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Smerdle rolled 2 100-sided dice:
26, 80
Total: 106 (2-200)
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 Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:46 pm
Character: Eanah Stage: Expert Luck: 34 Dragon: Two Aiskalas Success rate: 51 - 100 Win: 55(40/55) = 40 x 2 = 80 XP
Loss: 55(40/55) / 2 = 20 x 2 = 40 XP
(double XP for blood moon event)
+1 LUK
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Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 4:54 pm
Three more days passed before Eanah crossed paths with another dragon. She did nothing to camouflage herself in the interim, lighting a fire beneath the shelter of her pines and allowing the smoke to billow out between the branches, but even so, no beasts came, almost as if they sensed her dangerous mood. Growing colder and more sluggish by the hour, Eanah's only thoughts were of revenge and death.
The Aiskala that finally ventured near was young, and the challenge in its wide eyes was a sure sign that it hadn't ever been tested by any creature that walked on two legs. Eanah dispatched it easily, the dragon's corpse nothing more than a smoldering wreck before it got within twenty feet of her.
The second dragon was a surprise, but nothing she couldn't handle. At least until...
"Eanah!"
She spun in response to the shout, stumbling forward as the Aiskala's tail slammed into her back. Eanah fell to her knees in the snow, throwing a shield between herself and the dragon just in time to avoid a pair of devastating claw strikes. She tried to attack while maintaining the first spell, but her power wouldn't come. Her shield began to crack as she peered through the swirling snow, hunting for the face of the man who would be her downfall, the one she had allowed to kill her by distraction.
There was a flash of light, an angry bellow, and then there was warmth. She was surrounded by it, and certain it was the end, Eanah rushed forth to meet it.
---
She awoke to the familiar feeling of drakein against her cheek, but as soon as her mind reached out to make contact, the body cradling her head moved, and she was left flailing as Thren withdrew his support and let her fall to the ground.
"Stupid is awake," he said, crossing the clearing and facing away from her as he curled up, nose in tail.
"She is, indeed."
As disoriented as she was, Eanah still managed to jump with surprise as Leyn kneeled beside her, holding out a mug of what smelled like spicy vegetable broth. The fire blazing behind him was almost too warm, and obviously fueled almost entirely by magic. The gesture was welcome, as was the broth, but Eanah didn't tell him that. Instead, she sat up and took the cup from her former tutor, her mind swimming with questions. How long had she been unconscious? What had happened to the dragon? How had he found her? Why had he come? He seemed to read her mind, answering several of her queries soon after she thought of them, but not the one she realized she wanted him to answer most of all.
"The dragon didn't knock you out for long. Half a day at most. We took care of it. I'm sorry I had to disturb you like this, but Thren was frantic when he couldn't find you. He wouldn't speak at first... couldn't, I don't think. He kept wailing outside my door, and every so often I'd get these panicked pictures that I eventually worked out were visions of Aisko. Once we docked, it was just a matter of following him here." He stood again, rummaging through his pack until he found a fur-lined coat, then moving to drape it over her shoulders. "I'm going to reclaim some power from the fire, you should..."
"No, wait. Hold on," she said, pushing past the mild nausea that gave her pause as she regained her footing. "I'm surprised you didn't remove my wet cloak before you started... piling on the outerwear." Her words came easier, the blocks in her mind beginning to crack under the attention of Leyn and her drakein.
He silently lowered the wrap as she detangled herself from several thick blankets and her damp cloak, then helped her bundle up again as he spoke.
"I seem to recall an unforgettable lesson with regard to treating injured young ladies that ensured I would never do such a thing again."
"Leyn..."
"I have always been a quick study."
To an outside observer, his tone might have seemed conversational, even pleasant, but all Eanah could hear was an underlying sarcasm that made her want to squirm. She took a small step forward, encumbered by the layers of fabric she was now wrapped in, and Leyn retreated an equal distance, his wings folding so tightly against his back that she could no longer see them from where she stood. He ducked his head, his hair partially obscuring his features, and he didn't look at her again until she had moved so close that he couldn't avoid doing so without looking foolish. When he spoke again, his voice was low and most of the frustration in it had fled.
"I need to apologize."
"No. You don't." Her mind was muddled, and it wasn't solely because of her near-hypothermia.
"If you insist." His smirk was slow to return, but as it did, Eanah found herself longing to smooth the hair out of his eyes, to curl her fingers around the back of his neck and pull him close, to fight the rising ire inside her that told her to scream and push back. She touched his shoulder instead, the warm fabric of his robes against the tips of her fingers reminding her how cold she remained.
"I can't justify how I treated you. The things I've learned about my past..."
"It's the past."
Eanah sighed. "You don't understand."
"And I have to? You can explain it all someday..."
"I don't know it all."
"Eanah. It's enough you're not shutting me out, believe me. I never meant to hurt you. We were friends once, and I..."
"You were my best friend. Are."
They both turned as a grunt sounded from across the clearing. Leyn tensed and Eanah moved to stand on her own, but when they realized who had made the noise, they both smiled faintly. Eanah touched a hand to Leyn's forearm before slowly shuffling across the dried bed of fragrant needles, continuing to speak as she approached the drakein.
"Thren. If you truly believe that you are not more to me than a friend, then you're an imbecile." She lowered herself to the ground beside him, wrapping her arms around his neck even though he still wouldn't face her. Eanah's next words were for her bonded alone.
I was deeply hurt, my darling. I thought you didn't know, but that was no excuse. Even if you didn't...
I knew.
Yes. I know that now. I'm sorry. I promise I'll never keep such things to myself again.
Appeased, Thren finally turned and pressed his nose to her cheek, then lowered his head back to the ground. Eanah struggled to rise to her feet again, suppressing a gasp as she felt Leyn's hands at her elbow, her hip, guiding her. It was a start. She'd have to be proud of that small restraint, for now.
"Forgiven?" he asked her, his breath whispering past her ear as they moved closer to the fire.
"Yes," Thren answered, not moving.
Chuckling, Leyn continued at a normal volume. "Good, you nosy p***k. I told you she'd be fine."
"You didn't know."
"No. I suppose I didn't."
Leyn swallowed as Eanah turned to face him. Her hand almost reached for him in earnest this time, but halfway to his cheek it diverged off of its course and she brushed her loose hair behind her ear instead.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry any longer. I just need a bit of rest, and then..."
"You'll come home? Please?"
"Yes. I'll come home."
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