The young woman was weary, each step she took was starting to stagger as sand shifted under her weight. Using her staff more like a crutch she hobbled through the desert. Long red hair that was normally the only vanity she possessed was a tangled mess, parts of her attire were missing. A sleeve was utterly ripped off revealing her dark skin, a rip going up the length of her legs ended high up at her thigh, revealing far too much skin for the owners liking. The wind had wiped her skin raw, the sand polished whatever skin was left off. Sunlight had become something to despise, its unwavering heat and intolerance for all creatures made it feel like ones brains were baking in their skull.
Sun burns. Dehydration. These were all constant threats in this place, but non were greater than the threat of the dragons. How they hunted...hounded...unwavering in their drive and desire to kill those weaker than them. Merely a snack for such creatures and yet they had endless delight in plaguing her progress. Where was she going? Even the young woman seemed to have lost her primary directive. Where had she been going? Something in the back of her mind niggeled at her, telling her she was going to die out here if she continued on this insane quest. Her entire body screamed that she wouldn't live to see the sun set this day if she didn't rest at least for a little while. Yet she continued to take one step forward, one after another....until finally she took a step her body refused to bare weight on.
The sand shifted, and the woman was down. She remembered hitting the sand like millions of tiny needles pricking her skin. Wanting to cry out but was too tired to move anymore, she knew if she closed her eyes she wouldn't be able to open them again. This would be the end for her, and yet she was a stubborn woman, her eyes remained glazed and unfocused even as she attempted to keep herself awake, numbly she became aware of a shadow crossing over her body. It looked...strangely familiar and dragon like in appearance. So a kaindri had found her? So be it...she couldn't move to save herself even if she wanted to.
"You are a hard girl to track Tilawen, though you are hardly the rude little girl I rescued long ago." A murmuring voice, smooth like silk caused her body to shiver despite the heat. She recognized the voice...but couldn't place it, perhaps in her dehydrated state she was just imagining it.
"Come come I see your manners haven't improved...though I suppose I can cut you a break this time considering the state I have found you in. Don't worry...I am not going to eat you...
but I need to take you with me..to my home.""
The words...started strong but they sounded as if they were growing fainter. Her body getting lighter...was she dying? Perhaps. But she didn't want to die...not yet.
***
Waking up with a start she took a long gasp or air shocked at first at how humid it was. This was a different kind of heat than she recalled being in, but then...so was this place. It was dim, almost dark...it smelt strange..musty almost. As if some one had forgotten to open the doors to a room for a long time. The sound of a fire crackled nearby, eerily the flames were green. The light cast a strange glow in the area..and it took the young woman a moment to realize that she was in a cave. A cave decked out to resemble a house...but a cave nonetheless. Looking down she gasped upon realizing that she was nakid under the covers, desperately she looked around for her clothes but none could be found.
Tilawen was a modest woman, she held little pride in herself and her body. After all she had been a mistake, what was there to be proud of?
"Awake finally?" The voice was almost purring and it took Tilawen a moment to orient herself to see a pair of glowing green eyes off in a corner of the large cave,
"If you were looking for your clothes I am afraid that I had to get rid of them. Your body was covered sores from the sands and you have been sweating from a fever since I rescued you from Ewoyn . Besides your ...dress was merely tatters at this point. I have found you something more suitable."
A scaled hand emerged from the shadows to point in the direction he had indicated the new clothes were. A ...strange outfit met her gaze. It certainly wasn't anything she would normally wear, with a rather revealing neck line it...showed off quite a bit of skin. "Don't worry about getting dressed just yet...you are not even able to stand at this point...and besides I have already seen what you humanoids so desperately try to cover up. I have broth for you...it is beside you...it would be best if you are it now." His voice directed softly and yet there was a firm command underlying it.
Tilawen didn't have much of a choice in the matter did she? After all she was naked, and now that the smell of the broth wafted towards her nostrils she felt famished. Food had never been a more welcoming sight to her eyes, and though her body felt weak in just lifting the bowl into her lap, the act of ladling out and sipping it was even more tiresome. How long had she been out of it? Long enough she supposed, her skin felt...soft and supple not dry and raw like she remembered it being in Ewoyn.
"..." The young woman had opened her mouth to try and speak but found that no words could come out. Perhaps it had been so long since she had spoken out loud her vocal cords had forgotten how to do it.
A chuckle wafted from the dark corner, the flicker of the fire light gave glimpses of the drakein that was keeping her company. It...was a long while before she was able to place him. D. The drakein from her childhood. He had saved her once again, now a second time she owed him her life. Humbled for a moment she went about the exhausting chore of eating, giving a small sigh of frustration as she was still unable to speak.
"Do not worry, your questions will be answered in due time. Try and rest. I have tea for you that shall help you get your strength back quickly." The drakein spoke soothingly those green glowing eyes still peering at her almost unblinking. They reminded her somewhat of her own gaze. Once her bowl was done she felt her stomach clench at its new and sudden appearance of substance but would soon settle as her body went to work on processing it. Still self conscious she moved to better wrap the light sheet around her naked body, before she lay back down wondering just why this drakein was doing this for her.
***
Days past, how long she was unsure as the cave never gave a passing of time. It was always dark, and warm and slowly her strength came back to her. The first thing she did was to dress herself. Though the drakein D never approached her or made and lude comments about her being naked she felt...wrong being this way. The dark skinned firani drakein left the cave often, for what reasons...she wasn't sure but he always came back with something. More food, medicine and sometimes odd gifts.
Oddly though they barely spoke to each other the young woman felt lonely whenever he was gone. Often she would think 'today is the day he won't come back' only to be proved wrong again and again. Of course it this was his home that would make the most sense, then again...her own father left their home..why would D be any different? As her strength returned, her desire to leave grew along with it. But she didn't know where she was, and she had no supplies beyond what D brought back for her. And unbeknownst to her she was getting rather attached to his presence.
Though outwardly she never showed it, she did little things like cleaning up the cave (it was perhaps one thing she was good at was chores), once she had asked for a sewing kit and D had actually managed to bring one back to her. With thread and needle she 'fixed' the dress that D had given her, altering it so that it didn't show so much cleavage (much to the drakiens disappointment although he never commented on it). It was the odd gifts however that ...made her pause. Sometimes it would be little things like a gold coin, other times a bracelet, or ring. Most of these items were often times too big for her and thus she would just tuck them away. Jewelry wasn't really her thing. Though one day he brought back some gold bangles, and despite her wanting to tuck them away he gave her a tut tut and then gestured her to come over to him.
"I give you all these trinkets, I would like you to at least wear these. I went to a lot of trouble to get them you know. " He chastised as he used his dragon like claws to work the bangles open before slipping them into the holes of her 'horns'. Then using a bit of his fire welding them basically shut, giving a chuckle at her look of surprise. "You know its rude to not show off the gifts I give you."
The drakein left it at that though, he still brought her trinkets and she would tuck them away, but the bangles...were firmly in place. Sure she could of used her own fire magic to probably melt them off, but she didn't. For what reasons she wasn't entirely sure. Finally the day came where the drakein announced that they would be going outside. How long she was in the cave she wasn't entirely sure, but now Tilawen couldn't imagine going out into the cruel world...not again.
It took some coaxing but finally the woman was able to take up her staff and head into the world again, like being born anew she stepped out into the light only to have to shoulder her eyes from it. It hurt to look out there, the fresh air stung her humid conditioned lungs, she immediately wanted to turn away but a large body was in her way.
"No no, we will be leaving this place soon, but I wanted to test your prowess by giving us a bit of a challenge." D announced as he spread his wings and gestured that she get on him. For a long time Tilawen stood there and stared at him. A feral drakein allowing a human to ride him? What...was this?
Shaking her head she use her staff to show a path she could follow down the mountain they were living atop of.
"I will stay on foot. This...challenge....you say..us..." She murmured not sure what he meant or why he was including them both.
"Well I want to make sure that you are one hundred percent, and fighting seemed the best way to judge that. Besides the firani drakein of my homeland are a bit of a challenge even for me, so I will be helping you. " He replied with what looked like a smug smile. Tilawen continued to stand for another long moment, as if she was gauging his words before she nodded slightly and then began her decent.
Chuckling the drakein stretched out his wings and took to the air to track the young womans progress down the side of the mountain.
***
It wouldn't take them long to find an adversary, humanoids apparently were a rare sight and her being one of them and an oddly looking one at that drew attention quite quickly. By the time the firani drakein managed to reach the young woman who was being attacked by a firani dragon, she had been beaten back quite a bit. Her back pressed up against a wall she was desperately trying to find herself out of this predicament. It didn't take him long to figure out the best way of killing this dragon that had its attention solely focused on the young woman in front of it. Swooping down the dragon latched it claws onto its throat from behind.
The impact was at such a speed it broke the dragons neck on impact, it body convulsing on the ground as it gargled its death throws through a broken spinal cord and crushed esophagus before finally crumbling into a pile of ash before them revealing two orbs. Scooping up the orbs he handed them to Tilawen instructing she carry them for later use. Confused she tucked them away in a satchel that had also been a gift from D before they continued on their way down the mountain side.
It took them quite awhile to get to the floor and the barren landscape only seemed to stretch for miles. This was a different sort of barren from a desert, this place had seen many fires...charred remains of trees and scorched earth was everywhere. Though heat resistant and fast growing plants seemed to be aggressively trying to regrow in the decimated areas. This place wasn't dead...but stubbornly trying to survive here.
Noting her attention to the plants the drakein laughed, "Those are pheonix trees. It is said that they can only grow near the base of volcano's or where many firani dragons call home. Their shells on their seeds can only be opened in intense heat, they thrive here and are probably the most numerous of plants here. " D divulged this information much to the surprise of the young woman who only glanced away from the plants as if she was annoyed at showing any sign of curiosity.
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