Melez got down onto her knees and sat next to Eona and looked to
the floor in front of her knees so that if she needed to she could
cry without having a direct audience. She was processing all that
Eona had just said. If she's remembering stuff from when she was
little it is possible that she simply has repressed memories... Or
that this is her second life and she's remembering how she
died... Melez looked over to Eona and let a slight smile pull
her lips a little. "I don't think you're nuts at all. My mother
goes through a similar thing... You know how demons and angels used
to be humans who died? Well, my mother often dreams of how she
died... It's very vivid and she can feel everything... Perhaps it's
something like that? I don't dream of my own death as I have never
died, I was born like this. So I can relate to dreaming or seeing
something painful on a personal level... I dream of my mother's
death as my own, so I understand." She sighed. "Of course I'm
concerned and worried... You're my f..." She stopped as she
realized that she had actually bonded with someone and cared about
them enough to call them a friend, and that the feeling was mutual,
Eona had actually said that she considered Melez a friend. "You're
my friend. Of course I will worry about you when you're not feeling
the best." She smiled broadly as she realized that for the first
time in a long while, she was very happy.
Eona reached over and took hold of one of her friends hands. "Thank
you. That means so much to me. I have been on my own since...well,
not forever because the memories are someplace very dark. But I
remember being five years old and on my own. It can't be from
another life. I am not an angel or a demon, as interesting as that
would be. I'm just me. You're horns give away the fact that you
aren't human. Is your mother a demon? That has to be really
frightening for her to remember her death. I hope it wasn't
anything horrible. I'm sorry that you dream of it too. That has to
be even more terrifying," she said, reaching up to hug Melez. "I'm
really glad that we met."
Melez smiled as she gently reassured Eona, her friend, with a
squeeze of her hands. "It's my pleasure Eona..." She said as she
leaned down and closed the distance between them and let her arms
encompass the smaller female in a warm and friendly, but slightly
painful embrace. She winced as her shoulder stretched in the hug
but she shoved the pain aside knowing that she's assisting her
friend in, very likely, a troubling time. "It is very frightening
for her, but she's gotten used to it, as I'm rather young I'm still
adjusting to it." She smiled deeply all the way to her core. "I'm
very glad and lucky we met too..." She chuckled, trying to avoid
answering the question about her mother's race. Saying yes to that
answer would be lying, and she would really rather not lie to her
one and only friend. She hadn't spent any where enough time
alongside anyone to become their friend.
Eona took a deep breath and then released Melez. "Thank you." Then
she stood and said, "Let's cut the meat up and then we can go
shower. I've been able to rig up a shower in the bathroom off of my
bedroom. There should be plenty of water for us both to take a hot
shower. Would you like to go first?" she asked. "I think I have a
dress that will fit you." She had noticed that her friend hadn't
answered her question. But it really didn't matter what Melez was.
She was Eona's friend and that was what mattered. Actions defined
who you where, not species.
Melez's smile didn't wane as she stood up and went over to the
counter to get started on the cutting of the meat. "You rigged it
yourself? That's pretty impressive... Plumbing, is not one of my
skills so you're ahead of me in that aspect." She chuckled before
stopping suddenly and staring at Eona. "A hot shower?" She asked as
though it was a new phrase. "A dress?" She asked in the same sort
of tone. Not in a rude way, but more of a confused and surprised
way. She never actually had worn a dress, and hadn't take a
hot shower in months. It was roughly thirty to forty towns
back in a city hotel that she had stopped for the night and there
were complimentary showers. She spent almost half an hour in the
hot water rinsing the caked blood and grime from her bruised and
over worked body.
"It's not too terribly impressive," Eona said, chuckling. "The
stream naturally goes that way. I just rigged a way to keep it and
heat it up." She was proud of the fact she'd impressed Melez. But
she wasn't sure it was all that impressive. She'd breathed fire on
the pit and simply fed the flames to make sure the heat was there
when she wanted it. "I'll go get it started so that the water is
warm by the time we get back there. Then I'll set out the dress.
Sorry, I don't have many pants and shirts. I like dresses and I
think all of my pants will be too short on you. I'll be right
back!" Then Eona turned, going to fire up the plumbing. She hadn't
asked if Melez wanted to see it because she would be shifting to
breath fire. And hiding the fact she was a dragon was too much
ingrained in her.
Melez smiled as she listened to how it all worked. She thought it
was fascinating. She didn't waste much time reading or learning
about plumbing as she never thought she'd need the skill. Once Eona
had left the room she went about cutting the meat and she realized
she hadn't asked about where she kept the kitchen knives. She
sighed and debated going after her to ask, but decided to simply
use her own dagger, one of the ones she doesn't use that much. She
always kept her knives clean, after each use she'd find some place,
be it a stream or a sink where she could wash her blades. If
checked there would be no dirt on them, for you can't trust a dirty
blade to fly right when you send it spinning through the air to
sink into it's target. She pulled it out and began cutting the meat
into strips, cubes and shreds. She remembered helping her mother
cook in the kitchen, her father wouldn't come a foot into the
kitchen unless he wanted a wing in the face. Her mother would be
all over the place stirring this, shaking this and testing that.
She remembered sitting at the table and watching her work and
smelling the amazing scents that were the product of what her
mother was making. Melez shook her head bringing her back to the
present as she finished cutting the meat. She moved the three piles
of meat that had been cut differently into the pot of soup and
smiled standing in front of the fire being comforted by her
memories.
Eona shifted once far enough away and shook herself out. Power
rippled through her and she breathed deeply before sending a jet of
white flames at the large pile of wood. Then a sent caught her.
Gold. There was gold in the walls close by. Gold and sapphires.
Maybe some diamonds further down. Wondering over, she raised a
thick, stocky paw and scratched at the wall. Her claws made a loud,
nails on chalkboard sound but Eona paid it no mind. A few inches
in, she found it. A nugget of gold. It was a good sized find but
nothing record breaking. She sniffed it, rubbed her cheeks against
it, then sifted and hugged it to her chest. Oh! She was beyond
happy with this find. Remembering what she'd been doing before, she
skipped off to go pick out that dress for Melez. Looking to all the
world like she was floating on air, Eona skipped into the kitchen.
Passing Melez, she headed across the room and over to the back
wall. There were two doors. She picked the one on the right and
opened it, walking into her bedroom. Grabbing the long, dark blue
dress, she laid it on the bed. Smiling, she nodded. It would be
perfect! The low back would show off Melez's tattoo and perhaps
Eona could ask her about what it was then. Looking down, she
realized she was absently petting her own tattoo. The dragon's head
had moved to under where her hand was tracing a pattern on her arm.
Smiling, she murmured, "You must return to how you were. Melez
might see. I don't want to startle her, běnrén." The tattoo
seemed to pout at her but returned to it's original position.
Holding the nugget of gold, she thought about placing it on the
nightstand but decided against that. She'd hold onto it and put it
in her treasure room while Melez took a shower.
(běnrén means myself. Her tattoo is the representation of her
dragon form and will move from time to time)
Melez jumped and was ripped from her walk through her memories as
an ear splitting noise echoed through the stone halls of Eona's
cave. "What in the name?" She muttered to herself as she took a few
steps towards the source of the sound before telling herself to not
go exploring after it as this was not her own home that she could
roam about in. She turned back to the fire only to turn around once
more as she heard footsteps come and watch Eona pass by holding
something tightly to her chest. Perhaps she's moving her
undergarments? Upon thinking this thought she turned around to
face the fire once more to allow for Eona to move her belongings in
peace. She only hoped that nothing would happen while they were out
so that the dress that Eona would be picking for her wouldn't get
messy or ripped. I wonder what it will look like... Perhaps a
deep red? Or maybe a dark green to offset my reddish skin... Or, oh
my... A blue would be amazing... Come to think of it I don't wear
blue very much... But then again I'm trying to blend into my
surroundings and not stand out... I also don't have time to have a
large wardrobe... I can't carry it with me...
Returning to the kitchen clutching her prize, Eona smiled and said,
"The shower is open if you'd like to start. I'll keep an eye on the
soup. I figure I'll soak our clothes in the tub while we're out and
when we get back, I'll give them a proper washing." Her eyes
sparkled in her excitement over her find and she seemed to dance
about. Right now, her focus was on the happiness and the high of
treasure hunting.
Melez tilted her head as she watched Eona return in a very oddly
happy and joyous mood seeming to skip about. "Sounds good to me,
eh, you okay Eona?" Her eyes caught the sparkle of the gold and a
smile spread across her face as she realized that Eona had only
found a nugget of gold. "I knew there were metals in the caves!
That's a decent sized nugget congratulations on the find Eona!
Could you show me where the shower is? I don't think you told me
earlier..." She chuckles.
Eona froze, hiding the nugget behind her back for a moment.
"Oh...um...yes. I, uh, found it while getting the water hot," she
said, trying not to look so weird. She knew she'd acted very, very
weird. But she managed to not crouch down and growl that it was
hers. For that, she was thankful. "Sorry...I'm...protective of this
kind of stuff...The shower is just in my room. That's the room that
you woke up in. The door to the bathroom is open now. And I hung
the dress up in there so it's easy to find," Eona said, recovering
from her earlier bizarre behavior.
Melez nodded and looked off to the room that Eona had instructed
before performing a very formal and elegant bow. "Thank you for all
you've done for me." When she stood back up she smiled broadly
before walking to Eona's bedroom, seemingly hesitant to enter for a
moment before entering and keeping her eyes on her goal she entered
the bathroom shutting the door silently behind her. Eona acted a
little odd about the piece of gold... But then again she's been
alone for who knows how long... I guess I'd act a little weird
too... She looked around and spotted the dress. "My gods..."
She said breathlessly as she saw the beautiful fabric hanging
nearby. She stopped staring as amazed as she noticed the back.
"That cuts way to low... Drat..." She took the dress down and held
it gently as though it was made of some material that would rip at
the faintest breeze. She walked back out to Eona. "Eona? I'm really
really sorry, but I can't wear this I'm afraid..." She began trying
to think of a reason as to why she couldn't wear it.
Eona had gone to the room to the left of her bedroom. Thinking that
Melez would be in the shower for a little while, she planned to
store her gold. This meant that when Melez came back out, she would
see Eona with the door to the room open and all of her treasure on
display. The room was huge! Roughly the four to five times bigger
then the tavern of the night before, her entire collection was on
display. Precious and costly jewelry lined shelves in row after row
of cases. Meanwhile, a pile of shiny junk metal towered
precariously in one corner. Raw, uncut gems pooled together in a
mosaic of colors in the middle of the room while gold, in nuggets,
coins, and trophies, was arranged in the back. Seeing Melez through
the doorway, Eona froze, her eyes huge and her breathing shallow.
Instinct demanded she shift and growl. To pull all of her treasure
under her belly and hide it under herself. The human side of her
yelled at her to just act normal. But Eona wasn't normal, she
wasn't human. And the dragon in her roared for her to slam the door
shut. In the end, she squeaked out, "...Melez..." All the while,
her dragon tattoo ran in distracting patterns over her skin.
"I can't wear this I'm afr..." Melez stopped mid sentence as she
saw the door behind Eona open leading into a room filled, well, not
quite filled with gold and various other treasures. A swirl of
color was dashing about on Eona's skin all over the place. Melez
stood there staring between the door and Eona for a good thirty
seconds at least before doing anything at all. She took a deep
breath as she realized she had stopped breathing for a moment
before speaking. "I won't say a word. Everyone has their secrets."
Her voice was near emotionless as her amber eyes stared into
Eona's. "I know because I have my own." It all makes sense
now... I wasn't dreaming... I was flying, she did carry me, and
that's why she acted so oddly when I saw the gold... I'M STANDING
IN THE SAME ROOM AS A DRAGON!!!! Okay, keep it together, she's
probably going to freak out a little, okay maybe a lot, so I need
to be ready to get out in case she tries to eat me...
Eona fell to her knees, emotions running through her faster then
she could grasp them. "I...um...I don't eat people! They say that
we do but we don't. Only cruel, evil beings do that and to be fair,
other people attack us for our rightfully gained treasures. I never
stole any of this. It's mine. I bought, mined or find it out in the
forest and cleaned it up. I don't go out and eat peoples livestock.
That isn't honest! It makes people starve and hurt. I hunt out in
the mountains! I'm not dangerous unless someone attacks me first. I
just want to live and be happy! Please....please don't hurt
me....please don't kill me...." Eona cried out. She had gone over
the argument so many times in her head that blurting it out now was
second nature. Backing up, she shifted, all fifteen feet of her
exploding out of her tiny form. Rearing back she shook her head and
returned to her human form. "I can't and won't hurt you, Melez.
You're my friend. I won't hurt you. Please, please don't kill
me..." Tears streamed down her cheeks. Melez had been so
emotionless! Surely that meant she thought Eona was some hideous,
rampaging murderer! No one actually liked dragons, right? They were
feared and hated. Meant to be used or slain. Taking a few deep,
shuddering breathes, she sat on her knees, looking across the room
at Melez. Her hands were folded in her lap and she squeezed them
together so she didn't look like a threat.
Melez could only stand there and blink as Eona fell to the floor
and began begging her to spare her life. But when Eona shifted
Melez reacted then. She gasped and took a large step back, both
hands going to her mouth as the cerulean colored dress fell to the
floor in a cascade of fabric. She was only emotionless because she
was having difficulty processing all of it, she hadn't meant to be
threatening. Melez's knees started to shake and she lost feeling in
them all of a sudden so she fell to the floor as well. She waited a
few moments to calm herself a little bit before trying to speak.
"Kill you? Why would I kill my friend? Why would I kill such an
amazing person?" Her voice was far from emotionless now. It was
filled with confusion and what seemed like sympathy. "Why would I
kill someone who is hiding something like me?" She tilted her head
slightly as she asked this question. Her hands that were moments
ago up covering her mouth are now by her sides partially
outstretched a symbol that there's no weapon in them.
"I...I don't know...I just...people...talk about dragons, about me
like I'm some mindless beast...I...I don't know..." she whispered,
shaking her head and covering her face with her hands as she fought
to keep control of herself. "When I was little...they...they kept
me in a cage...it was small...I don't want to be in a cage. I'm
sorry," she murmured. Eona wanted to run to her friend and hug her,
to seek comfort. But she feared she'd scare Melez. Shaking, she
whispered, "C-can I come over? I'm not going to hurt you...just..."
She focused on her breathing for a moment, getting herself under
control more. Her tattoo had began to settle, moving only up and
down her arm. Her breathing was more even but still shallow. "Don't
want to be alone. I don't want to be alone anymore. I'm tired of
hiding...tired of being on my own..."
Melez's eyes widened as she remembered hearing all of the terrible
stories of dragons on her journey. She never believed it. She knew
there were good and bad dragons as there were good and bad people
everywhere. She stood up silently and began walking over to Eona
with one of her fists partially clenched, as though she was mad
about something, and the other hand outstretched peacefully. Once
close enough Melez dropped to her knees and threw her arms around
the female dragon in human form. "You won't be alone... You don't
have to hide... Not anymore... Not around me..." She said in a
whisper as she embraced Eona, a kindred spirit, a friend, a dragon.
Eona hugged her back, fiercely. "Thank you...thank you...Melez..."
she mumbled, crying into her best friends shoulder. "I'm sorry I
hid. I didn't know what would happen and I was terrified I'd scare
you off. And I have had to hide so I just did what was normal. I'm
sorry I scared you when I shifted. It doesn't happen often but
sometimes I can't contain it. When my emotions get too intense. My
dragon is strong but I'd never hurt someone unless protecting
myself or someone in danger." She curled into her friend, feeling
safe and protected. Melez was part of her clan now. And Eona would
protect her with her life!
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