Screaming through the sky, Sisu struck from above like a thunderbolt, her claws digging into the hide of the deer a second before it could save itself. It immediately lurched forwards in vain, trying to escape her grasp even as her teeth gripped its antlers, then slid down to its neck. It gave a loud brey as she gave a sharp twist, then the only sound was a wet snap and then silence.

Releasing her prey, she halted her momentum and landed truly, her feet resting on solid ground once more. Turning back, she examined her handiwork, pleased to have taken down such a large buck. Large and strong with a thick, beautiful coat, it was almost a shame to kill it. Yet in the end it was simply prey, and Sisu was hungry.

She heard Sorin landing somewhere behind her as she began to dig into it, splitting the skin and getting under it to the meat underneath. Warm and wet with blood, the taste was delightful as she tore out pieces, chomping them down as she pulled them away from the bone. Sisu had always leaned more towards fish when it came to food, but more and more she found that she'd grown to rather enjoy the more land-based prey that Sorin had introduced to her, now to the point where she hunted them intentionally for more than just a bit of variety.

"Well struck," Sorin told her, approaching the kill but making no move to take any for himself. He spoke entirely in his own language, which was becoming common the more Sisu learned. "I've noticed you've improved in your sky-borne hunting. You look more like a dragon each time I watch."

She hummed a thanks and moved over on the carcass, inviting him to join her. He did so, only taking a few modest bites of a hock before stepping back and out of her peripheral vision. She finished up all that she wanted alone, then pulled away, sticking her tongue out and licking what she could of her muzzle and claws, cleaning them.

Glancing back at Sorin, she saw him sunning himself with his wings spread wide out in the small meadow where she'd tracked the deer to. There was an oddly contented look on his face as he wriggled his wings slightly while taking long, deep breaths. His scales gleamed in the sunlight as his strong, muscular chest moved up and down, up and down with each breath. She gave a small smile as she watched him just relaxing there, carefree for the moment. Save for his wings and scales, he could almost have been a dragon from back in Kumandra.

He shifted himself and saw her looking at him, but he said nothing as he folded his wings back against him and approached the kill once more. He gave a questioning glance to her, asking without asking if she was done, and when she nodded he snapped up the few remaining bites of meat, leaving only a bloody mess of fur and bones behind.

Licking his muzzle clean, he looked at her once more. "Finished?" he asked simply, and when she answered in the affirmative he took off into the sky, heading home. She followed close behind, soaring over the treetops.

Such an event had become normal the longer she'd spent here. Routine, almost. Just an ordinary hunt out and about on a beautiful late-spring day. She enjoyed the fresh air, enjoyed the hunt, and was altogether content with the day.

Whatever draconic lifestyle Sorin enjoyed here in the west, Sisu couldn't deny that it had its upsides. There was just something…different about it, and not in a bad way. From sleeping on the gold to hunting from the sky, it all felt natural. He body responded to it like this was how it was supposed to be, as though she'd somehow been living wrong her entire life up until now.

They took a bit longer of a way back to the den, catching a wind that blew them a bit more north than they needed to go. They could easily have adjusted, but the weather was perfect for flying and so it wasn't a major issue. Sisu enjoyed flying, even if it was more difficult for her on a non-rainy day, and she knew Sorin enjoyed it too. For as much time as he spent underground, he truly was a master of the sky.

They landed in the clearing outside of the den, but Sorin put out a wing and stopped her before she could enter. She gave him a questioning look.

"You're dirty," he told her.

She blinked at him, then looked down at herself, confused. She looked clean enough. It was a dry day, so she wouldn't have gotten any mud on her claws that could dirty his gold. Yes, her forearms looked clean, as well as her chest…

"Higher," Sorin told her, watching her eyes, and she lifted her gaze towards the base of her neck and her back.

He was right. Dark red splotches discolored her fur all along her left side. She immediately knew what it was and what must have happened; the deer must have bled on her when she struck, or even as she ate it. Whichever it was wasn't important, cleaning was, and she craned her neck to get to it, licking away the stains and cleaning her coat. Yet, it had reached higher and farther back on her than she'd expected, and there were a few spots that she just couldn't reach.

She growled as she tried to stretch herself out just a little more to reach the spots she couldn't, then growled again as she failed. She lashed her tail in frustration and was already considering going to the nearby lake to wash when Sorin stepped towards her.

"Here," he said, moving in closer, "Allow me…"

She hesitated, then lowered herself, allowing him to get beside and over her. He was close, very close—she could feel the heat radiating off of his scales. Then she felt a claw on her shoulder, gently holding her still. A moment later she felt his tongue on her neck, slowly and delicately working its way over and through her fur, cleaning her.

A bit tense at first, Sisu relaxed as he groomed her. His ministrations were pleasant, feeling comfortable on her skin. It reminded her of back when she was not much older than a hatchling and her older brother Pengu would groom her, lovingly caring for her as a sibling. But Sorin wasn't a sibling, he was another dragon. A strong and powerful beast that could easily slay her by simply clamping his jaws around the back of her neck and twisting. Yet here he was, tending to her like she was as weak as a budding flower. Treating her almost like she was his ma—

Her thoughts paused at that, almost unable to complete it. She turned her head just slightly, enough to get a glimpse of him working out of the corner of her eye. Her skin tingled with every touch he gave her, calling for more. She was enjoying it, and it seemed he did too.

…But that didn't necessarily mean anything. Sure, dragons in Kumandra groomed their mates all the time. And sure, grooming was done exclusively by mates or parents (or, as in Sisu's case, siblings), but that didn't mean the same thing here. There was no evidence to suggest that Sorin's kind of dragons were the same way, or that him cleaning her like this was anything other than him just helping her. He was simply removing blood from her fur, nothing more.

Satisfied with that, she leaned into him as he worked, gently resting herself against his warm scales. He said nothing and neither did she, even as his tongue left the areas that were dirty and moved up her neck, slowly cleaning the other places that she couldn't reach. It was so…satisfying feeling his strength against her, the muscles under his scales flexing and unflexing as he adjusted and moved his neck and head to attend to her. She melted more and move into his touch with each lick, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling. When he reached the back of her head and gently cleaned behind her throat, where her jaw met her neck, she couldn't keep out a small, contented moan.

She felt a small pull on her mane, just at the base of her neck, not too hard but enough to make her protest. "Sorin," she spoke and he gave a humming growl in response.

"Do not worry," he told her softly, "Your mane is safe under my touch. I won't remove a single stand." She relaxed again at his words; glad he'd remembered that it wouldn't grow back if he did.

He finished with her grooming not long after that, and she barely kept back a whimper as he pulled away from her, wishing that he would stay so close. Something about it just felt so right, as though despite being so different they were one and the same right then. Already, whatever had just happened, she wanted it to happen again. She wanted more.

She looked at him as he moved to enter the den, and he looked back. She searched his eyes, trying to see if there was something deeper there, trying to see why he'd just enraptured her like that. He looked at her similarly, reading her eyes, yet it seemed that he understood more than she did. Expressionless, he gave a single, long breath of smoke, then reentered his den.

Sisu stood there still for a second or two, then shook her head, coming out of whatever spell-like state she'd just been in. What was that? She demanded of herself. Whatever had just been running through her mind…it was completely ridiculous! There was no way that she saw him in any other light than as a captor—even if she didn't hate him for it and even kind of enjoyed his company—let alone as a potential mate! And there was definitely no way Sorin ever saw her as one!

She shook her head again and vowed to forget about the whole thing as she followed him back into the cave. Whatever oddity that had been was a moment of weakness, perhaps some kind of frustration brought on with spring. Sorin was a creature of destruction; she had no desire to bind herself to that.

No, she had no feelings for him at all. Absolutely none, she told herself even as she entered the cave, laid down next to him, and went to sleep with his wing around her.

"Have you ever looked up, seen a star, and wished you could go there?" Sisu asked Sorin as she laid down on the grass in their clearing, "That is, have you ever thought that there were other worlds out there? Wonderful places to go and fantastic places to see that we can never reach?"

Sorin gave a snort and lifted his head from where he'd laid it on a soft patch of ground. "No," he told her bluntly, "There's enough world here as it is.

She glanced back up at the night sky, "But think of the possibilities," she said, "Thousands of worlds, millions of sights and people. When I was a hatchling, I used to imagine myself traveling from star to star, witnessing all the wonders of the heavens."

Sorin tapped the tip of his tail slightly, even as he rested his head back down. "I don't need sights and wonders to be content," he told her, "I've seen plenty in my own youth. I have no need of fancies and heavens; on a night such as tonight, the air is enough. Nature has given dragons all that we need."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of that air. It was a cool night and a clear night, perfect for stargazing and lounging idly outside instead of in the cave. Sisu had come out to do just that, and had been surprised when Sorin followed her out without any prompting. He'd rested near her and occasionally looked up towards the sky, though not near as much as she did.

"And are you content?" she challenged him.

He gave a small hum. "I have all a dragon needs," he said, "I have gold. Wealth. A great hoard worthy of my name. I have security against man and dragon, sharp claws and sharp mind, and territory enough to hunt freely. There is little I still crave."

"What about a mate?" she dared to ask, trying not to have any other thoughts but curiosity.

"I need not tell you that dragons mate for life, save some drakes in their youth," he told her, opening his eyes to meet hers, "When I am ready, I will court and take one."

"Oh," she said as a silence fell and he closed his eyes again. She looked at him, thinking of another question. Once she had one, she broke the silence. "You've mentioned before traveling and seeing things. Where have you gone? What sights did you see?"

He took a breath and didn't open his eyes to answer. "Nowhere you'd know of, Sisu of the East," he said, "Lands far to the north, where my grandsire died, the landscape barren and mountainous. Farther west, where men built greater cities and tamed the land, where my clutchmates were slaughtered. I went south once, too, and saw the great old cities of man, where their strength was as great as their cruelty to one another. That's one thing you cannot escape no matter where you fly. Man will always be there, bringing their scourge with them."

"Was there anything else about these places?" Sisu asked, intrigued, "What was the land like? How different did the people look and act? What kind of—"

Sorin opened an eye and gave a non-threatening growl, more of just a rumble in his throat. "There's little more to say," he told her, "As I told you, there's already enough world. I used to wish to see it all, now I only mind my own territory."

"But surely you're curious…"

"I stay informed on happenings, yes," he admitted, closing his eye back up, "But I have no reason to leave my place here, nor can I abandon my hoard."

She gave a huff and looked back up at the sky. Even here, far to the west where things were so different from Kumandra, the moon and stars remained the same. One faithful constant among all things. An inextinguishable light, an inescapable presence. Comforting and warm, yet cold and distant.

"Sorin," she asked, "Why do you keep me here?"

He opened his eyes once more to look at her, then narrowed them just a little bit.

"I mean," she quickly elaborated, "If you first brought me here out of curiosity, surely it's satisfied by now. If it's punishment for stumbling into your territory, then why haven't you given me terms to make things right?"

He said nothing, only giving out a puff of smoke.

"I'd be lying if I said I thought you wanted to kill me, or even hurt me anymore," she went on, "And I won't say that this hasn't been a fascinating experience, but…why? Why have you determined to bind me here?"

He raised his head and looked at her for a long moment, amber eyes blazing into hers. "Because it is my pleasure," he finally said, "…And it is my nature. All dragons collect treasure, precious gems and gold of great worth. Your case is no different."

"But I'm no golden trinket!" she exclaimed, taken a little aback, "I'm a living being. A dragon!"

"Yes," Sorin hissed, "You are…" he fell uncharacteristically quiet, thinking for a moment, his eyes drifting away from her into nothing. Then he gave a shake of his head and refixed his gaze on her. "But that matters not," he declared, "For you yourself have given your word not to flee, and so you are bound here until I release you. It is by your oath you are here, and you have never asked relief of it."

"But you made me give my word!" she growled.

"I did nothing of the kind. I gave you a choice," he hissed, "You would be hard pressed indeed to meet such generosity from any other drake. Most would have slain you as you flew, and I easily could have had I chosen to," he paused letting that sink it, and his eyes softened somewhat. "Although, I must admit that I am glad that I didn't."

Any anger she had softened at that. There was a kind of sincerity in his words, a kindness he rarely used. For as prideful and awful as Sorin could be at times, there were moments like this where he could be so different. Normal, almost. As though it were a glimpse of what he could have been had he been an eastern dragon instead of a western one.

"Sorin, do you li—" she began, but stopped herself before she could voice it. The question wasn't well thought out anyway, nor was it something that she felt it would be good to know.

"What?" he asked, blinking once, curiosity on his face.

She shook here head. "Nothing," she said quickly, looking away. Yes, that was a question better asked unasked. For if he answered it like she though he might—how she both feared and wanted to to—it would complicate everything so much more.

He gave a snort of smoke and rose to all fours, stretching his wings as he did so. "Then if you have no more discussion, I will go to sleep," he told her, "Feel free to stay out here with your stars and distant worlds."

She did just that, looking up at the night sky for hours, thinking of those far-off lights and different worlds. Then her thoughts turned to her own world, of her home far away and her new one here.

It was early summer when everything changed.

The day had started like many others with little to nothing out of the ordinary. That is, Sisu woke up on her golden bed with nothing pressing to do. She'd been out hunting the day before, so she had no pressing reason to leave, and while a flight or a swim sounded nice, so did staying in. It was only when she leaned over to put her side against Sorin and feel the warmth of his scales only to discover him gone did she decide to get up herself.

Sorin's absence wasn't unusual. While they couldn't exactly be called frequent, he took several trips outside every week to hunt and patrol his territory. To what extent he did each, Sisu couldn't be sure since she seldom accompanied him, and in truth most of the time she only knew that he did because his leaving or entering roused her from her slumber.

Putting her claws forward and arching her back, Sisu stretched herself out. Picking up a few coins, she heard the satisfying sound of them clinking against each other as she dropped them one by one as she made her way to the cave entrance. Looking out, she saw that it looked like a rather nice day, bright and sunny but not too warm, and so she made her way outside.

She only spent a moment or two in the clearing before taking off, making her way to the closest lake. It was a pleasant day for a swim, she decided, and even despite her meal the day before a turtle sounded appetizing. She could spend an hour or so there, she decided, and then return if she so desired. It wasn't like there was any reason she actually had to be out.

The trip to the lake was familiar and short, and soon she was in her true element once more. This time in the water was solely for her own pleasure, and so she did few tricks or theatrics since there where none to show off to save the fowl on the other end of the lake and what beasts that were brave enough to approach the shore. Soon she found herself doing naught but lazily swimming for swimming's sake, making her way around the lake bottom she'd already explored and hardly paid a glance at.

It was enjoyable, if not a bit lonely, and Sisu decided she'd probably be on the shorter end in terms of time swimming. And so, only about an hour passed before she decided to do a little bit of underwater hunting and leave.

She found her turtle easy enough, a medium-sized one big enough for a few bites. She made her way to the surface, flipping herself over and floating on her back as she peeled the meat from the shell and tossed thin strips of it into her mouth. Smaller fish, heedless of their own safety, followed in her wake, eating up the scraps that fell back into the water. They fled in an instant as she swished her tail, then retuned just as quickly, eager for a meal of their own.

Finishing up her snack, she tossed the shell aside and watched the fish swarm over it, disappearing farther below the surface as they followed the sinking buffet. She gave an amused hum and flipped herself back over, swimming atop the surface towards the shore. Reaching it, she shook herself dry as she climbed onto solid, sun-warmed ground. She found a sunny spot on a bank and stretched herself out, bathing in the rays of warmth like she so often saw Sorin do. But, as usual, she just didn't get the same enjoyment from it as he did. She only lasted a few minutes before she swished her tail, called on her power to expel the remaining water from her fur, and climbed back into the sky.

The return trip to the den was a bit longer than her trip from it, but not by much. She could tell by the scents in the air that she'd returned before Sorin had, meaning she'd be going back to sleep alone. Not that she minded too terribly much, or that it was unusual. She just wondered where he'd gone, and when she should expect him back. She wasn't worried about him, either; she knew full well he could take care of himself.

Landing in the clearing, everything seemed to be how she left it. There was no smell of prey that had passed by, nor any indication anything had passed through near the den. The trees shook gently, peacefully in a small breeze as she made her way to the entrance.

Then she stopped.

For some reason, something didn't feel quite right. Which was odd, because everything had felt all right just a moment ago. She stopped and listened.

She heard nothing.

…Which at first seemed normal enough until she realized that there was sound that she was used to hearing. There was almost always the singing of birds in the trees, even this close to a dragon's den. There was almost always a buzz of insects that flew around without a care towards the masters of this place, but not now. Something had disturbed them. Something felt out of place.

She turned and took a few steps back out into the clearing, taking a long, deep breath, searching with her nose. At first she couldn't identify anything that wasn't normally there. It was a forest, after all, and there were many native scents. Then, as she concentrated harder, she got something.

It was a little distorted at first, hidden and buried under everything else, and it took her a moment to place, familiar as it was. And, once she identified, she shook her head. Another human had come here, meaning another human was likely about to meet their end.

She lowered her nose, trying to figure out where the scent had come from. She hadn't noticed when she'd gone hunting the day before, which made her think that it had to be new despite being faint. It was close, too; she had the feeling of being watched as she took a few steps towards where it smelled like it coming from. Her eyes scanned the treeline, looking for anything amiss.

Like before, there didn't seem to be anything there. In a way, Sisu was relieved at that; so far all of the challengers that had come trying to kill Sorin and steal gold had boldly announced themselves. That likely meant that whoever the human was, they weren't here for that. She was starting to suspect that her nose was misleading her and that whatever scent she smelled was actually faint due to time or distance. It was getting difficult to prove otherwise.

…Unless, she thought, catching sight of something she hadn't noticed before, Is that a glint? Just poking out of a bush at the far edge of the clearing, there looked to be some sort of object shining in the light. She cocked her head and took a step closer, narrowing her eyes. She couldn't be sure, but it looked rather small. Pointy, too. Almost like the point of a miniature spear.

Or an arrow! she thought in alarm; she didn't exactly have a good experience with those. And indeed, this did look like one. And as she looked harder, she first noticed that the scent did indeed lead right towards it, and an instant later she saw what looked vaguely like a human, concealed inside the bush to the point where she almost had to convince herself it was actually there.

Then the bush shook, just the littlest bit, and Sisu knew she was right. Both about the human…and about the arrow.

She leapt to the side, throwing herself to the ground and saving herself by an instant as she heard the twang of bowstring followed by the screeching hiss of the projectile flying by where her neck had just been. Pulling herself up, she leapt forward with a roar and saw the human break cover, rushing her with a sword drawn. He wasn't wearing the heavy armor like the others that had come—not that it did them much good against Sorin—but instead was covered in a vest of smeared mud and leaves and twigs. He hadn't come here honorably; he'd been hunting her from the shadows, seeking to strike without her even knowing.

The thought infuriated her. This was the second time now the men of these lands had tried to kill her, and this one hadn't even had the decency to fight fair! Her blood boiled at the…the…absolute arrogance of this human, seeking to come in and take what wasn't his by stealth and secrecy. Sorin wouldn't allow something like this to go unanswered, and neither would Sisu.

He closed the gap between them and swung his sword, but she'd seen it coming. She leapt over him, flying over his head, and landed behind him. With a powerful sweep of her tail she took the man's feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. She jumped forward to pin him, but he evaded her, rolling to his side and slashing his sword up as he did so, coming perilously close to slicing her.

She took a step back as he regained his feet and she gave a long hiss of warning. This coward had overstepped his bounds. He had come to kill and to steal, and Sisu would show him what happened to people who tried to steal from a dragon.

Darting her head forwards, she took bites at him, from the left first, then the right, staying just out of reach of his sword as she advanced on him. Even as she did so, a quiet voice in her mind was asking why. Not long ago she would have risked her life to try to save a human like this one from Sorin wrath. Now, she was in the place of Sorin himself.

The man thrust his sword forward in an offensive strike, and Sisu reared back and over him. She brought her claws down on his outstretched arms and raked her talons across them. He gave a cry of pain as she heard the sword clatter to the ground. The human was now defenseless and at her mercy.

When he turned to run, all Sisu saw was fleeing prey.

She leapt on him, claws striking his back as she pinned him down under her weight. Before she could stop herself her jaws were locked onto the back of his head, teeth digging into him. He yelled out one last thing in his native language, then she twisted her head and silenced him forever.

For a moment, there was a flash of intense satisfaction. She had dealt with this intruder herself, and he would not bother anyone again! She felt powerful, strong, an equal to the dragon she shared a home with.

Then she looked down the body, and her heart fell. She couldn't believe what she'd done.

Sisu had just killed a human.

She shook her head, fear and disbelief filling her. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no," she muttered repeatedly, stepping off the body before her and lowering her snout, nudging it aggressively, "Get up, get up. Please, get up!" If she could have willed the man to stand and walk again she would have, but she couldn't.

The body remained motionless. She flipped it over and two cold, blue eyes stared lifelessly at her. Blood stained her claws as she touched the arms where she'd torn into him before.

"No," she breathed again, closing her eyes and looking away, "Why?"

Why was indeed the question. Why did I kill him? she demanded of herself, Why couldn't I stop myself? What even came over me? Never before had she had any desire to kill any human, not even the challengers, and here one laid dead before her.

And for what? Her mind went on as tears began to escape her eyes, For gold? For Sorin's gold? For this pitiful prison I've been trapped in? What's happened to me?

She felt dirty. Unclean. Like her fur was covered in oil that couldn't be rubbed off. And she felt sick, disgusted with herself. She'd done something that she was sure she'd never do, something that was so wrong and against her nature that she felt like pulling out her mane in shame. Without any care in the world, she'd taken a human life.

And she'd enjoyed it.

She raised her claws to her head and buried it in them, heedless of the blood she got on her coat. This wasn't who she was. This wasn't what she was supposed to be. She was supposed to be a friend to humans—a helper and companion—not a butcher. But she'd become the latter, first by standing by idly as Sorin slew poor men who came to fight him, then by slaying them herself. This man's blood was on her claws, it would always be on her claws.

There was no justification for it. No "Sorin would have killed him anyway" or "he brought it on himself". She'd known full well what she was doing, engaging him like that, and she'd let whatever part of her that was akin to Sorin take hold. She could have flown away. She could have filled the clearing with fog and tried to scare him off. Instead, she'd put her jaws around his head and snapped his neck like a deer or oxen.

She took a few steps back from the body, tears now streaming from her face in continued disbelief and shock. What should I do? Her frantic mind thought, What can I do? In that moment she wanted to get away, like running would somehow clear her of the guilt. She needed to be away from those lifeless eyes staring accusingly at her, a silent shout of anger for the end she'd brought.

Rational though nearly gone from her mind, she turned and fled to the one place of safety she had: Sorin's den. Ignoring the blood she tracked onto the gold with every step, she dived into the bed of coins and tried in vain to bury herself in it.

But the cold comfort it normally brought was gone. For the first time she felt the imprint of every coin on her skin, the sharp prick of every cut and uncut gem digging into her hide. The clinking of coins was a sound of laughter, mockery, even as she tried to tried to cover herself in it, doing anything to make the guilt go away. Yet the more she tried the heavier it all became, like the weight of the gold was trying to match the heaviness in her heart, or more likely, trying to drag her down into the abyss where she belonged.

Why?

The question remained, reverberating through her mind for what felt like hours and days. Was this really the draconic nature Sorin talked to her about? Was she truly a creature of death and destruction like him? If she was, then then why did it feel so horrible? If she wasn't, then why did she do what she'd done?

Her mind went on, screaming Why? Why? Why? over and over again. Why had Sorin kept her here, bringing this on her? Why had she allowed herself to stay, inviting it? Why hadn't she done literally anything else besides killing the poor man.

She grew tired, her mind and body worn out from everything. The pain faded to become a constant numbness, consuming her every thought and move. Exhaustion took hold, and she even closed her eyes and mind to almost fall asleep despite feeling as though her bed were made of nails.

Naturally, right before she did was when Sorin arrived.

She heard his wingbeats and his landing outside, a kind of whoosh and thump that she'd grown more familiar with. She'd used to get a little excited when she heard it, knowing that there was a chance for food, conversation, or just something interesting as he returned from hunting or patrolling, but this time she dreaded it. He remained outside for a minute or two longer than he normally did, then she heard claw steps as he made his way down into the cave.

Although it physically hurt to do, she raised her head and looked at him as he approached. There was something unusual, this time. Sorin had a wide grin across his muzzle, one that Sisu knew he only broke out when in an exceptional mood. While she suffered, something pleased him.

…And she should have known what it would be before he even opened his mouth.

"Congratulation, Sisu," he told her, a note of genuine excitement in his voice as his tail lashed behind him with what could possibly have been giddiness, "I see you've slain your first challenger. Not a true knight, of course, but still a feat for you."

She had an urge to launch to her feet and yell at him, maybe even attack him for what he'd caused her to do. But she remained still. She had no energy for it. She opened her mouth for some sort of retort, but only a shaky, trembling breath came out.

"Of course, you did it a bit messily," he continued, not seeing or just ignoring her mental anguish, "Shredding his arms like that and then tracking blood back in, but I think that may be attributed to it being your first kill of this kind."

"I suppose I was right all along, or at least for a good time," he went on, seating himself down in front of her, "You are a dragon. Different, clearly, but similar blood is shared between us. You've proved it today."

At that, she felt her sadness and guilt turn to anger. She felt her claws clutching into fists, talons digging into her palms. "No," she hissed with all the malice she could muster.

Sorin looked to be taken aback, surprise on his face for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "What?" he growled out, "I'm not sure I follow…"

"I'm nothing like you," Sisu laid her head down and watched his reaction, hoping that would be the end of it.

He tilted his head, a look of confusion on his face. "Sisu..."

"Please," she whimpered, all the anger from just a moment ago melting back into sorrow and tiredness, "Just…just leave me alone."

Sorin gave a snort, smoke puffing out his nostrils. His eyes remained narrowed, but he said nothing as he rose back to his feet and made his way across the cave to his gold. She could feel the fire of his eyes on her as he observed her silently. He laid himself out on his spot in the cave, and it was only then that she realized she'd returned to her previous spot where she'd spent the first months here.

She wished she could say that she had no desire to join him where he was, to sleep at his side like normal, but a part of her did. Even so, she remained where she was, rooting herself down to her spot. She wished that he'd just go away; she wanted to be alone with her misery.

Sorin had mercifully decided not to push the subject now, but she knew that sooner or later it would come back up. With Sorin it was a certainty. And she dreaded it. She dreaded it with every fiber of her being.

Sisu didn't eat. She barely slept. She hardly even moved at all.

What she'd done continued to weigh on her, even two weeks later. Though cleaned, her talons still felt wet with blood. She could almost feel her fur matted with the stuff where it had spilled on her. And every time she closed her eyes she saw the man's lifeless ones, cold and empty, staring at her accusingly.

It was almost too much to bear.

The one relieving thing, however was that despite what she'd expected, Sorin didn't talk about what had happened. He continued to go about his own routine of sleep, hunting, and patrolling as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He even brought her kills to eat, deer and oxen and even fish once, all of which she refused. She hadn't had a touch of hunger since that day.

Sorin hadn't told her what he'd done with the man, and she hadn't asked. Perhaps he'd eaten the corpse, perhaps he'd taken it elsewhere to be disposed of by the scavengers; she didn't care to know. She couldn't bear to find out. She had enough guilt over ending his life like that without the added thoughts of possibly desecrating his remains.

While not addressing the issue directly, Sorin still seemed to have his own way of going about it, which mainly appeared to be trying to snap her out of the state she was in. He made a point to invite her on his hunts and patrols, encouraging her to get up and out. He suggested she go flying or swimming, and informed her when the weather was perfect for it. It was actually almost sweet, and she wished that she could appreciate it if wasn't for the red dragon being the one that caused all this in the first place. She would not be moved; she remained on the golden bed despite its lack of comfort.

But Sorin's patience, it seemed, would only go so far. She could tell he was getting frustrated with her, and she knew a breaking point would come soon. She'd not been this distant ever before, not even when she'd first arrived in his den. She hardly talked to him, and when she did she kept it as short as possible. Talking to Sorin only reminded her of what she'd become: a dragon like him. A killer.

"Eat," he told her one day, dropping a freshly killed deer carcass in front of her, "I will not have you waste away."

She shook her head, barely lifting it to look. "I'm not hungry."

"You've been awake for nearly two weeks without food," he growled, "You need to eat something."

"I'm fine," she hissed, "Leave me be."

He pushed it closer to her. "Seeking to punish your body will not aide your mind," he told her, "Don't allow your spirit to be broken over trifles."

"Trifles?" she spat, "You call what I did a trifle?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he stood up and left the meal where it was. "Eat," he commanded her one more time before going to his normal spot on the gold and lying down to sleep.

She didn't touch the carcass, nor the one he brought her the next day. His frustration was growing, and she had no idea what form it would take when it ran out. Would he kill her? Maybe. She probably deserved it for what she'd done. Or maybe he'd force her to do what he wanted, using threats of further death and ruin like he had before.

She saw him looking at her and shaking his head slightly at times, and she could almost hear his thoughts. It was only a human, they said, why do you care about such a creature's life? She wished she had the strength to answer those thoughts. She'd tried to, in the past. Yet all of her defense of them, all of her effort trying to convince Sorin that they weren't a race that needed to be erased, it all ended with her slaying one with her own claws.

"You needn't feel guilty," Sorin told her a few days later, speaking from where he lay in the cave without any prompting, finally being more direct about the issue, "He would have felt no guilt had the result ended in his favor."

She tried to bury herself farther into the gold but couldn't escape his words. "I know," she told him after a long pause of silence, "But I didn't have to match his intent."

"He sought to kill you and you killed him," Sorin said, "It is the nature of things—the natural order. You would not fault a lioness for defending her kit, nor a wolf that bites when cornered. You did what was right."

"Then why does it feel so horrible?" she cried, biting back tears.

"Because you have belief in them," he answered, "You have conviction. Compassion. You wish to see the good even where little to none exists."

"And I suppose you see that as weakness."

"In most, yes," Sorin responded, "But with you, it is a strength. I see that now."

"Well, it isn't anymore," she lamented, "Not after what I did."

"Self-pity is not becoming of a dragon," he said sternly, "Control yourself. You cannot change the past."

She looked up from the gold and met his eyes. "I'm not afraid of the past," she whimpered out, "I'm afraid of the present, and of the future. I'm afraid that I'd do it again."

"You did what was right," he repeated, "It should not bother you so."

"Yet it does," she yelled, raising her head and upper body up off the ground, "Can't you see? That's the difference between us! You kill and destroy and turn what you want to ash and take pleasure from it every moment. I lament senseless death. I'm supposed to do my best to avoid it, not bring it."

"There are times when its warranted, though," he told her, "Not always can bloodshed be avoided."

"But I always try," she looked away, "I always tried," her head fell, "For him, I never even tried…"

Sorin remained quiet for a minute or so. Although she wasn't looking, she could hear it when he finally shook his head and laid it back down on his gold. "Perhaps you weren't made for these lands, Sisu," she heard him say as he slunk into his bed of wealth, "We will speak more of this later."

She heard him snoring not long afterwards, and Sisu was glad that was the end of it for now. What she didn't know was that the next time they spoke would be the last conversation she'd have as his prisoner.

Despite her trouble doing so, both due to her guilty conscience and the discomfort of the gold, Sisu found herself sleeping for long stretches of time, as her body had nothing else to do since she refused to move it. She had no idea how many days had passed by since she'd done the horrible deed, as the days themselves seemed to blur into mixes of darkness and light far more often than the sun set and moon rose.

By now, her actions were beginning to have a more physical toll on her. She felt ravenous with hunger, although she still refused to eat Sorin's kill or go hunting herself. She felt restless but remained still. She longed for water but made no effort to swim, only taking the smallest gulps she needed to sustain herself from the pool in the cave. She remembered what Sorin had mentioned about her "wasting away" or something of the like, and she could just about feel herself doing it.

…But she stayed as she was. There was no motivation for her to go anywhere or to do anything. If it was her lot to waste away in this foreign land, then she would do it without complaint. She was a traitor to herself, and she deserved nothing more.

So she slept, and she brooded, then she slept. While awake, she lamented her deed. When sleep took her, she suffered nightmares. She'd awaken herself and Sorin with terrible cries and shouts as she witnessed her actions in her dreams and couldn't prevent herself from slaying the man again. Her eyes would open to find shaking claws, a shivering body, an awful, pitiful soul of a dragon.

Sorin was not amused through all of this. Yet he kept himself quiet until four days after they'd last spoken, when she'd yelled at him and laid things bare. It was early in the morning when he woke her up from a nightmare, and her trembling claws gripped his.

He looked down on her, eyes unreadable as she relaxed as the memory faded, leaving only the numbness she was now used to. She released his claws and he took a step back, his eyes never leaving her. She looked away, expecting him to leave and go sleep where he normally did—it wasn't the first time he'd woken her from a fitful sleep—but he remained where he was. The sound of his tail tapping lightly on the gold drew her attention back to him, and she knew the time of reckoning had likely come.

He closed his eyes for a moment and let the smoke escape his nostrils in a long stream, as though exhaling a long sigh of smoke. He reopened them and fixed his fiery amber eyes upon her.

"This life is not for you, is it, Sisu of the East?" he finally said, "You cannot yet be what you need to be in order to thrive here." He lashed his tail. "There are things I cannot make you accept, though I have tried. Your spirit has been set, and only you may dictate its course from here."

He gave a low growl, a rumble rolling through his chest and reverberating off the cave walls. "A dragon cares for their treasure. We ensure its safety, its care, its…wellbeing, you might say. All these things I have tried to do for you so long as you remained here," he gave another long puff of smoke, "But I can do so no longer."

Sorin picked up a few coins and held them up, observing their small glitter in the faint light of the cave. "Beautiful, aren't they?" he asked, "Each one a trophy, a memory. A dream that will not suffer being stolen. It will not flee nor run away, and if a fool tries to take it by force its value grows. Gold is a perfect companion, cold and distant, yet calming and fulfilling. Loving, almost, if a metal could love. And to a dragon, gold may do no harm."

He dropped the coins, one after another, listening to the clink, clink, clink, as they disappeared into the ocean of identical pieces below them.

"Gold requires little care to keep," he went on, running the tip of his tail along the bed of treasure, stirring the coins just fallen into the heap, "It has no breath, no real life. I need not feed it, nor entertain it, and seldom does it need cleaned but for the sake of the blood I let fall upon it. For many years, it was my only companion, until you. A dragon. One so foreign in thought and appearance it seemed difficult to believe. Yet I brought you here, and you shined as bright as any jewel in my hoard. You took the strengths of gold and mixed them with what it lacked. You spoke and flew and swam, and you grew in my eyes as no jewel had before."

"But your light has gone out. Your shine, so bright before, has dimmed. And unlike gold, I cannot groom or polish out such a blemish. I cannot use strength and might to bend or threaten you, nor do I wish to. But time may cleanse what I cannot. And perhaps distance, as well. This land has choked your flame, Sisu, and I fear that so long as you remain in it, your fire will never return."

He pulled himself up to his full height, looking down at her as she met his gaze. His wings spread out to his sides, filling out the cave as much as they could stretch. His tail whipped across the surface of the gold in a semicircle, spraying coins and gems everywhere.

"There is no more I can do with you, Sisu of the East," his voice boomed, echoing loudly in the cave, "So I release you from me."

Her eyes widened, and for almost the first time since the blood had wet her claws her thoughts were distracted from her deed. "Y—you what?" she asked in disbelief.

"I will not have you waste away into nothing," he said, putting his wings back against his sides and relaxing his posture, almost as though a weight had been taken off of him with his words, "So long as you are here, I see no way forward for you."

He sighed—a rare sight—and a look of what appeared to be sadness came over him. "Go back to your lands, Sisu," he told her, "Leave these pains and troubles on those who can bear them. Go back to your homeland of peace and purity, where dragons are as sheep and humans are as goats. Heal yourself, Sisu, both your body and your mind."

She shakily stood, not quite believing this was happening. After nearly a year, she had a chance to go home! She could fly out of here and keep going, never needing to turn back to return before nightfall, nor worry about what might befall her if she didn't.

Sisu was free! The thought gave her new energy, almost erasing a multitude of aches in her body and mind. Her heart leapt; her body suddenly sang in response. She could go finally go home!

Already she could just about taste the fresh air of Kumnadra. She could hear the playful laughter of children and the voices of her friends and siblings. Her tongue could taste the food. Her fur could feel the water. She would finally return to all she'd left behind.

The excitement within her grew and grew, overshadowing the guilt and fear and anger of moments before. She knew it would return sooner or later, but at the same time she knew that this must be exactly why her companion had done what he did. If just the thought of leaving this behind affected her so, then how much more would actually being home do?

She looked at him to give him thanks, but saw that her enthusiasm was not quite shared. "Sorin…" she breathed as she watched the fire in his eyes dim, "I…thank you."

She didn't know what else to say. Was there much else to say? He was the one who'd brought her here to begin with; why should she show him gratitude for releasing her? Yet, she felt like there was something more there. For nearly a year she'd lived with this dragon, sharing stories, food, the den—she even slept under his wing. He was not an enemy. She did not hate him. She didn't hate him at all.

His only response was a puff of smoke as his eyes searched hers, looking for something as he often did. She wondered if he ever found what he searched for in hers. Perhaps he never did, or perhaps he always saw what he expected to.

She took a step towards the cave entrance. "Is this…is this it, then?" she asked, "Do I just…go?"

He gave a low, deep rumble in his chest. "If that is what you wish," he said.

Of course it is! Her mind screamed. Isn't it? You've wanted this ever since you came here!

Why, then, in that moment, did she suddenly hesitate? Why did it feel like there was suddenly a force anchoring her claws to the golden floor? Her breath caught as she looked at Sorin, and she realized that some part of her didn't want to leave.

This land, for all the good and ill it had brought her, had showed her things about herself she'd never known. With Sorin as her guide, she'd seen a different world. She'd lived in a different world. And part of her had resonated with it. It had imprinted itself upon her and her upon it. There was something about being here, about living as Sorin did, that felt right in ways she'd never anticipated.

Then there was Sorin himself. The dragon responsible for it all. The dragon who'd shown her all of it, that had taught her how to live as he did. To master the land and sky as well as the water. Although a creature of destruction, he's proved to be so much more, being gentle and caring for her at times, even in these past weeks when she'd shunned and hated him. And now, she knew in a moment of clarity, she cared for him as well.

Part of her, she realized, genuinely didn't want to leave. It was bound here, with him. Yet the pull of home was greater still. She longed for it like he longed for treasures of gold. And, as he'd said, she needed to return home. For as much as this land captivated her, it still ran red with the blemish her claws had caused. She couldn't stay here, not now. Perhaps someday she could return once she'd healed, but for now it needed to be forgotten.

She looked down at the gold between her claws, so much of the elation at freedom suddenly gone. "It is," she told him, "I want to go home."

"Then go," he said softly, dismissively, devoid of the fierceness of thunder he so normally held.

It took so much of her will, but she lifted a claw and took a step towards the exit. Then another. And another. Soon she was standing on stone instead of gold, the light from outside shining on her through the entrance.

"Sisu," Sorin voice caused her to pause, and she looked back. He lashed his tail across the bed of gold, scattering thousands of coins everywhere, but uncovering a single item that had been buried among them. He picked it up, a great ruby that shone with a faint light all its own. The Gem of Conrad, which she'd come all this way for in the first place.

She looked at it as he held it in his claws, and for a moment he did the same. Then he approached her with it, making his way to the entrance himself. He held it out to her, and she hesitantly reached a claw out and received it, not for the first time that day disbelieving his action.

"Take this with you," he said as she gazed into the light it gave, "Defeat the evils that plague your land. Use it as a tool, or as a piece in your own hoard. I care not."

She looked up from it and in his eyes she saw a sadness there. "Sorin, I can't…"

"It is a gift," he told her with an air of finality, "It is yours now. Do with it what you will, but so long as you hold it, remember me. And remember Sisu, you are a dragon."

She swallowed and nodded, then turned to go. She made it one step before she paused, a memory dancing in her head. His words from months before rang in her mind, words said when she'd first laid eyes upon the jewel.

Dragons do not give gifts, save for to mates or those they're courting.

She looked back at him, realization dawning.

Sorin saw her as a mate, or a prospective mate. His words, his affection, what he was doing even now by letting her go were all being done out of his care for her. Had she been from these lands she probably would have realized sooner, but only now did she see it.

Dragons loved treasure, and he'd named her the greatest one he had.

The fire in his eyes burned once more as she met them, a great fire spreading the world ablaze. She swallowed at his gaze, realizing for the first time the look in them. She wondered how much of it was in her own.

She felt the same. It was clear in that moment, nigh undeniable. All the time spent with him, talking, flying, hunting, or even just resting beside him had affected her heart. The way she let him groom her, the way she went to him for warmth, the way they would share kills…so many things pointed to that one truth. Despite what Sorin was, she loved him.

…But even if she did, she couldn't stay. Not now, especially not with the gem now hers. It was what she'd come all this way for, and she couldn't just abandon that mission now. Her home needed her, and she needed it. Even with how much her body suddenly screamed to stay, she had to go. It wasn't even a choice anymore, and she knew deep down that Sorin knew that as well.

Her eyes landed back down to the red gem in her claws, and she trembled as she looked at it. "Thank you," she told Sorin, meaning it for so much more than the gem.

She turned to go, then stopped herself one last time. Sorin had given her a gift; it was only natural that she return the gesture.

Setting the Gem of Conrad down, she sat back on her haunches, freeing up her foreclaws. Gently, she grabbed a stand of fur on her mane, beautiful and blue, and with her other claw she used a talon and sliced if off. It would still be a part of her, though, a powerful memory. A different sort of gold.

She moved back towards Sorin and held it out to him. "So long as you hold it," she repeated his words, "Remember me."

He took the lock of fur wordlessly, but his eyes stayed looking into hers the whole time. They remained on her even as she finally turned and picked up the gem and made her way outside. She caught one last glance of them as she looked back into the den, two roaring fires in the darkness, then summoning her water disks she took off into the sky.

She wasn't sure why she decided to fly south for a bit before turning back east. Perhaps she wanted one final view of the land she'd lived in for so long. Maybe she just wanted one last memory.

Her course took her over Emmengem, the ruined city that Sorin brought low. The streets were as barren as when she'd first seen it, the once mighty towers continuing to crumble. Sorin took such pride in his work, such satisfaction as the destruction he caused.

And he has a right to, Sisu thought, For only a creature of strength and fire could do this. Only a dragon.

She cast one final look northward, to a distant clearing next to a cave that she knew so well. She could still feel the eyes of him upon her, and she could still feel the warmth of his scales on her fur.

Shaking her head, Sisu turned and flew east, back towards home, where she belonged.

Fin.

A/N: And there it is. It's not the longest one, I know, but I feel like I told the story I wanted to tell. Things don't need to be long to be good. That said, I do have an idea for a possible sequel or two, if you all are interested. If you are, let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed this story, and to all who've left a review. I always enjoy hearing from you guys.

Depending on the response to this story, we'll see if I continue much more in this fandom. If not, I hope to see you all at my other works. 'Till then...

May your wings carry you to greater heights.

-Firehawk1100