Cassandra Pendragon
"You don't want me to get involved, anymore, do you," I chuckled. "Are you worried I'd be disappointed? Or maybe angry?"
"Not quite," she laughed, but immediately became serious again. "You're old enough to understand me, but that's not the point. They… I think it's about much more than just emancipation or the founding of a new dragon line. Rumours have spread… I'm afraid they want much more from me than I'm willing to give."
"As in? Come on, Viyara, don't beat around the bush. It's not going to help." She sighed.
"It's not on purpose. I didn't have much time to talk to Ignus and he was much more vague than I am now. He's… look, I don't think it's about my kin accepting me anymore. They already know who Aurelia is and now it's more about roping her and me into their little schemes. Not to mention that Sera scares them to hell and back. I…" the heat she gave off intensified once more before she rushed through her next words: "to them I fear I'm the missing link that could connect dragons, immortals and even the ancient vampires. Not to mention my own bloodline. Controlling me is, I hope, off the table, but… I think they actually plan on turning me into some kind of…"
"Princess, in name at least," I finished quietly. With a lopsided smirk I wrapped my arm around her shoulder once more and steered her towards the creek. "Hon, I hate to break it to you, but you actually are. You're about as closely related to true dragons as I am to kitsune. Don't worry too much. If it makes you feel any better, I'll find a way to accompany you without anyone being the wiser. On the other hand, I don't even think you need me to. It's your family, it's your decision. Whichever path you decide to take, Ahri and I will have your back. Whatever happens." I felt her tremble ever so slightly as she forcefully cooled her body down and leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Thank you. I already knew, but…"
"Sometimes we just need to hear it. Believe me, I know. Do you… should we go somewhere else? I don't think I can tell you anything useful, but if you want me to I'll listen."
"I'm not a child anymore," she snorted, albeit the tiniest bit huskily. "Besides, Aurelia is probably the one I should talk to. I can't imagine our angels caring about the aspirations of winged lizards, but to her it would come as quite the surprise, if she suddenly had to deal with a bunch of us."
"Winged lizards," I echoed and cocked an eyebrow. "You're actually becoming more like me with every day. Don't you see yourself as a dragon anymore?"
"I do. Sometimes. But I guess by now I'm probably much closer to a short lived species… every time I try to follow my instincts you reign me back in after all. They don't even flare up as often anymore." I pursed my lips and brought us to a stop in the shadow of the last boulder before we'd reach the creek. By now I could clearly make out Lin's voice rising and falling in a hushed explanation of what the girls had missed.
"Are you still peeved that I didn't allow you to enter Miriel's mind uninvited?"
"Not really. It was embarrassing, though. Why do you even care so much? It's not like I'd have hurt her badly."
"Your thoughts should be your own. To me, forcing your way into someone's mind is pretty close to rape." I could practically feel her frown when she asked:
"But you've still done it yourself, once or twice. How…"
"You've been there. I didn't have much of a choice. I'm also not the biggest fan of murder, torture or violence in general, but we can't choose the world we're born into. I'd rather suffer from a bad conscience over violating my principles, than having to cry over the corpse of some I care for. Morals, convictions… you have to be in a position where you can actually afford them. For the most time we weren't. It turned out well enough, without the need to hurt Miriel, didn't it?"
"And if it wouldn't have?"
"Then I'd have been the one to break her, not you," I replied quietly. "It wouldn't have been the first time for me and I can deal with it. Viyara, I've promised to keep you safe, haven't I? That also includes protecting you from yourself… if it ever becomes necessary. Can we change the topic, now? I know you don't want me to shoulder your burdens, but that's still the prerogative of age and you're not going to change my mind, whatever you're going to say."
"Now I actually do feel like a child," she huffed warmly. "More so than I ever did back in my father's hoard." I felt her move before her lips brushed against my cheek. "Thank you."
"For patronising you? You've really grown up. A month ago you'd have chewed me out."
"A month ago I'd have been blushing and wouldn't have heard a word after kissing you."
"Fair enough," I chuckled and tightened my grip on her hand. "Come on, then. I really want to take a bath, or at least cool my heels if you're not going to let me go in the nude. Sitting on the edge with my feet in the water sounds nice enough. It's just a pity I never took the time to store a barrel of wine in my stamp."
"You can't get drunk anyways. Why the fuss?" I only shrugged. I couldn't very well tell her that I enjoyed watching others gradually getting intoxicated, could I?
Once we had circumnavigated the boulder, a bend in the creek appeared before us. The rushing waters had hollowed out a perfect, albeit small, circular beach where pebbles and rocks had been ground into sand. Baihe and Yueji had coiled themselves around their companions and the two women were talking in low, soft murmurs. The rising moon painted a fascinating pattern on their colourful hair as their silky tresses moved silently in the cold wind. Their respective dragons were apparently asleep, their glowing eyes closed, but every once in a while a bright shimmer ignited under their scaled lids and washed over the dark meadow. Half closed blossoms glowed in red and violet and yellow for the fraction of a second before the smooth darkness swallowed the flowers once again.
"Are you done planning," I asked as I glided out of the shadows. "What's going to happen?" The two spirit beasts had felt me approach long ago, but the women seemed rather rattled when their gazes fell upon me. They still managed a warm and welcoming smile. Lin even got to her feet and wordlessly offered me the smooth rock she had been resting on. I shook my head and strutted past them until the icy water played around my toes. With a satisfied sigh I stooped and sprinkled my face. What the hell, I thought, not like light can get wet, before I simply laid down and allowed the brook to wash around my body. Goosebumps erupted along my spine and arms, but I could also feel my mind clear almost immediately. Icy water worked even better than coffee. Come to think of it, it was about time that I got my paws on a few kilos of properly roasted beans. A similar plant even existed on Gaya, but nobody had yet managed to produce anything but a deadly bitter slop with it.
Soft steps made me look around, just as Lin crouched low near the riverbank and playfully splashed a handful of water in my direction while Viyara settled down close to Mei. She even leaned against her snow white dragoness without hesitation. "My brother and father will take Constantine to the capital tomorrow morning. It shouldn't take them more than a handful of days to reach it. A few of our more powerful disciples will accompany them. A bit of decorum never goes amiss when visiting the Imperial Court. Elder Yang, the third Elder, the one you've met, is currently commanding her beasts to explore further north. The map you gave us has proven useful already. As soon as she finds the demonic cultivators, our entire sect will rally and put an end to their threat, once and for all. As for me… I'm just waiting for you. You haven't forgotten, have you? I still want to come with you."
"And those two," I indicated Mei and Baihe with a jerk of my head. "I can't believe they'll simply sit around to wait for news."
"Indeed they won't," she admitted with a smile. "I… look, when I asked, you didn't even flinch and allowed me to tag along. If I'm not mistaken, that means you're sure you can keep me alive. Would two more people make a difference?"
"Pretty much," I sighed. "They're too young. I don't know what's waiting for us and while I do believe that I'm more than capable of keeping you safe, I'm not entirely sure. Not to mention that there's a good chance you'll have to make your way back all on your own. But ultimately it's your decision. She's your disciple, I guess? Her safety is your responsibility. I wouldn't take a child along, but I also won't deny her, if she has your blessing."
"Mei's 21. If she's a child, then what am I in your eyes? In our world, people come of age at fifteen."
"An adolescent, maybe," I laughed and lowered myself into the water until most of my head was submerged. "To me age has very little to do with the number of years you've lived through, but rather the experiences you've made along the way. Recently I've met a boy, Jimmy… he can't be much older than ten summers, but I'd still call him an adult. I don't know enough about the two of you, but I've tasted Mei's scent. I had to to bring her back. She's definitely a far cry from being mature. I'd rather not take her along on a journey that might force her to grow up in a single day."
She hummed and reached for a flat, polished stone on the riverbed. With a flick, of her wrist she sent it scooting across the brook until it struck a boulder with enough force to shatter into tiny splinters. "Now I'm at an impasse," she admitted. "That's precisely the reason why I wanted to take her along. Isn't growing up something desirable?"
"Not from where I'm standing… lying. Innocence and childhood are closely linked. You can't grow up without losing the former. Isn't your duty to prolong her childhood as much as possible?"
"I…," she sounded genuinely thoughtful. "Maybe. Does that mean you think I've lost my innocence?" I inhaled deeply and savoured her smell of forget-me-nots and roses.
"I did call you an adolescent, didn't I? Still… you'd have hardly become a sect leader if you hadn't. Why all the questions? My answers can't be of much use to you. It should be plenty clear by now that I'm not sane, at least by your standards. You wouldn't ask your dragoness which clothes to wear to impress your personal Prince Charming either, would you?" Most of her reply was swallowed by the brook when a larger chunk of ice passed me by and the resulting waves covered my ears. She was still chucking when I raised my head and spat out a mouthful of water, spluttering and coughing like a cat in a bath. Liquids simply didn't belong in lungs, not even immortal ones, and I still had all my organs. Admittedly, I didn't really need them, anymore, but my magic had still faithfully replicated the makeup of my kitsune body. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to eat or drink, either.
From the corner of my tearing eye I saw an azure shimmer cover Lin's hand for the fraction of a moment before she glided into the creek and pulled me to my feet. A fluffy blue towel was being draped over my shoulders as she ushered me towards the laughing tea party of three dragonesses and a human girl. "For a fearsome, ancient warrior you're surprisingly clumsy," the sect master chuckled and gently patted my back in a vain attempt to clear my airways.
"All part of my charms," I croaked and cleared my throat. I didn't mind the icy temperature, but inhaling almost frozen water still burned like a… By the time she had led me to the gawking gathering I could at least draw breath again without coughing.
"Thank you so much for your support," I grumbled and poked Viyara with the tip of my foot before I dropped down at her side. Then I tugged on my towel and added: "she comes running and you're busy laughing."
"Sorry. I didn't know an immortal could succumb to the terrifying dangers of a creek that's at least half a metre deep. I…" she paused and I felt my ears twitch at the same time when a tense silence suddenly descended on the group. Right… immortal had to be a pretty loaded term around here. I had already told them why we had come, but I had never deemed it necessary to explain what I actually was. A wry smiled spread across my face as I leaned back against Baihe's smooth, but cold scales. The muscles underneath twitched every so slightly. "Sorry, for real this time," Viyara uttered under her breath. A resigned sigh escaped me.
"No matter, if the four of them want to come with me, we'll have to have this conversation anyways…" when I looked around I found them staring at me with a mixture of curiosity, awe and just a slight shaving of trepidation. Well, to tell the truth, it was mostly curiosity. I couldn't even imagine what outlandish tales they had come up with to explain my abilities. Maybe they had taken me for a powerful spirit from the land of dreams?
"Hello again," I began, "my name is Cassandra Pendragon. I belong to an ancient race that is reborn upon death. This time I've been born into a kitsune family. We're called immortals… or rather, we call ourselves that. Mainly because we actually can't die, unless one of our own tries to kill us. There aren't many of us, far less than you have disciples in your sect, but you've seen a small part of what I can do and I'm not even fully grown, yet. So much for what I am. I assume you've been speculating quite a bit. So, instead of me guessing, why don't you just ask what you want to know?" As if they had been waiting for an invitation Mei immediately blurted out, her anxiety entirely gone:
"Which one is the real you? The fox dragon or the human?" I wrinkled my nose.
"I'm not a human. I'm a kitsune, but to answer your question: both. Right now I can't contain all aspects of my power in a single body. I can channel more energy as a fox dragon, but I have a much easier time with everything else when I'm like this. Like the difference between two different tools. I was also born into this skin, so I'm actually more comfortable walking around on two legs. Plus, the size sucks. Just ask your dragon how much fun it is, when you can't get through a door."
"What she means to say is, she prefers to be gawked at because of her looks and not her size," Viyara snorted. "Don't be fooled, the princess is pretty vain, even though she tries her hardest to hide it." I rolled my eyes, but luckily the two rapid fire questions that followed had nothing to do with my character:
"Princess?" "Then what are you to her? Are you also an immortal?"
"I'm her…," Viyara began, but I cut her off:
"Family, she's family. Like I said, I was born a kitsune. I have siblings, I have a mother, I had a father… and they just happen to be royalty amongst our tribe." Lin seemed intrigued, but instead of prying further into my past she turned to the dragoness in the body of an elf and asked:
"Is she implying you're also a kitsune? Can they change into different creatures?"
"Her family actually can," Viyara replied pensively, "but we're connected by choice, not blood."