cold winter wind

I’m still here though! just trying to find the time to really be online and not just pop in and out of the void like I’m doing right now. until then, thank you all for being so patient.

I really am surprised I don’t have any drafts over here, but I’m not complaining. I’ve got a mountain of them over on my main blog. once I get those out of the way, I’ll definitely be devoting some time to Hellea. you’re all so wonderful for bearing with me though, thank you all again.

regardless, I’m glad to see the quotation-mark fiasco is over, and of course it’s tumblr fault with another useless update.

♕–; Incredulously she regarded the beast. “Six?” she hardly made due with a half brother. Were dragons born one by one or in a clutch of eggs? She smiled at the laughter she exuded and wondered if sibling rivalries between dragons extended to who hoarded what if someone breathed fire on another. She didn’t question her and instead chose to smile.

    “Hellea,” she expected a name she couldn’t pronounce composed of growls and a roar. Or maybe the name Sarah received from the dragon was one she could properly pronounce. “That’s beautiful,” she never heard such a name before. Far lovelier than the beings that lurked in dragon country and she decided that she should be brave but not look too foolish. Even she realized when she was in over her head. 

    Sarah nodded. “Well, I think so but I’ve never really been in a place like this before,” she admitted. “But I think maybe it would  be better if I knew what else was around here.”

❅ ❅ ❅ —— “Ah, yes, six. Dragons never used to have more than six young at a time from what I’ve heard. My mother was very proud to have given life to seven. Though my brothers seem to forget that and instead focus on my being female. Such is life,” she made a gesture, rolling her shoulders in much the way a person would shrug. It looks a little odd though, on a creature who wandered along on four legs and two wings.

             Sarah’s compliment was well accepted by the young Dragon --- Hellea was not necessarily vain by any means, but it was in a Dragon’s nature to take pride in the praising of others. And it had been genuine from what she could tell, making the remark all the more satisfactory. “It means blessed. I’m sure my mother had a hand in that.”

---

His brows lifted high upon his forehead when she transformed so suddenly, but his surprise quickly turned into a grin and he clapped his hands. Her new form was divine, perfect in every way, from her chocolate brown hair down to the shape of her toes. It was clear that the dragon had paid close attention to her human neighbors, for her attention to detail was incredible. 

“That is perfect, my dear! Absolutely perfect! Quite convincing! But can you also play the part? It will take quite a bit more than looks to convince the rabble below that you are human. They are a suspicious lot, after all.” He was sure she knew their behaviors well enough to mimic them, but it didn’t hurt to ask. It wouldn’t do to have her accidentally reveal her true nature through some foolhardy mistake.

The magic Hellea was currently using was ancient to say the least, perfected in a time when Dragons were even greater in number, and her own kind and humans were less of a threat to one another. This was much longer ago than the last tragic peace the two species had held, something Hellea only knew INSTINCTIVELY, like some ingrained story hidden at the back of her mind.

Still, his glee at her appearance was refreshing. The young Dragon was more than aware that her human appearance struck others as beautiful, as something almost MYSTICAL in nature. But it was rare that anyone knew she could change between the two forms, and the light smile and suddenly donned her light pink lips was genuine, her eyes clear from the sarcastic mirth she had shown previously, if only for a moment.

       Oh, but that was the downside of strolling into town. There was        nothing but chaos in the overcrowded streets;  merchants both          young and old desperately  trying to sell their products in order          to guarantee their daily vin et pain. Fruits, handicraft,  even  the          alleged pleasure of the bodies of some were for sale. Édith had          no interest in buying anything; it was never a task for her in  the          first place.

       But it was quite a scene,  to watch the girl's  struggle to be free        from the insistent merchant who all but shoved the melons into          her purse, if only they'd fit.  Her lady's maid was reluctant next          to her, hoping to avoid the  chaos of the more  crowded streets;          but Édith walked right into it, wanting to watch that scene closer,           something so ordinary and yet so amusing; that she didn't get to          witness very often.

                              “You know,” she whispered to the poor girl, pretending to                               avoid the seller's hearing, but purposefully speaking loud                              enough to catch his  attention.  

                  “These are definitely the WORST melons I've had                      in my life.”

         Edith teased,  delighted by the man's shocked expression;  his          eyes scanning her, trying to remember such a costumer. It had          almost made her laugh. No, monsieur, you don't know me. I've          never bought one single fruit from you in my lifetime.

                  “But madame---!” he argued hesitantly.

             “Oh, but he does have the most marvelous strawberries”, she                added with a wink of playful tease towards the old man.

                          Hellea was on the verge of simply walking away from the                           scene when a woman stepped forward, catching the young                           Dragon's attention immediately. She couldn't tell what just                           yet, but there was definitely something about the woman,                           something that made her stare for a moment too long before                           she realized what she was doing.

             She quickly pulled her deep blue gaze away from the woman              and back to the man --- but in the next instant, it was back on              the woman who had suddenly spoken so BRAZENLY about              the man's fruits. Hellea had never been one for subtlety, but              the statement had almost seemed rude. 

                                       All in all, the Dragon was struck rather SPEECHLESS by                                        the encounter, a feat that so rarely fell upon her. She barely                                        remembered the fact that she was new to this town, and still                                        had no idea where she was.

                          The poor man was rather speechless himself, and a little                           distraught. Though it seemed that was remedied the moment                           the striking woman mentioned strawberries.

                                       “They are the very best strawberries in the entire world! ~”

             Hellea couldn't help but laugh a little, and she looked back              over at the woman as the man began rambling on about his              berries.

                          “You're playing a very dangerous game, miss.                             The poor man will never finish speaking.”

-

A smirk rose to his lips and he could not suppress a chuckle. “Would you believe me if I told you that I was once a dragon myself?” he laughed. “But in all seriousness, I have seen many a beautiful creature extinguished by the violence of men. Dragons are so few and far between now, and magic has dwindled in the world. What beauty remains must be preserved in any way possible. That is why I came here. I did not wish to see another of the Old World die in the wake of the new, not when there was something to be done to prevent it.”

Yes, this was less about saving the humans and more about preserving a world that was rapidly disappearing before his very eyes. At least, that was what he told himself, but he had, in truth, grown fond of the children he taught in the village below. He enjoyed watching them grow, seeing their faces light up when they learned something new or made some small success. It gave him hope that perhaps the New World would not be so terrible after all. But he would never admit this even to himself.

“Does that answer your question?”

Admittedly, Hellea had no idea what to make of his story. It seemed far-fetched at the very least, and like QUITE the exaggeration at the most. And even his laughter, his addition of ‘in all seriousness’, the young Dragon couldn’t help but feel there was more to that story --- or at least his story in general --- than he was letting on. But it wasn’t like Hellea to pry when there was no reason for it.

She was definitely thinking things over now though, considering everything they had discussed in a much more serious manner. Her scaly brows knitted together, and she shifted one leg to the other a few times before making a noise quite like a SIGH. Not another second passed before she lifted her abysmally blue eyes back to him, a light blue GLOW encasing her form, and then she was suddenly --- she was suddenly quite human.

At least in appearance.

               Will pursed his lips. His pride told him to turn her away,         to declare that she was to not step foot onto the land that was          his and he would not hers; but, he held much more pride for          Albion. Her wounds were healing and the towns were buzzing          with life, he wished to show her off. 

“None did --- until you turned into a beast and    startled my men. You likely cost me two of   my best men in this battle, but, perhaps, you    saved more lives over all. We will never know.”

        He pushed his hands through his hair         one more time, pulling a piece of bone from his         matted curls. Strange, he thought. “Nonetheless,        you have made the journey --- I cannot turn you away.”

                                       Obviously Hellea's abilities didn't stretch as far as                                        to help her predict the future, but that didn't make                                        her feel any less startled by what William responded                                        with. Even if his tone wasn't angry or upset ( for the                                        most part ) it still felt as if she was being reprimanded                                        in some way.

             “They still don't realize what I am. Dragons may                spend their time in solitude, but we still need to                be alert to danger. I wouldn't completely reveal                myself to anyone unless I knew they wouldn't try                to KILL me.”

                          It wasn't exactly a warning, but it was blatant enough                           to make William understand that their agreement                           hadn't changed. Yes, sh'd gone into town, but Hellea                           knew the dangers of being around humans --- for                           herself and for them.

♕–; Lost was a relative term. She supposed her wandering had lead her into a very strange part. Though she could never say where a faerie ring would take her. She should have known better. She knew better yet her desire for the extraordinary lead her off the beaten path. Outside, over there, far away.  

    “It must get lonely,” introvert or not she too required company. She supposed dragons didn’t have may gatherings. “Well, yes,” she admitted. “It’s alright, I always manage to find my way back home.”

    “I’m Sarah, by the way.”

❅ ❅ ❅ —— “It can be, yes,” Hellea admitted. “I have six brothers though, they keep me busy whenever they decide to rear their ugly heads,” she added, the light laugh that followed rather warm and rumbling in her scaly chest.

             But the Dragon was more than a little curious about how this girl had found herself in the heart of DRAGON country, and she didn’t appear to be very worried about being lost. “Do you now? This area can be rather dangerous. Dragons aren’t the only things that lurk across these lands. Are you sure you’ll be alright?,” Hellea asked.

                   The heat wasn't normally a bother to the fire breather, but it was                    almost unbearable on this day. It was miserable and Leo finds                    finds himself hunting down a source of water or even a cave if                    he could. Anything to COOL his overheated body would be a big                    help. And anything would be helpful.

            He spots one at last! It looks undisturbed, left alone, a pool for             himself. With a dive in the sky, he's heading down, ready to jump             in, and once he lands, he lets out a pleased grumble before he             realizes he isn't alone. He turns, his dark green eyes on the other             and he immediately backs off, not wanting to disturb the other.

                            “I'm terribly sorry, I thought this one wasn't taken,” he speaks                             bowing his head, eyes still on her as he prepares to fly off. 

                                       Her eyes go a bit wide when she realizes the other has                                        spotted her. Dragon or not, Hellea isn't exactly the biggest                                        specimen of large reptile out there, and encountering others                                        of her kind aside from her brothers has always made her a                                        bit TENSE.

                          She definitely doesn't expect what comes out of his mouth                           though, male Dragons are usually so...territorial.

            ⊰✙∬    “As long as it doesn’t turn out to be something boring, anything will do to be honest.” Stories of all sorts were something she could spend a great quantity of her time hearing about. “But if you’re able to keep a secret, I’ll tell you that the fantasy genre happens to be my favorite.”

               ❝ Not going to waste time acting like                   something that JUST happened is                   impossible. Especially if it’s cool.  ❞ Her hand came to rest on the back of her neck, glancing down towards the cigarette in between pallid fingers. Lips pursing, that attentive gaze returned back to Hellea, eyes glazing over with an indistinct expression.

                         The pun was noted, definitely causing a smile                          to appear in the young Dragon’s eyes. Her lips                          remained a line though, simply opening to                          make her RESPONSE.

“I never said this would be easy, merely simple. Some of the hardest things are simple ones.” He lowered his hands and sat down, fixing her with an unreadable stare. “Let me let you in on a little secret, something I’ve shared with only a few people. You see, I am not human. I myself have hidden as one of these cattle because my true identity would likely bring about my demise. The humans and I have not exactly been on the best of terms in the past. So I have cloaked myself as one of them for my own safety.

“I do not suggest that you do as I have done and pretend to be something you are not. I have harmed people, given them a true reason to hate me, but you have not. You have a chance to truly coexist as you are. What I suggest is that you gain their favor before revealing your true self. It will not be easy, and you will have to be sure you can trust that they will not turn on you, but it’s the best chance you have. 

“Think: If you slaughter them all now, more will come. Say you kill them, too, and so on and so forth, until finally, someone gets lucky. But befriend them, protect them, and they will protect you from any harm that might come your way. You’ll have an army of those loyal to you. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so they say.”

While she certainly hadn’t been expecting what the man said, Hellea mirrored his actions, laying down much like a cat would as he recalled his secret to her. At the very least, the young Dragon wasn’t all that surprised, though she did feel a twinge of guilt for having roped him in with the rest of the humans. Not that she voiced such a feeling, but it was there, something she had acknowledged quietly as he recounted his tale in vague detail.

She figured he was being honest too, why else would someone admit to hurting people? And while the possibility of seeming grand or accomplished was a possibility, he had ventured all the way up here to speak with her. That had to count for something; for a Dragon, it definitely did. And in any case, his ideas was GOOD. It wasn’t like Hellea didn’t already have a few friends in town --- obviously not enough to garner the response she would need --- so perhaps she could expand that circle, try to help those in positions of POWER. She could try at least.