The North (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

By the time Soma and the others had returned with their weaponry, they were both suited in the other’s armor. Taking her personal sword belt from her son, she cinched it tightly around Blair’s waist, pulling the leather back upon itself to make the knot she preferred. On her sister’s hip was her axe and cats paw knife, both deadly sharp. Having Blair turn, she strapped a smaller claymore to her back, ordering her glaive to be added to her saddle along with the crossbows.

Taking the firearm, she carefully weighed it in her hands before she reached behind her back and slipped it into the riding harness at the small of her back.

“When we leave here, we are not a queen and a rider. We are Blackstones. That woman will continue her hunt until she is either dead…or taught a very valuable lesson.” Fiona murmured, meeting her sister’s gaze and holding it. “We have had our differences. On this, however, I think we agree.”

Pulling on Blair’s helmet, Fiona let out a breath to steady her own nerves, clapping her sister on both shoulders to show her trust before she turned to lead the way to the dragons.

“Jani!” Fiona called as she saw her Rider waiting. “The command is yours. Don't fuck it up.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Same to you!" Jani called back with good humor despite the seriousness. "Square your shoulders, Blair. Walk tall! You're the Rider Queen today."

Blair straightened up at Jani's advice, trying her best to play the part with a focused stride toward the open lane of the camp. Diana and Markos awaited, and Schaller came in to land shortly behind. Markos met Fiona as she approached, showing her the handholds on his odd homemade saddle to climb up. "I left my blade for you," he told her, motioning to a forward-curved kopis sheathed just under where her right leg would rest. "It's coated in the same poison we used against Hesperus. It might not kill a dragon Diana's size on its own, but it will make them unable to fly straight for days. And a human will fare far worse. Use it if you see fit."

Crouched for Fiona to climb on, Diana was quietly awaiting her word. Markos patted her scales and added, "Diana has always been a dragon of few words. I talk more than enough for both of us. But she works best with a Rider that leans and moves with her. I almost never use reins except for detailed maneuvers, and she knows how to mitigate the tremendous force her speed puts on me whenever possible. But when that isn't enough..." He showed Fiona a set of straps where her upper thighs would rest. "Tighten these as much as you can stand before you go into battle. They will help keep the blood from rushing away from your head."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona gently patted Diana’s scaled neck, silently thanking her for all of this as she listened to Markos explain how his saddle worked. It would almost be like flying without a saddle, something she hadn’t done in a long time, but trusted the dragon before her enough to allow.

After Markos was done, she turned towards Schaller and Blair. She saw from the stiff way that he held himself that he was less than pleased with the situation, but she ignored him for the moment to explain to Blair what she needed to know.

“You can climb his scales but the easiest way is to hold on to his horn and allow him to place you next to the saddle. You can buckle yourself in at all points using the harness.” Fiona murmured, placing her hand on his scales. “And he’s faster than you’d expect. You can stand between his shoulders and his neck if you need. He will take care of the rest.”

Fiona finally turned to look into one of his great eyes. “Keep her safe for me. And if worst comes to worst, burn the woods.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Your family is my family," Schaller assured her softly before dipping a horn down between her and Blair. Blair took hold of the end, seeing the groove in his crest when Fiona normally stepped up. Placing her boot firmly, she took a breath and stepped up, lifted high into the saddle with no effort. She was used to being moved and carried by Hadvar, but not quite like this. Everything about Schaller was bigger, stronger, and more dangerous.

"No wonder you've been Rider Queen all this time," Blair chuckled nervously as she peered down at her sister. "No one could challenge you with this brute on your side."

"She can defend that title alone if need be," Schaller rumbled with a glance back at the younger Blackstone. "I have not been with her during her most terrible battles."

"You will be for this one," Blair promised, seeing how gravely serious and tense he was. "Oliveras might've caught you off-guard once or twice before. But she's never faced Fiona at her best, and she's never faced me. I have a few tricks of my own to deal with sneaky mercs like that."

"Schaller has his own score to settle with Altair, I believe," Diana murmured quietly, knowing from stories that Altair had not only been involved in harming Fiona directly, but he had gotten the best of Schaller once, biting his throat and making him swallow his own fire back in Denmark.

"I don't care about scores, only that those two never leave the ground again after today," Schaller snorted, turning his attention back to Fiona. "We're as ready as we can be, little fox. Lead on."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Schaller, look at me.” Fiona said softly, drawing his attention solely to her, her hands gently resting on his maw. “I need you calm and relaxed.”

Even if her own mind was humming with all that was happening, she would take the extra time to calm her partner. She could feel the prickled anxiety that pounded around his body, the tense way that his muscles bunched and moved. She gently pressed her forehead against his maw, drawing in a slow deep breath that he emulated.

 

[KieranSoares]

"All I can think of is those weeks you spent recovering from von Morden, only to be sent back to square one by Oliveras," Schaller rumbled softly. "I refuse to let that happen again."

Schaller glanced up as he felt Blair lean forward, half-laying against him and stroking his scales. Even if she didn't know him well, she could see his deep connection to Fiona, and she wanted to offer some comfort as well.

"Let's get going," Schaller said more calmly. "One less problem will be good for everyone."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona gave him a half smile, chuckling to herself as she gently patted his maw and then moved away, approaching Diana. She paused when she saw her husband waiting as patiently as always.

“You can tell me all your concerns when I return.” Fiona said softly, teasing him in a way that only she could. “I’ll come back just as I am now. I promise, Eldere.”

Gently she touched his cheek and then kissed him, letting out a long sigh the moment that their lips touched.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam leaned into her kiss, their foreheads touching when their lips parted. "You'd better," he murmured. "I want t'see you walk into Inverness under your own power." He kissed her again, the great furnace that was his mind calming with her affection.

Letting his fingers trail from hers, he added softly, "I love you." He shared a brief nod with Diana, offering the dragon his silent trust.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona climbed into Diana’s strange saddle easily. She didn’t necessarily prefer the way she sat, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Taking the reins in her hands, she wrapped them loosely to give Diana the room she required to fly.

“Take the lead, Schaller.” She called to the elder dragon, keeping up the appearance that her sister were really her.

It took all of her skill as a rider to move appropriately with Diana, her hips flexing with her elongated movements. She was like a cat where Schaller was like a great muscled beast.

 

[KieranSoares]

As Schaller took off, Blair was immediately intimidated by his size and the complete lack of any kind of broad control versus her usual partner. Schaller was well-experienced and tuned into fine adjustments, but there was quite literally nothing anyone could do to make him move if he decided to do otherwise. Blair adjusted, giving loose rein as Fiona had instructed, recognizing that with an Elder dragon, riding was more of an exercise of trust than with any smaller mount. Soon she was leaning into Schaller's movements to reduce drag, mimicking the way she had seen Fiona flatten as they gained altitude and speed, and sitting up again once they leveled out.

Adopting a tall but alert position to match Schaller's search pattern, Blair showed Fiona from afar how others often perceived her: the keeper of a nearly-legendary beast, confident and at home in the sky like few others were. And for his part, Schaller didn't try to adjust for a new Rider, acting as if his proper partner were in the saddle and knew what to expect.

Diana went smoothly alongside, drifting back just a little to allow Schaller the lead. While she moved gradually and easily, even riding the draft behind Schaller's great wing, her lithe form, deep chest, and thinner frame and wings warned that she could snap in a new direction at any second and accelerate like a cheetah.

As the four headed off, Schaller locked in, searching for any scent or sign of the mercenary and her strange partner.

 

[heartofcourage]

It was hours later that they took a break to the north of Inverness. There had been no sign of Stila or her dragon, which told Fiona that they would need to push further towards Royer’s territory.

“We aren’t far from our grandfather’s cabin.” Fiona mentioned as she took a bite of the dried venison she kept in her saddle bags. “Where I grew up, basically.”

She didn’t know how much Blair cared about their family history, but she still wanted to keep the olive branch extended in case she ever wondered about them.

“He loved these woods and how peaceful it always was. It gave him a place to escape.” She glanced up at Blair and let out a soft sigh. “I’m glad that you know Da as he is now. As…conflicted I was when all of this first came about, I think at least one of us deserved the best version of him.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Owen's mentioned Ephriam a few times, but not terribly much about him. I know he's got a lot of shame about his younger years and his Da," Blair said with a shrug as she pulled out a waterskin and sat down among a highland pine's roots. Close by, Schaller and Diana laid low in the cover of the trees, having landed on a clear slope and wound their way into the forest to hide. Blair glanced over as they settled but stayed alert, then turned back to Fiona.

"By the way... I should mention. I don't think Ma and Owen will be mates again," Blair told Fiona with a neutral expression, as if the idea didn't bother her. "They've been sticking together, taking care of each other. But without the threat of what they went through before, I think they're more comfortable as friends. I talked to Ma about it a little. She said she'll probably stay with him til she finds her own path. And when I asked Owen, he said he loves her, but not as a mate." Blair then gave a small smile and added, "Seems like your Ma will keep his heart forever, and he's content with that. But I'll be bothering you both to learn more about our family and Ephriam and the Blackstones. And Odessa, when she feels like answering a million questions."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I was rather unkind to your Ma when I first learned the story.” Fiona murmured. “And I regret that. I’ll do what I can to help her make a life, however she wants it.”

They casually spike as they rested among the pines, the limbs of the trees gently moving in a soft breeze. Fiona was telling Blair a story of Ephriam, one of their trips to Loch Fay, when a noise caught her attention. She held up a hand to silence Blair, her eyes narrowing as she listened more intently.

Wings could be heard just above the sounds of the forest, faint but growing louder. “She’s returning.”

Their hunch had been right and she had been in Royer’s lands to the far north. Fiona was up on her feet quickly, hurrying to Diana as the dragons shifted restlessly.

“We draw her to Inverness. The loch. With their forces separated and preparing for battle, we can engage her there.” Fiona called to her sister as she climbed into Diana’s saddle.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Dammit, I wish we had a water dragon there that could ambush her," Blair growled as she took a running leap up Schaller's side without waiting for him to lift her up. The instant one harness point was clipped in, Schaller began deftly snaking between the trees, practically crawling to keep below the full, rich canopy of pine needles and leaves. The early summer vibrance of the forest was just what they needed to hide Schaller's brilliant white scales, and Diana's ruby.

When Schaller reached the open slope where he'd originally landed, he looked out and spotted the violet dragon in the distance. Following Fiona's orders to draw Stila away, Schaller stood and took off with a fake ease, pretending to be on patrol and purposely flying with his back mostly to Altair and Stila. He didn't dare check behind him, knowing that if he hinted he knew they were there, they might recognize a trap. The distance was great enough that they were mere colored specks to one another, so Schaller began a somewhat slow glide toward Inverness, the loch gleaming on the horizon not far off. For her part, Blair settled into the saddle with a slow search back and forth to mimic a patrol as well, but she made sure never to look directly back at Altair, acting as if all was well.