Pein was in sheer and utter awe at the display. Aqua was unamused.
"Wow...such power. I did not know you possessed the ability to control the nature of fire even when you are not in your dragon form. Fascinating." Pein said in a hushed whisper. he walked towards Desmond, strolling around him in a circle to assess his features. There was still the golden glint in his eyes and the unmasked expression of fear on his face, just as he had been in dragon form. Pein came up with the conclusion that Desmond was definitely a rare species and needed to be handled carefully. Whether the other Yuolians would know if this was the same dragon that had attacked him earlier, he had no idea. However, he and Desmond were soon to have a one on one together in time. Especially when it came to why he was traveling with his daughter.
Aqua was not phased by the parading fire show in the least. In fact, she was quite disturbed about it. Aqua didn't know if Desmond was aware of his fire and the effects it had on nature. For one, if a leaf is next to and leaf that is next to a leaf that is next to a leaf that is next to more leaves, there was eventually going to be a large fire. He obviously was paying no attention to that fact and Aqua had to end up cleaning after him. Spinning on the heel of her right foot, she let her left arm sway around her, coaxing the water vapor to lay a soft blanket on the burning fire around on the ground. Once the sizzling was heard of the fire being doused, she tossed her white and black hair behind her shoulder and glared at him.
"Hmph, excuse me if I was just keeping you alive." he replied, with a cocked shift in his brow. He focused his vision back on the fight and saw the last of them run off in fear. Desmond knew that if those things get the chance, they'll come back with full force, and possibly with their leader. But did it matter to him now? No, in fact he turned back to the path and continued forward. "Moving on?" he snapped back at her, as he bumped her shoulder when he past by.
He didn't enjoy walking so far, but if he did try to fly he'd become exhausted from his wounds. So staying on the ground would prove his best strategy. He retracted his claws back into his fingers, then diminished the glow in his eyes back to his red eyes. The people of Yuol would question his existence, but it'll be explained.
"ALRIGHT THAT'S IT."she snapped. Pein turned his head towards his daughter as he stopped walking in his steps towards Yuol. He noticed that Desmond had been a little gruff with her over her attitude problem, and Pein did nothing but chuckle. Then he must not know her, after all. He had always remembered her daughter to be feisty, serious, and quite of a bitch to say the least. When things didn't go her way, she would make them go her way even if she had to inflict pain. However, the draganoid was only pouring fuel into her fire and now, he had went too far. Pein smirked and folded both arms as he watched Aqua spin around to glare at Desmond angrily.
"I have had about enough of you and your insolence. I only let you bring me hear because I did not want to travel the waters of the Black Forest, not that it matters anyway."she snapped, flipping the black part of her hair but not tearing her cyan gaze away from him. "I told you that I will answer the question of those strange dreams that you have been having, but it's going to be hard to do that if I keep having the reflex to kill you every chance that I get!"she snapped once more. In a quick tap of her right foot, Aqua zipped in front of him, her hair being the last thing to follow as the wind picked up and settled back down. Her lips were pursed in a thin line as she bent her right foot forward, causing her face to grow nearer and nearer to his own, showing absolutely no fear.
"Don't piss me off, Dragon. You can go at the Gronack all you want. But mess with me...? It'll be a repeat of the last battle...but with a different victor." As soon as the word 'victor' left her lips the blue crystal in her hair pulsed silently, causing her hair to spiral very slowly until she finally settled down with a exhale.
Desmond kept his composure and simply looked back into Aqua's glare. Her expression was amusing, not because she threatened him, well maybe but because she had spunk. And lots of it if she could dare to stare a dragon in the face and not feel worried. He made a slick grin out the corner of his left cheek, then lifteed her off the ground by her chin slowly with his pointing finger. "You name the time and the place..." he snared, as he brought her an entire two feet of the ground. "....Just you remeber. Don't.. mess.. with.. me!" he snapped and set her down.
He continued forward along the path as if nothing had happened, but as he passed Pien, he noticed his sort of laughing smile. He groaned once, and continued onward. That's to Aqua and her father beingso close to Desmond, he was able to sniff out the rest of the way with ease. Just like every other hunt he committed.. Picking it up was still a bit of a challenge nonetheless, magic was backing it up behind covering their tracks. It was strong, bold, and nearly invisible.
Lookin over shoulder, Desmond looked back at Aqua with a smile, then turned his back and walked backwards. "You know, you mite not be a Dragon, but you do have our pride.."
Aqua was three seconds from snapping his neck in two, but she was in the ground two seconds after the thought had left her mind. Desmond pulled the monkey see monkey do card and Aqua found it absolutely hilarious. His threat held no weight for he really didn't know about the change she had went through with the 3 lakes. Now, he must have just assumed that she was regular old Aqua, the same woman that he had battle before. Luckily, he walked off or Aqua would have showed him just how stronger she really was. Pein, in the mean time, brought it upon himself to trout upwards to Desmond and give him a sly smile.
"Some threat that was. I do not think she would take it to heart, however. Aqua has always liked risks."he whispered with a chuckle.
"Stop talking about me." Aqua responded, dusting off her pants to see Desmond walk backwards as if nothing had happened. She couldn't help but smile at his snarky attitude in return. There was a thrill...an adrenaline rush behind his words that made Aqua want to...wrestle. The girl stopped walking momentarily to blink and toss the thought out of her mind. She had always been a sucker for the thrill of a fight, but doing that with a dragon?
Desmond continued to walk backwards with a thorough thought of his next battle with Aqua, if it ever happens. Their first fight wasn't too much, but it was something that made you think. She only held the power she knew at that time. Now she holds three lakes in the very embodiment of her power. He could tell from the glow of the jewel he gave her and the smell of her hair, as well as it's look. The silver shine of Deox lake, the glimmer of the Black Lake, and her treasure-like blue eyes from Rez Lake. Desmond already knew she had become stronger, that was obvious since she ascended from the water to save him. But she wasn't the only one to gain something at that moment.
"She's not the only one.." he replied to Pien.
Turning around to keep on path, he ignited his hands with a short stock of flame and noticed how it had..changed. Both in heat and in strength. It burned hotter, more intense, and burned things quicker. Not only that but he even noticed how his dragon form had become something brand new, while still feeling his original form deep inside. He could hear it calling, flapping, roaring, both dragons in one body. With the feeling of several more waiting to awaken.
As he wondered along the path, he felt a small aura similar to Pien in front of the group. When he looked forward to see hat he found out it was.. a child? She appeared of the age of three with black short hair, gray eyes, the height of two feet, and a black dress that lowered down to her knees with a teddy bear in her arms. Desmond has never handled human children before, so he just did something simple. "Um, hello.." he said with a grin. The little grin saw his teeth in his grin and shuttered at the sight, then lifted her head back and started crying.
"Congratulations." Aqua commented. The little girl was frightened out of her mind when Desmond greeted her in his form and fashion. The little girl was terrified out of her mind and began to bawl out into the air. Pein cringed at the sound, something loud and very high in pitch, like nails grinding against a chalk board. Aqua held a twitch to her left eye but she did not let it get to her. If she showed any sign of anger of some sort, it only would've made the situation much much worse. The girl was obviously on pins and needles since she went out on a whim to cry over a hello and a smile. She must not have been used to seeing someone different like Desmond around those parts of Yuol. Yuol had always been a small, compact city, hiding in the shadows like the people they were.
Taking a few steps up to the girl, Aqua bent low on her feet so that her height was matched with the young girl. The child did not seem to notice that Aqua was there. Probably because she was crying too loud and her eyes were shut. Aqua tried her best to drown out the gut wrenching noise as she coughed aloud.
"Hey...Hey hey...It's okay. Shhh. It's okay."she said in the sweetest voice she could muster. Pein stifled his laughter while he listened to Aqua. The mask she had put on was completely fake, but, oddly, it was working. The girl hiccuped and looked down, sniffling madly and rubbing at her grey eyes with one hand. Aqua looked up at her and managed a smile.
"He won't hurt you, alright? He's my friend."she said. The girl sniffled again and grasped the bear tighter in her left hand.
"Are you mean too?"she said in a shaking voice. Pein opened his mouth to respond but he could feel Aqua glaring at him so he remained quiet. She looked back to the child and smiled again with a wink.
"Mean? I'm not mean..." he trailed off to himself. It wasn't too long before Desmond finally caught on to the child's thought about him. He did attack Aqua with brute force when they met, desires to eliminate the human race as he knows it, and wasn't the most normal looking of people. Yuolians look like Yuolians. Desmond had blood red eyes, long black-ish hair, claws, fangs, etc. Who knows how the girl would have reacted if she saw his dragon form?
This event mite have been unexpected, but it at least meant the village was nearby. In fact, just off in the distance Desmond was able to see lights from lanterns. The smell of what could be roasts? What could be the cause of such smell? Desmond's thoughts started thinking but was stopped at the whisper of flutes and drums coming from the same direction.
"What's that noise?" he mumbled softly.
The little girl then jumped on her the tip of her toes and started smiling brighter than the sun.
"It's the Yuolian Festival of Aqua, we've been preparing a party for her return. Pien said so, but shh, it's a secret!" she cheered. The girl then grabbed Aqua by the hand and started tugging on her to come with. "Won't you come, please?"
Desmond looked back at Pien and wanted to know his response. They were just going in for answers but now they've been caught up in a festival. It was agitating.
As surprising as the switch in attitude was, Aqua was glad to know the girl wasn't scarred for life by looking to Desomond. She thought back to the days when she was an innocent little girl. Nothing really scared her, especially the things of the unknown. If she would have been in the child's shoes, Aqua's curiosity may have peaked and reached out to frolic Desmond's strange colored hair. Now that she was older, she knew better than to trust the likes of anything out of the ordinary. She had told the child that Desmond was her friend, but that was not all true. In fact, Aqua was sure that once she told him of the strange dreams he had been thinking of lately, he would be on his merry little way back to his village without the slightest words of goodbye. Works for me.
"Ah, the Yuolian festival. You haven't been to one of those in quite some time, haven't you, my daughter?" Pein said, shifting in his shows to lean on his hip. Aqua was brought away from the girl and over to the two men behind her.
"We don't have time for festivals."she said simply, in a cold tone. The little girl's face fell just a tad before Pein chuckled and spoke up again.
"Really now. You don't always have to be uptight about everything. Let the revenge you have inside you bubble down for a moment and learn to relax. Besides, you have a guest whom has never experienced the event before. He would love it if you showed him around." Aqua found that hard to believe when her eyes shifted over to Desmond's and raised.
For a few seconds, Desmond couldn't tell if she was asking him or Pien, but found it as a good opportunity for... he didn't know. But he did want to travel to Yuol and find answers, but what's so wrong about experiencing something as well. Who knows what he would learn, not only that, but this mite be his only chance to. He looked over to Aqua and was about to speak, but the child jumped up and grabbed him by the hand, making him nearly bend over and pulled him towards the village.
"Come on now, Mr. Meanie. Don't be shy!" she laughed as she continued to pull him
He looked back between the village and Aqua constantly with a worried face, he was nervous that her people wouldn't be as accepting of his appearance. Just like the little girl, who suddenly forgot all about his frightening look to her. The little girl the let go of him,then got behind him and pushed him into the village. When he arrived people saw him, but did not run like most humans did. They did not cower in fear or try to attack, instead they greeted him with open arms. Desmond didn't know what to do accept stand there, like a nervous lost child.
"You too!"the little girl cheered, as she started pulling Aqua's hand now.
Desmond had never seen something like his before, he was always told by that humans were power hungry savages. Always at war, always fighting, living in greed, and performing unspeakable acts. but this seemed nothing like it. They music, the smell of exotic foods, and the look of... smiles, all covered the village.
"What is this..." he whispered as he looked around the area, with a look of open eyes.
"Yuolian. Feels like I haven't been here in years."
"You haven't."
"I know. That's why I said it." Aqua and her farther looked over at the people of Yuolian. Though normally quite people who are usually compacted inside their homes, that particular day, the townspeople were lively. It must have been because of the festival that was happening. There was actually a spot of color to the village as well. The shadow people were usually dappled in dark colors to also help shroud their appearance from the unknown. It seemed that Aqua and the others had stumbled into a beautiful moment for the Yuolian people. They all greeted Aqua with a wave, Pein with a bow, and Desmond with a smile. Even the little girl waved frantically at those and called out their names. Aqua looked over to Desmond when he asked the question and shrugged.
"It's Yuol. My home." That was all she needed to say, for afterwords, a burst of color lit the sky. It was a beautiful blossom of orange and pink and Aqua brought her eyes up just as the little girl clapped excitedly.
Desmond couldn't help but look up at whatever the little one spoke of. And then he saw it, the skies changing from dark as night, to elegant flushes of orange and pink. The color almost reminded him of fire dancing around a valley of pink violani flowers, the rarest and most beautiful plant in existance. Then fireworks joined in the beauty, bursting in air with flashes of aqua blue, smooth violet, and some that shaped into animals. It was sight that only celebrations as wonderful as this could provide for the eye.
"It's amazing...." he whispered to himself. Then the little girl pulled on his caped robe and climbed up to his shoulders, sitting on them as if she were his little sister. Her face held a big wide smile with amazed eyes, all focused on the light show. Desmond reached above and sat her back down on the ground.
"Awww! But I wanna see!" she said as she reached up at him.
Desmond didn't want to make another seen so he just went with it, then placed her back on his right shoulder. She then hugged his head tightly and kissed his forehead. "Thank you!" she cheered, then looked back at the stars.
Desmond paused for a moment when she did, he didn't know how to react. Was he suppose to get angry? Maybe, but he couldn't for some reason. In his mind he thought it was magic, but later knew it was something else. He shook the feeling quickly, then looked over at Aqua, getting the same feeling once again. It was beauty how the lights shined off her eyes and hair, how relaxed she appeared. What was he feeling, why did he become so soft? He didn't understand, so desmond just enjoyed.
The first blossom of light turned into a garden of flashes, hues, and cheers from the Yuolians. All heads were turned skyward as they let the light show play upon their faces. There were tiny shrieks as the works were zipping through the wind before the finishing bang once they reached the edge of the dark, indigo sky. There was a parade of sparks and colors that played off the faces of the Yuolians. Another streak lit across the sky, the colors spilled across the white and dark sheen of her hair, blue eyes still to the sky. Every so often, she would hear an "ooo" and "aaa" from the people around her.
Aqua turned her attention to the right of her where Desmond stood, holding the child on his shoulders. The scene was almost laughable. A giant dragonoid holding an innocently little smoke mage. The little girl was enjoying herself as she clung to his broad shoulders and arms, a blast of green sprinkling across her face that made her burst in an array of giggles. Aqua even chuckled herself until she caught the red of Desmond's eyes look back at her.
For a moment, she thought he was going to mention more bad news, but he didn't. In fact, not one word was uttered between the two of them. Aqua blinked slowly when a giant ball of red and blue hit the sky and wrinkled her eyebrow in confusion.
He was.... speechless when she looked at him. The light of the blue only made her gaze more beautiful than the last. But suddenly he shook it from his mind, then started questioning himself. As of to why, why he was thinking that way of her. What was driving his mind for him to think of Aqua in such a way? Maybe it was magic, or maybe it was something else, feelings? But Desmond never knew the meaning of 'feelings', in fact he was truly heartless. No heart to give and no heart to protect.
"Its nothing...." he mumbled quietly, looking away from her eyes and returning to his normal, straight face. Though beneath his non-sensitive appearance, he was boiling inside with more questions than normal. But his mind was easily brought back to the festival when a blast of crimson and gold shimmered across his face. The light blended so close with the red of his eyes and the color of his hair, it almost made him want to fly with the lights.The little girl then started rocking side to side on his shoulders, cheering loud with a smile.
"Its time for the dance ceremony!"she shouted, followed by a big "woo" from the crowd. Then they all started grabbing partners and joining hands, then began dancing. As they did, women in revealing robes of many tinted colors. The little girl jumped down from his shoulders and began dancing with the group of Yuolians, making little giggles all the way. While Desmond simply stood there, watching the others around him go around dancing as if there were no worries.
Meanwhile, a Yuolian villager went up to Aqua and spoke over her shoulder. "He's new here, is he not? Why not dance with him, show him around?"
Aqua looked at the man and wrinkled her nose at him. Did that guy seriously think she was going to dance? Let alone with Desmond. She opened her mouth to say no in a hardcore language, but before she could, she was yanked off by a random Yuolian woman. Aqua was completely unprepared for it, but she saw no distinct harm in it. The woman kindly let Aqua's hand go and instead, started to do a tiny jig in front of her, a smile on her face. Aqua blinked and couldn't help but allow her mouth to curl into a smile as well. The dance was funny looking but simple as well. it took a small swaying of the hips and a rock of your head back and forth, waving each arm parallel to each other before tapping your right foot in front of you and rotating your hips in a crescent circle.
Aqua was pulled into the feminine movement, suddenly realizing where the dance had sprouted in her mind. It was the Yuolian dance of seduction. Women wore innocent smiles while accompanying them with tantalizing moves while the men made sure to slide their bodies each way the woman went, showing strength possession. Aqua's smile transfixed into a wider one while she enclosed herself in the crowd of people. Desmond was pulled into the crowd as well. Aqua looked behind her at the men who were trying to teach him the male dance. She could not help but to chuckle, backing away from the woman and nudging him on the shoulder, continuing her dance.
"I bet you want to incinerate everyone of these people."she joked, with a sly smile.
Desmond didn't understand the concept at first. He'd never really danced before in his life, in fact he felt a bit embarrassed. He was about to walk his way off site, but was quickly pulled into the fray by a group of men. "Hey wha-" was all he could muster up until they dragged him around to join them. It wasn't too long until he realized they were showing a sort of seductive dance. From his perspective the women were moving like concubines, with their finest asset being the movement of their hips. From what he could guess that meant the women held the power in this dance, and he was to be apart of it.
He watched closely as the males displayed how to go along with the women, it was harder than it looked, but easy to catch on. The men would have to feel the rhythm of the female's body and move with it, using their body to match the strength, but their eyes to challenge the control by meeting each other's gaze. "An exotic dance indeed," he thought to himself as he started matching the movement. It was a minute before he perfectly caught on to it, then he looked around and saw Aqua performing her dance. Desmond's eye immediately were locked on Aqua at that moment, but he turned away trying not to confuse himself again. But then she bumped into him and grabbed his attention.
"I bet you want to incinerate everyone of these people."
He didn't focus much on what she said, but took her bumping into him as a challenge. Like most dragons, gestures like that proved as intimidation of authority and skill. So for the festival he woud battle with her once more, only on something more of her terms. The way to began a male's dance was to start mimicking the female, so he held out his arms and rocked his hips to call her to the battle of dance.
Aqua was angry that she did not get a proper response from him. he completely blew her off, more focused on his dancing skills than he was her statement. The look on his face was coated in seriousness and Aqua found it highly amusing. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt for he was not from Yuol so it came as no surprise that he was getting used to the dance when the men showed him the right moves and ways to follow. When she was pushed into his space, she noticed that he was learning quicker than most would. However, she put nothing against him. He was a dragon and a very persistent one at that.
Moving her hips in the alternative, she tricked him just to see if he could follow along, and, surprisingly, he moved right along with him, not skipping a beat. The white of her hair grazed across his cheeks when she turned around and grasped hands with him, signifying the end of the dance. There was a smile on her face while her eyes as the blue of her eyes twinkled off of the fireworks in the sky. A round of applause littered around them and Aqua awkwardly unlinked hands with him, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear and fixing her crystal with an awkward cough.
They danced perfectly on beat without a single flaw, so flawless it brought out an "awe" from the crowd. The way she moved was a way most men would desire,and Desmond kept up like it was a piece of destiny for them to dance like this. Then the smooth touch of her hair ran across his cheeks and they joined hands to signal the end of the dance. As the lights of the festival glimmered in her eyes, the red flashes blended with his as he looked into her's, almost breaking into a smile. Instead he made a grin, but not a slick one, in fact, it was one of joy.
Quickly after their moment, she broke the connection and fixed herself up. "Nicely done," he looked away and nodded "You too," he replied. It wasn't too awkward to notice, but it was awkward to see how they matched so perfectly in that dance.How they swayed, how they twisted. It was extraordinary. It brought an awkward silence between the two of them, but the people of Yuol seemed quite excited about their performance. Even the little girl started jumping up and down cheering "Yay!"
The group started to gather round a large table in the village and started setting down food. Large roasts, steaks, cakes, exotic drinks, and much more to display and eat. Desmond had seen feasts before ,but never like this. His kind would through giant banquets and this one was nearly similar. The center of the table had a giant pork roast placed in the center. If Desmond was to measure his dragon form to it, the pig would be as big as his head.
"Quite the spread," he said to her, trying to break the silence.
Pein had some time since left the two of them alone. It may have come while they were yanked into the dance. Once the awkward movements ended, Aqua looked over and saw no sign of her father. Lucky for him he had the power to disappear without a trace. He most likely dissolved into smoke and went somewhere else, preferably one with a lower volume. That was the usual method of transportation for the Yuolians and something she could not do. That always bothered her slightly. Being born of 2 Yuolians but being a master of water.
That was the whole reason Kratin attacked.
Aqua gripped her fork and stabbed it into her meat that she had piled on her plate. She wasn't very picky about what she was eating, as long as she was eating something. It had been so long since she had a good meal, especially a Yuolian one. Desmond was trying it for the first time ever and Aqua now centered her focus on his expressions when the food suddenly lavished the long table. Many people beside them were already grubbing down on breads, meats, and other magnificent articles of food. The kids went straight to the pastries only to hear disapproving words from their parents.
"Eh. It's typical to get all of the food for a festival. I never tried it all myself, but I am very picky."she said, bringing a fork up to her lips and eating a slice of meat off of it, not keeping her eyes off of Desmond.
"Really?" he tilted his head, "I kind of thought you weren't really the selective type." she said eyeing the meats at the table. There was plenty of food to choose from, but he didn't know what to take and what to avoid. Not only that, but he didn't exactly have the greatest of manners when it came to eating something. Usually, he would always go hunting in his dragon form and eat it that way too. It became habit that was good for him, it reduced stress. Looking around he turned to ask Aqua what to eat, but was stopped by her eyes locked on him. Desmond's heart started beating a bit when he caught her gaze, leaving him speechless. He didn't know why it just... happened! But he could say, hey stop looking at me! No, doing that just wasn't in him at that moment. It was just something about her and those eyes....
"Those eyes....."
"Here mister try this!" shouted the small girl, breaking him out o his trance. His expression quickly changed from eternal gaze over to hidden blush as he turned from her.What the small girl laid before him was a large pound of roasted goat leg. It seemed to be twice her size, so he didn't know how she brought it to him. But instead he just shook it off and took it into his hands. While stood next to him to get up to eye level with him and started leaning in close to hi, making a curious scowl at him.
"What... are you doing, child?" he asked, looking at her awkwardly.
"Are you blushing?" she asked so commonly. His body jumped slightly at her straight out question, but he didn't need to give an answer to her. So he turned slightly away and gave something. "No, I just have a small cold." he answered her. "Do not." she replied. Desmond knew they'd be back and forth with this, so he grabbed the goat leg and dug his fangs into it.
