Fantasy Come Fly with Me (AronTheAron and TifftheOdd)

[Aron the Aron]

”In the morning, if you want, you can drop me off at the next village.” Her words shocked her but maybe she just rather be treated unkindly by her own tribe then this dragon who cared less about her then her people. ”It’s okay, I’m not very strong and I can’t do magic like you. You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I’ll always be glad that I met you.” She didn’t care if he tried pushing her away, she sat right by his leg and leaned her head against it.

“I’m sorry I lied to you and I’m sorry that I wasted so much of your time. You gave me a chance and that’s more than anyone has ever given me...”She then looked up at the sky.”I did like flying though, despite everything. It was the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me.”Her lips formed a smile as she laid down on the grass with her arms under her head.”Thank you.”She added, giving his leg a gentle pat.”And you are my friend even if I’m not yours.”

Necroa couldn't help his eye twitch when he had been forced to sit through a solo dialogue with Lark. Goddess above she was like another Aleystra but smaller and more annoying to handle; at least that annoying Dragon had the decency to be aware of when Necroa wanted him to shut up. So when Lark mentioned how he could just leave her at the first Lesser Village he could spot, he could feel one of his many headaches getting ready to be lifted. Finally the greyscale could get some sort of good news from Lark, and it involved getting rid of her!

Briefly massaging his cranium one last time for the day, Necroa made sure to stomp a good distance away from Lark before curling up for a short nap. Night was rapidly approaching, and despite the lack of viable food anywhere within a short venture, Necroa had not been disturbed by hunger pangs at all. Part of that was likely due to his habitual skipping of meals, but it was infinitely more flattering to chalk it up to Draconic resilience. Dragons had very little fat, but slow metabolisms, making them capable of lasting on small scraps of food for extended periods of time.

"I'll make sure to take you up on that offer. Praise be once I be rid of you for good, never to see you again." He snorted to himself, finally letting himself crumble to a dreamless rest until the next sunrise...

 

[Tiff the Odd]

Lark frowned, watching as Necroa curled up by himself. She had thought maybe he would put up a little bit of a resistance or maybe just simply agree.”Yeah, well, I had a great time too.”She grumbled. She wondered if Necroa was hungry because she sure was. She let out a sigh, sitting down on the ground. She suddenly wasn’t so tired. Lark was still awake when Necroa fell asleep and she was getting restless. She stood up and summoned a flame in her palm, it was strange though. It was a little stronger than one she had ever been able to conjure before though she didn’t think much of it. She figured there must be some kind of stream nearby. There were trees so that meant water.

She walked until she could hear a stream. She grinned and found a stick that she could light. She stuck a few in the ground and then rolled up her pants legs.

____________________

When the sun peeked through the clouds the next morning, the smell of cooking fish could smelled near Necroa. Lark had managed to build a little fire with a few fish cooking over the fire. She was fairly proud of herself though she had always been decent at fishing. Druids were hunters and gatherers, luckily the young girl had inherited that skill from her Druidic genes. She had a few raw fish in a pile in case Necroa preferred his fish raw.

 

[Aron the Aron]

When the sun peeked through the clouds the next morning, the smell of cooking fish could smelled near Necroa. Lark had managed to build a little fire with a few fish cooking over the fire. She was fairly proud of herself though she had always been decent at fishing. Druids were hunters and gatherers, luckily the young girl had inherited that skill from her Druidic genes. She had a few raw fish in a pile in case Necroa preferred his fish raw.

With another sunrise came another grumpy awakening for Necroa. It was routine for him to be in a sour mood everytime he awakens in a new day, though today was slightly dampened by the smell of cooking (and somewhat burning) fish close by. Hunger hadn't been a concern to him, so he lightly ignored any gluttonous wishes he might've had as he got up to stretch his limbs. There weren't many satisfying cracks or pops in his joints as he stretched like a feline, which was a bit ironic given his context. The light chill of morning air did well to shake away whatever grogginess he had, and he was soon checking his wings over in preparation for another day's length of travel.

That slight chill suddenly dropped in temperature when he called upon Ice Magic to dust himself under a thin layer of self-conjured frost. The shock of frigid ice jolted him enough to wipe what sleepiness he had left away, breaking himself out of his own ice-made impression with just a few shakes from inside. Not the most normal morning routine, he'd admit, but it worked for him specifically. Goddess help the poor sods who weren't the morning type...

 

[Tiff the Odd]

Lark grinned when she saw Necroa, rubbing over to him.”Look! I’ve been practicing.”She held out her hand, an impressive size flame appeared.”Oh, and I got us breakfast! I noticed that you hadn’t really eaten much and you did all that flying yesterday. I don’t know how often dragons need to eat but I figured that you were hungry!”It was very obvious that the girl was looking for some kind of approval from Necroa. The dragon may not have been nice to her but Lark’s mother told her to always be kind to others even if they don’t deserve it. She was still limping a little, the wounds on her legs were hurting as she thought they would but it was mostly a dull ache at this point. Lark snuffed the flames then turned her back to him and faced her fire pit. She felt something drip from her nose, using her hand to brush it away. A frown appeared on face when she saw the blood. She wiped it on her shirt before continuing on with her task.

“I have cooked fish and raw since I didn’t know what you would prefer. You can eat most of it, I’ll only need a one.”Lark had caught quite a bit, clearly mostly for Necroa. She sat down by the fire, wincing a little as her legs screamed their protest but once she was down they didn’t hurt so much. She took one of the smaller fish and bit into it.”Rainbow trout, they are my favorite!”She took another bite then glanced at Necroa, pointing to the spot next to him.”Come on, meals are meant to be shared with others.”She told him with a kind smile.

 

[Aron the Aron]

She felt something drip from her nose, using her hand to brush it away. A frown appeared on face when she saw the blood. She wiped it on her shirt before continuing on with her task.

Necroa rolled his eyes, unimpressed with the earnest efforts to impress him with magic. He didn't know much about Lesser anatomy, but he knew enough about casting magic to suspect signs of overexertion. He didn't want another incident of having more blood on his scales; the remnants on his back and claws had already dried into a thin crust that irritated him to no end.

Out of some vague resemblance of courtesy, he gently sat himself down by the makeshift fire the girl had constructed. The effort honestly wasn't half bad if he was being honest with himself. The Half-Druid wasn't going to be maintaining any campfires with her magic like him anytime that decade, but there was an effort. He wasn't hungry enough to take up eating the small pile of raw and cooked fish, instead idly staring out into the sky as daylight crept over the hills to his east.

"Don't think I've forgotten the previous evening. I will leave you in the next Lesser settlement we come across before continuing on my own." He was still questioning why he had bothered to carry Lark around in his claws when she brought so little benefit to the Dragon. She didn't know much of the land between her home and the far South, and whatever she could do, either he did better, or was too negligible in effect as to warrant bringing her along. Thus, he decided that leaving her behind in the hands of her own kind was better, as soon as he flew across a settlement.

Spoiler alert: he wouldn't.

 

[Tiff the Odd]

Lark didn’t say anything to this words, not at first. She simply just stared into the fire.”Thats okay, I didn’t do this to bribe you. I was being nice, you know, cause I do consider you a friend. You must not be very use to people being nice to you. You put up with me a lot more than my own family.”She took a bite of her fish before looking at the pile of raw fish that Necroa wasn’t eating.”You should eat them, they died for us so let’s not make it go to waste.”She knew that she would be left at the next village but maybe it was for the best. She had burdened the dragon enough.

She finished her fish then looked into the fire.”I don’t plan on going back to the forest. I don’t know what I’ll do but there must be something I can do.”She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees.”Have you ever loved anyone or been loved? I have a theory that either you haven’t or something tragic happened to someone you love though Papa always did tell me I was good at making up stories.”She knew that Necroa was going to be annoyed but she didn’t really care. What was he going to do? Leave her? He was already doing that.

“It has to one of the two because that can be the only way I can make sense of how mean you act towards me. How little regard you gave to me yesterday. Can you name one person you care about? One living, breathing thing? Something that isn’t magic or is that all anyone cares about?”Lark’s voice was cheerful but didn’t reach her eyes.”After today, I’m never using it again.”

 

[Aron the Aron]

”Have you ever loved anyone or been loved? I have a theory that either you haven’t or something tragic happened to someone you love though Papa always did tell me I was good at making up stories.”She knew that Necroa was going to be annoyed but she didn’t really care. What was he going to do? Leave her? He was already doing that.

“It has to one of the two because that can be the only way I can make sense of how mean you act towards me. How little regard you gave to me yesterday. Can you name one person you care about? One living, breathing thing? Something that isn’t magic or is that all anyone cares about?”Lark’s voice was cheerful but didn’t reach her eyes.”After today, I’m never using it again.”

"Have you considered that my hatred is exclusive to you and your people? If I had to have company I'd prefer rodents over your kind." Necroa said with a roll of his eyes. The only folk he didn't hold in complete contempt were his own fellow Dragons, and even then it was hard to hold a modicrum of respect towards the other clans. The Clans barely considered themselves allies, and Necroa was sure that things wouldn't end well if he came across another Dragon that wasn't of his clan.

He pushed his pile of fish to the side since flies had already begun to gather around the raw fish; no need to have miniscule pests bothering him when he already had one large one with him. By then the sleepiness had been worn away, and he was ready to get a move on while he had the beginnings of daylight burning. "We'll depart as soon as possible, so hurry up and finish eating."