First Impressions
Kang blinked to get over his momentary shock of her grand entrance before he grinned and approached the elf he had come to know as his greatest friend. "I was afraid L-Sama wouldn't hear me."
"Oh, she heard. Damn near killed me dragging my soul up to the Sea of Chaos to talk to me," she snorted, looking at him critically before reaching up to rub her knuckles across the side of his snout. "Christ on a crutch, you look like hell. So where's this bastard sorcerer? I wanna kick his ass from one end of this world to the other."
"Yare yare, Knight-sama! You're so empassoined today!"
Kang looked past the white haired elf and scowled. "You brought the freak? Are you insane?!"
Her shoulders slouched, and for one moment she looked near panicked at his reaction. "I didn't have a choice. Really, I didn't!! Duncan got trapped under his car again and I didn't have the time to deal with it, so Xellos teleported him out from under it on the condition that I bring him along," she muttered sourly, sending a disgusted look at the Mazoku that was floating beside her. "I didn't have a choice."
"Keep repeating that, you might believe it," Xellos said brightly, avoiding the smack she aimed at him, but not the three dragons that kicked him in the back of the head before they went to perch high up on the tent support beams.
"Anyway," Lashana growled, sending a warning glare at Xellos as the portal snapped closed, "I got the message, I'm here, where's the moron I'm supposed to kill?"
Fulkuth blinked. "This is the Avatar of Chaos?!"
Lashana beamed and waved. "Hi, Fulkuth! Slith! Dude! How's it been? Well, before all this annoying sorcerer demonical thing?"
The sivak grinned toothily while the other bozak gaped in shock. "Hey, Elfy," he smirked, receiving an irritated glare as a response. "I see that you still haven't changed."
"'Course not. Too much effort. Excuse me for a moment." She looked upwards and glared. "Korin! If you chew through that support rope I swear to L-Sama herself that I will throw you into a portal and you can stay at the Palace with the Things in the Fridge until Mewtwo gets back from that bedamned male bonding road trip thing!"
The small green dragon froze, eyes wide in horror, then ducked his head and tried to look pitiful. ::I'll be good!::
She snorted. "You damn well better. Everyone, those three up there are my dragons. If I hear one joke about them being small, you'll regret it. The white one's Akhor, Kalamadea's blue and Korin's green. They're bonded to me and they're also telepathic, so if you hear voices, you're not going nuts, it's one of them talking to you. These are the rules when dealing with them : if you have a problem with one of them, you come to me or to Kang." There were hisses and growls of displeasure from the trio, and she sent them a warning glare before continuing. "Also, if you hurt one of them, I beat you senseless and string you up on the highest tree by your scaly balls. Got it? Good. Xellos, get away from Gloth." The last was said so calmly amongst the threats that it took everyone a moment to catch the clue that made the click before they all turned to look at the purple haired trickster, who was reclineing in mid-air, smiling benignly.
Kang glanced at her. "No choice, huh?"
"I tried, really I did. Besides, he's still a powerful Mazoku, he'll come in handy. And he does still have to obey me, right Xellos?"
The Mazoku winced. "Hai, Knight-sama."
"Right!" Clasping her hands together in front of herself, Lashana looked at the gathered draconians and grinned. "So, introductions. I'm Lashana, I answer to either that or Inferno. Anyone who calls me 'Elfy'," she sent a Look in Slith's direction, "is taking their life into their own hands. That over there is Xellos. He's a perverted masochistic sadist that's prone to groping people. He also thrives on pain and dark emotions like anger and hatred. There's two ways to get rid of him if you really want to. One: think really, really happy thoughts. Grin, laugh, act like a giddy lunatic if you have to, but it'll drive him away. The second is to come and find me. He may be a pain in the tail, but he's sworn to follow my orders, so if any of you have a problem with him, tell me, and I'll get things straightened out. Most important, don't piss him off. He may look like a harmless little idiot, but he had enough power to level half a planet if he really wanted to. That goes double for me. You get on my bad side, and you're in for a world of torment. Thus, as long as you don't try to kill me, my dragons, or insult my heritage, you'll live longer, kapeesh?"
Yethik blinked. "Um.... yes ma'am?"
"Good boy."
"Stop harrassing my officers," Kang growled to her as he stepped forward and took control. "What I said before stands. We need to get ourselves into a defensible position now. And spread the word that Lashana's here. I don't want some idiot attacking her."
There was a draconic snort from above their heads. ::As if they'd actually manage to get their hands on her,:: Kalamadea muttered into their minds, earning surprised looks from the officers. ::Close your mouths, you're catching flies.::
"Behave, Kalamadea," Lashana muttered automatically, waiting until everyone except Kang and Slith had left before raising her right arm and holding still as he flew down to land on her arm. Need you to do me a favor, littling.
::Scout the area?::
Yeah. You mind?
::Nah. I'll be back soon.:: He crooned and gave her cheek a brief nuzzle before he threw himsef into the air, flying out of the tent and dodging around the huge sivak draconian that yelped and lashed out at him. ::Missed me! Nyah, nyah!::
Lashana, who had heard the taunt, rolled her eyes and sighed. "Kang, Kalamadea just freaked Granak out. Three, two one--"
"Sir! What--" The large sivak paused at the tent's entrance and stared at the elf, then glanced at from a snickering Slith to Kang. "Um... sir?"
"It's alright, Granak." Kang rumbled, resting a hand on the elf's left shoulder. "This is Lashana. She's the Avatar to the Goddess of Chaos. I want a guard detail assigned to her. See to it."
"Yare, yare! I can protect Knight-Sama on my own, Kang-san!" Xellos pouted, cutting off Lashana's protest before she could voice it.
Before things could turn worse, Lashana did a mental about face and quickly thought up a better idea. "Actually, Xel. I've got something I need you to do. Kang? May I see that map?"
Curious as to what she was planning, he nodded and led her over to it, standing next to her as he pointed out their position, then the position of their advancing pursuers.
"Perfect!" She snapped her fingers, then turned to the Mazoku. "Xel, I want you to go spy on that army. Find out what you can about that sorcerer. Where he came from, what spells he knows, and scope out some of those demons. I wanna know what I'm going to be up against. Just make bloody sure that you do not lead anyone back here."
He hesitated, cracking an eye open to peer at her with a single amethyst orb. "Is that an order?"
"Yup."
Sighing, he bowed and thumped his right fist against his left shoulder. "Hai, Knight-sama," he murmured, gathering his power around him as he teleported out of the camp.
"Good idea," Slith praised her.
"Hmm. But I still don't want those guards. I don't need to be coddled," she protested, looking at Kang sternly.
He frowned in return. "One guard. No protests. It's either one guard or I have you confined to quarters."
Slith and Granak watched the silent war of wills as Avatar and Draconian Commander glared at each other. Just around the time Slith was going to start taking bets, Lashana growled and turned away, glaring at the wall as she huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine. One guard. Baka draco!"
"Stubborn elf," he returned just as pleasantly as he dismissed Granak then turned back to the map. "Now, Slith, Lashana. I think it's time we start thinking up some serious attack plans"
"Wait." She rested a hand on his arm and frowned. "You said there were babies. That Slith found the eggs. Where are they?"
"Why?" The second in command eyed her warily, not knowing what her intentions were.
Clear blue eyes like steel turned to him. "Because I want to put some serious magickal shields around them, and the draco's assigned to them. Shields powerful enough that only a God could break through them." Her gaze cut back to Kang then, as a sigh left her. "I'd throw the same shields over all of you, but unfortunately I just don't have that much power available to me. Not if you want me to be able to fight. What I can promise though, is that I can specially tailor the shields so that both you and I immediately know when the babies are in danger."
"That depends," he countered. "What sort of spell is this? Is it going to be continuously draining you?"
"Nope. It's a nice basic little shield spell. Doesn't drain the weaver at all. Now either you show me or I'll have Kalamadea show me the way, since he's already relaying information about the camp to me and all." When he scowled at her, she merely smiled benignly and folded her arms over her chest. "Well?"
Slith shrugged. "I don't think it could do them any harm, sir. At the very least, having a female here could be benificial."
She let a smile grace her lips as she gave Slith a sidelong glance. "Problems?"
"No. Well, not right now. Every now and again, they get upset over things that we can't fathom. Maybe you...." he trailed off, giving her a hopeful look.
"I'll see what I can do," she chuckled before turning to look at Kang. "Well?"
He sighed in defeat and nodded. "Alright. Alright. Slith, bring her to see the babies. I'll be along shortly. With your guard," he added, smirking when she grimaced and shot a glare at him.
"He is never going to leave that alone," she growled as she preceeded Slith out of the tent, raising an arm when Korin and Akhor flew after her and sent imploring glances her way, signalling that they wanted to land. While Korin landed on her arm, Akhor took a more regular perch on her right shoulder, curling his tail around her throat as he settled himself around the back of her neck, and she blinked innocently at all the gazes that were suddenly on her. "What? Haven't you people seen a dragon before? Geez."
"I think they're more interested in you, Elfy," Slith told her, chuckling when she glared at him at the nickname. "Kang had the news of your arrival spread out over the camp, and word travels fast."
"So I see," she murmured, cradling Korin in the crook of her left arm as she walked, letting her gaze flit over all the draconians that were staring at her in mild surprise and disbelief. "I hope they'll all be over this staring phase soon, this is starting to make me self-conscious."
The sivak frowned at her for a moment before turning to glare at the staring dracos. "Alright, that's enough! You all know what elves look like! Move along! Now!" He took hold of Lashana's elbow as he spoke, propelling her towards the tent that was being guarded by two baaz. "Step lively boys. This is Lashana, she's got the Commander's permission to come and go as she pleases, is that clear?" When the guards nodded, he pushed her into the tent and threw the flap closed behind them, snorting in annoyance as his tail lashed.
Ignoring him for the moment, Lashana eyed the baaz that was tending to the twenty-five females and nodded to him, seeing his gaze darken suspiciously before he returned the silent greeting. Boosting Korin into the air to free her arm, she slowly approached one of the makeshift cribs that held five sleeping babies and smiled warmly at the sight of them curled up with one another, remembering when her three dragons had slept thus. "They're adorable," she whispered, turning when she heard the tent flap move again and smiling at Kang as she motioned for him to be quiet.
He nodded in understanding and motioned for the baaz to fall in. "T'sak, this is Lashana," he said softly, seeing Lashana bow slightly out of the corner of his eye. "She's the Avatar I spoke of. She'll be putting protective magickal shield on the babies. Speaking of which, how are they?"
"Doing well, sir. They ate all of the broth given to them, and are sleeping comfortably, though it was a hassle to put Jerle to bed, as usual."
::They are kinda cute,:: Korin telepathed from where he was perched on a support beam for the large tent, his ruby gaze fixed on the small forms that slept below him. ::I'd hate to take care of them all though. Headache city.::
Lashana rolled her eyes at his last mutter, then smiled when she saw a wary look on T'sak's face. "That's just Korin," she explained, pointing up to the small dragon above them, then to Akhor on her shoulder. "And this is Akhor. They're telepathic. And no, they won't hurt the little ones."
Kang hid a smile at the look in her eyes as she stared down at the baby draconians and reached out to touch her elbow, catching her frown of reluctance before she let him lead her out of the tent, to where a sivak draconian had joined the two baaz in standing guard outside the tent. One gesture and the draco immediately fell in before him, and Kang sighed a little inwardly as he turned to look at Lashana, who looked less than pleased with his prior ultimatim. "Lashana, this is Daeroh. As of now he's assigned to you as your bodyguard. Whether you like it or not."
She huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "I still don't see why I need a bodyguard," she muttered sourly, drumming her fingers on her arms in annoyance. "I'm a frakkin' Avatar, for Goddess' sake! I'm quite capable of taking care of myself! I'm not some.... some.... gape-mouthed hatchling!"
The corners of Slith's mouth twitched upwards at that, though he put a great effort into avoiding her sharp gaze when she glanced over at him, obviously hearing his smothered chuckle.
Kang sighed heavily at her hissed protest and glanced back at the tent that housed the babies, glad that their heated conversation wasn't reaching their ears. "Lashana, I know you. You're going to run yourself ragged trying to protect the Regiment. What's worse is that we're on the move, there are dangers here that even you don't know of. Now stop belly-aching and just accept it, will you?" That was a risk. Challenging her like that usually got him smacked, but he was counting on the fact that she knew that he was in charge here to protect him.
She glared at him for a long moment before snarling out a sort of agreement, though it certainly sounded like more of a curse than anything else.
It was rude, but it was a victory. And Kang knew better than to push his luck. "Alright. Now, you were saying something about protection spells?"
The subtle reminder of why she was with the Regiment broke through her rising annoyance, drawing a heavy sigh from her as she reached up to brush her bangs from her eyes. "Yeah. I guess...." she paused and looked back towards the babies critically. "I guess I could put the spell on the whole lot of them instead of weaving twenty individual spells. Then I'd have enough energy to heal any wounded you have."
T'sak frowned at that. "But, magicks don't work on us," he protested, drawing a rather smug smirk from the elf.
"Normal magicks don't work on you lot. I however, am far from normal. Power of a Goddess, remember?"
Kang snorted. "Power of a Goddess in a mortal body. Try to remember that, hmm? Having you passing out from exhaustion won't help us."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother. Geez...." The looks that passed between the other present draconians made it clear that she seemed to be the only one that could speak to Kang in such a way without having their skin flayed from their bodies. Hiding a snicker, she rose her right arm and smiled as Akhor swooped down to make a landing, the fingers of her left hand lightly caressing the scales between his horns as she cradled him in the crook of her arm. "Gonna need you to stake this place out for me, littling. You mind?"
::Nah. I'll babysit for you. They're kinda cute anyway, well, for draconians. Cuz lords know that Kang isn't exactly--::
"Ahkor."
He smirked at her warning tone. ::What?:: he asked innocently, blinking at her with wide eyes.
Smartass. Shaking her head slightly, she boosted him up to her shoulder, then led the way back into the tent and gathered her magicks. "Everyone take a step back from the babies please. I don't want you lot mucking up my spell." Once T'sak and Slith had taken steps back from the area, she closed her eyes and rose her hands, sparks of magick glittering at her fingertips as she murmured the incantation to the specially tailored spell she had created especially for this task. Golden power swirled around her as she spoke, her voice rising slightly as the energy in the tent rose, a warm wind tugging at the tent flaps as the bright gold light became brighter and brighter, drawing the attention of the two guards outside as well as various other passing draconians.
The spell, when she loosed it, cascaded down over the sleeping babies like glittering confetti, each single light envelloping a baby in a golden spherical sheild before vanishing from basic sight, now only detectable for ones with magickal Sight. Grinning now, she lowered her arms and clapped her hands together. "There! All done!" She turned to face Kang again as she spoke, her eyes widening when she saw that the tent was now crammed full of curious draconians who had seen the display of light from outside. "What is this? Gawk at the elf day? Get outta here you morons! You'll wake the little ones!" Akhor and Korin added their voices to hers in low hisses, the white dragon lithely hopping from her shoulder to land on the edge of one of the cribs, wings mantling as he growled protectively.
Kang came around first, clearing the tent with a single glare as he looked at the gawking soldiers that had gathered behind him. While T'sak went to check on the babies to make sure that Lashana's spell hadn't harmed them in any way, Slith went out to keep the soldiers moving on, his voice easily rising above the continued whispers.
Curious at the show of power he had seen, Daeroh stepped closer to Lashana and peered at the small white dragon that had now made himself at home in one of the cribs, the sleeping draconian babies curling close to him in their sleep. "How powerful are you, ma'am? I haven't seen a spell like that since the War."
"I'm powerful enough," she shrugged. "I don't brag about it. And please, don't call me 'ma'am'. Makes me sound old. Call me, Lashana."
::And here I thought you'd go on an ego trip,:: Korin chuckled as he flew down to her and landed on the top of her head, claws curling into her hair as he leaned down to look at her upside down. ::Who are you and what have you done with my mother?::
"Oh grow up," she muttered as she plucked the dragon off of her and cradled him in the crook of her left arm, turning to look at Daeroh as she did so. "Would you mind leading me to whatever tent is serving as a hospice?"
Kang glanced at her. "I thought you had Kalamadea scout the camp?"
"I did. But even he isn't going to peek into each and every tent. That's more Korin's style. Besides, if you insist on giving me a bodyguard I might as well make use of him. Er... no offense, Daeroh."
The sivak chuckled good naturedly. "None taken."
Smirking, Kang nodded to her. "Alright, go then. Come and find me when you're done. Daeroh, make sure nothing happens to her. Not all of the boys have heard of her yet."
"Yes, sir." After saluting, the sivak turned to the elf and pulled the tent flap aside for her. "After you, ma'a-- Er.... Lashana."
Smiling, she headed outside and took in a breath of the forest air, a cool wind playing with the tips of her hair and sending wisps into her eyes, making her raise her free hand to tuck the errent lengths behind her right ear. Whispers drew her attention to a duo of draconians nearby, and she winked at them as she walked past, a chuckling Daeroh at her side as she casually strolled through the camp, shivering when the wind suddenly turned rather frigid. "Damn, it's colder here than I thought it would be," she muttered as Korin climbed up to her right shoulder, leaving her free to hug herself and rub her hands over her bare arms.
"Winter's coming fast this year," he agreed, gently steering her away from a group of soldiers when he saw the draco's beginning to point at her and talk among themselves. "I'm sure I could scrounge up a cloak for you to use."
"Don't worry about it. I can get warmer clothes from one of my storage portals. I always have a few outfits in there for emergencies." A low trumpet of sound drew her attention upwards as Kalamadea swooped low over draconian's heads, his wings flaring out to stop his rapid descent as he landed on the raised arm that Lashana supplied him. "Heyla, littling. Good work, I'll make sure you get something good for supper."
Crooning, Kalamadea nuzzled her throat, then turned brilliant blue eyes onto Daeroh. ::So this is your bodyguard, hmm? Couldn't convince Kang that you could take care of yourself, eh?::
"Supper's getting steadily worse," she informed him, rolling her eyes when Korin audibly snickered, his tail whapping Kalama on the head. "Korin, stop that!"
Daeroh smiled at the sight. "The Commander told me they were telepathically bonded to you, but, if you don't mind, how long have you had them?"
"Almost a year," she replied as she stopped Kalamadea from biting Korin. "I raised them from the egg. Saved them from a pyscho warlock in the process."
::And we're very grateful,:: Kalamadea supplied with a scathing glare at his green brother. ::Or at least some of us are.::
Sensing an immenent fight, Lashana swatted both of them away from her. "Don't you start fighting while you're both clinging to me! I still have those scratches from last time! Go bug, Kang!"
"You're very close to him, aren't you?" Daeroh asked softly. "The Commander that is."
She looked away from the two battling forms that were now wheeling through the air and sighed. "Kang and I are close friends. We've been through a lot." A chuckle left her as she shook her head. "I guess it's weird for you to see Kang treating an elf like me as an equal."
He ducked his head in a nod. "It is, I won't say otherwise. But it's good to see him in high spirits again. He's been in a foul mood as of late, because of the sorcerer and his horde. This is actually the first time we've camped overnight in weeks."
"It won't be the last," she frowned, eyes flashing gold as she slapped her right fist into her left palm. "I intend to make things very difficult for that bastard socerer."
"How?"
A rather psychotic grin spread over her lips. "In the worst way possible."
He smirked at that, his respect for her growing. "Good. Ah, we're here." Reaching out, he pushed the tent flap aside and held it open for her as she brushed past him, her sudden appearance in the large tent drawing silence from the draconians who were present. Letting go of the thick canvas, he moved to stand by her side and frowned at the looks she was receiving. "This is Lashana. She's the Avatar that Kang summoned."
"She's an elf," a bozak spat in disgust.
"Half-elf, actually," Lashana corrected with a smirk. "And if you keep giving me dirty looks I'm not gonna Heal you."
"Magick doesn't work on us," the bozak sneered. "Even a pointy-eared elf should know that."
"Yes, elves are generally known for their pointed ears. Good for you, you're not blind, just stupid." She sighed sufferingly and walked deeper into the tent, ignoring the glares being sent at her as she moved to stand next to the bozak's cot, staring down at him patiently. "There's a lot about me you don't know," she murmured as she gathered glowing blue light into her hands, the warm Healing energy sparkling slightly, and she smiled when the bozak recoiled at the sight of the spell. "But you'll learn."
Before he could move any further away,
she loosed the spell on him, seeing it seep into his scales before spreading
out across his torso, centering on what seemed to be a broken shoulder
and a few broken ribs. When he rose his gaze to her in sheer shock once
the spell was done, she smiled gently and patted him on his newly healed
shoulder. "Good as new. And you're welcome." Hair curling into her eyes,
she turned and addressed the rest of the wounded. "So. Who's next?"
TBC
