Sionnach (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"You have nothing to apologize for." Fiona said as she led Andre back into the kitchen and put on hot tea for the both of them. "There's no shame in having a fear, Andre."

She took a seat across from him at the table and saw the frustration on his face. "Believe me, I have many fears in my life."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You carry them well, if that's the case. I don't think there's much I'm too scared of, but the fears I do have... they stop me in my tracks." Andre took his seat, crossing his arms on the table and leaning on it. "I'm sorry I brought her with me... Stila was already a monster in her own right. Now she's terrorizing people far from slaveholding lands because she's skulking after me. And being with your family means I've painted a neat little target on everyone you care about." He brushed his hair aside again, but gave up on it and just tied it back. "As long as Stila lives, Riley especially is gonna be a target... I know Tanya and Joachim placed high bounties on Stila and so has most of the north... but with that dragon and her connections and money, not to mention her cruelty and ambition, she just seems untouchable."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Andre," Fiona said with a chuckle. "You brought no more danger to this family than we already had. I killed an emperor and started a war. If that didn't strike fear in me for my family, nothing will."

She sighed and studied him for a moment. "We're not much different, you and I. Born in adversity, scrapping to get by, hoping that one day maybe fortune will smile upon us. I was lucky and found a prince that could look past the damaged pieces and see the person inside."

 

[KieranSoares]

"And I managed to find a hurricane of a princess because of you two," Andre murmured with a little smile. "I know she was never easy and I know her whole thing with me was probably stressful considering who I am... but I really am grateful you all support us. And the way you treat my Ma makes me get all emotional sometimes. Seeing so many people who love her, and seeing her with Jani... It's more than she or I had ever dared to dream of. I wanted to hope, but I never believed it was possible til the day Riley brought me back and I saw Ma healthy, free, and blooming for the first time."

 

[heartofcourage]

"No, Riley has never been easy. I don't expect her to be because it's what makes her who she is." Fiona said as Andre talked about how much he looked forward to life. "She fought against the odds to even be born. Your father tried to kill her and Barbarossa tried to kill her. We never thought that she would even survive long enough for us to hold her."

"I have hope that the two of you will make a nice life for yourselves in Norway. I know that Scotland holds no meaning for Riley and she's always been a girl that has wanted to live on her own terms. Her Da has been happy to know that she wants the Yellow House for her own. It's only right that she have it if Soma is with us in Scotland and Tati follows as well."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure we'll be out and about for long stretches too. We've got a list going of all the places we want to see. And I imagine we'll steal Jani when we take my Ma to Tibet someday." Andre smiled to himself at the idea. "I've never really embraced my Wolf side much. Being around the Voya has helped a lot. I hope my Ma's people are still around so I can really reconnect."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stood and gathered mugs for tea, serving them both before she took her seat again.

"Let me give you a piece of advice. I know that you have deep feelings about Stila, especially when it comes to your family and Riley. However, when the time comes, and you'll know when it's time, you cannot hesitate." Fiona said softly. "You need to act quickly and concisely."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know. I would like to think I'll have the right response at the right time... I've practiced a lot to try to fight automatically instead of freeze. But I still worry."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You've been abused. I....understand where you are coming from, Andre. Trust me, you won't freeze when it's time." Fiona said softly. "You'll do what you need to do."

 

[KieranSoares]

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Andre traced a finger around the rim of his mug. "Confidence is something I'm pretty good at faking, but not actually having. I hope you're right. But I'll keep training and practicing to make sure that even if my mind freezes, my body reacts correctly. I only hope she doesn't manage to catch me or Riley alone."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona sat with Andre until Rhett returned, leaving the two of them to burn the midnight oil as she went back to bed with Tati. By the time that Soma arrived, she was already asleep, staying with her youngest kit as she had promised she would.

Riley exited another cavern muttering curses in Norwegian under her breath. While she didn't speak it regularly, it was often a language that she fell back on after English and Erygonian. She was tired after having hunted for Tuck late into the night with her Da, but they had come up empty each time.

"Do you think someone else has found him by now?" Riley asked as she pulled herself back into the saddle and glanced over at her father.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I doubt it," Sam muttered, sitting high in the saddle on Dzana's back as she scanned the horizon carefully with him. "We're all within earshot of a' least one other Rider. We'd have heard by now. I don' think they stopped after they took Tuck. Th'forward Riders with Jani are probably closer'n we are, trackin' ahead."

Glancing toward Riley as Marth shifted and came to the edge of the cliff by the cave, Sam's exhaustion was clear. "We can't go too far. We're targets an' we don' want to be far from our family. We should head back soon... Wait t'hear news." It was obvious he didn't want to go back, but he knew Fiona was right that chasing Stila into Spain was incredibly dangerous. He couldn't stop Jani and Ezra, but he knew he couldn't be reckless, as much as he wanted to follow his former plan of hunting Stila down and killing her himself from when they were in Normandy.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Stila isn’t even here.” Riley said as she got herself harnessed and glanced over at her father. “Trust me. That dragon of her puts off really weird emotions. If he were around, I’d know.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"No doubt she handed it all off to lackeys." Sam glanced toward Dzana's crest, seeing her head follow something too far for him to see. "What is it?"

"Sadah, she's headed this way... I think she's wounded. I don't see Ezra."

Sam felt tension grip him, but held them all in place for Sadah to arrive so they could talk without rushing wind making it difficult. Sadah came in to land on the cliffside by them, a shallow but bloody claw mark in her right arm.

"Samuel, we spotted a suspicious dragon and rider nearby, watching us. When we gave chase, they blew a whistle and a Rider far away took off, our of our reach. We caught the scout, but they put up a fight. Avfairn has the Rider restrained and the dragon is docile now."

"Where's Ezra?"

"A few bruises, but he's with Jani."

"Catch your breath before you join us, then get Ezra an' head back fer proper treatment. We'll bring this Rider back." Sam turned toward Riley and motioned her on as Dzana took off, heading for where Sadah had come from.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley watched her da take off and glanced over at Sadah. “What direction did they go?” She asked.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sadah looked at Riley for a long moment, considering whether or not to tell her, with her reputation of recklessness. But she relented. "The fleeing Rider headed southwest. Likely toward Spain if they were working for Oliveras."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley gave her a bid and turned Marth that direction. “Think you can go fast enough to try and catch them?”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm not built for speed, but I can try," Marth murmured. Taking a deep breath, he leapt from the cliff and began gaining altitude so he could glide and gain speed that way rather that tiring himself out too fast.

 

[heartofcourage]

“We know this terrain. We can cut them off.” Riley encouraged as Marth got himself situated into a comfortable speed. “If they’re heading that direction, we can cut through the passes and make sure that they never make it to France.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then you need to get some sleep, because this is going to take a while," Marth told her. "I'll wake you up in a while after we've gained some ground."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You wake me the moment something happens that is out of the ordinary. No matter how small.” Riley warned as he got himself situated.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I will," Marth promised, locking into his steep glide to pick up speed as he scanned back and forth. He'd adjusted well to having one eye, and could for the most part make up for it with careful attention.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley was restless as they flew, knowing that this was incredibly dangerous but also that her parents would be upset. It was a small issue that she was willing to take if it meant saving a member of the Voya. They had done so much for her growing up. It was the least that she felt she could do.

 

[KieranSoares]

It was just before dawn, the sun about to peek above the horizon, when Marth alerted Riley to something out of place. They were over Denmark following the most likely path of a fleeing scout when Marth began to descend to a hilly, open area not far from a small lumber mill on the edge of a tiny village. Near the wide river filled with logs being floated downstream, a ruby-red female dragon was crashed into the edge of a woodline of a large forest that grew thick very quickly. By her awkward angle and broken wings, she was surely knocked out or dead. A trail of scattered blood led for hundreds of feet to her crash, hinting that she'd been wounded in the air and probably purposely hit the trees to slow her fall so not to kill her rider. It was something most war dragons were trained to do, even if they themselves were dying. It was how Invah had once saved Sam, slowing her crash by hitting buildings on the way down to slow her despite the damage it caused her.

Sitting near the crashed dragon was a figure in full rider armor, on their knees and staring at their unmoving partner. It was difficult to tell gender or alignment, their armor and saddle were blank of all heraldry or country color. The only unique thing about it all was a lotus design etched into the side of the saddle and the chest and back of the rider's armor.

Marth came in to land, approaching cautiously as the rider didn't seem to react at all. Their gaze was simply locked on their partner. Now, up close, it was clear the dragon wasn't breathing, and any bleeding had stopped. She'd been there at least an hour, and had probably died shortly after impact. The rider had two crossbow bolts sticking out from their side under their arm, but they had been ignored or forgotten after they were snapped off halfway down the shaft.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley cautiously unharnessed and drew her sword, arming herself even though she knew that whatever danger this situation could have posed was long past. She climbed down off Marth and stood for a moment, surveying the dead dragon and the wounded rider who simply stared at their former partner. The sorrow that came off them was intense, the same that any rider would feel no matter what side they served.

"Are you the one running from the Voya?" Riley asked, trying her hardest to sound like an authority figure.