Dawn was when the jungle was at it's noisiest. As the oppressive light of the sun rose above the horizon, thousands of birds began to sing in hopes of finding their match. The chirping of the night insects began to slow, taking a backseat to the chorus of birdcalls. Occasionally the rumbling of a larger animal could be heard over the rest, as if telling the jungle to quiet down. It was to no avail- there was no such thing as "sleeping in" when you lived in Kishahn.
Tsijiari sat atop the emergent layer, watching the dreaded sun make it's way into the sky. The golden-haired child stared defiantly at his foe. "You look-see me?" he yelled, a scowl etched onto his face. "Your light harm-fouls me none! Flee ever-quick to the other side of the sky!"
The sun said nothing in reply, which Tsijiari took to mean he'd intimidated it. Climbing down gracefully from the treetop into the understory, the boy began to search for his breakfast. After a few minutes he had two mangos in his satchel- one for now, and one for later. As he closed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, Tsijiari noticed something that nearly caused his heart to stop...
Tsijiari's compass had stopped spinning.
The boy was soon dashing through the jungle, compass held in front of him. "It has finally happened!" he thought, a determined grin on his face. "I have finally sought-found a crystal!" The boy looked down at his compass again, double checking that he was going the right way...
And promptly collided face-first into someone.
"Foolish boy."
Four eyes settled on the human who'd clumsily barged into her territory, lips pulling back to reveal a wicked snarl. Gasira had smelled the unfamiliar scent only a moment before he'd stumbled into her, and she was pissed. What a pleasant morning it had been up until this sudden, unexpected arrival.
The half-dragon barely slept, the sun's rays stirring her out of another fitful dream. Birdsong kept her from finding her way back to sleep, annoying feathered alarm clocks. Gasira had managed to silence one of them for breakfast, stealing the eggs to fry later. Once food was taken care of, it was time to roam her territory, acknowledging every rock, mango and tree under her domain from anyone who'd try to take it.
This is my rock, yes, not yours. This is my squirrel, my prey. This is mine, this is mine, this is mine...
Oh, and this is mine now too!
A little white crystal, only two inches tall, but oh so shiny. Maybe it was a shard of stained glass or a piece of quartz. Whatever it had been, like all things that ended up over her border, it was now hers. A new trinket to add to her hoard.
She was ferrying that crystal towards its new home when the boy came. Of course a human would show up when she'd found something new to play with! They were always looking for jewels and gems and treasure. Like greedy bloodhounds they sniffed out her hoard so frequently. Well not today. She held the crystal in her hands as far away as physically possible from the trespasser. Gasira towered over him, hissing like a crocodile. Humans were scared of those, right? Maybe the sound would give the kid a hint.
"I'd turn back if I were you. You humans are not welcome here."
It was an odd sensation, as if he'd slammed into a human shaped wall. Stumbling backwards, Tsijiari looked up to see a hideous scaled beast towering over him. He scrambled backwards in a panic, as if to make a run for it- but then he saw what the monster was carrying.
A clear stone was clutched in the beast's claw, held high above the boy as if it was spitefully being kept from him. Tsijiari's eyes widened, his mouth slightly ajar. The chosen one pointed at the crystal, and as if on cue the early morning sun passed through it, reflecting it's light onto the forest floor. "That... that is it!" the boy said, perhaps a bit louder than he'd intended. "That is the crystal I need-seek!"
Tsijiari stood up, and would deftly take a dart from the sheath on his leg. "I do not mean to scare-harm you." the boy said, an incredibly serious look on his face. "But if you do not hand-gift that to me, I will be force-pressed to take it from you."
"Uh, what?" Gasira's gaze shot from the boy, to the crystal, then back to the boy. She scoffed. "You? This?"
Was this kid trying to stand up to her? And worse, was he trying to threaten her with a pointy little dart? This little human wanted to fight her! Or at least, that's what Gasira thought. Scare-harm... pah. If she had felt any inclination of handing over the crystal (which she definitely did not - it was hers now, wasn't it?) there was no chance now. Smirking in a way that suggested she was three steps away from ripping him a new one, Gasira's voice dropped into a low growl.
"Let us see you try." Quickly, Gasira flicked up the crystal, the object going airborne before she caught it by the end of her tail. She held it up and behind her, waving it from side to side. "You've gotta earn your victories human. No treasure leaves my territory without my permission. That's a rule I just made up now and I'm sticking to it. Now scram!"
Snarling, Gasira leaped up and kicked her hind claws out, intending to make the boy flinch and/or run for it.
Tsijiari listened to the beast speak, his heart racing. The village elder had told him there would be trials he must face, but to run into such a fearsome monster this early on? The chosen one steeled himself. "This is it!" he thought, his grip on the dart tightening. "I must prove-show that I am worthy of my destiny!"
In an instant the crystal was thrown into the air, only for it to be caught by the crature's tail. The scaled beast had soon aimed some kind of kick at him, but Tsijiari jumped backwards. Drawing his blowgun, the boy loaded the dart and fired, aiming for the monster's tail. It wasn't a deadly poison, but it would cause whatever limb it struck to go numb...
Assuming he had taken the hint, Gasira was far from expecting any rebuttal from the half-pint. She flipped backwards in the air after her kick, landing gracefully at the base of a kapok just in time for the kid to load his weapon and fire. Thankfully, her tail was too thin to land a decent shot unless very close-range. But her arm? Fair game.
"Ouch." Gasira raised her left arm to see the dart's head poking out from the thinner skin on her underside. As if on cue, it felt like an immense weight had been placed on top of it. It sank uselessly to her side, the limb now adrift in the sensation of nothingness. It took every ounce not to pounce on the kid immediately. "Grr, you're really pushing your luck with this human."
Although it would be awkward without her arm, she began climbing up the trunk of the tree. Surprisingly she was still moving at a fast pace, using the thorns on the kapok as footholds for her taloned feet. As she went she called out, "I'm still not giving you what's rightfully mine!"
Tsijiari's eye's brightened when the dart connected with the lizard-person, then fell when he saw it had missed it's mark. The beast's arm had gone limp instead, and she quickly fled into a nearby kapok. The chosen one moved to follow, angrily yelling after her as he scaled the thorny tree. "That bright-crystal is mine! If I don't have-get it we'll both end-die!"
Hop-climbing with difficulty up the kapok, Gasira could hear the high-pitched wail of the human child shouting below her. It was like a gnat in her ear-fin. More stuff about how he 'needed' this crystal, how it was so important. You'd think he was talking about the apocalypse or something. Little did she know how close her statement came to truth...
"Excuses, excuses!"
Soon she reached the first, thicker branches of the huge tree. Across reached more branches from other trees, forming an overlapping network of tree limbs that snaked into the distance. Momentarily, she twisted around to look down, spotting the child still in pursuit. She snarled, baring her many fangs, her tail (still holding the crystal) lashing. "Quit following me!"
"Never-ever!" the boy cried in response, scrambling up the trre as fast as he could. The spiked trunk made it simultaniously easy and difficult to ascend- on one hand, it gave Tsijiari plenty of footholds. That a single slip could cause the boy to accidentially impale himself caused him to move slowly, however, and the creature was soon far ahead of him. "Get back here!"
In an act of desperation, Tsijiari grabbed another numbing dart from his leg pouch and flung it at the monster. It wasn't the most precise throw he'd ever made, but maybe it'd be enough to startle her...
The dart flew overhead, striking the wood just in front of Gasira's good hand. She recoiled like a noble woman in front of a mouse. That had almost been a direct hit! Why did she have to encounter a brat with such clear aim?
"Are you for real?" Gasira snapped. Lining herself up, she flung herself towards the network of tree branches, numb arm flopping behind her. For a second it looked like she might fall without it, but thankfully her right hand held true. She clutched at each limb with her good arm, flexible enough to bend and dodge any overhanging roots. It would be at a slower pace than she would've liked, but Gasira was navigating the emergent layer deeper into her territory.
The light of the crystal behind her was slowly sinking into shadow, the forest growing darker due to how the trees seemed to be pressed together, chewing up the sun from the jungle.
The dart (suprisingly) almost hit it's target, the creature evading in the nick of time. She snarled loudly, and quickly began to traverse the branches of the emergant layer.
Finally reaching his destination, Tsijiari followed the dragon-lady through the emergant layer. The beast's limp arm hindered her movement, and soon the choson one was within arm's length. "Come onnnn!" he said, sounding awfully whiney for someone fated to save the world. "I want-need it!" The boy reached to try and grab her tail...
Damn this labyrinthine jungle! Gasira had spent so many years memorizing her territory. Every niche and cranny was its own supercharged neuron in her brain. But without the use of her arm, she hadn't known just how much the tangled woods could slow her down. She was moving like a foreigner, her numb arm dragging on branches and catching on vines with every step. Like a clumsy old gecko...
Eventually even the human was catching up! She felt the lightest touch of fingers on her tail. The kid nearly had her! Gasira screeched. In a flash, the tail whipped back, curled and then aimed to strike the offending hand. Mostly to get the kid to pause so she could scramble on ahead.
"You do not! Touch!" A low, green light began to emanate from Gasira's throat. She didn't want to burn the boy, but at this rate, they were getting closer and closer to her treasure. She was growing desperate. Nobody had come this close to catching her before, and now a child was about to be the first.
How shameful. I'm a dragon! This should be easy!
With a horrible shriek, the beastwoman lashed out her tail. Tsijiari recoiled in pain as it struck his wrist, letting out a stifled grunt as he did so. "Stupid..." he muttered, slowing his pace slightly. "You'll slay-kill us all!"
Suddenly, the creature's throat began to glow a sickly green. Tsijiari had no was of knowing what it meant, but his gut instinct told him it was a bad sign. Still, with the foliage as dense as it was, he had no other option but to press forward. No longer close enough to make a grab for the crystal, the chosen one braced himself for whatever was about to happen...
"No, you're stupid. Idiot child."
The kid made to defend himself, and that was exactly the hesitation Gasira was looking for. She stifled the flame in her throat, using those precious few seconds to add a yard or two of distance from her pursuer. Only a tail-length from the heart of her territory, she desperately clawed to where the branches seemed to drop down into the shadows.
Her arm dangled helplessly behind her as she threw herself down. She landed first on a lower branch, then jumped to the ground into the dark, slimy pit she called home. Condensation stuck to the leaves and roots of the trees below, the soft sound of a bubbling brook in the distance. Tropical frogs croaked by the water's edge, dotting the deep jungle with spots of color.
Gasira looked up, wondering if the kid would dare follow. Unfortunately, being this far down robbed her of visibility up in the foliage of the trees. She tossed the crystal back to her one hand, except she'd aimed the wrong one. It fell to the floor, and she growled, picking it up with the arm that wasn't entirely numb.
This was getting to be incredibly annoying.
"No, you're stupid!" Tsijiari called back, now struggling to catch up with the lizard-woman again. "You fright-ugly beast!" Slowly the boy began to regain ground, getting closer to his target with each passing second...
Then, with a single act, the creature did something Tsijiari didn't expext- dive head first into the Dark-green. He hesitated. Nobody went to the Dark-green, not even the most daring villagers! If this thing lived down there, than that meant...
The chosen one shook his head. This wasn't the time to think about what it meant- all he could do was act. Steeling himself, the boy would beging to descend the branches into the leafy abyss below...
One finned ear twitched, catching the sound of feet scuffing the side of the tree, the subtle rustling of leaves indicating movement above. Was he really, honestly coming down? Gasira shot a look of pure venom at the sky. Unable to see him or gauge the distance, she was frustrated beyond measure. In trying to scare the boy off and take the crystal, she'd inadvertently lead him to her home!
Throwing a tantrum sounded like a good idea right now. Gasira stomped her foot, hissing. Stupid, stupid, stupid! This is my home! Not your playground! Get out!
"Rrragh!" She was so mad. So utterly, unbelievably pissed off. In an instant she belted a blaze of flame up into the air. Her aim was exceptionally poor, so angry she was. But all she wanted was to get him out. Thankfully none of her trees actually caught fire. Birds squawked, flying out of the canopy at the sudden puff of heat and smoke.
Dramatics aside, Gasira stomped her foot again and snorted, a bit of smoke rising from her nostrils for good measure.
Apprehension turned into determination as Tsijiari descended, his pace increasing by the second. Where the beast had hidden was no longer a concern- for all he knew, traveling the Dark-Green was one of his trials.
He had made it halfway when the jet of fire shot towards him, narrowly missing him. The heat alone was enough to make him wince in pain, and the boy nearly lost his footing in the confusion. With an angry growl, Tsijiari doubled his pace- it would be bad if he got himself caught in a forest fire.
The chosen one lept from a low branch and onto the ground. An awful squelch beneath his feet indicated he'd landed in... something. It was too dark to get a proper look, which was probably a good thing. The boy looked around wildly, trying to make out where he was on the dimly lit forest floor...
Unlike the little human with his weak, pathetic, humany eyes, Gasira could see very well in the dark. Her lower set of eyes were attuned to the shadows of her dimly lit home. And now that the kid was no longer hidden by the trees, she could see her intruder standing plain and blind ankle-deep in...
Fish eggs?
Gross.
What would he do now, having followed her down? There was nowhere to run, nowhere safe to turn. Gasira's treasure was buried only a few feet away: The loosely covered entrance to the pit bordered the stream, protected on all sides by sharp, black rocks. And the half-dragoness herself was fuming.
Her low growl broke the tense silence in the air, "Did I not make myself clear? I'm going easy on you, because you're a kid, but I ain't about to stand around while you get your grubby hands on my stuff."
As she spoke, her throat began to glow again. Soft as it was, it did make it a little easier to spot her.
The jungle chatter- already nearly inaudible in the Dark-Green- went completely silent as the beast's voice emerged from the darkness. Tsijiari whipped his head around, searching desperately for it's source. "I spoke-told you, I need it!" the boy spat angrily. "The world will dead-end if I don't get it!"
Finally, he saw it- the beastwoman's throat glowing softly from the shadows. Without hesitation the boy ran at her, and would aim a fist at her gut...
Did Gasira expect the kid to fight? Not at all. The 'beastwoman' was caught off-guard yet again as the human ran fist-first into her stomach. Her weak-spot...
Gasira yelped, a pathetic puff of fire spitting from her mouth and fizzling up into the air. Without hesitation, she clumsily attempted to swipe the boy with her good hand-claw. "You're going to be meeting a dead-end if you don't lay off you jerk!"
Hypocrite much?
Tsijiari's fist met it's mark, and the beast let out a horrible, fiery shriek. Screaming angrily, she aimed a claw at the boy's abdomen. The chosen one moved to dodge, but a searing pain and the sight of red meant he hadn't been fast enough.
Gritting his teeth to ignore the pain, and praying that the gash wasn't too deep, Tsijiari kicked at the monster's legs in an attempt to kock her off her feet.
Due to her clumsier movement, the gash was shallow, though who knew how deadly that small a cut could be in a wild, swampy environment. Gasira regained her footing just as the kid began kicking. She sprung to the side, just missing his feet, and whipped her tail in one smooth motion low to the ground, attempting to trip up the child instead.
The creature had regained it's balance, jumping out of the way before Tsijiari's kick could land. As it's tail lashed toward's the boy's feet, the chosen one didn't move out of the way- insead, he moved to stomp on it.
Gasira hissed as the boy stomped on her tail! It was pinned under his foot now, and she scrambled to rush forward and push him off, wincing at the pain blossoming over the appendage.
Tsijiari saw his chance and siezed it. Snatching another numbing dart from his sheath, he would attempt to pierce the creature's other arm with it while she was struggling to break free..
Reaction time was too late; The boy stung her with another one of those little dart things! Gasira staggered backwards, her arm already losing feeling even as she recoiled. Soon it would join her other arm, swinging limp at her side, that strange rush of pins and needles exploding into numbness all too quickly.
The crystal dropped to the ground, rolling into the bush.
"You officially suck. If you didn't before, you do now." Gasira growled, "Fine. I don't need 'em anyway!"
Now she aimed to kick the boy with blade like talons, obviously not learning from her mistake the first or second time.
Tsijiari's eyes lit up- his attack connected! He let out an excited laugh, heart racing as he saw the crystal fall to the ground. In an instant he had dived down towards the brush, singlemindedly trying to snatch it...
A sharp pain in his calf caused him to cry out, stumbling to his knees. Looking down, he could see the gash left by the woman's feet was much worse than the one he'd obtained before. Blood ran down his leg, drips of red staining the forest floor. He turned his head to glare at the scaled woman. "Why won't you quit-stop! I'm trying to doom-save you!"
Gasira stood over the boy, limp limbs swaying, her expression a coil of anger about to spring into action. It seemed the kick had done its job, a fresh scratch on the kid's calf giving her a little satisfaction.
"You aren't doing anything helpful sticking around here!" She snaked over, wary of him darting her again. "How many times have I told you to go?"
Her throat was starting to glow that sickly green again. Not a good sign.
"Uh-oh."
Tsijiari tried to get out of the way, but his injured leg didn't want to move. His eyes darted about, before settling on a rock the size of his fist. In a singe motion he grabbed it and flung it at the beastwoman't throat, silently praying it'd stop her from incinerating him...
"Urk!"
The rock struck Gasira right where the kid had wanted it to go. A few green embers sputtered out of her mouth, the world's most disappointing fireballs. She coughed smoke, basically having swallowed her own flames back down instead of up. Probably felt like choking on your own saliva, if your spit was made of ghost peppers.
It had distracted her though, at least for a moment.
Tsijiari saw his chance, and took it. Summoning all of his willpower, the boy scrambled to the side, leg throbbing in pain as he did so. Eyes narrowed in concentration (and pain), the chosen one pulled a dart from his quiver- his last one. "One last aim-shot..." he thought, breathing sharp. "Want-need it to count..."
Lifting his blowgun to his mouth, the boy aimed his shot at the beast-woman's leg...
A sharp sting hit Gasira's leg, the one which she'd been leaning her weight on. She was too busy coughing a lung when suddenly the world dropped downwards and she was for some reason now lying on the ground. Unable to feel her right leg, it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand what'd just happened.
Her face in the dirt, all that could be heard was her muffled scream.
Gasira slowly raised her head, mustering all her efforts into unleashing as much hell in her glare as possible at the kid across from her. She started to speak but had to clear her throat a little more, top set of eyes watering a touch.
"How the hell did a kid... freaking beat me?"
She tried to scramble forwards with her good leg, instead driving herself some more into the mud. Her tail couldn't support her entire weight, so it thrashed uselessly behind her as if that'd help in some meaningful way.
"I've taken down men, women, beasts and all." She continued, "Yet here we are. A kid with a stupid dart gun... Taking down a dragon! Over a-a dumb bauble!" The dramatic monologue paused. Gasira narrowed her lower set of eyes at the boy. Who she'd been referring to as "kid," "boy," and "child" this whole time.
"What's your name anyway?"
Time seemed to slow as the dart flew it's course. Tsijari's mind raced, trying to formulate a backup plan should the shot miss. The boy took a step back, stumbling slightly on his injured leg...
And then, after what seemed like an eternity, the dart hit it's mark. The woman stumbled and fell into the mud, cursing. Tsijiari let out a sigh of relief, but his shoulders remained tense. 'I... I am Tsijiari... the destiny-chosen" he said, breathing ragged. He pointed at the self-proclaimed dragon triumphantly. "You cannot quick-stop me, Sun-guardian! It's my destiny to- oww!"
The boy fell onto his behind, clutching his wounded leg. The adrenaline from the fight was beginning to wear off, and the boy was finally feeling the pain. Tsijiari's eyes watered, and he struggled to bite back tears. "M-my destiny to s-save-heal the world..."
Sun-Guardian? The nonsense this supposed 'hero' was spouting infuriated Gasira to no end. But she couldn't really do much about it except continue to slump in the mud. At least the kid -Tsijiari -was also not leaving without a good bruising. From what she could see he'd fallen on his ass, clutching his leg in pain.
That'll teach ya, Gasira thought. Of course her own wounds were aching. Her snout wrinkled, her stomach still sore from being sucker-punched earlier.
"Yeah yeah sure it is." She rolled her eyes, "And I'm Queen of Kishahn."
She realized he might take that seriously and shook her head, "Look kid, you've got this wrong. I am not a Sun-Guardian. You just walked into my home turf and tried to steal my shit. You're not saving the world here. I have a bunch of crystals just like this laying around probably..."
"Ugh. I even told you to leave! Most people don't even get that honor!"
The dragon was monologuing something, but Tsijiari was too injured to give her his full attention. The chosen one's eyes watered as he scanned the area for something, anything he could use to stem the blood flowing from his leg. Spotting a bush nearby with large leaves, the boy crawled towards it hastily, plucking on off it's branch once he'd reached it. Tying the leaf to his leg like a makeshift bandage, he took a deep breath. He'd likely be limping for a few days, but that was a fair price to pay in order to obtain one of the sun-stones.
Suddenly, the beastwoman's words registered in the boy's head. "Wait, you guard-own the other fifteen crystals too?" he said, cutting her off. "Take me to them! I pass-beat your trial, so you have to!"
"You didn't listen to anything I just said, did you?" Her lips curled into a hateful smile.
With some effort, the half-dragon turned limp noodle wrestled herself on to her side, using her dead arm and tail like a prop to keep her from smacking face-first into the mud again. She could see Tsijiari, his leg wrapped in green. The kid was crafty, she had to admit, fashioning a bandage like that. No way she'd actually tell him of course. The boy's already inflated ego would probably skyrocket.
"Not like I could show you my hoard anyway," She growled, "You made my body all weird and stuff! With that poison or whatever it was. You should have thought about it before you shot me with a bunch of darts!"
Tsijiari frowned, his nose wrinkling. "You think-feel that's an excuse?" he said, struggling to stand on his feet. It hurt like nothing the boy had experienced before, but he managed to limp a few steps towards the dragon. "I will lift-carry you."
Teasing, Gasira chided Tsijiari. "Oh right. A tiny kid like you going to lift somebody like me? I am twice your size."
The serious look on his face made her pause. She considered that the boy might just in fact try it. The idea of some human grabbing her and lifting her, much less a kid, wriggled worms in her gut. "No no no. You're not picking me up. I can figure it out. Don't even try it!" The desperation in her voice growing, she was trying very hard now to move like a snake, tail thrashing.
It wasn't doing much.
Tsijiari looked on as the dragon thrashed about, a blank expression on his face. After a few seconds of her decidedly not figuring it out, the boy snorted in laughter. "Yeah, okay. That's going to help-work."
Limping forwards, the chosen one would pick up Gasira as if to give her a piggyback ride. "High-up you go!"
"No no no!!!"
Her thrashing seemed to be even more violent when the boy picked her up, her long tail smacking against the ground in a vain attempt to pry him off of her. The mere action of grabbing her set off a burst of energy, struggling to get out of his grip, whatever way she could. It was evident that Gasira was not used to being picked up, and even if she had been, did not like it.
Also the hissing noises resulted in the experience being like picking up a pissed-off crocodile. Her scaly skin would not be pleasant to touch, especially slaked over with wet mud and frog eggs. This was not pleasant for either of them.
"Ugh... I don't even know how you're able to do this. I would kill you on the spot if I wasn't paralyzed right now." She pouted. The boy had not looked that strong.
Tsijiari shivered as he picked the dragon up, wincing. "Ugh! Stink-yuck!" he exclaimed as he stumbled forwards, trying his hardest to not drop the heavy creature. Her scales were rough and unpleasant on his skin- and to make matters worse, she was covered in whatever he had stepped in earlier! "You need a bath-rinse..."
Unsuprisingly, carrying a heavy, struggling monster on an injured leg was far more difficult than Tsijiari let on. The boy's knees buckled as he tried to steady himself, andhe came dangerously close to falling over more than once. Finally he leaned his shoulder against a tree, panting. "Which... which way to your... lair-cave..."
"Near the black rocks." She was still reluctant, even now.
Trouble was sections of black rocks stuck out all the way down the stream, disappearing into the black. Sharp jets of obsidian were slick with water from the brook, and some taller pieces ended in sharp points. Gasira had patiently sharpened these over time. Just another layer of warning to trespassers.
A large cluster of those sharp rocks waited at the end of the brook. And deep inside that final pit lay her hoard. A fine lair for a dragon's treasure...
Except now she was letting it be invaded. Gasira tried to feel anything in her claws, any sign that the dart would wear off. To her surprise, she thought she saw her fingertip twitch, just a little bit.
Hopefully the kid hadn't seen that.
"What are you waiting for?" She growled, "I'm not getting any lighter, am I? Or are you not strong enough?"
"I-I'm lift-strong enough!" Tsijiari whined indignantly, staring wide eyed at the river. The current was strong in this area- one slip could mean death here. "The black-rocks are no problem!"
Steeling himself, Tsijiari gingerly placed a single foot on one of the jagged rocks. Then, with a great deal of effort, he jumped to the next, and then the one after that. His muscles ached, his injured leg threatening to give out at any moment. Nearly there now...
Each and every jump Gasira tensed as many muscles as she had left under her control. Her face was a cast of stone, giving no indication of any emotion at all, knowing if the boy fell she'd be falling too. It seemed to take an immeasurable amount of strength just for him to make the jump. Where did all his willpower come from? Could it really be due to his belief in him being part of some great prophecy?
Soon the jagged rocks appeared to dwell lower and lower into the muck, until finally opening into a black pit. The actual cave to the outsider was pretty subtle among the reeds and vines that grew here. However, a thin line of singed grass around the rock marked its location. The vines traveled inside, forming a natural climbing path down into its depths.
Gasira tested her hand again, seeing her claws twitch a little more this time, and tried not to grin. "Well there it is. I suppose you should be in awe. You're looking at a dragon's den after all... Ah, whatever. The treasure is at the bottom."
Indeed something was glimmering just out of sight beneath them.
Tsijiari's eyes widened as, with a final jump, he reached the edge of the pit. It couldn't be this easy, right? Were the sun-guardians really dumb enough to keep all the crystals in one place?
The boy quickly began to clamber down the wall, using the vines as handgrips. It was a difficult task- not only was he climbing on a bum leg, but he also had the weight of the dragon threatening to tear him loose. Each foothold felt more precarious than the last, and Tsijiari was beginning to wonder how the dragon was able to make this climb every day. Finally, he was only a few feet from the bottom. Almost there now...
And then, with a *snap*, the vine he'd been holding onto came loose. The boy and the dragon would fall the remaining two meters, Tsijiari landing with a dull thud. "Ow! Dumb-stupid!"
Huh. Dumb stupid indeed. Too bad Gasira was too busy wriggling in pain on the ground or she'd have said that out loud. Instead she shot the kid a glare from under the tangle that was once her arms.
What lay in front of the two of them was nothing short of both impressive and yet incredibly disappointing. A few coins glittered along the floor, but beyond that were heaps of junk and chicken bones scattered around the cave. Actually, this place sort of looked like the inside of a messy teenager's room. Presenting... Gasira's hoard.
Rusted knives. Discarded leather pieces. Old coins. A dusty looking amulet that was more likely a cheap imitation of the real deal. A scrappy looking teddy bear. Some gloves and green wrappings lay sprawled in the back. A lot of the items seemed ill-fitting, most likely pieces stolen from frightened victims of Gasira's antics over the years. And in the center of it all was a beaten, ancient chest, its iron padlock busted so that it was already open, showing a motley of coins and gems inside. It was displayed as a centerpiece, but even so was hardly a dragon's treasure.
But Gasira freaking loved her hoard. It was all her stuff. Hers! Nobody else's!
She rolled on to her side, watching Tsijiari intently. Honestly, she was curious to see how the boy would react. Nobody had ever dared to step foot in her lair before. None had reached this point. Would he be excited? Awe-struck? Amazed? Her four eyes widened, hoping for the latter.
Tsijiari slowly sat up, rubbing his head. His entire body felt like it was about to burst into flames, but he somehow managed to stand up once again. His determined expression was offset by the tears of pain beginning to well up in his eyes. He grabbed the compass hanging around his neck, holding it up to see where it led...
No luck.
Tsijiari's face fell, watching the compass hand spin aimlessly in a circle. He limped towards the treasure chest, thrusting the device towards it in hopes of getting a response. Nothing. The chosen one swayed back and forth before falling on his behind, adrenaline finally running out. "You don't have them..." he said softly, tears beginning to fall down his face. "Why did you tell-say you had them?"
"Did I ever say that?"
Well, that reaction should have been expected, with how deadset Tsijiari was on finding his supposed treasure. Gasira completed her roll from her side over on to her stomach, then pushed herself up on one now-functioning arm. It was throbbing, the numbness ebbing slowly away and being replaced by a dull ache. It threatened to crumple under her but she wanted to be taken seriously damn it and that meant keeping her face away from the ground!
"Or was that what you thought I said? Because as far as I'm concerned, you didn't listen to me from the get-go, kid. I told you this whole time I never had one of your crystals, and you just wouldn't leave me alone you deluded, idiotic child!" She was furious, a few traces of smoke rising from the corners of her mouth. Literal smoke coming out the ears.
"It's not me who's to blame here. You played yourself."
"No... You had the one..."
Tsijiari glared at the beastwoman angrily, clenching his fists. Tears were now flowing freely down his face, his voice cracking. "The compass point-showed me to it! Look-see!"
The boy rummaged through his pouch, eyes widening as he realized he hadn't actually picked up the crystal the dragon had dropped. How could he have been so stupid? "Um..." he said sheepishly. "Did... did you pick it back up?"
Gasira gave Tsijiari a blank stare for a moment. It was only a moment, as after a few seconds all four of her eyes widened, her mouth forming an 'o' shape as she realized.
"Crap!"
She had completely forgotten about the gem. The thing they'd just spent half an hour or so fighting for.
"I must have dropped it again or something during the fight." She thought aloud, stomping her fist. One eye focused on Tsijiari intently. "Let me guess, you're gonna go try and dig around for it in the muck?"
"Yes! I need-want it!"
Tsijiari whimpered in pain as he tried to push himself back onto his feet, lower lip trembling. "I just- I just have to...." The boy stood up for a moment, teeth clenched in agony. "Shake off the- owww!"
The chosen one's legs gave way almost immediately. He fell to the ground, clutching his knees. "Ow... ow... Just... lend-give me a sec'..."
She watched him struggling, still trying to get the crystal after all of this. Foolish, foolish child...
"You won't make it outside this den, never mind trying to navigate the river back. Don't even kid yourself." She tapped her claws for a minute, "And we have gem-eaters. Nasty critters, going after my treasure all the time too. You're like a gem-eater. You know that?"
Gasira was running out of insults, and the kid was not moving much, curled up with his knees like he was. The wounds looked pretty bad. If they were close enough to a village, and if she could move, Gasira probably would have quickly thrown the kid to the locals for healing or whatever it was that they'd do. At least to get rid of having a body in her cave.
"Well it's not like I can do much like this... Sit there until you can move and then just leave me alone. If you go back to your village without bothering me, I'll make sure you don't get eaten."
Tsijiari's eyes widened at the mention of gem-eaters- large mite-like creatures that fed off the carbon in gemstones. While typically harmless towards living creatures, the nature of the boy's quest left them as a potential threat. Part of his combat training had focused specifically on how to deal with them, as their rocklike chitin and crushing mandibles made them surprisingly difficult to deal with. Tsijiari was sure he could take one on whdn he was in peak condition, but like this...
He shook his head violently. "I-I can't return-leave to my town-home! Not without the sun-crystal! What about the prophecyyyy!"
Tsijiari hadn't intended that last part to come out as a whine, but it was too late...
Ugh, the grating whine of a child was the second worst thing Gasira could ever hear, other than a human's high pitched scream. "Prophecy won't save you from being eaten or having your wound infected." Gasira snarled, "Don't think you have a choice in the matter kid. Rest and leave or die and your village will burn."
It seemed playing to the boy's delusion worked a lot better than confronting it. Gasira wondered how much longer the darts' effects on her would last. Her one arm, though still awkward, was strong enough to support her again. Her other arm she could feel a little more, and with that her muscles were beginning to ache. She was tired too. Perhaps a good rest would help them both.
Tsjiari clenched his teeth angrily. How dare she tell him what to? He'd beat her fair and square! It wasn't like she was the village elder, she was just a...
"Wait..."
The chosen one looked up at the dragon, now thouroughly confused. "You're... you're a sun-guardian!" he said indignantly. "You'll just... let me leave-go? Won't the dark-sun be angry?"
Rolling her lower set of eyes, Gasira twisted her body to show her back spines to the kid. Doing so revealed the messed up geometry that was her shoulder blades, where two mangled, bandaged stumps were all that remained. "Think of it as getting back at a terrible boss. A message of resignation."
Complete and total lie but this kid probably won't buy much else, Gasira reasoned, settling down on the floor. Her tail slowly curled around her legs and she hissed quietly, the ache in her muscles becoming more and more pronounced with each motion. She really wanted to rest after all that. "Turn the world on ignore." As her sister would have said, way back when...
"Message of resignation?"
Tsijiari stared blankly at the creature's mutilated back, unsure of what to say. Had the sun ripped away her wings and forced her to guard the crystals? It certainly appeared that way way to the chosen one, whose mind was now stuck in a mix of sympathy and awe. "But..." he muttered finally. "If you tell-know of the dark-sun's evil, then..."
With an enormous amount of effort, the boy pushed himself into a sitting position. He winced in pain as weight was put on his leg, shutting his eyes tightly. "Come with me!" he said. "If we hard-fight together, we're sure-bound to win!"
Her back still facing Tsijiari, Gasira shook her head. Her skull felt heavy, like someone had replaced it with a lead weight. "I'd much rather you just go home kid. Besides, your village would not be very welcoming to me, would they now?"
"That's okay-fine!" Tsijiari piped up, looking at the dragon with an amost eager expression. It was a first for the boy- he'd never actually met somebody outside his village who knew of the sun's destructive prophecy. There was so much to talk about, to get off his chest...
"I'm not allowed to go back to my town-home anyways!" the boy continued excitedly. "Not until I quest-fetch the crystals, at least. That's what it means to be the Chosen One!"
Shifting to look back at Tsijiari, Gasira paused. So he's exiled? Like me? An uncomfortable silence filled the cave for a solid minute. The half-dragon shook her head. No, it wasn't exactly the same. Whether the so-called prophecy was true or not (she wondered why she'd even consider it to be so - was the kid's fantasy rubbing off on her??) the fact he couldn't go back didn't make them equal.
"There must be somewhere you can go then." She muttered, "I don't want you to stay. My lair is not kid friendly. I'm going to make that as clear to you as possible. No matter if you're a Chosen One or not."
She shoved her good arm under the numb one in an effort to cross her arms. It didn't look very comfortable.
"How many crystals do you even need? There was only the one, wherever it's even gone by now."
"No-no-no!" Tsijiari said, eyes bright. "That's not what I meant-said!" With some effort he pushed himself upright, giving the beastwoman a determined look. "I want you to leave-come with me! If we work together, we can end-stop the Sun's tyranny for good!"
With this the child clenched his fist in the air, grinning. It would be so nice to have a friend- somebody he could really talk to about all of this...
And that was the last straw.
Hearing the kid preach and prattle on about the prophecy combined with the growing migraine in her brain gave Gasira a sudden boost of energy. Just enough to steady herself lopsided on both arms, raise her head and spit a spark of green embers at Tsijiari. Ok, maybe not a full blast of fire at all, but she spat a couple glowing chunks on the ground and that was enough to present her opinion on all this.
"Enough!" Her voice reverberated throughout the small cave. It did not help the ringing in her temple and she winced, "I am not going with you ok? You hit me with a bunch of darts, stepped into my cave, and got your grubby hands all over my belongings. Do you really think I'd be wanting to go on a fool's quest with you too? Really?"
She grumbled, a plume of smoke curling from the corner of her lip. "Just leave. I want to sleep."
Tsijiari flinched, jumping back as the embers landed where his feet had been. He could almost feel the flames licking at toes, threatening to burn him. He looked at the dragon in a panic...
And then, he closed his eyes. "It's like the wise-elder said after all, isn't it?" he thought, a hollow feeling spreading through his chest. "I really do need to do this lone-hearted..."
With immense effort, the boy pushed himself up. "Okay." he said, eyes watering. "Sorry for pest-bothering..." With that, the boy would limp towards the exit, climbing the vines as quickly as he injury would allow him.
He couldn't let her see him cry. Heroes never cried.
She watched him, eyeing him the whole time, her face cold. She continued to observe as he climbed up the side of the wall carefully, recoiling slightly when she caught the sound of the quietest sniffle up above. He was probably expending a lot of energy just to make his way out after all the injury she'd caused him.
Which yeah, it'd been a sucky thing to do, causing that. Gasira swallowed, the guilt nestling in the pit of her stomach and making itself comfortable. He was a kid. Despite what he'd managed to do to her, she'd been cruel. Gone overboard sending him out so fast.
Human or not, it took a special kind of jerk to kick out a child.
Gasira leaned down, feeling like dirt. There was nothing she could do now. Tsijiari had left and she couldn't exactly catch up with him. It was another reminder that her nature just didn't allow room for good deeds or little kindnesses. Nobody would want to give something like this a chance.
Except someone had just tried and what had she done in response?
Gasira laid down, closed her eyes and sighed. Why had she batted his hand away? She could have gone with the plan and then dropped him at the village. It would have ensured his safety at least. But her temper had just risen up again and what for?
Her breaths steadied as she drifted off into a rest of troubled dreams. All this for a crystal... Foolish...
ooc: Thread end. Awesome writing with you!