candybox | OPEN POST: Claude von Riegan - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

[Khalid is sure he's a goner from the second he feels that body impact his, and for a moment he can only squeeze his eyes shut, hoping that if his death is about to come, it will be a mercifully quick one.

But it isn't. He's flipped over, eyes wide as he looks her over. A dragon... woman? So he found his mark after all... or rather, she found him. He can't reach his sword, and the bow in his hand is useless as this proximity. He can't make out even a shred of what she's saying, either.]

Please don't kill me. [He begs, though he both has no idea if she'll understand him, and no incentive for her spare him. Except maybe that she's curious more than aggressive.] The deer's more than enough for you to carry off, right? Take it and I'll never come back.

[His eyes flick over to the carcass, hoping she'll get his meaning. And hoping she doesn't just take it as inspiration for how he'll wind up soon enough.]

[ When Khalid pleads for his life, her face falls slightly, but she tries again, speaking more slowly this time. When he again fails to comprehend her, she visibly deflates, her shoulders slumping.

It seems very much like she is, in fact, not going to kill him. It seems like she's trying to communicate with him--like she's disappointed he can't understand her.

She leans down over him one final time, nostrils flaring as she inhales the scent of him. Tentatively, she lowers her head to his chest, pressing her ear against his sternum and recoiling with obvious surprising almost immediately. She releases him, backing up to crouch on her flanks a few feet away. Her long tail swishes behind her like an agitated cat's, the silky tuft of fur at the end dragging through the pine needles on the forest floor.

After a second of consideration, she points to herself and says: ] Byleth.

[ She then points at him, her face again expectant. ]

Edited 2021-04-12 12:14 (UTC)

[He really has no idea what she's saying, though she's at least intelligent enough to be reasoned with, so that's a start-- although when she presses her ear against his chest he freezes up, his heart feeling like it's going to explode. He's not terrified! Okay, he's just a little terrified.

(Yes, he's definitely terrified.)

Once she moves off him and backs away, he slowly sits up, dropping his bow so she doesn't feel threatened.]

Khalid. [He says, pointing to himself.] I came from that way.

[He points to himself again and points south, hoping she'll get a rough idea of where he came from.]

Khalid. Khalid.

[ She tests the unfamiliar sound of his name, rolling it around on her tongue. When he points south, she looks in that direction for a moment before turning back to him. Her eyes are bright and curious, her body trembling with barely-contained energy.

There’s no way for her to tell him who she is, who her people are, where she comes from or how long she’s been alone. There aren’t even words for the weight of loneliness that a thousand years in isolation can create, or the relief at seeing eyes like hers in a face like hers, regardless of the other differences between them.

She scoots closer to him, licking her lips, eager and uncertain as someone who wants something but doesn’t know how to ask for it. This time when she invaded his personal space, she does so slowly, pressing her forehead to his shoulder, her side against his. A low rumble rolls in her chest—purring?

Yes, it’s definitely purring. ]

[Khalid is studying her face intently, and she's fortunately expressive enough in body language that he can understand, at least a little, of what she might be thinking. Of course, he still has no way of knowing if she's curious in a playful way a cat might bat its food around before swallowing it, but it also might be the case she's never seen a human before. Or least, not in a very long time, isolated as this region is from the rest of Almyra.

When she slowly moves over to him his heart leaps in his chest once more -- and his assessment of something like a cat apparently wasn't far off the truth. She's purring.

He lets out a nervous laugh and very slowly -- so she can see what he's doing and won't be startled by it, and has plenty of time to pull away if she needs to -- he lifts a hand and rests it on the back of her head. Is this what she wants? Comfort, perhaps?]

[ The rumbling purr intensifies, signaling her approval and appreciation. She leans heavily against him for... a length of time—long enough to dull the edge of her loneliness just the slightest bit.

Eventually she withdraws, giving Khalid back his space as she rises to her feet. Without giving him time to recover, though, she stoops and slides her hands under his arms to lift him bodily, setting him back on his feet. Pointing north and slightly east, she makes a gesture that’s fairly easy to understand as “follow me.”

The deer that Khalid killed to bait his trap isn’t forgotten, of course, but she isn’t going to carry it all the way back to her cave on foot. Thankfully, the clearing is large enough to contain a small dragon, because in a flash, that’s what’s standing where the woman once stood. Her scales are the same mint green, glowing with an iridescent sheen, her tufted tail lashing with excitement. She’s larger than an adult wyvern—large enough to pick the deer up in her mouth with ease.

Crouching down on her four legs, she turns her eyes again to Khalid, just as bright and expectant as before. ]

Whoa there--! [He protests as she lifts him to his feet. He does understand her gesture, and stoops to pick up his bow, following after her. When she transforms he can only stare for a moment.]

So the stories were true after all...

[He wonders what the Almyran court would make of that, or even if they'd believe him. He could chase glory by slaying her and bringing her head back to show them, but knowing what he knows now, that the dragon is an intelligent being who simply seems to long for company, he knows there wouldn't really be glory in it at all. He knows plenty about loneliness to recognise it when he sees it.

The alternative is crazy, but he can't help but indulge his growing curiosity, and he figures it can't be that different from riding a wyvern. He could handle himself. So he moves to climb on her back, making sure he's situated comfortably before patting her neck like he would one of his own steeds.]

Alright, good to go.

[ Once he’s situated, Byleth tenses under him, launching her body into the air with a powerful leap and catching the wind in her broad wings. Soon, they’re soaring over the tops of the pine trees, their boughs swaying in their wake. The scenery opens up beneath them, woods parting to reveal a deep turquoise lake that spreads out and winds through the mountains.

Spilling air from her wings, she skims the surface of the water, kicking up a refreshing spray. They rise again soon enough, up the sloping shore of the lake and into the wooded mountain. There, where the tree line breaks, there’s an opening on the mountainside with a wide, jutting platform that gives her ample space to land but makes the cave difficult to access without wings.

Landing, Byleth drops the deer and waits for Khalid to dismount before changing back to her humanoid form. She gestures to the cave with a smile, pulling back one of several broad panels of tanned hide to grant him entry.

The interior of the cave is huge, branching back into several smaller chambers. Light is provided by numerous clusters of glowing crystals, but there’s also a fire pit at the center of the main chamber with a somewhat primitive but sturdy-looking cooking setup. A platform made from hewn wooden beams and covered in several thick layers of fur is set off to the side. Other chambers have similar hide flaps to serve as partitions, clearly dividing them as rooms.

Perhaps of most interest to someone as curious as Khalid are the designs drawn, sometimes scored into the walls. One side is devoted entirely to rough tally marks in long lines, but other walls feature simplified images of dragons like herself. There are three of them together in the first tableau, two large and one much smaller—parents with their offspring, their necks bowed while the little one is outstretched to meet them. The following scene shows the two large ones flying away, proceeded by images of the lone baby growing larger and larger. ]

[The cave's location explains how she'd stayed hidden away all this time, but even on its own, the journey is beautiful -- a part of Almyra he'd never seen before. He wonders how many people had laid eyes on this part of the land at all. Maybe it's something about the familiarity of flight, but he feels like his fears are beginning to subside the second they lift off the ground.

When they land, he dismounts, laying his bow and quiver at the mouth of the cave before heading inside to join her. As he looks around, he notices it's not a primitive animal nest but a fully-lived in abode, and his eyes move across from the tally marks on the wall to the artwork. The tallies he doesn't understand, but the tableaus are simple enough to decipher. It's a sad story.

Khalid points to the baby dragon, then looks at her.]

Is that you? Byleth?

[ Once inside, she’s busied herself with fetching tools—things she’ll need to butcher the deer and preserve it for later consumption. Hearing her name, Byleth turns, ears perking, and comes to look at the lovingly-rendered image. Touching the little dragon, she nods once. ]

Byleth.

[ She touches the other two, one after the next, speaking words that are easy enough to interpret as mother and father. She points then to the row of growing dragons and says her name each time. The picture is clear: she’s been alone since she was small.

On the wall with the tally marks, she points to a marking higher up above the rows of lines: a diagram of the moon phases. Moving to the wall, she touches one of the lines, then points to the moons and holds up one finger. Line, moons, one. Each line represents a single month, and there are... thousands of them.

With that brief explanation, she returns to the deer with her tools and a skin of water she’d fetched from her stores, making quick work of dressing the carcass and casting the entrails over the ledge. When she’s done, she ties the pieces up with thin strips of leather and hangs them by the cave entrance, then rinses the blood from her limbs.

Shaking herself dry, she comes back into the cave and gestures for Khalid to seat himself by her fire pit. The fire is little more than glowing embers now, but she adds wood to the coals and a flame is quickly kindled. She doesn’t slow down, though, pulling an earthenware pot from her stores, filling it water from a skin, and dropping in a handful of dried pine needles before setting it over the fire. Khalid is offered a cup made of the same earthenware. Clearly she means to entertain the first guest she’s ever had in her home. ]

Edited 2021-04-12 19:25 (UTC)

I'm sorry. [It's all he can say, really, hoping that his expression and tone can convey such a complex emotion to her. He's never lost his parents, so he can't relate. He certainly can't relate when he realises just how long she's been alone, either. But, for all his self-serving schemes, this being one of them, he can't deny that he's ultimately just a soft-hearted sucker at the bottom of it all. He can't hurt her.

He'll sit like a good guest as requested, looking deep into the flames as if lost in thought. By a single thought, really: what should he do, then? The thing that snaps him out of it is the cup offered to him, and he smiles and accepts it.]

Thank you, Byleth. [He knows she can't understand, but if he repeats simple words and phrases enough, she's bound to pick things up from context. Along with more chatter to indicate he's happy:] You're even making my favourite tea! I think we're onto a winner.

[ Unable to understand his words, she can still see that he’s pleased. She smiles in return, her tail swishing, and sits across from him with her own cup. Both of them have a scale design traced into the side, drawn into the clay before it was hardened.

Now that she’s seated, her eyes never leave his face. Her expression is a mix of so many emotions, all happy and hopeful and bashful and longing in equal parts. It’s hard to say what she expects or wants from him, but for now she simply seems content to be in another person’s company.

The tea is done soon enough, and she fills both of their cups. It’s fragrant like the forests that surround the mountain, the flavor almost identical to that served in the Almyran court.

Of course, none of the tea he’s ever had the pleasure of drinking in the past has been served to him by a dragon.

After a while of sipping the tea in companionable silence, Byleth hops up and goes to pull more supplies from her storage: bags filled with crushed seeds and wild grain, dried chunks of meat and preserved vegetables, more water. Moving the tea away from the fire, she sets these in a new pot over the fire. It seems she means to feed him as well. ]

Edited 2021-04-12 20:45 (UTC)

[Khalid's used to filling silence with chatter, anything to make the other person laugh or just engage in smalltalk to while away the time, get them into his good graces, anything he desires at that moment. Here he can't use that silver tongue and is completely at the mercy of her gaze, sipping tea together in silence. Even realising he's caught her eye and winking at her doesn't seem to work to stop her staring, so he'll just let her continue.

It'd almost be meditative, sitting by the fire like this, but she's exceptionally pretty, he's starting to realise. And naked.

Far be it for him to presume to tell a dragon how to dress, but it is proving a little distracting, and he can feel the heat creeping into his cheeks. So he's almost relieved when she gets up again to get more supplies, and he watches curiously.]

Making something to eat? [He asks, not because he expects her to understand the question (or her answer, if she gives one), but there's only so long he can keep the silence up.]

[ When he winks at her, Byleth’s eyebrows arch, not with surprise but curious amusement. She copies the gesture, shooting an exaggerated wink back at him and giggling. Yeah, that definitely didn’t have the desired effect.

As far as her nakedness, well... when you’re alone for a thousand years, surrounded only by birds and beasts, who is there to see or care that you’re undressed? Besides, shifting back and forth as she does between her forms means that clothing would serve as little more than an inconvenience to her.

In answer to his question, Byleth begins to chatter a response—even if he doesn’t understand, it’s still nice to talk. And anyway, the language barrier hasn’t stopped him thus far, so she won’t let it stop her either. She talks about the ingredients as she puts them in the pot, stirring them together with a wooden spoon. It looks like a fairly hearty stew as it takes shape. ]

[He laughs when she returns the wink. He didn't know what he expected, really, but he knows now that expecting the average, human reactions out of her is at least a mistake.

As she cooks he'll observe closely; even if he could offer to help and understand her instructions, he's really not an experienced cook, being far too accustomed to palace life. But it is an excuse to listen a little more to her language and get used to it. He has an ear for that kind of thing, given his mother raised him to learn her language, too, but he never imagined such a skill could be useful here. Maybe he'll glean a word or two before long.]

Smells good! [He says, exaggerating sniffing and enjoying the aroma of the stew while it cooks.]

[ It does smell good, filling the cave with a pleasant aroma. Byleth smiles at Khalid's gestures, eventually sitting back to let the stew bubble over the fire for a time. She pours more tea for Khalid when she sees his cup is empty, then takes a handful of the seeds and goes back to the ledge and spreads them out, whistling in a very convincing imitation of some of the local birds. One by one, the birds descend, pecking at seeds and chirping to one another. One of them lands on Byleth's horn, another hopping up into her hand, and she turns to show Khalid, even going so far as to bring a few of them back into the cave. They don't seem afraid of her in the slightest, and would even perch on his hand if he extended it to them.

By now, the sun is beginning to slip towards the western horizon, leaving bands of pink and orange across the sky as afternoon becomes evening. Once the seeds are gone and the birds have left to hunker down in their nests for the night, Byleth serves a hearty bowl of stew up for Khalid. It's nothing like the food served in court, but it's warm and filling and flavorful. She watches him while he eats to make sure he's enjoying his meal. ]

[Khalid, like many Almyrans, has a healthy respect for nature, but unlike many he doesn't have many opportunities to enjoy it when he's sequestered away in a palace. So he's surprised when he extends a hesitant hand, and one of the birds goes right ahead and perches on his finger. He supposes for want of any dragons, animal companions really must have been the next best thing for Byleth. She certainly seems to have tamed them well enough for them not to be skittish.

Once the birds are gone and the sun dips low, he stands out at the cliff edge, and feels unease tugging at his conscience as the first stars prick the sky. Just as the sun vanishes beneath the horizon, so too must he leave eventually. Even if he could communicate it to her, and his reasons, he's sure it'd break her heart.

Still, he has a role to play as a guest for now, and he won't abandon Byleth's hospitality just yet. So he rejoins her inside to hunker down and try the stew.]

It's delicious. [He says, again hoping expression and tone will be enough to convey his approval.] Thanks, Byleth.

[ Byleth says something in return as she serves her own meal and digs in. After their dinner, she begins to cast her eyes about, looking for something she can offer as entertainment for her guest. She’s has plenty to do on her own besides those things which are necessary for her survival, but what might be of interest to a stranger?

Scampering back to her storage rooms, she comes back with an armful of unique items, setting them down for his examination. Among them is a wooden harp, obviously old and well-loved; a small assortment of toys, ranging from balls made from tanned hide to figurines of animals made of wood and clay; a flute made from the long leg bone of a deer; a bag full of beautiful stones picked up from the river that feeds into her lake, some of which are certainly valuable. There are a few items that stand out in contrast to their primitive counterparts, however, crafted in what looks like silver and gold metal. All of these things are laid before him, offering him the opportunity to choose what most interests him. ]

How long have you hung onto these? [He mutters, sorting through the items and inspecting their every little detail closely like they're precious artefacts. He even plucks experimentally at the harp a little, just to see if it works, though he doesn't know the first thing about how to play it. It's like a little treasure hoard, but it all tells a story, too. He could imagine scholars in the city going nuts over these sorts of things.

He's curious the most about the silver and gold items, but he'll leave those for last. More than that, he can't help but feel sympathy for her. For how long she must have been here alone, as a young dragon. For all her hardship, she wants to share herself, all of it, and he feels like perhaps he should, too.]

I don't have much to show you in return, but let's see... [He pulls out a sheaf of parchment and passes it to her, which, when unrolled, reveals a map of northern Almyra, from the capital up to the northern mountain ranges they're in now. Tucked away in the first roll is a star chart for navigation; she might recognise the positions of the stars, even if the names and constellations mean nothing to her.

Finally, he reaches under his collar for a chain, and pulls out a golden amulet in the shape of a pomegranate, inlaid with garnet on one side, and Almyran script on the other side. As he takes it off, he's careful to press it into her palm to emphasise it's precious, so she shouldn't drop it.]

[ The harp string hums with a mellow tone when he plucks it, and when she sees that he doesn't know how to play it, Byleth takes the instrument from him and shows him how to play a simple melody. Her interest quickly shifts to the papers he offers her, though, and she looks with a keen eye over the shapes of the landmasses and the stars.

When he presses the pendant into her palm, she makes a soft noise of admiration, turning it this way and that so the facets sparkle in the fire light. Then she holds it to her nose and inhales deeply. Her tail thumps lightly against the cave floor behind her as she searches her memory for a long moment, then she holds it up again and points to the painting of the three dragons on the wall, repeating the word she'd used to indicate one of the larger ones before. ]

Emel? Khalid emel?

[ She's making a guess, of course, but it seems like she's asking if one of his parents gave the necklace to him.

After placing it carefully back into his hand, she takes the star chart and pulls him with her to the cave entrance where she casually plops down at the lip of the ledge, her legs swinging in the open air. She isn't nervous because she can fly, though Khalid might want to be a little cautious.

The stars are out in full force by now, and the moon is a waning crescent slim enough to almost be new, its light too faint to interfere with the magnificent view of the stars, reflected also in the still waters of the lake below. It's a breathtaking view. She beckons for him to sit with her, holding up the chart so he can point out the patterns to her. ]

[It isn't hard to guess what she's asking, so he nods.] Right. It was given as a gift. From Khalid's mother.

[He takes the necklace back and puts it back on, following her outside. His eyes are wide; the sky looks beautiful out here, moreso than in the city or even in the desert. Wisely, he doesn't sit right at the cliff edge, sitting cross-legged slightly back.

Barely a breeze stirs the treetops, and he spares a thought for his poor wyvern, who is probably still waiting for him in the forest below. Fortunately, even the tamest wyverns are still half-wild creatures, so he doesn't doubt that she can hunt and fend for herself while he's here.

He goes through the chart one by one, pointing to the picture first and then to the clusters of stars visible to them until Byleth spots them. Though she wouldn't understand the names, hopefully the pictures on the chart would make their meanings clear enough: this one is a rider on horseback, that one is an ear of wheat, another a drum, a tree, and so on.]

[ She's obviously fascinated, her eyes gleaming with the reflected light of stars as they gaze up at them. Even though he's a bit behind her, Byleth's tail curls around Khalid, looping around him once so the tufted tip is draped over his lap. Her wing extends behind him as well, the thin membrane radiating heat as it drapes over his shoulder like a blanket to ward off the chill of the night.

Simply being connected to another person in this way seems to elate her; she even scoots back from the edge of the platform so she can sit with her side pressed to his, though she seems to be bursting with energy, unable to sit perfectly still, always adjusting her position slightly to maximize the amount of contact between them. He was right about his earlier assessment: it's going to break her heart when he leaves.

For now, though, she seems perfectly content to spend learning words in his language, repeating the names of the stars and constellations back to him in a heavy but pleasant sort of accent.

Eventually, though, even she begins to lose steam. This has been the most eventful day of her life in the last thousand years, and the excitement has worn her down. She stands and releases Khalid from her hold, beckoning him back inside the cave and closing the hide flaps behind them. She spends a moment picking up her things, then pulls back a layer of the furs on her bed and curls up between them. ]

Khalid?

[ She beckons for him to join her, already purring audibly even from a distance. ]

[Khalid definitely feels a little hot under the collar even without the wing to warm him, just from the close physical proximity. She's... well, even for all her bestial appearance, she's beautiful, he realises, though he's trying not to make his lingering gazes too obvious, when she's distracted by the stars. Nor the way he idly runs his fingers through the fur on her tail, or examines her green scales, radiant and somehow different to a wyvern's in size and shape.

She's getting attached. He's getting attached. His heart sinks, and he casts his mind back to the artefacts in the cave. He has to satisfy his curiosity about her, but the longer he stays, the more he'll both hurt her when it's time to leave, and put her in danger if he doesn't leave. There's no real choice in the matter.

Still, he casts all that out of his mind for the evening when she retires to bed, and he realises he's being invited in.]

Byleth... Are you sure? [She's purring up a storm, so that seems to answer his question. He starts to undress until he's stripped down to a loose cotton tunic that provides some modesty -- but it occurs to him she probably doesn't want his sweaty travelling clothes in her bed, and she apparently doesn't care about modesty, either.

So he strips off all the way and joins her in the bed, hoping it's too dark for her to notice the way his cheeks are burning.]

Thanks for letting me stay. [He smiles as he settles in, brushing some of her hair aside to kiss her forehead. He'd thanked her enough across the evening that hopefully she understood that, but if not, hopefully the little gesture of affection would get the message across.]

[ The bed is comfortably soft, made with several layers of fur piled over heather and moss. It's not anything as fine or fancy as the beds in the royal palace, no feather pillows, no silk or satin, but it's good enough for what it is. Certainly it's good enough for her.

Once Khalid joins her under the covers, it's only a matter of moments before he's being wrapped up again, a wing sliding over and around as she curls up beside him with her face pressed against his shoulder. There's nothing overtly sexual about her touch, in spite of the fact that she's naked--she's just obviously loathe to be apart from the first person she's seen in a thousand years. She falls asleep quickly, too, her contented purr deepening into a steadier rumble as she dozes off.

If it wasn't already obvious that she trusts him completely after having known him for all of one day, this is certainly proof of that. A less scrupulous person could so easily take advantage of that innocent trust, but she's either unaware of that kind of danger or she feels secure in her belief that he won't harm her. Whether it's because she likes him in particular, or because she's so desperately lonely that she would eagerly embrace anyone who came to find her, it doesn't bode particularly well for her in the future.

The fire makes a jarring noise when one of the larger pieces of kindling cracks and causes the others to cave in, spitting out a burst of sparks as it settles back into its low burn. Byleth wakes with a soft mrrp, lifting her head to peer at it briefly and dismissing it just as quickly. Drowsy, she rearranges herself until she's comfortable again, this time splayed halfway across Khalid's chest. She doesn't drop off into sleep as she had earlier, though; instead, she simply rests, watching his face. ]

[Sleep comes a lot slower for Khalid, even as warm and comfortable as it is. His mind won't stop racing, he still feels a little flustered, he's thinking about the hunting knife he left in his belongings that he won't be able to reach easily from here, he's thinking about the inevitable future. She already trusts him so much, and all he can really reward her with is distrust, plotting to steal her secrets, and running away.

He really is the worst.

Maybe it's exhaustion from the long journey north, however, because he finally finds himself slipping off to sleep. The crack jolts him awake soon after, his wide eyes on the fire, and only when he realises nothing is amiss does he settle down again, though his heart is still pounding.]

Hey. [He says with a strained smile, noticing those pretty green eyes of hers are fixed on him.]

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