Sisu really didn't know how long she slept for, but she noticed upon awakening that the cave was much brighter than it was when she fell asleep, likely indicating that it was at least late morning or midday. Without going to the surface, it was difficult to be sure, but she felt like she had had a very long and pleasant rest, given the circumstances.

She looked over to see Sorin about where he had been last night, simply lounging on the gold on the other side of the cave. At first it looked like he was still asleep, but as she looked at him one eye opened as if on cue and returned her gaze. She looked away and he closed it again, but it gave Sisu the feeling that he had a much better sense of the happenings in his den that it appeared.

She stood and stretched out her body, wondering what was to happen today. Hopefully she'd be let free to continue on her quest, but she doubted it. Whatever the scaled dragon had planned for her probably didn't just involve a comfy rest followed by a warm goodbye.

Swishing her tail and stretching her neck, she looked over to see Sorin watching her but not moving himself. His eyes followed her movements, no doubt judging her and gauging her motivations. She was sure that he was prepared to launch himself at her and engage her at her first wrong move.

She met his gaze and he narrowed his eyes at her and gave a huff. She expected him to say something, but instead he just closed his eyes again, shifting only very slightly on the gold he laid on. She opened her mouth to try to engage in conversation—to ask what he wanted with her—but thought better of it and closed her mouth again. She decided that he'd talk to her when he was ready.

Apparently, that was going to be quite a while. Sorin continued to simply lie there as the minutes went by, then hours. Sisu waited expectantly at first, figuring that at any moment he'd get up and do something, but eventually she grew tired and laid back down on the gold. She felt very awkward, unsure what she was supposed to do or say, and also worried that he was waiting for her to make the first move.

As the time continued to pass, she tried to find ways to amuse herself. A small golden goblet laid a short distance from her, and she found herself picking up coins and tossing them at it, trying to land one in the goblet. It was trickier than she expected, and it probably took her about half an hour of trying lazily before she finally made one in.

"Ha!" she exclaimed proudly at the feat, the first real noise she'd made all day. She looked over at Sorin expectantly and saw that he had indeed been watching. He looked unimpressed.

Sisu picked up another coin to try to repeat her success when she heard the loud clinging sound of hundreds of coins being disturbed. Sorin had finally stood up from the bed of gold.

He took a step towards her, then another, then he brushed past her as he slowly made for the cave's exit. He paused for a moment, the light hitting and illuminating him as he looked back at her. "I'm going hunting," he declared, "You interrupted my hunt yesterday, and I'd like fresh meat. If you are not here when I return, things will not go well for you." He left the implied threat hanging in the air ominously as he left, not even waiting for her to respond before he was gone.

Sisu laid her head down on the gold, dejected. She'd been so excited in that moment that he was finally going to say something significant, but instead he'd just left. She looked at the exit almost wistfully, wishing that she could just leave, but something kept her there. It wasn't just fear, either. Part of her continued to have that curiosity over this other dragon. That part needed answers, needed understanding of how he could be a dragon but so different.

So she stayed there. Despite the exit being unguarded and her captor off on a hunt, she stayed. Freedom could have been within reach, but instead she just rested her head on the gold and closed her eyes.

She was pretty sure she never fell asleep, though, and as such she was reasonably certain that only an hour had passed before she heard wingbeats outside the cave, followed by a small shake of the ground. A few seconds later she heard talons clicking on stone as Sorin entered the cave entrance, then the sound of coins shifting as he entered the cave proper.

She stood up and turned towards him as he strode into the cave. In his jaws was a creature she'd seen here and there in her travel, a four-legged, ox-like creature that looked not too unlike the cattle that they had in Kumandra. She was actually a bit confused as she looked at it; she'd only really seen these alongside humans as livestock, not in the wild. It made her wonder exactly where Sorin had gotten it from…

He carried it over towards the area he'd slept earlier and dropped it on the ground. He then proceeded to tear into it, biting off large chunks of meat and swallowing them, the blood of the creature flowing down and staining the gold. In only a few minutes much of the carcass was gone. Once he'd had his fill, Sorin picked up what was left of it in his jaws and approached her. She expected him to continue on outside like he had earlier, to dispose of it, but instead he dropped the remains in front of her.

"Eat," he commanded, then he turned and went back to spot from before.

Sisu looked down at the carcass. Most of the good parts were already gone, but there was more than enough for a few mouthfuls. And she was a dragon; she could survive on less if she needed to. Considering that she had no idea what to expect from here on out, or even when she'd get food again, she decided to go ahead and eat.

First, however, she brought her snout down to the still mostly intact head of the ox-like creature. There was still a decent amount of fur on it, and she gave it a small sniff. As expected, it smelled just like the cattle back home, but she also smelled what she'd feared: man. This thing had been around humans, likely very recently. It wasn't surprising, but she wasn't too sure what it meant.

She'd have to think more about that later, but for now she turned her focus back to the food portion of her meal. She had to work a bit, but she was able to tear off many of the harder-to get pieces on the carcass. All it took was a good grip with her jaws and a quick tear. The creature tasted like the cattle back home, too, so that was rather nice. What wasn't so nice was that she noticed several parts of it had been charred, the flesh black, crumbly, and unappealing. She glanced over at Sorin, wondering if and how he had done this.

As she continued to eat, she noticed Sorin hard at work with something. She'd expected him to lie down like normal, but instead he was meticulously cleaning the gold around him, licking it with his tongue and removing the blood and grime that had covered it. She looked down nervously at the blood on the ground beneath her own talons and wondered if she was expected to clean the gold that she'd dirtied.

Soon the carcass was picked clean as she finished eating. Noticing this, Sorin wordlessly approached her and removed it, exiting the cave with the remains in his jaws and leaving her alone. She looked down again at the blood that remained and glanced over to the now clean area where Sorin had eaten. Hesitantly, she lowered her head and began to lap at the gold as he had, cleaning the area.

She wasn't sure what to expect—honestly, she was a little bit disgusted with it, even if she had no problem with blood—but she didn't expect it to feel and taste…pleasant. The metallic taste of the blood mixed with the metallic taste of the, well, metal in a way that was almost intoxicating. And the way that the coins rubbed against her tongue—something she hadn't expected to like—felt almost like a small massage on it. She found herself continuing to lap at and clean the gold almost unconsciously until it was spotless.

Finished, she raised her head and licked her lips, almost wishing there was more. At first she had been more than skeptical of Sorin's hoard of and use of gold, but after last night and this little incident she was starting to see why he had it.

She heard breathing and a clinking of coins behind her, and she whipped her head around. Standing behind her was Sorin, and she realized that in her focus on cleaning off the blood she hadn't even heard return. There was a knowing look on his muzzle, but he didn't say a word as he approached his resting place and lied down.

Again, she'd expected some sort of exchange, some sort of acknowledgement that she was here against her will, some sort of explanation as to why. Instead, he just closed his eyes again, smoke gently drifting from his nostrils as he ignored her.

She wasn't going to take it this time.

"What do you want with me?" she demanded, letting more frustration into her voice than she intended. If he was just going to have her lay on his gold indefinitely, she at least deserved to know what he wanted from it.

He opened his eyes and regarded her with a cold gaze. He snorted, then closed them again.

Now Sisu was beginning to truly get angry. "What. Do. You. Want?" she repeated, hissing out the words. He was going to answer her, or she was going to do something to make him. "Why have you brought me here, and what do you want from me?"

He opened his eyes once more and saw the anger in hers. Apparently, he took her fairly seriously this time, as he raised his head up from his bed of gold, eyes narrowing. They stayed that way for a moment, staring each other down, before he finally answered.

"You are here for two reasons," he told her, "The first is that you trespassed in my territory, challenging my dominance in this region. Ordinarily, I would just kill you for that. The reason you're still alive is the second reason you are here." He swished his tail around the floor of gold, sending coins scattering every which way as he stood and took a step towards her. "You are," he paused, "…a curiosity. You claim to be a dragon, but hardly resemble one. You speak in a language I've only encountered from far off traders, and you smell of lands I've never visited." He paused and swept his tail though the gold once more, looking at the metal pieces scatter in the air before turning his attention back to her. "I do not like not knowing things. You are here so that, through you, I may learn what I have not yet known."

She cocked her head at him, giving him a look of disbelief. "You're keeping me here…to satisfy your own curiosity?" she asked. It seemed almost simple. Simple, yet ridiculous.

"Would you prefer that I kill you?" he asked her back, "But…yes. Dragons are curious creatures. Surely you've felt the need to know exactly what I am, haven't you?"

Glancing down at her claws, Sisu knew she couldn't deny that. It was probably the largest single reason she was still here, greater than even her self-preservation instincts.

"Of course you have," Sorin observed, reading her, "And you will find out what it means to be a real dragon, as I learn from you what I need to know." He walked closer to her, his gaze traveling over her before he met her eyes, their muzzles almost touching as his gaze burned into hers like a fire. "You are mine now, Sisu of the East, and a dragon never lets go of what is theirs."

He turned then, not another word spoken, and went back to his spot, laying down on the gold and closing his eyes. Sisu watched him, eyes wide and mind racing, trying to understand exactly what he'd said, but for some reason all it could think about were those eyes, burning like a fire as he claimed her like another jewel in his collection.

A day passed. Then another. Then another. Sisu quickly found that the life of a dragon like Sorin was rather dull. For the most part all he did was lay on his gold, doing almost nothing but resting. Not quite sleeping—he always seemed to be aware of her every movement—but resting. So, in turn, that's what she ended up doing. It was…odd at first, but with each day her body began to get used to such inactivity. She could almost feel her metabolism slow down as it adjusted to a less active lifestyle.

Of course, there were a few times when Sorin did do something. That something was hunting, and he'd only gone twice since she'd arrived. Neither time did he take her with him, nor did he even hardly bother to tell her as he went. She only could really tell that he'd been hunting since he returned with his kill.

Even though he'd told her before, she still couldn't help but wonder exactly what he wanted from her. He'd claimed his desire was to learn, but they hardly conversed. He said he'd teach her what it meant to be a "real dragon", but he hadn't made any effort to teach her anything at all. It was all rather frustrating, to put it lightly.

Of course, things would be much better if she wasn't trapped in this one cave, away from sunlight, fresh air, and water. Well, that's not completely true; she did have water from a small basin that water naturally dripped into from the caves ceiling and that she and Sorin used as a water source, but she couldn't exactly swim or play in that. After several days in the cave, she'd give almost anything to be able to really swim again, but at this point she'd just be satisfied with being outside.

She looked up from her resting place and looked at Sorin. Like usual he was lounging in his normal spot on his gold, eyes closed. She couldn't quite tell whether or not he was sleeping, nor was she sure if it even mattered. Even when he slept, he seemed aware of his surroundings.

She glanced to the cave entrance, the light from the sun outside just barely making it in, then glanced back to Sorin. Steeling herself, she made a decision that she hoped wouldn't wind up in her death.

Slowly, she stood up from her bed of coins, a few sticking to her fur for a several seconds before falling back down with a soft clinking sound. She took a deep breath as she took a step towards the exit. Sorin didn't rouse himself, so she took another. Soon she was standing where she could actually see the world outside the entrance. Below her, the bed of gold and jewels grew less dense and then gave way to a normal stone cave floor. Taking another breath, she lifted one foot and placed it out of the gold and onto that stone.

"What are you doing?"

She turned to see Sorin's eyes open and glaring at her. His voice was not necessarily angry, but firm, like a parent speaking to a child who was about to disobey them. She swallowed and felt almost guilty before she spoke.

"I'm going outside," she told him, trying to be as confident as possible.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I did not give you permission to leave."

"No," she responded, "But I will do so nonetheless."

He growled and stood up from the gold. "You think you can flee?" he hissed, "You think that I won't—"

"Of course not!" she insisted, even if the possibility had crossed her mind, "…but I need to go out. You may be perfectly fine with doing nothing in a cave all day, but I'm not!"

He said nothing, his eyes just looking over her, as though searching for something.

"I won't run, I promise," she tried to assure him, "I just need to feel the sun again, and have grass under my feet." She just needed to feel free again, even if she wasn't.

Sorin remained silent.

"Please," she practically pleaded, glancing back to the cave entrance. She could see the green of the trees outside. "I give you my word as a dragon that I won't try anything."

He gave a snort that sounded dismissive, but when he spoke it was words she wanted to hear. "Very well, you may go outside," he told her.

"Thank you, thank you!" Sisu said, trying hard not to sound as excited and relieved as she felt.

"However," Sorin continued, making her freeze, "You may only do so when I accompany you."

She gave a sigh of relief and nodded to show she understood. That seemed reasonable under the circumstances. Not ideal, of course, but she could deal with it.

"So…can I go…?" she asked, pointing to the entrance, and when Sorin gave a small nod, she practically ran out of the cave.

There was grass under her feet again! And sky above! She could birds chirping overhead, and she could feel the heat of the sun's rays on her. It felt magnificent, and she wondered how it was that Sorin could keep himself down in his hole.

Sorin himself stepped out into the clearing behind her, an unreadable expression on his face as he watched her frolic around. She suspected that he was probably judging her severely, but she didn't really care. If he wanted to stay hidden in a dark cave, then that was his problem.

"Don't try to fly…or whatever that is you do." he ordered with a snort.

Sisu couldn't help herself. "You mean this?" she called out, forming several water disks and leaping in the air, making a small circle around him before landing.

"Yes. That." Sorin looked very unamused, but at least he didn't lash out or anything.

She just laughed in response as she laid down and rolled on the soft grass, her skin feeling every little bump and inconsistency on the ground. It felt…well…actually, for some reason it seemed much less comfortable than the gold back in the cave, but Sisu decided not to think too hard about that. No, she was going to enjoy this time while she had it.

She rolled onto her back, exposing her belly to the sun above, the late summer rays warming her in a far more natural way than the heat of the cave. After a few minutes she got back on her feet, then jumped up and nipped playfully at a bird that flew by too close. A second on went by, and she missed it by only a few inches, not that she minded much; it was too nice a day for killing.

Her greatest fear in coming outside was that Sorin would only give her a few minutes, then demand she return to the cave. Luckily, he seemed not to have any intentions of cruelly depriving her of her outside moments. Towards the beginning of their time outside, he did nothing but lay on the ground and watch her, not unlike what he did in the cave, but on grass instead of gold. As hours went by, he continued this behavior, not interfering with her. Only towards the evening, as the sun began to lower itself over the horizon, did he make a real shift in his posture.

She'd been lying on the grass, not too unlike him, much of her energy spent when she noticed him on his feet, wings spread out, and facing the sun. He appeared to be sunning himself, in a way similar to other lizards and snakes. His eyes were closed, and his face seemed to wear an expression of genuine serenity; it was obvious that Sorin was enjoying it. She tried to imitate him by turning her body towards the sun and relaxing her body, but she didn't seem to get anything special out of it.

All too soon, the sky began to darken and Sorin turned and entered back into the cave. Wordlessly, but with a single glance towards the still faint glow of the sun in the distance, Sisu followed.

More time went by, days passing days with little happening. It was made more bearable by her newfound but limited freedom to go outside, and as her body adjusted to this new kind of lifestyle she found that she minded it less and less. Yes, not being able to go outside at her leisure or being able to swim (when was the last time she swam?) was far from what she'd consider ideal, but it was bearable.

She'd learned rapidly, of course, not to be overly eager or pushy to try to go outside. After her first trip she couldn't help but ask for a similar experience the next day, then the day after that. While Sorin obliged her at first, he quickly became irritated at her constant asking. It wasn't until he prohibited her from going out for three days in a row after she asked him repeatedly if she could on one day that she learned to be more careful in asking. Now she got out roughly once every two or three days, and mostly for only a few hours at a time before he had her return. It was just enough to satisfy her, but not enough to content her.

Life in Sorin's den continued more or less as it had in the past; with her and Sorin simply spending hour after hour, day after day lounging on his hoard. Sisu actually surprised herself that she could bear doing so little for so long, but whatever enabled Sorin to do so seemed to be a shared trait among their two species of dragons. In fact, she began to catch herself doing the same thing that he always seemed to do: rest without resting and sleep without sleeping. It was an odd state that she would slip into, one where she was both aware but in perfect rest, one that could last for hours at a time. Time almost appeared to move different in that state, as hours and days sometimes seemed to go by faster than they should. It was both oddly comforting and worrying.

Sorin, also, began to behave a bit differently in the time after he'd let her go outside. Primarily in that he began to actually talk to her at times instead of acting like she didn't exist. The talking tended to consist not of conversation, however, but of individual questions he would ask out of nowhere, sometimes multiple at once and sometimes only one before he would go silent again. Such questions so far had included things such as "Do all your kind lack wings?", "How large is your territory?", and "What kind of creatures inhabit your country?". Some she answered easily, others with more difficultly. Sorin would always listen carefully and intently, though he seldom asked follow-up questions or asked for more clarification. Some things she got the impression he knew or suspected before asking, but other things seemed to spark more of an interest.

It was somewhere around three weeks into her time with Sorin (by her best reckoning) when that routine of mere questions changed. It was a bit unexpected but not unwelcome. She'd been resting in that pseudo-sleep state when she noticed Sorin rise from his gold and approach the entrance to the cave. At first she didn't think much of it, expecting that he was merely going hunting like he sometimes did, and so she was a little startled when he spoke to her.

"Get up and come with me," he told her, and she obliged quickly, eager to see what she'd be doing. If his position was any indication then it meant going outside, and Sisu was always ready to do that.

"What's up?" she asked him as he led her outside, curious as to why he was doing it. Up until now, he'd only ever let her go out when she asked, never inviting her to go out on his own.

He remained silent until they reached the middle of the clearing outside the cave. The sun overhead told that it was late afternoon, still plenty of daylight but not overly much. He looked over her for a second, his eyes seemingly searching her for something before he spoke. "I wish to see how you hunt," came the delayed response to her question, "There are plenty of prey in my territory. Go kill yourself a meal."

Sisu cocked her head at him. "Is that all?"

"To the east is a large river where many animals seek water," he said, answering her without answering, "The north and south have many forests, and the west has plains. You may go any direction you choose, and you may pursue any prey you desire."

She eyes him cautiously; it seemed an odd request. Not that she didn't know what she was doing—she'd hunted plenty of times just in her journey to this land—it just felt weird that this was what he wanted of her. It felt almost like more of a test than just hunting prey, but she wasn't sure what the other part was.

Summoning the water to form her stepping disks, she hesitantly took to the air. Climbing high, she observed the immediate surroundings of Sorin's den. It was as he said: the north and south were well forested. The same seemed true for the west and east, however she'd probably have to fly a decent way to see the landscape change significantly; she now knew from experience that Sorin's territory was much larger than just the immediate area around his cave, but rather many, many miles in all directions.

Beginning her hunt, she decided to start heading east. Sorin had said that it had a river, and water was always a good attractor for potential prey. As an added bonus, there may even be an opportunity to take a swim, if she could convince Sorin to let her.

As she moved away from the den, she soon heard wingbeats behind her. She looked back to see that Sorin had taken off and was flying behind her, watching her movements. It was to be expected—the whole purpose of him letting her hunt was so he could observe how she did it—and she just hoped that his presence wouldn't interfere at all with her ability to find and catch prey.

As she 'flew' above the trees she looked down at the trees below her. Part of this was to look for any potential targets of opportunity, but she also just enjoyed seeing this landscape. It was a rather beautiful country, Sisu had to admit, and she just wished that she could explore it under different circumstances.

About an hour passed by like this. She really didn't know how far away this river was supposed to be or how far she was allowed to fly, but she assumed that Sorin would stop her if she went too far. Considering that she'd yet to even see the glint of sun off the water, she probably had plenty of distance still to go.

It was about this time that she caught a glimpse of something in the distance. It looked like a manmade structure, and as she got closer she saw that it was indeed a human house, and around it were more. It was a small human village, and Sisu immediately felt bad for the poor humans who likely met their end at the claws of Sorin. Yet, as she flew even closer, she saw living humans below her, living their lives like normal. Some were milling through the streets, others were tending to plants or livestock just outside the area with the houses. As she watched, however, one seemed to spot her and give a panicked yell, after which all of the villagers scattered and ran for cover.

It seemed odd. That was only the real word Sisu had for it. These humans were in Sorin's territory, but Sorin hadn't destroyed their village like he had the city of Emmengem, despite them being not too much farther in distance from his home. She wasn't upset—in fact she was glad to see living humans—but she had to wonder why Sorin allowed this village while destroying a city. Was it possible that he did care about humans, but only certain ones?

It was too big a thought to not try to get clarification on. Turning in the air, she flew back to where was tailing her and circled around him, matching his speed as she came alongside him. He gave her a slightly curious look but said nothing until she gestured to village below them.

"Yes, I know of these humans," he said, apparently misinterpreting her questioning look and point, "What of it?"

"Um, well…nothing," she stuttered a bit, not sure exactly how to phrase her question after that. "It's just…I thought you didn't like humans."

"I don't," came his blunt answer, "They're vile creatures."

"Then why do you let these ones in your territory?" she asked, hoping that it wouldn't sound like she was advocating their removal. "I mean, you destroyed Emmengen, and it's clear that these humans aren't particularly fond of dragons, so…" she trailed off, not sure whether or not to say any more.

Sorin gave an amused huff. "This pitiful village isn't worth the effort to destroy," he told her. "There are a few others in my territory, and the humans within them know better than to trespass near my den. The men of Emmengen I destroyed for their wealth and might, but these have so little that it's better to let them live. Besides, they keep cattle that can make for an easy meal, and some of the villages provide a sort of tribute year to year. The humans think that it placates me, but in truth almost nothing they provide is worthy of a dragon's hoard."

"So, you're okay with humans in your land?" she asked, just to clarify.

"I tolerate them," came his response. "Rest assured that if they gave me reason, I'd destroy them like the miserable worms they are."

Sisu fell silent at that, turning her attention back from him to the hunt at claw. She could now see the river not far off, and she decided to focus on that and catching prey instead of trying to argue with Sorin about humans. He'd made it plentifully clear now how he felt about them, and she had a feeling that his knowledge of her association with them might be a reason why he tended to regard her so coldly at times, even though she'd yet to actually talk with him about her time and experiences with them.

A few minutes later she saw the river ahead, and not long after she was almost directly overhead it. It was a fairly wide one, as far as rivers go, about as wide as the one back home. She could instantly tell that it was more than deep enough for her to swim in, as well as abundant in fish, and she resisted the urge to immediately dive into it. As much as she longed to, it was probably best to try to hunt before any prey in the area became aware of their presence.

Her eyes scanned the trees for any signs of the odd deer that lived in the region, as well as any other creatures of similar size. While she did have experience hunting on land, she always preferred her hunting to be of fish in the water, and she wasn't exactly used to the behavior of the prey in this part of the world. Yes, she'd previously hunted in her trip, but now she felt a bit under pressure to perform. For some reason, she really didn't want to disappoint Sorin and come out empty-clawed. Mostly because she wanted to prove that she could hunt just as well as the 'dragon' he claimed to be, and partly because she knew that if he didn't than he'd probably think much less of her. Not to say she particularly cared what he thought of her, but it would be nice to be at least respected a little by the dragon that she was being forced to live with.

A pair of tracks caught her eye and she drooped in low to get a closer look. They seemed to belong to some sort of deer, probably whatever the kind was that she'd seen throughout the region, and they looked fresh. They led north, and she turned northward in pursuit. Sorin continued to follow behind, but she noticed that he seemed to intentionally glide for as long as possible before beating his wings, decreasing the amount of noise he was liable to make.

She climbed a bit higher in the air, eyes continuing to look for signs of her prey. Here and there she could make out tracks, many along a small trail that seemed to be carved through the woods. If Sisu had to guess, she'd say that this was a very popular and well-traveled place for the deer, and her excitement rose at the expectation of a good catch.

It didn't take her too long to find it. From her spot in the air she saw them long before they saw her: a small herd of the deer numbering around five in a clearing. Four does stood around a large and impressive buck, all grazing on the foliage on the far side of the opening in the trees. Careful to keep her shadow away from them to keep them unaware of her presence, Sisu slowed her pace and began walking slowly in the air, eyeing up the situation as she stalked her prey from above.

She was almost ready to strike when the buck's head suddenly shot up. She got a good look at the large antlers on its head as it turned its head towards her. It saw her. An instant later it began a kind of loud bleating noise. Immediately the does heads shot up, and it only took a moment before they scattered, the buck not long behind.

Giving a growl to herself, Sisu leapt into action. While attacking from above without them knowing would have been preferable, she was more than up for a chase. Keeping her eyes on the buck, she pursued it in the air, her feet inches from the tops of the trees as she matched its moves and gained on it. Seemingly knowing that it was being followed, the buck darted in between trees, dodging here and there so fast that Sisu almost lost sight of him under the cover of the branches. Once she was almost sure he'd escaped right before she caught his movement out of the corner of her eye and resumed her hot pursuit. She was faster, she was more agile, and she knew that she would succeed.

Below her, the buck burst into another clearing not too unlike the one she'd first found him in, and Sisu took the opportunity. With no trees in her way she leapt from the sky and in one fluid motion landed half on the ground and half on the buck, her foreclaws catching his flesh and tearing into it. She felt it kick against her and took a bit of pain as the thrash of its head led to an antler catching her shoulder as she began to wrap around it, but then her mouth found its throat and it was over.

Adrenaline and the thrill of the hunt still in her, she immediately began to eat her prey, sticking her snout into the carcass and quickly finding some of the best parts. It had been a while since she'd had the first go at a meal, and she found these odd deer to be rather tasty now that she got a real taste of them.

A large thump from behind her gained her attention, and she looked away from her meal to see Sorin standing in the clearing, folding his wings back up as he stepped towards her. In the heat of the moment and thrill of the hunt, she'd almost forgotten that he was even watching her; she'd simply done what she'd needed to catch her prey. Part of her grew worried that he'd be angry that she'd already eaten much of the deer, though it would be odd since it was her kill.

Sorin looked at her, then looked at the carcass besides her. "That was sloppy," he finally said after a few moments, "…But I suppose it got the job done."

She said nothing, only giving him a slightly exasperated look before turning back to her meal. She wasn't about to let him criticize her over a successful hunt.

Ignoring that look, he approached her and looked at the deer more closely. For a second she thought he was going to take a bite or steal it before he lifted his head up and took a step back.

"Your hunting methods are…unusual," he told her, his voice seemingly devoid of all the usual haughtiness he tended to speak with, "Of course, I suppose that's to be expected of one without wings from a different region. Still, the way you approached and then pursued…there were similarities there. You hunted like a dragon."

She looked up from her meal and at him, running her tongue through her teeth to clean them. "Yeah, and how else would I hunt?" she huffed at him, annoyed at how his words seemed to imply, once again, that she wasn't a 'real dragon'.

She'd expected him to hiss something back or grow angry in turn, but he didn't. Instead, he simply responded with, "That's what I was curious to see."

Sisu cocked her head at him, but he didn't elaborate any further. With another, smaller, huff she went back to her meal, some of her appetite now gone. She ate a few more mouthfuls before offering the rest to Sorin. He took only a few bites as she cleaned the blood from the prey off her fur. That was one reason she preferred fish; they were far less messy.

When Sorin was finished eating and saw that she was finished cleaning herself, he told her that it was time to return back to his den. Leaving the remains of the carcass where they were, the two took back off into the air, flying west towards a sun that was beginning to grow low in the sky.

It wasn't until about halfway back that Sisu remembered the river and her desire to swim, but by then it was too late.

It was maybe a month into her stay with Sorin when the first human approached the cave. Sisu heard it before she smelled it, a loud yelling that sounded like an intentional call for attention. The smell was a slightly different odor than the humans in Kumandra drifting into the cave from the outside, but still more than recognizable as man.

She'd been in her pseudo-sleep state when the noise had awoken her, and she saw that Sorin was already up and moving towards the entrance. There was an odd gleam in his eyes and an almost disturbing grin on his scaley face.

"What's happening?" she asked, her body not sure whether or not to be alarmed but concerned that it should be.

"A challenger," Sorin hissed in a way that sounded excited as he approached the cave's exit, "Come see for yourself."

Confused and somewhat tired but happy to leave the cave, Sisu followed him out and into the glare of a mid-morning sun. She blinked rapidly a few times, her eyes adjusting to the change in light as Sorin led her into the clearing next to the cave. And there, at the other end of the clearing was the human that she'd heard yelling just a few moments before.

It was a man, she could tell by the large red beard on his face and the tone of his voice, and he stood tall as he looked at the two dragons. What was most striking about him, however, was what he was wearing; he was covered from head to toe in a shiny metal suit. Her best guess was that it was some sort of armor, considering that on the man's belt was a large sword and that he carried a round shield made of a similar metal.

This human had the appearance of one looking for a fight, and Sisu wondered if that's what Sorin meant by saying it was 'a challenger'.

"This happens somewhat regularly," Sorin said to her, explaining as if he could read her mind, "Men cannot withstand the allure of gold any more than dragons can. Despite the danger, they try to reclaim it, to slay me and take what's rightfully mine. Many have tried since I plundered Emmengen, and none have been successful." He pulled himself up to his full height as he cast a glare at the human in front of them. "This one will be no different."

The human drew his sword and yelled something out in a tongue that Sisu couldn't understand. Sorin hissed something out in the same language, and the human beat his sword against his shield with a thump as he cried out something different. Sorin responded again, and though Sisu didn't know what he said, his voice sounded like taunting. The human's face twisted into one of rage, and he reached up and pulled down a metal mask from his helmet that covered his face before charging at Sorin.

Sorin gave a kind of dark chuckle before moving to meet the man, closing the distance between them. Sword raised high, and shield in front of him, the man yelled again before swinging the blade towards the red dragon. Sorin had apparently anticipated this, however, as he leapt up and, with a single beat of his wings, flew over the man. Sisu saw the blade miss his belly by several feet before Sorin landed and the man turned around to meet him again. The human looked almost disoriented at Sorin's move, the wind from the wingbeat almost knocking him down, but he quickly regained himself.

The man waved his sword at Sorin, yelling something again in his strange language. Sorin's only response was a loud, intimidating roar like the one he'd given Sisu at their first encounter. Even knowing that it wasn't directed to her, she couldn't help but feel threatened by it.

The man approached Sorin again, slowly and more carefully this time. She noticed that he kept throwing glances back at her, and she felt guilty that she wasn't doing anything. Surely there was a way that she could break up this fight, but she had no idea how. The human didn't even speak her language, and Sorin's words regarding man made it clear to her that he wasn't about to simply let things be when he was challenged. So instead, she just stood there and observed, a morbid sort of curiosity in her mind as she watched the battle in front of her.

Cautiously, the man prodded the red dragon's defenses, poking his sword out at Sorin as he changed angles of attack. Sorin, for his part, moved surprisingly quick for a creature of his bulk, dodging the jabs effortlessly and occasionally swiping at the man with his claws. Sisu got a good look at his eyes as he fought; he didn't appear to be worried at all. In fact, as she watched closer, it looked like he was playing with the man. And he seemed to be enjoying it.

Sorin reached his head forward, biting at the man with his teeth. The human saw opportunity and swung his sword hard at Sorin's now exposed neck. But it had been a trick, Sisu could tell, as Sorin's head was back safely before the blow came even close to landing. The force the man put into the blow without hitting anything threw him off balance, and before he could recover Sorin's tail whipped along the ground, catching his feet and actually sending the man airborne for a moment before he landed hard.

The man lost his sword, having lost his grip on it as he was overturned, but he was able to keep ahold of his shield. He had only just enough time to raise himself to his knees and lift that shield up as Sorin went on the offensive. And Sorin's attack came in an unexpected way.

Sisu had expected him to go in with his claws or teeth to tear the man to shreds (as much as the prospect horrified her), but instead he reared up before opening his mouth at the man. For a moment she thought he was only going to roar again before a bright light burst from his mouth, flying towards the man in the blink of an eye. The sudden flash hurt her eyes, and it took her a second to realize that it was coming in a continuous flow and a second more to realize that it was fire.

Somehow, Sorin was breathing fire.

Her eyes widened despite the glare as she watched the flames shooting out of his mouth with the force of a waterfall. A part of the back of her mind told her that maybe she shouldn't be so surprised, that he had claimed to be a creature of fire, and that he did talk regularly about burning things, but never had she thought that he was capable of this. No, certainly not this. It made her realize in that moment just how futile her fight against him had been when they first met; he could have destroyed her easily if he'd wanted to.

The burst of fire lasted for several more seconds before Sorin closed his mouth with a snap. Somehow, Sisu was surprised to see, the man had survived it. The shield had taken the brunt of Sorin's blast and was blackened and partially melted, but it had kept him alive. Other parts of the man's metal armor also looked scorched, and as he pulled himself back up to his feet, she could see him stumble a bit. He'd survived so far, but he was in no good shape to keep fighting.

An amused smirk filled Sorin's face as he took a step towards the man and the man took a wobbly step back. With the human having no weapon and only a partially destroyed shield, it was clear that this fight was about to be over. She'd be surprised that it had even taken this long if she hadn't already realized that Sorin was prolonging it for his own enjoyment.

Sisu's eyes moved towards the human. She could see his pain and practically smell his fear. It wasn't right.

"Stop, Sorin!" she yelled, causing him to look back at her, "You've won! Let him go!"

His eyes narrowed at her and he let out a warning hiss. The human, seeing that Sorin was distracted, took his chance, throwing down his ruined shield and running. He made it to the tree line before Sorin looked away from her. If he was surprised the man had fled, he didn't say anything, he simply took a few steps in the direction the man had run before jumping in the air and lifting himself up over the trees with a beat of his wings. He was only in the sky for a few seconds before she saw him dive down. She heard a high-pitched scream ring through the trees a second before it was abruptly cut off. A sickening feeling filled her stomach as she felt her body frozen in place, unsure of what she should—or even could—do.

Half a minute later Sorin emerged from the trees, his claws and snout wet with blood. His tongue flicked out, cleaning a bit of it off as he approached her. He stopped in front of her and regard her coolly, eyes partially narrowed as he looked into hers.

Something within Sisu broke. "Why did you do that?" she screamed at him, enraged, "He was running away! You'd defeated him! There was no point!"

Sorin said nothing, he just shifted himself and observed her. In fact, he actually smirked. This only served to make her angrier.

"He was a person!" she continued to shout, "All he was trying to do was reclaim what you stole from him, and you hardly even gave him a chance to live! And you enjoyed it! You're worse than the Druun!"

Sorin's smirk faded and he gave a low hiss. "You don't know what you're talking about," he told her, "That 'person' knew what he was getting into; no man fights a dragon with both of them surviving. As for him trying to reclaim what I took, he wasn't even from these lands. He said as much himself. His sole reason for coming was personal profit and glory at my expense, and I was not about to let that happen."

He brushed past her as he walked towards the cave, his wing actually catching a few stands of her fur as he passed. Still rooted to her place, Sisu followed him with her eyes as he neared the entrance.

"That doesn't mean you have to enjoy it," she cried out before he could enter, causing him to pause for a moment.

He looked back at her, their eyes meeting. "I am a dragon," he told her, "It is my nature to kill. Why shouldn't I find pleasure in it?"

He left her there, outside in the clearing. For a long time she continued to just stand there, unable to make herself do anything. She'd known that Sorin was a creature of destruction—she'd seen the ruins of Emmengen the first day she'd met him—but somehow now, after watching him kill a human like that, it was different. She supposed she had hoped against hope that all his words were idle boasts or lies, that no creature was as cruel or pitiless as he was, but it was clear that that wasn't the case. Sorin was a dragon, he was a scaled, winged, fire-breathing dragon. And he was a killer, a remorseless, hateful, powerful killer.

It made her wonder why he kept her alive.

She glanced towards the sky, wishing that she could leap up into it and run far away, putting all thoughts of Sorin and his hate behind her. But she knew that there was no running, not from him. He would undoubtably chase her down, no matter where she went. Even if she made it back home to Kumandra it would be for naught; who knew how much destruction he could cause before she and the other dragons could stop him? No, she couldn't run, as much as she wanted to.

She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, then turned and walked back into the dragon's den.

"What are the Druun?"

The question came unexpectedly the day after Sorin had killed the human, and it actually caught Sisu a little off-guard. After she had rejoined him in the cave, she'd found a good spot in the gold and sulked, doing nothing but casting angry glances at him whenever she caught him looking at her. Even now, a day later, she was still furious with him. For perhaps the first time since she'd first been in the cave, she didn't want any conversation or words with him at all.

Giving a small growl she turned and looked at him. Surprisingly, he was sitting up on his pile of gold and looking oddly attentive instead of his normal way of asking questions without bothering to move anything but his lips and tongue. She snorted but couldn't force herself to remain silent.

"They're an evil race from my homeland," she told him, only now realizing just how little she'd actually told him about her past and home, "Like a plague, they spread all over, destroying everything in their path. Any living creature they touch turn to stone," she paused and looked down at her talons, "Even dragons."

Sorin gave a snort at that.

"Don't be so arrogant," she hissed, some of her anger returning, "You've never met them. They move like a cloud, amorphous and fluid, swarming their prey and cutting off any retreat. They feed off your fear and are born of hate and discord. A single touch is all it takes to turn a person into a cold, unfeeling stone statue."

"Interesting," Sorin observed, "Though I doubt they could stand up to dragon-fire, they do sound a formidable foe. It seems you have some…personal experience with them."

Sisu lashed her tail, sending coins flying across the room as she remembered all she'd gone through. The fear of her and her siblings, huddled together in a circle, trying desperately to keep the Druun at bay. The fear of watching her friends get turned to stone one by one before the same fate befell her siblings. The hate she had for them in that moment as she stood alone, the last dragon. The fear she'd had after reemerging after five hundred years just to find out they'd failed and the terrible creatures had returned.

"Yeah," she said, much softly this time, "I've got a lot of experience with them."

"Go on," Sorin encouraged her, seeming genuinely interested.

"Many years ago, they attacked my homeland," she said with a sigh, "They destroyed everything. Prey, humans, dragons…every living thing. Soon it was only myself and my few siblings left, the Druun closing in. Desperate, we did the only thing we could, or rather, my siblings did the only thing they could. They combined their powers to create a powerful gem that was able to destroy all the Druun around us and repel any that survived. But it wasn't quite enough. My siblings were turned to stone once they'd put their magic in it, and I alone was left to use it. It proved to be too much for me to handle, and it wound up putting me into hibernation for a long, long time." She sighed again, knowing how Sorin would react to the next part.

"It was a human that found me and woke me from my slumber. A girl by the name of Raya. It turned out that the power of our gem had brought the humans back from their deaths of stone, but not the dragons. Not my siblings." Sorin frowned at the mention of her being saved by a human, but she had a feeling that he would be smirking again at her next words. "Apparently, after they'd been resurrected the humans had waged wars over our gem, each tribe seeking to claim it as their own and use its power. Not long before I was awakened a conflict had occurred that caused the gem to be broken into the pieces, allowing the Druun to invade in force once more."

She saw Sorin did indeed seem to smirk at her mention of man's failings, and she continued before he could point it out and boast.

"Now back in the picture, I helped Raya and some of her friends in their endeavor to collect and reunite the pieces of the gem, which had been scattered throughout the different tribes of humans that had formed. Together, both dragon and human came together and reassembled the jewel, repelling the Druun once more and protecting my homeland. Whatever spell the Druun had cast over the dragons was broken as well, and my siblings and friends were freed from their stone prisons. Now we live and work together, not killing each other over gold or pride." She concluded the short version of the story, intentionally omitting the part where she was killed in the process and the humans saved Kumandra on their own.

Sorin ignored the slight jab. "A fascinating story," he said, his voice not really supporting his words, "…But I get the impression it is not quite over."

She sighed and buried her talons in the gold beneath her. "You're right. Partially, at least. The Druun were defeated, but not exterminated. They still lurk in my homeland, attacking weary travelers and those who live too far away from the villages. The gem that my siblings created keeps them at bay, but it can't be moved far from its place or else it loses its effectiveness in different parts of the land. That's why I came here; I came to try to find another weapon of power that could expel them for good or destroy them as they are."

"Ah, yes," Sorin said, shifting slightly where he sat, "The 'great weapons and tools in these lands that men use to slay great evils' that you mentioned when we first met. I admit, I first thought that a flimsy excuse and that you were unwilling to admit your true intentions of taking my hoard, but it seems that you were telling the truth."

"I'm not a liar," Sisu huffed.

"So it seems," Sorin declared, standing up and taking a step towards her, "So tell me this: do you truly think that I'm as bad as these 'Druun'?"

Sisu opened her mouth but didn't say anything, then looked away, unwilling to meet his eyes. Her first inclination was to say yes. There were many similarities between Sorin and the Druun. Destruction and hate clearly flowed from both of them. Sorin destroyed with fire, the Druun with stone, but both used their power mercilessly against humans. Yet…there was something about Sorin. He wasn't mindless, nor would she classify him as truly evil. With the exception of the fight at their first meeting, he'd never really harmed her, though he had threatened it. And while he may have destroyed a city and killed countless people for their wealth, he didn't terrorize or brutalize the other humans who dwelt in his territory. The Druun were creatures of pure evil, nothing more or less, and Sisu just couldn't quite bring herself to say the same of Sorin, despite what he'd done.

"No," she finally answered, still not looking at him. He may not have been worse than the Druun, but he also wasn't that much better.

"Sisu," she heard him say, and she couldn't keep herself from perking up a little bit. He seldom actually used her name when he spoke to her. "Look at me." Almost against her will she did, meeting those fiery eyes which this time held far less fire than usual, instead almost—almost—looking sympathetic.

"All dragons are creatures of power," he told her, not boastful like usual, but rather softly, as though revealing a secret. "We are born with mastery over the elements, with strength and cunning to overcome any obstacle. It is our nature to use that power for ourselves, just as it is the nature of power to be used. Gold calls to us, yes, and expresses our might, but our power is not in it. We do not need vast caverns of gold to be great."

"You once said that man is like us," he continued, "They are not. What comes naturally to dragons, man seeks to create for himself. He raises armies and conquers lands in his own name, destroying the lives of thousands as he does so. He trades and accumulates gold and wealth to buy all that he wants, to create security around him, yet his own friends rise up against him and seize what he used for protection. Men trade each other as goods, selling one another into slavery for profit, treating one another as lesser animals. Yet the life of a man is but a whisper of smoke, and the greatness they pour their life in is gone in the blink of a dragon's eye."

He let out a puff of smoke through his nostrils and dragged his tail gently across the gold. "All these things I have seen man do with my own eyes. And this is why there is no peace, no mercy, between us. For dragons and humans have been in conflict ever since we met, ever since man desired what we had and they didn't, and far too much blood has been shed for any reconciliation. My sire was slain by humans, his gold plundered and his body desecrated as the humans tore his scales off his corpse. My grandsire likewise met his death at the hands of a man, the greatest man to ever walk the north—or so the stories go. And though he lost his life, he also took the life of the human who killed him, and so neither man nor dragon could be satisfied."

Sorin closed his eyes for a moment and Sisu heard a small rumble in his throat. It almost sounded like he was sorrowful. He opened them again and the fire in his eyes was present once more. "Man has always been my enemy. Humans have always been a blight on this world. It is the nature of the powerful to destroy those who seek their power, as it is the nature of enemies to fight one another. You hate that I find pleasure in destroying my enemies. You dislike that I kill those who seek to kill me. Yet you yourself came here seeking a way to destroy your enemy, and I do not doubt that you would find pleasure in its destruction."

Sisu looked down at her claws, still buried under a small layer of golden coins. He was right about that last part; she had come here to try to destroy an enemy. She'd just told him as much. But her enemy was actually evil, a mindless, destructive, soulless manifestation of all the malice and discord in the world. The Druun were creatures that were worth being enemies with, humans not so.

Of course…

Sisu could also, as much as she hated to admit it to herself, see what Sorin meant about them. She had seen men do horrible things to one another. She'd been awoken by Raya into a world of backstabbing, where few dared to trust one another and everyone looked out only for themselves. It was a world of hate and misery that had taken her far too long to comprehend, resulting in her temporary death. Yes, humans were far from being perfect beings, and they had an incredible capacity for evil.

…But they also had an incredible capacity to do good. They could trust and they could come together—Raya and her friends had proved that. Perhaps Sorin's words were justified to him from what he'd seen, but Sisu couldn't accept them as truth, at least not completely. If only he could see her home, a place where dragons and humans could freely live together and thrive together. It was possible.

She looked back up at him, intending to say as much, but her words failed her. How could she convince the creature that had killed thousands of humans and had kin killed by humans that humans were friendly and good and not horrible things? How could she even try the day after one of those humans had arrived intending to kill him? It was true that dragons and humans could coexist in Kumandra, where humans and dragons had always gotten along, but this was not Kumandra. It was a completely different world.

Sorin just watched her for several moments, like as not awaiting a response that never came. To his credit, he didn't huff like usual or demand a response, he just patently waited until it was clear that a response wouldn't happen. Then he turned without another word and went back to his normal spot on his gold, leaving Sisu were she sat, no longer angry and no longer sure how she should feel.