He smiled, feeling bittersweet, and didn’t look back again.

“Why you look at me?” Rallis asked Tatiana and Denulth. “Let me eat.”

Tatiana threw her arms around Rallis. “I’m just so happy you didn’t go! I don’t want you to leave yet! I would miss you too much.”

“That was your one chance out of here, you know,” Denulth said. “Until I’m done with you, at any rate. Why didn’t you take it?”

“True, I could leave. No more chores and wake up early and noisy people and all this. But I still have to learn and fight good! Not ready to go yet.”

Denulth smiled. Rallis had come a long way from the first day he had met her. She had really matured and grown into her own. 

“Well, don’t expect any special treatment because of this,” Denulth said. “After lunch you still have drills with Captain Rubine. And I think this time I’ll have you spar against me again!”

Rallis grinned with determination. “Ohoho I come kick your butt! One day, I be best fighter ever! One day, I be best awesome and strong dragon ever! You just see!”

#my writes #osrs #runescape #oc tag

[taekookfests]

in bloom fest - fic reveals season 1

The Geographical Cure by atechamcham [link] 43.8k Words | Completed | Explicit

Jeon Jeongguk likes to travel. For so long, his life has been made up of new countries, new places, new experiences (and new boys.) A vacation makes you feel suspended in time, detached from the world, weightless. And Prague seems far enough away from Seoul for him to disappear completely.

That is, until he meets Kim Taehyung on the plane, and his entire world shifts on its axis.

lost in the desert (you’re my oasis) by jhopeg [link] 25.3k Words | Completed | Explicit

Everything in Jeongguk's life was familiar: work, exercise, his nagging parents and useless coworkers. He thought he had life all figured out. What he never considered was the addition of another variable, Kim Taehyung.

Veni, Vidi, Amavi by yourluckytae [link] 20k Words | Completed | Teen and Up

(We came, We saw, We loved)

Ever since that day, Taehyung has been looking for something, chasing a dream he seems to be missing. Something important that makes his heart whole. It’s a creeping sense of someone he can’t quite grasp, who’s always on the tip of his tongue, nails on a chalkboard screeching loudly in his ear to remember. But every time he tries, it hurts. But he chases the dreams, the feelings, whatever it is that he’s missing because he thinks it would hurt more to never find whatever’s gone.

--

Jeongguk stares at his palms absent-mindedly, body rocking with the movement of the train. His fingers trace over non existent words on his right palm. Something he hadn’t thought about in years. He has a feeling; something deep and nostalgic bubbling inside him tasting like chocolate muffins and caramel lattes and smelling of vanilla and strawberries. It stirs within him as his fingers trace each stroke over his palm. It stirs something melancholy, something sad. A feeling.

(Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name) Au)

can't keep my hands to myself by goldensuns [link] 17.2k Words | Completed | General Audiences

you can't just dare two people to not touch each other and everything for two weeks when they literally can't keep their hands to themselves all the time.

Breaking a Soul Bond by Dangerouslove [link] 17k Words | Completed | Explicit

On the morning of his 18th birthday, the name of Taehyung’s soulmate appeared on his left ring finger. Imagine his surprise when he realized that his childhood best friend turned sworn enemy turned out to be his life line.

Hello from the Other Side (of the kitchen) by PrinceVenus [link] 13.7k Words | Completed | General Audiences

There’s a few faces he can pick out, people that he’d spoken to briefly back at auditions, but Jungkook knows that in all reality: he’s alone.

That’s okay though. He’s not here to make friends, and he knows he’s got what it takes to win this season of Korea’s AdeptChef.

I'm a Seeker, be my Keeper by Peanutontop [link] 12.5k Words | Completed | Not Rated

Taehyung has always had thing for fantasy stuff if you'd like to call it that. He liked to imagine how it would be to have a pet dragon or move things without touching them and sometimes when he had been sinking into his books for the past hours he liked to ask his parents questions like “Would you prefer teleporting or flying?”

What Taehyung never expected was an old man with a long white beard animatedly talking to his parents when he came downstairs for breakfast on August 17, telling him that he had magical powers and got invited to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Gold Star For Effort by teatimetaemint [link] 11.8k Words | Completed | Explicit

With his boyfriend working as a callboy, everyday life sure as hell never gets boring for Jungkook.

What Ever Happened to Never Dating A Co-Worker Again? by 4funjinjja [link] 9.3k Words | Completed | Not Rated

Nurse Taehyung and Dr Jeongguk are friends who work together. Nurse Taehyung has always been in a one sided love for his friend, coworker and roommate, Dr. Jeongguk, could he ever love him back?

But Never Doubt I Love by Beatitudinem [link] 9k Words | Completed | Mature

They were friends.

At least that was what Taehyung thought up until now. He wasn't so sure about it anymore, though. Not with the way his heart had gone haywire and envy flared up inside his chest, witnessing five pretty wolves circling around and doing their best at courting Jungkook.

PLUVIOPHILE : A Man Who Loves The Rain by orphan_account [link] 8.5k Words | Completed | General Audiences

" He came again. At the same time, he came with the rains.

With his red umbrella and his fluffy turtleneck sweater.

He came. And ordered his drink, the same drink.

Hot Raspberry White Mocha with extra whipped cream.

Then he'll sit on the same spot, doing his work.

He's beautiful. His laugh, his smile, his eyes, his humming, everything about him is beautiful.

And he made me fall for him, just by watching him from afar.

Yeah, i love him, the-rain-lover-guy." - Jeon Jungkook

Stuffed Drumsticks and Cotton Candy Kisses by orphan_account [link] 6.5k Words | Completed | Mature

Taehyung is really good at precision-based games and Jeongguk is really good at strength-based games. Together, they amass a terrifying number of prizes before being kicked out of the carnival.

moon above you and the streets below by astringxnt [link] 6.1k Words | Completed | Mature

and in us, there are all these in-betweens.

Blood Money by BloodLikeRoyalty [link] 5.8k Words | Completed | Explicit

Taehyung had never wanted to be a part of his father's drug dealing lifestyle, but it seems to want him around when he falls for the mafia's leader that was supposed to help him stay away.

baby blue, i love you by tokkimeki [link] 5.4k Words | Completed | General Audiences

jeongguk isn't quite sure if he will ever adjust to his new life in suburban daegu, until he finds home in the form of the boy from the swings.

you the one that i dream about all day by locks [link] 5.1k Words | Completed | Teen and Up

Taehyung finally convinces Jeongguk to do the boyfriend tag/boyfriend does my make up tag.

Mess Made in Heaven by nickelnomore [link] 3.7k Words | Completed | Not Rated

Taehyung is bored, and Jeongguk is suffering.

What else is new?

the game is over (once i appear) by orphan_account [link] 3.2k Words | Completed | General Audiences

Basically, some secrets spill out as game night takes place.

you can have the portkey to my heart by thedarkestdawn [link] 3k Words | Completed | Teen and Up

No matter what pretty much everyone at Hogwarts thinks, Kim Taehyung is not dating Jeon Jungkook.

i can't free myself (from this lie) by sunglaze [link] 2.5k Words | Completed | Teen and Up

Later, when Jeongguk stays in the stadium and checks his shots, he realizes that he took more shots of Taehyung than of Jimin. He mentally flicks himself at this, but he couldn’t help but give his full attention to Taehyung during the concert.

Wherein Jeongguk runs a fansite dedicated to Park Jimin but falls for another idol instead.

Puppy Love by andthemountain [link] 2.4k Words | Completed | General Audiences

Taehyung was having a good day, a great day, really. What he didn't didn't know was that it was about to get much better.

Three Questions by eddiemarey [link] 2k Words | Completed | Teen and Up

Excerpt from the interview with celebrity couple, lawyer Jeon Jungkook and novelist Kim Taehyung to be released next month. Please look forward to it!

Silver by wuu [link] 2k Words | Completed | Not Rated

Kim Taehyung hates silver and Jeon Jungkook has lots of them.

meminerunt omnia amantes by orphan_account [link] 1.4k Words | Completed | Mature

lovers remember all.

(a huge thanks to Jane for helping me compile all these fics!)

#fest: inbloom #status: fic reveals

[dragonandmage]

Dragon and The Mage: Before The Dawn

(Some blood in the last part for anyone averse to that)

Forever ago, in this world of magic, a wizard sought to rule over all. He discovered that every living creature held magic, so to wield the strongest magic, he used his immense fortune to gather one of every animal. One such animal was the mighty dragon, the last of their kind. And one by one, each creature was slaughtered like a fruit in a very powerful wine. In time, the wizard’s goal was neared, but the power ended up being too much for his body, and he perished.

With his body deceased, the magic spread to the land, taking form. Combined with the man's own magic, these half-animal, half-human creatures spread into our society. They are a pest, a remnant of one man’s greed, pretending to be human, where they are not. They are deceivers, through and through, nothing more.

A tall man, wearing a long coat, stepped out of the screen and onto the stage, smiling at the crowd of reporters staring up at him. Timothy Avalon.

“That wizard was my great grandfather, rest his soul. My family has long been haunted by his greed and mistakes, but the Avalon corporation has done their best to make up for the harm done.” The fairytale-esque display changed, showing footage of workers picking up trash, pulling cats from trees, and more with each swipe of the man’s hand.

“Nanotech as a whole has been our greatest discovery, taking the accursed dark magics of our predecessors, and making it safer and more humane to use. A clean, kind magic, able to recreate the most complex of organs or technology with ease.” The entire screen compressed, transforming into a small cube, with Timothy turning to catch the falling object. “But I’m sure you all know this well! And it is far from the reason I have called you here today.”

He threw the cube into the air, and it transformed into a glowing blue figure. It resembled a male human, until you got to the face, which had a beard made entirely of tentacles. The figure changed, this time to a female figure with strange, animal-like legs. And then changed again, to a person with crab claws, a person with the lower body of a spider, a person with fox ears, a person with the build of a gorilla.

With each figure, sounds of disgust, fear-- but also curiosity-- rang out.

“These are just some of the recorded creatures left over from my ancestor’s desires, and I assure you, we have tracked even more. They are the last remnant of what he did, staining this world with every second they remain. And as such--”

The cube returned to his hand.

“--It is the duty of the Avalon corporation to dispose of these abominations. To give closure to this nightmare, and ensure the safety and purity of our society. You have my full promise that I will oversee the weeding out of these creatures from our world.”

A number of men and women, wearing vests and gear, stepped from the shadows, lining up alongside Timothy. Each was carrying at least half a dozen of the same cubes from the display, presumably programmed for far more dangerous things.

“These wonderful young ladies and gentlemen have volunteered for this job, and I fully believe in their ability to protect us and handle these threats.” Timothy said, smiling widely to the crowd, who were now snapping photos and fighting to get good angles.

“Humanity will come out on top, my reporter friends! Just as we always have!”

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Sitting down in the empty hospital waiting room, Leoht Marblis stared down at his technomagic book with amazed eyes. He gently gripped the tiny blue crystal it came with, holding it out in front of him. The boy closed his eyes, focusing on the instructions in the book, to the point where you’d expect something in his head to make a popping sound.

But nothing rang out, and nothing changed. Leoht sighed, lowering his hand and turning back to his book.

“Struggling with it?” Someone asked.

Leoht looked up into his father’s face, who had been standing there for an unknown amount of time. He was wearing his uniform, being on shift at the moment. The hospital had been host to a lot of Leoht’s childhood, catching his father between operations.

“Come on, let me show you how it actually works.” His father chuckled, pulling out his own blue crystal. “Hold it out again, and just… imagine what you want.”

The boy watched his father’s crystal shift, brightening, then forming into the same stethoscope he’d seen his father wear so many times. His eyes sparkled, having never seen it actually happen in real time before.

“Now you try.”

Leoht laid the crystal in his palm, imagining a stuffed animal he’d had for the longest time. Every fiber, every stitch, every sewn cut, a short lifetime’s worth of memories being summoned forth by the boy.

He barely noticed the crystal shifting, growing into a perfect recreation of the plush, composed of a glowing blue material. But once he did, he squealed with joy, holding the faux plush close. “I did it!”

“Yes you did!” His father cheered, scooping up his son into a hug.

“Someday I’ll be as good as you. And then I’ll fix people just like you do.” The young boy giggled to himself.

“Leoht, there is so much more to what I do than fix people.” His father responded. “Maybe you’ll understand that someday.”

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Janet Lionies looked at the door handle, covered in scratches on and around it. With a deep breath, she spoke. “Rain..? Darling, are you here?” The freckled woman poked the door open, looking around inside.

A low sob came from the makeshift bed of blankets and old pillows.

“Your siblings were worried about you. They said you ran in here crying.”

The pile of blankets moved, revealing another freckled face. “I…”

The woman moved towards the bed, sitting down to the covered figure. They were mother and daughter, and only some of the residents of the abandoned building. “Tell me what happened, okay?”

Through sobs, the girl under the blankets spoke. “I-I was at the park… It was nice out, and I was wearing my jacket I swear!! Nobody was even looking at me, and there was this dog. It ran up to me, and the owner said how cute I looked. I went to pet the dog, and…”

Rain raised her hands out of the blanket. They were a dark blue, long, had spikes emerging from the elbow, ending in oversized claws. Claws covered in blood.

“They just… grew. Th-the poor doggy…” Her sobbing intensified once more, tears flooding down her cheeks. “W-why… m-me…”

The mother wrapped her arms around her child, doing her best to comfort the girl. “I… I’m sorry. We’ll… get some gloves to cover them.” She said, knowing full well how little that would help. Rain was the oldest, and the woman had never had to comfort someone going through this, despite going through her own version in her youth.

The mother’s wings, covered by the poncho, emerged with a ‘Fwoomp’, and wrapped around Rain.

“Will I… ever be able to be normal again…?” The girl whimpered out. “Will I ever be able to use my hands again?”

“Yes you will, my darling.” The mother said, without an ounce of faith in her own words.

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