Chosen and Bound

[DragonSong]

Amaya's eyes widened just slightly. "Mizaak, I-" She clutched at his hand.

Fourteen years and they'd hardly ever been apart. That fact hit her quite suddenly, the realization of something she knew, but hadn't really felt before.

Her grip on his hand tightened. "Be careful," she whispered. "Our home is not as safe as we once thought it was."

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak looked down into her face, his own softening in response.

She was more to him than simply 'Chosen.' She was the only person in the world he could call a friend. Fourteen years of constant companionship had taught him that he would do anything for her, and he strove every day to prove that to her

This, to him, was simply a greater way for him to prove his friendship. It didn't mean that he liked it any more than she, though.

He  released her hand only to put it over her shoulder, and pulled her into a one armed embrace. "I know. But I worry more about you, here, Amaya. Promise me you'll stay inside the temple."

[DragonSong]

She was frozen and stiff for a few moments, then relaxed slightly and hugged him back, wrapping her arms around him tightly and not really giving a damn if she wrinkled the fabric of her clothes or mussed her hair.

"I will," she murmured, then stepped back sharply. "Hurry. Please."

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak released her, and nodded. His face was solemn. "I'll follow the stream up the mountain. It goes almost all the way there."

He sighed, and looked towards the entryway to the temple. "....fourteen years, and this'll be the first time I'm more than twenty feet from you." He looked back to her with a wan smile.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

He turned from her, and began walking to the entryway of the temple, pausing at the first turn to look back at her one last time.

He couldn't find anymore words. He offered a small smile meant to reassure her, and disappeared around the corner.

[DragonSong]

Amaya didn't smile. She clenched her hands in the sleeves of her kimono and watched him go, her wide eyes the only betrayal of her roiling emotions.

Then she closed her eyes, took a breath, and turned to slip back into the room. She didn't say a word, just moved to kneel beside her mother and bowed her head, gently taking her father's hand in her own.

[Marakai Trin]

Even with his massive frame, it was easy for him to slip in and out of the temple grounds, and even the village, undetected. Years of sneaking Amaya around to places that neither of them should be gave him ample practice, and he was relatively sure that not a single person outside the temple had seen him leave.

Questions would be raised, after all, if anyone knew he was gone. Not much may be known about him, but all knew that he and Amaya were almost never apart. Best not to give the grapevine anything to pass.

And so, in about a half hour, he found himself nearly a mile outside the village, at the very spot where he and Amaya had met fourteen years before.

He looked into the water, looking down at his reflection. How the time had changed him! But, his attitude had remained the same, save for the professionalism he'd gained and the knowledge he'd gained.

He sighed, and looked up from the water. Let the stream reflect for him - he had no time to waste.

Mizaak looked up into the sky. It was late afternoon, by now, and through the trees he could see the gathering of clouds. It would rain soon - at least he'd have some comfort, and he was fortunate enough to be away from the village. None but Amaya or her parents had ever witnessed  what happened to him when he was drenched.

[DragonSong]

It was torture, just sitting there, waiting. Amaya had been told to leave the room as three more priestesses were ushered in, all trying to identify and mitigate the poison in her father's system.

She paced the hall, feet nearly soundless as she seemed to be trying to wear circles through the wood. She'd informed the village that in the wake of the ceremony her father had fallen ill. The guards had been aware of the situation- as much as they could.

So there was nothing left to do but wait.

Normally, Amaya was a very patient person. Not today. Today she couldn't.

The residents of the temple were distracted, understandably, and she managed to slip out into the back gardens, where she sank down on a small bench and buried her face in her hands, forcing herself to just breathe.

[Marakai Trin]

Eventually, he had to take a break. It always seemed as though, just before it would rain, it would always get unbearably hot, and he was covered in sweat from head to toe.

He took shelter in the shade of a tree with large, broad leaves, sitting cross  legged and trying to decide whether or not to continue in the rain.

[DragonSong]

Amaya wasn't even sure when she'd started walking, but by the time she'd forced herself out of her own head she was already treading the well-worn path into the jungle. Her eyes widened slightly and she paused.

Was she really going to do this?"

[Marakai Trin]

Something told Mizaak he should wait, at least for a few minutes. Whatever feeling it was, he felt as if it were important, and so he stayed put, sitting beneath the leafy boughs of the jungle tree.

It was a lucky decision, too - not a moment after the decision had been made, he could hear the drops of rain patter against the broad leaves above him. Had he continued to walk, he'd be stomping through the jungle as a beast.

With the goal he had in mind, that normally wouldn't bother him, but...somehow he had the thought that something would require him to remain human for at least a little while longer.

[DragonSong]

It only took a few moments for Amaya to be soaked to the bone, but she continued doggedly on, tramping through the thick foliage in an effort to just keep herself moving, to not sit still and wait.

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak remained stubbornly as far from the deluge as he could manage, keeping as dry as possible. In time, it would seem as though his feeling would pay off, as he saw a figure in soaked raiments tromp past him.

His eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet, stepping out info the rain. The moment he felt the rain beating on his skin, he felt the inevitable change as the water seemed to merely accumulate on him, changing from clear liquid to flesh and scales.

In but a seconds time, it wasn't a man who clamped a hand on Amaya's shoulder, but a beast. A large, bipedal reptile with a head reminiscent of a snakes, blue and black scales covering his whole body, and a thick tail starting at the small of his back, Mizaak stood in his true form. The only truly recognizable features on him would be his golden eyes, full of a mix of care and shock, and the steel trident he carried in one fist.

In this form, speaking was ridiculously difficult, but he would try anyway, his words stumbling over themselves as he fought to say them. "Amaya," he started, the 'M' in her name barely pronounced as he had no lips to make the sound, "why are you out here?"

[DragonSong]

Shocked, she jumped and whirled to face what she thought might be an attacked, hands raised and a chant prepared to leave her lips.

Then her wide eyes recognized the figure in front of her and her shoulders slumped as the tension left her. "Mizaak. Thank the spirits- you about gave me a heart attack!"

She blinked up at him, water running in concentrated rivulets between the horns on her brow. It had been a while since she'd seen him in this form.

He'd grown.

[Marakai Trin]

He let out the beginnings of a sigh, and quickly cut it off as it came out sounding like a growl. It'd been so long since he'd taken this form, he'd nearly forgotten the various pros and cons that came with it.

Communication was one such con. There didn't seem to be many good things about it.

"I am sorry to have startled you," he said, his voice like the grating of stone. "I...saw you walking. What are you doing out here? You promised me you'd stay."

[DragonSong]

Amaya winced a little. "I know, I did. I just..." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I couldn't just stand around doing nothing. If I can do something to help him, I have to do it."

She shivered; the rain wasn't cold, nor was the air, but she was by now so thoroughly soaked that water was dripping down her spine with an odd tingling sensation.

[Marakai Trin]

If he could smile, he would. But, lacking that ability, he had to settle with taking her hand and pulling it away from her face, being careful not to abrade her skin with his scales.

"I understand..." he rumbled, and he lowered his head to look her in the eye. "But now, here you are wearing about thirty pounds of clothing, and carrying an extra twenty in rainwater." He let out a grating chuckle, and looked upstream, up the mountain. "It's still quite a distance to my mother's...you can have a chance to dry out, if you need it. It isn't like I can take you back like this, anyway..."

[DragonSong]

Her eyes closed and she released a heavy sigh. "Thank you." She's honestly been a little afraid he might cart her back to the temple.

Another sigh and she looked up, squinting through the rain. "This probably isn't going to stop soon," she muttered, brow furrowed.

[Marakai Trin]

Mizaak looked up with her. "No. It doesn't. Perhaps we should continue on, then, before the stream floods it's banks."

He released her hand and let his fall back to his side. "Well. Let's go, then. So long as we continue up the mountain, we're headed in the right direction."

[DragonSong]

She nodded. "Lead the way. I've no idea where I'm going, really."

[Marakai Trin]

"Hmmph. Up. That's the only way to go from here." He glanced at her out the corner of his eye. "She'd better nkt be cross with me for not visiting her, either. It isn't like I've got the free time to walk halfway across the island."

His words were puctuated with a gravelly chuckle, and once again he found himself wishing he could smile. He cursed the rain.