Sionnach (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Another family separated." Fiona said quietly with a long sigh. "I guess it's unavoidable."

 

[KieranSoares]

"All we can do is make sure they get back to each other," Sam sighed as well, shifting til he was on his side and could wrap his arms around her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona let herself be pulled against his chest, sighing as he held her tightly. When she was younger, she had craved that contact. Now that she was older, she found comfort in it. She knew her time with Sam might be short because of the battles looming and she wasn't about to let any of these moments go by without savoring them.

"I can't live without you." She said softly, showing him the vulnerability that she held deep inside and away from the rest of the world. "And I'll support you in anything you want to do, including riding an elder dragon into battle."

As the house grew quiet, Riley sat at the kitchen table and stared at her half eaten dish. She was too tired, too defeated, too emotionally raw. She pushed away and quietly left the house, not going towards her own partner and their tent, but off towards other parts of the Voya. The place where her great-grandparents were buried and the rest of her extended family.

The small graveyard was decorated in all manner of headstones. All handmade by the families, they each held some significance. As she came up to her Uka and Mormor, she stopped in front of them in an almost reverent way.

"You always use to say that I was just like her. I was headstrong and impulsive. That it would get me in trouble some day, just like it did her." Riley said softly to the night air. "I have a man that wants to start a life with me, a family that doesn't believe that I'm capable of anything, and a terrible decision that I need to make. I honestly don't know what to do."

 

[KieranSoares]

The graves stared silently back, her vulnerable statement left hanging in the still, cool night air. There was no answer, until it seemed that the moonlight had stopped shining down on her. It was no cloud, but a large, familiar shadow as a massive dragon settled behind her, while scales nearly glowing in the moonlight and chest glowing soft green for a moment. Schaller had returned.

"Are you alright, little kit?" he asked softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"No." Riley said as Schaller's familiar voice washed over her. "I'm not alright."

She stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at Oleg and Anya, trying hard to form the words that she wanted to say. She had never been good with words. That was always Soma. She wished that she could have had even just a fraction of his brain.

"Reven gave me a gift because she felt like I was worthy." Riley said softly. "However, it's more of a curse. Everything that I come into contact with overwhelms me. I don't know what is mine and what is that of another. I don't feel like I'm really worthy of anything, actually. I'm just that same messed up kit that I've always been, only this time I can get people into real trouble."

 

[KieranSoares]

"So you've learned that being a Caller is an awful burden," Schaller murmured softly. "And while I respected Reven... I'm not sure I agree with her choices sometimes. I certainly didn't when you first showed your abilities. But as time has gone on, I've come to agree with her. Your gift should never be in the hands of someone who would be flippant about it, or use it to harm. You understand the gravity. I know that doesn't make it better... but I'm proud of how you use it. Clarity and mastery will come with time, but it will always be heavy, little kit. This is the very reason I haven't chosen a Caller to gift my abilities to in centuries."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Why not Ma?" Riley asked, glancing up at the elder dragon as he loomed over her. "Why not give her your power?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"She belongs to Reven's line and I doubt she would... care much for the power I have to give. We've never discussed it anyway." Schaller glanced down at the graves and then off westward. "Mine is nothing like Reven's. It's not about empathy or connection or hypnosis. Mine is one of brute power and destruction... Tanya is one of my line, long descended from someone I gave my power to. Remember, back when she struck your mind with a force that nearly knocked you out? That's a taste of it. She could knock dragons out from a distance if she learned how to harness it properly. Even kill, if she was desperate. Even I'm loathe to use it, and I haven't used it hardly at all for centuries. I much prefer gentler gifts like those in your line and Andre's."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You care for her too much." Riley said softly. "And you think that what you have is a burden."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It is. All dragon abilities and what we give to our Callers are not gifts, they're heavy burdens and tools. They are for battle and conquering, because we needed them to survive and still do. Your ability isn't just to empathize, it's to intrude and twist emotions. But you and your mother use it more gently as a way of connecting rather than killing. Andre is discovering his ability to calm dragons, but that ability was originally for making enemies docile and easier to kill. It's all for survival, my love. But some of us have more vicious abilities than others that can't be used peacefully."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley gave him a nod as she sat down beside his great claw, looking into the darkness. "My ma missed you greatly. However, Dzana did most of all. She won't admit it, but she did."

Riley's gift, while mostly under control, had given her the unique ability to look into the deepest depths of someone's emotions and soul. She was overwhelmed at the best of times.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll take your word for it," Schaller murmured, laying down beside her, careful of any stones near them. "I'll see them both in the morning." He laid his head atop his arm beside her and nuzzled her arm gently. "I worry for you, little love."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I worry too." Riley said softly as the great dragon nuzzled against her. "What do I have to offer the world? Ma was married and commanding an army at my age. Da was the law of Inverness. I'm just a wayward soul in their eyes."

 

[KieranSoares]

"What do you want to offer the world?" Schaller asked softly. "Or will you be your own person and live for yourself?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"What am I to the world? A would be princess with a reputation that I cannot escape. If I married Andre, I would be his wife. If I'm a rider on my own, I get scolded. I don't know where anything will ever take me." Riley said with a long sigh.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's up to you what you become, my love. But you don't have to match or outdo anyone else. There's nothing wrong with just living. You can be something great, or you can just be your own person. Do what you feel needs to be done for your own sake and for those you care about. Trust me when I say fame is no blessing."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley was silent for a few moments before she glanced over at the elder dragon. "How is Rikke?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"The little fledgling has found her voice and her fire. But we had a long talk and she agreed to proper training in the haven before she does anything crazy. She's temporarily paired up with one of the keepers for now, a former Northern Rider who retired a couple years ago. Then when she's got some training and experience with a Rider, she'll be ready for her true partner in a year or so, maybe more."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley spoke with Schaller quietly for a while longer before he walked her back to her ger. Curled up with Andre, she finally found some small peace and she could rest. The next morning, Fiona and Sam were up bright and early to start work on Dzana's new gear. While Sam measured, Fiona worked with Sveri to get the little dragon use to human handling.

"She's a handful." Fiona murmured as she tried to get a saddle onto Sveri only to have the little dragon sprint around and buck, playing a game with the rider under her mother's watchful eye.

Sveri rolled on the grass and kicked the legs, growling playfully before she rolled to her belly and peered at Fiona through the blades of thick grass, almost daring her to approach again.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dzana was watching Sveri closely, letting Fiona work but keeping the fledgling from getting too rambunctious. Even though she was just a baby, she was big enough to do real damage if left unchecked.

"Let me know if and when you need help," Dzana reminded Fiona. Sam was perched on her back, measuring where the main platform of the saddle would sit.

 

[heartofcourage]

"If I needed help this quickly, I wouldn't be much of a rider queen." Fiona said with a laugh as she slowly made her way towards Sveri. "You just have a lot of energy. That's a good thing."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam slid down from Dzana's back as he finished writing his measurements, heading over to a small table he'd set up with lengths of leather and hardware. He began cutting out long strips for the main belts while Dzana gently corralled Sveri so Fiona didn't have to chase her all over.

Schaller was nearby watching, having greeted Fiona earlier. Sveri soon broke away and sprinted toward him, hiding under one of his wings.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona watched the fledgling run to Schaller, hiding beneath one of his folded wings. "At least Rikke was slower on her feet." She said, her hands on her hips. "Maybe she's too young just yet. I can give her a few more months before we try to saddle her in earnest."

She smiled at Schaller as she heard Sveri making noises beneath his wing, growls and groans following the little dragon. She decided not to tease him as she turned to help Sam with his task.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dzana wandered over toward Schaller, sitting a small distance away as Sveri crawled all over the male dragon. Sam, although absorbed in his work, glanced over and smirked lightly. "Well, tha's a familiar sight... Imagine he misses Rikke bein' tha' small."

Laying out the plain straps, Sam punched holes where the studs would go and, with Fiona's help, laid out several large sheets of leather that would be bound together in the layers of the saddle itself. It would all be sewn, dyed, and treated before the hardware was attached, but Sam was putting it together in record time thanks to his many years of experience.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Who doesn't love a baby at that age?" Fiona asked as she helped him to get the leather positioned correctly, using her tailoring skills to sew edges together as he made quick work of hole punching. "The world is always brand new, no matter where they go."