Spirits of the Earth

OOC: People are nekkid in this rp :u so it M


Everyone had kept telling her that the last place she should visit was Connlaoth. They told her that it was miserable there for anyone with magic, anyone who was a mage. She heard stories of torture, public executions, experimentation on other human beings.

She was a dragon. She'd seen and done lots of things, and she hadn't done any of the aforementioned, she figured she could handle it.

After all, what kind of a knight would she be if she stayed away from places due to fear inspired by stories? Not a very good one.

Nevertheless, Stardust had avoided people on the road, after the first few travelers on the road she came across finding themselves unable to stop staring at her--even after they crashed their cart into a tree. She had offered them help, of course, but they just kept staring, so... She left. Awkwardly. The people of this country were definitely strange, she'd give them that.

She'd decided to take a more direct route according to the map she's procured from someone in Serendipity, only coming across main roads every now and then to make sure she was headed on the right path. It had become kind of a tradition for her--in every new country she ventured into, she always went straight to the capital. The capital was where the people were at, after all--it was the most interesting, the most full of adventure and wonder. It was also incredibly fascinating to her, how different they all were from each other.

And thus, she found herself reaching the great city of Reajh.

After an hour or two of walking on the main road, she got used to the stares of the travelers entering and exiting the city. She meant them no harm, and just smiled at them as she walked past--she didn't have a horse, because she found they were mostly just a burden whenever she needed to make use of her draconic nature. They got scared too easily, she couldn't blame them.

Unfortunately, it was also on the main road that a few men--soldiers, she assumed at first--saw her and stopped her as they were rentering the city. She did as asked and stopped when they yelled at her to halt, blinking and tilting her head a bit curiously, wondering why they had stopped her--she hadn't done anything illegal. Nor was she a mage. Although, perhaps they thought she was one.

"Good day sirs, what seems to be the problem?" She asked curiously; she had stopped, but they kept walking until they were standing around her. They had armor, they were big. She wasn't afraid of them--she had no reason to be. She noticed though, when she glanced down, they all had hands on the pommels of their swords.

One of them, a young man with dark red hair, mismatched eyes, and tan skin stood before her, looking very angry. She couldn't possibly understand why.

"You're under arrest for questioning. If you resist we will use excessive force to take you in, so I don't recommend it."

She blinked and stared at him. What?

"Excuse me? I've done nothing--" She started to stutter, but then his hand shot out and got a good grip on her shoulder, gloved thumb digging into her collarbone. She opened her mouth to protest and before she could get a word out the other soldiers were around her--they stole her sword and shield as the redhead yanked her around and twisted her arms behind her back, restraining her and putting a considerable amount of force on her muscles, straining them and making her snap.

"Hey hey! What have I done?! I've done nothing to anybody here!" She received a swift hit to her gut, which, despite her toughness, still did its job and winded her. A fistful of her ice blue hair was twisted in the redhead's glove and he commanded the others to move forward. He kept her bowed forward, head down as he shoved her forward.

They couldn't just arrest her because they felt like it! Or because she looked different--could they?

Regardless, she complied, figuring it wouldn't do anyone any good to cause a scene. This was probably just a misunderstanding, after all she was no mage, she was a dragon! But clearly telling that to these people was a bad idea; perhaps the ones in charge would be much more understanding.

Despite that she tried to yank her head from the jerk's grip; he responded by pulling her hair tighter and hitting her again, which made her grit her teeth as her tail lashed with indignation. She didn't want to be walked through these streets, paraded around like some kind of criminal! But that was exactly what they were doing, and she noticed the stares from the civilians all around her as she was escorted. They were looking at her with fear, distrust. Disgust.

One person spat at her. She flinched at the action, thoroughly lost and confused, and it showed in her lime green eyes as they took her through the city to what she heard one of them mention as the "Citadel."

Her ears lowered, the look in her eyes hardening as a cold feeling settled in the pit of her gut--she had a bad feeling about this.

**OOC Note: thanks to Draconian for letting me borrow Dylan ;U

Ever seen a giant of a man behind a desk, working on a pile of papers that might even be larger than himself? That was more or less Artorias right now. Report after report. Numerous possible sightings of mages and even more anonymous tips to hostile cells. It was tiring to sift through all of them. But in the end, he was ultimately the person who would decide the movements of all Mordecai. So he had to get through all of them. How agonizingly slow it may be.

But, by miracle, something he was silently praying for. A Mordecai, fully clad in armour slammed his door open and immediately gotto to his knees. Steel fist slamming against the stone floor. "Grandmaster Frostmane, sir!" He called out. As overjoyed as Artorias was, he still had a reputation to uphold. He wouldn't just outright promote him, how compelled he felt to do just that. Instead, he looked up to the man and put the quill down, taking a deep breath. "I'm listening," his voice carried authority, a threatening undertone. The man damn well had a good reason.

"A.. Mage just strolled into the capital." Artorias frowned softly. "Did they harm anyone?" Came his question, naturally. "No.. She hasn't even resisted arrest."

This made Artorias frown. "I will be down soon. Take her to the courtyard." The soldier nodded and left again, allowing Artorias to slip into his armour, sheathing his greatsword on his back. It took him less than a minute.

Soon, he emerged from the tower, stepping towards the group of soldiers detaining Stardust. His Mordecai aura flaring up. It would become a tad harder to breathe. Even for non mages. He glanced at the dragon before him, before gesturing to his men. "Leave her," he barked the command. The men dispersing immediately. "Who are you? And what are you doing in Reajh?" He asked. Voice cold and unsympathetic. Yet, still filled with authority.

Despite her best attempts to not let it get to her, the fact that she still felt fear trembling in the pit of her stomach was an undeniable truth she very much loathed. Every creature felt fear at some point in their lives, even dragons. She'd be a fool not to.

The Citadel as it turned out seemed to be a sort of headquarters for these soldiers, who she realized must be the Mordecai she'd heard about, and that realization didn't come with any relief. In fact, it only made things slightly worse. Stardust had heard lots of rumors about Connlaoth and the Mordecai who dwelt within it; the worst of the stories were usually about them.

They didn't like magic, and could nullify it within an extent, depending on the person. They were the ones who went around and did the public executions, or so the stories said. Judging by the reactions of the people on the street, who had continued to almost hiss and recoil at her very presence, muttering "Mage" under their breaths and shielding the eyes of their children, she was starting to think those stories might not just be baseless tall tales.

They waited around outside for a bit, for one of the soldiers who'd run off, presumably to get orders. Her green eyes scanned all around, taking in all there was to see. She told herself to just pretend it was part of the tour, so her nerves wouldn't get to her. Finally he came back, said something about the Grandmaster, and she was led into the courtyard.

And then they stood around and waited some more. Thrilling.

She preoccupied herself in the meantime with catching the attention of the redhead who still really liked holding her by her hair a tad too much. They spent a good several moments giving each other threatening glares, until finally the sound of someone else in heavy armor approached, and told them all to leave her.

Redhead McAngryFace reluctantly let go, but not after giving her head a good shove. She responded by letting her tail flick low enough over the ground he tripped over it, cursing at her under his breath as she felt his anger flare up before he forced himself to keep moving. It took a considerable amount of restraint to not stick her tongue out at him.

Instead, she gave her head a gentle shake, scalp a little sore from the man's iron grip, as she turned her attentions to the authoritative presence that was now standing before her. She'd noticed the energy in the air change--she might be bad at magic but she wasn't completely deaf to it. It felt a little bit like a damp blanket. Must be those powers she'd heard so much about.

She inclined her head respectfully towards him, knowing that she should chose her words carefully--this was definitely not the time to be a smartass, not with this guy who clearly wasn't just some meathead wearing fancy armor for show.

"People call me Stardust, sir. I've heard the tales of the great capital of Reajh in my travels, so I decided to come visit." She paused, taking a quick second to look him up and down; well he was tall and intimidating, she'd give him that.

"I assure you, I am no mage, just someone with a little too much free time on her hands."

She looked him in the eyes when she said it, or tried to, at least. His helmet did a good job hiding them, but she did it nevertheless. She had nothing to hide, and no reason to fear this person, because she was telling the truth.

"Stardust," Artorias stated, before letting out a soft huff. The very name was an oddity. "So you came here to Reajh just to visit?" He chuckled softly. "And mayhaps, you're not a mage. But you are stupid. At least naïve." He let out a brief sigh, studying this so called Stardust up and down.

"And, what had you hoped to get from visiting Reajh? I doubt the hospitality is one of the factors," he said with a soft snort. "Looking like that, you get a free stay in the cells. You should be aware of that." He stated, he didn't feel like preaching or scolding the woman, just throw her in the dungeon and be done with. But, then it'd be over too soon. And then he'd have to go back to paperwork. Which was even worse.

She eyed him warily as the man spoke, looking her up and down, taking her in for what she was, or at least what he could see of her with that stupid helmet. Yes, she was going to resort to insults now, too, because he was the one who started it--which honestly shocked her.

She stared at him for several moments, lips slightly parted because he just called her... Stupid. Did he... Did he really just--?

Now, Stardust usually didn't like insults of any kind, but stupid was one she'd heard quite often in her time here with the humans, and it was easily her least favorite. Because she was not stupid. She was a dragon, one that came from a bloodline of very intelligent thinkers and just because she wasn't adept at using magic like the rest of them didn't mean she was stupid.

What a rude prick.

Her tail lashed a little with indignation, as she felt a bit of heat rising to her face though she couldn't tell if it was a blush of embarrassment at being called out on her naivety or if it was anger, or perhaps a little bit of both.

"Well," She said, squaring her shoulders a little and setting her jaw as she stared up at the man before her, because if he wanted, two could play that game. "I suppose I was giving this country and its people too much credit. I see quite clearly now that the Mordecai, for example, are not promoted based on their listening skills and critical thinking capabilities." Her voice was practically frozen with ice as she gave him a flat stare.

I'm not stupid, you're stupid.

But she couldn't be too mean now--he was still the one who had the power in this situation, currently. Better not get too cocky. So she gave him a polite smile as she tilted her head, just slightly.

"I figured I wouldn't have any troubles coming here considering it's very unlikely there's a single cell in this entire city that could hold me, which I tried to explain to your good little foot soldiers earlier but, as I just mentioned, they're not very good at listening, so."

"A feisty one," Artorias noted, letting out a cold, mirthless chuckle. Still, this was a good thing. The longer he spent time here and now, he had to spend less time on the actual paperwork. But regardless, this was still his profession. And he, as a mordecai, was a professional.

He sighed softly, nevertheless. "It's unwise for a stranger to insult an entire group in their own headquarters," he glanced at the mordecai left and right, taking a deep breath to scrape his throat. "And I'm more than certain you slackers have something better to do!" He suddenly raised his voice, before looking back at Stardust.

"So you claim our cells can't hold you, hm? Is your magic that powerful, then? Or are we talking about your physical strength?"

Stardust watched with mild amusement as the man in front of her yelled at his subordinates, which appropriately sent them scampering in all directions as they heeded his order. It was a little bit like watching actors in a comedic play.

However what he said next just dumbfounded her. She stared at him, lips parting as if she was going to say something, but stopped herself.

Was... Was he joking? He had to be. Did her horns, eyes, scales and tail not make it obvious enough? Were there really that many other creatures that looked like her who weren't dragons running around, nay any that he had seen?

She wasn't quite sure how to respond without sinking incredibly low at insulting his intelligence. There really was no tactful way to go about it.

"... No, I mean that literally. There is no cell that can hold me here, because I'm a dragon. This courtyard could barely be big enough to be my playpen let alone any of your mortal cells." She tried to explain it as gently as she could, perhaps they didn't get many dragons (that they knew of) around here?

Artorias only chuckled. "Then. Can you change into a dragon right now?" He highly doubted it. The change most likely involved magic. And if he willed it, there would be no magic in the entirety of Reajh. He folded his arms, standing his ground with a raised eyebrow. This should be good, at least.

And it was more than obvious, he saw any kind of mage in his years as a mordecai. Be it dragons or dragonlings, elves or, from what he heard through latter reports, something called a Deathecrator. Issues everywhere. People even veteran mordecai had issues in handling.

Again, Stardust found herself at a lack of words, staring at this man as he asked her to change, right here and right now in front of him.

A lot of dragons didn't really care about when and where they showed their form, and whether or not they had clothes on when they changed back. But Stardust cared; she had always been a rather modest person, and because of her lack of confidence in her magic, no, she couldn't just magically summon clothes when she changed back, which meant that if she were to change...

She'd have to strip.

And while she was confident in herself, she was still a modest girl, who knew very well that she looked odd even by  most peoples' standards.

So the blush that started rising in her face was only a natural reaction.

"I--Absolutely not!" She sputtered, very obviously flustered by his question and refusing not because she couldn't, but because she didn't want to.

"I don't know how many dragons you have met in your life sir but not all of us can change back with a shiny new outfit whenever we please and I am not stripping in a courtyard for you and all of your little friends to see!" Because now, in her eyes, he was an idiot and a pervert.

Artorias shook his head. "Do not be mistaken. I wouldn't for the life of me enjoy seeing your kind's poor impression of mankind naked," he replied with a soft chuckle. "So don't flatter yourself with emberassment." He looked over the courtyard, most if not all mordecai had scrambled by now under his barked orders. Then he looked back toto thechange dragon. "Still nothing? Then I assume you can't with me around."

He rolled his eyes slowly. "So, I promise you, our cells can easily hold you. It merely requires three mordecai." A sharp whistle resounded from underneath his hood. As several mordecai moved in around her. "Mark her. I will personally oversee this," he stated.

A flare of indignation rose up in her chest at his words. Stardust was never one for being full of negativity but...

She really didn't like this guy. He was such a jerk!

"Assume I can't..?" She asked, eyes narrowing as she glared at him, her tail starting to flick back and forth with irritation. He said it would take no more than three to hold her, and that, that wounded her pride.

Her change in demeanor was visible in more than just her expression; the small lavender scales on her face gave a slight shiver, her eyes almost glowing as her skin started to turn purple--or no, perhaps it wasn't her skin changing color, so much as it was translucent, and there was something underneath that was purple.

"Don't flatter yourself." She growled, ears flattening against her head.

The mordecai stepping in around her distracted her however, and she reeled in her anger just enough to keep from going godzilla on his ass. She was a magic user, and she did use magic to transform into a person--but she didn't require magic to change back. But she still didn't feel like destroying her armor, or getting undressed in front of these jerks, so she just tightened her jaw and clenched her teeth, trying to keep that temper of hers back. Her pride was hurt, yes, but she didn't need to further wound her dignity by acting like a child.

"And what exactly are you marking me for?" She asked, her skin having returned to its pale ivory color, the dragon barely contained inside of her "human" form having stopped its movements for now.

"Oh?" Artorias answered as he saw the change, her words ensuing. It was getting more and more interesting. He had fought dragons before, they were strong and resilient. But what they lacked was speed and accuaracy. So even if it came to Stardust changing to her true form, Artorias remained in place, not flinching in the slightest. The epitome of unimpressed.

It was almost like he wanted her to fight, but regardless, his fellow mordecai moving in made sure that the dragon seemed to calm down. "You're dangerous. And a magic user," he answered. "So, unless you want to be executed in a heartbeat, this is the only solution." He wouldn't even mention the mage camps. He knew for sure those actually couldn't keep her.

Stardust's gaze narrowed into a glare as she looked at the armored asshole standing in front of her. She gave a dry laugh, tail lashing like a whip and making one of the closer Mordecai flinch at the suddenness of the movement. But still she did not fight, instead crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm surprised you're not just tossing me from your country if I'm such a threat. Truly I feel honored." Her tone of voice was dripping with sarcasm.

She started to take a step forward to approach this jerk, but another mordecai was quick to grab her arm with an iron grip and hold her back. It took a lot of restraint for her to not bite the guy's head off.

"And so what'll you do with me after I'm 'marked', whatever that means?"

"Well, because you just walked right into our arms," Artorias answered with a soft chuckle. "It's only natural to show some hospitality." He answered with a soft snicker. "And if we'd just export our mages, well," he shrugged softly. "The world would be more dangerous."

He nodded at the mordecai who moved away, heading to get the people nescessary for the marking. The other mordecai moved in to attempt to force her to her knees.

"Well, if you're marked, two things can happen. Either you'll be knocked out and we'll see to constructing a cell to hold a dragon. Or, if you comply, you'll be sent out in the field. As a mordecai."

She was given a good shove and push, and she rather obediently went down on her knees as she listened to what the jerk in front of her was saying. The world would be more dangerous..?

"First of all I don't know how letting me go would make the world more dangerous because I'm already in it," She said flatly as she stared at him, "Second I don't think your king would be particularly happy about you wanting to spend thousands of coin on building a brand new cell for one dragon and I don't think your people will be particularly keen on paying higher taxes to fund it, so I'm going to use a human word I've learned over the last year and say that you're full of bullshit, sir."

Which meant that really she only had two options here: Execution, or becoming one of them.

Seriously? Becoming a mordecai? As if there wasn't some cruel irony to be had there--why would they, a mage-hunting group want to recruit someone they deemed as a mage to join them?

But regardless of the fact that it didn't make much sense to her, it was the option he'd offered. Besides--if she became a mordecai there was a chance she could gain their trust, and eventually leave them of her own accord.

Maybe.

It seemed so far playing by their rules wasn't getting her anywhere closer to her freedom, rather it seemed like she was just digging her own grave. Of course, she had no doubt if she so chose to she could break free at any moment and escape, but there would be no honor in that. No dignity in running away from the trouble she admittedly got her own damn self into.

She should've listened to the rumors, turns out coming here was more of a pain in the ass than she'd originally thought.

"I guess you don't really leave me any choice except to be a good girl and accept your kind offer to join the mordecai, since that seems to be the most beneficial option for all of us." She finally said, and she couldn't really believe the words she was hearing come out of her own mouth.

She smiled at him, politely, but there was no warmth in it.

She might actually hate this smarmy asshole.

"Well, if you go around uncontrolled," he chuckled softly. "That's dangerous." Artorias shook his head, glancing down at her, clasping his hands behind his back. "You have no idea of how Connloath works. If it means keeping a -dragon- at bay, I'm more than certain our population would take the extra taxes with only a slight grumble."

He smirked softly, it was more than he'd bargained for the daily occurence. Then again, it beat paperwork at all. But by now, the amusement he'd gotten only turned to irritation.

The mordecai that had left returned again, with a group of others, holding scrolls and quills. One of these drew up to Artorias. "Grandmaster.. We have no suitable handlers that are present right now." Artorias frowned, turning to the man. "What about the trainees?" The man shook his head. "None are ready."

A soft breath came from him. "Then I'll take up the role of her handler," he stated curtly. The mordecai seemed like he wanted to argue. But, he knew better to do so with the grandmaster, merely nodding.

Like that, the mordecai gathered around Stardust. Artorias took a deep breath and pulled his gauntlet off, walking forward to rest a pale hand on Stardust's forehead, glancing at the others. "Do it," he commanded once more.

And so, the ritual of marking began. Stardust would feel her mind warping, stretching and forcing to be bound to another's. On her forehead, she'd feel a soft hum as the mark was etched in. Said mark thrummed with a dull, grey energy.

Stardust could only shake her head a little as she heard his words. She wondered if he was aware how many dragons there actually were in this world--and how many of them were "uncontrolled."

He would probably be overwhelmed by it. After all, how dare the other creatures of the world inconvenience him and his beliefs, right? She imagined him, standing in a field with thousands of dragons all around him, making him quake in his his armor, the metal clanking and clinking. She snickered to herself; it was a funny image.

She listened carefully to the goings on, and when the word "handler" came up she narrowed her gaze, staring hard at the man in front of her. He'd never mentioned anything about a handler, she was no pet or slave to be looked after!

Instinctively, when his pale hand reached out and connected with her forehead she tried to shake her head a little because he had no right to touch her, how dare he! But she quickly realized it was a part of this ritual, and when she started feeling the strangeness that seemed to come with the mark she stilled.

She laughed when it was over, it was cold and bitter in sound. "How interesting, the mordecai hunt down individuals for using magic, yet they use it themselves when it's convenient for them."

She wanted to reach up and touch her forehead with her fingertips, see if there was an actual physical mark that had been left behind. It itched, and she shook her head a little again, lips starting to curl in a snarl that revealed she had fangs. It wasn't like she was a stranger to discomfort--after all, being in this human-like form at all was uncomfortable, like wearing a corset that went around the entirety of your body. But this just felt weird.

With her hands still bound she pulled her tail around and lifted it to brush it against her forehead. It didn't feel like anything was there but she wasn't sure if she believed it, because she also felt like it was there. It was mildly annoying.

"Great, now I'm a part of your little club, oh tell me do I get a code name now?" She asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Artorias pulled his hand back, clenching his fist. "This is no magic. This is the Mordecai aura pushed outwards," he snarled in response. "You know nothing of Mordecai, so I'd advice you to keep silent," he said, by now getting quite annoyed by her attitude.

"Unbind her," he barked the orders, before glancing at Stardust, taking a deep breath. "No, you do not, mage," he answered, voice dripping with poison. "We're a military organisation. Not a children's club," he snarled in response.

"Now, testing your arm, follow me," he commanded, turning around to make his way to one of the training fields.

She gave him a flat, cold stare as he suddenly seemed to lose his temper. Either she'd struck a nerve, or he was upset that he was the one who had to babysit her now. He did it to his own damn self. She didn't feel even the slightest shred of pity for him.

She was freed from her bounds and yanked her arms forward as soon as her wrists were free, flexing her fingers as she stood up, ears lying flat as she found herself just as annoyed with this man as he was with her. Nevertheless, she followed him, keeping quiet for now as she shouldered her way past one of the mordecai that was standing there, apparently what they had just witnessed was far from a normal occurrence.

Whoever this guy was, he was obviously in charge here, so it was probably very rare that he got his hands dirty with strange cases like herself. Again, served him right for being so eager to punish her for being something she wasn't in the first place. The fact that he called her a mage just made her want to hate him even more--because she definitely was not.

Obviously it's still a children's club considering you're the one who's acting like the bully. She thought angrily to herself.

Ignoring the seething dragon, or not even noticing, Artorias made his way through the citadel. It was a short trip. And while this day wasn't going as he had planned, he was always glad to stretch his muscles and blow off some steam. He stepped into the grassy field, rolling his shoulder. Several of the other mordecai training, or off duty, ceased whatever they were doing to watch just what Artorias was doing. It was rare to see their grandmaster in the field.

"Come at me, hit me," he stated, his voice unimpressed. Bored, even. He was, after all, certain she couldn't even bruise him. Little did Stardust know that he was a shapeshifter. If he willed it, his skin would be tougher than any material known to man.

As they reached the field, Stardust squared her shoulders, muscles tense as she noticed the other mordecai surrounding them. Her tail lashed as she watched him turn to face her, rolling his shoulders and suddenly acting like he didn't have a care in the world.

He told her to hit him.

She blinked and stared at him, eyes narrowed and calculating as she looked at him. He was wearing a full set of armor, it looked like some pretty heavy duty metal. She didn't even have her sword or shield on her, which meant she was going to be relying purely on her own strength and speed. She was tough, she could do this. She wanted to do this, she wanted to beat his smarmy face to a pulp under that stupid helmet of his.

She took a step towards him, hands on her hips as she made a pointed nod at his sword.

"Think it's fair that you have that when your underlings took mine?" She growled, and right as he went to answer, in a flash of movement surprisingly fast she threw a punch right at his helmet. If it hit it would be enough to ring him like a bell, and she did it with her bare hand, the only thing she had for protection being her leather gloves.

She was a dragon, she was incredibly tough. She might be the only one who could take any of his serious punches straight to the gut and be able to stand and curse at him for it immediately after.

She was quick to take a step back after she threw her first hit, wary of counterattacks and quite quick on her feet. She was taking this absolutely seriously, and she refused to let her anger get the best of her here--it was good energy to use, yes, but she wouldn't let it interrupt her thinking process. No, she wanted to win against this asshole and prove him wrong. She wasn't a mage, she was a knight.

"If you want me to-" a loud thud and crack resounded as Artorias turned his face to take the punch head on, in the face. Rather than on top of his helmet. But he didn't stagger or step back, he merely stood his ground. Taking the massive blow head on.

And.. That was about all he did. To Stardust, it'd feel akin to a human punching a double layered brick wall. Though, his face dented slightly. So he took damage, blood trickling on her fist.

And as she stepped back, Artorias only shook his head. "That was.. Surprising," he only answered, clicking the sheath from his back and throwing the blade in the sand. He dropped his hands in a low pose and snorted softly. "Try again," he stated coldly.

In the few short years she'd  been running around with mortals, getting into trouble and adventures left and right, she'd of course punched a lot of things. She'd punched a lot of humans.

This guy did not feel like a normal human.

She should have felt the soft tissue of his face, the fragility of the bone structure underneath. But it just felt like punching a boulder, and she knew by the blood she had caught  his face rather than his helmet, which was honestly more than she'd been hoping for.

She stared at him, the wheels turning in her head as she thought it over. So he had some kind of magic too, or something akin to magic, that he probably wouldn't like if she referred to it as magic. She tilted her head at him, glancing down at the blood on the knuckles of her glove, then glancing back up at him as he asked her to try again.

Try again?

"Why?" She asked suddenly, the slightest hint of a smirk on her lips as she lifted her hand, showed him the blood, her own bones tingling and numb from the sensation, singing with pain, though she hid it perfectly well.

"I'm not a sadist. If you're not going to hit back then there's no point."

She wanted a brawl, she wanted a duel, for the two of them to tackle each other and beat each other to a bloody pulp, that was what she wanted. There was no satisfaction in wailing on a brick wall that happened to have a face somewhere in that hood and a really smarmy attitude.

"Fair enough," he could only answer as he slowly moved up to Stardust. Slow and methodical, watching her every move and gesture. A predator that was slowly stalking towards its prey.

And like that, when he was several meters away, he suddenly jolted forward at a deceptively high speed, aiming a left hook at Stardust's cheek. The metal gauntlet against her face would by no means comfortable, but it was a feint. The real blow was from his right. A tremendous uppercut that  potentially could knock her off of her feet.

It took a lot of restraint to keep her expression to a smirk, when she wanted to grin. She liked fighting, she liked brawling. Her mother had always been so disgusted by it,  told her it was so undignified and unbecoming of a pretty dragon like Stardust. She didn't care.

It made Stardust feel like a real dragon, because by her kind's standards, she wasn't. What use was a magical dragon that couldn't even use magic, after all?

She was fooled by his bluff; the uppercut knocked her up and back, she felt the cold metal biting into the skin on her jaw and chin, bruising it, cutting it. The pain raced through her bones but it wasn't what she had expected.

She twisted with the momentum of being knocked back, her gloved hands touching the ground first as she swung her tail and one of her legs around to try and catch him in the back of the knees, to knock his feet out from under him.

Where droplets of blood flew from her wounded flesh, a few tiny flashes of purple shimmered; she was grinning now as she snarled at him, "Try again!"

Artorias felt the kick connect, though he turned his leg in time to catch the sweep on his shinbone, making him stagger only slightly. He stepped back to create a small distance between himself and Stardust. "Get up," he snarled softly.

Stardust was quick to slide back up to her feet, watching him carefully with those green eyes of hers, unsure what Artorias was planning, or why he seemed to waiver back and forth so extremely between apathy and anger.

She took a step back herself, her stance wary and ready to dodge at a moment's notice, considering she had no idea what to expect. All she could do was tilt her head a little, raising her eyebrows as she inevitably waited for what was next to come, tail swishing behind her.

The giant of a man lunged forward again, aiming to punch Stardust square in the face with a good amount of strength. And if the blow hit, Artorias would step forward to circle the hand around her neck, turning and aiming to fling Stardust over his shoulder.

This time Stardust was quicker on her feet, ducking underneath Artorias' arm with a punch aimed for his gut, in the same moment  using that tail of hers again to try and wrap around his knees with the hope that she could make him lose his balance.

If the punch hit, the scales on her hand (hidden by her gloves) would let her potentially dent his armor; and if he wasn't careful, those antlers of hers would catch him under his chin as she came back up.

The armour dented and her blow connected. But contrary to what Stardust may've believed. He didn't back down or double over in pain. He slammed his elbow down to Stardust's shoulder, while her knee forced upwards in her gut, aiming to attack the dragon from above and below.

There was a split second where she saw his leg starting to move and she realized what he was doing; she started to throw herself to the side, but his knee and elbow still caught her, though the strength of the blow was still there, it didn't quite catch her as good as Artorias had probably been hoping.

She hit the ground and rolled, back on her feet in an instant as she charged back at him again, aiming another dent-worthhy punch for his lower back.

The punch dented his armour once more. And she could even hear the cracking of bones. But, then, she may also notice the armour being forced back in place by something underneath.

In a split second, Artorias threw his metal elbow back to hit her in the chin. If this blow went through and she staggered, he turned around to face her, throwing his foot forward in a brutal kick to her gut,.

Her fist connected and she had a split second to observe the effects. She felt his body spring back, supposedly that was his body at least, but then his elbow caught her in the chin and he kicked her in the gut, throwing her back and to the ground, which she hit with a solid "Oof!"

It took her a second to roll over and push herself up, lifting her head and staring at him, trying to register what she'd just felt. What had that been? Her tail lashed behind her as her mind raced with the possibilities; if she could figure out what it was she could properly counter it.

She licked her lips and stood up, sneering at him, her voice a little rough from the last blow.

"Careful there big guy I almost felt that one."

He wasn't acting like any of her punches hurt, she sincerely wanted to pull off some of that armor of his and see what was going on under there. Perhaps some strange regenerative ability, or maybe he just had a freaky giant turtle shell on underneath his armor. She snickered. That was funny to picture.

Perhaps if she could get one of those gauntlets off, or hook her claws in the armor around his legs...

She narrowed her eyes and darted forward, feinting to the left and when he threw out a punch she grabbed his arm with quick reflexes in an attempt to rip off his gauntlet and glove, curious to see what was underneath. Whether she was successful or not however, she had to make her move worth it--so she aimed a swift kick to his nuts.

Yknow. He'd kicked her earlier, so. It was TOTALLY fair. Totally.

"Well, then let's up the power," he answered, stepping forward towards her charge. She managed to ripthe his glove andand guantlet offthe, revealing a pale hand. Skin textured in a complete scar. A massive burn scar. Though apart from that, he seemed more or less human.

The kick for his crotch was a hit, a loud cracking resounding. Causing the male mordecai present to whince in pain, gasp for breath or grab their own codpiece.

But Artorias didn't even as much as move. And the crack wasn't his legacy being completely crushed in thethe literal sense. It was Stardust's leg that would make the sound.

And Artorias suddenly jolted forward, aiming a headbutt right against her nose with tremendous force.

Her eyes lit up for a brief second--she'd been successful in getting his glove off, now if he used that hand for anything, she'd see what exactly was going on. But before she could really relish her small victory at all, sharp pain erupted in her leg, spreading to her bones. A breath of surprise, and suddenly he lurched forward.

The metal connected with her forehead and the bridge of her nose, and suddenly she was flung backward. A tree caught her briefly, the wood shattering and exploding, shards of bark flying as she passed through it, stopped only when she hit another and hit the ground, the second dented and bent backwards from the sheer source.

The crowd of mordecai that had gathered around to watch stared at the sheer power Artorias had just displayed, and they were reminded yet again why he was their superior.

There was a moment as the dust settled where Stardust lie there, unmoving as her brain registered the pain, swam in it. It had been a really long time since she'd been hit that hard. Was this the end of the match?

She slowly pushed herself up, and it took a moment for her voice to carry across the distance--she was snickering, and that gave way to laughter as she pushed herself to her feet, blood dripping from her face and starting to spread on her leg, but when she finally lifted her head there was no serious wound there--blood, yes, but the direct area of impact was now covered in purple scales that covered the bridge of her nose and gracefully arched up over her brow bone to spread across her forehead. It still hurt like hell, but she'd had worse.

She was a dragon, after all. She was tough.

She pulled one of her gloves off, dropping it to the ground beside her, revealing her entire forearm was covered in hard lavender scales, an even mix of human and reptilian. She reached up and wiped some of the blood off her face, still laughing as she shook her head.

"Did I hit a nerve?~" She teased, before there was a sudden ripping sound and she had cleared the distance between them again, her fist aiming to punch him in the face again, with a force that would make it ring like a goddamn bell if she hit it. Two white feathered wings were extended from her back, flicking blood across the grass as the droplets ran off their water-proof vanes, easily longer across than she was tall.

Artorias smirked under his helmet. "That one almost hurt," he responded. And as soon as she dissipated from sight, Artorias raised his hand, feet bracing into the ground as he... Caught her punch?!

The shockwave of the momentum suddenly coming to a screeching halt caused two things to happen. The air dispersing knocked his helmet and hood off, revealing the rugged and scarred face of the Grandmaster. Cold and calculating in expression. Blood also squirted on his face. This was the second thing. The force of her punch managed to dislodge the bones from his hand from his skin. Making them tear through the back of his hand. But the mordecai didn't flinch. Instead, a black, flesh, yet stonelike substance rolled over his hand. And it was suddenly whole again.

He aimed to throw her fist to the side, to open Stardust up to a brutal punch to the side of her head, diagonally angled to slam her head down in the ground.

There was a moment where it almost felt like the world around them had stopped and disappeared. Their hands were connected as he caught her punch, and his helmet was flung back. Her lime green draconic eyes had met his whitish blue ones; neither of them had irises. She saw the scars, the burn, but her mind didn't have time to register it as her gaze slid to his hand, seeing his bones breaking his own skin, and then the black... Ooze?

It clicked just in time for her to see his next movement. She dropped to the ground and dodged his swing, retaliating with her own as she grabbed for his neck, wings opening wide and with a sudden downstroke attempting to lift him off the ground, spinning in the air and throwing him back to the earth like he was little more to her than a basketball. The wings definitely helped.

Artorias was indeed lifted off the ground, spiralling upwards with the dragon. But by no means was he gotten rid off that easily. He grabbed a hold of Stardust's ankle, gripping it with a boneshattering strength and aimed to. Send her down to earth before him, with a massive swing of his arm.

If he had succeeded, he'd aim to land ontop of her, stomping down with earth shattering strength.

Stardust let out a bark of a laugh, a "HA!" as if she was honestly amused by this--she was. She was having fun. He was successful in gripping her ankle but he'd find it tough, hardened, though that wasn't to say his grip didn't hurt.

The force of his throw did send her down first; she'd had enough of a moment to react instinctively, her nails turning to claws that tore at his flesh as she was ripped away and she hit the ground, a wave of force shaking the ground and making the grass flatten by the wind. She rolled back onto her upper back and caught his kick with her own, the soles of their boots colliding, the pain no doubt shrieking up both their legs from the force.

Before he could come down on her she pushed back, teeth visibly grit as she threw him off of her, enough for her to roll out of the way and back onto her feet again, her wings giving a flick that shook the dirt and grass off and made the air shake with the force.

She stayed back for a moment, stepping around him and staring him down in a way not unlike a predator circling prey--or in this case, a rival.

"Not so human yourself, are you?" She growled, but that feral grin was still on her face.

Artorias landed with a beavy thud, cracking his neck, before snorting. "I never claimed I was human," he snarled in response. Another black, fleshy texture rolled over his legs. Hinting at the damage caused. "Nor is there time for words."

And with that, he closed the little distance between them left, aiming to strike an uppercut in her ribs. She could notice the same black texture rolling over the hand he would use to punch.

Whatever that black oozy stuff was, it was healing him, much faster than she was healing herself. Every hit broke her "human" skin a little more, the skin being what was bleeding; all his attacks were doing were damaging her on the surface, mostly--but she could still feel what might've been a fracture in her leg, now singing with constant pain, and pain in her arms, which in some places had gone a little numb. She could still fight and take more damage, but her regenerative powers worked much slower, and that was an issue.

He lunged at her again and she saw the black stuff cover his hand, and her brain didn't have time to register it and figure out why before he would land a hit, so it was all she could do to catch his punch with her gloved hand, the force of powers rattling her bones and making her grit her teeth. His hand was hard.

So that was it.

Her bare hand shot forward to grab a fistful of his hair, aiming to shove his head down and slam it into her knee.

This is familiar, why is it familiar? Where do I know this power from?!

Artorias' free hand shot upwards to grab the one headed for his hair. He aimed to pull it sidewards. The hand she caught turned in her grip to grab her wrist and he tried to spread her arms to open her defenses, stepping forward with a headbutt that was the same in strength as beforehand.

But this time around, he held a solid grip on her.

She was caught mid-attack, but reacted quickly enough, using his own iron grip against him as she pushed back, the two of them hand-to-hand as he tried to headbutt her, and she retaliated with a headbutt of her own, meeting him halfway as she braced herself and put extra focus on steeling her scales.

The force of their heads colliding let out another gust of wind that ruffled their hair, the grass, her feathered wings, which she now started flapping with enough power to lift herself off the ground as she attempted to push him down, the force generated by her great iridescent white wings enough to make trees start to bend and sway even at a distance.

As their heads collided, Artorias grit his teeth, the tendrils surged across his arms as he slowly pushed back against the dragon that wanted to push him against the ground.

And suddenly, he stepped sidewards to guide her face towards the floor, dropping all resistance he had put up first.

She saw the grit of his teeth, the black ooze swarming his arms, the wheels in her head still turning. She started to lose her balance as he suddenly swerved to the side, and gave another mad flap of her wings, trying to pull her arms free as her feet left the ground.

She still couldn't shake the feeling that she knew what this was, what he was, but now with her head ringing with pain she had an even harder time thinking of it, and that only frustrated her more, made her even more wary of what this guy could possibly be capable of.

the mordecai didn't seem pleased at all by still holding onto the dragon. The black tendrils rolled over his arms, before he grit his teeth once more, the cracking of said teeth could be easily heard.

He raised his arms slightly, before slamming them down, aiming to slam Stardust flat in the dirt again.

She grinned; perfect. He was quite frustrated, so was she. Clearly they hadn't beaten each other hard enough yet.

She let him pull her back down, and aimed to use his own strength against him as she braced her legs and continued the movement once she landed, using her own weight and the power of her wings to yank him up into the air and throw him over her shoulder instead.

A legend, this had something to do with a legend, but she couldn't remember where she'd heard it. It was starting to come back to her, slowly. If she kept countering his attacks she might be able to think of it.

Artorias, when being thrown up, the grit of his teeth changed to a sickening grin. And the pale blue in his eyes shifted ever so slightly. It was the same colour still. But it was far more bloodthirsty. It seemed she had awoken something in him.

And now, it looked more like he was having fun.

Artorias pulled her in, or upwards, rather than being toppled like that. Aiming to smack his feet against her face while still in the air. After that, success or not, he'd let go. A surge of this writing black mass pulling over his entire body as he came down again.

The grin on his face caught Stardust off-guard; it was obvious in her eyes for a split second as their gazes met and he twisted. He kicked her in the face and let go of her; she fell back and hit the ground with a thud, shaking her head and quickly rolling onto her knees, catching the black spreading over his body.

Shifter?

She got onto her feet, standing up and wiping the dirt and blood off her face, a ghost of a feral grin on her face, her tail lashing. A legend about a race of otherworldly creatures that could harden their bodies like steel, changing the tides of war with their powers.

Could that be what she was facing against right here?

She narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to make the next move for her to counter it. Whatever he was, he could regenerate twice as fast as she, and use that black stuff like an armor. Could he use it as a projectile, could he reach her over a long distance? She had every intention of finding out.

He could use it to multiply his speed greatly. This was portrayed by the instant he appeared right before her. Raising his hand to go for her face again. But now, rather than the tendrils that surged through, she could visibly see his hand turning to what only could be described as fleshy stone. An eerie, red light pulsating through the cracks. She might even notice the sudden influx of his mordecai aura thickening.

And by now, Stardust would also notice that for each punch he threw, his strength had increased twofold.

She barely had time to react. Suddenly he was in front of her, and his fist, coated and pulsing with that strange stuff was racing towards her face. She reached up to block it, and for a second everything felt slowed down. She caught his hand, but the force was so much greater than it had been before.

Once again she was sent flying, her hand shrieking with pain as she sank her claws into the ground, still flying back as she tore up meters of grass and dirt, a giant cloud of dirt obscuring her entirely from view by the time she stopped some 30 meters back.

Her breath was shuddering in her chest and she let out a pained "H-haah--" as she looked at her hand. If she had been a human that would have made it explode, like actually explode. She hadn't been prepared for that; holy hell. She had never met a mortal with that kind of strength, and she wasn't sure how long this human form of hers could keep itself together with power like that--she hadn't exactly built it with the idea in mind that it needed to withstand someone with the power of a god throwing her around like a ragdoll.

If she let out too much more of her own power, there was no telling what could happen--if this form would hold up. But if she didn't keep up with this asshole she'd lose. She refused to let that happen.

She grit her teeth as the dust started to settle, this whole revelation taking place in under a second; she pulled off her other glove, clenching her hands into fists as her scales shivered, visibly moving along her arms and hands. She couldn't let him see how much damage she'd let him do to this hand, or he'd purposefully aim for it. And her face, it seemed. She didn't really want to have a crooked nose like this asshole, so she'd have to be especially careful of that.

With a single beat of her wings she reappeared before him again, crossing the space in between them in the blink of an eye as she threw another punch for his head, her lime green eyes glowing ever brighter as she matched the strength he just showed, the forces of her movements making the ground shake.

Artorias glanced up at her as she was suddenly infront of her. But by no means was he taken aback or even surprised by her movement. He was aware of her being a dragon. And Artorias knew how great her speed was.

But, he'd end the fight right here. He had enough of an idea just how valuable she could be. He'd might even regret thinking he shouldn't have become her personal handler. In this case, Artorias would love to be proven wrong. As she appeared, everything around him seemed to slow down. He stomped his foot down on the ground, the earth shattering under it. And he threw up one singular fist to meet hers. Their knuckles would collide and crack violently. Though it would halt her momentum completely. "The fight's over," he stated coldly.

The force of his stomp and punch made her hair blow back from her face, but when he spoke next, the look of determination and enjoyment disappeared from her face in an instant. What, that was it? When he'd finally decided to let loose a little?

She folded her wings and dropped, her bones reeling from the pain that went all the way up to her shoulder blade, making her flex her hands as she stared at him, taken aback by his sudden declaration.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well that's no fun, and here I was just starting to get warmed up."

The mordecai that stood around them all stood there with their mouths hanging open a little, having felt the ground shake from every punch and kick thrown, felt the wind off every movement. They were looking at a pair of monsters, they realized, before they started to disperse before Artorias could yell at them for shirking duties.

So it seemed his subordinates were properly aware of his next words. He was about to yell, but they beat him to it. He snarled softly, shaking his head. "I wished to test your arm. So I did," he answered, pulling his hood on and walking over to pick up his helmet.

"I will not lie," he started. "You are surprisingly strong. Good," Artorias stated. "Seems like you aren't a waste of my time as I initially thought." A compliment, in its own right. But regardless. He didn't care for her feelings. She was a soldier now. One he could use. Being careful whether she was offended or not was an effort he was not willing to make just yet.

"Nevertheless. I have a mission soon. You'll be coming along."

She rolled her eyes, ugh. Selfish bastard. She still could've gone for another few rounds of punches, she hadn't gotten to beat his face to a pulp yet.

She threw him a withering look as she watched him going back to get his helmet after he put his hood up, she wondered briefly why he bothered. She and the mordecai already knew what he looked like--perhaps civilians weren't allowed to see his face, or something. She had no idea what other strange customs this country had to offer, so she didn't bother questioning it.

She still thought he was dense, considering she'd told him, repeatedly if she recalled properly, that she was a dragon. Why was he surprised? Ugh, she just wanted to punch him even harder now.

But she clenched her fists and kept them at her sides, grabbing her gloves off the ground and pulling them back on. The back of her top was ripped and stained with blood from when she'd used her wings, and it'd probably be a while before she could find a way to stuff them back down into this human form again, so for now she didn't worry about it, keeping them folded against her back.

"A mission? Gosh and I don't even get a cup of tea to rest up first?" She sneered, though a bit of her curiosity peeked through her voice. What kind of a mission would they be going on that the grandmaster of these morons needed to attend? Must've been pretty important.

Artorias adjusted Witchbane one his back again, strapping the sheathe thight, before glancing at Stardust. "No. You don't," he answered. "Larian, take her to the quartermaster," he suddenly barked the order. "Have her armaments returned immediately! And give her the supplies for a trek!" One of the mordecai bowed in response, before nodding at Stardust. "If you'd follow me," he suggested, waiting for the dragon. While his hand rested on the pommel of his sword. "Take her to the stable when you're done," Artorias growled, before he left the training field.

It'd be rather uneventful. Retrieving her weaponry. On the Grandmaster's orders, she'd get her belongings back with little to no hesitation. And then Larian would lead her through massive halls of the citadel, before turning to a small door and pushing it open.

Through several more doors and now small, winding hallways, they would finally reach the stable.

The Mordecai bowed deeply. "Grandmaster," he said, before leaving the dragon back in his care. "I assume you have no complaints to ride horseback?"

Her eyes lit up when the man gave the order for the mordecai to give her back her sword and shield, a grin breaking the look of disdain she'd had a moment prior. Her tail even wagged a little, wings fluttering. Finally! He said something she didn't automatically hate!

She didn't bother saying anything else to him as she left, but she could help but throw a quick glance over her shoulder at him as she was led away, eyes narrowing a little. What an odd set of circumstances, today had been.

She still hurt from their duel, finding it painful to walk as her joints ached. It'd definitely been a long time, but it'd been an interesting fight, she'd learned a lot. And wow, who'd have thought, suddenly now because he'd said he was her keeper everyone was treating her like she was a civilized human being! Amazing! Ugh. She hated the fact that how others treated her was pinned on a jackass like him, but maybe that'd change with time, or something.

She had to try to be optimistic, here.

As they reached the stables, all the horses immediately erupted into a state of unease and fear, whinnying and pawing nervously in their stalls as she approached--it was only a natural reaction. They knew what she was, she was something that usually ate them.

She let out a bit of a sigh through her nose, before she looked at Artorias and rested her hand on the flank of a horse that had been picked for her; she ran her hand over its fur and it calmed down a little, enough so for her to get a foot in the stirrup and hoist herself up onto the saddle.

"Fine by me." She said, her sword in its sheath at her waist and her shield on her backside; she felt better already just having the two of those with her. If she crossed some water on their travels she might be able to take care of these pesky pains of hers real quick, too, but she wouldn't count on it.

Her answer was met only with an approving nod. The mordecai grandmaster pulled himself on his horse with a soft snort, before padding the flank of the creature. "Two days of travel. Seeing it is noon. We will camp two nights," he stated coldly.

He spurred his horse to break in a slow walk, before glancing over his shoulder again. "That is Scrimshaw, by the way. Take good care of him. And he'll do the same," Artorias said.

As the two passed through Reajh. They got the same distrusting and disgusted looks. However, for a change, these weren't directed to Stardust. No, it was aimed at Artorias. They only heard rumours ofof the grandmaster. And became very wary due to this. As a leader. People looked up to him. But in person? They were petrified.

But soon, they left through the city's gate, causing Artorias to click his tongue, forcing the horse to move at a higher speed.

She blinked, a little surprised that the horse had a name and wasn't just some nameless livestock to be killed in battle. She looked down at it, patted its neck with a soft smile. "Hi Scrimshaw." The horse flicked an ear back at her, still a little uneasy.

She blinked again however when she realized that Artorias just... Knew that, offhand. She looked at the back of his head, frowning thoughtfully as she followed him out, the two of them getting distrusting and fearful looks in the streets, but him now moreso than she, who was now just an afterthought to these people after they set their sights on the grandmaster first.

Maybe he was an animal person. Not so much a people person.

She flicked an ear too, and brought Scrimshaw to a gallop once they were out of the gates, following Artorias' lead.

The journey was rough on her that first day, because while she healed quickly, it wasn't nearly as fast as Artorias. That night when they camped, she found some running water in a small stream and set to washing herself, paying attention mostly to just the wounds he'd caused in their fight. It wasn't magic--or if it was, it wasn't her magic. The water washed over her and she felt less pain, more relaxed, more at ease.

Her kind were worshiped in some countries for their natural affinity to water--legends said that a dragon like Stardust brought with her rain, good harvests, good luck and fertility. She wasn't sure how true it was, but her mom taught her to believe it, and she'd witnessed it herself in the shortness of her life so far. Nature responded it to her on its own; it was just the way it worked.

She remained polite with Artorias throughout their journey, most of her anger having fizzled out as she found herself more naturally curious about him in general. He was a man of many mysteries, but she didn't pry or start too much conversation, figuring him to be the "speak when spoken to" kind of guy.

Nevertheless, as they set out on the third day she found herself anxious to see what awaited them--what strange mission it was indeed that would require the grandmaster's attention.

Artorias pulled the reigns as they neared the small village. It seemed the buildings were derelict, abandoned. Upon further inspection, it was obvious the entire village was just burned out. Sooth and ashes flying past with the breeze. Artorias took a deep breath.

"I told you to come along. You're a soldier. And you should follow every order to the littlest details," he sighed softly. "But here?" He exhaled the same breath and dismounted, patting the flank of his horse. "If you don't feel like wading through corpses, just stay here."

At that, he slowly made his way down the hill, into the abandoned and burned village.

It became ever more apparent to Stardust as they neared their destination that they were getting closer. The colors in the sky had changed, billowing clouds of smoke obscuring clouds overhead as they dissipated and turned the taste of the air to something burnt. Ashes fell from above like snowflakes, and as they paused on the outside of the village, standing atop a hill and able to view the full extent of all the damage, Stardust felt her breath catch a little in her throat.

She was fascinated with humans, she found them to be such admirable creatures in some cases, but then on the other hand, she also recognized that they were certainly not saints. It wasn't her first time seeing any kind of human-caused disaster, but... That didn't make it any less painful to look at.

She blinked, looking over at Artorias with brows furrowed at what he said. She wasn't sure if she should be offended, or grateful, or respectful that he'd tried to accommodate her if she couldn't handle this kind of thing. He dismounted his horse before she could really respond, and started down the hill.

She swallowed, her throat already starting to feel a little rough from breathing in the smoke. She got off of Scrimshaw, giving the unsettled horse a gentle pat as she followed after Artorias.

She could feel it, the lingering aftereffects of magic; a mage had done this. Her expression was somber as she looked around, saw charred bodies burnt beyond recognition lying among the rubble and debris. The tang of burning flesh tainted the air; death hung in the air like a thick, viscous slime that threatened to drown and pull you under because it was so tangible.

"So what's our purpose?" She asked, voice quiet. "Are we looking for the guy who did this, or are we looking for survivors?" Considering the mage who did this was probably long gone by now if this had been on purpose. But if it was on accident, there might be a chance they were still hanging around, in which case, all the more reason to be careful.

Artorias drew up to one of the charred buildings, leaning down to touch an afflicted, wooden beam. With just a simple touch, it completely turned to dust. He rubbed the metal fingers of his gauntlets together, some of the sooth between. "A powerful pyromancer.. Made a deal with a fire elemental," he started his explanation, getting to his feet again.

"This village is slowly being consumed by said fire elemental. The peasants are already dead, whatever we do." He took a deep breath as some of the peasants drew up to them. Charred corpses that were walking. The cracks of them glowing with a molten energy. "So, we bury them. And destroy this fire elemental," he answered, slowly unsheathing Witchbane.

"These are not your average undead," Artorias started to explain. "These souls are still alive, experiencing everything. Including pain," he grit his teeth and held up his sword. "So finish them quickly," with that, he stepped forward, lopping off a head cleanly. The body immediately turning to ashes.

For a moment all Stardust could do was watch as Artorias examined a building; she wasn't sure if it crumbled because magic was what held it together, and his powers automatically nullified it, or if it was because the building structure had just become that weak.

Her heart ached as she looked out and saw, as if on queue, the villagers rising from where they lay, burning, molten, tortured.

It wasn't like dragons couldn't do this kind of thing to each other, there were plenty who could and did--but she had a harder time feeling bad for dragons when they lived so long naturally. Humans... They had all had their lives stolen from them. Already so short and so small, and yet taken, just like that. She clenched her fists a little, her heart giving a painful throb.

As Artorias explained their job, she cast a glance up to the sky. If there was any time where her magic would have come in handy, it would've been here--but she had an incredibly difficult time controlling it even on a good day. Her transformation was the only magic thing she had down good enough and even that was shoddy at best.

But sometimes when she asked, nature listened. If it would rain, it would at least help put out the fires, but she threw a look over at Artorias and figured perhaps asking was a bad idea. He'd probably suspect her of magic and try and kill her again or something. So, without a whole lot said between them, she drew her sword and followed his lead.

It seemed the force controlling them didn't exactly like for the two mordecai to attack, so the burning corpses started firing back; thankfully Stardust was partially immune to fire by nature. However as she cut the head off of one, the ashes flying in the wind they hadn't noticed had picked up, there was a solid little plink on her left shoulder.

She barely heard it, and her mind didn't register it as she kept up her dance of swordplay, feeling sad for every unfortunate soul she cut down, silently wishing them better luck next time in their next life.

Something cold and wet hit her nose, and then hit the burning corpse in front of her, making a sizzling sound. She paused, blinking and looking up at the sky, right as the rainfall grew in intensity and within a matter of moments, was a heavy downpour.

Well, somebody had been listening anyways. She wasn't sure if she was grateful or upset, but she didn't let it pause her long as she hurried to finish their mission. The water definitely helped, putting out the fire in many of the corpses and allowing them to be cut down far easier as they were unable to resist.

By the time they had finished she had lost count of how many she'd cut down, and they were both equally covered in ash, sweat and rainwater, which wasn't exactly pleasant. It was incredibly cold, but it didn't bother Stardust in the slightest; her body adjusted its core temperature naturally to compensate, and she was none the wiser. At least most of the fires still burning in the houses and buildings were put out. This also meant the ground would be softer for digging but she wasn't exactly sure how they were to go about burying ashes.

She sheathed her sword, watching some of the piles of ashes condense and start to mix with the ground, returning to the earth that all creatures came from.

"I suppose this rain was lucky, huh?"

The rain.

It suited the entire scene. Not to extinguish the flames of anguish. No, it was as if the sky wept for these fallen souls. For these innocent men and women. These innocent children. All taken away from life, killed off by an individual who solemnly wished for more power. One could question their reasoning. But then one was led to ask.

What kind of reasoning or explanation was sufficient to justify the killing of another? Even he, as a Mordecai, stood still to this before. Killing mages, he believed he was the Mordecai with most kills to his name. More than he cared to remember. These also, were people.

These mordecai. They were the nescessary evil. They were there to stop an even greater evil from running rampant. He was not as delusional as his fellow Mordecai. Even Arnsgar had no place for murderers in the afterlife. Artorias found it hard to believe he was going anywhere else but hell.

The rain dripped from his helmet, down his armour as he sliced his way through the undead's ranks with surgical precision. His blows weren't meant to maim or incapacitate. They were, each and everyone, meant to kill. Each blow was accompanied by the screech of a collapsing undead. Who turned to ashes. Another soul put to rest. It were in these moments why he recalled taking up position as the mordecai grandmaster. Even though he was a shapeshifter. Even though he knew exactly how long his lifespan was. He was a machine of war. And as soon as he was not provided of fuel, he'd stop.

The fireballs send for him dropped. Nullified due to his aura. And soon, he extended it completely, now none of these afflicted undead could use any kind of magic. That didn't make them any less dangerous however.

Artorias, with a deep and tired breath, shouldered Witchbane. He watched the battlefield the two of them had just levelled with empty, sad eyes.

"Form up," he stated coldly, looking up as a loud and rather antagonized screech resounded. "We still have a fire elemental to fight."

The cold water ran down her face, dripping off her nose and chin, plastering her ice blue hair to her head, falling from her antlers like crystalline ornaments.

The sound of the fire elemental's screech after Artorias' command was a little too well-timed for comfort. The sound of it coursed through her veins and awoke the predator she really was deep down inside; her ears flattened against her head and she stilled, listening, eyes narrowed as she looked over the ruins of the town.

She felt sadness for each and every person she had cut down, every soul that had been tormented, but that sadness was wiped away in an instant when she recognized the new danger they were facing; elementals weren't anything to sneeze at. Every magical creature had its merits, as well as its faults. She hadn't really met an elemental before, so she wasn't entirely certain what to expect.

She heard the sounds of it; it popped and crackled like wood in a fireplace, and she saw the sparks coming off of it first before she saw the actual creature. It had been hiding in the former town courthouse; in a second alone it screeched again and flames exploded from its center, engulfing the entire building and bringing it down in an implosion that shook the water-logged, muddy ground they stood on. Steam flew into the air as the fire was suddenly exposed to the cold humidity, the vast difference in temperature creating so much white mist at first for a moment they were blinded before more flames erupted forth from the collapsing building, climbing high into a giant wall of flame that eventually began to take a somewhat humanoid shape.

It was simply massive, at least some 20 meters high. Her breath caught a little in her chest; the creature was so bright to look at she had to squint until her eyes adjusted. His core seemed to be comprised of bubbling magma, hardening and melting and repeating the process over and over again in a tumultuous cycle that extended to its limbs, hardened igneous rock that were still engulfed in flames. It had no mouth, just two bright eyes that flickered between white and blue they burned so hot.

She was fireproof, but not that fireproof. And she had no use of water magic, particularly with Artorias around. She looked around at the destroyed buildings surrounding them, as if hoping some answer might spring forth from the ruins, but of course, nothing did. She could only think of one option, and she'd really rather not, so she looked over at the grandmaster, arching an eyebrow.

"Any ideas?"

Artorias took a deep breath as he looked up at the towering creature. Not one of fear. Not of one anger.

But mere annoyance. He felt for the forgotten and scattered souls. These people's lives were ripped from them. But he seemed awfully calm in the face of such odds. By no means was he impressed or even intimidated.

"You can leave this to me," he stated. So coldly. And too simplistic for the situation at hand. After wiping the soot off of Witchbane, he sheathed it on his back. But not before a massive firebolt came roaring for him. After all, this thing wouldn't just wait around for Artorias' move.

The fire slammed down into him. It would char him. Boil him alive under his skin. But none of that happened. No. Instead, out of the bellowing fire came a creature. Armoured completely. Taller and bigger than Artorias, spikes protruding from his elbows. The entire stone mass writhed softly. And between the cracks in the armour was the same red, ethereal glow. Yet, no hint of magic came from him.

And so, Artorias walked slowly towards the creature, which roared a gust of fire over him. To no avail. Each step he took made the ground crack underneath him.

And then. He blinked from sight. The next thing Stardust could witness was a black figure infront of the core, plunging a hand in and literally ripping something out. Just like that.

And so, the elemental toppled. Flames slowly extinguishing.

Artorias touched down on the ground again, which exploded underneath him due to the sheer weight. He examined the small, fiery marble in his hand, snorting softly. Before closing his fist and shattering it.

The armour pulled away again, revealing the charred clothing. The half molten plate armour. And Artorias himself, who's hand, pieces of his arms, were charred completely black. Without as much as a breath, he keeled over, crashing down in the dirt.

Leave it to..?

She stared at him as he looked up at the monster with no recognizable emotions on his face; he didn't look at it with wonder, or fear, or even interest--it was like he'd fought something like this a thousand times.

At first she rolled her eyes, letting him do as he pleased and figuring he was just blowing hot air. Even when he revealed his armored form, which she had to admit was... Interesting, she crossed her arms over her chest and watched with furrowed brows until he disappeared, and killed the creature in one hit.

All she could do was stare, dumbly, at it as it crumbled to the ground, dead.

What. The. Fuck.

Okay so maybe he had done this a thousand times; she thought back to when he had spoke during their fight. 'I never said I was human.'

Right. Yeah. No. She kinda got that now.

His biological armor chipped away and what she saw made her heart skip a beat.

"... YOU IDIOT."

She stomped angrily over to him, and realized after she reached his side and stood there that he wasn't awake. She could still hear his heartbeat though, and that was all she needed.

"You're an idiot. An absolute complete fucking moron. That was stupid. You're stupid. You're also unconscious, probably, so I know you can't hear me right now which is probably fine because I'm willing to bet I'll be saying this far more often in the future than I care to admit. YOU'RE A BIG FAT SHOWOFF AND YOU'RE STUPID AND YOU COULD HAVE LET ME HANDLE THAT BECAUSE AT LEAST I'M FIREPROOF BUT NO YOU COULDN'T AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID."

She got onto her knees, rolled him over so she could examine his burn wounds, thankful that she'd at least learned that from some of the adventures she'd been with on humans, otherwise she'd have been useless.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'M A FUCKING DRAGON?" She snapped as she got her arms up under him and with a grunt, heaved him up over her shoulder and carried him like he was a sack of potatoes, difficult given the mud but she managed. "I'M FIREPROOF. YOU'RE NOT. OBVIOUSLY. Here I thought you might be, that you had some grand trick up your sleeve, but no, YOU'RE STILL JUST A STUBBORN ASS."

She didn't bother climbing up the wet hill to where their horses waited dutifully for them, instead, focusing some of her frustrations into jumping and reaching the top of the hill in one leap. She slid a little when she landed, but did well at keeping her balance--her tail was useful for that, at least.

The horses gave a minor start when she appeared so suddenly, and so upset, as she hoisted him onto the back of his horse and got on Scrimshaw, taking the reigns of Artorias' steed and leading them away from the town, keeping an eye out on the road for a landmark they had passed where she remembered hearing a stream. She wasn't sure how deadly his wounds were, given he wasn't human, but she figured haste was better than taking her time and then having to explain to the other mordecai why their grandmaster was dead after a single mission with her and how it was DEFINITELY not her fault.

Luckily, her memory served her correctly as she heard the found sounds of running water, and that was the first thing Sir Assholius needed. She led the horses away from the main road and into a slight wooded area, dismounting and pulling Artorias from his horse, dragging him (not because she couldn't carry him but mostly because she was still mad at him for being a heroic moron) over to the stream where she took his wounds and dunked them in the frigid water.

She left his more damaged arm trailing in the water while she dug around in his saddlebags, finding bandages and huffing.

"You're a stubborn asshole." She grumbled under her breath, leaving for a few moments to go pick some herbs she'd noticed earlier that a human woman had taught her were good for burns, and came back, using the recent rainfall to her advantage as she found some rocks, ground the herbs into a salve and pulled him away from the stream to coat the burns and then bandage him up.

"A stubborn asshole and an idiot who doesn't think before he acts and does stupid shit when he does act because that was stupid. You're stupid." She continued to grumble, before finally taking a deep breath and letting it out in a heavy sigh.

She finished her work and sat back on her heals, admiring it for a moment and deciding that you know what? She was a good person. Dragon. Whatever. She could've left him to die, and she didn't. She was honorable. And yelling at his unconscious form made her feel much better and much less frustrated.

She pulled him up to rest him against a tree, elevating his most damaged arm on a few baby tree stumps next to him so the blood wouldn't clot or something she didn't really remember what it did, just that she was supposed to do it. And then she left the horses, tied up a few feet away from him, to go explore a bit and spend some time alone, because it'd be a first for her in a while on this trip, and she could always use a bit of alone time. So she would enjoy the rainfall while it lasted, climbing to the tops of one of the trees and sitting on a branch, looking up at the sky from among her perch of leaves, and closing her eyes.

She thought of the innocent people back in that village, and hoped that wherever their souls were, they were in a better place than here.

Ofcourse, Artorias was unconscious throughout the entire ordeal. Being dragged and pulled around. Being chewed out by an angry and worried dragon, possessing quite some lip.

Stardust bandaged him up and settled him against a tree. Yet it took another half an hour for the mordecai grandmaster to blink into consciousness again. He grunted softly under his breath as his body started to heal on his own again. The same dark, stone substance traveled over his body. Bandages and herbs she used dissipated, consumed by the energy.

Artorias pushed himself up, taking a deep breath. He glanced at the small stream of water, deciding to follow it in search for Stardust. After all, there was no trace of her. He came across a small pond, glancing at Stardust's figure, before taking a deep breath.

She hadn't really stayed up in that tree for very long, perhaps ten minutes, when she glanced down at herself and realized she was covered in soot and ash, and her own sweat, and the charred remains of Artorias' outfit. She let out a heavy sigh as she jumped down from her perch, deciding that perhaps now would be a better time than ever to take a bath, undisturbed.

She had followed the stream down a ways, realizing it opened out into a river; the waters were calmer in this section though, which was why she hadn't heard it before from the main road. She had stripped her clothing and armor off, leaving them neatly folded after shaking them out on some rocks on the shore, and she stepped into the waters without fear or hesitation, and Artorias was soon to find out why.

When he found her she was under the water, and she came up with a sudden splash, throwing her long hair back, for once out of its braid, as droplets were flung in a graceful arc overhead. The sun was starting to set, the light tinting everything it touched in hues of pinks, oranges and reds, but the light still shimmered and bounced off her scales. They adorned her shoulders, fading down to her back before resurfacing again and coating the entirety of her tail.

When not put up in its braid, her hair was shockingly long, falling all the way down to her hips, which he could see clearly since her back was to him. It appeared the dragoness hadn't noticed him yet--no, her attention was suddenly drawn to the water. She blinked, looking down--and then she giggled.

"Hey come on stop that tickles--" She laughed, and whatever it was seemed to heed her pleas, coming up to the surface instead.

Its head was huge. Bigger than her thighs, and when it opened its mouth it showed huge rows of needle-like teeth, and it was headed straight for her! And then it calmly veered to the side, closing its mouth again as its full length surfaced. It was an Arapaima, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapaima) and it was over 4 meters long. Any sane human would have been terrified, it could probably eat a person for breakfast. And yet she reached out and pet it, eyes shining brightly as she wrapped her arms around it and submersed herself in the water with it, as it pulled her along like a little tugboat.

"Look at you! Oh my gods you're so big, look at you!" She spoke to it like she was a proud mother, and perhaps it was at this point Artorias would notice that that wasn't the only fish playing with her.

At first they just looked like regular currents in the water, flashing and catching the light as they moved up and down, but upon closer inspection, the water was teeming with fish. They were swarming around her, rising to the surface and going back down again, and a few other arapaima, as well as some gar, and other big freshwater fish, were all itching to get a chance to be showered with the dragon's attention.

Her ride dipped below the water and she went under with it, disappearing for a few moments before they rose back up, swimming in Artorias' direction now and it was then that she let go of the big fish, standing up again so the waterline hit just below her belly button--and then she noticed the grandmaster standing on the shore.

....
........
...............

She instantly covered her chest with her arms and dropped into the water, but not before he probably got a chance to see a blush flash across her face, and then that disappeared into the water too until all he could see was her eyes and the top of her head and her antlers staring at him in shock from where she was submersed in the river water. She didn't say anything. She couldn't.

He just saw her mostly naked. And didn't SAY ANYTHING.

Artorias wanted to announce his presence, though he was stupefied and speechless. Confused by the fish that gathered around her. And the dragon snuggling with a thing that was longer than he was tall. Which was an achievement.

That thing was massive.

She looked down at Stardust as she surfaced again with the enormous fish, not saying a word. Only taking a deep breath as she flustered completely and dropped under the water.

Without as much as another word, he started to pull off the remnants of his armour and his robes, standing there completely naked aswell. A body chiseled with muscle and rich with scars. But regardless, he stepped into the water, putting his back to her and starting to wash himself.

Now it was Stardust's turn to be confused; he said nothing, just stared at her. And she stared back. They stood there staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.

She continued to stare as he started pulling off his armor, and then... His clothes, until he was suddenly naked and she was just staring at him in shock--not horror, but... Close to it. Not because he was bad looking, but because he was naked.

Completely naked. She saw everything.

A bunch of bubbles rose to the surface by her mouth as she suddenly pulled her head from the water, throwing something at him--a rock, it'd been the first thing she'd grabbed--as she squawked.

"H-HAVE SOME DECENCY!"

Her entire face was red, and that blush extended down her neck and across her chest over her collarbone; she quickly turned away, shaking her head furiously like she was trying to shake the image out of her mind.

"Y-YOU--YOU--" She wanted to yell and scream at him some more but he was awake now, and she had a feeling if she did yell at him he would just respond by yelling back or trying to pick a fight again or punishing her or something, so she forced herself to shut her mouth and just put her face in her hands, taking a deep breath as the arapaima from earlier swam around her, brushing against her back almost like it was trying to comfort her.

When Artorias got into the water, all the fish stayed as far away from him as possible. It seemed they wanted nothing to do with him.

She ducked her head under the water to try and calm herself down, and cool her rising temperature because of her own embarrassment, and when she broke the surface again she was silent, flicking water from her face and pushing her hair away from her eyes.

She threw a still-somewhat-mad-at-you glance over her shoulder at him before she quickly looked away again.

"Guess your burns are better then." She forced out, her voice tense as she hugged herself, wishing she could sink into the water and disappear. She really thought he'd be out longer than that. Why, why? It wasn't fair.

He grabbed the rock before it could hit his face and leave a nasty cut. One he didn't feel like regenerating, before letting it splash down in the pond again. "I have decency, what else would you want me to do? Wait until you were done?" He inquired, arching an eyebrow. "We have no time for that. It's inefficient."

He didn't care for the fish. He was glad he could bathe in piece. And like that, he went on with his bath, back towards Stardust again, giving her and himself the needed privacy. "They are," he answered.Before taking a deep breath.

"Thanks."

She looked at him again over her shoulder when he responded (her mother had always taught her to be respectful and look at people when they were speaking to you) and found herself frowning as she turned her gaze away, looking at the water, bubbling with fish that swarmed around her like curious children.

Inefficient.

How was it that someone like him could be so considerate and caring for the lives of others, like the villagers they laid to rest today, and yet on the other hand treat people as if they were nothing? Did he view the other mordecai as nameless soldiers? Because he certainly didn't treat Stardust like she was a person, she now realized, and maybe that was because he considered her a 'mage' or whatever. Or maybe he really just had no clue that you shouldn't just randomly strip naked in front of a stranger and not apologize for seeing them without their consent. Who knew.

He was a confusing idiot and she tried not to let it get to her.

She pursed her lips and nodded, back to him as she quickly finished washing up.

"Just don't do something reckless again. I could've potentially handled that situation too, you know. Not sure what point there is in dragging me along with you everywhere if we're not at least going to try and work together."

She got out of the water, trying to flick most of the water off as the fish waited for a few moments by the shoreline, wondering if she would come back, before eventually dispersing back into the water's depths, still avoiding Artorias. She pulled her clothes back on, not bothered by the fact that they were still damp or that she was too, and then she started wringing out her hair and putting it back into its braid, the motions quick and methodical like she did this all the time, which she did.

And then she started heading back the way both of them had come, to go back with the horses and give Artorias some privacy, because she wasn't an ass, unlike some people. She didn't bother mentioning where she was going, figuring it was obvious enough.

Artorias sat down in the pond, scooping up some water with his hands, before running it through his pale blonde, almost platinum hairs, washing out the ashes and soot. It was then, when she looked at his back. Just how much scars, along with the one massive burn scar, he had. It was stupendous.

"That thing would have consumed and killed you," he stated rather matter of factly. It was than that he glanced over his shoulder, looking at her. "It took roughly half of my capacity to stay alive when I touched it. Constantly regenerating my wounds, faster than I got burned." He turned back to the water. "I fought you with only a fraction of what I can do," he said, not looking at her as she dressed.

And by the time she was gone, Artorias had finished up, he also moved over to his armour and clothing, starting to get dressed again. And when he was done, he would return to the horses.

Stardust wasn't exactly sure how she felt as she trekked back up to the horses, thinking about what Artorias had decided to tell her while she'd been getting dressed.

Would have consumed her? How did he know that?? Sure, he wasn't human, he might've even been immortal, but how did he know that? Could he predict the future? He knew nothing about her!

Perhaps that was what frustrated her about him the most--he acted like he knew everything about her. Just because he'd fought dragons before he thought he knew them all. He knew nothing about her, he probably hadn't ever even seen a dragon like her before. She wasn't even from this continent. Her kind were so rarely seen even by their own people--he was probably just assuming she was like every other dragon she'd heard of here.

Big. Lumbering. Fire-breather. Evil. Whatever. She wasn't any of those.

She huffed to herself as she reached the horses, wrapping her arms around a confused Scrimshaw's neck and burying her face in the short fur.

"'I fought you with only a fraction of what I can do,'" She mocked under her breath, giving Artorias a far more annoying and hoity-toity voice than how he actually sounded. "Well he can just take one more stick and shove it up his ass then."

If he thought he was so big and strong, then she'd just have to prove it to him, that she could definitely be twice as big, and twice as strong. Definitely. AND DEFINITELY BIGGER.

Her sharp ears picked up the sound of him approaching and she quickly made herself look busy, because she totally was not letting this asshole get to her. So instead she set to carefully knocking some of the mud from her horse's hooves, glancing over at Artorias as he approached.

"So what now?"

Since they'd finished their mission and all, she assumed they'd be heading back to Fuckstick Capitol.

"What now?" Artorias shook his head and sighed softly, glancing back in the direction of the village. "I plan to bury what's left, nullify and eliminate any left over magic," he answered. He walked over to his own horse and padded his flank softly. "As well as looking for traces of the pyromancer. That elemental didn't come in existence on his own. And it's summoner still remains at large."

He huffed out a soft breath. "But for now, we camp out and rest." He glanced upwards, to point at a ridge. "There. I saw it earlier. We camp there, overlook the village in shifts. Maybe our target returns. If he doesn't, we look for clues tomorrow." He pulled himself up on the horse now and glanced at Stardust again. "Good work, by the way," he stated coldly, before spurring the horse on to trot down the hill again. "And thanks for not leaving me for dead."

She stood up straight as Artorias spoke, probably the most she'd heard him say in one go so far on this trip. She followed where he was pointing to see the ridge and nod, grabbing onto the saddle horn to start to pull herself up when he thanked her.

Well. She hadn't been expecting that.

She stared after him for a moment as he turned away and started to ride off without her; maybe he wasn't... Completely an asshole? No, he probably was. He was just being polite.

Stardust pulled herself up onto Scrimshaw and followed after him, feeling a little awkward and unsure of how to respond to his sudden nice comments. "Well, I couldn't just leave you there--I mean I could've, but that would've been quite dishonorable. That's not how my parents raised me."

She lived with the idea that if her father could suddenly appear at any moment and see what she was doing or how she was acting, he would be proud of what he saw, and usually she did a good job of actually sticking to that rule. Though it was admittedly a bit of a challenge, especially with Artorias--she blamed it on her young age.

Once they reached their destination and dismounted their horses, she set to work helping Artorias set up a camp that would work well enough for what they needed it for for the two of them. She offered to take up the first watch, considering he should probably rest a bit more with those wounds of his or... Something. She was tired, but mentally she wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet.

So she found herself a decent perch right on the edge of the ridge, overlooking everything down below as a breeze blew and made her ears flick.

"So, what exactly are you?" She asked suddenly, glancing at Artorias over her shoulder. "I have an idea, but I'm curious."