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Cave of Dragons


Keke never lost his insatiable curiousity when he grew up, nor did he lose it when he became a teacher and started to educate the young and feed their curiousity. It was, after all, insatiable, and his hunger and enthusiasm for knowledge only grew with age.

That was why he was here. Keke had never completely forgotten the Dovaa scholar who had tutored him long ago (though he had, to his slight embarrassment, forgotten her name), and so, today, the subject of his curiousity was dragons. Big, wonderful, powerful dragons.

He sniffed eagerly at the mouth of the cave, delighted at the scent of the dragons inside. He would learn a lot here, he knew, and he was very excited.

But Kekeovonnai was no longer a reckless youth (though he was, very definitely, young), and he knew he should not enter such a dangerous place alone and unprepared. He frowned - he hadn't exactly planned on going with others. This revelation was newfound, granted to him only at the mouth of the cave, and so he had no group of his own.

However, he knew that this cave was frequented by adventurers. That was its whole point - it was the cave of dragons, a place to test one's mettle. He had only to wait a little while, he felt, before someone suitably battleworthy came along...

Keke perked up at the familiar voice. Indeed, he had only needed to wait. Patience was such a new virtue for him that seeing it work so perfectly was a thrilling thing.

“Oh! Hello Xenosa!” he greeted her, stretching and smiling at her, his tail waving gently. “I am indeed going in – I want to learn more about this cave and the dragons inside it.” or, barring that, adventurers that had come before. “I hope to bring something interesting back to my class.” Since most of the current clutch was too young to go to such a place on their own.

“If you're going in, I'd be delighted to join you!” Oh yes, he would. “Pretty or not, knowledge is knowledge!” he stated, inclining his head cheerfully, “And I'm glad for the company!” Patience was, again, a new virtue of his, and that meant, well... he was more than ready to go. “Shall we?” he asked, “It seems that the cave opens up into a large space fairly quickly.” he said, his magic sensing the way the earth contoured around the room, “And I think...” he said, his excitement barely contained, “There is something in it, something alive!” he could sense the vibrations of movement. Ah! He couldn't wait to start!

“Oh yes!” he whispered, grinning as they entered the bright room. The silvery dragon hadn't yet noticed their presence, preening itself on its rock with an arrogant disdain for its surroundings. Dust swirled around Keke's claws as he crept out curiously, making no sound at all. If he stepped out first, he could get a good vantage point to cast some earthy support spells, or spit some ranged crystals. He could, after all, defend himself, and assist others where needed. He was not battle incompetent at all – it just was not his path.

He crouched down and began to summon forth his crystalline magic, ready to spit it at the dragon...

Kekeovonnai had expected her to charge forward recklessly – she seemed to be in that kind of mood. What he hadn't been expecting was the sudden crunch of bone, the turning of the tide of battle, the slam of its tail. Keke made a strange sound as he scrambled towards her, a cross between the crack of crystal and a grunt of flesh, and a crystal, newly formed, shot from his mouth at the dragon. It struck it in its face, just by its eye, and it turned and roared, distracted from its downed quarry. Keke spat again, and again, covering his movements with the shards of sharp glass. Finally, he reached her, shoving the dragon away with a sudden, rumbling effort of earth magic. It was hard for him to make the forceful columns that his 'father' Samael was so fond of, but he had enough control of his magic to manage it, and he shoved the dragon hard. It crashed into the other wall, stunned, and he tried to nose Xenosa back into action. It was no use – she was out cold. He hoped it was not worse than that – he did not like it when interesting people he liked were hurt. He wasn't sure if he could deal with a death right in front of him. He nudged her again, just to be sure, before grabbing her clothing with his teeth and bodily dragging her out of the cave. He used his magic to cover their tracks and scent, and to put obstacles in the way of him and the dragon. He wasn't sure, after all, if he could kill it alone.

After a terrified and interminable dragging march, and a wait in some brush, he felt secure in not being followed by the dragon. But Xenosa was still out. He could see her chest moving awkwardly, so he knew she wasn't dead, but what could he do? His tribe did not have a healer that could treat this kind of injury, and he could not simply sit and do nothing. So, he didn't. With the help of a nearby rock, he managed to drape her over his back, and then he began to trot towards the nearby mountain pass, using his wings to hold her steady. He'd figure something out.