hey so this turned out waaay longer than I mean for it to? Sorry about that in advance, and by all means don't feel obligated to match the length!
Also, this turned out a bit darker than I initially thought. It's not tooo bad but uh, tw at the end ig
The lone guardian startled at the imperial's greeting. She hadn't noticed him until now, what with the way he blended into the waves. She took several steps back from him and eyed him warily.
As she listened to his explanation for being there her expression didn't soften. She likely would have turned and left if she had the energy to do so. However, the sandy terrain was tough on her weakened claws, and after only a quarter days travel she was already exhausted. She didn't trust this dragon, but now that she'd stopped she would rather risk an attempted mugging than start again.
"I am Feitham," she said, her voice hoarse and cracked. He had given her his name, so she may as well share hers.
She listened to his request as well and figured, if she's going to be here a while she may as well play along.
"This bubble says
Mielikki. Does that mean something to you?" She rasped, looking back up at the imperial with clear skepticism.
As the imperial wrote in his book Feitham settled down in the sand, fairly certain at that point she wasn't about to be jumped. The warm sand felt very nice against her scales. She could even fall asleep if it werent for the frankly creepy dragon wading in the water some 10 feet away.
After some time had passed, Feitham noticed the scratching of the other's pen stop. She opened her eyes, which she hadnt even noticed were closed and saw that he was looking at her expectantly. Another beat passed before she broke the silence.
"What is it?" she asked, somewhat harshly. When the dragon simply continued to stare Feitham huffed in frustration. She wracked her brain for something she might have missed before remembering his earlier words.
"You want a story from me now, yeah?" the Imperial nodded in response. Feitham looked at him, searching his expression for something, she wasn't sure what, before looking away.
"Fine," she said, eyes focused on something in the far distance. "But you're not getting some sappy, heartfelt story about my first love or some centaur dung like that."
It was another long moment before she spoke again.
"A long time ago, when I was just starting to grow into my wings, I had a friend. A blue pearlcatcher named Roah." She paused, as if weighing whether or not she actually wanted to keep going. She eventually did.
"She was older than me, but not by much. We were close friends, spending every day getting into trouble together. We had this game that we would play. It was kind of like hide and seek, but with a few extra rules. We would hide in bushes, boxes, sometimes even in Big White's fur." a little chuckle slipped out, Feitham was smiling. It faded quickly, though, and she looked back at the imperial before looking away again.
"Big White was an old retired Gaoler who lived with our clan. That wasn't his real name, but he wouldn't tell us what it actually was. He was a kind old man, if a little odd." she explained before moving on.
"We played our game pretty much anywhere we were allowed. But there was one place we weren't, a patch of woods just on the very edge of the clangrounds. The adults in the clan said it was dangerous, but I was a rebellious child. All I knew was that I wanted to play there and that's what I was going to do." Her gaze shifted from a distant island to the inland forest.
"I told Roah about my plan, to sneak out to the forest during dinner time. I told her to come with me. She didn't want to at first, afraid of what might be out there. I managed to convince her though. I was pretty good at that."
"So we went to the forest. We explored for a little while, checking out all the new sights and smells. And then we played. We played for a while, until dusk even. We at least had enough sense to go back home before it was too dark, so we started to leave."
Feitham paused again. This time she seemed to be bracing herself, steeling her expression.
"That's when we first saw it. A massive creature with fangs and claws and thorns. Bigger than anything we could ever imagine. Back then I had never seen anything like it, but now I know that it was a Dire Claw."
"By the time we saw it, it had already sensed us. It towered over us like a fathom to a hatchling fae. Until that point we were both frozen, but when I saw that thing rear back to swipe at us I knew we had to go. I grabbed Roah and ran as fast as I could."
"Thankfully, the trees in that area grew together closely and the Dire Claw had trouble keeping up, but it was still a close thing. It felt like hours, running through those trees. Hearing that horrible creature chasing after us. Knowing that if we slowed down for even a moment we'd almost certainly die."
Feitham's gaze lowers, eyes hardening.
"But then Roah made this horrible noise, I still remember it to this day. I looked back and I saw that she had tripped on a root. She tried to get back up, but she couldn't stand. She must have broken her leg. She looked at me with wide eyes filled with such terror. I dont think I'll ever forget those eyes. But I know for certain I'll never forget what I did next."
She closed her eyes.
"I ran away."
She turned away from the other.
"I ran away and I left my best friend to die. I ran all the way back to the clan, all the way back to my den and I hid in my bed for the rest of the night. I was so scared that the Dire Claw would follow me back. I was so angry with myself for not listening to the adults that told me it wasn't safe. And I hated myself for leaving Roah. I still hate myself for that."
"Later that week I would learn that someone had found Roah in the forest the next morning. She was still alive, and they were able to heal her. But the Dire Claw had taken her wings, her right hind leg, and her sight."
"She never spoke to me after that."
Feitham didn't speak for some time after finishing her story. But eventually she did turn back to the imperial, a mask of irritated indifference on her face.
"So what, you have a story for me now or something?"
tw: Severe injury, Guilt
