Starstruck [Dad76] [M]

[Cheesigator]

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

[Medievarad]

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.

[Cheesigator]

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.

[Medievarad]

"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.

[Cheesigator]

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."

[Medievarad]

"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?"

[Cheesigator]

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?

[Medievarad]

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.

[Cheesigator]

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.

[Medievarad]

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.

[Cheesigator]

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.

[Medievarad]

"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.

[Cheesigator]

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?"

[Medievarad]

"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."

[Cheesigator]

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.

[Medievarad]

"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.

[Cheesigator]

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.

[Medievarad]

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.

[Cheesigator]

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.

[Medievarad]

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.