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Something or Someone? copyright 2015 comidacomida

Theo and Evelyn were the happiest among them, seated next to one another and behaving exactly like long-lost siblings should; there was obvious elation in the company they shared. Roaring-Flood and Gift-of-the-Earth were also quite content despite their confusion over what it was they were eating, and they spent almost more time talking in Tribal with one another than they did speaking the common tongue. Sanmer, of course, was gone, and that left Kesst alone, seated on the far side of the table from everyone else, eating without any real sense of satisfaction despite the wonder of foot spread out before him.

It seemed that even the Tribal Bears enjoyed dinner more than the Dragon. While they spent their time wondering about what a given dish was, Kesst spent most of his time wondering why he even bothered eating. Truth be told, he didn't know if he even needed to eat, and it seemed like a waste to be using food he didn't require.

That line of thought led to an even more important question: did he even really understand eating? People often talked about favorite foods, certain flavors, and preferred dishes, and yet Kesst had never before had any great like or dislike of anything in particular. Was he able to taste like others could, or was he merely parroting the act without the joy a real individual might feel for it?

He excused himself without event and left the room, choosing to wander the halls alone as he let his thoughts run their course through his mind. The random meandering through the manor eventually led him up the stairs and, ultimately, to a small bench situated in front of a grand set of windows positioned in the middle of the building overlooking the large round-about carriage path that served as the Princess' driveway. The Dragon lost himself in the scenery, letting his mind carry his thoughts wherever it went, and willingly lost track of time as he did it.

There was a certain controlled beauty to the estate's grounds; despite being near the dead-center of Newport, surrounded on all sides by the hustle and bustle of the city, there was still enough space on the property to have a small garden surrounding the drive with a finely carved marble fountain in the center of the round-about. All in-all-it was probably one of the finest displays of reserved opulence he had ever seen.

The Dragon realized as he looked down upon the flowers that, for a moment at least, he had stopped thinking about himself and his 'condition'... but, the instant he considered it his mind jumped right back to that thought and his talon found its way to the cracked hole in his chest. Kesst let out a deep sigh, then jumped in surprise when a voice spoke quietly from behind him. "The short hedges are called Havalil... they were imported from Soyria."

Standing, the red Dragon turned and offered a courteous bow to the Princess. He then offered a non-committal "Your Highness. I didn't think anyone else would be up this late."

Princess Noriene smiled, moving to stand beside him before taking a seat on the bench next to where he'd been sitting only a moment before. "I assume, however, that you weren't gazing out of the window purely for the enjoyment of the scenery."

He remained where he was, taking a seat only when she gently patted the bench beside her. Kesst sat reluctantly, turning to face her more fully. "Why do you have such an interest in me, your Highness?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye but remained staring out the window. "Do you not believe that finding you interesting is reason enough?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Kesst shook his head. "No, your Highness."

Her ears turned to focus on him even as she continued gazing out the window. "Then what are you looking for in an answer? What could I possibly say that would convince you that my intentions are good and right?"

The Dragon's gaze went from her to the window once again as he admitted "I don't know... probably nothing."

There was silence between them for a short time until the Princess was the one to break it. "I know who you are, Kesst... and I think, right now, that is more than anyone else has the ability to say."

He stood and took a step away from her. His challenge came out slightly more aggressive than he had meant it to. "WHO I am... or WHAT?"

The Wolf finally turned to regard him, head swiveling while her ears remained fully focused. "WHO we are is infinitely more important than what we are, Kesst. If there were anyone out there who knew such a statement to be true, it was your father, Sir Wiesen... also known as 'Sir Crook'."

He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "You mean my 'creator'?"

She stood, mimicking his stance in blatant opposition to him. "No... I mean your FATHER, Kesst. He believed enough in you being a living, breathing individual that he resisted the Church when they--"

"Resisted the Church?"

Her gaze left his as she uncrossed her arms, looking down towards her sandaled feet, "I met him many years ago, when I was living in Soyria... he fled there from Mehnzil after he abandoned the Holy Order of Techlars."

"...why?"

She shook her head. "I do not know. He never said specifically, Kesst... but I know it had something to do with their orders to destroy you; he DID say THAT much, at least."

The Dragon studied her face for a moment, particularly that she wouldn't look him in the eye. "Is that so? And how did he end up in Soyria?"

The Wolf eventually did look up, and took a seat once more on the bench. She patted it beside her and spoke as he joined her. "There are not many Dragons in Soyria, and the Church still doesn't hold much sway there. He told me that the Church had expected him to travel south, and so he went north."

Her explanation lacked any of the usual half-truths or misdirection he'd felt she had used so often the last time they'd spoken and it felt... strange. "How did you meet him?"

"I had claim to my mother's ancestral lands in Soyria, and, thus, I was a noble. He sought me out when he came to my lands and, as I had lost my mother we had a connection of sorts... you see, he had felt that he had no choice but to abandon his son."

The discussion left Kesst feeling uncomfortable... but the discomfort at hearing those things didn't outweigh his interest in learning more. "I... never knew any of that."

The Princess nodded, offering a slight, empathic smile. "Since returning to Lehsunia I have learned what I could about the 'falling out'... and my understanding is that he is still on the run from them. I suppose you were far more important than a simple test of faith."

Kesst felt increasingly ill-at-ease from the Wolf's calming expression and the topic of his importance to the Church. "How well did you know him?"

Princess Noriene looked back to the window, and a collection of wagons that were passing by on the darkened street outside. "He stayed with my household for a few months. He took to calling me 'little girl', and I hated how much I loved that nickname."

"Little girl?"

The Wolf smirked. "I was twenty, but he said I carried myself like I was ten."

Kesst shrugged, also watching the wagons, which had come to a stop outside the manor's gate. "I would have hated being treated like I was half my age too."

The Princess reached into the inner folds of her nightgown and pulled out a small, amber-and-gold jeweled bird. She held it up for him to view. "Eventually he had to leave... but he presented this to me as a gift."

The Dragon accepted it gingerly as she laid it into his talon. Kesst gazed down at a perfectly crafted nightingale, realizing after only a moment of inspection that it was a mechanism... a clockwork construct. "He made this?"

She nodded, resting a paw on his forearm as she reached over and turned it around in his grasp, pointing to a symbol on the underside of the clockwork bird. "It has his symbol right there... the same as you have."

Kesst worked to keep his talons from shaking as he slowly turned the small creation around in his grasp; it was perfect. "So many little gears... does it do anything?"

"It reminds me of him, and what he taught me... which is enough. But, yes, it CAN do more." Princess Noriene smiled, pulling out a small key. "The grouping of four feathers on its back moves aside and there is a place for this."

The Dragon brushed his thumb across the clockwork nightingale's back and, as she had said, a section of feathers moved aside, revealing a miniscule lock. He took the key from her and inserted it, then paused before looking up. "What does it do?"

The Princess smiled. "Everything it was meant to."

It was a cryptic response, and one he had come to expect from the Wolf. Refusing to rise to the bait, however, Kesst simply turned the key so he could find out for himself. When he did, however, the bird disappeared in his grasp. The stone bench upon which he sat was also gone... and so was the window... along with the entire hallway around him. Everything was replaced with blackness... everything except for himself.

Somewhere within the empty nothingness something appeared. He felt it more than saw it, but the voice was unmistakable, shaking him to the core. "Kesst?"

The Dragon recognized the speaker immediately, despite being unable to remember from where or how. "You-- you're Wiesen? Where is this? Where are we?"

The surety of the response was comforting despite its vagueness. "We are exactly where we were before finding one another."

"Where is that?"

Before receiving a reply, Kesst had a faint sense of vertigo... a feeling of movement, and the rumbling of a fast-moving carriage. "I am on my way to Newport from Vallara. You... you are in Newport!"

No time in his memory had Kesst ever revealed his location to anyone and yet, suddenly, he felt as though it would hurt him to keep it secret from the presence suddenly joined to him. "I am! I am at the Princess' manor!"

There was a strange, emphatic sense of comfort running through him, and he realized it was Wiesen's emotion as much as his own. "And you are safe?"

"...I think so."

The feeling grew to one of relief and optimism... something the young Dragon had felt rarely in his life. "I am glad for it, Kesst. The Princess is a good woman... I know you will keep one another safe."

Despite the countless questions tearing at Kesst, the most prominent one on his mind dealt with the present. "How is it we can do this?"

The response he received from Wiesen was so more than any words could possibly explain. Kesst was imbued with a portion of his creator's essence... he WAS more than a construct, or some clockwork mechanism-- he was as much a son as anything biological, and that is why they were so closely connected. When words finally did come they were in the form of a question. "How is it you came to speak with me? I know my dragonfly found you, but--"

Kesst knew the answer immediately. "Her nightingale... the Princess let me--"

The discussion came to an end abruptly as the Dragon was shaken roughly, and Princess Noriene's frantic voice cut through the haze of his 'dreaming'. "KESST! NOW! We have to go!"

Rather than feeling a daze or confusion, Kesst was instantly aware of his surroundings and immediately alert. There were men pouring out of the carriages at the entrance to the manor and a large skirmish of melee combat was underway in the courtyard. The manor was under attack! "Who would--"

She didn't let him finish his sentence, pulling him down as several blasts of smoke from below heralded the discharge of firearms. The window in front of them was pierced multiple times by the pistol shot, missing only because of Princess Noriene's quick thinking. She untangled herself from him on the floor as she pulled out what looked like a tuning fork. "Stay down and cover your ears..."

The Dragon did as she commanded, but he turned to glance at the window; several men were carrying two large glass barrels between them. As he watched, Kesst observed the Princess strike the tuning fork against the stone bench... and then she threw it straight out the broken window before diving back down next to him. A moment later the entire manor jumped as a huge explosion rained the shattered remnants of the glass down upon them; he had just enough insight to cover the prone Wolf with his cloak, protecting her from the splintered panes.

Even though his ears were ringing, he was able to clearly make out her command "They're distracted. I have to evacuate the house; get into the air and get as far away from here as you can."

"But--"

She silenced him with a single, regal gaze. "We'll meet again at the University." And, after that, she sprinted down the hall.

Kesst's maw was still slightly agape, frozen in position before he could tell her that he doubted he'd be able to fly with a hole in his chest. Closing his mouth with an audible click, the Dragon let out a sigh, moving his talon to the sundered porcelain-like golden scales that had been destroyed... only to find that it was sealed. Stunned, Kesst sprinted to the body-length mirror just down the hall.

Standing before it, the Dragon tore his cloak away from his shoulders, revealing a perfectly whole chest. Where the hole had been were fresh hide of yellow and orange, only slightly off-color compared to those around it. As he watched, a small key fell out from the groove between scales. A faint, melodic chorus of whistles played through his mind as he ran his talon across his newly healed body, realizing only then that the clockwork nightingale was nowhere to be seen.

The sound of renewed combat outside the front of the manor pulled the Dragon's attention back to the present, and he delayed no longer; grabbing his cloak back up from where he'd thrown it onto the floor, Kesst balled it up and ran for the staircase, heading to the top floor of the manor before making his way to the back of the building by busting through the door into what he remembered being a sitting room. From there, he sprinted to the large double-window in the far wall and, after unlatching it, threw it wide.

The dark night was lit above only by a crescent moon and a sea of stars, but the streets below were a woven skein of oil lamps. The gas lights, as Kesst had come to learn, did little to provide any illumination up above the city, so, digging his claws into the wooden siding of the roof, he pulled himself up on top of the manor, and flipped the latch on the Wing Catch Julius Blackburn had given him what felt like so long ago.

He was relieved the moment the device clicked and released his wings. Taking in a deep breath, the Dragon rolled and flexed each one of his extremities, giving his wings a test flap to see if they would work-- and the experimental movement was almost enough to help him take flight; they were as strong as they had ever been. Hearing the sound of battle die down and an aggressive attempt to enter the front door begin, he wasted no further time and threw himself from the roof, taking to wing immediately.

It didn't take long for him to spot Princess Noriene's carriage. He saw her steward in the driver's seat; the bull was whipping the horses to a frenzy as they rocketed their way through the city streets at what was assuredly an unsafe speed. Kesst followed them easily by air, cutting corners for which they had to slow, and winging along with the updrafts from the chimneys and smoke stacks of Newport.

His thoughts began to drift to Sir Wiesen, focusing only on the carriage long enough to tell that they were headed for the scholar quarter, and, most likely, the University. In the same way his body was gliding with the currents of the air, he let his mind wander through the confusion and enigma that was his creator, Sir Wiesen. With any luck it wouldn't be long until he had a chance to see him, face to face.

The peace of the night flight came to an end, however, when he saw men force the carriage to a halt. Judging by their posture and the shout of challenge from them, Kesst could tell that they did not mean well. While self-preservation had always been the strongest drive in the Dragon's existence, something suddenly overcame that. Princess Noriene was key to Kesst's self-actualization and, for once, survival just wasn't enough.