ENDLESS JOURNEYS (O/A)

[Goruk Devon]

Goruk looked towards the boy and shook his head "Allow me to face my kin. I must learn about them and what better then this Rite." He ruffled his wings a bit as he rolled his shoulders "In any case I wish to be of use to you so allow me to take this for the group." he nod his head the the skin on his hand seemed to waver a bit as he clenched his fist revealing that it was actually perfect skin like scales all over his body and not actual skin. His eyes met with the other Dragon-kin and he felt the need to take this rite with such passion that he was sure his own aura would give it away to the others.  

[Kerana]

Rikki Tikki Travi

"I am Alec Yaets, son of Arithod and Alessa. I wish to face the trial of strength, and if possible, undertake a trial of significant worth that will allow the others to pass. We don't have the luxury of time, and require quick passage."

Kerana was in shock to hear Alec volunteer and lost hold of his hand. She remained speechless as the conversations took place. When she managed to compose herself she spoke, and looked to him with her worried eyes with tears streaking down her cheeks, "Alec, no. Please no. Don't do this. You don't have to do this. Goruk or Trinity are fighters… I don't want to loose you… who will protect me then? Please Alec don't do this…" Kerana was scared. Scared of where she was, to be soon surrounded by all of the scary dragon kin and scared of losing her dear friend and guardian.
 

[PixelMuse]

Trinity quietly observed as things played out. She too was surprised as Alec volunteered willingly. But when they started trying to talk him out of it and volunteering her and Goruk. "Enough! Look, correct me if I'm wrong the custom isn't us to decide it's for him to choose. Kerana you have to understand Alec is your guardian and he will do just as well as I, he's been in rough spots before." She looked to the guard, "Alright, go ahead and choose."  

[Nova Blancke]

"Well well...it's rare to have one volunteer let alone two. But dry your tears young fox. This is a test of strength. Two warriors in an honest dual. The Rite has never claimed a life. That is not our purpose." The dragon-kin guard said as he looked down to gaze on Kerana. The elf spoke afterwards. Discipline..good. She was strong as well. His post forbade him to take a wife or he would have given her his necklace. She would get plenty of suitors around here. The same went for this relative of his kind. He greatly desired to fight. To prove himself. The guard also wished to fight him but the boy's words still lingered.

He knew the boy would not emerge victorious. Yes there was strength in his eyes and he had purpose. It was his time to try and make a name for himself. To prove he could stand as a man. As a warrior. The guard would not deny the young man this. It was a matter of pride.

The man folded his arms and stood tall. He would make his announcement.

"Alec Yaets. I shall fight you. You will not win but I will let you fight me. You want a significant trail. I cannot change this Rite of Passage nor will I. But I will change the area in which it shall take place. We shall fight in the Arena. Our audience will be every single citizen of Vovinia It is a great honor and even when you lose you will have the respect of every person who bore witness to our fight. I will not deny you this fight. Every man has a point in his life when he must proudly make himself known. Afterwards I will fight this man with the same passion he has." He said as he looked at Goruk.

Nova just nodded at his decision.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec didn't have time to speak before the rest of the conversation took place. He did manage to give Kerana a reassuring smile before hearing the guard's verdict.

The wolf spirit found the dragon-kin's declaration fair, if a bit presumptuous.

Alec, on the other hand, dropped his ears and went pale at the thought of standing before-

"Every single citizen?" he squeaked out.

It was worse than he thought. These people were just like the wolf-kin. Alec's people also reveled in public displays of bravado and strength. It was how major disputes were settled among themselves so that everyone knew the outcome and there could be no mistake or hearsay

This would indeed be a trial. For Alec, however, the real test was going to be not folding under the eyes of Vovinia.

He swallowed hard and picked his ears up. A bit more color returned to his face before he nodded.

"Veh-very well." he sighed forcefully.  

[Nova Blancke]

The guard couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh.

"It will be in an hour. Prepare yourself well. My Heart-Brother will show you the way to the Arena will he not? After all, he was in the same situation. Only overly confident." The man said with a smirk to Nova.

"Don't bring up those old tales Leoxandre. We all know the ending." Nova responded with a smile of his own.

"I do want a rematch. But we both know that is not going to happen in this life time."Leo replied.

Nova only responded with a solemn nod. He then guided everyone to the Arena. It'd still be a 20 minute walk. After they started walking they heard a loud horn. it contained several tones. It told of the number of visitors. One family member but most importantly...the match in an hour.  

[Kerana]

Kerana started to feel better when Trinity spoke. It was true, Alec has handled himself pretty well in a fight. She dried her eyes, feeling better that they weren't going to kill him. Followed by Alec and his reassuring smile, he wouldn't have gone for it if he couldn't do it right? She wondered why all of the sudden, it seemed like he needed to do this. This wasn't for impressing her was it? Did he not know that he didn't need to prove himself to her? Or... is this something else entirely?

Then her ears slopped down as the guard revealed that this would be in an arena in front of every citizen of this dragon-kin city. She knew Alec did not do well performing front of crowds, not when he knows everyone is watching him and not without her. She couldn't help but remember the plays they were in where she wasn't in it. He'd just froze. "uh oh..." she muttered. As they proceeded to walk she looked toward where the announcement was made.

She was by his side. "Alec, is there anything I can do to help? I know you freeze up in front of crowds if I'm not there and... I can't be for this..." Her tail tried to tie itself in a knot, she did worry for him. Yet she hoped, perhaps his new found confidence would help.
 

[Goruk Devon]

Goruk nod his head getting himself ready for the fight mentally. He had a few tricks up his sleeve something he wondered if even dragonkin could do what he could and was eager to find out. He had nerves of steel looking at this as an opportunity to show his power and establish his place here so he would hold nothing back until he made his opponent quit fighting back. He did not know why anyone would show mercy amongst dragonkin but he was willing to try it this time.  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity felt relieved in some ways she wasn't chosen. Yet part of her wanted to take on the challenge. She would admit she would have no idea on how she would take on a dragon-kin if she had to. She hoped that Alec would fair well, though she was confident that he would. She smirked a little as she saw the fox girl try to make sure he was okay. She worries too much about him. Despite their conflict, it's painfully obvious they still love each other. Why is she still holding on to what happened several days ago…?  

[Nova Blancke]

Nova was just guiding them. Thinking. What he usually does when he wasn't speaking. But he stopped thinking and spoke to Trinity.

"Trinity, why aren't you using magic right now? You should practice whenever you can. Cool your sweat or use the wind to cool down. Either way, practice."

He then turned to Alec. "You will do good out there Alec. Magic is is not effective against them. However, you can use initial bursts of Wind and let nature to the rest. The start would have been magic but the rest would not be. You could still knock him back. Or at least should be able to." Nova told Alec.

"Ahhh we are here." Nova looked up at the Arena. It was more like a coliseum. He guided them to the waiting room.  

[Goruk Devon]

Goruk followed the main party he never did like waiting so his wings twitched a bit as he felt restless. Following them they came to the waiting room where Goruk took a standing lean against the wall.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec was doing his best to keep his breathing normal, but the approach to the coliseum made it difficult to stay calm. His stress was alleviated by Kerana's concern. It was just something about her voice.

He smiled awkwardly to his beloved and shook his head. "No, I don't think there is. You may not be next to me in there, but I know you're going to be cheering me on. That'll be more than enough to keep me motivated."

Alec listened to Nova's advice, but he had a question that he couldn't shake.

"My spirit seems confident, but I'm worried about drawing it out longer than you're condition will allow. We're here for you, after all. Is it really okay, all of this I mean?"  

[Nova Blancke]

Nova pat the young man on the shoulder. So that is why he volunteered

"You need not worry about me Alec. I won't collapse before meeting my wife. I can assure you that. But thank you for worrying about me. But you should really focus on yourself right now." Nova assured the young wolf.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec took a deep breath and nodded. He was sure that nova was putting on a brave front, but Alec thought better of pushing the issue any farther. Instead, he decided he would take his teacher's advice to heart.

"Is there anything you can tell me about what I should expect from him, or is going in with little knowledge of the opponent part of the challenge too?" he asked.