By The Light Of Day (Yeti!)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

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..."

[Yeti]

"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?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"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...

[Yeti]

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.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

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!"

[Yeti]

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.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

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?"

[Yeti]

"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."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"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?"

[Yeti]

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?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"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'..."

[Yeti]

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."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

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...

[Yeti]

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.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

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?"

[Yeti]

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...

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"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!"

[Yeti]

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?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"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!"

[Yeti]

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."