A Thousand Years of Boredom

Kyoya didn’t answer, only regarded the Witch’s words with a hum of his own as he walked from one side to another, narrowed eyes taking in the form and details of the dragon’s dead body. He couldn’t help it, you see; it was quite the view, something he had never imagined of seeing in front of his own eyes before. And so close to the touch, too. If only they didn’t need to feed their starving stomachs, the skylark would have preferred to just leave the creature to rot on its own, instead of messing around with its beauty.

The talk between Bernkastel and the villagers was nothing more than background noise for him, till her voice sounded a bit louder and obviously directed at him.

Stopping whatever he was doing, the Cloud Guardian turned back to both Bernkastel and the citizens, who stood in wait for their decision. And then his eyes shifted to the child that had talked previously – a scrawny little kid, dirty hair hoisted in a messy ponytail and cheeks so devoid of fat that he could almost see the line of her bones. Kyoya frowned at the image, bothered; unknowingly to many, his soft spot wasn’t only for small animals. After a moment, steely eyes stared at the strangers again,

“Provide us with a carriage and half of this thing is yours.” The words were probably unexpected, because more surprised gasps followed before some hurriedly nodded their heads and scattered off. His attention went back to Bernkastel then, “I doubt we would be able to consume this much meat before it goes bad.”

She watches the villagers start to inspect the dragon and wonders if they have sharp enough tools to break through its hide. Oh well, that’s not really her problem. Right now, she needs to rest. What she’d really like now is a nap, but she’s not one to sleep in front of strangers. It would be letting her guard down, or worse, inviting in harm. With her powers severely limited, she’d have to be on her guard constantly. 

The Witch drags herself over to a fence and props herself up. This way she’d have a good view of both the dragon and the villagers. Looks like they’re tearing the scales off one by one. When the villagers lay everything out, she’d load a scale or two into the carriage, and take one of the shorter back teeth for an additional weapon. 

@catboxofmiracles | continuation to this.

While Kyoya did register in his mind the sound of Bernkastel moving next to him, just as awake, he was more preocuppied with scowling at the mass of villagers standing around them. Their constant murmurs and hushed voices just served to spike up his already growing irritation, and the raven bared his teeth in a groan, something akin to goddamn crowding whispered under his breath.

He almost thanked the Witch for bothering to give those strangers a voiced answer – because it meant he could just leave the talking to her, while forcing his tired muscles to work as they should and push himself up till he was standing. It wasn’t the smartest of moves, though. Kyoya had to clench his eyes shut for a moment as a wave of diziness washed over him, pressing a hand against his throbbing forehead. But even on uneasy feet, he was able to push his way past the sea of people, ignoring their curious questions as he focused on what was really important.

The dragon they had managed to defeat laid on the ground, lifeless eyes still open and tongue hanging out between its sharp fangs, while blood still seeped out of the hole on its skull. Kyoya squinted at the creature, reaching forward to touch its scaley body (gaining a few surprised gasps from behind him. God, those people needed to chill). It was very much real, solid and still slighly warm under his fingers.

And although the skylark should worry about how the hell that was even possible–

“We can,” she replies. “Once we get the scales off, it’s just like cutting apart a lizard.” Good thing they ran into a dragon too-- all parts are salvageable. The scales are heat-resistant and tough, fangs and claws make good temporary daggers, and of course, meat to eat. The only problem would be... how to do it. The thing is huge, and it’s no easy task. Her Scythe of Miracles is probably the best tool around to hack at the creature, and that’s just one tool. It would take considerable amount of work and effort....

“If you don’t mind,” says someone. It’s a young girl, in a tattered dress stained with dirt-streaks, “we could help you clean up the dragon.”

Which meant they wanted some for themselves. Most likely, their storehouses were burned in the assault, so they’d be starving for quite some time. Not like that was the Witch’s problem-- she needed to fill her stomach first. She thinks for a bit. Without access to her kitties, she couldn’t access the connective space that brings them from her home Fragment to wherever she was. Which means she had no way to store any food, aside from what she could carry herself. 

Her arms are thin. She isn’t used to manual labor.