How NOT to Train Your Dragon (Sil)

[Zero]

"Who said anything about fire?" Tatsu asked quietly, turning his head and closing his eyes to listen to the passage of the bandits. Ellanari Sky Dragons didn't breath fire, but he very much doubted anyone knew that, or knew what an Ellanari Sky Dragon even was. He could command powerful magic, however, and in either form he was a physical might to be feared. "I said nothing of killing either."

If pushed, Tatsu had no problem taking life if it meant preserving life he deemed more important, such as his own or that of his new companion, but killing was a last resort. Bandits could be quite cowardly and he did not think that death would be necessary to send a message that they had tangled with the wrong prey.

Eälis did offer a plan that was not likely to involve confrontation, but part of him wanted to exact at least some revenge for the pain he had suffered. The nerve of them to attack a dragon. Did they take him for some mindless beast? A stealthy retreat was the safest option for Eälis, however, and ultimately her safety was more important than any selfish desire to teach his tormentors a lesson.

"Very well, gather your things. We will leave at once and travel tonight. We can rest near dawn if a suitable place of shelter can be found."

[SilmeriaElemred]

Eälis nodded and headed into the cave where her belongings were. ''If no fire... then what are you capable off? I am not really knowledgeable about dragons but I healed people once whom had been hit by acid dragon fire..'' thinking of how bad those wounds her still could make her shiver. And for long she had been hunted by the nightmares for not being able to save all of them.

She exited the cave with a bow over her shoulder and a quiver. As final she picked up the crystals she had used for the painreliever as well. They were weakly shimmering in the darkness, not fully charged but if they would stop at some point she could lay them out again. There was something else as well. On her wrists were several neatly crafted silver bracelets with the same kind of jewels. ''When we are out of the clearing I will lift the illusion and make sure to cloak us from others when I need to. I could cloak us now but I think you'd be happier if I save any energy I can.'' she emptied the baskets contends considering nuts, berries and some more herbs neatly in her bag for later. The basket, she left it in the cave. It was usefull and easy to make but dragging it along every time was not nessesary.

[Zero]

"It would take far too long to try to explain all that I am capable of doing, Miss Eälis. Even traveling with me I doubt you will see more than a fraction of what I am capable of doing. You should hope you never have to see." Tatsu's expression was hard, and there was a quality to his voice that had not been there before, something dangerous. His eyes still glowed faintly, his rage still smoldering despite his agreement for retreat. None of it was directed at her, however.

Those same eyes watched her as she came from the cave with her things, making note of what she possessed silently as he listened to her plan. He could find no fault in it, for now. "Very well, follow me, keep your voice low and make as little noise as possible until I say otherwise. Do not tire yourself with unnecessary illusions." He was still worried about alerting the bandits, although her illusions were satisfactory, Tatsu did not wish to take unnecessary chances. The less they had to rely upon her illusions the better, in fact. He did not want to risk exhausting her.

Without another word he slipped into the gathering night and stepped surprisingly lightly for a man his size as he carefully moved away from their little cave, and away from the bandits.

[SilmeriaElemred]

''I understand.'' she spoke softly. Eälis regretted having asked. She wondered how much of her current power would have to be displayed to Tatsu during him teaching her. Breaking minds in narrow situations was something she had no control over.Thus far she had most of the time fixed them too if they had not taken their own lives in the time she needed.

She followed Tatsu in silence. Not making any more noise then the breeze did. She had rarely walked without illusions after a few confrontations she had with travelers. Either because they had some nasty plans for her or were more then interested for her stargems and the silver she carried. Not cloaking herself for a first time since long, made her feel a little exposed despite always knowing illusions was not something she had to rely on so much

[Zero]

Tatsu only had one focus at the moment, and that was getting Eälis to safety. There was no point thinking of lessons when the student's life was in danger. Once he felt she was safe he could worry about exploring and pushing the magical potential of his new pupil.

How quietly she moved pleased him.  Every sense was alert as he lead them away from danger. Once or twice he stopped to listen and sniff the air, but after a few moments had proceeded. Sensing some unease from her as they moved, he paused long enough to offer her his hand, if she felt so inclined. His voice was quiet and soothing, "I will protect you, Miss Eälis. You have nothing to fear."

[SilmeriaElemred]

''I know.'' she assured him before taking a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ''What I usually fear most, is me. When we find a safe place I could show you why.'' She usually was not keen on letting others in her head and show them what kind of monster she could be. But it would be better to share then having it show at some point.''Not to mention I feel... revealed knowing I have no illusions set up to conceal my form. I became more used to it then I should.'' She looked at his hand briefly before accepting it.

[Zero]

"You will not need to fear even yourself, Miss Eälis. If you get out of control I will stop you, but I know you will be a fast learner, so soon enough you will not have to worry about losing control." Tatsu spoke in a reassuring voice, his eyes and expression softening slightly as her fingers closed around his hand. He hadn't been sure she was going to take it for a moment there. "Yes, you did. Magic should not always be your first choice, certainly not your only choice. What would you do if something happened, a situation arose, that you were unable to use any magic at all?"

With her hand now secure in his, Tatsu walked with her closer to his side instead of leading so fully. His main reason for holding her hand was simply to try to provide reassurance and pose as a calming influence if possible.

[SilmeriaElemred]

''I tend to try have things go peacefully with conversation. If that does not work, I have my bow. Or swords. I can use a spear too but I do not have one on me. I will fight in a defending manner... if I can. If it does not work and have no other choice then causing physical harm I will. I prefer not to kill but there have been a few situations in which I had no choice.'' It saddened her a little but sometimes there was just nothing else that could be done.

Her steps were still certain and she felt determined and ready

[Zero]

"I would like to see what you can do with that bow later. It would not hurt for me to assess your swordsmanship as well." Tatsu mused quietly, considering how to proceed with his new student. It had been years since he had actively apprenticed anyone. Gauging her abilities, both magical and not, did seem a good place to start. "We have plenty of time, and I will not push you to learn faster than I think you can handle."

Better to learn properly than be rushed through important learning opportunities. His pale eyes gazed around as they walked, judging the distance they had traveled and trying to decide how fit he was for flying. He would need to feel comfortable that he could get them high enough to be out of danger before anyone could move against them. "How do you feel, Miss Eälis?"

[SilmeriaElemred]

''I am alright.'' Ealis assured him. ''I was not that hurt physically. You should see me on worse days. The sunlight and sleep did me well. Have you recovered fully?'' He had lost a lot of blood after all. If she used to much force with her own magic nosebleeds were the least of her worries. She just wanted to be sure he did not push himself to much

[Zero]

"I hope to never see you on a worse day." Tatsu took his responsibilities very seriously. By agreeing to teach Eälis he had taken responsibility for her well-being and protection. She had not asked or demanded such a thing, but as a guardian he was driven to do so. Even if she wasn't an Ellanari hatchling, she was a young female and instincts had him wishing to care for her.

"Not at all, but I am well enough to get us off the ground." Between blood loss and the toll the pain and wounds had taken on him, it wasn't likely that Tatsu would feel fully recovered until he could gather the energy he needed to truly replenish himself. "When I transform climb onto my back. Seat yourself just in front of my shoulders and hold tightly to my mane. Do not worry about pulling the fur, and I will not let you fall."

With that he pulled his hand from hers and stepped aside, already beginning to glow. The transformation took seconds, his long, serpentine body stretching out as he shook himself lightly. After a moment he laid down onto his stomach and turned his head so that he could watch Eälis with softly glowing eyes.

[SilmeriaElemred]

Amazement and awe filled the moonelf's eyes as she saw him transform. How many of her kin could have witnessed this she wondered. ''You are amazingly beautiful you know that? In every way I  am sure.'' She placed her hand on his head briefly before she took place justin front of his shoulders like he told her to. Exitement running thrpugh her body likeva raging fire. It was not until now Tatsu could feel how light she was. Even for an elf. The way she seated herself was with thought. Realising every moment how precious this moment was going to become. In the sky the moon showed itself lonely amongst the many stars. The grieving one not far from her Goddess as usual.

[Zero]

A soft snort was given in response to the compliment on his beauty. Tatsu knew humans were quite easy to impress, and he supposed some elves as well. His mate had been amazingly beautiful. If only they could see her they would know how dull he was in comparison. Of course beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and his opinion was biased.

He watched her settle onto him, making sure she was seated properly before he rose carefully to his feet. She was lighter than he had expected. It was rare that he allowed someone to sit upon his back like this, but he was sure that only a child would have felt lighter. For the moment he turned his attention away from the elf on his back, ears flickering as he turned his gaze skyward.

Tatsu's tail began to move first, in slow, fluid waves from side to side. His front feet left the ground first, followed closely by his rear feet, all four limbs curled up to be carried closely to his stomach. He had no wings, his body simply began to rise straight into the air. Once they were above the trees the rest of his body began to move similarly to his tail, propelling them forward and still rising.

Cloud Serpents, some had called his kind, and not without good reason. He swam through the air almost like you would see a snake glide across water.

[SilmeriaElemred]

Eälis was not afraid. A broad smile formed on her lips as she looked at the world around her. It was not the same as watching the view from a mountain or cliff. No. This, was special. And if Tatsu could feel emotions from others he surely could feel how she felt. And certainly something she would treasure and tell her children once she would be a mother, and their children would she be a grandmother. It felt like freedom, and if no concerns ever exited.

''How high do you usually go?'' she asked. Not indicating that he had to do so now, but she was just curious.

[Zero]

"Too high for you to go, little elf." Tatsu replied in a gentle rumble as he glided slowly through the wind currents. He would take them high enough to get them out of range of projectiles, but not much higher than that. If they ventured too high the temperature and air density would drop too sharply for those meant to live upon the ground. He wouldn't risk freezing or suffocating his passenger! Though he enjoyed the senses that radiated from the elf on his back. He knew she truly appreciated the honor he was bestowing upon her.

Moonlight shimmered and reflected off those of his scales that peeked through his short, soft fur. His body seemed to emit a soft glow as he absorbed the energy from the air and light around them. How wonderful would it have been to encounter a storm cloud? Well, not with Eälis on his back, but siphoning the energy from a storm would have certainly invigorated him. As it was, just the thrill of flying was soothing his hurts, and the energy he gained from the air and lunar light would sustain him for a while.

[SilmeriaElemred]

Tatsu was not the only one influenced by the moonlight. The closer they got, the more quiet Aluria got. Her kin gained energy from star and moonlight and perhaps she should have seen it coming. The gemstones glowed brightly and lines and symbols started to appear on her skin. Her hair started to become as white as the moon itself but she barely noticed. ''You see that star over there? The bright one close to the moon?  My people call it the Grieving Star. She is one of the first people who gave birth to a Moonelf. Her husband however wounded her mortally after their child was born because the child did not look like him. He thought she had been dishonest. To honor her for carrying the child she couldn't, Lunaria turned her into a star so she could always watch over her children'' It was a really short version. But if Tatsu wanted she could always tell him where they came from.

It was not until now she noticed her physical changes. ''Tatsu... I'm... glowing...'' not sure what was going on made her panic a little. Followed by a very sharp feeling of pain in her body. It only lasted a few seconds though. She was not sure what it caused. The moonlight? Was she absorbing to much of its power? Was that even possible? She most likely was the first of her kin eer being so close to the moon in the first place. Despite what was going on she still could not cease to amaze everything around her Tatsu showed.

[Zero]

With his eyes focused on looking ahead, Tatsu did not notice the physical changes to Eälis at first either. His ears laid back as she told him the story of what she called the Grieving Star. He'd never heard such a tale, but it was both a sad and infuriating one to him. How could a male harm his mate? How could a male bring himself to harm any female? It was...inconceivable.

Something strange was happening on his back, however. Tatsu's head twisted around to look at his passenger as soon as he felt some feeling of panic from her. His eyes glowed brightly as he felt her pain, his magic twisted and surrounded Eälis like an invisible barrier, cloaking her from the moonlight's energy. He could absorb and maintain a high level of energy, but he had carelessly not considered if the little elf could handle such power. Her body was so much more fragile than his.

"I am sorry, I did not think." He rumbled softly, still gazing at her in concern. "Shall we land? What do you need me to do?"

[SilmeriaElemred]

''I'm ok'' Eälis assured. ''There was a brief moment of pain but it is gone. I most likely stored what energy I had to much in the rest of the crystals'' she calmed herself down. ''We can stay here for as long as you like. It is beautiful up here.'' her gaze went to the moon and stars above them.

She was not sure how much distance they had made from their previous location yet either. Those whom had attacked Tatsu with the spears were not crazy. They would come back for those spears and perhaps collect the blood he had shed. Or those other persons whom had been close, would eventually know something was off and find the cave in its normal state.

[Zero]

"Should I shield you from further energy? I do not want you harmed because of over exposure. You should not take in more than you can reasonably handle. If you are hurt in my care I would suffer great shame." Tatsu's rumbling voice was dripping with concern as his pale eyes continued to examine her critically, as if searching for injury to her person. His own safety being endangered did not cross his mind at all. Strength was returning to him, and no mortal could harm him if he moved to defend himself.

[SilmeriaElemred]

''I think shielding would not be a bad idea. I will soon run out of gems to put the energy into'' she admitted. At the least she would not have to worry about that for a while. ''It will maybe be another thing to add to the list of things I need to learn isn't it.'' she had a weak blush on her cheeks. She was a moonelf for crying out loud. One who can not even handle the moons energy properly. What more was faulty about her she wondered.