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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 18, 2021 16:22:39 GMT -5
Anya quickly rose to her feet as well, already knowing what this was going to be about. And sure enough, the elders weren't going to waste time on small talk.
"Anya Dorreh, I speak for all of us here when I say that we have been very lenient on you," The Head Elder, Hendricks, began. "We allowed you to keep your dragon here under the request you keep him on a short leash."
"But it wasn't -" Anya started, but was cut off.
"It might not have been your dragon that came barging through the town, but had you not entered into the mess of Riders and dragons, this wouldn't have happened," Hendricks continued. "There were things we let go by unnoticed as you were being under the supervision of your mentor, and any issues that arose he handled. This, however, is unacceptable. You go off for three months and return with not only your dragon, but another. You have used your so called magic against a member of this town with the intent to harm, a fact we graciously let slide under the rug since it was the first offense you ever had, and now a strange dragon appears and destroys nearly half the town. I don't suppose you know anything about the reason for it, do you?"
Anya stared at him for a moment. She had a wild guess as to what the Riders had been here for, but she didn't want to say it. She didn't want them to think that Seth was a wanted criminal and make things even worse. Even though, she didn't now how it could get any worse.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 18, 2021 17:11:00 GMT -5
While there was a brief second of appalled silence at his blunt answer, Hendricks was not going to be cowed by the young man. "And just how many lives were lost today?" he asked. "We've done headcounts, and there is a noticeable lack in numbers. Men, women, and children alike. You think we should be grateful? If she was never a Rider, she wouldn't have others flocking here with ill intent. Or perhaps she planned this all along. Her grandfather was kin to a Shade, after all."
"We all knew that those twins would be trouble," one of the women spoke. Anya noticed it was Syrus, the one who had once been the wood carver by trade. "Since day one, they've been bad omens."
"And then that black beast was hatched," Elder Remus piped in. By now several of the townsfolk had gathered closer, some nodding their heads in agreement. "Nothing but evil in him, I've always said."
As if on cue, Corrik's shadow flew across them before he landed behind Seth and Anya. He towered over the two, growling and bloodied fangs bared. Granted, that wasn't the smartest move to prove their claims wrong, but Anya didn't have the heart to stop him. If anything, her current state left her vulnerable to his anger, and she felt the familiar pit in her stomach that was the mark of her siphoning magic.
At the sudden appearance of the dragon, everyone fled a few steps away and out of reach. "What did I say?" Remus asked. "Vile creature. No good every came from their kind."
Many of the onlookers nodded once more. A lot were faces Anya knew. They weren't on friend levels with her, but she had grown up around these people. The people who at one point in time at least spared her a kind word and a smile of greeting.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 17:28:04 GMT -5
Seth struggled to rein in his temper before he did something stupid. They were a bunch of fearful, ignorant fools. Nothing he said would get through to them and he knew it, yet he tried anyway. "A few losses is better than your complete annihilation." Not by much, admittedly. Any innocent life lost was a tragedy. Seth swept on without letting the thought be known.
"Dragons are an older and far wiser race than humans. Corrik chose Anya for a reason, and it wasn't to bring harm or destruction. You have no right to claim otherwise or judge them for things they haven't done." His gaze swung to Syrus. "If they're a bad omen, then I'm the devil. So watch your tongue. The color of a dragon's scales is not a sign of their character. For example."
At his words, Stel landed off to Corrik's right, almost behind the retreating elders. She was covered in blood, but her bright silver scales shone through anyway.
Seth smiled grimly. "That dragon is much more likely to bite your heads off and enjoy every minute of it." A lie, of course, but they didn't need to know that. Of course, now he really wasn't helping matters. But Seth couldn't bring himself to care. These pompous bastards needed to be put in their place.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 18, 2021 17:51:11 GMT -5
They all turned when Stel landed behind them, a gruesome sight as she was covered in blood. Seth words to describe her personality did little to help their opinions on the matter. "And once more, she brought such a beast here willing knowing that," Hendricks returned, looking back to Seth. "With a Rider that is equally questionable."
Anya had been silent, trying her hardest not to do or say anything that would worsen the situation. Yet the amount of anger flooding her senses was too much. "Enough!" she shouted. At the same time, a wall of flame rose between them and the elders. The flames reached so high that Corrik had to move his head as to not get caught. It hadn't been directed at anyone, but was more to just release the energy being gathering in her that had nowhere else to go. After a few seconds, the wall died away, leaving a large area charred in its wake. Silence fell over the people, and it was then that Anya knew she had messed up. The fear momentarily pushed through the anger as she quickly stepped forward to apologize. "Elder Hendricks, I'm sorry, I -"
"You'll come no closer," Hendricks said, and the young woman froze. "You've done enough to prove where you stand. Bringing danger to this town, and turning the very flames that once wiped Ashborne off the map entirely against the people who tried to accept you despite your lineage. You show that too much of the Shade's taint is in your blood, and for that, we will tolerate it no more. You have two days to be out of this town before you bring the rest of your family into the mess. We're already being generous as it is for giving you this long. Are we understood."
Anya, on the verge of a breakdown, only gave a shallow nod in answer.
"Good. We'll be watching. If you are not gone by sunset of the last day, we will be paying your family a visit." And with that, the Elders turned and was careful to give the dragons a wide berth as they left to go join the ranks of the townsfolk once more.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 18, 2021 19:02:39 GMT -5
Anya didn't even notice what Seth had done. Her breathing was growing more rapid and the shaking was worse. She didn't know Seth had moved her, had seen when he taken her into his arms and brought her back home. Nor did she hear the shouts from inside or rush of footsteps on the porch as her family, who had been impatiently awaiting their return, came outside to check on them. Only when her mother came up beside them hands on her face and asking questions to both of them did she react. There was no room to breath, no space to get away. She pushed them away, stumbling backwards. She turned as if to run, but her shaking legs didn't carry her far. Instead, she dropped to her knees as her stomach turned against her, retching soon changing to sobbing.
Maria didn't blink an eye. She was immediately beside her daughter, gathering her hair back and talking soothingly, trying to calm her down. She gently helped to clean her daughter's face with her handkerchief she always carried. Then held her close as the crying took over. Yet no matter the soothing words or the gentle questions, she got no more than, "I'm sorry. I messed up," as an answer, over and over again.
"Seth, are you two alright?" Marcus asked, coming over to the younger man. He placed a hand on his shoulder when he saw the amount of blood on his shirt. Concern was written on every line of his face, but he wasn't one to just pile on useless questions all at once.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 18, 2021 19:49:17 GMT -5
"Don't apologize. Those entitled bastards have been at our necks for years," Marcus informed. "They would never dare to say anything to our faces, but we knew they didn't have the best opinions of the twins. And then was Corrik hatching, it became a thinner tightrope. Yet they all seemed eager to overlook their prejudices when it was Corrik who was supplying the town with extra food for the winter." He shook his head. "Mind you, I've been tempted to punch one or two of them myself growing up."
"I thought you did take a swing at Elder Remus one year," Felix said.
"For all legal purposes, that was a misunderstanding," Marcus said, giving his son a "we've been over this" look.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Aug 18, 2021 20:06:45 GMT -5
"Good boy," Marcus said, releasing his shoulder so he could give him a pat on the back. Then sighed as the dragons made it back to the house. He spotted the blood on both and knew that they would need tending. "You go on inside. Help Maria get Anya in. The boys and I will take a look at the Stel and Corrik for you. We might not be professionals, but we should be able to clean them up and get them taken care of," he said. Corrik he knew wouldn't be the issue. Stel, on the other hand, might. However, with Seth injured, Marcus wasn't going to let him do anymore than the bare minimum. "Aidan's up in your room with Hero and Star too. I imagine he'll be bursting with curiosity."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Aug 18, 2021 20:47:27 GMT -5
Seth nodded. "Thank you. I'll just grab Anya some clean clothes first." He slipped out, and entered Anya's bedroom.
Aidan was sitting in the middle of his bed, playing with a couple action figures Seth had bought him and Anya's dragon. Hero was making a nuisance of himself to his mother. They all stopped when Seth stepped in.
"Seth!" Aidan moved to jump up, but Seth stopped him with a raised hand. The boy's eyes went wide when he spotted the blood all over Seth. "Are you okay?" he asked in a whisper.
Seth nodded. "I'm all right. This is just what's left," he said, spreading his arms to indicate the blood. "I'll tell you everything in a bit." A watered down version of everything, anyway. "Just let me wash up first, okay?"
Aidan nodded and settled on the bed again. "Okay." He watched as Seth collected clean clothes for himself and Anya. Hero was trying to get his attention, but Seth didn't want to pet the pup and stain his golden fur with blood. He used his foot to give him some pets instead, then quickly ducked back out into the hall. He knocked on the bathroom door and waited.
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