[003C - Text]

[loverofinnocence]

[G-guess who's back, bitches.]

Freedom:

1. the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint
2. the power to determine action without restraint
3. political or national independence
4. personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery

What a foreign concept for many. The word cannot be defined if individuals never truly suffer the experience.

[And with that said...]

Dragon.
You had words. I shall hear them.

Comments

[ends_in_ashes]

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

[And she says nothing more on it. If she was looking for any sort of praise, she's not seeking it that badly.]

[loverofinnocence]

[He seems to understand it well enough. A hand lifts and he gently pats at her dragon snout.]

As long as you are you, that is all that matters, Angelus. Not the flesh you wear.

[Surprising words of wisdom from the young prince.]

[ends_in_ashes]

[Just take the wind out of her sails, why don'tcha? The pat is bad enough. She ought to be ashamed for enjoying those so much. Perhaps her one regret the last time they had met is she hadn't been able to receive this 'warming' of his.

But then he has to make sense and in a surprisingly nice way too.

The red dragon gives a low grumble that bears no real venom to it, her next breath an amused one as she lays her chin against the ground before him.]

You make me glad I do not wear such a guise at present. Foolish man.

[She's not elaborating.]

[loverofinnocence]

[Her reaction, both physically and colloquially pleases him. A moment's pause and he offers her a very sincere smile. He waits her her head to lower and he moves to mount her back, so he might wrap his arms around her neck to the best of his ability.]

Do not sound so displeased.

[Because he knows better, silly dragon. But does she know precisely how much he does so much depend on her? For more than simply his life, by this point. She's become a rather important part of him in more ways than merely one.]

[ends_in_ashes]

[Angelus doesn't really look pleased until Caim's settled on her back, arms wrapped around her neck. Then she allows herself to look content. And she even grumbles her reply in a milder tone.]

I am not.

[Her back rises and falls with her sigh of a breath, neck still beneath him. Scaled as she is, dragons seem to be somewhat like snakes. She's leathery and soft to the touch, warm beneath that. Her voice reverberates through her throat as she speaks.]

We dragons are a solitary sort. We know one another and respect one another, there is little else beyond this though. Before I was taken by your troops and we began our travels, I had not spoke with a human in many, many years. I had no spoke with others of my kind in just as long.

[Another sigh of breath.]

I have grown used to company, I think.

[loverofinnocence]

[He has never truly believed he would be able to do this again. He had thought before they would never again meet. Caim's inner anguish is sated a bit and covered by a form of contentedness that is foreign to him. And like a child, the need to cling to it is vaguely present.]

It is quality over quantity. One reliable companion can make a world of difference. I cannot say how I would have been against the Empire without you.

[It's an admission on a smaller scale, but he thinks it gets the point across well. Teasingly, he adds more as an afterthought.]

I suppose if I must, I shall become more of a dragon for you.

[ends_in_ashes]

[Oh now that earns him a good, rumbling laugh.]

More of a dragon, hm? Well. If you wish it, Caim, I am sure you will be able to succeed. In some very small way.

And we both know how you would have done - very poorly. It is not something I would blame you for though. To fight such a battle on one's own, even with troops, is something of a stretch.

[loverofinnocence]

[It's impossible for him not to smile at her response. It earns her another hug about the neck. She cannot possibly how much he's missed this, honestly.

To think he almost lost her... He certainly has an unrivalled appreciation for her. And 'appreciation' is certainly an understatement. -- Or simply a cover for something greater.]

No truer words have been said.

[A pause and suddenly...]

Do you regret it, I wonder?

[ends_in_ashes]

Regret?

[The dragon turned her head enough to look back at the man clinging to her neck. Quiet for a moment, she offered:]

Perhaps. If I do, it is regret for what I once knew as fact, what I once felt. There is nothing left behind that one does not feel some regret for leaving.

[loverofinnocence]

[He nodded as he eyed her.]

Too wise of me to say, however, nothing is ever stationary. An ever changing world and ever inconsistent beings. Even dragons as stubborn as you, I would think.

[Caim was still smiling, however. At least a little bit.]