11. ~Vorzyr~ #2
“Things aren’t always as they seem on the surface.”
“I’m getting that, yeah.” I smiled. “You’re a bit of an enigma, aren’t you?”
“Showing my cards isn’t the best thing.”
“Because you’re concerned about it intimidating people?”
“Among other things.”
“So many fear what you are.”
“They always will.”
“Not necessarily.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “How so?”
“Even if that sort of fear can’t actually be overcome, it can be mitigated.
And something else can be put in its place.
Like reverence for what you are. And, more importantly, who you are as a person, irrespective of your abilities and all the complications, judgments, and expectations that come along with that. ”
“That’s a nice sentiment.” Her eyes narrowed.
“But you didn’t befriend me, or prepare this striking picnic because of who I am, as you don’t even know me.
You did it, and you’re drawn to me solely because of my power.
” She stepped up to me, animosity breaking forth and a whole lot of indignation.
“So, tell me, what do you want from me? What exactly do you want my abilities for?” She gestured at the picnic.
“Let’s cut the shit and get it right out in the open, shall we? Move things along.”
Whoa. She really was an enigma. The face she showed to the world wasn’t her real one.
She’d seemed downtrodden and kind of like a pushover, somebody who just went along with what others wanted, especially where the whole Kai Hunter thing was concerned.
But this that she was doing here, confronting me and even calling me out, it was a far cry from that.
It was strong.
She was being commanding and refusing to take the bullshit.
And it was honestly turning me the fuck on.
I fucking loved it and respected the hell out of it.
“I need a spell imbued with Celestial might.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You’re going to need to be much more specific.”
“I can’t be, gorgeous.”
“Why not?”
I grinned. “Because I’m screwing around. I don’t want a spell. I don’t need your power for anything specific. That’s not what this is about for me, nor why I was drawn to you. I mean, your might technically was, but I wasn’t drawn to you for the purpose of using you to do something for me.”
“I don’t understand.”
I folded my arms across my chest and shifted my weight. “I’m a freak on a pedestal. Just like you. Or, just like you think of yourself in relation to others.”
“What? You’re a dragon. There’s an entire realm of beings just like you.”
“I’m the strongest of my kind, my power unmatched. And there are also certain things I can do that others can’t.”
“Certain things?”
“I can’t share that with you at this stage.
Not until trust is built.” I stepped closer and she stood there unmoving watching me determinedly, but curiously.
“But when I felt your power the day you reached magical maturity, I felt a kinship of sorts, a connection that I’ve never experienced before, one I never thought possible for me.
So, when I was cast out and sent here due to a violent misunderstanding, it wasn’t all bad, because I knew I’d run into you, the one who I felt. ”
“Dragons are notorious for latching onto might and becoming fixated on those who hold it.”
“This is different. I connected to the outcast in you. The abomination that you believe you are, that I am as well. Now, I don’t give a fuck that others see me that way, I embrace it.
But it is a lonely existence. You, though, you change that last part irreparably.
And that’s why I want to befriend you and be around you, to get to know you, be in your presence. ”
“That’s… brutally honest.”
“Well, you made it clear you wouldn’t stand for any bullshit. Strange, considering the Kai situation.”
“Don’t you worry, Kai will be getting that message soon enough.”
“Huh. So, what’s changed?”
“It doesn’t matter. What does is that you’ve convinced me.”
“Convinced you? That I’m not all bad? Not an opportunistic motherfucker?”
A smile graced her lips. “Something like that.”
I chuckled and unfolded my arms to snatch up the flower I’d left for her. I held it between us. “Watch.”
She did and I swept my hand over the petals and a golden glow emanated. A moment later, the petals grew slightly.
“The same thing that happened for you, yes?”
She nodded. “Which should be impossible.”
“Ah, but this is no ordinary flower.”
“I know. It’s a Celestial Eclipse Peony.”
She frowned, then moved closer, sweeping her hand over the flower. “And you were able to pick this from Meforian Forest?”
“Yeah. Why? Is that not… normal?”
She stared at me for several moments.
“It’s just that most people don’t even know they exist. Yet, you found this. On your own.”
“That I did. It represents the balance between light and dark, between control and chaos.” I ran my fingers over the petals and her gaze was fixated on my careful touch. “Your power is a lot like this flower. Not just uncontrollable chaos like you fear.”
I handed it over to her and she surprised me as she took it and slid it into her silky golden waves, a warm smile spreading over her face. “Sit with me.”
“What?”
She gestured at the picnic. “You went to all this trouble. Let’s enjoy it before it gets cold, yes?”
“I… okay. So, we’re good? Despite my association with a certain sorcerer and even admitting to the power draw to you?”
“We’re good. I could do with a friend, and it’s clear you could as well. So, let’s make the most of it.”
I smiled. “Sounds perfect.”
She turned on her heel then, and settled down onto a space on the picnic blanket. “Thank you for doing this. It’s amazing. Truly.”
“Well, you deserve an effort to be made for you,” I said, as I sat down opposite her.
She giggled like she had the day we’d first met, a sound that had most definitely stayed with me. “There’s that charm coming out again.”
“What can I say? I can’t help it. It comes naturally to me.”
“Oh, I’m very sure that it does.” She went for the waffles first, snatching up a fork and digging in right away. “What?” she asked, as she saw me looking. “This is so good.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad. Although, that was meant to be the dessert.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Why save it for last, right?”
“Ah, of course. Gotta say, I like that approach. It means once in a while, you can break a rule or two.”
“Once in a while. When it’s called for.” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “I know you’re referring to my spell. Kai obviously told you.”
“He did, yeah. I don’t know the details, just the ramifications that he used against you.”
“I didn’t want my family to know how upset and uncomfortable I was with the whole party thing, with people there celebrating and putting on all that fakery.”
“So you spelled them not to notice?”
“Something like that, yeah. The problem is, it counted as a reality-warping spell, even though it was only on a small scale.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Many would disagree.”
“Fuck them. The actual issue is that it came to that for you, that you actually needed to go to those lengths because all those shithead guests around you made you feel so badly.”
“Thanks,” she said, before eating more of the waffles and clearly loving them.
“You can’t change how others view you. The only thing you can control is what you do.”
“Hence me not doing anything to impact anyone.”
“You mean, not embracing your power?”
“In a way. Although, it’s come to my attention that I need to find a better balance where that’s concerned.”
“Well, I can absolutely help you with that.”
“Yeah?” she asked in a teasing tone, all the intensity of earlier easing off now.
“Sure. Think of it as my first act of friendship.”
“Wouldn’t it be the third? Trying to defend me against Kai, then this picnic? Unless you’d like me to view the picnic as more of a seduction technique?”
“Oh, believe me, there’d be no ambiguity to it if that was the case. You’d know if I was turning it on, gorgeous.”
“Brazen with it, are you?”
“Let’s just say that I don’t hold back with what I want.”
She stared out at me for a moment.
And then she held the plate of Spicy Seared Steak out to me. “Have at it. I heard you’re a fan of red meat. Although, you like it well-done, and this is medium rare.”
“How you like it.” I took a piece of steak and put it on another plate.
“But we can fix that for me.” In the next moment, I opened my mouth and released a carefully targeted blast of my dragon fire, cooking the steak right there, achieving a perfect well-done state within split seconds. “There,” I said, grinning out at her.
She smiled back at me. “Very nice.”
We sank into it then, just eating and enjoying each other’s company, falling into the ease of it, and the fact that despite being new to one another, there was no real awkwardness in the silence as we ate.
It was comfortable and warming, to be honest.
After a while, as she finished eating another one of the Pepper Honey Glazed Chicken Skewers, she looked over at me and said, “Thank you for doing this. It cheered me up.”
“I’m happy that you like it. I’m not happy that you needed cheering up, that something got you down.”
She clearly didn’t want to talk about what exactly had happened, because she shifted the subject quickly and asked me, “How are you taking to Maven Academy so far?”
“It’s not bad. There are a lot of knowledgeable professors here. The students keep to themselves, a lot in cliques, and I don’t really care for that. They’re not that welcoming to outsiders, but some of the professors make up for it. Especially Blackwater.”
“Professor Blackwater is a good one, yeah.”
“I didn’t meet your grandpa yet. I have one of his classes in a few days.”
“Yeah, he’s teaching two this year, both advanced classes. Apex Magic Theory and Practical Application , along with Forbidden Weaving & the Art of Spellbreaking. Which one do you have?”