Frostscale was exhausted, his head was aimed and propped up against the edge of the window with his eyes fixated on the rising sun. His sides rose and fell steadily while he felt Valia resting against the line of his shoulder, her blankets cast to one side. She had to have been too warm in her clothing, but she seemed to take comfort in them and all he could do was provide a safe place for her as he kept his mind open to her, trying to keep his mind more on soothing thoughts instead of the tumult that was spilling through him. He felt her nightmares, her unease, it filtered through his thoughts and he tried to ease them away.

She had woken up several times, jerking and letting out sounds that caused him to let out soft murmurs and near songs to try and calm her down again. She kept one hand on his scales, as if the feel of them reassured her and he turned his head down towards her as she adjusted again. She moved again with a short jerk and let out a whimper before he lowered his head and started to brush his nose against her softly. He curled his tail up and along her body lightly, keeping her secured at his side while he gave a little shift and rolled over his thoughts.

Tarrbin would not tolerate what he had done, not when he had come erupting into the guard room for the girl. He had no doubt that after this, he would be dragged back to the mountains and he wouldn't be allowed to leave again. He would be thrown into a Flight with older drakes than himself and kept so busy that he didn't have time to try and plan coming back to Diurnal. There had been something about the way the older dragon had talked about the human girl that made it clear that there was something they wouldn't tolerate about it.

It grated on him, he felt himself bristling a little bit as he thought about how high handed the older drake had been. He had heard the early stories of their race, he knew that they were strangely twisted from what they had once been. There had been pride at how they had stood on their own, now they were becoming more clannish and closely packed. He sometimes wondered if the reason was because Sithen had remained alone for so long that he craved the company. He wasn't the only one to feel this way either, there were others that were talking about fleeing south, to find their own personal territories. And Tarrbin thought he could be ordered around?

They won't let me stay in the city. _ He growled softly to himself and turned his head to slowly begin to groom the line of his crest thoughtfully. _And I'm not going to leave Valia here.

_ _

She was injured, they weren't life threatening, but he could feel the taste of the pain in her thoughts when she moved. She deserved to have her vengeance and the urge to be the one to give it to her was oddly pressing. He wasn't going to just leave her behind and assume she would be fine, the idea left his stomach twisting strangely while he lowered his head with a nudge against her shoulder, trying to sooth her as she gave another twist of her body and he sighed out softly when she whimpered in response, her face going slack again.

Her mind was growing louder with her dreams again, a strength to it that was a little louder and he carefully reached outwards. He carefully drew his mind in against her own, pressing forward and leaning into her dreams before he began to sooth them. It was an intimate touch that wove into her thoughts and he found it easier to glide through each of the furtive mental touches. It was like a shadow that was creeping through her dreams and he drew in a breath. She didn't deserve these dreams, they were filled with a dark screeching form, pain and humiliation.

-Come away from there…- _ Frostclaw purred into her mind and curled even closer to her, sinking himself further into her thoughts. _-There's nothing there for you to dwell over.-

_ _

He closed his exhausted eyes while he kept his hold on her mind, a light gentle touch before drawing her in close. He felt her, a warmth that was like a small sparking glow, not like the bonfire of a storm dragon's soul, but an ember that he could hold as he flung his spirit outwards. It was like taking the first beat of his wings on a storm laden air, drawing her from dreams and memories and to his own. A dream of flying.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Valia knew that she was asleep, she knew she was dreaming, but even knowing that her visions were coming from dreams did nothing to make her feel better. She felt waves of terror crash over her, sometimes enough that she jerked upwards and came awake enough to realize that Frostscale was above her. His body was wrapped around her and each time she woke up, she saw him keeping his eyes looking out of the window. He was guarding her, and that should have made the dreams stop, but whatever she had taken for the pain was leaving her helpless beneath reliving her nightmare.

Her body remembered what had happened to her, remembered and felt the pains in sharp poignant moments. She couldn't seem to claw entirely out of sleep, no matter how hard she tried, the drugs kept her trapped under the surface. It caused her to feel helpless until the world began to fracture around her. It was crashing, the shadows and darkness becoming something less threatening, turning from choking smoke to something like a sprawling of a summer night sky. She began to spread wider, losing pieces of herself, being blown through the wind.

-Steady, just be steady…- _ Frostscale's voice was warm, filling Valia's mind as the world of nightmares and pain faded into fog and the sound of an ocean. _-There you are, don't go spreading yourself out!-

_ _

There was a feel of something.. someone.. holding her as she tried to reach out and she felt as if there was nothing beneath her, nothing above her. It was a strange place that was dark with a scattering of stars that were spreading across the ground and the sky above her. She felt a wave of panic only to hear a rumble and a soft bump of a nose against her chest. It felt real and she blinked wildly to see that it was Frostscale. He nosed a little bit and she felt herself being gathered together, more of her sense of self was held against the dragon.

She blinked a little bit and she had a moment where she saw the ocean rushing towards a black sand beach, the rumble and crash of them loud. She couldn't pick up the scent of sand or ocean, she picked up ozone faintly while the dragon parted his jaws a little bit in an approximation of a smile. She wanted to say something, she tried to open her lips to say something, but she didn't have a sense of her lips, her body. She felt like she was a pair of eyes, though it was clear that he was holding more of her. The soft crooning purr vibrated through the darkness.

_-I was hoping this would work, humans are such funny things. Your spirits are so fragile.- _ Frostscale said in a soothing voice.

_My spirit? _ She thought and tried to make her mind work, but as she tried to seek out the feel of her body she felt a surge of panic.

There was a room there, her mind's eye saw it with a wave of terror that started to make her feel herself starting to fall apart. She didn't want that dream of pain and horror that were starting to make her want to choke. She started to fall back into it, the loom of the monster in her dreams quite real feeling before there was a sigh. She was drawn back, feeling almost like a web was capturing her and pulling her back inwards again while Frostscale crooned tonelessly into her mind.

-Not there, there's nothing you want to dream there.- _ He admonished her softly. _-You need rest to heal so you can get your revenge, so you must have restful dreams.-

_ _

_What are you doing? _ She tried to say, but the words didn't come as there was a sudden tilt to the strange dream world.

_-Easy now, keep close to me, the Oether isn't kind to those that drift.- _ He steadied her before the world suddenly changed, she changed, everything, except the feel of Frostscale holding onto her.

Suddenly, her world was the feel of wind whipping around her and her legs were tucked up tight beneath her, her body aligned with the flow of the wind that was sweeping over her. Wings, she had wings that were stretched open wide to catch the thermal as her body was sliding through the clouds and turning to one side. She couldn't turn her head, she couldn't move about to look at herself, instead, it was as if she were a passenger in the body that was moving with an expert ease that was turning to one side and then the other.

She looked down and saw a brief flash of her own forepaws, the white underscales before there was a fling back of the wings and she was dropping through the clouds. The clear blue sky opened up around her as she came from the clouds and her eyes swept over a landscape that was filled with mountains and hills. The craggy rock faces that were filled with wide open caves and lairs that dragons had made of their home. Some were simple caves, others were carved and intricate, designed with a level of artistic flair that made her want to linger on them.

She was in Frostscale's body, or memories maybe, she was surging up higher in the air with a series of pumping movements that allowed him to catch a thermal. She could actually see the air thermal, the draconic vision was able to pick up the way the slide of the air that was changing and dropping lower. The world below was done in sharp relief as she saw dragons were out and sunning themselves in the valley, sprawled out with little ones that were set in a small area that kept them from wandering.

She wanted to look at the little hatchlings, but Frostscale was more interested in sweeping down towards a gully and the thought and knowledge came to her that the wind would be wild down there. It would be blasting and blowing, making it a wild and thrilling wide. She let herself sink into his memory, sharing the experience of wings that were surging forward with another wild beat and drop downwards. She forgot about the nightmares and darkness, instead, she let herself enjoy the way the young drake dove and spun himself on a wing.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Ralik stared at the council hall and felt a surge of real dread rising through him as he kept himself to one side as the voices were already raised and loud. The anger they were displaying was almost frightening as the gryphons had formed a unit near one end of the table. They had left the Psitticane Clans, only the Aqualine had appeared, each of them warriors in their own right even the diplomats that had come with their ear cuffs and collars, decorations of state. They had brought along a small force of their own guards, not enough that they could be protested, but enough to show that they knew what today's Council would be like.

He had brought his own guards with him, a pair of burly minx that had enough weapons skills that he felt secure with his fellow council member. Tigiera was nervous looking, shifting beside him in her most formal outfit possible. The humans had gathered at one end, close pressed together while the erral were trying to keep out of the way. They were gathering by species, people that were tucked together, the kobolds and the elves had also brought in guards, seemingly forewarned about the situation that was brewing. The humans had been heavily armed when they arrived, making the Speaker remove some of their guards.

_There is going to be a war or at the very least, blood spilled over this. _ He thought nervously and reached down to pluck at a few of his short brown hairs from his arm that were shedding out.

“I don't like this." Tigiera hissed out under her breath. “There are too many armed people here."

“The Speaker is keeping it to the limit." He said and resisted the urge to pat her, she was young to her position and this turn was supposed to have been relatively uneventful.

“I should have had my father come instead of me." She said with a little flinch as one of the gryphons let out a short laugh that caused the human groups to stiffen up.

“Your father would be a disaster, you know how he feels about gryphons." He responded and then straightened up slightly as there was a blast of horns. “And it looks as if at least our luck might have some change."

“SIT DOWN!" Speaker Thorne bellowed out, moving to the podium to get their attention. “I will have order!!"

The blast of the horns sounded again, making people settle, quieting down, but there wasn't a movement to start to spreading out like they normally did, interspacing species together. Instead, the gryphons took up the southern section of the table and looked as if they weren't going to tolerate anyone else near them as they used their guards to form a barrier. Ralik settled down in his chair and drew Tigieria with him, glancing back as their guards pulled together behind them carefully while the humans refused to take their own seats, they simply moved to stand at the table.

The kobolds gave them a glare, the only group that didn't have any guards with them, but that wasn't surprising. They were chosen for their ranks based on their ability to fight in their own clans, the reptilian creatures were vicious fighters in the higher limits of their roles. It made him twitch his ears a little bit as he tried his best to look calm and collected. That would keep things on his side as he brought up what had happened to the girl pulled out of the make shift brothel. The minx was in the care of his own household now, her parents invited to a more secure area of the city.

“This is not a court of law, this will never be a court of law, nor is it a square to brawl in!" Thorne continued, the fawn's eyes roving slowly across the room. “Tempers are up and roused, this is no time to allow them to lead us into dangerous situations."

“This is no time to ignore the complaints of the people!" One of the humans snapped out. “Rumor has it that offenders have been already removed from the city, sent to Skyhaven."

-And that is our right, is it not human?- _ Neragard said, his mind voice repeated by one of the translators. _-We were told that you hadn't even done that to humans found abusing those of other species'.-

_ _

“I said this is not a court of law!" The Speaker bellowed out again, hitting the thick rod of his office against the side of the stand. “I will let you know who will speak and when. We will hold this Council as a Pillar City should, with the highest order and equal voices heard."

“Equal voices? They've got their normal diplomats hidden away, there are just fighters!" Edimere snarled out, the merchant human one of highest ranked among his kind. “Do you think that's a mistake?"

_-It is a wise move on our part.- _ Neragard said with a lazy growl, the tail curling a little bit while Thorne looked even further outraged.

There was a sound of a brass bell being sounded before the heavy doors that led to the outer city began to creak. Not the normal doors that they all entered through that were built into the massive oak and steel monstrosities, but the greater ones were pushed inwards. The grating sound of the old hinges were rattling slightly as a large paw pushed it open and the heavy bodied dragon stepped into the council area with a swing of his wedge shaped head. The eyes were a wild pattern of colors around the dark pupils, his crest was up and crackled slightly with the barest hint of static electricity as he came towering above them all.

Tarrbin was imposing at the best of times, but today it was clear that he was irritated as he gave his tail a little bit of a crash against the ground. The silence that the Speaker wanted came across the council as he stepped up onto the stone bench that had been created especially for him. His mate came behind him, showing less irritation as she gave him a light touch with her nose and settled down beside him, stretching out while she glanced over them with her eyes a soothing normal amber color. The layers of her iris quiet rather than agitated, which was what Ralik had hoped for.

“Greetings, Lord Tarrbin, Lady Ushara." Thorne greeted them, his voice raised a little higher as the male snorted out and lowered his head to be more on a level with them.

_-I was told that you were squabbling between each other, the entire city was afire with it last night.- _ Tarrbin growled into their minds, his voice carrying irritation so clearly that one could almost taste it.

“That is what we called the meeting for." Ralik said softly, trying to keep his voice level, respectful. “There are things happening in the underbelly of the city that are dangerous, things I have warned you about, do you doubt me now?"

“You will be given a chance to speak!" Thorne ordered firmly and he closed his mouth while the dragon let out a short growl. “Not, you Lord." He amended and gave a nervous glance at the dragon. “We are not a court of law, but we are a court to maintain the peace in our section of the country.

This clearly threatens the peace."

-It certainly threatens my peace.- _ Tarrbin grumbled and gave his head a shake, the twin curved horns catching the light. _-One of our young drakes was caught up in the mess.-

_ _

“I would wish to be recognized." Snar, the kobold representative spoke up with the slightest edge to his voice.

“You can speak, let us begin this bearing in mind that we are not going to end this in a fight. Any guards, you will step back to the outskirts of the room." The Speaker commanded firmly, his eyes roving over them. “Lady

Ushara, I would apply to you to make sure that violence does not erupt?"

_-I would be pleased to.- _ The female dragon responded, and Ralik had to approve of the choice, female dragons were more even tempered as a rule and she looked less riled up about what was happening.

“We have had many of our lesser females taken, speaking to our clans the miners have reported that there is a trade based in the lower quarters." The kobold said, standing up and trying to make his small body look larger. “They have all reported humans going to these brothels, they want a bit of scaled tail, especially virginal-“

“You have no proof of that!" One of the humans snapped out, lunging up only to have Ushara growl low in her throat, turning her gaze on him. “We have brought our case to the human courts, and we are told they have been given a fine." Snar continued, his scarred features turning into something harsher. “Now they come in here bellowing that their offspring were snagged up? You didn't seem particularly moved before."

_-They took one of our hens as well. Trussed her up as if she were a chicken so that they could abuse her, gave her opium and left her disoriented.- _ Neragard responded and glanced at the Speaker who inclined his head.

Ralik leaned backwards and watched as the dragons regarded everything with some level of irritation. At least if they were here, it was unlikely that it would break out into actual fighting, traditionally the dragons could be counted on to maintain a level of peace at any Council meeting. With them here, they would have a final chance to be able to move things to someplace that would keep things from erupting into all out war in the poorer sections of town.

~ ~ * ~ ~

-This is ridiculous.- _ Tarrbin told his mate privately while listening to the various races arguing and snapping at one another, sniping over what had happened to their females. _-Why don't they simply let the females have their attackers?-

_ _

_-Because that isn't our law here.- _ Ushara said with a warm rumble, her patience soothing him as he flattened his crest down.

He freely picked through the thoughts of the grouping, their meaning laden with anger and some with victory, the gryphons were roiling with vindication and he found it hard to blame them. It was a filthy business, preying on the females of others for sold use. It would not have happened in dragon society, if a female had been taken in this way she would have carved him up from vent to throat. Ushara would have torn up any male that had so much as sniffed at her, and he would have taken keen pleasure in watching the show.

The more heated the groups became, the harder it was to keep them in line as they were getting close to going at each others throats. The gryphons were setting themselves up as having punished the offenders, it was an obvious play and he could pick up the way Neragard was smugly putting forward that the drakes involved had been exiled. It was a point they were making and every time the groups started to come to some sort of agreement they would subtly rouse them again. He had to feel a grudging amusement at the way they were playing them, but gryphons were good at such games.

“Please, this is what I have been talking about. If we are arguing at the highest level in the city, we are looking at something far worse at the lower levels." The minx representative spoke up firmly, leaning forward over the council table. “We are looking at civil war."

“Civil war? That's an overreaction." Edimere responded with a frown, the human's face flushed slightly. “We are talking about the abductions."

“We are talking about the fact that people are going to take justice in their own hands. I have sources that have reported that we are not far away from mobs." Ralik snapped out, his fur bristling a little bit and Tarrbin shifted his head downwards with a bit more interest. “War isn't going to simply go away by talking about it."

-War?- He asked with a twitch of his tail, the spines scraping with a drag that slithered across the ground. -That is unacceptable.-

_ _

War, the thought sent a visceral thrill through him that he had to stifle and push down rather than entertain. There would always be a part of him that roused at the idea of real battle, a young idealistic version of himself that would be like Sithen on the wing and flinging himself into battle. It was soothed as Ushara leaned over to brush her muzzle along his crest, smoothing it down between his horns lightly so that her own ram-like horns clacked lightly. It wasn't much, just enough to make him keep his focus on what was being said.

_-We have no need for war, and you have no need to impress me by becoming a bloody ball of scales- _ Ushara murmured into his mind alone, while Rilak kept talking.

“Yes, sir." The minx said softly and inclined his head. “I promise you, this is on all levels in the city. I have heard that even a dragon has taken interest in the proceedings. That is every member of this council that has some involvement in this, so we need to make a central court that can be used to judge-“

-A dragon?!- _ Tarrbin sat up and there was a shifting as some moved away and he swung his head towards Ushara. _-I told you that he wouldn't go back on his own-

_ _

_-I thought he was smarter than that.- _ Ushara said, even as there was a rumble coming from the council, overriding him.

“I will not be judged by races that do not know or understand!"

“How can they expect to be unbiased!" Another roared out while Tarrbin's tail snapped against the ground. “You are an idiot if you think that could happen here!"

His spikes hit hard enough that there was a loud crashing sound that made sure that people were sitting up to take notice. He shifted and Ushara moved to allow him the movement as the silence didn't last for long, instead angry voices burst out again. His mind was on Frostscale, but he realized that there was something more happening here. This wasn't the petty arguments that had caused him to avoid this place unless he was forced to be here. There was real anger on the air here, he could feel it and Ushara gave him a glance before she smacked her own tail against the ground before the Speaker began to hammer on his stand.

The gryphon's were starting to draw together, their neck feathers up and tails lashing as the guards were drawing back in close to the table again. He hissed out softly into the silence, but he could feel the tension that was building and Ralik was speaking wildly to his fellow minx as their guards drew in. For the first time since he had come to this position, there was something happening that was beyond a bit of petty maneuvering. He reached out with his mind and picked up thoughts burning through several of the council members.

How could they touch one of ours? They can't do this, they need to deliver up the ones that did this to jusice!

_ _

Filthy humans, thinking they can touch a kobold and not pay in blood?

_ _

_They're going to rip themselves apart, we need to stop this! _ That thought was frantic, and echoed by several others, but they were the minority.

_Animals can't be trusted to govern themselves, this is proof of that! _ He couldn't find the right mind to link that thought to, but he twisted his lips back in a snarl that helped calm some of the snapping and shouting.

“SILENCE! I propose that we allow some of the victims to come forward." Thorne spoke out with a desperate edge. “We can't fall apart like this, we are the city itself! We will take a recess, we will call the victims and witnesses, we will-“

The crack-BOOM that rattled the ground made all of them freeze and Tarrbin lifted his head up and then reared onto her haunches with a sway that allowed him to look over the wall of the council area. There was a fire near the shore and his sharp eyes pin pointed the flicker of flames and he dropped back down again. There were guards on the move, lunging forward to surround the council members, protecting their own while the dragon rumbled a low noise and gave his head a shake back and forth. His nostrils flaring as he faintly picked up the scent of smoke.

-There is a fire at the docks.- _ He commented, but the _minx was standing up with a look of fear on his face as the dragon gave them the information with a casual air. Even he recognized they needed to calm the situation down. Something must have exploded from storage-

“We need to send out the city guards, now!" He exclaimed with an edge of real panic to his voice.

“Yes, guards." Thorne agreed, the faun leaping on the distraction while the dragon gave his wings a flare against the line of his sides.

Something that was happening here was dangerous and Tarrbin knew that it was going to have be stopped. He hated involving himself in affairs of this nature, but there was a reason Anara had pushed to make sure that a mated pair of storm dragons would hold a position in any of the Pillar Cities. These were the reasons their country worked, that they weren't hunted or killed.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Valia felt slow and weighed down, her body aching faintly still, but there was less pain now and she felt more rested than she expected to be. She had dreamed of flying, really flying, a dream so real that she had woken up and looked down at her pink fingers in a brief moment of confusion. She was still slightly fogged with drugs, but she had expected to feel worse, which was a blessing. The emotion was roiling into the back of her mind, but it was tampered down beneath a burning anger that had come with her as she had woken up.

She pushed her hair backwards from her face as she did her best to clean herself up, smoothing her hands down her shirt. It wasn't as heavy as what she had gone to sleep in, but it was covering more of her than she normally cared about. She resisted the urge to pick up her cloak, especially since she could feel Frostscale watching her closely. He was taking up so much space in her room that his tail was in her bed, but he had refused to leave even when she had told him that she would be fine. Instead, he kept his eyes flicking out at the window, his gaze roving the sky.

“You have to be hungry." She said after a few moments of regarding him watching the sky, the tail hitting against the bed. “Father says that the Council is meeting, I'm…. the guards will come to take me up to talk at some point."

-Yes, the Council.- _ He responded and turned his strange multilayered eyes towards her. _-I think Tarrbin and his mate are there. I saw them flying in.-

_ _

“That's… unusual." Valia blinked and felt a lump in her throat as she smoothed her hand down her shirt again. “Very unusual, right? I mean, you don't normally see them there."

The dragons at the council sent a shiver of dread through her, she was already wanting to take back her assertion that she would speak with them. She felt a little tremble run through her body as she imagined talking with people watching her, actually talking. She hadn't been even to tell everything to Frostscale and she trusted him as much as anyone else. Now she felt sick at being put on display and they would have questions. That was the point, they were going to try and find out as much as possible while the memory was still fresh, her and the rest. And gryphons would be there. The thought made her stomach twist until she felt sick, a fear that caused her to suck in a sharp breath.

“Will you come with me?" She blurted out while she looked at the young dragon desperately. “To the Council, I could do it if you came with me." _-I don't think that is… a good idea.- _ Frostscale answered, his reluctance obvious with each word in her mind.

“Ah, okay." She responded in a short voice and looked back down at her fingers, her hands were shaking just a little bit.

She was starting to lose some of the bravery that she felt when she had woken up, the sunlight was rising up higher and she was facing with the results of what was coming next. She was safe here in her room, with Frostscale, but she was going to have to leave and everyone would know. There was no way it was going to be a secret, the university would know just what she had been done to her. It made her feel a sick twist to her gut as she imagined what it would be like to end up being under the eyes of her peers and their pity.

-They're going to make me leave.- _ He said after a few slow moments, regret still tinging his mind voice. _-They won't tolerate having me here any longer, if I show up at the Council, it will happen that much faster.-

_ _

“Why should they care?" She asked and moved to sit on the edge of the bed while the young drake blew out a breath.

-Tarrbin was making me go back when you went missing.- _ Frostscale's mind voice was tinged with emotion. _-I ducked away from him, but he'll figure out

I'm back now and he'll not let me evade him again.-

_ _

“Do you want to leave?" She asked, not listening to her own emotions, trying to keep her voice empty and flat.

-No. I don't want to return to the stupid mountains.- _ He responded with a little growl, the lips twisting back to s how his teeth briefly. _-I don't want to go back.-

_ _

“But, they're beautiful." She said hesitantly, her mind sliding over the memory of the sprawling dragons in the valley, the caverns with their carvings.

-It's not where I'm supposed to be.- _ He said flatly and gave his head a bit of a shake, turning his head back to look out of the window. _-If I need to leave, even if for a time, you don't have to be left behind. We could leave together.-

_ _

There were no emotions or flavor with those words, but she could sense something behind them as he offered. She opened her mouth to immediately dismiss it, but the words didn't come as she saw him looking back outside again. He wasn't looking at her, but she could sense his attention on her and suddenly she was brought back to the sensation of wings on the air and the freedom that he had felt. The world had been opened up around her and been so open, everything waiting in front of her.

She could leave Diurnal entirely. She could take off away from questions and prying eyes, leaving her problems behind her. She'd leave the

University. That made her pause a little bit while she felt a twinge of guilt at the idea of leaving everything, her Father would not agree if she presented the idea of taking off with a dragon with him. Taking off with a dragon. The thought itself was it's own thrill, but most of it came with the realization that she wouldn't have to see her peers look at her with pity in their eyes. She wouldn't see people she knew looking at her and imagining what had been done to her.

“That would be running away." She said slowly and Frostscale turned his head back to look at her. “And… it would be cowardly."

-I can't stay here, they won't let me.- _ He reiterated with a little rumble in his throat and gave his head a short shake. _-I… would find it enjoyable to have someone with me, and there's nothing say we won't return. You're don't want to stay here, you know. I can tell.-

_ _

“My life is here." She said and the words lacked any conviction, instead, she was watching as the young dragon became a bit more animated. “And… where will we even go? I don't have much in the way of coin."

_-Wherever we want, we can go to another Pillar city even, or out into the wilderness. I can hunt and we can get money. You can make candles and know herbs, that'll be easy.- _ He responded, sounding a little excited as he did so. _ _“And we'd just fly around from place to place?" Valia said slowly, eying the drake and for the first time thought of him as small. “I.. don't think you'd be able to carry me."

-You're not going to ride me.- _ Frostscale's words held a rush of disdain and she could almost feel his scales crawling at the idea. _-I was thinking we might make an agreement with a caravan for your passage, or even a ship. I'm not so large I couldn't fit on a ship, you know. We don't even have to stay in the country, we can go on one of the exotic transports. I've had several offers from elves to be on their vessels.-

_ _

The dragon became a little more animated as he spoke, his eyes bright so that the layers of his iris began to change and spread, opening and growing more narrow. The colors rippling around his iris as she licked her lips, her mouth feeling dry as he offered a way out of the city for her. She had no doubt that he could make plans just as he was saying, but she balked at the idea. She would be dependent on him, entirely dependent, and what if he grew tired of a human tagging along and abandoned her? He was a capricious creature and then she might be left on her own in a strange land, or worse, in trouble somewhere.

The young drake lowered his head down towards her and his eyes fixated on hers in a strange way that made her feel a thrill. She couldn't stop herself, she reached out and pressed a hand against the side of his cheek as he nosed her hard enough to nearly knock her over. The ozone scented breath spilled against her cheeks, flushing to either side while he let out a low rumble.

_-Come with me. Why stay in a place that makes you feel pain? I would not leave you behind, and we can see places we've only ever read about.- _ He murmured and she found herself smiling slightly, it wasn't much, but she heard the sound of the horns blasting as they announced the start of the council session.

“Yes." She breathed out, not pausing, not thinking, only knowing she didn't want to go in front of pitying or accusing eyes. This was her way out, and what better way to adventure than with a dragon at her side.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Frostscale felt pleased as he slipped along the passage with his wing half open above Valia, his crest up and alert as he looked at the ships that were rocking in the bay with new interest. He was happy enough that he knew that he was letting out a low thrum from deep in his throat, a musical vibration as he kept one eye on his companion. He carefully kept his body between her and the rest of the traffic of people walking through the crowds that were moving towards the pier. She was nervous, her bag over her back large enough that she was struggling a bit, but it gave her something else to think about.

They had agreed that a ship would be the best bet, especially since it was the end of the month and many were shipping out to various places. It would allow her to travel on the strength of her herbal knowledge and ability to work with candles, and he would be invaluable to them since the gryphons had no interest in water or sea travel. The scent of fish and saltwater were starting to grow thicker as they turned a corner and made their way down to where there were crowds bustling, loading and talking loudly with one another.

“I've never been down here, really." Valia admitted as they opened the square in front of the warehouses. “I don't know where to start."

-I spent a great deal of time here at first. We need the ones down at the far end, those are the ones that travel the furthest, most of these are shipping and local vessels that do trade up and down the coast.- _ Frostscale pointed out and gaped his jaws in a mock smile. _-Our best bet is to talk to the crews loading up, see the destinations and figure out what we'd likebest.-

_ _

“Are you sure about this? They would want you on a vessel?" She asked as they stepped down onto the wooden planks and people began to look towards them with curiosity plain in their faces.

-They're always trying to bribe gryphons to go with them to scout or take small runs to the coast.- _ He said with a little twitch of a wing, folding it back and moving his wing edge to nudge her forward in front of him to keep an eye on her. _-There are some that specialize in going south to the Old Merdira Isles, they trade in all sorts of interesting things, even relics from the old temples.-

_ _

“So grave robbers?" She asked with a little lift of her brows and glanced back at him, her expression a little doubtful.

_-It's not as if anyone still worships there and they have some interesting things. The islands are full of interesting things and there's an old library there run by the elves.- _ He answered with a pleased sound as they began to pass by the ships one by one.

The ships were fascinating to him, he had always found ships fascinating, more so than he had let most of the sailors realize when he came down or overflew them. They were massive, some of them as large as the biggest dragon in the mountains, their towering masts and their wing sails billowing when they caught a breeze. They came in all shapes and sizes, from little ones that were so quick that a good wind made them a challenge to chase to the massive old cogs that bucked and swayed through the water as slowly as a plodding horse in a field.

He had been casual when he spoke to Valia about finding her transport, but this was far more his speed than a caravan with horses or other creatures. The idea of trying to travel that slowly irritated him, especially when he thought about the yelling merchants about how their animals would be frightened of him. He wanted speed and challenge, an adventure and with Valia, they could go to another country, she would be able to talk to other humans for him, establish him. And she would no longer feel the lump of dread that she kept displaying when thinking about her future here.

He gave his tail a little flick as Valia paused near a group of men that were loading up a large ship that was wide bodied and obviously some sort of trader. He cast his eyes up and down it with interest while he flicked his tail tip again and sniffed at some of the crates that were being loaded onto it. He crinkled his lips upwards at the sharp scent of vinegar and wine before giving it just enough a push with his snout to rattle the wine bottles to confirm his guesses on what it was.

-Wine, they're probably heading to other pillar cities.- _ He told Valia lightly and gestured his head. _-We want something fast.-

_ _

“You can want as much as you like, but it'll come down to who will accept us." She said and kept in close contact with them as he carefully guided her past a group of sailors.

“Accept ya?" Someone paused as they went by, a sleek looking minx with gold pierced ears. “You lookin' to book passage?"

“Yes, we, ah, both are." Valia glanced back at Frostscale as he moved his head above her own, not quite looming, but giving her a secure backing.

“Frostscale said that there would be ships leaving out of here today."

“Plenty of 'em." The minx responded and glanced up at the dragon. “But none fer passengers, miss. All cargo."

_-We want to join a crew.- _ Frostscale said and there was a subtle widening of the furred creatures eyes. _ _

_ _

“Dragon too?" He asked and bit his lower lip with one sharp fang briefly. “Hold 'ere and I'll snag the first mate, we're takin' off this evenin', he might be interested."

-We're not going to the other Pillars. We want somewhere going down to the isles.- _ He responded a bit loftily and the _minx's face actually fell in response.

“Ahh, well, thems down there, they'll be headin' to the isles. The blue and white sail is a University vessel, though." The sailor said with a little bit of a sniff. “They won't be takin' on crew, but the Seaspear might be interested."

“Thank you, sir." Valia answered, but her voice had a little edge to it, a tremble and he nudged her along.

He didn't see the gryphon at first, he was more interested in looking at the Seaspear and the trim little frigate that was all sleek lines and sail that would make her quite swift. She had a deep hold for all of that, and looked to be clean, making him hopeful that it would be as simple as presenting themselves and getting passage. He was starting to nudge Valia forward with impatience when he realized that she had frozen and there was a flash of yellow and gold as one of the brightly colored Psitticane gryphon's came landing with a flourish near the warehouse.

The exotic coloring was brilliant in the sunlight, making him stand out more than the predatorial gryphons did. He had a mostly orange looking head and body, with a bit of yellow along his underside, his primary feathers were a deep vibrant blue that were flashing as he flipped his wings. He bore the leather harness of a messenger and used one of his odd four toed foreclaws to pull out one of the leather wrapped messages. The storm dragon let out a low growl and shifted, moving his body to have Valia walk on the outside as she seemed to freeze up at the sight of him. And she wasn't the only one that noticed.

_-Is that him?- _ He hissed the words through her thoughts, preparing to snag the gryphon to present to her so she could have her revenge.

“No, just… don't worry about it." Valia muttered, her cheeks flushed a deep red color, embarrassment pressing to his own mind. “Just startled me is all."

-Well, stick close than.- He said, but there was an uneasy feeling building, anger and tension that was thrumming through the place.

There was a space forming around the gryphon, people were moving, mostly humans that were muttering and murmuring angrily. At first, the gryphon ignored them, moving to the open window to offer his message and ready to take on others, but he saw them. His dark black eyes were moving as a few more people gathered down and finally one of the men that looked as if he must have been up on the smithy row picked up a sorry looking bit of fish that had been dropped on the ground.

“The hell ya doin' here? Showin' yer beak 'round decent folk?!" The man snarled and flung the fish at the gryphon.

The brightly colored messenger wasn't quick enough to get out of the way, the rotting fish landed with a splatter against his wing and he swung around. His feathers slicked flat back, making him appear smaller and he parted his beak slightly, almost like he was trying to offer an appeasing smile, but something else was lobbed at him. The crack of a rock hit off of his beak and he screeched out in pain before backing up against the side of the warehouse.

“I'm just running messages!" He protested, but his eyes were darting around nervously. “I have a right to make my coin."

“Just like ya had the right to take our girls?" The smithy asked again to a growl of agreement and Valia pushed up against Frostscale's side. “Seems to me, you'd best go run away like the rest of your kind did."

“I don't know anything about that." The gryphon responded shortly and ducked as someone else flung a bit of fish at him. “Stop that! I'll call the guard!"

“Oh aye, call 'em.." Someone said and the crowd began to move forward, forcing the brightly feathered gryphon beneath the roof of the warehouse, cutting him off from an aerial escape.

“Fuckin' beast." There was another crack and a bit of wood was thrown at the gryphon who hissed out angrily, but was growing a bit more uneasy.

“C'mon, Frost, please…" Valia said and tugged at the edge of his wing, her voice getting high pitched with fright. “We need to get out of the way, please."

_-Yes..- _ The drake said and watched as there was a small group of humans that had boiled leather armor on, they weren't sailors or guards, but moved as a unit towards the gryphon. _-Let's go.- _

_ _

He shoved her in front of him as he heard them growing more animated, angry, the shouts growing before he saw a shadow above him and realized that two more gryphons were arrowing in. These weren't brightly colored or small, they were large and deadly looking so that he started to move a bit more quickly. The loud shouts and the sounds of things being thrown at the trapped gryphon. Once the two coming in joined in it was going to get violent and they needed to be out of here by the time that happened. Especially since Valia was here and he didn't want to expose her to anything else to do with the gryphons.

Behind him there was a shriek as one of the large eagle like gryphons dove down onto the crowd and he glanced back in time to see that someone had brought out one of the oil lanterns. It was used to set fire to one of the crates and one man shoved a broom into it to swing it up towards the gryphons. The dangerous edge of the crowd had him reaching down to push Valia firmly with his head that sent them both further down the pier and away from the growing mob. This wasn't good, this was going to end in real violence, especially with the gryphons aloft.

-We're getting out of here just in time.- _ He told Valia as they got far enough away that the roar of anger turned into just a rumble. _-Let's find the captain.-

_ _

CRACK-BOOM! There was an explosion behind them, an eruption of fire that caused Frostscale to swing around and Valia to duck. Something that they had set on fire had reacted, sending people scattering, but not before he heard a screech of real pain. They were scattering, but the yells were growing louder, fires springing up along the pier and starting to grow, black smoke raising up. The people should have bolted in an attempt to get away and save their own hides, but tempers were up and enraged.

A few people were starting to put out fires, but the leather armored men were keeping the gryphon trapped didn't move. He saw a flash of a makeshift spear and felt a little jolt of real worry run through him. This was getting far out of control, he didn't know where the pier guards were, but this wasn't going to end well. One of the gryphons that had been harrying from above had a wing crumple and he fell into the ground where a human raised up a club. No, this was bad, very very bad. He reared up and Valia let out a bit of a yelp as he caught her waist with his paws.

“Hey.." She yelped out and her eyes showed a wave of panic as his claws dug down, enough fear that he had to pull his mind back from her.

_-It's alright, we need to get out of here.- _ He said with a little rumble as he spread his wings with a little flare as he turned to the edge of the pier.

“Wait.. wait FROSTSCALE WAIT!" Valia's voice rose up higher as he reared higher up and flung himself off the edge of the pier.

She writhed in his hold so that he swung his hind legs forward and caught her legs in his own and her arms wrapped around one of his forelegs. She was clutching him tightly and letting out yelps as he gave the first downstroke of his wings and gasped. The weight made his muscles strain and he had to immediately beat harder, faster, but it didn't send him surging up into the sky, instead he was just leveling off only a dozen feet above the water below them. He strained harder, trying to take her extra weight and she clung to him tightly and he lurched upwards a few feet.

There was another boom that erupted behind them, smaller this time and he didn't spare any time to look back at what was happening. Instead, he opened his jaws and panted heavily as he aimed himself sharply to the left where the curve of the other end of the bay was in sight. It only had some fishing vessels, a few larger ones set further out, but no sight of a mob or fire. The sand would at least be a soft landing, because he had a feeling this would not be a good landing.

_-Just keep ahold of me!- _ He sent to her, and only got a rush of fright back at him as he dipped lower, his wings burning and straining with the effort. _I'm sure you're happy I didn't suggest you ride me now.- _ He couldn't resist adding.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Vychik loved the sea, ever since he had been a pup he had enjoyed the fresh salt air and the feel of the water rocking beneath his ship. He hung easily on the mast, his thick tail coiled itself around the wood firmly as he let his eyes rove over the distant city with some interest. Even from the distance he could see that all was not well, there were bits of smoke curling up from some of the lower quarters and ships had pulled back from the docks to the bay instead of risking being near the unrest. He bared his teeth a little bit in pleasure at the sight of his nights work.

He had known that this would rouse everyone up, but it was going far better than he could dream. He had thought it would take days for people to end up roused up enough to take action, but it was clear that Ralik had been right about how on edge they were. He leaned back and picked up an apple to bite into, grimacing a little at the softness of it, but they would resupply with better food soon enough. As it was shaping up, today was allowing him to come to the point that he was close to the shore, closer than he would normally risk.

“We'll go into the city tonight, they're going to send in the guard to shut down the place and that'll leave some of the market shops ripe." He commented to his first mate, looking down to where the other Ratatosk. “We'll be well filled after this."

“Aye, sir." Losal commented and flicked his ears a few times lazily. “I gotta crew ready to go in."

“An' we'll be in the money then." He said with relish, taking another bite of his apple as he did so.

The last of the smaller of the crew were boarding finally, having worked in some of the crowds to make sure that they were worked into a frenzy. They had earned a reward, he would have to make sure that he provided them with a feast later tonight and some of the better wines that he had stored away. Perhaps he'd even arrange a meeting with Ralik and demand that the minx provide some level of compensation above money for what they had done when he brought him more 'information' about the state of the city.

“Cap'n!" He heard the high pitched voice and there was a flash of bright red as a smaller Ratatosk flagged him as he clambered out of the boat and waved a cloth at him. “I got news, cap'n!"

“You get that fire started, Gast?" He called out and swung down easily, letting his tail slide free as he tossed Losal his half eaten apple. “Good job, lad!"

“Nah, cap'n! More important news!" The little rodent panted as he came to the bottom of the mast as Vychik dropped down easily onto his polished deck.

“Really?" He asked as Gast grinned up at him, the buck teeth standing out between his lips in an excited smile.

“Aye, sir! There's a dragon on the beach!" He gestured with a paw towards the fishing side of the bay. “Notta big 'un, small."

“Yeah? They have a young'un here." He said with a little gesture of a hand and frowned slightly. “Probably avoiding the fire up there, smart of him."

“Nah, he's lookin' fer a ship." Gast said, nearly wriggling with excitement as he said so. “He's lookin' to go to the Merdira's, wantin' a ship fer him an' this lil' bit of a chit he's got with him."

“He wants a ship?" Vychik blinked slowly as he tried to process that information.

“Yessir." Gast bobbed his head rapidly. “He was clear, talkin' ta the fishers about the Seaspear and gettin' passage on her for them both. To join the crew!"

He blinked again, trying to search his memory for what little he knew about dragons. He avoided them at all costs on the western sea, especially since they had a tendency to call up storms on a whim and were dangerous for any sailor that had a healthy fear of dying. They were massive, but he knew the young one in the city was only the size of a draft horse or so, and with a girl, that was also interesting. And it could be promising if he could convince the dragon to take up with their ship instead. To join his crew none the less.

“A dragon looking to take a trip on a ship." Vychik mulled and then clacked his teeth together, chittering them rapidly with laughter. “Well, now, that could be very interesting indeed. I'll have to see this for myself and have a little chat with the dragon."