The Reed Mountains towered over Arcadia majestically, seeming even greater than any King or Queen that dared to challenge it in power. Unlike a normal King it could stand up to anything nature threw at it including rain, snow, and hail. Even time didn’t tear these mountains down like it made normal humans with age! Their natural power and shelter at times brought creatures to it, especially dragons that needed a place to silently think. It appeared to be much safer than most villages and caves because the mountains were so steep and it contained drops that could lead humans and mages to a painful death. On rare occasions some Dragon Kin actually felt so safe they shed their human skin and revealed their scales that glimmered in the dim moonlight. The same situation was being unveiled at this particular moment as a Shadow Dragon Kin lounged on top of the edge of a cliff. The male wasn’t too worried to actually to be spotted as an eerie fog was rolling around at this altitude, blocking off the vision of anyone at the foot of the mountains. And even if someone saw him what would they do? He’d easily spot them before they got up on the top of the Reed Mountains, as there weren’t any easy man-made trails up here. Before they even got to his position he’d be gone. Another allusion of this foggy night.

The creature looked like most dragons that people have heard rumors about in villages and towns. He was a large creature, even if he was a Shadow Kin, and his body was covered in black scales that shined and glowed like individual stars. A slight color change would be seen going up his underbelly and on the lower parts of his neck as that part of his body was bright silver that looked as hard as knight’s armor. The characteristic that varied from dragon to dragon were the horns. His were present and two large ones emerged from the top of his skull, while a small pair lay in between them. Then, going down his neck and back were hard spikes that weren’t for decoration. If anything they were to be driven into the body of another like the ones that tipped his tail that could be used as a torturous whip. It seemed his whole toned body was ready in case he had to suddenly fight. Having to make up for his smaller stature he had large sharp tipped black claws and worked muscles from training. Some would even wonder if he had already been in a fight as a healing wound was noticeable on his right shoulder that was still gradually healing. The notable wings of a dragon’s were not missing from this beast as a large pair lay on his back sometimes twitching as the creature continually wanted to spread them out a jump of this cliff. Not to jump to his death out of depression because of the oppressing world he was living in. No… to jump to his freedom. Once he was able to fly again without having to worry than he knew he’d be free. Of course, that day didn’t seem near at all.

A soft snake like hiss rattled out of the male as he thought about freedom. At this current time it appeared to be a pathetic dream. One that wouldn’t be accomplished in his lifetime. He knew he was still young, but how the Slayer were killing Dragons these days a Dragon’s life span would never reach over 200. If anything that number would drop drastically in the next few years and the younger more at risk generation would be ripped and torn into to pieces by the rising number of Mages. Those blood suckers. More and more were coming and he knew deep down in his cold heart that they wouldn’t stop. They weren’t just a nightmare you could wake up from and then all of them would be gone. Mages would keep coming and soon everything would be overrun. Then there would be no where to hide…

Crimson eyes glared into the distance and the large beast let out an angry roar. At this distance any listeners would think it is thunder, a warning of an approaching storm. And even if they thought otherwise this monster didn’t care. He actually wasn’t afraid to beacon his existence to the rest of the world as long as he could kill a few hundred of mages in the process.

Black whip like tail slashed threw a rock nearby shattering it into rubble and his claws skidded deeply on top of the cliff making a high-pitched cry as his anger grew.

Bring it on…

It seemed like hours had been passing her by as she made her way out of the reaches of "civilization". She had bought a horse during her travels and decided to make her way to the one of the safest places she could think of. Most humans and mages knew that they dragons came there for comfort and hiding but none of were stupid enough to test the slopes of the Reed's. The higher a human or mage would tread, the glossier and icy the slopes became, not to mention the random trenches that seemed to be endless pits. So, yes, this was an inviting place for Dragon's due to it's utterly merciless nature. The mountains were home for many caves as well. She had often found dragon's treasuries inside them, but she never stayed long enough to examine them. Already as her able bodied equine raced up the rolling hills leading to the mountains, she could taste the liberty in the wind. She could almost feel scales ripping at the skin above, trying to free herself of that wretched human flesh. Yet, she knew she was not out of the clear yet and did not want to risk other more younger dragon's lives in the process.

When her horse became unwilling to galloping any further, she jumped off his back. She never understood why she was a blue kin, she showed a lot more of the green kins traits. When she took her few and far between trips to the mountains she always bought a horse, more often than not it was an older horse. Why might you ask? She understood what it was like to be kept captive from her true nature, she could understand what a horse might feel. Most horses the rogues and travellers had were originally wide, untamed beasts because they could not afford the price of a pre tamed equine. This is why she had bought the horses, she would always release them back into their natural habitats. She removed what tack the horse had, gave it a gently stroke upon it's thick neck, then gave it a quick smack upon it's rump causing the horse to run off. She left the tack where she had stood, she had no need for it. As she began her climb she turned into her drakos form. Her hair was course and blue with hints of coral and peach, her eyes were golden yellow, and her blue scales covered her entire body.

She had been trudging in the snow for quite sometime before she realized how far she had climbed. She was more than half way up the mountain by now. She turned around and looked upon the world she known for most of her life. For once she could hear no screams, it was silent and peaceful. She took a deep breathe before returning to her climb. Lolita shifted her body, trimmed claws dug into the ice, her muscles working harder as she furthered her journey. She never understood why every time she came she would climb up the mountain, it made no sense. She could have easily transformed and took flight to the top of the mountain. She had always thought it was the challenge she enjoyed but now she found that harder to believe. As she became more mature with her days, years, and centuries, she had realized that it was the struggle and pain of journey that made the flight at the end seem so much more enjoyable.

She was more than three quarters of the way to the top when she had reached a large gorge. She could not cross it even in drakos form. She felt a tad bit displeased by this, but then again she had endured enough already. She took a chunk of ice that had been sitting so pleasantly near her and let it drop down the pit, she wanted to see how far down it went. She wanted to know whether it would be long enough for her to be able to transform before she hit the ground. It seemed like enough time had passed before she heard the ice shatter at the bottom, it was not like it took a decade and a half for dragon kin to shed their humanly forms any ways. When Lolita thought about it, she always hated this part, she did not always turn into a dragon by this means but it was the more common way. She stepped near the edge and jumped. Almost immediately, she lost her blue hair. The hair was exchanged for a set of four horns and a run of spiked scales down her spine. Her tail became elongated and bristled at the end. Then her wings expanded from her back. The thin membrane caught the air instantly and she swooped up into the air. Her transformation was complete.

When people normally thought about dragon's, they usually pictured the typical short, stalky type dragon; few thought about the Persian kind. She was not like her European cousins, she was long and slender and took an almost snake like form. This elongated trait she received from her mother, the set of four horns was from her father. Her body for the most part could be deemed average but it was her tail that made her entire body seemed more extended. Her wings were larger as well because she had to balance out the weight of her longer tail. Some dragon's had the pointed or spiked thorns at the ends of their tails but Lolita's were softer and longer. However, despite her weak appearance, Lolita was far from helpless. She used her tail as a powerful, like the ones trainers or beast masters would use against a lion. She had power muscles running throughout her body, powerful enough to remove a dozen male slayers at once if need be. She had endurance and determination which also made her a hard competitor.

As Lolita weaved in and out of the clouds she heard the rumble from another dragon. She immediately felt threatened. She had heard of traitors sending out calls in order lure in other dragons, then becoming ensnared by ambushing mages. Her height in the atmosphere would be dangerous for a human or a bird, but she could breathe and see better than both at this attitude. She collapsed her wings against her body and dove through the sky towards the sounding. She could tell it was a male dragon due to it's cold and low vocals. As her body came dangerously close to the summit of the Reed Mountains, she emitted a loud, higher pitched cry. You could almost relate it to a velociraptor before killing it's prey. Her expanded her wings, the air catching like the sheets of a sail. The beat of her enormous wings caused the clouds formations to move. She could see the black dragon, he was not hard to miss in the snow. She could feel something familiar about him but kept it deep inside and emitted another loud screech.

[sorry it took so long. doing laundry. : ( ]

It was strange to feel the way he was feeling. Usually his anger was caused by a source that was right in front of him that could be quickly dealt with and all his problems would be solved. His anger would subside and he could go on like nothing ever happened. Instead he was confronted with a conflict that couldn’t be so easily resolved. At first he wasn’t sure how to get rid of this sudden anger. This sudden rush of emotions that felt as threatening as a living attacker. So the male, like most who were mad, drove this rage like a common man would punch it into a pillow. Well, in this situation the mountain itself. With this high of energy the male turned his back on the edge of the cliff, whipping his tail, while turning, across the ground into anything that laid in his path. Then with his upper body he drove his claws into the snow and ice, shooting it in every direction with dangerous speed. If anyone had been on the ground during this tantrum they could have easily been sliced from the ice flying around or the rocks that were crashing everywhere.

After a few minutes the male ceased his little tantrum and took in several large cold breaths of air. Every time he exhaled large white clouds were formed like the left over smoke from a burning fire. The creature crimson red eyes tensely twitched each direction making sure he hadn’t left anything unmarked by his claws. Finally satisfied with the destruction the male gradually returned to his calmer set of mind and in some ways his perceptive of the scene around him changed. He felt foolish. This was a common feeling after Garrett was so angry. Like a drunk he looked back at everything he had done during those intoxicating moments and wondered what the hell was he thinking. Today, he didn’t feel as dumb as he usually did. He could see where the anger to cause this destruction had come from. At the same time he wondered why he just didn’t use it on something more productive? These mountains were a second home to him and he had destroyed apart of it. A part of nature that couldn’t simply grow back like trees after a forest fire.

Muscles tensed up and the male became unusually silent when a strange cry came to him from a not so far distance. If he had been more focused he wouldn’t have missed the scent of a female approaching. The scent of another dragon soaring through the air, launching his direction in a extremely fast speed. A long hiss rumbled from the male and he peered out behind him to his right where the other beast was coming from. Unlike most who would face the problem head on, the male kept his back towards the female’s direction. It was obvious he wasn’t interested in her presence at the moment. Even if he loved females and was a womanizer even in his dragon form, he couldn’t help but want to hide in the shadows. This whole tantrum had been about losing kin and now he wanted to hide from them? It was a Shadow Kin thing. Shadow Kin were just too secretive and anti-social for their own good. That, and they were immensely paranoid. It didn’t help too that he had a wound still healing. Any dragon would be especially defensive when injured.

The hiss continued as the female began to land, warning her to stay her distance until he completely figured out how he was going to deal with the sudden problem. Her cries did seem a bit hostile, but probably because she heard his own roar that could have appeared to be a threat to her. No matter. She’d soon figure out he was no threat… Well unless she looked at the damage he left behind. Than he might appear a bit scary.

Crimson eyes looked over the blue Kin, studying her and her strange appearance. He was used to sharp strong muscled Dragon Kin and not ones that seemed so smooth and soft like she did. Even her horns looked smoother and the male looked upon them questionably. It was obvious he hadn’t seen many other Dragon Kin in their Dragon form, which wasn’t too weird. You were lucky if you found another dragon at all these days. The only Dragons he had seen in this form were mostly Shadow Kin. He had met a few during his lifetime and usually they were more open to others of their same kind. Most were small, menacing, and full of spikes and horns. Maybe that is why he thought she looked sort of off.

The only thing that didn’t seem like a Blue Kin characteristic was her cry. It was high pitched and not as angelic like he would assume a Blue or Green Kin would have. He sure would learn a lot from this encounter.

“May I help you with something?” His head was defiantly in the clouds and not taking full advantage of this moment.

Her reptilian tail curled and uncurled as she hovered in the air above him. A distasteful and despised look crossed her features. Although it was harder to read a face of a dragon due to the mass of scales, but the rage in her eyes was unmistakable. This shadow kin upset or not, was risking the cover of other dragons. A snarl was released from her jaws; she was not pleased at all. Her large cyan wings beat less frequently into the air as she began to lower herself on the icy terrain. Her claws gripped into the freshly torn mountain. Of all the creatures in the world, she would have thought a dragon would have known the sheer preciousness of nature and the balance it maintained. As she stretched her front claws into the ice, she swayed her long tail behind her. Her wings were not fully collapsed on her body. A hiss escaped through her smooth looking jaws. As physically different as the two were, they both had those same flesh tearing teeth, and those claws as sharp as titanium.

His cold vocals were heard, help her with something? She gave a loud snort although in her mind she thought it would have been a little quitter. "How about explain what the hell you are doing?" If one could imagine the voice of mother nature, the calm, mellow, and loving tones, that was the way in which Lolita spoke as a dragon. It was as if her vocals more aged far beyond her years, and spoke as if history itself was slipping through her jowls. "Not only are you endangering others with your reckless behavior, but you are also destroying one of the few safe havens for our kin." Her pregnant pause was long, giving him time to think before spilling more words through that sharp mouth of hers. "Or are you too ignorant of the current events, sir." Her cool body slinked closer to him, her tail whipped closely to his hind legs then cracked like a bull whip upon the ice. Her senses stayed sharp, steam rose from her open mouth. She saw the healing wound upon his shoulder; this could have been the cause of the male's outburst but doubted it. A more likely reaction from the scar would be the male's retraction from her presence. He was a younger dragon; there was a lack of experience in his bones.

Her scales caught the silver moon light, giving her that eerie glow. Her breathing was loud in the cold silence. Her heart rate became more regulated as she calmed down from her verbal outburst. Her eyes darted from the dragon to her surroundings. If this was in fact an ambush, he was reeling her in quickly. Yet as her nostrils took in the scents around her, she could smell no sign of mages or humans for miles in any direction. After standing near the distressed dragon long enough, she began to pity him. His frustration was obvious; Lolita motherly nature began to kick into her veins. She was however not as loving or endearing as she was in her human form. Her tenderness was rougher, her manners were a little more rugged, and her temper was closer to that of her true nature - the violent sea. Lolita's golden eyes shone back to male dragon, her vocal chords opened as if to speak but then remained silent. She really had no business bothering this young male.

There was truth in the ladies words that his antics weren’t of the best interest of any dragon. He himself had been thinking about it, yet he wouldn’t admit to her that she was right. The male was young, rebellious, and extremely stubborn. If anything the yelling wouldn’t have much affect on him, as he was used to drowning other people out. It was always yelling he had heard when he was younger. Long loud orders that could shake the bones of any lonely child that was stuck on the streets. Those years alone had made the male cold and have little respect for others. He did have a great bond with his own kind, but in his state of mind he was anything but caring. The male frowned as she stepped closer, making him draw back a few steps. Another hiss was shot her way, warning her to stay her distance. “Please, miss, just stay away. It would be too hard to explain what I’ve been thinking… why I’ve caused so much damage. I’m not worth your time.” His tone wasn’t vicious, nor cruel, but it had a natural mean hiss to it.

"Or are you too ignorant of the current events, sir."

That was probably the only sentence that got through to him and if anything those words stung like fire against his scales. The male’s eyes radiated with icy rage before he turned his back totally towards the lady. He couldn’t just let that sentence pass with no response. “I know of the Kin’s current predicament, miss. I’m not that young! I’m somewhat surprised myself you are flying around like you are. I haven’t done that in years,” he said softly as he began to walk away from her. In mid stride he stopped and peered over his shoulder at the female and asked, “For such a strong protector of the Kin, may I ask what have you done for them? And I don’t mean in dragon form like you are refereeing all the bad eggs. I mean in your human form walking around? Are you a fake-slayer? Killing other slayers and then saving the Kin? Or are you one of those daisies that shares the world with our enemies like nothing is wrong?” He was mainly curious of how she was playing her part in this world. It probably wasn’t his place to ask, but the assassin couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Eyes went down to his wound mumbling something under his breath about it. He had seen her glancing at it and he suddenly felt the mass of it’s burden. Why had he taken that blow from that Slayer? He was better off dodging and then retaliating with a kick or even a quick swipe at his back! He never knew how old battle Dragon Kin showed off their scars as if they were honorable medals of great achievements. In away it made Garrett feel weak that someone could get through his defenses and pierce his skin.

The light wind rolled off her smooth body, her eyes watching the black kin. As he hissed at her for coming closer to him, she simply ignored it. He was injured anyways; it was not as if he would be much of a challenge to her anyways. Nevertheless, she continued to creep her way closer to him. It was as if she was beginning to circle him, or weave back and forth like a mother reprimanding her mischievous child. How laughable this situation was. Both dragons knew each other but since neither had seen the other in their true forms, they were slashing remarks at each other like spitting cobras. What he said was true enough; she really did not want to hear the young kin's life story or his epic long frustrations. At least he saved her that much trouble, yet she felt like this kin was actually worth her time. He was an interesting fellow to say the least, she had only met a black kin in their dragon skin once before. Her memory was usually sharp, but it seemed evolution had taken its turn onto the dragon's appearance. He was covered with the sharpest set of spiked thorns she had ever seen, and his body was blacker than a blacksmiths anvil.

For some reason a smirk perched itself visibly on Lolita's face, her words had struck a dangerous chord. She was not in the mood the physically fight this beast but toying with him was proving fun. Yet, the status of the Kin was no laughing matter. He answered with the most predictable tone, if no kin knew of the current affairs of which concerned them; they were in trouble. She gave a light chuckle, and asked herself why not fly? She could see the rage in his eyes yet kept her composure. "My dear child, I do not place any dragon at risk by flying out of the eye sight of both human and mage. If my memory does not deceive me, I was not the one he roared my pains unto this harsh world." As he began to move away from her yet again, she moved a step closer. Although he was, a total of seventy-five years younger than she was, she still saw him as a youngling. Yet, he too knew how to strike her heart's chords.

How dare he challenge her as he had. Her large, powerful tail lashed out at his hindquarters. Refereeing children like him was not all she did for her kind. However as she looked into herself, she had really done nothing extraordinary. "No. I am not false to anyone. I see most Kin who pretend to be slayers as cowards or gore-hawks. Yet, I do not ignore the inevitable and unnerving presence of our enemies. You speak so treacherously. I, my fellow kin, am a pacifist. I am the one that tries to clean up after the messes the other make. I hate violence more than most things in this world, and to be completely honest with you, I do not think that two rights make a wrong. Violence solves none of our problems.” She could feel her heart race faster as she became more defensive of her position on the war. “Truly, I await the arrival of the Gold.” She knew most of her kin were criticized that idealist prophecy. She hoped that she would live long enough to see that day, the day when the kin may finally be accepted back into the world without the look of death in greedy men’s eyes.

Her hiss had an edge of cruel and harsh tones; this behaviour was unlike her human personality. She was the calm, kind-hearted, easy-going Lolita. On the other side, she was a callous and bitter. She never understood the drastic changes in her personality. May be it was the fact that she felt threatened or challenged by this male. “Then what do you do? Are you a monger? Selling your petty work or trade for coin, food, or may be if you are lucky some shelter for the night. Alternatively, are you a gallant war hero with that same ulterior motive? If you the later of questions, then tell me kin, what do those who praise your efforts call you?” It was like she was speaking in a twisted tongue, her words were gingered, yet so smoothly and icy. Her golden eyes stared deeply into his; she was not going to give up to him so easily. Her dicey wordplay was amusing her greatly; she never expected so much enjoyment out of it.

The word ‘child’ bit into his back and made the dragon release a growl between his teeth. How dare she be little him just because an age difference! Was she that naïve to think that just because she was his elder that she was in some form wiser than him? They had both reached a rare age, even for a dragon, so he couldn’t have gotten this far just off luck. He had to have some power behind him backing him up! Her next few words made the male totally turn around and shifted his body to a defensive position. “My pains are my own business. I wouldn’t have roared if I thought I would have been caught by anyone or anything. Now that I think about it I regret that decision. Not that it might have harmed any other dragon, but that is caused you to bless me with your presence!” He disliked her more and more for how she was treating him. He knew it didn’t help that he was disrespecting the lady, but he couldn’t help it. In this form he was more crueler then usual and wasn’t afraid to be blunt with others. Who would benefit if he lied about his feelings? Told her that he was happy she was here and be falsely sincere? Even if it would be kinder and polite, everyone had to know that’s not how life worked. It was rough life and if a dragon couldn’t take the heat well they should scram!

A meager smirk appeared on the male’s features as he felt another swift gust of anger being blown his way. It seemed he had hit a soft spot on this lady that wanted to use him as some sort of amusement. What took him by surprise was her tail lashing out at him, which he hadn’t thought a Blue Kin would have done. Still he didn’t flinch or react to it, he had taken worse beatings for both Kin and humans alike. Listening to her preaching the male slowly rolled his eyes at her. “You really think our War with the Mages will end with a treaty? A clean peaceful process? That’s a hopeless dream, miss. Most likely both you and I will be dead before this War is over because we’ll have to fight the mages off to protect the younger generations. And what will you think you’ll have to do when the Gold finally comes around? You just can’t sit there talking your way out of deadly situations with the Gold by your side. You’ll have to kill someone. That’s how life is. It’s a dog eat dog world.” Getting out of the situation the Kin were in wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. It would be dirty and would last for years he imagined.

At her next few questions shot his way he wondered why he was still entertaining her? He was no monkey to dance around for anothers pure enjoyment! Nor was he a jester to be laughed at and be pushed around like a pet! Smoke rose from his nostrils and the man again began to back up, this time with his head facing this female. “You know how enjoyable it would be to leave you with your questions? It probably drive you crazy, your pathetic game suddenly ending. It would be like a book that has a few pages missing at the end or a puzzle with important pieces lost forever. I’ll tell you one thing miss, I’m no merchant or pitiful trader. I myself am above living life like some classic human, hiding away beneath that fleshy skin.” As he continued to speak the night got dimmer and dimmer as the male was starting to take control of the shadows around him. “I’m a murderer, the opposite of what you are if I can say so myself. I’m an honorable assassin beyond my years. To some it’s nothing to show off to the world and nothing near as great as gold and jewels. But it’s something I deeply enjoy, the job of assassinating mages and humans till my hearts content.” As he said this he began to dissolve into the shadows around him, so he could make his escape out of here. He wouldn’t leave the mountainside, but he wasn’t going to stick here much longer. Unless the female said something that was interesting or clever he was going to disappear.

“I’m Garrett Flare, and this ends our little game.”

The blue kin heard his bickering and shrugged it off; it was not the first time she was not wanted around. Yet hearing his claim of not wanting her there hurt her, she moved her head back as if dodging an attack from her. Who really did not want her around? What was interesting was the fact that it seemed most kin gained this egotistical boldness. Lolita would never have acted this way in her human form. She was the modest mouse. The perfect allegory of Lolita's forms would be of the Lion and the Lamb, the raging beast and king of the animals and the soft, innocent, and naive lamb. Not only was it reflecting of her but to some extent, Garrett as well. She watched as the male turned right around and stood in front of her defensively. Her body shifted as well, if he was taking the defensive, she would take the offensive; she had nothing to loose anyways. She let a hiss escape from her mouth.

God, why were men so vainglorious in everyway possible! Did he really think that she could not see through his insulting remarks? She could see that smirk upon his scaly features; she only wished she could wipe that grin off his hideous mug. She snarled at him, how he dared disrespect the Gold in the way he was. She stood her ground; she was becoming agitated as he spoke of the Gold in his arrogant tone. Like his way of killing was any better. “I doubt the majority of Dragons have taken the time to talk to the humans, let alone the mages. I have never spoken to a mage myself but I have spoken and roomed in human houses. They have as much reason as we do in their fight. The most common acts of revenge are found in lose of a mother, father, lover, or sibling that was caught in the crossfire between the Dragons and Mages.” She took a breathe as she calmed herself down, most dragons became quite irate when discussing the topic of the war. “I never said that solving the matter was going to be a clean cut. Of course, there will be deaths; people have been brainwashed for centuries to fear our kind. Never would I expect them to all of the sudden revere us as majestic creatures. It takes a bigger person to not retaliate.” Lolita stood there silenced, she did not need to defend the Gold. He had no right in associating such crudeness when speaking about the Gold; this was her thinking anyways. The entertainment that he had served had begun to loose its novelty.

She listened to his occupation, no wonder he had no faith in the prophecy. He lived in the harsh and cruel world that Lolita had tried to keep at bay. Her optimism kept her floating in the hopes of the Gold while he drowned himself in the world’s perils. He enjoyed his job; well it was not as if she was really expecting anything else from him. This male was of the gore-hawk breed she was talking about. Society had created him a monster; dragons were never this bloodthirsty before the war. The creatures were kind and gentle, all loving and all powerful, how the races of dragons were deteriorating. It began to dim around her; it was obvious that he was using his power to try to get away from her. She was fed up with his nonsense any ways. She had turned her head away from the disappearing dragon, not listening to what he had to say. Yet there it was the hook. It was that beautiful hook with that sparkling lure, which always caught the big fish. Garrett Flare, was not a name she would ever forget. She snorted as if her breath was sudden caught in her throat, caught off guard. The Garrett Flare that she knew was not the arrogant, brazen, haughty male that she had just confronted.

“If you really are Garrett Flare, then I wish Haden had cut you deeper. I wish that I had not meekly mended that wound.” She felt ashamed to know him at that moment, he had been so disrespectful toward her; so unkind. She closed her eyes tightly, a slight tinge of disappointment spurred through her veins. Yet he was not all to blame, she too had edged him on, disrespected him. She was being too arrogant to admit her own wrong. She should have treated him with respect if she wished to receive it back it only makes sense. Kin really do change when they turn into their dragon forms. She knew Garrett to be a kind and gentle soul hidden under his rough and calloused exterior.

[i tried lol. damn mother.]

The truth was the male didn’t disrespect the Gold at all. Most likely if the gold was ever found Garrett would sacrifice his life for the majestic creature’s protection and well being. Lolita had taken his words and twisted them into a foul shape in her mind or maybe it was just her mind not totally taking his words in clearly. They were both pretty upset now, so it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if she hadn’t heard him correctly. One thing she had figured out clearly though. He wasn’t raised in a clan like some Kin were or even raised by an adoptive family. He had been abandoned and forgotten the moment he was born. A burden to his unknown mother and unwanted by his father. It was no wonder he thought the world was harsh and cruel, especially after seeing all those sick kids in the orphanage with him. All of them abandoned, all of them unwanted, and all of them thrown into the deep pit of despair to rot and have the only dream of getting out of that diseased place and becoming a un-educated servant. Those memories of those poor kids never left his mind over all these years. They haunted him every time he glanced at a kid running on the streets, begging for a few coins or food. The man didn’t have exactly a soft spot for kids, but he did empathize them.

As she began to talk more he snorted and his face shifted to a look of disgust. Well, well, well. Miss know-it-all, supreme elder to everyone else hadn’t ever spoken to a mage before! He was curious if this lady was all bark and no bite as he began to doubt how truthful and wise she really was. How could a dragon know how to plan around a situation when they’ve never confronted the enemy? It seemed like a poor strategy on his part and even if his own contact with the mages was limited to either in battle or standing over ones dead corpse he knew they weren’t sweet at all. After all they took pleasure in drinking their blood! They were parasites of the world, draining them of their power. They wouldn’t think twice killing a potential source of power and drinking it dry! “It takes a bigger person to not retaliate, you say? What are you doing right now, bigger man?” She wasn’t calmly speaking to him anymore; she was lashing at him with her tongue. Moments before even playing with his emotions like it was some sort of sport! She shouldn’t be talking right now, the hypocrite!

He was a gore-hawk in many perceptive. Actually, he was total gore-hawk in anyone eyes! He needed to be though in order to survive. This world wasn’t going to give you bonus points or gold stars for being honest and kind while trying to find a peaceful solution. No, in this world you had to find something you wanted and put all your effort into taking it before it slips away. Even if you have to get a little dirty in the process. Her pacifist attitude made him frown; yet he gave her some respect for her ideals. This respect wasn’t seen on his face or in his words as that might appear he is giving into her, but it was noted in the back of his mind how strongly she was for peace.

At her next words the male suddenly froze and his red eyes for a moment flash with a slate green of his former human self. So this was Lolita in her dragon form, almost as cruel and vicious as he was. Well, this was defiantly a surprise for the male and he for a second held his breath. It wasn’t too long before he recovered and shook the shock off. “Well if you’re really Lolita, I must say you are a little more snappy in your dragon form,” he said, his voice slowly losing its hiss and coldness. Still, he was a bit annoyed that the same lady he helped out had acted the way she did in front of him like some supercilious powerful figure. “Would you have been happier if he hit me deeper? Should I have let the filthy human hit me into the chest with his blade?”

A small smile slid on his face thinking how screwed up that situation would have been if that had happened. There was always some dark humor when you looked upon what could have been your own death. “You would have had a hell of a mess to clean up then, m’lady.”

She was glad that the male was beginning to leave her, not only was he irritating her but he was insulting her. She had never once called herself the bigger person, she was just stating the facts. Lolita knew in dragon form that she would never be the bigger person, she knew this because she knew she was blue kin. Her temper could flare at any second yet she could be a lamb only moments before, she was like the slightly bi-polar race of the kin. They were also the most persistent, but her patient had begun to run out, her fuse completely gone. She did not answer his question about being the bigger man, she did not need to explain herself to this beast. She only snorted roughly as her reply. Her wings gave a quick flap, they were aching to be used again. Her golden hued eyes could not stand the sight of him any longer either.

However, when she saw that flash of green in his eyes, her soul immediately sank. Lolita felt like a complete idiot. Her heart beat had leveled out completely and she turned her head in shame, she could not believe how rude she had just acted toward Garrett. In her mother nature tones she spoke to him, "Then, sir, you must not know a lot about blue kin. You see, in our dragon form we become more like the sea. Our temperaments are defined by how we react to situations. I felt threatened, so i was being aggressive." Yet she took his criticism, she was not going to argue with him now. His next words stung like salt poured into a fresh wound. Her hot head had lead her to say things she should never wished to befall on another kin, yet coming from him made it hurt more. She wanted to speak but could not.

"Should I have let the filthy human hit me into the chest with his blade?"

She snorted loudly and quickly followed with a hoarse voice, "No, never!" She turned her face, she looked out to the human world below, "I would not ever wish a kin dead, no matter who they were." Traitors and cowards had their reasons, but they were still family. Everyone has a black sheep in the family, she just happened to have more than one. Yet, she would forgive them of that. She understood that some were pressured to do so for the security of their family or friends, others for their own lives. She forgave them because they needed to carry on that dewindling bloodline. Lolita felt so disappointed in herself, she wished she was a black. She could disappear from Garrett's sight and he would have never know it was her. May be this was why she never cared for relationships, because she just ends up screwing them up.

Lolita's body softly collapsed onto the icy summit, her tail curling around her entire body. Her front limbs were crossed upon one another and her hind legs her brought close to her barrel. She felt depressed now, how could she have acted so harshly to another of her kind. She never knew she had it in her soul to be so cruel to another kin. A soft sigh escaped out of her nostrils, her hazed carbon leaked out of her nose. Lolita's eyes never once looked toward Garrett as she laid on the ground, she deserved everything he was to do to her, to say to her, or to think about her. She was a horrible dragon and knew it, she had known it all along. Her blue scales grind against the ice as she breathed, her claws scratching at the surface. She wanted to disappear.

The boiling heat of Garrett’s anger was gradually deteriorating, as the female grew more depressed in self-pity for her past actions against him. This had to be proof that the dragon, now lying in front of him, had to be Lolita. Only she would hold so much regret and turn the blame of her verbal attack on him towards herself. The male’s head tilted to the side, trying to figure out what he was going to do with that information now. Was he going to backlash her with his own sharp tongue, hold a grudge against her, or forgive her like she was forgiving him? Now calmer and his mind no longer clouded by rage the male only knew one way to take care of the situation. Any other option would just lead to disaster.

With a small sigh the male moved away from the shadows and returned the dim light back to it’s natural form with the moon illuminating everything around them. Garrett no longer bothered to keep his distance, knowing now the female would not harm him. Soon he lay down next to her side, smirking lightly at the way she was acting. It wasn’t to mock her or make fun of her, but he just thought it was amusing how she went from a high to a low so swiftly. He was turned his head towards the lady’s face, as if waiting for her eyes too look at him to figure out what she might be thinking. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Cheer up. We both were mad, I pushed some buttons, and I was mean. Whatever your unforeseeably sad about I can’t grasp.” He was actually sort of confused about what was buzzing through her head right now that would make her so sad. He had doubted Lolita had meant the thing she had said about that dirty Slayer cut deeper into his arm. Only a Kin with a heart of cold ice would ever say that too another!

(( Grosss… x.x I can’t even think of anything to write. Forgive me. =( ))

Her head shifted slightly as it rested on her forelimbs, she could feel the dimmed light return to normal. So when she opened her golden eyes she could see the clear and brilliant light of the moon shining down on them. Her eyes focused on her paws as her claws expanded out into the ice than retracted back. Her breathing was soft, her scaly brows were furrowed. She continued to beat herself up about the situation in her head, how could she, why would she. Suddenly she had clued back into reality, the reality where dragons were still dying and the others were still prejudice. She could feel his presence move closer to her. This caused her head to move a little more as she watched him lay down beside her. As soon as he was down beside her she moved her head back to its original spot.

His vocals filled the air around him, it was good to hear the silence broken in soft tones but she was still not ready to talk. Her eyes did not meet his when she lifted her head up. A soft sigh was released from her lungs then she took an equally deep breath in and looked down at Garrett's front legs, she could not bare to see into his eyes yet. "I am not as sad as I am disappointed in myself. I should not have interfered in your business let alone criticize what you were doing." Her eyes were closed tightly as she moved her head to look at Garrett. She was not sure if she could bare to open those blue lids though. Slowly her lids began to part, the golden hue slipping through. When her eyelids had finally parted completely and the brilliance of those golden eyes looked into Garrett's pair of crimson red, she felt broken in a way. The hurt of her actions may have shone in her eyes but her gaze did not stay very long upon Garrett.

She was so frustrated. Like most dragons, the pressures of the world around her felt like they were closing in. Lolita hated being locked up, she hated being restrained and that was exactly what was happening to her. Although her optimistic attitude seemed like the brunt of who she was, she was also struggling. She hated having to hide from the world, she hated being so fake. Her large head lowered back down but this time laid upon Garrett's fore limbs, or close to them. Her vocals filled the air again, "Garrett, I just don't know anymore." Her eyes moved and looked at Garrett's body, admiring his blackened scales. She simply was just not sure of anything anymore, she could not trust herself and she certainly could not trust the outside world.

The Black Kin listened to the Blue, his intent gaze watching her body language and the few words that slipped out of her mouth. They had a conversation just like this before in Tuluth Port. She had been talking to him about flying and soaring through the clouds while killing some time as intoxicated Haden slept in the middle of a room. During that quick exchange of words he had noticed they both felt strong emotions about the broader topic of not just flying, but freedom. Wasn’t that what the whole oppression of Dragons was about? This genocide wasn’t only killing dragons, but the ones still hiding in this human wasteland were in excruciating pain. Most hope had been destroyed and the devastation of all these dragons falling like flies was paying a large toll on any remaining Dragon’s souls. The destruction around them was just of an example of the rage it did to a Dragon’s heart. Even this cold male’s heart could be torn in half by what was happening around him! A constant question kept orbiting around his head, yet he couldn’t ever find a good answer or a guess to this question: When was it all going to stop? He had heard of the prophecy of the Gold Dragon that would save them all and the male was a strong believer of the Gold. The only thing that worried him was what if the Gold came too late? What happened if he or she was born in a time when the dragons were an old fairy tale? His or her help would have come too late…

Garrett’s tail curled to the left side of his body, while his right side was inches away from Lolita. As he absorbed in her words, he tried to figure out what a good response would be. He didn’t want to lie to Lolita and at the same time he didn’t want her to remain depressed and continue beating herself up on the inside. Being such a womanizer he just couldn’t stand a lady unhappy. The man took in a deep breath and his gaze drifted off towards the sky where they had once been before. “Like I said before, don’t worry about it. It isn’t the first time someones popped up out of nowhere when I was thinking about something. I should be the one apologizing, I probably offended your pacifist principles.” He should watch what he says for now on when he talks to other dragons. It would be very bad luck if he got into another situation like this. Kind of made it awkward. Guess this was a perfect example from learning from your mistakes.

It made him happy when her golden eyes reflected his for even a small period of time. The only thing that killed this spark of happiness was the hint emotion of regret and pain in the lovely Blue Kin’s eyes. It seemed like it was his turn to try and play the optimistic one. The tables have appeared to turn and Lolita wasn’t dealing very well being in Garrett’s shoes. “No one knows what to expect anymore, Lolita. All these questions of what to expect in our future and what to do float in every Dragon’s head every day. I only know one thing to do in a situation like this that I’ve been doing for years. I’ve kept my eyes open for possible occasions I can lend a hand to others or to a potential event that could help the Kin’s cause and then try to enjoy the rights I have left. At times I might seem a bit… cold and at times depressed, but I can’t let that stop myself from enjoying life and it’s wonders. If you kept lying here thinking what we are currently deprived of, we’ll never actually live. It would only make those Mages happy to see that their oppressive ways were working on us. Slowly and painfully destroying ever last particle of hope that resides inside of us.” He wasn’t sure if what he said would help at all. She might respond by disagreeing with his words or think it was ridiculous that he didn’t put his full attention on the 'current events’. In away, he still was, but he couldn’t let himself at the same time be dropped into a hopeless deadly bit like the ones scattered across the Reed Mountains.

After saying his ‘words of wisdom’ the male lowered his eyes back towards the female next to him. A small frown lingered on his face as she continued to look broken and even the warm breath leaving her lips and warming up his front legs didn’t feel as warm. This foreign behavior of Lolita’s, who had appeared before to be such a happy-go-lucky type of woman, was beginning to trouble the male more and more. He could only wait and watch for the old happy animal-loving dragon kin to return. He didn’t know what else to do to help fix this broken porcelain doll.

As her blue head rested on Garrett she listened to every word he was saying. With her lids closed over her pupils she rolled her eyes, of course he was not going to blame her but she let it go. If she could not feel upset about that then at least she could still sulk about the war. Don't get her wrong, she hates to sulk but at that moment she felt like it. She had given it her all lately and was wearing out slowly, as the humans say, she was burning the wicks at both ends of the candle. He had indeed offended her principles but she felt like she had done much worse. Not only did Lolita offend him and patronize him, she also wished ill upon him. She had a half-hearted snort as a response to his answer to acknowledge that she had at least heard what he was saying. Whether she was going to accept what he had said was another issue.

Her head moved on his appendages, the feeling of his scales upon hers was something she had never quite experienced before. The feeling of his silky, bumped skin was different than anyone else; although she did not go around touching other people either. May be all black kin scales felt like that against those of a blue kin, she did not know. Whole heartedly she listened to him preach to her. What he said to her was inspiring yet she was not sure if she should take in everything he was saying. He was of course trying to cheer her up and most people twist their words and ideas in order to in fact enlighten the receiver. But what he was saying was the depressing truth, not the type of truth that would cheer people up. That honest truth was what lifted her spirits slightly. She was of course not the only dragon in this world who was feeling this pressure.

With an unexpected spur of energy Lolita lifted her head off his limbs. She was not completely happy yet she was better than before. A small uncomfortable smile sat on her lips. Her head moved again, not up, not down, but to her right. She softly nuzzled her face against Garrett's thick neck. A small snort left her nostrils then a spark of micheif. As she softly touched Garrett's neck she slowly moved away. She looked at Garrett with a pleasant smile then moved her head toward his shoulder and took a soft but firmly noticeable nip on it. The smile turned into a smirk then she stood up. Her giant blue wings flapped ready to take off in flight. Her mood had shifted again, that blue kin blood of hers of undeniable. Lolita gave a light hearted chuckle as she lifted herself into the sky looking at Garrett. She wondered if he was in for some fun, if he would follow her.

Crimson eyes happily watched as Lolita got a great burst of new life and energy running through her veins. It was a very interesting and confusing transformation that seemed to perplex the male for a few seconds. She was just like the sea like she had mentioned before. She first started off tempered, then upset, and now she was in such a perky mood it mirrored her personality in human form. Were all blue dragon kin like this? If so, he had to take a note of their sudden mood swings. It might help him in the long run with actually finding a way to befriend one. At least, even if their mood swings were very dramatic, they could be a lot friendlier then the black kin he sees wandering around all the time.

He was taken aback when she nuzzled his neck, which made an uncomfortable smile cross his face. What brought some questions was what he had done to earn such contact? In a way, he hoped it wasn’t just out of pity or an attempt on making her happy. Nonetheless he wouldn’t be upset if that was the main reason as just coming this close to another dragon in dragon form was pretty rare for him. Of course, any bystanders would be asking why the uncomfortable smile? He was a womanizer after all, wouldn’t he enjoy this affection? He did love the ladies and all, but he still thought of Lolita as the woman who had yelled at him before and called him ‘child’. It would take awhile for him to comprehend and get used to the fact that this was sweet gentle Lolita.

The nip on the shoulder took him by surprise and his eyes widened slightly with even more confusion. The uncomfortable smile turned to a curious one and one of his brows arched as if questioning her sudden actions. It wasn’t long till he put two and two together to understand what she was trying to achieve by nipping him. Miss Lolita extreme burst of energy had as well given her a mischievous manner and she was like a young dragon again wanting to play! Fine then, game on!

A sly smirked reached the males lips and without much effort his entire body became invisible for a few seconds. This gave him time to spread out his large black wings that ached for flight and as if granting their wish he propelled himself up into the air after the lovely blue kin. The feeling of flying again was exciting and even if it had been years since he’s open his wings up, he still was quite a talented flier. Unlike some younger kin he was able to almost soundlessly move through the air, cutting it like a knife through warm butter. His body only became visible once again when he was closely behind the female hoping to surprise the dragon. This might have backfired though as in a way Garrett wasn’t completely invisible. She wouldn’t be able to see him, but she could always smell him or hear the slightest sound of his wings beating against the air.