Chapter 9: Tea Time
Given that the sick and injured were resting, Ashton found this a good moment to wander around Cross and enjoy the clearing weather. He ended back up in the area he'd fought in the night before, and as sure as the sun rises, everyone looked at him differently. All except one person sitting at a table, a bit tipsy from her drink. The fact they were traveling together also explained her indifference. "Mind if I sit here?" Ashton asked, a hand resting on the chair opposite Opera.
"Hm? Oh sure, Ashton," she mumbled, looking down at her reflection in the drink with glassy eyes.
The two dragons exchanged glances over Ashton's head. He sat down, studying her a bit. "Opera, are you ok?"
"Yeah... I guess so."
A cloud passed in front of the sun just then, blocking the warm rays and chilling the area down. Ashton closed his eyes a minute, sighing slightly. If there was one thing he had any knack at, it was knowing when others were down. He himself knew the feeling enough thanks to bad luck and all that. He looked up and focused on her. The glass in front of her was over half empty, and the bottle on the table was near done.
"Its about Ernest, right?" he asked, fishing for the reason. Given she had been in a drinking contest when they'd first met, he knew her love of alcohol already - especially since she handled it so well - but her expression was just sad.
Opera didn't move for some time, and finally shook her head ever so slightly, her earrings swaying gently. "No, not quite. Partly, yes, but..." She paused for a long moment before finally adding one word. "Claude."
Certainly, a woman chasing after her boyfriend... 'Claude??' Ashton blinked. He looked around, avoiding looking at her as he thought about this. She was looking for Ernest, her romantic interest, and she said Claude. Certainly, she wasn't... attracted to him? Ashton's eyes widened slightly. 'Relationship troubles... oh man....' Ashton wasn't exactly ready for trying to solve something like that with a woman! 'Where's Rena or Celine when I need them?!' His panic was interrupted by a few soft snorts from his draconic companions.
"Its about Claude?" he asked. 'What would I know of relationships,' he wondered, 'when I have such terrible luck?' "What about him?" 'Oh, that sounded wonderful, Ashton!'
"I... he's nice, and .... he does kind of remind me of Ernest...."
'Hoo boy... yep. I knew it. She's attracted to Claude, yet she still loves that Ernest guy.' A sharp but friendly nudge from Gyoro reminded him that he hadn't quite been on the mark.
"But... oh, I don't know, Ashton. Claude knows I'm not from here. And I really want to help him with his plight of being here. But I'm crashed here as well, and that's part of the reason I'm also looking for Ern." She looked up, a sad smile on her face. "Besides that, I'm the heiress of the Vectra family. I have to go back to Tetragen... and what would they say? Me and an earthling..." She laughed, a slightly self-mocking tone in it. "Bad enough I hear about my affection for Ernest..."
Ashton's emerald eyes had resolve and he would speak what he thought. It usually was better when he did that. "Look, Opera. You should follow your heart. Let's find Ernest first, and you can sort out your feelings. Decide what you think, not what others would think. What good does it do to live by others' dreams and thoughts? Isn't it your life? And why should his being a... er... different than you matter? I don't see why it matters, myself." 'I hope that helps...'
Opera's golden hazel eyes looked at Ashton for long moments. The expression softened. "You're right. Of course, I do have to keep my family's interests in mind, but even then, their objections shouldn't be too much bother. I mean, my sister was chasing after all kinds of other guys. Which is why I'm the heiress. I'm supposed to be the responsible one."
Ashton nodded. "But responsibility should not dictate everything in someone's life. Yes, I would do anything for someone I cared for if I could. I'd put my life on the line for them, even if it was risky. Isn't love, and friendship, when you care about someone else more than yourself? If so, they are not responsibilities, but are something which everyone should have."
Opera nodded. "True, indeed. Some things seem so senseless, but they must be there. And some people take things to excess." She looked down at her glass and laughed a bit. "And sometimes we love things so much we don't notice that. Thank you, Ashton." She looked up again. "How is Precis?"
"Precis?" He blinked, surprised by her sudden question. Why was she - oh yes, he had just come form there. "Precis is fine."
"I know you have feelings for her," she said, smirking a bit as Ashton blushed, "because of the way you look at her. True, she talks about you often as well. She... is like a little sister. She's so curious about many things."
"She may be young, but she's sharp. Its a shame no one in her hometown seemed to understand her though. She's an only child too. She's lucky to have someone like you for a ... big sister." He stood then, pushing his chair back. "I should be going and checking to see if Bowman needs a break."
Opera was about to say something when a loud noise accompanied by screams shattered the calm serenity. The ground shook, throwing Ashton forward into the table. Opera dodged as the table began to tip, and grabbed Ashton, helping him to stand. "Oh my-!" Her eyes were wide as she beheld the beast that had landed in central Cross.
Gyoro and Urunrun hissed as Ashton turned to look. "A dragon?! Its- the inn!!"
Opera grabbed her rifle, firing a shot at the beast, grazing its neck. "Hey! Ugly! Over here!!" She quickly pulled out the box she'd had in the rifle and pulled another out of her jacket pocket as the thing turned crimson eyes upon them. "I made this yesterday. I hope it works as well as I think it should." People scattered everywhere, fleeing the area.
"I hope so too," Ashton said, drawing his swords. "Cover me!" He charged as the beast began lumbering towards them. He leapt, slashing, and caught its foot as it took off. "Argh! Coward!!!"
His attention was drawn behind him as he heard footsteps. "Looks like we have a visitor!" Bowman yelled, running up beside Ashton, adjusting the knuckles on his hands. "Need help?"
"Its appreciated," Ashton said, looking up. "Err..." The men leapt away, avoiding the heart of the lightning that tore form the gullet of the beast at them. Ashton shook himself, ignoring the complaints of his two possessors on his back. "Urunrun, do you think your ice would help?"
A grunt was the only reply as the blue dragon lifted his head and fired off a return volley at the back of the dragon as it turned to swipe at Opera, claws whistling through the air. It howled as its claws slashed only part of her dress, denied blood. "Hey...! This was a gift from Ernest! You'll pay for that!" She pulled back the bolt and let go, recharging it. "Fol!" She launched off several glowing iridescent balls which exploded upon the beast, despite its horrible attempts to dodge. Its tail lashed violently, crashing into a nearby building and sending Ashton skittering away as rubble fell, tripping over a knocked over pole.
Bowman leapt up, landing easily on its back between its wings, an impossible place for it to effectively countered and pummeled for a bit until its shuddered violently, sending him bouncing down.
Ashton stood up, and heard coughing. Frowning, he looked around, confused. As the hazy dust cleared a bit, he saw Claude and Precis standing there, with Celine just behind. "Get back in there!" he yelled over the roar, ducking under the tail as Opera and Bowman took turns keeping it occupied.
"No way, Ashton!" Precis yelled back, and coughed from the exertion on her lungs. "You guys can't do this alone."
Claude, in pants and black tank shirt only, held his sword in a questionably weak grip and tightened it a bit, shrugging off the brief chill form the air. "Celine, you ready?" With that signal, Claude released an Air Slash to add into the damage and keep its attention away from the spell caster.
She nodded, and started her incantation quietly. Ashton snorted, irked at them not listening, and threw himself into the attack. "Cross slash!" He raked the razor-edged swords across the right flank of the beast while Gyoro added some flame, and the sharp smell of roast flesh greeted the trio. Ashton stepped back, preparing a follow-up assault when he found a block behind him. He fell back, shrieking, and landed painfully on the two dragons.
"Ashton!" Precis shrieked. "Bobot, go!" She grabbed the robot and launched him at the dragon's head. "Ally-oop!" The robot rebounded off the eye of the dragon, causing it to stumble back and snarl, blinded in its right eye.
Bowman let loose a firebird attack as Celine's spell finished, with Gyoro firing a retributive flare for the fall, and the combined fires form both finally consumed the beast to ashes. Celine sighed, and collapsed to her knees, worn by the exertion of one spell. Bowman, having not been able to see the trio frowned as he saw them there. The back up was needed, but they really shouldn't have exerted themselves. Opera powered her rifle down, shaking off some ashes and looking down at her torn dress.
"Thanks for the help," Bowman said. He picked Celine up, shaking his head slightly. "Though you really shouldn't have cast that. It was a bit too much."
"I don't care, Jean, it did the job," she said softly, her lavender eyes looking up at him a moment before closing to ease off the wear.
"Still the same," he replied softly. "Come on Claude, and you too Precis." Ashton collected Precis before she walked into a fence, giving her a hand. Opera deftly worked Claude's sword out of his hands, and put her jacket on him to keep him warm as his thin frame shivered in the cold. Everyone headed back to the inn.
After the ill were resting once more, Opera took over so that Bowman could get something to eat and have some time to himself. Ashton took the opportunity to rest instead, lying on the bed in his solitary room.
'Its good to know... that we can work together. And that Precis does think about me in some way. Dragons... bah.'
A incessant nibbling on both ears for awhile reminded him to watch the dragon comments as Gyoro and Urunrun both reminded him they were there too. Burying his head in his pillow, he groaned and tried to ignore the laughing dragons and sleep.
~*~
Ruprecht sighed, knowing full well that dragon had been sent after him. "You guys can't always protect me. You should leave me to my fate." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "My being here is a threat to the safety and completion of your mission. Why do you persist in this course? Why do humans always defy that which would be right or unchangeable?"
Given that the sick and injured were resting, Ashton found this a good moment to wander around Cross and enjoy the clearing weather. He ended back up in the area he'd fought in the night before, and as sure as the sun rises, everyone looked at him differently. All except one person sitting at a table, a bit tipsy from her drink. The fact they were traveling together also explained her indifference. "Mind if I sit here?" Ashton asked, a hand resting on the chair opposite Opera.
"Hm? Oh sure, Ashton," she mumbled, looking down at her reflection in the drink with glassy eyes.
The two dragons exchanged glances over Ashton's head. He sat down, studying her a bit. "Opera, are you ok?"
"Yeah... I guess so."
A cloud passed in front of the sun just then, blocking the warm rays and chilling the area down. Ashton closed his eyes a minute, sighing slightly. If there was one thing he had any knack at, it was knowing when others were down. He himself knew the feeling enough thanks to bad luck and all that. He looked up and focused on her. The glass in front of her was over half empty, and the bottle on the table was near done.
"Its about Ernest, right?" he asked, fishing for the reason. Given she had been in a drinking contest when they'd first met, he knew her love of alcohol already - especially since she handled it so well - but her expression was just sad.
Opera didn't move for some time, and finally shook her head ever so slightly, her earrings swaying gently. "No, not quite. Partly, yes, but..." She paused for a long moment before finally adding one word. "Claude."
Certainly, a woman chasing after her boyfriend... 'Claude??' Ashton blinked. He looked around, avoiding looking at her as he thought about this. She was looking for Ernest, her romantic interest, and she said Claude. Certainly, she wasn't... attracted to him? Ashton's eyes widened slightly. 'Relationship troubles... oh man....' Ashton wasn't exactly ready for trying to solve something like that with a woman! 'Where's Rena or Celine when I need them?!' His panic was interrupted by a few soft snorts from his draconic companions.
"Its about Claude?" he asked. 'What would I know of relationships,' he wondered, 'when I have such terrible luck?' "What about him?" 'Oh, that sounded wonderful, Ashton!'
"I... he's nice, and .... he does kind of remind me of Ernest...."
'Hoo boy... yep. I knew it. She's attracted to Claude, yet she still loves that Ernest guy.' A sharp but friendly nudge from Gyoro reminded him that he hadn't quite been on the mark.
"But... oh, I don't know, Ashton. Claude knows I'm not from here. And I really want to help him with his plight of being here. But I'm crashed here as well, and that's part of the reason I'm also looking for Ern." She looked up, a sad smile on her face. "Besides that, I'm the heiress of the Vectra family. I have to go back to Tetragen... and what would they say? Me and an earthling..." She laughed, a slightly self-mocking tone in it. "Bad enough I hear about my affection for Ernest..."
Ashton's emerald eyes had resolve and he would speak what he thought. It usually was better when he did that. "Look, Opera. You should follow your heart. Let's find Ernest first, and you can sort out your feelings. Decide what you think, not what others would think. What good does it do to live by others' dreams and thoughts? Isn't it your life? And why should his being a... er... different than you matter? I don't see why it matters, myself." 'I hope that helps...'
Opera's golden hazel eyes looked at Ashton for long moments. The expression softened. "You're right. Of course, I do have to keep my family's interests in mind, but even then, their objections shouldn't be too much bother. I mean, my sister was chasing after all kinds of other guys. Which is why I'm the heiress. I'm supposed to be the responsible one."
Ashton nodded. "But responsibility should not dictate everything in someone's life. Yes, I would do anything for someone I cared for if I could. I'd put my life on the line for them, even if it was risky. Isn't love, and friendship, when you care about someone else more than yourself? If so, they are not responsibilities, but are something which everyone should have."
Opera nodded. "True, indeed. Some things seem so senseless, but they must be there. And some people take things to excess." She looked down at her glass and laughed a bit. "And sometimes we love things so much we don't notice that. Thank you, Ashton." She looked up again. "How is Precis?"
"Precis?" He blinked, surprised by her sudden question. Why was she - oh yes, he had just come form there. "Precis is fine."
"I know you have feelings for her," she said, smirking a bit as Ashton blushed, "because of the way you look at her. True, she talks about you often as well. She... is like a little sister. She's so curious about many things."
"She may be young, but she's sharp. Its a shame no one in her hometown seemed to understand her though. She's an only child too. She's lucky to have someone like you for a ... big sister." He stood then, pushing his chair back. "I should be going and checking to see if Bowman needs a break."
Opera was about to say something when a loud noise accompanied by screams shattered the calm serenity. The ground shook, throwing Ashton forward into the table. Opera dodged as the table began to tip, and grabbed Ashton, helping him to stand. "Oh my-!" Her eyes were wide as she beheld the beast that had landed in central Cross.
Gyoro and Urunrun hissed as Ashton turned to look. "A dragon?! Its- the inn!!"
Opera grabbed her rifle, firing a shot at the beast, grazing its neck. "Hey! Ugly! Over here!!" She quickly pulled out the box she'd had in the rifle and pulled another out of her jacket pocket as the thing turned crimson eyes upon them. "I made this yesterday. I hope it works as well as I think it should." People scattered everywhere, fleeing the area.
"I hope so too," Ashton said, drawing his swords. "Cover me!" He charged as the beast began lumbering towards them. He leapt, slashing, and caught its foot as it took off. "Argh! Coward!!!"
His attention was drawn behind him as he heard footsteps. "Looks like we have a visitor!" Bowman yelled, running up beside Ashton, adjusting the knuckles on his hands. "Need help?"
"Its appreciated," Ashton said, looking up. "Err..." The men leapt away, avoiding the heart of the lightning that tore form the gullet of the beast at them. Ashton shook himself, ignoring the complaints of his two possessors on his back. "Urunrun, do you think your ice would help?"
A grunt was the only reply as the blue dragon lifted his head and fired off a return volley at the back of the dragon as it turned to swipe at Opera, claws whistling through the air. It howled as its claws slashed only part of her dress, denied blood. "Hey...! This was a gift from Ernest! You'll pay for that!" She pulled back the bolt and let go, recharging it. "Fol!" She launched off several glowing iridescent balls which exploded upon the beast, despite its horrible attempts to dodge. Its tail lashed violently, crashing into a nearby building and sending Ashton skittering away as rubble fell, tripping over a knocked over pole.
Bowman leapt up, landing easily on its back between its wings, an impossible place for it to effectively countered and pummeled for a bit until its shuddered violently, sending him bouncing down.
Ashton stood up, and heard coughing. Frowning, he looked around, confused. As the hazy dust cleared a bit, he saw Claude and Precis standing there, with Celine just behind. "Get back in there!" he yelled over the roar, ducking under the tail as Opera and Bowman took turns keeping it occupied.
"No way, Ashton!" Precis yelled back, and coughed from the exertion on her lungs. "You guys can't do this alone."
Claude, in pants and black tank shirt only, held his sword in a questionably weak grip and tightened it a bit, shrugging off the brief chill form the air. "Celine, you ready?" With that signal, Claude released an Air Slash to add into the damage and keep its attention away from the spell caster.
She nodded, and started her incantation quietly. Ashton snorted, irked at them not listening, and threw himself into the attack. "Cross slash!" He raked the razor-edged swords across the right flank of the beast while Gyoro added some flame, and the sharp smell of roast flesh greeted the trio. Ashton stepped back, preparing a follow-up assault when he found a block behind him. He fell back, shrieking, and landed painfully on the two dragons.
"Ashton!" Precis shrieked. "Bobot, go!" She grabbed the robot and launched him at the dragon's head. "Ally-oop!" The robot rebounded off the eye of the dragon, causing it to stumble back and snarl, blinded in its right eye.
Bowman let loose a firebird attack as Celine's spell finished, with Gyoro firing a retributive flare for the fall, and the combined fires form both finally consumed the beast to ashes. Celine sighed, and collapsed to her knees, worn by the exertion of one spell. Bowman, having not been able to see the trio frowned as he saw them there. The back up was needed, but they really shouldn't have exerted themselves. Opera powered her rifle down, shaking off some ashes and looking down at her torn dress.
"Thanks for the help," Bowman said. He picked Celine up, shaking his head slightly. "Though you really shouldn't have cast that. It was a bit too much."
"I don't care, Jean, it did the job," she said softly, her lavender eyes looking up at him a moment before closing to ease off the wear.
"Still the same," he replied softly. "Come on Claude, and you too Precis." Ashton collected Precis before she walked into a fence, giving her a hand. Opera deftly worked Claude's sword out of his hands, and put her jacket on him to keep him warm as his thin frame shivered in the cold. Everyone headed back to the inn.
After the ill were resting once more, Opera took over so that Bowman could get something to eat and have some time to himself. Ashton took the opportunity to rest instead, lying on the bed in his solitary room.
'Its good to know... that we can work together. And that Precis does think about me in some way. Dragons... bah.'
A incessant nibbling on both ears for awhile reminded him to watch the dragon comments as Gyoro and Urunrun both reminded him they were there too. Burying his head in his pillow, he groaned and tried to ignore the laughing dragons and sleep.
~*~
Ruprecht sighed, knowing full well that dragon had been sent after him. "You guys can't always protect me. You should leave me to my fate." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "My being here is a threat to the safety and completion of your mission. Why do you persist in this course? Why do humans always defy that which would be right or unchangeable?"
