Talia pulled the cinch tight on Jax with an air of finality as she tested how secure the saddle was. Getting out of the city had been quite the chore, especially with so many people trying to leave as quickly as possible. The stables had been filled to the brim with people struggling to escape for nearly an hour leaving Talia and the others to wait at the fringes of the crowd for a moment to slip in and quietly make their escape.
"I want to go with you." Lotus pressed again with a thin frown on her face and fire in her shimmering eyes. She was quite the conundrum, a water affinity and glittering aqua eyes but she had the heart and soul of someone with fire in their heart. Talia could recognize that much at least. Lotus refused to back down no matter how many times she had snapped her answer at her.
"How many times do I have to say no before you get it through that thick skull of yours?" She was tired, Jax was irritated, and Nico was lurking somewhere. He was notoriously opposed to new groupies, not to mention Talia wasn't sure she wanted to babysit a newly fledged mageling on the journey. They had many moons of hard riding to do and Lotus had likely never even sat astride a horse, let alone for weeks. The time it would take to teach her such things would be valuable and better served elsewhere, at least that's what she tried to convince herself.
"I want to serve you! I want to fight for you and help..." She started her same argument over. Talia grit her teeth before biting out,
"This isn't some dandy trip I'm doing for the fun of it ok? There are far more dangerous things on this road than Dragonfyre. I don't want to watch you die because you think you owe me your life. Find some other way to kill yourself if you're that interested in throwing your life away." She closed her eye and took a long deep breath.
"I don't... Have a home. I don't have anywhere to go, I don't have anything to do. I don't want to wander this city aimlessly when I know my destiny is with you! I want to see the rise of the new rider, which by the way is you. I mean, what better way to spend my life than serving the first rider in five thousand years!" Talia lead Jax out of the stable pushing past Lotus roughly with a low snarl,
"Shut up! I don't want the word to spread. Do you know what kind of attention we'd get if people knew?" Eyeing the rest of the stable she was happy to see that they were the only ones left. Nico and the dwarves had already saddled their mounts and made their way out towards the road to wait. The stables were now completely empty save a few of the knights horses and the Kings spare mount.
"I'll tell the world if you don't let me go." Lotus snarled. Talia had to stop a moment to process what the little cur had just uttered. Had she really just threatened her? She lay Jax's reins over his neck and patted him on the rump. He made his way out the main doors before stopping and turning to wait for her. She turned to Lotus who was now plastering herself up against the wall, even the bugs could feel how dangerous the atmosphere had just turned. Talia may have been exhausted but she was never too tired to put a welp in its place. She leaned in close to Lotus's face before pulling her lips up into a sneer.
"I've killed Kings for less you know. And I did it with a smile on my face. Threaten me again and I'll make an example of you understand? If you want to follow, fine. Buy your own horse because I won't get one for you. If you can't find one walk because I won't wait for you. If you fall behind I won't come back for you." She pulled back to see that the remaining horses had pushed themselves into the shadows and refused to look in their direction. The general rats and mice that had been milling about were gone, ghosts in the wind. She took another deep breath before turning and making her way back to Jax.
"Are you sure it's wise to allow her to follow? We need to make haste." Reezara sounded uncertain but Talia couldn't offer her any answers. She wasn't even certain she should have caved on the issue. But she was sure Lotus would have found a way to follow regardless.
"At this point I can't stop her without making a scene and I want to avoid that as much as I can right now." She could remember dozens of incidents where her anger had caused guards to arrest her. They always feared her outbursts. Now was certainly not the time to get aggressive on such a small issue.
"She could be helpful. Would it be better to just let her follow? Get her a horse, let her learn from us... Teach her how to use magic properly during down time. If she can help protect the dwarves she has a purpose." Reezara had tried multiple times to convince Talia of Lotus's worth. Truth be told Talia was well aware of Lotus's potential usefulness. She had grown fond of the girl after all, but that was all the more reason she was scared to let the girl follow. Demons didn't hold back when it came to killing.
"We can focus on my issues when we're not standing next to a smoldering city. If you weren't aware when children of Hephatus get caught it usually doesn't end in a fine and a slap on the wrist." She swung herself into the saddle before motioning for Nico and the dwarves to follow.
Looking back she could see Lotus gripping her shoulders nervously as she looked around. Was it wrong to leave her like that? She knew well the girl had no money. Would she resort to stealing? With a disgruntled sigh she patted Jax's back just behind her saddle. Lotus's face lit up in delight as she quickly clambered up and situated herself as best she could. It was likely a mistake but she'd save the regretting for later.
"Let's get out of here." Floki looked haggard, his brown beard unkempt along with his wiry brown head-hair. He showed his age, Talia thought grimly, she had a feeling he'd have some gray hair mixed in by the end of their travels. Talia nodded before taking the lead down the road. She reached down to brush the satchel where Reezara was now hiding, the little dragon curled tightly in the bottom. She was filled with contentment as she connected to Reezara's mind.
"I hope we can stop soon to sleep." The dragon mumbled. Talia rolled her eye, she was certain Reezara would be sound asleep in no time. Instead of answering with words she just mentally brushed Reezara's mind with affection and laughter. She still couldn't believe how much she had already grown attached. She couldn't turn back now.
XXX
The hills that rose above the city were miles from the gates, far enough that Talia felt safe stopping for the night. From the crest of the highest hill she could see the smoldering remains of the docks in the city. She still couldn't fathom what had happened, or why. She was just glad the blame wouldn't be pinned on her.
Turning back to the camp everyone except Nico had crashed, they lay haphazardly on their sleeping mats. No one had bothered to unload any cooking gear or tents, they were all much too tired to even try such a thing. Not to mention they would leave as soon as they arose the next day. Putting miles between them and the city was priority number one, demons were drawn to calamity and strife and Amethyst Cove was a beacon for it.
Nico sat on his bedroll with a book in his hands and a serious look on his face. He was just as weary as the rest of them but he insisted that reading would provide him insight into what to do next. She wasn't sure if that was really going to help but his methods were his own and she wouldn't argue if he saw results.
"You should get some sleep." She murmured softly as she stood next to him. He sighed as he flipped a page, his eyes were drooping but he still hammered on.
"How can I after everything that happened? You have a dragon. In all my life I always thought we'd die together, you know probably by getting murdered by city guards or something. Maybe by pissing off Nazir." They both chuckled at the inside joke as morbid as it was.
"It is... Surprising to say the least. Even I'm not sure what to think of it all, but Hephatus hasn't scorned me yet so I must imagine this is part of her big plan." She didn't want to bring up her dreams or conversations with the gods, either he'd take her too seriously and try to 'get to the bottom of it' or he'd call her a loon and demand she rest. With him it was a fifty-fifty shot on either one. She was still wondering if she had been right in confiding in him. But as her partner he had every right to know the truth.
"Is she still sleeping in the satchel?" He motioned towards her hip where the leather pouch lie. She nodded, rubbing the warm lump nestled in the bottom with a soft smile. She had thought of dumping her onto her sleeping roll but she hadn't quite gotten to it yet. Gently she reached in and wrapped her fingers around the little dragon's midriff before pulling her out and holding her against her chest. Reezara yawned and wriggled slightly but didn't seem particularly bothered by the disturbance.
"Can I look at her some? I want to draw her in my journal." She knew he was going to start jotting notes down such as her color pattern, claw length, skull type, and so on. He was a scholarly boy after all.
"Sure, I'll set her down on my bed. But only for a few minutes, we both need sleep." She was already fighting off yawning as she crawled onto her bedroll and lay Reezara an arms-length away from her.
"He just wants to look at you." She mumbled to her. Reezara yawned again as she stretched her leathery wings up into the air. Talia marveled at the color, like brilliant glittering red rubies. There were spots of darker red like the joint where her wings connected to her lithe little body, or her armpits, even the bottom of her jaw was a darker red. Her eyes were a mix of rusty red color and brilliant gold under the dim setting sun's light.
"Her horns are black, that's interesting isn't it?" She heard Nico fervently scribble into his journal. She hummed as she looked at Reezara's little horns. She had a plethora of them on her head but two bigger ones stood out on the very top of her skull as they protruded back to protect her neck. She also had a smattering of little horns peaking out along her jawline and rounded cheek-bones. Though she didn't have any on her nose or along the flatter portion of her face.
"Her claws are black too, but most of her body is red, dark red, and more... Red. She suits you." He finally flipped his journal closed with a 'snap' before throwing himself back into his bed with a sigh.
"She's something alright." Talia mumbled as she wrapped a hand around Reezara to pull her back into her chest so she could hold her through the night. Reezara had been holding herself nice and still while striking a pose for Nico, she wasn't bothered at all by his curiosity or desire to scrutinize her appearance. It was almost as if she knew she was the most fantastical creature with staggering beauty and color.
"Well, I am gorgeous. Nothing can compare." Reezara sounded particularly prideful as she curled into a tight ball, she tucked her wings around herself enveloping most of her body under the leathery structure. Talia would have rolled her eye if it weren't already shut in preparation for sweet sleep. One thing was for sure, she had an awfully prideful dragon.
"That's because you're currently the only dragon alive. Come at me again when more start to show up, we'll see if you keep that pretty figure of yours." She chuckled even as Reezara's tail slapped her in the face.
"I'll be the queen, none shall compare to my elegance even as they come." Talia wasn't particularly interested in arguing. Besides, Reezara had a point. As the first of the new era she had a certain edge against her competition, though her competition were still huddled in their eggs awaiting the touch of their riders to awaken them.
"Get some sleep, you can show off your pretty scales in the morning. Maybe if you're cute enough the dwarves will feed you." She cupped her hand around Reezara's impossibly small body with a content sigh.
She could distinctly remember the conversation she had with the group when she revealed the dragon had hatched. The dwarves had been shell shocked, perhaps even outraged, but the moment they set eyes on Reezara all of their complaints were silenced. They didn't like having Talia as a rider that much was plain to see but the thought of having a dragon on their side, even though it wasn't theirs, was enough to silence them for now. She had to wonder, though, if they would try to take control of her in an effort to maintain power.
Then had thought the dragon belonged to their prince after all. They had ideas of grandeur and power which had now been dashed by fate. Now they had to decide if they were really alright having someone like her as the rider. They wouldn't kill her, but she was still wary on just what their end reaction would be.
With another tired sigh she wrapped her arms tightly around Reezara who was now sleeping soundly. Now that her broken arm had finally fully healed she could really squeeze the young hatchling to her chest. She knew now she could never sleep again without the closeness of her dragon.