Post by Kaida Leucos on Oct 16, 2024 22:17:58 GMT
Kaida
Every muscle in her body cried out in protest as she trudged through the streets of the village. The uneven dirt street made her footing uneasy, and quite a few times her ankle almost rolled underneath her.
“Careful…” a gentle young voice echoed in her head and she rolled her eyes, but despite herself she felt a smile forming on her face. Novoros had been in her life for nearly half a year at this point - he was getting big, too big for Kaida to carry him in her bag or under her cloak, and so he flew high, high ahead. His size and color made him almost mistakable for a crow if you didn’t look hard enough - and they were both counting on nobody looking hard enough.
Dragons weren’t a rare sight in Quenyi – nearly everyone had seen one, and many were riders themselves, but it was not the correct time for a young dragon to be flying about. The last bonding ceremony had been long ago, those dragons were already grown, their riders already seasoned. Novoros was only the size of a wolfhound - a large wolfhound, to be sure, but still much too small to make sense. Kaida had heard rumors of stolen eggs, whispers of vengeful broodmothers hunting for their young, leaving none alive in their wake. So – probably best to just keep their situation on the down low until Novo was big enough to ride.
“I do not look like a crow,” a huffy voice whined. Kaida chuckled slightly and looked up. She continued trudging along – she was so very nearly to her destination, and then she and Novoros could sun on the rocks by the lake, and she could rest her weary muscles.
Ocia, where her family lived, and where she spent most of her time onshore, had been fine when Novoros was a bit smaller, but he was getting harder to conceal. It would only be a little longer before he was large enough to pass for a dragon grown – a tiny one, but a dragon grown all the same – and then she would be fine. The only explaining she’d have to do would be to her mother and grandfather, a few cousins, maybe an uncle… but then she would be free to go home. She sighed.
These months had been a bit fraught, the strange dreams of the Quenyese king hadn’t stopped – not for her or for Novo. It was odd, the images seemed so familiar right until she woke up, and then the feeling was just a whisper. It also hadn’t been helping her sleep. But she was at least glad her father knew her secret. His quiet, gruff demeanor did not betray him, but Kaida knew he had been excited, accepting… proud, even, of the fact that she had discovered the dragon’s egg in the seedy underbelly of Ocia’s markets. It wouldn’t have been like her to leave it there – and anyway, she was the type of person to take things like that as a sign! It was a Quenyese thing. If Novoros was not meant for her, why did she feel such a strong pull to the black onyx of his egg? Why did the linen curtain concealing its location fall away just so? And why, then, was it so easy to steal?
She smirked as she continued on, looking up to see the shore of the lake approaching her very quickly. She heard the gentle, familiar chirp of Novoros as he landed next to her. They were far out enough, far from other people, they needn’t worry about prying eyes.
“You looked good up there, little crow,” Kaida giggled, scratching the scales below Novoros’s chin as he bristled. He nipped at her hand and then blew a chortle of smoke out of his nose. ”And you looked like an ant.” He replied. They both broke into giggles as Kaida began peeling her boots and leathers off to jump into the lake. Novoros was way ahead of her, splashing like a cannonball into the cold water. Kaida followed closely behind, and like children, they splashed and played.
After a while, Kaida crawled back onto the shore. A flat slab of dark stone hung into the lake, and she lay her back on it, sighing contentedly as the heat seeped into her sore muscles. Novoros continued to splash and play, chasing fish and diving as deep as he could stand.
Kaida eyelids were heavy, opening less and less with each passing blink. She rested a hand on her bare stomach and allowed her eyes to close. It was so warm… so nice…
And then the telltale pitterpatter of footsteps on dirt jolted her back to her senses.
“Novo…” she hissed, turning toward the dragon. “Novoros!” She snapped – the black dragon stopped his splashing and glanced at her. “Someone is coming – hide!” she whispered. The black dragon nodded and scampered onshore, diving behind the rock as Kaida stood.
“Hark?” she offered, wincing at the awkward language. “Er… Hello? Who goes there?”
“Careful…” a gentle young voice echoed in her head and she rolled her eyes, but despite herself she felt a smile forming on her face. Novoros had been in her life for nearly half a year at this point - he was getting big, too big for Kaida to carry him in her bag or under her cloak, and so he flew high, high ahead. His size and color made him almost mistakable for a crow if you didn’t look hard enough - and they were both counting on nobody looking hard enough.
Dragons weren’t a rare sight in Quenyi – nearly everyone had seen one, and many were riders themselves, but it was not the correct time for a young dragon to be flying about. The last bonding ceremony had been long ago, those dragons were already grown, their riders already seasoned. Novoros was only the size of a wolfhound - a large wolfhound, to be sure, but still much too small to make sense. Kaida had heard rumors of stolen eggs, whispers of vengeful broodmothers hunting for their young, leaving none alive in their wake. So – probably best to just keep their situation on the down low until Novo was big enough to ride.
“I do not look like a crow,” a huffy voice whined. Kaida chuckled slightly and looked up. She continued trudging along – she was so very nearly to her destination, and then she and Novoros could sun on the rocks by the lake, and she could rest her weary muscles.
Ocia, where her family lived, and where she spent most of her time onshore, had been fine when Novoros was a bit smaller, but he was getting harder to conceal. It would only be a little longer before he was large enough to pass for a dragon grown – a tiny one, but a dragon grown all the same – and then she would be fine. The only explaining she’d have to do would be to her mother and grandfather, a few cousins, maybe an uncle… but then she would be free to go home. She sighed.
These months had been a bit fraught, the strange dreams of the Quenyese king hadn’t stopped – not for her or for Novo. It was odd, the images seemed so familiar right until she woke up, and then the feeling was just a whisper. It also hadn’t been helping her sleep. But she was at least glad her father knew her secret. His quiet, gruff demeanor did not betray him, but Kaida knew he had been excited, accepting… proud, even, of the fact that she had discovered the dragon’s egg in the seedy underbelly of Ocia’s markets. It wouldn’t have been like her to leave it there – and anyway, she was the type of person to take things like that as a sign! It was a Quenyese thing. If Novoros was not meant for her, why did she feel such a strong pull to the black onyx of his egg? Why did the linen curtain concealing its location fall away just so? And why, then, was it so easy to steal?
She smirked as she continued on, looking up to see the shore of the lake approaching her very quickly. She heard the gentle, familiar chirp of Novoros as he landed next to her. They were far out enough, far from other people, they needn’t worry about prying eyes.
“You looked good up there, little crow,” Kaida giggled, scratching the scales below Novoros’s chin as he bristled. He nipped at her hand and then blew a chortle of smoke out of his nose. ”And you looked like an ant.” He replied. They both broke into giggles as Kaida began peeling her boots and leathers off to jump into the lake. Novoros was way ahead of her, splashing like a cannonball into the cold water. Kaida followed closely behind, and like children, they splashed and played.
After a while, Kaida crawled back onto the shore. A flat slab of dark stone hung into the lake, and she lay her back on it, sighing contentedly as the heat seeped into her sore muscles. Novoros continued to splash and play, chasing fish and diving as deep as he could stand.
Kaida eyelids were heavy, opening less and less with each passing blink. She rested a hand on her bare stomach and allowed her eyes to close. It was so warm… so nice…
And then the telltale pitterpatter of footsteps on dirt jolted her back to her senses.
“Novo…” she hissed, turning toward the dragon. “Novoros!” She snapped – the black dragon stopped his splashing and glanced at her. “Someone is coming – hide!” she whispered. The black dragon nodded and scampered onshore, diving behind the rock as Kaida stood.
“Hark?” she offered, wincing at the awkward language. “Er… Hello? Who goes there?”
I can't stop you from putting roots in my dreamland
Last Edit: Nov 19, 2024 21:55:19 GMT by Silvermist
