Life less Ordinary

[Daffu]

Well then.

Things hadn't particularly turned out as well as Kayla had hoped, and needless to say, her current situation had not been precisely what she'd had in mind when she'd offered her uncle to help with the dragon he claimed had been the scourge of his lands. Despite her family origins, Kayla was not exactly a fighter by nature; that much had become obvious to both her parents and herself when she'd been handed a magical weapon for training, only to accidentally hack off her own long, blonde hair when she'd swung too wide. As such, her parents had, instead, trained her in diplomacy; they'd instilled a tactician's mindset on her, which had, in turn, made her a thinker, not a fighter.

When her parents had received a letter from their uncle, claiming to need help with strategical thinking to get rid of a the large, horrible dragon of a beast that threatened his land, they'd thought it'd be good training for her. That'd it allow her to mature, and get a bit of a test drive on the field per se. And so, they had sent her off to her uncle's kingdom; packed her bags, wished her well and told her to use her brain, and not her strength.

Needless to say, her parents had probably not been expecting her to be knocked out on arrival, stripped, changed into what she could only think of as some sort of strange, ceremonial gown, drugged and tied up, only to be left as some sort of sacrifice at the proverbial doorsteps of the beast's lair.

Her still drugged, rather hazy mind was having a lot of trouble thinking, and it could not seem to veer away from the fact that the only reason they'd picked her was because, apparently, her asshole of an uncle needed a virgin princess. She wasn't a virgin! And she wasn't even a princess!

Kayla fumed silently as she wiggled and made an awfully decent impression of a worm on the ground, her teeth biting into the gag that made it impossible for her to talk or scream for help. She was, all in all, extremely upset by the current situation, and though she was quite sure that her anger was more drugged induced than anything (given that the prospect of being eaten alive should have produced fear, and not anger), she was more than happy to go with it. After all, there'd be time to start the panicking soon enough, she was quite sure of it.

 

[AcaciaAvenue]

Incinerate. Decapitate. Feast on bones and blood. Hoards of treasure.

All of these things would be an accurate assumption of what a dragon truly wants in life, right? Wrong. A dragon isn't just a mindless killing machine hell bent on world domination, it's a creature of many layers, the outer most layer would very much like to live a solitary existence far away from the idiocracy of human society. Okay, yes, he had maybe destroyed a village or two. Maybe he had burned a few farms causing mass panic within a few kingdoms. It was only in response to their relentless hounding, there was nothing else to be done. It was knight after knight, night after night, it was maddening. All to say that they hath slain the mighty Jacelon, the Harvester of Bones. So much drama.

It didn't matter where he hid, the deepest crevasse, the highest peak, the most labyrinthian cave, someone would always find him. Leave to a human to never keep a secret, to go blabbing all over town about the bloodthirsty dragon.
So here Jacelon was, asleep in his home, a network of caves far off of the beaten path. It was only a matter of time before that spelunker began to cry dragon, even though he tried to be completely pleasant, all he received in return was blood curdling screams.

His eyes peeled open, fully expecting a heroic metal clad hero to shout his name to the heavens just before being burnt alive. His body gave a slight shake as if to give his muscles a quick wake up before he crawled to his feet. Sunlight could be seen ahead and he could use some fresh air, despite popular belief dragons do prefer sunlight, not being stuck in damp caves. As he approached the entrance to his home he saw what looked like a rather large inch worm, trying to escape from--rope?

Come on. Please don't be..it is. Yup. Here we go.

Jace slowly approached the bound and gagged human girl, and he could see that she was just as annoyed by this as he was, maybe a little bit more than that. He allowed his black scales to be consumed by sunlight as he stretched out of his cramping home, making sure to stretch his wings thoroughly while he looked down to the girl with hungry eyes, forced of course.

"Another tasty morsel for the bloodthirsty dragon?" Jacelon found that it was hard to mask the sarcasm laced within his words. Why do humans always assume he wants a girl? What if he preferred how males tasted? What if he didn't eat meat?

 

[Daffu]

She did not hear his approach.

Kayla could have sworn that there was at least one, if not several, laws of nature that dictated that something was tremendously huge as he was... should make a sound, or at least more of a fuss when approaching. As it was however, with all her wiggling, moving and pathetic inching, the girl did not notice the dragon's approach until he was dramatically looming over her, effectively blocking the sun and casting her form in shadow.

Her first instinctual reaction was to wince, to flinch even, as the large reptile loomed over her. However, the moment he opened his mouth and words poured out... Kayla felt the fear melt way, washed with a new wave of unadulterated anger and frustration. Later on, she'd no doubt blame the drugs coursing through her system, or perhaps the overload of adrenaline flooding her veins; unable to tuck tail, turn and run, her fogged mind resolved to fight. Albeit not very effectively, given the gag that still covered her mouth.

She turned her head and offered the dragon a strangled, muffled sound, and despite the gag in question, just from the tone of her muffled mumbles, it didn't particularly sound kind at all. As if her growls were not enough, her drug-hazed eyes snapped to lock on his, her brow furrowing as she sent him a most impressive glare. Or rather, impressive given the circumstances; after all, she was little more than a little, wiggling, human worm on the ground at his feet. However, something about the way he'd spoken had been the proverbial straw that had broken the camel's back, and if her destiny was to be eaten by a beast, she would at least let him know that she Did Not Approve. After all she'd been through the past couple of days, the last thing she needed was sarcasm and sass from a giant lizard. Unfortunately, the fact remain that she was helpless, hopeless... and very much miffed with her uncle. She very much hoped the large, black brute burned his whole kingdom down into cinders.

Still offering the dragon her mightiest glare, she finally huffed and turned to look away, dropping her head on the ground, making her look like some sort of frustrated, defeated puppy.

 

[AcaciaAvenue]

Well that's a new one. Anger. Interesting.

Jacelon watched her mouth move, trying to deliver an utterance that he couldn't quite make out. However, the cadences left him less curious as to what she'd had to say, pair that with the glare etched into her features he could tell that whatever she'd said wasn't exactly pleasant. As her eyes locked onto his, he raised the scaled ridges above his eyes in response, this one wasn't pleased with her current situation. Go figure. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly, trying to figure out how these humans picked her for this position, he couldn't imagine there was a line of girls wanting to be sacrificed to a dragon. He couldn't see an ounce of fear on her face, and that was truly interesting, he had never met a human that wasn't afraid. Even the most stalwart of knights showed fear, some right away, and some right before the end.

"Come now, puppet. There is no need for such..hostility." Jacelon said as he stepped over her still body, his clawed hand gripping the surrounding rock with a deftness that came with age. At this point in his life there was little he couldn't do without making a sound, and nearly nothing he couldn't do without making a mistake. Once he was on the other side he took another look at her face, she was definitely pretty enough to be a sacrifice. He reached his clawed hand towards her face, slipping a claw between her cheek and the gag wrapped around her head, cutting it with one quick pull of his finger.

"You've got something to say, yes? I'd love to hear it. Is that why they chose you? Couldn't keep that mouth shut?" Jacelon finished with what resembled a smile, his face wasn't exactly built for those kinds of emotions, so he made due with what he had.

 

[Daffu]

Had it not been for the gag, Kayla would have sputtered with indignation; not only was the lizard being sassy, but it was having a blast doing so. Somehow, that single notion seemed to add insult to injury, making her grit her teeth for a moment as the creature walked towards her. She closed her eyes and counted backwards, from ten to one in her head, both in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves... and a weird need to count down to her obviously inevitable demise.

And yet, as the seconds ticked by, her demise failed to come. When her eyes finally slid open (curiosity tugging at her much too strongly for her to ignore), she saw his large claws descending towards her face. Despite the fact that she felt an overwhelming desire to snap her eyes shut again, instead they widened as the claw easily, seamlessly slipped between her skin and the gag and pulled it down. Leaving her, effectively gag-less but... still tied up like a human mockery of an earth worm.

His tone of voice, the way he lounged there... his stance; everything about him seemed to remind her of a feline watching a fallen bird, taunting it with a clawed paw, and still the drugs coursed through her system, "Oooooh!" the word was hissed as she wiggled helplessly on the ground, sending him yet another ice-laced glared, "If you're going to take off that horrible strap of cloth, you might as well untie me, you inconsiderate, overgrown gecko!" needless to say, insulting and snapping at a large dragon was probably rather counter productive, not to mention hazardous to her health, but Kayla was absolutely past the point of caring.

If she was going to be eaten, she simply refused to be made fun of, just on principle, "The least you could do is help me up, if you're planning on chatting your dinner up! I'm wet, and I'm sore, and I think those idiots put me in a gown that's two sizes too small, and I swear, one more bit of sass from you and I'll make sure to try my damnest at giving you indigestion!" it wasn't much of a threat; specially not one she could consciously carry out, but when life gives you lemons... one makes lemonade; she was working with what little she had.

Kayla had no doubts that if she lived long enough to tell the tale, she'd crash into something akin hysterics as soon as her adrenaline/drug cocktail left her system.

 

[AcaciaAvenue]

"See, now that is just hurtful." Jace said as he circled her again, taking in every angle, as if something were going to jump out and nip him at any moment. Over the years he had begun to believe that the humans were capable of nearly anything, that proving true as he looked at one of their own dressed like a pretty maiden, only to be eaten. Waste of a good dress. He thought to himself. "Inconsiderate, perhaps. But gecko's don't even have wings, you see the difference?" Jace had to admit that this was by far the most fun and interesting conversation he had held in a long time, she had fire behind her words, he could respect that.

"I suppose I could help you." Jace said as leaned his face down next to hers, his piercing yellows eyes looking deep into her own. "But you have to promise to be nice. That means refraining from throwing things at me, stabbing me or anything of the sort. I promise you that the price for breaking these rules is steep." He finished with a serious tone to his deep voice before snatching her up easily with one of his clawed hands, using the free hand to cut away at the ropes that bound her. After finally releasing her from her final piece of bondage he released her from his grasp, a good five feet from the ground.

With a quick flap of his wings he sent the bits of rope flying off of the small mountainside, his eyes following the fragments as they fluttered to the ground below. "Your garment situation is unfortunate I will admit." He said as he shot a look back at her, that same level of sarcasm in his voice. "At least you can take solace in the fact that I won't be dining on you today. Or ever for that matter." He said as he sat back on his back legs, his wings folding in against his body, he craned his neck to gain a better vantage point of the valley below.

"I will however continue to throw my..sass, wherever I please." Jace finished as his eyes scanned the land below, wondering if he would be receiving any unwelcome visitors today, it would be a surprise is he way an angry mob approaching. Pitchforks in one hand, hate in the other.

 

[Daffu]

A short, frustrated grumble of a sound was all the answer the large dragon got as the girl squirmed in place some more, probably still too distracted by both the chemical cocktail in her system and the bonds holding her in place. She was more or less resigned to her fate, though, again, she was blaming the drugs rather heavily at this point. Besides, she was sure there were worse ways to go than by being eaten in one bite by a dragon. So long as... he didn't chew, which she rather hoped he didn't.

She shot the creature another glare, "I do, in fact, see the difference; geckos have more manners than you!" it was hissed at him right before he moved, and suddenly, that movement from him shattered whatever sense of... resignation that she felt, her moods swinging wildly from hysteria to panic as he picked her up and off the ground. Kayla, in fact, barely so much as heard what he was telling her. That is, of course, until his claws cleverly slipped under her bondage and snapped it cut in half, effectively releasing her aching limbs and body from it's prison.

Unfortunately, she had precious little time to savor her new found freedom; mostly due to the fact that with that small bit of comfort achieved, coupled with the dragon's words... her body decided that adrenaline was no longer needed and that it was time for it to crash. Even the fact he dropped her a few good feet off the ground wasn't enough to truly keep her body in overdrive, and as Kayla yelped and hissed at the impact, she could only manage a small, minor glare in the dragon's direction. After all, out of all the nasty, evil, nefarious things he could be doing to her, setting her free and dropping her on the ground did not really rank up high on her list.

That aside, his words were starting to slip through the haze in her mind, and as soon as they did, the girl stopped short, mildly confused by both his tone of voice and choice words, "What?" the word was deadpanned intelligently, and for a long beat, it was all her poor drug addled brain could offer him, now that it was coming off of the cusp of her adrenaline induced wave, "Do you think I carry something sharp? Or that... throwing... just... what?" that word seemed to be the only one capable of showing her extreme confusion; for a blood thirsty monster hell bent on destruction and chaos, he was sure doing a lousy job, "You don't want to eat me," she mono toned for a moment, "And you don't want my poking you with pointy things, nor do you want me throwing things at you," a beat followed her words, almost as if she were reciting them from a list, "Who are you?" she asked, and for the first time since the encounter began, the anger had slipped away, replaced both with genuine curiosity and a hint of the intelligence that lay beneath.

His large frame remain turned from her, however, making it all that much harder to judge him, from her very low vantage point on the ground. As such, she decided to toss all remaining caution to the wind and slowly, gingerly stood up from the ground, pushing the weight onto her aching limbs. Unfortunately, both the bonding and the fall he'd subjected her to were paying it's toll on her body, and rather than stand... she merely managed to stumble a few paces, her hands shooting out to lean against the nearest surface, which just so happened to be his large forearm. For a moment, her eyes stared at the black scales, almost unseeing, and she considered shoving herself away. However, given the circumstances and his actions, she decided to take her chances; she needed the support, and her hands were not sharp, pointy things, "What are you even looking at so keen-"

And then it dawned on her; he was expecting retaliation for something he hadn't even done. That was right around the moment Kayla's world notions and views shattered right around her, falling like pieces of a broken mirror.

 

[AcaciaAvenue]

"Gecko's eat crickets and worms, perhaps the crickets and worms can tell you the kind of manner's a Gecko possesses" Jacelon said simply, as if he were teaching her a lesson on the local wildlife, although something about her told him that she wasn't stupid. He could help but smirk at the sound her impact, along with the frustrated noises that came from her. His eyes scanned the forest below, trying to pick up on anything that might catch the sun's reflection, such as armor of weapons. He couldn't help but feel an itch of annoyance as she began to question. "I've been stabbed more times than years you've been alive, puppet. Paranoia sets in." Jacelon said as he snaked his neck around, taking in the confused look on her face. "I'm not hungry." He said in an attempt at deflection, it wouldn't serve to have her view him as weak.

Jacelon turned his attention back to the forest below, his body twitching slightly as the wind changed around him, feeling the cool breeze flowing between the placement of his scales. He allowed his eyes to slide shut in frustration as he listened to her continue to speak, as if reciting it out of a book. "I am Jacelon, the Harvester of Bones. Or haven't you heard the stories? I raze and terrorize the kingdoms of men, devour their children." He said in a thickly sardonic tone, as if the very thought of it was just ridiculous. Humans never could quite wrap their heads around the concept, they think beast and they think evil, it was as if it were a compulsion of their species.

His eyes widened, his brain going completely haywire as he felt her hand on his forearm. He could smell sulfur and that familiar warmth in his throat, warmth that would turn to heat. Jacelon snapped his head down and looked at her with rage written all over his carefully etched features. Fully expecting to see some sort of hostility from her, whether it be dagger or sword. He managed to calm himself down after seeing that she was only using him as a means for support, which internally he thought was hilarious given the circumstances. She had asked him as if she had no idea, as if none of it had even reached her ears. He couldn't help but find that incredibly irritating, his entire life had been centered around humans and their misinformation, and here she was wondering what he could be looking for.

"I am tired of your questions." Jacelon spat as he moved from his perch, not checking to see if she had gained her footing without the support he provided. He deftly made his way to the entrance of his temporary home, one that he knew he would have to leave soon. He snapped his head back in the direction of hers, his yellow eyes narrowing. "So I will answer them for you plainly. Perhaps your mind will comprehend them." He finished with a sneer, before searching for the correct words. "I don't want to be stabbed, burned, feared, hunted or interacted with in any way. I want to be left alone to live in peace!" He finished in a roar that echoed throughout the mountainside, the heat began to bubble in his throat as his rage began to overflow. He allowed his eyes to slide closed as he struggled to control himself. "Now run along, girl." Jacelon finished as he squeezed back into his home, knowing full well that he would have to leave it behind.

 

[Daffu]

Thankfully, by the time the dragon pulled away from her, she'd more or less managed to gather her bearings about her, though Kayla was, deep down, a realist and thus knew it wouldn't last for long. Her body would soon give away from the overload and she'd crash; she just hoped she could last a little while longer, because something at the very back of her head was bothering her deeply. It was hard to tell if she was more worried about his strange, almost strangled tone of voice, or his choice of words.

Had she not known better, she'd have thought him the victim in this particular situation, and as she turned to watched him go, while still busily trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered notions, Kayla realized that in reality... she didn't really know better at all. What little she knew about the situation played more in the dragon's favor than her uncle's, given that the great reptile had spared her life when he didn't really need to, and her uncle had, in fact, put it in jeopardy in the first place.

That said a lot both about the kingdom she'd come to help out and the 'terrible beast' she'd been tasked to help exterminate.

His roared explanation made her lose her balance, her legs giving out from under her, forcing her back to the ground as she lifted her hands to cover her ears. Even through the flesh of her hands she could still hear his words, and a single one stood out among the rest; fear.

He didn't want to be feared.

That was a new notion, if there'd ever been any; he just wanted to be left alone. His frustration was palpable, and as the large dragon retreated back into the darkness of the cave, Kayla's mind raced. After several seconds of pondering, she soon enough came to the strange realization that she much rather take her chances with this Jacelon, Harvester of Bones, than her own uncle. She had no way of returning home; no means to get out of this kingdom, and crawling back to her uncle could have consequences she didn't want to even think about at the current moment, given the fact he expected her to be dead and digested by now.

As such, after juggling several possibilities and ideas in her mind at rapid fire speed... Kayla lowered the hands from her ears and shouted after the retreating dragon's back, "Wait!" instead of pausing to see if he did, indeed, stop walking to listen, she barged on, "Wait! I... I think we can actually help each other! I can help get you what you want; I can guarantee you that peace and quiet you seem to crave and... I kind of need to get out of here before my uncle figures out you've not digested me. Given his demonstrated level of sanity, he might try to cook me and force feed me to you, but... if we can get to my home, where I live, I can guarantee a safe haven. No one will go looking for you, because no one will send anyone after you!" she took a moment to breathe, swallow and continue on, "If you leave me here, I'll die. And if you leave... the cycle will just resume. You want a way out. And so do I. What say we strike a deal?"

 

[AcaciaAvenue]

Jacelon found himself fuming, he was so tired of running, for years upon years he has ran. People scatter and scream at his presence, and that didn't bother him for he was a dragon and it was a natural response. It was the assumptions and the blind hatred that made him do the things he did, it fed directly into what they thought of him, he supposed that part of all this was his fault. His chest heaved with a frustration that he needed to swallow down, lest he take another innocent life, he was not a murderer at heart. He craved peace, and impossibly he craved acceptance among those who don't share his scales, this girl had proven that they weren't all quick to judge.

He found himself stuck in his tracks as he heard her voice echo against his cavern's walls. Why was she chasing after him? He had just excused her from the jaws of death, a free pass.

Jacelon couldn't help but laugh at the idea, this girl actually believed her own people were different from the rest of the world. There wasn't a kingdom he has squatted in that hasn't instantly branded him as a bloodthirsty beast, a flying example of something so smite worthy that they cared not for anything else. "He is your uncle, girl. You share the same hateful blood, whatever home you wish to lead me to will have that blood running through it's veins." He said with a frustrated growl, as if it this were a fact. There were few things in this world that Jacelon knew for certain, one of them was the capacity for violence among humans.

"It will be no different there. Being seen with me will only get you killed, which happens to be the very thing I am trying to avoid." He was after he managed to calm himself down, he didn't know who this human was but she had been civil towards him. There was no possible scenario he could see that would see him being embraced by anything but solitude, this realization took many years of running to manifest, burning the idea deep into his very soul.

"The cycle won't end, you can't offer me something I can't get myself." Jacelon said as he turned to face her. "You won't find your salvation with me, only ruin. Persecution."

 

[Daffu]

Kayla remain on the ground, simply too spent to do much more than sit there; in all honesty, she figured it was only by some sort of higher miracle that her mind was still managing to be articulate at all, instead of forcing her to pass out cold, "Your logic is quite flawed," she told the dragon as he turned around and laughed at her. Maybe, had this been another day, and he another person, she'd have been offended by the fact he'd laughed at her. Something about the tone of his laughter, however, stopped that feeling in it's tracks.

He sounded... bitter.

The fact this large, powerful beast sounded so bitter, so helpless in a sense, made the girl frown, "By your logic, I would be just like my uncle, for his blood flows in my veins. But I am not him, nor is he like my parents," she practically sneered at the idea, "You have not been to my home; it is generally too far north for the likes of your kind. I read about your kind, before coming here; what little I read, I'm not sure is quite true, after having met you, but... if the information is right, and you are cold blooded, the north is not a place you'd have willingly visited in the past," her parents had never told her any tales of dragons in her kingdom, and though it was small (much smaller than her uncle's), it was still quite worthy.

"Despite the difficulties we might have getting you there unseen, or otherwise... incognito, per se, I can guarantee you that the place would be habitable. The inner sanctum; the large northern mountain, has hot springs running their course through it's interior. It is sacred ground. No one goes there, and it is quite warm within," not for the first time, she wished she still wore her clothes, had access to her items and possessions; it would have made all this describing much easier if she'd had access to her limited pool of magic and items, "You would remain entirely unperturbed within it. Safe," she offered him, "My parents would not kill me for keeping you company."

His way of thinking, while completely understandable, upset Kayla deeply for reasons she couldn't quite put her finger on, "Besides, that way of thinking is most hypocritical of you, given that seem to wish to change the general opinion on yourself and your species; please do not lump me or mine with every cut throat idiot the world harbors. There's evil men, stupid men and even insane men..." that small spark of anger had ignited in her eyes again, duller this time, but it was hard to figure out if said righteous anger was really directed at Jacelon, or were actually for him and his plight, "But there are also king men, wise men, good men. Would you lump all dragons into the same bag?"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth, that the girl swooned slightly, recovering just barely, her hand gripping her forehead, "I need help," this was said in a quieter tone of voice before she lifted her gaze to lock with his own, reptilian eyes, "And so do you."

 

[AcaciaAvenue]

"Human blood is hateful by nature." Jacelon explained. "And while I appreciate the cartography lesson, I am going to have to decline." He said stubbornly as he sat down in front of her, his stature painting a clear picture of the differences among their two species. He was one of few black dragons left in these lands, most of the others being picked off due to their preference of a solitary existence. He couldn't help the small smile that came to his face as she mentioned his kind being documented, as if it were as easy as words in a book, just as it would be had he written a book about humans. There were far too many variables.

"That is correct, I am cold blooded. And I have yet to visit the north." Jacelon responded. "That is because I do not wish to leave my home, yet your kind finds themselves hell bent on making that so. I will not be forced from the land my kind have roamed far before the slight inkling of humankind." He said as if the very idea was insulting, and the way she delivered her information, with such technicality, as if his live were a column of facts and figures.

"I am a product of my environment, girl." Jacelon said bitterly, and he wished it wasn't so. "You are the first human that I have held a conversation with that didn't result in bloodshed, the first instance of any of your kind showing me any sort of pleasantness." He said in a harsh tone, although it was not directed towards her. "So forgive me if I have a hard time seeing the good in humankind, the good in your kind." He finished with a huff, smoke pooling from his nostrils for a moment before he managed to control himself. He was so angry, so frustrated, but that all seemed to fade rather quickly as he met her eyes. Something felt different.

She actually cared, about him, why?

Jacelon let out what resembled a sigh, his eyes softening up a bit from their glare. "Let's say I did accept your offer, and I'm not saying I will." He said rapidly. "Who is to say that once I arrive that the people won't be too keen on the idea of having a threat so close to home." He said simply. "And I will be viewed as one. As accepting as your people may be, I am a dragon, and I will be viewed as a dragon." He said with a certainty that came with experience, even the most open minded scholars viewed them as a threat, and they should, it came with the territory. He didn't have a grand notion of worldwide acceptance, the only thing he desired was to be free to live his life, a mutual agreement to leave each other be.

"There are things in this world that are constant." He said in a serious tone. "Fear of my kind is one of them."