ambition . overlord . cruelty .

              there is no distinction between debate  &&  combat to a dragon .  TINVAAK  LOS  GRAH  .  for us it is one and the same.

such a creature’s tongue she spoke not.  and yet as any mage ought,  she smiled and nodded,  offering any impression that she knew;  that she cared not for consequence but knowledge.  “of course i ask for power,”  she proclaimed,  snapping her words with the confidence of an accomplished sorceress (which she certainly was not).  “state your price–”  for a moment,  she faltered;  such respect for such a beast she knew not.  should she not speak with more reverence?  she had never seen a dragon like this;  she knew none who knew such a dragon as this. “–my lord dragon,  and i shall accept.”

        ❛  YES  ,  OF COURSE YOU DO  .               a guttural hum of consideration sounds through the beast’s belly  &&  its head snakes closer to her own to better observe with its one still-seeing eye  .          ❛   orin krin  ?  mey joor  ?  i find myself wondering if you are a courageous sorcerer or simply a  foolish  mortal  . after all  ,  what reason is there to state a price  ,  when you have already agreed to accept it  ?

               the serpent echoes back  ,  reserved  &&  deliberate  .  it watches her with few  ,  slow blinks in between  ,  spending away the seconds  &&  minutes as one who has plenty of patience to spare for them both  .

❛ i put you in harm’s way . forgive me . ❜

      SHE DUSTS OFF HER ROBES WITHOUT COMPAINT. A bit scraped up, disheveled, her ponytail lopsided. But otherwise there was no harm done, and she’d even enjoyed the moment of disorientation. Her rabbit on the other hand, peeks out of her sleeve, and rolls from it like a little meat bun. 

“ Well we cannot all anticipate the actions of others! ” she replies enthusiastically, looking up to give the dragon a bright smile. She knew of him and his kind only through stories and legends shared by her mother( and yomigami ).” We’re safe now of course, and the view here is really incredible too! For that I thank you. ”

@dovonik​  /  hos

        ❛         THEY  SEE  LITTLE  USE  THESE  DAYS  ,  dii  viingge            my wings           &&  so they do not sail the winds as smoothly as they once did  ,  you see  .        &&  they find themselves weary from such feeble uses of their strength these days  ,   not through mortal aging  ,  which cannot be  known  to them at all  ,  but merely lack of routine  .  such minor trifles are worth  ,  of course  ,  present company  .  such goes without saying  .  (  &&  yet still they speak  ,  for the mere indulgence of having someone who would listen  .  )

      ❛   dii lot zin           it is my great honor to have a god on my mountain  ,  at the throat of the world  .

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓; 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒏.    A battle preferably avoided.    One less for glory’s sake than it were a pride’s demand to die fighting in lieu of cowering like prey …  forced into motion by vibrations, Thranduil’s unwilling feet tread on the spot.    He swallows dryly, PIERCING BLUES stubbornly pinned to dragon’s scaled head which descends and lets details grace the beholder’s eye.

A gasp catches at the back of his throat, and what the stiff elf assumes to be common dragon language seems to faze him barely — what needs to be understood is understood.

❝  Ere I am proven otherwise, yes  ❞,  drops a simple response to the serpent’s query, hand around sword’s handle tightening so that it trembles isn’t seen.    But he keeps the STEEL sheathed.    Thranduil must pause, lest ancient fear bleed through firm voice where his endeavor to maintain a nonchalant mien claims success.    ❝  What would your aim be, if not to cast ruin upon us ?  ❞

                  AGES  OF  LESSENED  USE  has dimmed their senses from what they once were but the scent of fear is an unforgettable one  ,  too  deep  a craving it once ran through the mind  .  it is one of the many wants that are quelled  &&  tempered  ,  but still  ,  they recognize it on the elf-king for what it is  .

      ❛  of course  .   i would not ask for  blind  faith  .  again  ,  you are wise in your caution  .              the question  ,  too  ,  is a fair one  .  one which buries paarthurnax into a moment of long consideration  .

        ❛  zu  laan  diisedrem  ,  zin  ahrk  moro  wah  vahrukiv   .  .  .  how to say in one of your tongues  .  .  .  inner-peace  ,  yes  ,  honor  &&  glory to the valar  .  these are what i dedicate myself to  ,  with days of ruin long past  ,  ‘though admittedly  ,  always a temptation clawing at the mind  .  however  ,  zin  krif  horvut  se  suleyk  : 

             the creature dips its head to the ground  ,  the closest semblance to a bow it is able to give  &&  a monumental gesture at that  ;;  for a dragon to hold its  pride  lower than the respect of any other living thing is a rare thing indeed  .

                atop the dragons mountain arrive two rabbits  ,  carrying a hefty parcel  .  inside are a collection of old scrolls containing old nippon legends  .  the inside is sprinkled with pink petals  , &&  a couple apricots  .  the rabbits dip their heads in respectful bows  .

             curiouser  &&  curioser the little goddess proves to be  ,  indeed  .              the motion of life stirs paarthurnax from their meditations with a relative quickness  ,  so rare an occasion it makes for  &&  never before anything quite so  .  .  .  delicate  .  a curious tilt to the elder dragon’s head at recognition  :  rabbits  .  they are strained to think of the last memory they have of rabbits  .  many mortal lifetimes ago  ,   to be certain  &&  hardly with any spared thought in those years  .

                 what would make for many more moments of exertion on the small animal’s behalf is covered over a few short steps by the dragon  .  they peer down at the entirety of the  unusual  spectacle  :  the small creatures  ,  the scrolls  ,  the fruit  &&  graceful adornment to it all  ,  with a close enough stare that when they exhale a warm breath from their nostrils it tugs at the rabbits’ furs in the direction opposite to the stormy gales already threatening to sweep them away  .         ❛  rek  ofan  kogaan  ?               a guttural hum of uncertainty sounds through the serpent’s throat  &&  chest  .  they do not accept offerings  ;;  but the boons of a  goddess  .  .  .  a different matter to consider  .  they will have much to meditate on  ,  it would seem  .  but first          they lower their snout into the snow to look the rabbits in their eyes  .  

                ❛  i will not bid you make the journey back down from this mountain alone  ,  little messengers  .  where to shall we fly  ?

𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒛𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕, 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒘𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒍𝒆.    With clenched jaws and wide stare a tense frown adorns, Thranduil beholds that dragon ( objectively, a beautiful creature ).    And wields ignorance toward old instincts screaming at him to run.

❝  Hesitation is an understatement  ❞,  presses a growl through the ELVENKING’s teeth, one hand meanwhile slipping underneath a layer of fine fabric to rest atop sheathed sword’s hilt.    ❝  Why ought I to believe your words, if your kind has been created for vile purposes ?  ❞    He wishes to believe in the existence of benevolent serpents, but alas, experience was a cruel teacher.

                THE  VERY  EARTH  SHAKES  beneath unfurling movement  ,  wings unfolding  &&  head rising to look upon the elfking proper with one still-seeing eye  .  in the furthest depth of serpent’s mind there is a call to  conquest  made by he who would threaten a sword against its claw  &&  fang  .   false  claims of glory  &&  honor to be found in the challenge of battle even after countless years  .  a reminder of ever-tempered instinct of which the monarch speaks to this very moment  .

      ❛  vahzah  .  you ask a fair question  .  domination  is in the nature of all dragons  ;;  it is in my very name  :  paar  thur  nax             ambition  ,  overlord  ,  cruelty  .  yes  .  .  .  that is the  .  .  .  vile  ‘ purpose ’  i have been created for  ,  as you say  . thus one might say i have worked to to dominate my  own  nature in turn             kron  dii  bahlok   .  heim fensesuleyk             a forged willpower  .  

                   its neck bends to level their eyes  .  a single  ,  slow blink interrupts an otherwise unbroken invitation to read its bared soul  .

❝  as you are missed by my rays.  to have known only the cold and the rock and the wind  …  none could fault you for wanting the will of summer again. i could bring down the sun to you,  if only for a moment.  would that make you happy ?  ❞

she is sure,  yes,  she is sure it might. 

        A  QUIET  THUNDER  RUMBLES  beneath scale  &&  skin  ;;  a contemplation made a hundred times over .  a  resignation  made a hundred times thereafter .

       ❛  i do not  submit  to such callings anymore  .  i meditate  &&  i counsel  &&  i am content  .  you will find no  hokoron         no enemy         here  .