Naiin

Contrary to site art, Naiin does *NOT* have antlers

Familair- Rhodyn

Naiin, Rurysk and Sabyne had been on the road for hours. Sabyne wasn't a strong enough flyer to make it to the water flight by air, and its was obvious that Rurysk was displeased at having to make the trek twice as long. His feathers were ruffled flat against his head, and every so often he wpuld shift his wings irritably.

The silence was wearing on Naiin. He was a talkative drake, having what Sabyne called a silver forked tongue. He edged over to Rurysk, falling in step with the Skydancer. Rurysk looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and Naiin flashes a goofy smile.

"Do you remember how we met?" He asked.

Rurysk rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his stoic face. "How could I forget."

Sabyne moved towards them, joining the conversation. "How did you meet?" She asked, a note of curiosity in her high melodic voice.

Naiin grinned at her. "We both ended up training for the Earthshaker's battalion. I left of my own volition, to bring honor to my clan. Rurysk- uh..." Naiin faltered.

"I was sold and exalted." Rurysk interjected.

Sabyne nodded. While it was sad, it wasn't a surprising story. Naiin cleared his throat and kept going.

"You'd think with our background I would have been the devouted soldier, and Rurysk would have been the indifferent one, but it was opposite. We were assigned sparring partners, I being a challenhe for Rurysk to fight someone bigger than him, and me, for fighting someone much faster. Rurysk won almost every time." Naiin chuckled, the sound a deep rumble in his large chest. He was small for an imperial, but he was still much larger than both Sabyne and Rursyk combined.

Sabyne laughed too. "So it was Rury that was taking things serious?"

Rurysk nodded. "I had found a purpose, at last, and I was determined to do it justice."

Naiin continued. "It was Rurysk that pushed me. He would always say 'You have to move up the ranks with me, Naiin. Or I will be inconvienced at getting used to a new partner.' But I'm sure we both know that Rurysk just wanted to keep me around."

Rurysk just glared. Naiin kept going. "Soon, the only place to go was General. Which meant we would both be given our own soldiers and-"

"You'd be seperated!" Sabyne finished, clearly distraught by the story. Rurysk smiled and rolled his eyes at her. He had a definite soft for Sabyne.

"So I stepped down to lutenent, and Rurysk got general. And he requested me to be stationed under him. We were locked in dom with fire and this would be our first major battle. Rurysk was so excited, so ready to serve the earthshaker and-" Naiin went quiet, the brightness in his eyes dimming down, like he had treaded waters that might make him drown.

Sabyne looked confused, like she wanted him to go on and wondered why he stopped. "Obviously that never happened, or you wouldnt have met me."

Naiin cleared his throat. "The story seemed to have gotten away from me. I only meant-" he swallowed. "To explain how we met and grew to be friends. But-"

It was Rursyk who stepped in to explain. Naiin eyed him, unsure, but didnt stop him from speaking. "It was the night before we were to leave. I looked for Naiin, as I couldn't sleep. I wanted to speak with him. I wanted to strategize, seeing him as my equal. But HE was no where to be found." Rurysk narrowed his eyes at the imperial. "He had snuck into the reserves for his fill of Aether Hermit."

Naiin was defensive. "Purple food tastes better!" He exclaimed, grumpily.

Rurysk ignored him, and kept going. "The general's found us. Naiin tried to act like I was there to punish him, but they didn't believe he could haven eaten so much."

Naiin interjected. "No, Rurysk took the fall. He tried to take some of the blame, saying I paid him to let him in there. I don't know why, I never did. It was my fault. And we both got demoted."

"But can't you see?" Sabyne interjected. "He knew you'd be punished. If you were demoted alone, he would have gone to fight the cinders and you would have stayed behind, or sent somewhere else, no longer his lutenient."

Naiin looked at Rurysk as if realizing all this for the first time. The skydancer looked away.

Part 2 --->