A Dying Wish [Whisper]

[Anonymous]

The wind was a quiet whisper tonight, rustling the leaves on the trees and begging them to break loose from their grips to dance among the air. But it was early summer, and no such leaf would oblige.

In fact, that small and innocent breeze tossed and played with everything surrounding the lake that evening. It bent small flowers; ran its endless fingers through blades of grass; lapped the dirty lake against the stony shore; and played with the long, glossy mane of the dragon that lay by the the water.

His breathing was laboured, almost drowning the sound of the churning sea of leaves. For along his neck, running from his chin to his breast, a thick open wound oozed a silver, glittering liquid.

Blood.

The pain was excrutiating- but perhaps the only thing worse was that Lyvos felt unable to move, unable to squirm in agony. He could only lay still as the cold gripped his body, ripping his body to uselessness. Behind him, the lake within the woods churned uneasily, its muddy and thick surface bending and playing with the moon in its reflection.

The water spirit's body, though beaten and broken, reflected its own beauty under the light of the moon. Glimmering white scales ran along his back, each one reflecting the moon's face back at the starry sky. His slender face lay on its side, tongue hanging loosely and dripping with silvery blood as well. Both elegant horns lay a few feet away, shining dully. They could fetch an extremely high price on any market; but that was not what concerned him.

Lyvos's tail, shaped and pointed as sharply as any warrior's blade, dragged wearily over the ground in attempt to reach the water. It moved ever so slightly, then fell limply to the green forest floor. If he could only touch the lake's surface.. Perhaps offer his life, for its sake..

But the dark, ugly lake simply sat out of reach, teasing the tying beast.

[Anonymous]

"I don't see why we're still moving! It's night, it's been night for hours upon hours and you said at sunset that we'd be somewhere we could stop soon!" Sae whined from her perch on Rach's back. When neither Dylan nor the unicorn answered, she dug her claws into the pack she had been nestled against and leaned over far enough to grab onto Dylan's cloak with her beak, giving it a sharp jerk. "And don't ignore me!

Dylan just gave her a sharp look and jerked his cloak back away from the hawk, stepping a bit to the side and making a note that it would probably be better to be out of grabbing distance. "I'm not ignoring you, there's a lake up ahead and we'll stop for the night when we get there.

"You said that at sunset!" The bird snapped huffily, fluffing her wings and settling back onto the pack.

The man was trying to formulate an answer that the bird wouldn't just use as an excuse to complain more when Rach's head suddenly jerked up, the unicorn's horn glinting in the moonlight as he turned his head to snort at the bird on his back, "Look, you can see the water through the trees. Now will you stop bugging us about it?"



When they got there, thankfully with much less complaining, the first thing Dylan noticed was the water. It was dark out, and Dylan's eyes weren't good enough to easily tell, but it just seemed... wrong. He didn't get to concentrate on it for long though, because within a few moments a bit of movement in the corner of his eyes drew them elsewhere. He ignoring Rach's startled snort, his eyes widening as the sound drew his gaze to a dragon. There was nothing else that the beautiful creature could be, even if he never would have expected to randomly come across one.

More importantly, it was an injured dragon. At least he was fairly sure it was; if it hadn't been for the sound of the beast's breathing he would have thought it dead. Without even thinking he started to move towards it, eyes straining to make out what was wrong and even if he was capable of doing anything to help.

"Oh yes, that's brilliant Dylan, go up to the huge injured animal and start poking at it. Because that's not asking to be thrashed at. Gods damnit what happened to 'resting once we got here'?!"

"Go roost in a tree if you're tired" Dylan answered, far too used to the bird's lack of concern to really even react to it, instead moving closer to the dragon. The sight of the wound had him wincing slightly. It was bad, but that much was obvious just from how the dragon was lying there; he just hoped it wasn't so bad that he wouldn't be able to at least save the beast's life. He was almost positive that he wouldn't be able to completely heal it, not something deep enough to fell a beast of that size and strength, but if he could at least stop the bleeding that would buy him some time to figure out how to heal the rest.

As he stepped closer he could hear Sae frantically chattering something to Rach about whatever could have injured the dragon, but he didn't bother listening past that.

"Please don't move, I'm going to try to heal you but if you move it might rip things open more and not be much use." He said softly, hoping that the dragon would be able to hear him. It probably wasn't overly smart to be coming this close to something that could easily hurt him if it could still move at all, but he had to touch the dragon to heal it, and so far as Dylan was concerned not trying wasn't even an option.

[Anonymous]

H.. Hu.. man... The voice of the beast rippled through the air, like a wave washing over the stranger's ears. A large, electric blue eye swiveled open, searching around the dark sky before finally landing on the small being, its chest shorter than his own face. Lyvos felt the impending doom- humans had been injuring him and his lake for hundreds of years, and now he would die by their hands.

Misery seeped through his entirety; misery that his lake would die with no other to care for it, and misery for the wooded area that would be crippled upon its death. And yet, he had no desire to fight it, the approaching death. For years he had waited, guarding this spot, and hoping for a mate, or a companion who was not a fish with the attention span the size of a pebble. But despite his loyalty, he had not been rewarded. Under the face of the moon, he felt that tonight, both he and the lake would draw their last breaths.

Movement behind the human made him curious. More of them? No.. He spotted something that made him feel much more optomistic. A unicorn. Its horn gleamed like a beacon to him, as it stood right next to his own horns that had abysmally broken from his forhead. Ignoring the human who seemed to speak kind words, he spoke to the horned horse instead.

They.. have domesticated you.. Where is.. your freedom, now?.. Lyvos moaned, a low sound like a ripple of thunder. As the human moved closer toward his wound, his eyes flashed back to it, watching closely. ..Are my horns not enough.. young polluter? Or.. must you salvage my body.. as well? He licked his teeth, showing their sharpness with subdued glee.

[Anonymous]

On the bright side, the dragon was still alive enough to be aware of his surroundings. The mere sound of the words in the air made Dylan shiver slightly, but having a patient who at least knew what was going on tended to be better. Especially a patient with sharp claws.

Or... Well... Maybe not. He wasn't sure if the dragon wasn't able to hear him, or was simply in too much pain to process the words. Either way the sight of those teeth sent shivers down Dylan's spine. The threat was obvious, more than obvious... But Dylan had healed those who didn't want him to before, and he doubtless would again. Granted, most of those had been small enough to hold in his arms, not big enough to eat him.

Instead of backing off he steeled himself, stepping closer. "No one is going to salvage anything, I just want to help". Dylan paused as Rach suddenly snorted, glancing at the unicorn as he stomped a hoof against the ground. He'd assumed that Rach had done the smart thing and just kept quiet, but apparently he'd just been in an indignant huff the moments since the dragon had spoken.

"Domesticated? Domesticated?! How dare you suggest that I'm domesticated! Simply because I choose to travel with a human doesn't make me domesticated, it means that I choose what I choose!" The unicorn snorted again, neck arching indignantly, "He wants to heal you! Not harm you! I'm not domesticated, you're just a close minded old badger!"

Now that he actually looked back, Dylan realized what the dragon had meant about the horns. Before he'd been so focused on the dragon's injuries that he'd gone right past them without noticing. Those... probably weren't something that he could heal. He couldn't even imagine how they could have been broken like that.

As the unicorn's words fell into indignant mutters Dylan moved closer to the dragon. At this point he really hoped that the beast couldn't move much, since if it could the healer had managed to put himself in striking range. "He's in pain, Rach. There's no reason to antagonize him." He kept his movements slow and calm as he knelt down close to the dragon, hesitating a moment before reaching out a hand to let his fingers brush across the blood-slicked scales. Magic tingled down his arm as he pressed his fingers against the wound. From behind him Rach muttered something, but Dylan wasn't paying attention to him now. His mind was on the wound in front of him, trying to find the worst spots and direct his magic towards those. If he got those closed then he could deal with the rest; hopefully without getting himself bitten in half.

[Anonymous]

Lyvos snorted at the unicorn's energetic response, a plume of dust rising before his large nostrils. The bit about the dragon being old, that was true; old enough that he didn't feel any typical fear at the prospect of death. And he would have responded, had the human not grabbed his attention again. His eyes, half closed in a numb daze, slid in and out of focus. He would bare his fangs to the creature, or send him a threatening growl; but both were monumental tasks he knew he just could not accomplish in this state.

When the human touched him, what he didn't anticipate was the complete normality of the texture of his hands- the same as any elf or creature that he didn't mind nearly so much. This upset him moreso than if the human had been dry, dirty and tasteless; it was another step toward proving his thoughts towards humans as wrong.

As his fingers pressed over the open wound, Lyvos snarled, his lip twitching and shaking with the effort. It lasted only a mere moment, though, before his head fell back again and his colossal heart began to pump harder, faster. And though the pain hurt tremendously so, it died away, replaced by a new odd sensations. It felt as though a very warm liquid rushed through his bones, loosening them and reinforcing them at the same time. In his mind, he envisioned himself bathing in a golden fountain, soaking up the youth and energy he had lost over years.

The wound on his neck tingled pleasantly after a long moment; and though the muscles still quivered when flexed and a dull pressure weighed heavily on the scar, he felt somewhat renewed. His long, serpentine body twitched and his tail rose into the air, before slapping back down to the ground. The growl that had been reserved deep in his throat could not be released- but he withheld it. Lyvos's eyes widened a slight margin, watching the human.

He was a creature with a simple life- simple enough to know his appropriate morals. Though still watching the human distastefully, his mind rose once again, his voice now much smoother and warm. I.. am in your debt, pale one. But please, I require one more favour. He closed his eyes painfully, feeling the dark lake behind him, the fish hiding in its womb quivering in fear for their home.

Help me.. Move me to the water..

[Anonymous]

The sight of the dragon snarling even for that moment had the hair on the back of Dylan's neck standing up, but he did his best to concentrate on what was important. Behind him he could hear Rach moving, but the healer didn't even glance up to see. All of his energy was concentrated on the wound beneath his fingers, on fixing and healing and sending the magic that came from who-knew-where down into the other body.

After what seemed like a small eternity Dylan sat back on his heels in relief, the magic fading from his fingers. For a moment he simply stared at the scar, amazed he had actually managed to heal it completely. Technically he knew he was capable of it, but the probability of it was so low that he hadn't even considered it. Magic was fickle that way.

His head was buzzing a bit, his energy spiked up from the magic that had been flowing through him. He was used to it; for some reason healing made them seem to have more energy even while it drained it out. Dylan had been told more than a few tales about healers who had forgotten to watch their energy, going from person to person fueled only by the magical high until they simply dropped where they stood.

The sound of the dragon's tail hitting the ground sharply reminded him that simply sitting there probably wasn't the best of options, and after a moment the healer pushed himself back up to his feet. He was fully ready to simply get as far out of the way as he could, since really there was no guarantee that healing the dragon had made the beast any more trusting than before, but the words reassured him.

If nothing else, being told that someone was in his debt generally meant that he was safe from harm.

The man cast his eyes back towards the lake at the sound of the words, frowning slightly at the sight of the murky surface. Any other time he would have asked Rach to purify the water first, but there was no way a single unicorn could clean a lake that large and tainted. He wasn't even sure if an entire herd could manage it... Usually he wouldn't want someone he had just healed anywhere near something like that, but then the dragon probably was old enough to know what it was doing. Maybe?

"If you're sure..." He said after a moment, "The water doesn't look quite safe to drink from.". The brunette hesitated a moment longer, then glanced up at Rach. There was no way that he'd be able to help the dragon move by himself, "Rach, come help me.

The unicorn simply snorted sulkily in reply, but to Dylan's relief stepped closer instead of staying back in a huff.

[Anonymous]

The dragon closed his eyes and, in a strenuous effort, managed to help push his long, serpentine body toward the lake. With the combined effort, he began to move closer toward the dreary lake.

It smelled putrid, unexplainably horrid. Though the smell revolted him, Lyvos pushed harder, determined strongly to reach its murky edge- and he did. Reaching a stiff arm towards the water, he gripped a large stone hidden beneath the surface and heaved himself forward. With a clumsy splash, he landed in its depths, the amount of grime in the water concealing anything beneath it. Grabbing another large rock, he pulled himself inward further, until his head vanished beneath the water. Like a snake he wriggled forward, disappearing into the lake's depths.

The forest was silent. The slight breeze that had earlier ruffled the trees was gone. No birds chirped, no squirrels chattered. But within the center of the lake, a pure, sky blue light shone. Then, the air around the area was sucked inward- and exploded outward.

A ripple shot outward from the light within the lake, extending along the water's entire body and sending water shooting towards he sky, as if a colossal rock had been dropped upon it. The world seemed to freeze a moment... before the water rained back down into the lake.

Under the moonlight, the lake seemed to glow. Its surface was completely devoid of any signs of the murkiness that had inhabited it only moments before. Rather, it shone as clearly as any precious gem, revealing an abundance of colourful fish and tall weeds. Only a large patch in the center of the lake along the floor remained hidden by a strange darkness.

Before the water could so much as settle, a long, white body rose from the lake towards the sky. Slithering upon the air as though swimming, Lyvos twisted and curled his way over to the human, the horse, and the hawk. With a surreal elegance, he slowed and landed upon the water's surface before them, standing on the waves as though they were ice.

..Thank you. I was willing to give my life to heal this lake; but you have saved mine, enabling me to protect it for years to come. He bowed his head. The long, ivory horns had reappeared on his heads, though the scar on his neck was still visible. My home.. is now your home.

[Anonymous]

Dylan winced slightly as the dragon started to move. Instinctively he wanted to say something, or to help in some way, but... Other than healing he wasn't exactly much use. He watched as the dragon disappeared into the murky depths of the lake, running a hand through his hair and hoping that the creature would be alright in such horrid waters. At least he hadn't gone in with his injuries, just the thought of the infections waters like that could cause had him shuddering.

"Well that certainly made for an interesting start to the night." Sae commented as she fluttered back down to land on Rach's back. The unicorn tossed his head, glaring at the bird, but she completely ignored him, "So now that you've done your sparkly good healer thing can we please find somewhere safe to sleep? Jeeze, there's something big enough to take out a dragon out and you two are just--"

As Sae had spoken Dylan had noticed the light from the corner of his eyes. By the time he had turned to look and see what it was the bird's word's were ending in a startled squawk as the lake suddenly exploded upwards. Dylan stumbled back, falling to the ground as a white blurr in the corner of his eyes told him that Rach had launched back towards the treeline.

The healer stared, wide eyed, as the water settled back into the lake. Completely pristine. How... He couldn't even fathom how something like that was possible! Granted, considering his own magic, not to mention Rach and Sae, he really should know by now that 'possible' was a fairly all enveloping word.

As he heard Rach's hoofsteps heading back towards him he risked a glance back at them, smiling slightly at the sight of Sae poofed up and wide eyed as she clung to the pack still on Rach's back. The man pushed himself to his feet, turning back to the lake just in time to see the dragon begin to rise up out of it.

That... He... There was a world of difference between how the dragon had looked when they came across him and now. Magestic was the only word that could come to Dylan's mind to describe the dragon now.

The words surprised him even more, considering how the dragon had first reacted to him. Granted, having someone save your life tended to improve your view of them, but still. "I... I'm a healer, that's what I'm meant to do." he answered after a moment. "And thank you, we shouldn't be intruding on your hospitality for long, we tend to move about rather frequently." Dylan could only assume that the phrase meant the same as it did where he'd grown up. Being able to stop for a couple of days would have been wonderful, but he knew full well that any welcome could be overstayed.

[Anonymous]

Lyvos watched the human for a long moment before speaking again. Though his face showed no expression, his voice reflected a deep shame and subdued anger. I apologise. For speaking so directly to you. The guilt in his tone was noticeable; he was bound to this lake, ruled to allow any who entered the region peacefully to approach his waters. In that, he had failed. Absorbed within his own death, he had not taken in to account that this human, despite how much he disliked their species, might carry pure intentions. He had broken his lifelong creed of unbiased neutrality, and for that, he was prepared to repay the strangers.

My name.. is Lyvos. You are the first I have told this; as I have treated you unkindly and caused you trouble, it is my obligation to tell you this. He paused, the long mane running along his neck, back, and tail swaying as though by some underwater current. Calling my name will summon me, for whatever you might require. A thick feeling of distaste coursed through his body, though he tried to suppress it.

He was about to speak again, when a strange feeling overcame him, as though a black swab smothered his mind. His bright eyes widened as his mind tried to locate the cause of the warning. As he did so, the scar on his neck throbbed.

Lyvos craned his neck around in search of what ill sensation had come, and quickly found it. A sharp whistle sounded over the water; a glittering arrow shot its way through the air. Without so much as a blink, a pillar of water pumped upward, breaking the arrow on impact and sending its remains to float on the lake surface. Lyvos stared defiantly at the small figures across the water.

A small group of men- maybe five or six- stood beside some tethered horses, watching. One of them held a bow aloft, keeping eye contact with the dragon. They stared at one another as Lyvos spoke.

..They wounded me with their magic before. They are on the hunt- for my head. I am most certain that a unicorn would only inspire them to move faster. The group of hunters mounted their steeds, kicking them into the woods along the lake's shore. Lyvos looked back at the human, the horse, and the hawk.

Move. Quickly.

[Anonymous]

((OOC: Sorry if this post really sucks, I'm running on an hour of sleep <3 On the bright side I'm done with tests until next monday so I'll actually be answering quicker now! XD))

The apology surprised Dylan, to say the least. It wasn't that he thought ill of the dragon at all, he just... wasn't used to people changing their minds that quickly?

He was trying to think of some way to answer -- really he was sadly out of practice talking to anyone who could carry a conversation other than Rach, Sae didn't count --, but paused at the dragon's next words.

"You really are under no obligation to me. I..." He paused, running a hand through his hair, "Thank you though, I'm honored that you would tell me. I give my word I will not abuse it" Or let Sae abuse it, if the hawk had heard.

He might have said more in answer, but the whistle and the suddenly movement of the water had him glancing up in surprise. For a moment the healer's eyes strained through the darkness, trying to see what in the world-- Then he realized that there was an arrow upon the water, and a moment later realized that there was a group of people across the lake.

... Well that certainly explained the animosity. No wonder Lyvos had reacted as he had! The healer hesitated a moment at the dragon's words; he had his quarterstaff with him... but at most he could take on one person. Certainly not that many, and if they had the magic to take down something as large and powerful as the dragon then they could probably fry him in a moment. Damnit, sometimes he felt utterly useless. Will you be able to get away from them? He asked, stepping back towards Rach.

"Well hell to this! I'm waiting up in the trees again!" Sae said with a toss of her head "Never can listen to me can you?". The hawk flared her wings and launched off of Rach's back, zooming above Dylan's head as the man took a step back towards the pair.

"Get on, Dylan. Get on get on get on!" The unicorn snapped, moving up close to the healer and tossing his head uneasily. Dylan only stared a moment longer then turned around, reaching up to grab hold and pulling himself up onto the unicorn's back with well practiced movement. Usually when he rode they would pull out a riding pad to make it easier on Rach's back, but obviously there was no time for that now.

While Dylan might have been loath to simply abandon the dragon (Even if they couldn't exactly do anything to help him at this point), Rach had no such misgivings. As soon as Dylan was securely settled on his back the unicorn spun about, launching towards the woods.

[Anonymous]

Lyvos stared after the human for a long moment. Then, as the sound of whinnying horses reached his long and delicate ears, the water dragon shot into the air and circled backwards over himself, and dove straight into the lake.

The horses panted great clouds of air from their large nostrils as tendrils of steam rose from their wet hides. Despite their fatigue, the riders pushed them onward with a firm determination.

Their leader was clad in an assortment of cloths, covering every inch of his or her skin- so much that no gender was visible. Only a pair of dark brown eyes glared out from beneath a darker headwrap. Upon this leader's back sat a strange and ornate bow, seemingly made of pure steel. The strange rider kicked their horse faster, eager to catch the prize.

Or.. prizes. He/she had seen the unicorn and the boy whom had healed the dragon- damn them. The hunters had nearly won, and now, the hunt began all over again, only with a more aware and vicious victim. Now, stricken with a thirst for revenge to capture this boy and rip his head from his shoulders, the leader waved to three of the six riders to venture off of their course along the lake. They would take care of the unicorn. Though it wasn't part of their assignment, it would bring a hefty bonus.

The three veered away from the group and vanished away into the trees. The unicorn was not too far ahead, though it kicked up dust with incredible speed. Satsified that they had gained so much distance in so little time, the leader glanced towards the bright surface of the lake, searching for some gleam of white or a ripple in the current that might signal their victim.

(OOC: The leader of the group is a new character I'm working on who will be up shortly. :] )