Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal
Title: Diamond of the North
Friends: Mizael & Merag
Word Count: 1,500||Status: One-shot
Genre: Friendship, Fantasy||Rated: G
Challenge: Diversity Writing, section C, prompt #14, write a fic that is K rated; One Character Boot Camp, prompt #14, nippy
Note: This takes place in my AU where Mizael is a dragon, before he meets Vector.
Summary: Mizael seeks a new treasure for his hoard: the Diamond of the North. The Diamond of the North is not very interested in being added to his hoard.

Mizael peered down through the clouds and spied a small stretch of mountains. To his great delight, he also spied a herd of mountain goats grazing in a valley in the center of the rising peaks. Food, water, and shelter, all in one handy location.

He wasted no time, soaring downward and picking up two goats. The rest of the herd squealed in terror and fled. He paid them no mind; he never over-hunted a place, no matter how hungry he was.

Goat wasn't something he ate very often, but he finished these in record time, washing them down with deep gulps from the stream that cut through the valley. He'd been flying for days, searching for an elusive treasure that he hoped would be worth adding to his hoard, and he hadn't run across much to eat on this trip.

He noticed a mild chill to the air as he searched for a good cave to shelter in until morning. That was somewhat on the odd side, as dragons did not feel cold the way that humans did. He didn't let it bother him. If he absolutely had to, he could start a small fire and warm himself by it. But that was truly a last resort.

Satisfied with the cave he found, he curled himself up in it, resting his head on his forepaws, and prepared to snooze until morning.

He had no idea of how long he'd slept before a chilling breeze swept all through him. He raised his head and looked around. This did not feel like normal weather at all. He spent enough of his life in mountainous areas to know normal weather for this kind of place, and this wasn't it. Chilly, it could be. Even snow, sooner than in the lowerlands, but not like this. Not at all.

Mizael poked his head out of the cave and looked around. "Whoever you are, stop that. I'm trying to sleep." Didn't anyone respect an after-dinner nap these days?

"No one invited you here, dragon," a voice replied: a voice made of snow and ice, frost and sleet. "Why are you in my domain?"

This was unusual. He'd met many kinds of spirits and creatures of magic over the years, but this one didn't seem familiar. He looked around to see if he could catch a glimpse of them, but all he could see were thick clouds that covered the sky and small snowflakes floating downward.

"I'm looking for the Diamond of the North. Rumor has it that it's the most priceless diamond the world has ever known." He wondered if it could be in the possession of this snow spirit. What rumors he'd heard had indicated it was owned by someone, but not who or what that someone might be.

For a few moments, there wasn't any answer at all. Then a blast of bone-chilling air swept against him, followed by thick snow and small shards of ice. That same voice raged in the wind.

You think you can just come here and take what isn't yours? You, a dragon? Men think they can steal from your hoard all the time! Are you no better than they are?

Mizael ducked his head, raising his wings in defense. That didn't accomplish much; the wind blew right over them and all around him, as if guided by a conscious will.

Of course, that was exactly what was happening: the will of the snow spirit. Mizael growled and shook his head, flexing his talons against the dirt-covered stone.

"I don't even know if I want it! I wanted to see it, to know if it's mine or not!" Anything that was to be in his hoard was his, whether he'd claimed it or not. That was how a dragon's hoard worked. Humans didn't understand that very well, with all their odd claims about "I bought this so it's mine" and "you shouldn't bite someone's head off to take what you want from them".

Mizael still didn't understand that. If he fought someone and won against them, then he was entitled to a prize, wasn't he? Some humans at least understood that. But this snow spirit only raged on.

The Diamond of the North doesn't belong to anyone! It isn't property!

At least that was what Mizael thought the infuriated howl said. The more the spirit screamed, the less he could understand. He pushed himself out farther into the snow.

"Why isn't a gemstone property?" He'd never encountered one that couldn't be owned. He'd never encountered one that had an opinion on the matter.

Once he'd left the cave behind, the wind picked up even more. Rocks cascaded downward and he leaped forward on instinct, just as the mountains shook and the cave began to crumble away.

Because the Diamond of the North isn't a gemstone at all, you idiot! The voice seemed closer now and this time when he looked, he saw someone in the dark night, hovering above the snow with magical ease.

She greatly resembled a human, at least in the usual sense of arms, legs, and a head. Every inch of her gleamed like ice and snow, frosted at some points and clear at others. Her hair cascaded down nearly to her knees, a shimmering shade of blue that no human could possibly possess. Her gown glowed with the light of the moon reflecting off snow-capped peaks. Her fists clenched as she glared at him from eyes as blue as winter oceans.

"I am the Diamond of the North! Or that's what humans call me. The ones that can't tell the difference between ice and diamonds, anyway." Her voice still raged, but was much easier to understand like this.

Mizael gave her a long, careful look. Then he bent his head respectfully. Any creature of magic this strong was one that should be respected.

"My apologies, then." He would claim any treasure that sang to him of being his, but her words rang with a fury and a truth that he could not deny. He would not claim a spirit that so clearly had a will of her own.

She stared down at him, wind and ice and the fire of her anger still raging through the storm. A few quiet words would not be enough to turn aside her wrath. He respected that.

"I am Mizael," he told her. Not his true name; a spirit might be able to repeat it, with or without using a human like tongue, and he would not take the chance. "If you'd cease your storm, then I promise in the morning, after I've breakfasted, I will move onward." He could just as easily go now, but he had not done anything wrong that he should leave right away.

The snow spirit continued to stare him, saying nothing, but the wind and snow began to calm down, and the fury in her eyes began to be replaced by some small curiosity.

"I shouldn't have been so angry," she said after a few moments. "But I've seen many humans who come this way and only thought about taking a treasure that wasn't theirs, regardless of what it was."

Mizael sniffed, raising his head proudly. "All the treasure that I take is mine. I am a dragon."

For a moment she stared at him again, then laughed. "So you are. I should've remembered that. Dragons cannot take what isn't theirs."

Nor would they if they could, in Mizael's opinion. Dragons did not need to take what wasn't theirs. Only humans did that sort of thing.

She came down closer to him. "You may call me Merag." She waved one diamond-like hand. "This area is all my territory, up until one reaches the ocean."

"I've never been here before. It looks like quite an interesting place to visit." Mizael nodded his greeting toward her. He spoke no falsehood; this area intrigued him as few others had. "If it is yours, then may I have your permission to travel here?"

For another few moments she examined him. If all she'd met here humans up here, he doubted she'd heard anything so courteous. But he was a dragon. And they were humans. No one expected humans to know anything of courtesy.

"Very well. And should you find something that is yours, let me know and I'll see to it that no one else claims it," Merag replied. Mizael smiled, with a great many teeth. Though they'd only just met, he thought that he could like her, as much as he liked anyone who wasn't a dragon.

"Are there others who would?" This place did not look to have many people who understood the value of treasure. But Merag shrugged.

"You'd be surprised. Come. I'll show you another cave you can sleep in tonight."

Even as he followed her, he knew he was intrigued. This trip could end up giving him far more than he'd anticipated, and that was a treasure no one could take.

The End

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.