Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. All plot and OCs belong to Volleys-chan and I. So, there will be a proper explanation down at the bottom for the Old English we pulled on you throughout the chapter, and we put a key with all the words we used near the bottom that will help you understand the dialogue a bit better.
The Dragon Chronicles
Chapter 10 - Accede
"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
"Little One." The words brushed over her like a gentle caress, causing the small child to squirm in her sleep. "Art thou awake from thy slumber, Little One?"
Rei scrunched her face as she forced herself to focus on the arcane words. It took her a moment to realize that could understand this strange dialect and that the words seemed to echo within her head. Giving out a whine as she forced her eyes open, Rei felt like she was nearly blinded by the light of the sun and scrunched her eyes up.
"Ah, thou art conscious once more. Rise, Little One, the sky tis sunlit yet, though perhaps not much longer. Dusk is coming upon us soon. Do not dawdle, this one has much to speak about with thee and many miles to take thee yet." The words forced Rei to sit up and rub the sleep from her eyes before slowly opening her eyes, wary of the bright sun still in the sky.
For a moment, she thought she had dreamed up the oddest scenario where she had met dragons of legend, a gold one, a red one, and a teal one; had consumed strange fruits, a very wonderfully sweet one and one that tasted of something foul; and had passed out choking on the taste while it ravaged her internally with thermal war of hot and cold. However, realization came crashing in when she realized where she was. She was on the island, gold scales scattered across the beach with the waves skimming over them in a delicate wash and two great dragons still lying before her, peering down at her.
Rei quickly looked around for the owner of the voice that had spoken to her only moments ago, but could not find a single person other than the dragons before her.
"Be at ease, Little One. Thou art looking for the wrong vessel for this one's spirit. Turn thy search upwards to the colors that paint thy own eyes." Rei could hear the words echo in her head. It was then that she realized there was no voice to be heard with her ears, but still a woman's voice was projected into her mind.
"What?" The words spoken within her mind were odd to the young child, especially since her head still felt muddled from waking. But soon she caught onto the meaning of the words and looked up to search for the 'color that paint her own eyes' and instantly her eyes met the fiery blaze of the crimson dragon's gaze.
Rei's eyes widened at her conclusion as she managed to stutter out "Y-y-you! You're the- you're the one speaking to- to me?!"
"Verily." The voice was once more projected into her mind, but the dragon let out a purr rumble from her throat as she did so.
"But you're a dragon!" Rei couldn't help but shout, surprised by her own volume.
"And thou art a child born of human form. Tis not our physical vessels that matter in this affair, tis only our spirits, Little One, and thy ability to accept this truth."
"Okay..." Rei took a deep breath. She was pretty sure she understood what the dragon had meant, but her way of speaking was different than Rei's. It was much more archaic than how humans spoke, but oddly enough, she could understand was being said. However, she couldn't help but blurt out the question forefront in her mind, "but how are you speaking to me like this?" She paused for a second as she concentrated on explaining her confusion. "I know your voice and the words you speak, but I hear no sound spoken aloud!"
"Tis because this one speaks no words for ears to hear. This dragon can project her thoughts into thy mind and form words and sound within." The crimson dragon explained a rumble sounding in her throat as she mentally spoke to the child. "Tis called telepathy among thy kin."
Telepathy. Rei had heard a few stories about people able to speak into the minds of others. But those had just been stories. She never imagined that dragons of all things would actually possess the ability!
"So can you read my thoughts too?"
"If this dragon wanted, she could. Thy hath no mental barriers to protect thyself from such intrusion." The crimson dragon nodded. "But this one will respect thy privacy and not invade thy thoughts in such a manner."
"Oh, um. Thank you..." Rei trailed off, unsure of what to say next after such a comment. Her mind was a flurry of questions and now that question had been answered, the next question arose. "You said all your err... kin can speak using telepathy... If that is so, why didn't Oji-san speak to me when we were traveling together?"
"Thy speak of the young Denkou dragon that brought thee here?"
Lightning dragon? "Um... Yes?" Rei wasn't sure what the crimson dragon meant by calling the golden dragon a denkou dragon, but in a way it made sense to why its yellow flame had such an odd charge to it. "Oji-san brought me here. Never once did he speak to me like you are."
"This dragon doth not know the answer to thy question. Perhaps upon principle, thy dragon companion spoke not to thee by use of telepathy, or perhaps thy 'Oji-san' thought it best to stay silent and not foster a stronger bond between thee. Tis a question better suited for the absent party."
"Upon principle?" Rei couldn't help but wonder about that part aloud.
"Most of this one's kin doth not speak so eagerly into the minds born of human form. We hold old traditions that cause us from doing so, not because of pride or prejudice towards those human born."
"Oh." Again, not much to say to that besides ask another question. "Well, can you tell me why Oji-san brought me here to this island?"
"From the brief conversation this dragon had with thy companion, the other was concerned with thy welfare. Thy exotic pigment within thy eyes hath gifted thee with hardships, hath it not?"
Rei didn't verbally acknowledge the dragon, only nodding somberly as some of the events from her time on the ocean filled her mind. Her whole journey away from her family was due to her unusual eye coloring.
"This is why thou hath been brought to our island. Nary a soul upon this island tis contained within a human vessel besides thee, all folk here art of dragon decent. We doth not hold the same values as humans and thus, with our eye coloring of equal uniqueness, will not covet thee of thy beautiful qualities. Tis this reason that thy companion left thee in our care, Little One."
"But what about my home? My family? If I stay here, I will never see the world or accomplish any of my goals!" Rei was panicking. Though she was honored that her dragon companion had thought of her so much as to want her to grow up protected, Rei knew she would not be content to spend her entire life on one single island, even if there were such wonderful folk as dragon dwelling there.
The crimson dragon seemed to be able to sense her fears and once more sent a wave of ease and tranquility to wash over the child. "Be at peace, Little One. Thy art still young and not prepared for such hardships. Take sanctuary here till thee art not but a child and art more capable of defending thyself from those who would mistreat thee. When thou art capable, thou art more than free to leave this sanctuary."
"But I'm not even a dragon! Why treat me so well? You even said it yourself, your kind don't speak into the minds of humans. Oji-san didn't even speak to me, so why are you?" Rei couldn't understand why the dragon offered her such kindness. She wasn't a dragon; she was a human. Her eyes were her only unique feature compared to these marvelous, sentient beasts, which had eyes just as, if not more, beautiful than hers! She was nothing compared to them, so why?
The voice nor its owner never once lost the calm composure as the dragon once more projected its thoughts inside the child's mind. "We are not so cruel as to watch a child suffer, regardless of thy spirit's vessel. Thy were put in our care. Thy companion's scales were shed as compensation for thy care. More so, this dragon decided to test thee's abilities, instincts, and fortune through a simple trial. Thou hath passed this one's test, and by doing so, thou art akin to us now."
"So because I passed your test, you've decided that I am worthy to be considered like you?" Rei didn't think that made sense. It was almost frustrating in a way since, if she had failed this test, one she had not been aware of at the time, the dragon might not have spoken to her at all. All she had done was chose two fruits to sate her hunger. Sure, she could have picked the fruits she was familiar with, but she had been drawn to those other two like a moth to a flame.
"Nay, thou doth not understand. This one hath given thee a trial that all thy kin request if they happen upon this isle. Not all that take this trial pass. Yet thee hath done more than pass this dragon's trial."
"Done more than... pass your test? What does that even mean!" The poor child was trying so hard to understand, but it was difficult at times to understand such an archaic fashion of speaking.
"Thou could only partake of two fruits. Thou could have chosen ones thee were familiar with, not knowing that this one was testing thee. Instead, thou allowed thy instincts to direct thy choices and partook of not simply the one fruit we hath hoped for but of a second special fruit, one that would empower thee with abilities thy wouldst not hath had prior."
Powers she would not have had prior to eating it. The phrase rang inside Rei's mind and her lips formed the words of a story told to her not so long ago. "Those who eat the fruit create a contract with the devil inside. By eating it, he accepts the devil within his own body as a benign parasite. However, the user too is weak to the things the devil is weak to. Whoever eats a devil fruit loses their ability to swim and becomes weak and rendered useless when in water or exposed to sea stone. A heavy cost for a powerful ability. It is an equal exchange." Her eyes snapped up to look at the dragon in shock. "That fruit... the one that tasted horrible... it was a Devil Fruit wasn't it!"
"Twas. And thy first choice is a this one's kin's most protected treasure. Only few outside our folk ever learn of its existence and come in search of it and the gifts tis said it bestows to mortal men." The dragon confirmed with a lovely thrum emanated from her throat.
"But I can't swim now!" Rei's mind was rushing. Was that what caused that rage of opposite heats clash within her? Is that what caused her to black out, the devil fruit? Or perhaps this other fruit she had consumed had clashed badly with the devil fruit. Her attention was pulled from her internal musings back onto the crimson dragon as she once more spoke into her mind.
"Thou hath been blessed twice, Little One. Tis true, thy ability to swim was taken from thee, but thou hath gained many new abilities, including one to compensate that lost ability. Not merely from thy consumption of the Devil fruit but from also the consumption of our special produce, the Atae fruit. Come hither. Allow this one's associate to show thee what hath become of thee."
Rei looked at her puzzled. What had become of her? What had she meant by that? Looking at the teal dragon, the one that had been silent throughout, Rei decided to approach the other dragon like the crimson one had asked. Slowly, she made her way closer and closer. When the teal dragon had decided that she was close enough, a voice entered her mind. It was a strong but quite tone, reminding her much of Drake the way he spoke so kindly to her.
"This dragon can feel thy unease. Thou art frightened of such cryptic words yet thee will realize that at times, it is better to see rather than be told of such wondrous changes, Little Draco." He let out a gentle rumble from his throat as he projected such words into her mind.
As soon as he had said what he wanted, he moved his front claws and as he lifted them, Rei could feel the air around him drop in temperature as a concentrated amount swirled around his claws till it took shape. Rei watched in awe as a sheet of ice took form under his claws and looked much like a mirror with how smooth the surface was. Rei's eyes widened as she realized what he had intended. He was allowing her to see this change herself. Moving at a slightly faster pace, Rei soon found herself rushing to see the image of herself reflected back at her through the smooth ice mirror.
In truth, she had not seen herself since before being stolen away from Captain Mizushima's ship. She even didn't know what her hair looked like after Gin had cut it. Soon she was standing in front of it, eyes wide as she tried to take in what was reflected back to her, unsure why she hadn't even noticed these new traits prior to this.
Through the ice mirror, she could see what had become of her. Though her form was still that of a human, she had now extra features. Two small black horns protruding from her temples; her ears had become like the crimson dragon's before her; her nails had turned black and long, much like talons; her form was much more lithe and flexible than before; and not to mention the more obvious traits such as her new appendages. Behind her, she could see a crimson scaled tail with a familiar black mane at the end swishing wildly at her realization from under her cloak. Once Rei spotted that, she wasted no time trying to pry the cloak off, ending up having to slip her head under the collar because she couldn't undo the button with her new talons in the way. She shrugged off her backpack as well and turned her body to inspect the two crimson wings that were protruding out of her shirt from the holes they had made when sprouting.
Not only that, but her eyes! Rei met her own gaze with shock at how much more alive they had become! Before if she stared long enough, she felt as if they rippled and burned with a slumbering heat, but now... Now it looked as if that element that had been asleep within her had finally awakened. Her eyes were so much more intense! Much like how Gin's looked like they danced with lightning, hers looked like live pools magma, simmering and glowing within her!
"Wh-what?! What am I?!" Rei couldn't help but shout as she continued to stare at herself in shock.
"Thou art akin to us. The Atae fruit awakened within thee thy spirit's true form." The teal dragon spoke. "Thy once slumbering spirit tis that of a Kasai dragon trapped within human form."
"The Devil fruit twas a Zoan type and gave thee the abilities of an Aisu dragon. Thee art like both of us that thou see before thee. Kasai," the crimson dragon gestured at herself before gesturing to the male teal dragon, "and Aisu. Due to our opposite nature, thy body was thrown into a internal war of hot and cold till thee could regulate both. Tis why you passed out after consuming the Devil fruit."
"But why do I look like this?" Rei tentatively touched her small horns with a taloned hand, still looking in the mirror as if to see if it was truly real or just a illusion.
"Tis the mixture of both the Atae and Devil fruit. Some of thy kin may experience this, where thy dragon nature tis exposed like this or it might take a while for thy kin to summon forth this form. Perhaps the Devil fruit assisted thee in summoning some of thy important features or perhaps tis thy spirit's own strength and unknown master of qi that did so, Little One. This dragon cannot truly tell thee."
"Qi?" Rei shook her head. She'd ask about that later, for now there were more pressing matters. "How do I err... revert back to my... um... human form?"
"Through understanding qi and how to channel it properly within thee, Little Draco. It will take thee time to gain understanding and mastery of such things." The teal dragon told her. "All will be known to thee in time. Thy art not leaving so soon, perhaps thou will stay and allow us to teach thee mastery over thy new abilities."
Rei nodded. It seemed now that it was a newfound necessity for her to remain. Though she should have been more upset about the sudden change and being tricked into taking the trial, Rei couldn't help but feel some excitement bubble within her. Now she was even more like Gin and Drake then before, now being a Devil fruit user herself. If she learned how to use these abilities to defend herself, there was no bounds to where she could go in the future, Rei realized. She was indeed still young and would need to be cared for, and though she wished she could have grown up alongside her sisters under her parents' care, it was the cost of gaining these new abilities and being safe from the greed and lust of human nature.
The crimson dragon was the first one to rise, standing on all four once more, closely followed by the teal dragon. "Very good, Little One. Thy decision to stay and learn is a wise choice indeed. Go, pick up the biggest of thy companions shed scales and follow this dragon. Thou may address this one as Katsumi."
"And this one as Toshi." The teal dragon dipped his head as he introduced himself.
"Swift Rei." Rei introduced herself once more.
Quickly, she turned back to the beach, picking up her cloak and backpack as she did so, and headed over to the golden scales that were scattered upon the beach. She looked over them all before finding the biggest one from the lot and picked it up. She was surprised at how light the massive scale truly was. Tucking it under her arm, she quickly returned to the two massive dragons just for Toshi to gently pick her up and offer her a spot upon his back. Toshi, unlike Oji-san, was cool to the touch. His teal scales up close looked as if they were frosted with ice. It was fitting since he as an ice dragon after all.
"What about the rest of the scales?" Rei asked.
"Our young will much enjoy a treasure hunt in the morrow. Twill give the young dracos a game to practice much needed abilities such as hunting and patience." Toshi replied to her question.
"Oh." There was a pause before Rei asked yet another question. "Where are we going now?"
"We art heading towards the large tree in the heart of this island. Tis where we will find the tree's designated keepers and our kin's greatest artisans." Toshi calmly told her as they continued forth.
"Are they dragons too? If they are dragons, how can they be artisans? Isn't it hard for them to make stuff with claws?" Rei stopped herself when she realized how many questions she was asking. She was slightly embarrassed at how demanding she sounded. "Oops, sorry."
The young girl realized Toshi was laughing as a deep chortling sound came from his long neck. He glanced back at her with kind eyes as he gave her a toothy grin. "Tis nothing to be sorry for, Little Draco. Thou art curious. Tis a good thing to be. By asking questions, thou art fostering stronger comprehension of the things thou doth not fully understand. Tis a trait that should be encouraged, not put down. Be not ashamed by thy curiosity. Twill serve thee well in years to come."
"Un!" Rei nodded, a smile creeping onto her face as she continued to ride on the back of the ice dragon. "Then, can you tell me more about these dragons, you and Katsumi-san are taking me to?"
"Tis better the two of them tell thou themselves. Tis something thou must witness to understand their craft."
"Okay." Rei said with a sigh before perking up once more. "Katsumi-san mentioned that the Devil fruit I ate was a... a... Zoan type. What does that mean?"
"Tis a good questions. There art three different categories with which Devil Fruit may fall under. Zoan Devil Fruit give its user the ability to shift into the form of a beast, giving it all the abilities of the beast as well. Thou ate what hath been deemed long ago as a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, since dragons art often nothing more then myths within thy human culture. Thou art given all the abilities of an Aisu dragon like this dragon, including our ability to control the element of ice."
"Okay." Rei nodded. "So, if someone can shift into a dog or a bird or a tiger or something like that, it means they ate a Zoan Devil Fruit. And if they could turn into something like... a... dragon or a phoenix or a dinosaur, it would be a technically called a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit."
"Correct. Now, the next one is known as Logia. Tis a small category since its users become like living elements contained within human form. Since there art only so many elements within the world, tis a rare gift."
"Living element contained within human form?" Rei questioned, her mind instantly pulling up the image of Akainu and Aokiji. "Like the ability to make things out of ice or the ability to turn your hand into dripping magma?"
"Sounds appropriate for this category. Hath thee met such users before?"
Rei shook her head. "I don't really want to talk about it..."
"This one understand. However, thou hath the correct idea of Logia. Thus this one shall move onto the last of the three categories. Tis one of the largest of categories since it tis more like gaining a single ability. Paramecia art the last category. It has been known to give its users a wide variety of powers. A few known fruits hath given gifts like turning one's body composition into rubber, the ability to disassemble thyself and yet still have control of thy parts, and even giving thee a second chance at life after one hath been slain."
"So its like a super power!" Rei's eyes were wide at the idea of someone being made of rubber or able to resurrect after being killed! "One super power that can have a multitude of purposes, right?"
"Indeed." Toshi let out his deep chuckle at her enthusiasm. "Thou hath picked this up rather quickly, opposed to some of this one's other young students, draco and drake alike. Comprehension is a powerful gift. Thou art should be proud to have such a trait. Perhaps this one shall teach thee how to properly utilize such a trait on a more complex level in the near future."
Rei blushed at his compliment, but managed to let out a small noise of agreement. Instead of firing off another string of questions, Rei instead chose to ponder over what had been told to her so far. It was slightly hard, at times, to truly understand what the dragons meant because of how they spoke her language in such an archaic manner, but she was sure she was getting the gist of it.
Everything that had happened in such a short time was a lot for her to take in without her head throbbing with a headache at how overwhelming it truly was. She was now akin to dragons. They recognized her as their own when before, she was just a human child left on the shores of their island. Apparently, she had the same type of spirit that Kasai dragons had (whatever that meant), allowing the Atae fruit to awaken the sleeping form and caused her to look the way she did now, if she understood Toshi correctly, and the devil fruit gave her the powers of an Aisu dragon. She might have lost the ability to swim, but Rei realized she had gained the ability to fly, if she ever figured out how to fly.
Then again, she was offered training to understand her new abilities and no doubt that included how to utilize her wings so she could fly. She was already determined to stay here until she mastered her abilities as both a fire dragon and an ice dragon. She didn't care how many years it would take, despite her original fretting about never seeing her family again, Rei resigned herself to the fact that she probably would never see them again.
Besides, Rei suddenly realized, the ship she had been on had sunk in the middle of that horrific storm. She had seen the ship sink and she highly doubted, now that she really thought about it, that there were any survivors, other than herself. Her survival had been of special circumstances and no body would know that she survived. It was only a matter of time before everyone she knew and loved thought her dead, including her family, Captain Mizushima, and Drake.
And though it almost seemed heartless of her to think it, Rei decided it was for the best that they all thought her dead. She didn't know how long she would be on this island and it was almost kind of fate to allow her friends and family not to cling onto the hope that she'd one day return. In a way, she was free of her life's previous obligations. All ties and connections had been cut, which Rei figured was just as well. Her family would eventually move on past the tragedy and she would be able to stay without always worrying about returning to a waiting family.
Rei forced the tears back at such a sad decision. If she was truly to stay here and train, not like she was giving much of an option the way she looked now, then she had to relinquish any ties to her family. Swift Rei was dead, swept away by the ocean's tide. She could no longer go by her surname, not unless she wanted to cause unneeded strife. From now on, she was merely Rei.
"Thou seem melancholy about something, Little One. Something the matter?"
"No. Just... coming to a hard conclusion." Rei swept the tears out of her eyes before they had a chance to fall. "It's for the best anyways, I guess, with me how I am now."
"Thy heart breaks because of thy conclusion, or should this one say, thy choice. This one can only speculate, but this conclusion stems from the fact that thou art to remain here to learn and be given sanctuary from the harms of thy world."
"My family will think me dead after all that's happened." Rei confirmed. "It's for the best, I suppose. I don't think I will be returning to them even after I leave this place. If I return, who knows what trouble it'll cause? Swift Rei died in that storm, along with the rest of the ship. Best to leave it at that, right?"
"Would be best not to offer thy kin any false hope of thy return. Thou hath no way of reaching out to them until thee return to human society once more. Thou will not be a young child by that time. This one thinks tis a wise decision to start anew when thou doth return. Thou will not be the same child that had left thy parents' care nor should they falsely wait for that child to return to them." Katsumi agreed.
"I'm not the same." Rei nodded at that statement, the events of which forced her to change flashed within her mind, Gin's smiling, tearful, and beaten face lingering longer than the rest. "I can never go back to how I once was. I don't want to. I want to become stronger! I want to be able to protect myself and others... instead of having to be protected..."
"A noble wish, one that this dragon hopes to see come to pass. Thou art a kind child, despite all thy hardships. Thou art truly a Kasai dragon at heart." Katsumi praised her. "Thou will do well here, Little One if thou keep thy heart as such."
"Thank you, Katsumi-san." Rei sniffled a bit, wiping the last of her pooling tears from her eyes with her sleeve.
"Thou art very welcome, Little One." Katsumi purred. "Now, we art close to our destination. Be vigilant. Thou art meeting thy future caretakers."
"My caretakers?" Rei was surprised at that. For some reason she had thought that Katsumi and Toshi would be her caretakers, since they offered her sanctuary and training.
"This dragon has many duties and little time for much else. Thou will be taught in the ways of a Kasai dragon under this one's tutelage and taught in the ways of a Aisu dragon under Toshi's care, but thou shall be cared and reared by these two dragons instead. They art mates, unlike Toshi and this one, who art merely good friends. Tis for the best thou stay with a couple instead of being traded between to individual and very busy dragons."
Before anything else could be said, the two dragons stopped. Rei had been somewhat paying attention, was shocked at how old, large, and beautiful the tree was. It looked as if it was reaching for the heavens while its large and massive roots weaved in and out of the ground, some more than others. Below the large, impressive tree, but a good distance away as to not accidentally harm the ancient tree, was a forge. It looked entirely out of place within the middle of the jungle, but it looked large and well used.
Before Rei could react, she felt herself being lifted gently once more. She clung to her things, making sure she did not accidentally drop anything as Toshi lowered her to the ground. From the ground, Rei had a better idea of how... human sized the forge truly looked. Also, now she could see the odd makings of a small home under the refuge of one of the larger roots. Rei began to wonder about the size of these two dragons if their things were anything to go by. Obviously they were not as large as Katsumi and Toshi.
Katsumi then spoke, opening her maw and letting the odd language she had spoken before Rei had consumed the fruit. Rei could still not understand what was being said, noting in her head as something to address with her new caretakers later. Rei was startled at hearing a reply so close by. Casting her eyes about the area, the young girl tried to spot where this new dragon was.
The conversation continued between the two dragons as Rei tried to locate her caretaker. Finally, she saw him and was shocked at what he looked like. There was no doubt that he was not human. His body was adorned head to toe in crimson scales and his eyes were a velvet red. He had no wings to speak of, two horns protruded backwards from his temple, and one tail swished behind him. However, unlike Katsumi or Toshi, his form was not that of a dragon.
His form was that of human shape, but not by appearance. His face had a medium sized squarish snout and sharp teeth behind his reptilian lips. He had wild black hair (or was it technically a mane?) the sprouted from the top of his head and continued down his spine till hidden from view by the sashinuki hakama and simple obi he wore. His tail sprouting from between the only two articles of clothing he chose to wear. He wore nothing upon his big, broad chest, allowing not only his scales to gleam and glimmer for all to see but the amass amount of jewelry he wore: necklaces both long and short, manacles, bracelets, arm bands, earrings, rings, and even his horns were adorned with custom jewelry. His hands had long black talons as well as the toes of his reptilian like feet.
Finally, his eyes moved to her small form and he gave her a toothy grin as he quickly switched dialects. "So yer the lucky little lassie that'll be in the care of this one and his mate, hmm?"
Rei was shocked that he could speak, but then again, he seemed to have better control over his speak in such a form. Though shocked at his odd accent and manner of speaking, she couldn't help but blurt out the first thing to come to her mind. "You're a dragon?! How? How are you a dragon!?"
"Hey, hey, hey lil' brat!" He snorted as he instantly took offense at her questions, his speech causing his r's to roll slightly in his mouth. "This one may not take a beastial form, but that doth not mean he ain't a dragon! Tis hard to work the forge and create works of art if one doth not have the massive amount of control required! Though most of this one's kin prefer to keep to their beast form, he prefers to have fingers as dexterous as these. Thus, this humanoid form is more his preference."
"But how!?" Rei was unaware that her outburst had been taken as an insult.
"The same way ya look like ya do. Manipulation of qi, of course." He snorted as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"Manipulation of qi? How does that make it possible though!?"
"Yer as pesky as our dear leader's young draco with all yer questions!"
Tatsuo huffed as he crossed his arms and jerked his head towards Katsumi.
"Tis enough, Tatsuo. This child knows nothing of our way of life nor of our abilities. Her curiosity tis genuine. She doth not know a thing of qi or how to manipulate it like us. Tis through mere mistake she twas capable of taking the form she hath now." Katsumi mentally projected the conversation to both Tatsuo and Rei. "And as for this one's young spawn. What hath Akira done now to thee? Tell this dragon so that she may atone properly."
"Yer spawn snuck up on this one again, crafty lil' devil that he is. Ruined the piece this one and his mate spent days upon in one quick moment. This one already kicked his ass fer it too, though he would not mind if ye would be so kind as to kick his ass again."
"This dragon now understands thy less than amiable mood. Young Akira hath caused problems many times for this one as well. However, his intentions hath never been ill." Toshi commented with a snigger.
"No kidding! The lil' brat spooked this one cause he was curious of all things about the forge and this one's work. Put a bell on the damn draco. He's too quiet fer his own good. Hell, this dragon will make thee a bell for that very intent!"
"This dragon will attend to her own draco as she sees fit. Right now, allow us to return to the matter at hand. This young child will be thy ward for her duration of her time among us."
"Aye. This one is unsure of such a decision, but yer the boss, thus he will respect thy choices." Tatsuo agreed with a firm nod.
Looking over to Rei, who listened to the conversation with much intrigue, Katsumi spoke into her mind. "Perhaps thee should give the golden scale to thy new guardian. Twill improve his foul mood that this one's spawn hath put him in."
Rei glanced up at Katsumi and nodded before turning her attention back on the irate male dragon that was to be her keeper. He noticed her approach and eyed her curiously as she stepped closer until she was within arm's reach. "Here you go, Tatsuo-san. This is for you."
With that, Rei pulled the golden scale from under her cloak, which had somehow ended up covering the thing when she had readjusted her things, and held it out as an offering to her new guardian.
"Hmmm?" He peered down at what she was still holding, taking it gently from her hold with a curious gaze and he inspected the gift. It wasn't long before he let out a surprised gasp of air. "Where in the four blues did ye obtain such a fine quality scale, a Denkou scale at that, as this, Lil' Draco?"
"The dragon that brought me here. Oji-san saved me from drowning in a storm when the ship sank and fly me here. When we got here, Oji-san shed all his scales before leaving. This is just one of many that litter the beach we landed at." Rei told him truthfully.
Tatsuo was already looking up at Katsumi, he looked excited over the information given to him. His eyes must have spoken a question, because seconds later, Rei could hear Katsumi's reply to the unspoken question.
"The rest will be collected in the morrow by the young dracos of the island. Tis nearly sundown now, too late to collect them."
"Haaaa," Tatsuo groaned as he looked displeased with her words. "Fine. This one will be waiting for the delivery sometime tomorrow. Till then, this young draco must be fed, yer draco attended to, and readying for night. This one will take good care of the young draco. Ayane will return soon with our meal and this dragon will fill her in on what hath occured in her absences. This one bids ye goodnight, Katsumi, Toshi."
Placing his open palm on the top of her head, he mussed up her hair in an endearing manner, allowing Rei to understand that he accepted her despite his tone or attitude originally. He chucked when she tried to pull his hand off her head and failed horrible. Katsumi and Toshi took it as a good sign and dipped their heads in farewell before both turned and went in opposite directions. Katsumi more towards the mountains where the sun would rise, and Toshi towards the white capped mountains where the sun was setting.
Once gone, Tatsuo released his grip of the child's head and began to walk slowly towards the underbelly of the giant root where his home was made. "Come hither, Lil' Draco. Tis time to show ye yer new lodgings. Might not be similar to human accommodations, but tis a cozy place to lay yer head to sleep. Ayane will be returning soon with her hunt and she'll be more than pleased to meet ye."
"O-okay." Rei said as she quickly followed up to him. "I'm Rei, by the way."
"Tatsuo the Master Bladesmith." Her new guardian properly introduced himself. "Though this one does a whole lot more than merely crafting swords, tis his elevated knowledge and understanding of the art of crafting swords that hath given him this title."
"Wow! Are your swords really good?"
"The best." His chest puffed out in pride at that statement before he continued on. "Though, ye'd never see them in the hands of humans. Tis not a weapon worthy of one so ignorant of this one's blades true power. No, this one only crafts swords for his kin."
"Could you make me a sword?" Rei asked, a gleam in her eye at the idea of owning a sword. "I've always wanted to be a swordswoman!"
Tatsuo laughed heartily at that before letting out a deadpan "No." Crushing the child's dreams of grandeur in a second's time. "Ye art entirely too young fer a blade. Ye don't even need one or know how to use one, thus it'd be a waste of this one's time."
"I could learn!" Rei pouted.
"Well, shame that there is no one on this island that could teach ye." Tatsuo gave her a toothy smirk. "No one here takes the form of humans other than this one and his mate. We, upon this island, use our natural born gifts to fight and defend ourselves, not hand-crafted items like humans."
"Damn it." Rei muttered under her breath. She had been so excited just moments before, but now that dream was squashed entirely. She wasn't surprised when her cussing caused Tatsuo to break out in loud peals of laughter once more. He placed a taloned hand once more on the crown of her head and mussed her locks once more.
"Ye got some gumption! This one likes it! Though, don't let the other dragons hear ye talking like so, or ya'll be punished accordingly, not even this one's mate. With this one, ya can speak however ya please though, Little Draco. This one might even teach ye a few more choice words in time."
"I'll bear that in mind." Rei grunted as she tried once more to pry Tatsuo's hand off her head. "Now let go!"
"Make me, Lil' Draco." Tatsuo shot back as he wrapped his tail around her and fisted his hand to give her a noogie instead, causing the child to squirm and fight his hold. Her shouts of 'let go' and 'stoppit' as well as 'knock it off' were ignored as the elder Kasai user continued to tease his new ward. "Yer making this way too easy fer this one, Lil' Draco!"
"No I'm not!" Rei argued as she attempted to break free from Tatsuo's hold. "You damned reptile! Let go!"
"Gwhahahahahahaha" He howled in laughter at her words. "Spunky lil' thing ye can be! Nervous as a field mouse one moment and as fiery as a draco the next!"
This happened to be the scene his mate returned to sometime later. Rei at that point had started cussing up a storm as she fought to get Tatsuo to relinquish his hold and he looked ready to bust a gut with how hard he was laughing, unwilling to quit antagonizing the child. When the child finally chomped down upon his tail, the male Kasai dragon did nothing more than laugh harder at her futile attempts.
"Is... Is this one... missing something?" Ayane finally spoke up, watching the two with an unsure look. She couldn't help the trickle of sweat fall down her face at such outrageous antics.
"Ah, this one understands now. Thou art this one and her mate's new ward." Ayane nodded solemnly. The three of them had moved to the shelter of the two mate's home to explain the situation to the newcomer. The place was nothing elaborate, simple wooden furniture and not hearth or walls, only the shelter provided by the large root above their heads.
Well, perhaps it would have been simple had it not been the large mound of priceless jewels, gold coins, and all sorts of jewelry in the center. All the wealth that man coveted and these dragons thought it nothing more than bedding. While not all the dragons slept on treasure, since these two were craft dragons, they preferred it. Already the golden scale, which was apparently counted as treasure, had been added to the pile.
Currently, Rei was sipping on something hot in a simple ceramic cup. Other than the pile of treasure, the two lived very humbly in their nest under the root of the large tree they cared for.
Ayane was just like her mate, a dragon taking on human form, though that was where the similarities stopped. She too had horns, but the curled back, up, and forward. She hung long jeweled chains on the gentle swoop of her ivory horns and had the same golden bands further back on her horns as her mate. A matching set, Rei realized. Also, Ayane was more sleek, slender, and curvier than her board, thick, and angular mate. She looked more like a woman and dressed in a simple short kimono with a simple obi keeping her outfit together and shut. Her tail sprouted from under the obi, where a slit had been crafted for such a commodity.
Her eyes and scales were also not the same color as Tatsuo's. Hers were teal. Ayane was a Aisu dragon. And though her talons where black as well as her long flowing hair (mane) and she was decorated head to toe in jewelry as well, another huge difference from her mate was that Ayane had one single wing on her back.
It was then that Rei realized that Tatsuo truly didn't have wings if he was not putting them on display and that something happened to Ayane to cause her to only have one.
Her curious gaze did not escape Ayane's keen eyes. The female dragon narrowed her eyes as she let a smile spread on her lips. "Interested in this one's singular wing, hmmm? Thou look as if thou hath already realized the abnormalities of this one and her mate. Ask thy questions so that we may be pasted this part of the relationship."
Rei chewed on her lip, unsure of whether she should really ask, but both dragons gave her an encouraging nod. So, mustering her courage, Rei asked. "What happened to your wing, Ayane? And why does Tatsuo have none upon his back?"
"Ye sure aren't one to beat around the bush, are ye?" Tatsuo let out a hearty laugh at the question.
Rei looked appalled at him. "But- but Ayane-san... Ayane-san said to ask!"
"Yeah, and ye spent no time gettin' to the heart of it!" Tatsuo continued to laugh. "Most would dance about the question a bit more!"
Tatsuo's laughter was swiftly put to an end by Ayane, who, in one fast hit, swatted her mate with the blunt side of her tail. His laughter was quitted as he decided to nurse the lump on his head instead. The teal dragoness never once losing her composure.
"Tis refreshing to see someone who doth not dally. This one doth not like those who art not straightforward in their intentions. Would be good for thee to remember that." Ayane said in a calm manner. "As for this one's condition. To most, this one is called Ayane the Scalesmith, but to some, she is known as Ayane the Fallen Gale."
"The Fallen Gale?"
"Yes, Little One, this one was once the fastest flyer of all the dragons on this isle. This one had been quite proud of her ability to gather such speeds that she thought herself impervious. She was foolhardy to believe such a notion. One day, this dragon's opinion didst not match the opinion of our previous leader and, as dragons do, we fought to see who was right. Twas our deceased leader's victory, punishing this one by ripping out one of her wings for her defiance to his ways."
Rei looked horrified as she squeaked out, "That's horrible!"
"No, this one bears no grudge." Ayane corrected. "This one's leader had every right to clip her wings and restore her to level thinking. His power was greater than her own and should hath been respected for such. Twas this one that was incorrect in her philosophies, and in the end, twas for the best. With her head out of the clouds, she could see what was on the ground. Flying had been this dragon's passion and she never would hath thought that smithing would be an even greater talent and passion otherwise."
"Nor that her life mate would be already stuck on the ground!" Tatsuo added in with a sly grin.
"Alas, this dragon would hath never given her mate a second glance prior to her fall. A dragon born without wings and no ability to fly otherwise." Ayane let out a snort, as if still ashamed at her pervious notions of the world.
"You can't fly?" Rei was shocked to hear that.
"Nope, but tis nothing that hath kept this dragon from doing things he wishes to do. No doubt, this one hath seen more of the world than even most of ye humans." Tatsuo puffed out his chest proudly. "Twas merely returning to Soshi Shima after traveling the length of the Red Line when this dragon heard the news of Ayane's fall. More to this one's surprise twas when he returned to his forge to see her there, billowing the flames the best she could with merely herself to heat the flames. As ye humans say, the rest was history."
Rei stared at the two of them in awe. Their views of the world were so different than the views of humans. Though she wasn't well versed in dragon culture, she could already see that there were vast differences in beliefs, status, and wealth. Before Rei could think any more, a crimson blur came crashing through the humble nest and found its way to her, colliding with her and causing the both of them to crash to the floor. It took a minute for Rei to realized what had pinned her to the ground, but was no less shocked when she realized it was a small, childish looked dragon.
"So thou art what a human child looks like. Thou art a strange creature indeed! Even stranger than Tatsuo and Ayane, for at least they hath scales to adorn their forms! Though thee doth not exactly how this one pictured a human to look. Prithee, tell this one if all humans look akin to thee!"
"Argh! Ye pesky draco!" She could hear Tatsuo yelled irritably as he hefted up the small (but much larger than her) dragon off of her. "This one thought ye'd learn ye lesson after yer mother got to ye!"
"This one hath learned his lesson, tis merely returned because of his curiosity of thy new ward! This one hath never seen such a creature as a human, though often spoken about by thee dragons. Makes a young draco such as this one itch with inquisitiveness!"
"That doth not mean that ye slip through yer mother's watch to find out!" Tatsou pinned the young dragon pup to the ground, using his larger form to keep the draco from squirming free.
"This one will tell thy mother of thy whereabouts. Be ready for when she gets here for thy punishment for sneaking away, Akira." Ayane informed him while helping up Rei, who was still rather dazed by his initial greeting. "Humans art delicate comparatively, though Rei art not exactly entirely human. She art akin to us due to her trial earlier this evening, eating both the Atae fruit and the Devil fruit."
Akira paused in his squirming to give Ayane a puzzled look. "So this human doth not share the same likeness to its own kind?"
"No. Though it is rare for two humans to look the same, just like every dragon hath his or her own unique features, human doth not often hath horns, wings, a tail, or talons. Some may have one feature, such as Skypieans hath wings, but never to the degree Rei displays. She art caught in this state by accident and doth not have the understanding or ability to manipulate qi to change her back."
Akira stopped struggling altogether, looking rather upset. "Oh. Tis not as exciting as this one initially thought." However it did not last long. Soon his ears had perked up as he gave Ayane another hopeful look. "Doth this human child speak as strangely as thy mate?"
"Speak as strangely as..." Tatsuo repeated as he stared at the draco beneath him before his face turned to one of fury as the words fully hit him. "HEY, HEY, HEY YE BRATTY DRACO!"
"Tis a legitimate question!" Akira whined as he struggled to throw the irate dragon off of him.
Rei couldn't help but stare in disbelief for a while, still being held by Ayane, before letting out a string of laughter. "Me?" She laughed, finding the whole thing humorous. "I speak funny? No, it is definitely you that speaks funny! I talk just like any other human would, maybe a little better than other children my age though."
Akira stopped struggling as did Tatsuo to stare at the laughing child before Akira decided to state his own opinion. "No. Thou speak even stranger than Tatsuo. At least he knows how to address himself, where thou art using odd words to refer to thyself. Humans art strange creatures indeed."
"Heeeeey!" Rei whined, no longer finding what the young draco had to say as humorous. "Maybe it is you dragons that are the strange creatures!"
"Impossible. Thou art incorrect in thy assumptions."
Ayane was certain that if she and her mate and not been holding back both children in their own ways, a fight would have no doubt broken out. Luckily for the two adults, Katsumi was quick to receive Ayane's telepathic message and to act upon it. The moment she got there, she had easily plucked her draco from the hold of Tatsuo with her teeth and thrashed the young draco about for his insubordinate actions. Rei almost felt sorry for the child as she clung to Ayane a little closer, beads of sweat dripping down the faces of the three watching.
"Isn't that a bit harsh, Katsumi?" Tatsuo even asked allowed, but was ignored.
Ayane let out a heavy sigh. "That's what he gets, this one supposes, being the draco of our esteemed leader. Little tolerance for his constant misbehavior."
"S-s-scary." Rei muttered under her breath as she continued to watch.
Dragons were truly very different from humans and Rei wondered if she was even going to survive long enough to master her new abilities if that was what happened whenever she was to be punished. She definitely noted it to herself not to swear in front of any of the dragons other then Tatsuo from now on...
And maybe... she'd learn what it meant to be a dragon in human form...
Rei flinched when Akira was tossed into the sky before being caught in his mother's claw before being rammed into the dirt.
Oh hell, what had she willingly gotten herself into this time?
Thou, thee: Different variations of the pronoun 'you'
Thy: Your
Thyself: Yourself
This one: replacement for the pronoun 'I'
This dragon: Another replacement for 'I' Talking in third person after initial statement of 'this one' or 'this dragon'
Doth: Do
Hath: Have
Tis: It is
Twas: It was
Twill: It will
Prithee: Please
Volleys-chan A/N: Salutations! I decided once again to do the author's notes instead of Ryu-chan because all the old english in this chapter, yeah, that was my idea. Now, I didn't use a whole lot of old words BECAUSE I was worried about hard it might be for some of our readers to actually read Old English, BUT I wanted a point to be made.
These dragons do know the human tongue, but, due to reasons not yet told, they have been separated for such a long time that their use of the language is not modern, but archaic. They HAVE their own language, one that Rei has noted on a few occasions as something she does not understand, but because she doesn't speak their language, they are speaking hers, however their version is old.
Now, I understand that a few people will struggle with this, so I have already devised a remedy for this problem. In order to not cause confusion on Fanfiction, we will be posting ALTERNATE versions of this chapter on my DA account. So, if this chapter is giving anyone a difficult time, please, go to my DeviantArt, which is VolleystheDragon, or look up Dragon Chronicles Alternate Chapter 10 and I should have it posted by Tuesday at the latest.
Again, I apologize if anyone struggles with this chapter, but I wanted to show how different and isolated the dragon's culture has been that even their understanding of the human language is out of date.
As forewarning, this will be occurring in the next few chapters and a few occasions where Rei unintentionally slips back into it when she's not thinking about it. But after the second arc, she will not be using it as often. I will be offering alternate chapters of the each of the chapters within the second arch on my DA account though.
Also, as a treat, I finally got around to posting a picture of Gin. Have a gander all you Gin lovers.
Thank you for your infinite patience with me, Volleys-chan.