Chosen and Bound

[DragonSong]

Amaya winced. "I am sorry about that. I've told you, you should take some days off every now and then. We can survive without you..."

What was usually a casual phrase died off as she once again realized the severity of the situation.

[Marakai Trin]

"...you do know I was joking, right? I hate this form...it's so hard to speak." He huffed a little, turning his large head to look at her.

"And time off for me is time away from you...before we even met, I swore my life for yours. I would never leave for me...only if it were in your service."

He couldn't help but try and grin, baring a long line of vicious, curved fangs. "Like today was supposed to be. Listen...mother will know what to do. Don't worry. Please."

[DragonSong]

She scowled, wrapping her arms around her body as she shivered. Her hair had long since come loose of its carefully styled loops and pins, thick locks clumping on her shoulders and sliding into her face.

"I know you were joking. That's what worries me," she muttered.

If she hadn't been so distracted thinking about her father, she might have said more. She loved her friend dearly, and she worried sometimes about how seriously he took his duty to her- as a bodyguard she could understand some of his devotion, but it was a long contested issue between them that he should have a life outside his work.

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak stopped, and looked at her with his head tilted to one side.

"...Amaya. Don't worry about me, please. Trust me, I do what I do for more reasons than simple duty." His golden eyes blinked at her. "Yes, I was created to serve you. Yes, I was created to be your friend and your guardian. But there's more to it than that."

He turned his head, looking back toward their path. "In all the world, there is not another like me. All over Thanatos, I would be shunned, despite my purpose. But in you, and your family.... I feel as if I belong."

He glanced at her again. "And not for one minute would I forsake that. I know what I am. You know what I am. Look at you, your mother and your father. Then look at the villagers, with their distrust. That's why I do what I do."

[DragonSong]

Amaya sighed and walked just a little closer so her shoulder brushed his arm for a moment. "I know," she whispered. "I know, Mizaak."

She wrapped her arms around her middle and ducked her head as they continued walking. "I don't know what we'll do," she murmured suddenly. "I can't- If he..." Her voice choked off and she pressed a hand to her mouth.

[Marakai Trin]

The creature walking beside her was clearly more than a beast. Anyone who was watching would be able to see that, especially when one of his huge arms went around her shoulders, and he gently tugged her to his side.

"Hey...it'll be all right. Mother will have a way for us. I know she will. So, there's no point in thinking that way."

It was nearly comical, such a fearsome looming creature offering words of comfort, his scaled arm and clawed hand hugging her tightly to him.

"Trust me. Think positive - we'll get through this. Together. Okay, Amaya?"

[DragonSong]

"Okay." She closed her eyes, took a breath, then tried again, a little stronger, "Okay."

Amaya glanced up at him and tried for a smile. It was small, but it was there. She pressed a little closer to his side and gathered up her kimono in on hand so the hem wasn't constantly tripping her up as they walked.

[Marakai Trin]

He chuckled a little as he glanced down at her, and mirrored words that he had said to her earlier that day.

"Ah, there's Amaya again. But I know she's got a bigger smile than that..." He released her shoulder and bend one finger to poke her gently in the ribs with his knuckles, careful to avoid catching her clothing with his claws or scales.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that they were getting close to their destination.

[DragonSong]

"Ach!" Amaya jumped, squeaked, then twisted her head to glare at him.

"Really? Is that appropriate right now?" she snipped, but she was trying to hide a smile, eventually restoring to raising a hand to cover her mouth.

[Marakai Trin]

"Heh, apparently. It had the desired effect." The smile may not appear on his face, but it certainly could be heard on his voice.

The closer they got go their destination, the lighter the rain became, as if the very location was pushing the rain away.

[DragonSong]

Amaya shaded her eyes and glanced up. "Is it lightening up out here?" she murmured, frowning. "I could have sworn that stone looked like it wasn't going to pass so quickly..."

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak looked too, noting the thinning of clouds, the sun just beginning to peak through. "Yes..." he rumbled, and he looked back to her.

"We're close. If I had my guess, she knows we're coming."

[DragonSong]

"She does?" Amaya twisted her head to blink at him. "How can you tell?"

[Marakai Trin]

As the rays of the sun intensified, small wisps of steam began to roll off of Mizaak's body. The reptilian appearance of him gradually seemed to melt away, the scales turning translucent and rolling off of him like water. His tail shrank and disappeared, and his face gradually flattened back to its normal appearance.

After a few minutes, the clouds of steam began to dissipate, and he stood in his human form once more. He gave a relieved sigh, and glanced to Amaya.

"She doesn't suffer me to stand in the rain. That's how I know." He smiled widely and began walking again towards where he knew his mother's home to be.

[DragonSong]

"Oh." Amaya blinked, eyes wide as she stared up at him. "That's...useful."

She cleared her throat and dropped her eyes. "Should I...know anything about her?"

It was strange- the woman was responsible for her birth, but she knew almost nothing about her, really.

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak bummed to himself for a moment, turning his gaze to the path ahead. He was quiet for a moment as they walked.

"Well, she can be sort of cryptic sometimes, but generally she's just trying to be helpful. Just treat her with respect,  and she'll treat you the same in turn."

[DragonSong]

She nodded slowly. "Noted." She couldn't stop herself from glancing back over her shoulder.

It suddenly struck her that this was as far from home as she'd ever been. Ridiculous, perhaps, but sadly true. Even in Mizaak's company, she'd never been allowed to wander further than the stream that bordered the village.

The rain was slowly lessening and she glanced up with a small frown. Her fingers twitched, itching to call the water to her. It had been happening more and more often lately, and she had to breathe deeply and close her eyes for a moment to bite down the urge.

[Marakai Trin]

The larger man glanced down at his companion, noting the way Amaya looked upward with a grown. When her hand began to twitch, he reached down with one and and took hers.

Mizaak smiled broadly. "Calm yourself,  Amaya. Calling more down to us will only serve to soak us further. Not to mention the strain of your power fighting my mothers."

[DragonSong]

Amaya winced and her attention flicked to him rather than the sky above them. "Right. Yes, right. I know, I'm sorry..."

Her magic could be...unpredictable. At the best of times. Her manipulation of chi was fairly reliable, if draining, but her gift with water- that could sneak up on her.

A vague hope pricked at the back of her mind. Mizaak's mother was a witch. Not only that, she was responsible for Amaya's very existence. Maybe she'd be able to actually get some answers from her.

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak smiled down at her, briefly squeezing her hand before releasing it. "Don't worry about it....look, now. Here's house."

He looked up the path ahead, to see a massive clearing with one huge tree in its center, easily large enough to wind a man simply by running its circumference. A crude stairway seemed to be created from the trees own wood, not carved but somehow shaped from the tree itself.

A large door stood just above the stairway.

Mizaak smiled. "It's been....awhile since I've seen this place."