Killing the Cliche (Atroxa and Myself)

The village surrounding the castle was up to its usual hustle and bustle, the people moving about to work and play. The morning air was brisk, and it was a clear blue sky above. Perfect weather, ordinarily the start to a great day for the people. That blue sky made it hard to see what was approaching, until the large shadow could be seen travelling along the ground. It was sudden, for a moment everything was calm and normal, the next it was chaotic as the people realized what had come to them. The blue had hidden it until it was close enough, as it landed no one seemed to know how to react. The huge reptile, wings spread out to land before folding along his back, perched on the wall surrounding the city. A blue dragon, long neck sticking up to blow blue flame in a flume toward the sky, then looked back to the people with a grin.

It was time for another in a long line of regular appearances, the set up of an incident every noble family went through. It was a sign of power, wealth, to have a dragon come and take the heiress of your family. There actually wasn't much anger or violence involved, as one might think. Truth was, it was all a big show, more like a business. Not officially of course, but just how things were. A dragon took the princess and treasure, fighting his way to her, took her back to his lair, waited a while, then put up a fight against the knight or hero that came to rescue her, giving him some of the dowry. Everyone wins.

Content with scaring the peasantry, his large blue wings spread out wide and he lifted off again from the wall. It was time for the real part of the deal, the main event. Gliding close to the city, he let out another roar that shook the Earth beneath him. Arrows from the few guard towers he passed shot towards him, a sharp turn with his wings sent out a gust that deflected them easily. Close to the castle, he shot up into the sky, hovering for a moment to cast a shadow over the grounds and the ones gathering to defend it. His sharp teeth shined in a flashy grin, coming down to the ground to land before the tall towers of the keep.

"You know why I am here, do not be fools and lose your lives in a pointless fight," he called out to the knights and guards rushing to attack him. Standing on his arms and legs, he was easily the height of a few men standing on each other. His size and strength, it would take a very skilled fighter to stand any sort of chance, he guessed these ones wouldn't be the people coming to retrieve his captive. Blowing out another blast of blue flame, several of them were knocked back and aside. Always good to have some fun, hm?

“Is this really necessary mother?” Calarel asked with a frown on her face as she was dressed in one of her finest dresses an her long strawberry blonde hair was brushed out.

“Necessary?” Her mother asked shrilly, shocked at her daughter's question, “Of course it's necessary! Don't you want to get married?!”

Not really... the young woman thought, but she would never say that out loud. “Can't I just pick a husband? Why do we have to go through this silly charade?”

Her mother, the duchess of Denbrook, made a face as if Calarel had just put a dead, smelly fish under her nose, “Pick a husband?! Don't you let your father talking like that! How preposterous! This is the way we've always done it and it's how you're going to to do it as well. How do we know if a man is truly worthy of you unless he's brave enough to face down a dragon?!”

“But the dragons let them win...” Calarel protested quietly, grunting softly as the laces of her bodice were tightened almost painfully.

“That's beside the point, it's still terrifying to go up against one, and some of the dragons do kill young men who prove too cowardly, they have their own strange system of honor as well,” the duchess explained, taking out a god, curling circlet and placing it tenderly on her daughter's head. She looked at the beautiful young woman, tears welling in her eyes, “Oh Calarel! I can't believe this day has come! You'll be a woman soon.”

Calarel let out a surprised noise as her mother pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing her daughter fiercely. “Mother!” the young woman wheezed, “I can't breathe!” She gasped for air when her mother let her go. “Sorry, just this bodice is so tight, and you were squeezing me...”

“It's alright, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hug you so tightly, I just can't believe how you've grown! It seems like you were just a baby only a little while ago...” Her mother reminisced fondly, brushing a strand of stray hair out of Calarel's face. “Come on then, your father will be growing impatient.”

Calarel gave a resigned sigh and stood, leaving with her mother to meet her father to be taken to the maiden's chamber and await the dragon that would take her 'captive', holding her until some brave knight or lord or prince came to 'rescue' her and marry her. It was all rather ridiculous in her opinion. The dragons kidnapped young women with large enough dowries, held them for a few day or however long it took for a man to show up at their lair, they put on a show of a fight, and either the dragon was defeated or he pretended to be defeated and the knight left with half the dowry and a new wife. Dragons who killed suitors generally found it too difficult to take young women for their dowry because her parents wouldn't want their daughter to have to wait too long or for potential suitors to be too scared. It was all tricky and balanced and jut absolutely ridiculous.

Her mother and father had both cried a little and then she was put in the maiden's chamber with her dowry, some food, and something to do while she waited. Towards the end of the day she finally began to hear some kind of commotion out in the halls, sighing softly as she guessed that the dragon had finally arrived. Wonderful. This was the beginning of the end of her life.

It was actually a bit of work. He could tear through these men with ease if he truly wanted to, his muscular arms, sharp claws, and the blue flame that shot from his mouth would make short work of a few guys that had just learned to pick up their sword. That was simple. It was using those things, knocking them away, and doing it without really hurting any of them too badly, that was the challenge. Sure, he could do whatever the hell he wanted, he was a dragon. That didn't get you the invitation from the next maiden's rich father, the next big dowry to add to the collection.

The humans were lucky dragons were obsessed with treasure, just hoarding as much as they could. It was something innate within them, their instincts had it right alongside eating and reproducing: hoard as much gold, gems, and treasure as you could. It was a status symbol, it made you go down in legend when you were the beast with the biggest trove.

More blue flame erupted from his mouth as he lifted off again, deciding to make it a little fun with a few dives as he "fought" his way through to the tower where she'd be. Flying off and gliding down a few times, he left a few charred lines through the grounds with his fire, gusts of wind knocking back the men. He let out a guttural laugh, landing on the castle and gripping into it with his long claws. All right, now for the final act. He found the spot, the usual "tallest tower" nonsense, and with another roar, tore through the stone to see the young woman.

His large head poked into the hole, sharp, yellow eyes staring her down and piercing into her. Whoever came to save this girl and succeeded would be quite happy. She was beautiful, elegant. "Hello, my dear, care for a ride?" he said, teasing a bit to drag it out some.

Calarel sighed as she could hear the fighting outside, her father's guards putting on a good show, so that word would be carried all around about how hard her father fought to keep his daughter. Sure she must be valuable or very beautiful, or both, for him to put in so much effort. She was, of course, both, and she knew that her father was paying handsomely for the dragon to make it difficult for some one to get her, he wanted to make sure his daughter got married to some one rich and powerful that would benefit him.

So she sat and waited, jumping a little as there was a loud roar and the stone wall was torn a part, revealing a dragon with dazzling blue scales and piercing gold eyes. Calarel just sat as she had been though, trying to look undisturbed. She even managed to give the dragon a disapproving glare, “If I must,” she sniffed, standing and smoothing her dress before she grabbed her bag. This whole farce was just ridiculous. And she wasn't going to waste her time pretending like there was anything to it.

She eyed him dubiously, walking over cautiously. She knew dragons were big, but it was something else to see one in person. “Come on then,” she sighed, waiting for him to move so that she could climb up onto his back, which Calarel did carefully, settling in the dip of his shoulders, straddling his back and glad that her mother had made her wear a pair of bloomers under her dress, she couldn't imagine it would be comfortable having his scales scraping against her bare legs.

The beast snorted. Her attitude made it obvious she wasn't into the pomp of the whole event. "Yes, you must," he said bluntly. He was getting paid for it, and he didn't disappoint. Yes, everyone knew it was essentially a game, all a nice show for when your daughter was of marrying age. He still liked it when they pretended to be scared, had a bit of fun with it. This all seemed to just be an annoyance to her, which when you thought about it, really was. Being "kidnapped," spending a few days off with some dragon when she could be doing whatever maidens did with their time. He liked to have fun with it though, and typically got a bit more than the original bargain.

"Got everything? Didn't forget your favorite dress?" he teased, giving a light chuckle as the girl climbed onto him, finding a good spot to sit and hang on. Once she was settled, he reached back into the room, grabbing the bags with the dowry, the treasure. It was unfortunate that half would be going to her new husband, but there was still a very good amount here. A nice addition to the hoard. "And we're off!" he called out, leaping back from the tower, wings cast out and flapping as he took off. Just for another bit of showiness, he let out a loud roar, another plume of blue flame from his mouth before heading back to the mountain where his lair was.

He was fast, and soon enough he was zipping between around the hills and to the largest peak. An opening, a large cavern was his entrance, and he landed a little ways inside. Soon enough they came upon his hoard, the mounds and mounds of gold, gems, coins, silver, everything he'd collected. Tossing the bags onto one of the mounds, coins scattering as they hit. He laid down, close to the ground so she could dismount safely. "Hope you enjoy your stay," he said to her, curving his neck to look to her.

Calarel glared at the dragon's question about her favorite dress, letting out an annoyed scoff and not bothering to answer him. She sat on his back, trying to look as dignified as she might if she were riding a horse, but as soon as the dragon took off she let out a startled noise and had to grab onto the beast, wrapping her arms around the dragon's thick neck, covered in scales and muscle, holding on tightly. His roar made her wince and then glare, “Must you do that?” She shouted over the hiss of the wind in her ears, her long red hair whipping around her head.

She just held on as the dragon flew, surprised by how fast he was, and finding that she actually enjoyed the ride a little. She had never flown on anything before, it was a slightly terrifying but surreal experience. Calarel mostly gazed down at the ground as it whipped by, the hills and trees, until they were in the mountains. When the dragon landed, she sat up, quickly trying to straighten her hair, though it looked far more wind-whipped than it had when he had 'kidnapped' her. Calarel was a bit of a walking contradiction, she looked down on the nobility a great deal, but she was still at times proud and vain.

As he laid down for her to get down she did, climbing off his back carefully and straightening her dress. She looked up at the dragon as he spoke, making soft, slightly disinterested noise. “Oh yes, I'm so excited to be here,” she told him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “And where is it exactly that you'll be keeping me until my knight in shining armor comes to 'rescue' me?” She asked, once again her tone very sarcastic, though not so much as before as it was a legitimate question.

"Well we're delighted to have you," the beast said, layering his words with a tone to match hers. If she wasn't interested in making pretend, he wouldn't make the effort. Once she was off he stood back up, looking out over his hoard to give it a once-over. Doubting that anything was missing, still he had a need to check. Anyone that knew this was here should be smart enough to not try anything while he was away so there wasn't really a need to worry about it. Still, that attitude was exactly how something might go missing and he'd never realize it. So, he scanned the cavern, nodding as the mounds appeared to be the same.

"Oh, only the best for you, my dear," he called out, coming back down to the floor, large neck cast down to look her in the eyes. His tail moved back and forth as he smirked, taking her in for a moment. She really was beautiful, he was a bit proud to be the one to kidnap her. Sure, most of them were pretty, he could appreciate true beauty when it was before him though. That sass might wear thin quick for her lucky husband though, what more to her was there, he wondered.

As he looked at her, his body started to shift. She would notice the large scales along his abdomen and neck starting to creak and shrink, bones bending and cracking as they shifted and became smaller. A slight air of magic could be felt as his body transformed, arms and legs shortening, head morphing to be more human-like. After a couple of moments he stood before her a different dragon, like some sort of hybrid between their two species. He looked the same, blue scales, piercing golden eyes, lighter blue wings on his back, claws along his fingers and toes, but he stood on two legs, had a more human like head, not a longer-shape as before. He rolled his neck, cracking it to get the kinks out from his transformation. All set, he turned and started walking towards another part of the lair, a smaller cavern. "This way. No servants here, by the way, so if you want your bags to come along, bring them."

Calarel rolled her eyes a little at his equally sarcastic response, giving him a bit of a glare for his trouble. She stepped back a bit as he lowered his head to look her in the eye, frowning at him, before she blinked as he began to change right before her eyes. She took another small step back, startled, until he finally stood in front of her on two legs, not four. He was somewhere between human and dragon, though still very tall, and still possessing the blue scales and gold eyes from before. She hadn't known that dragons could do that! She could only stare at him for a moment, before he was walking away, telling her to follow with her bag.

She grabbed it up and went after him, staring at him a little still as she followed. After a moment though she shook her head a little, telling herself to stop staring like an idiot. “So, do you have a name?” she asked him, “Or should I just call you 'dragon', or whatever comes to mind?” Calarel asked him, her tone still slightly sarcastic, though not as biting as before.

His head turned to the right, looking back to her as they walked. He pulled his wings back, folding them as much as he could to not block the sight of her. While the rest of his body had gone through quite the change with his shapeshifting, his wings had basically just become smaller, still keeping their shape and span, scaling through of course. "Ah, yes. Introductions, hard to do with the unique way we met. I am called Tossik. What shall I call you in our time together?" he asked, continuing to lead them along the tunnel away from the main chamber. It got smaller as they went, starting off large and wide, narrowing down to be like a wide hallway in the castle.

Soon enough the tunnel opened up to another wide cavern, though not nearly the size of the main room where his hoard rested. This actually seemed to be more like a living quarters, with actual furniture resting around it, two beds off to the side, a kitchen like area, even some decor to give the space some personality. "You can sleep there," he said, pointing to one of the beds, then motioned to another tunnel off the one they'd entered. "Through there is a spring, handle any hygienic needs there," he added, then moved to his own bed and took a seat. "Might not be as nice as the castle you're used to, but I've made it my own."

“My name is Calarel,” she told him, not bothering with titles or insisting he called her 'lady' or something like that. She had a feeling that even if she wanted him to, he wouldn't, and she didn't want him to in particular so there was no point in trying to make him. She followed Tossik down the tunnel until they were in a wide cavern that looked to be where he lived. There was even something of a kitchen and some furniture, as well as a couple of beds. She looked at the one he indicated was for her, then looked where he pointed for a spring, then back to the dragon. “It will do,” she told him simply as he said it wasn't as nice as the castle.

The young woman sighed and put her bag on the bed that was to be hers while she stayed here, then frowned a little, her hands on her hips as she looked at Tossik with arched brows. “So, now what? I just sit here and wait for some fool on a horse to come and challenge you?” Calarel asked him, obviously unimpressed with this whole thing. She sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the dragon, unhappy to be here, unhappy to be in this whole thing, it was so pointless, and she didn't have any say in it. She would be marrying a man she knew nothing about, and if it turned out that she hated him, then oh well.

"Well, glad to hear it, wasn't going to change anything," he said, standing up from the bed. Tossik liked it well enough, he'd put it together so of course he did, and hadn't really put thought into impressing the girls he took. So funny how this tradition had come around, the dragons had indeed started it, and it hadn't been a joke then. Long ago it truly was something to be scared of, your young daughter being taken by a savage beast, and if someone didn't get her back, that meant bad news. Then it had twisted, becoming a status symbol, the dragons realizing they would increase their hoard more by not being so violent, increasing the dowry needed to take a girl, the stronger dragons taking even more. It was a business, who knew what might change it now.

Tossik smirked, chuckling a bit at her attitude, her stance. Still too good for everything, too cool for it, at least it seemed. "That's how it works, just hope that he's a good one," he said, shrugging, walking over to the side of her bed. "I had one girl, Matilda, the guy that came was a real jerk. He actually tried fighting, I had to hold back from killing him before he just left with her. Good dowry though, how I got that," he said, nodding to a painting that he'd rigged to hang from part of the cave. "But, anyway, just hope you get a good knight to come and pick you up."

Calarel tensed at the dragon's answer, her metaphorical hackles rising as he so flippantly disregarded her very future. Her slender hands curled into fists, and she felt a rush of hot rage that was so intense she almost felt cold. “Just hope he's a good guy...” she repeated quietly, her voice beginning to shake, “I guess it doesn't matter to you what happens to any of us as long as you get your gold and valuables. Never mind that that man might beat her or mistreat her in some other way. Never mind that you could have done something, never mind that she's a person as long as you get what you want. As long as you get some pretty picture to hang on your wall.” She pointed angrily at the painting in question, “I should set that thing on fire!” She screeched suddenly.

She scoffed, fighting the urge to just spit at him, a gesture she'd seen commoners partake in when they were particularly disgusted, but her upbringing prevented her from actually following through. “Some fearsome dragon you are, all you and your kind are are a bunch of greedy lizards!” Calarel couldn't stand to be in the same room as him anymore and walked quickly down the tunnel that he had pointed out to her, seeing the spring as she came out the other end. She didn't particularly feel like a bath so she walked over to a large boulder and carefully climbed up on it, sitting down with a heavy sigh. She pulled her legs up, crossing her arms on top of her knees and then putting her down on them.

Tossik nodded, looking to his kitchen area. The dragon was starting to get hungry, his mind wandered to what he might have to prepare that she could eat as well. When she spoke up, his face turned quickly, her tone drawing his full attention. The scales on his face tightened, eyes narrowing as she went on. What was the point of threatening the painting? It did nothing wrong. Tossik crossed his arms and stood before her, giving a slightly annoyed look, finding this whole speech rather smug. She stood and left, heading toward the spring. The reptile growled, puffing some smoke out of his nostrils, tail lying still.

A few minutes later his steps could be heard coming close, down the tunnel to where she was. "It's pretty, hm? A fresh mountain spring, part of what makes this place nice," he said, walking past her and to the edge of the water. "So if you're done being self-righteous, could I have a turn? You're quite good at tossing out judgments about species without seeing the faults in your own. This whole ridiculous system was created by your people, who just use us as a status symbol now. Yes, dragons were a feared, destructive force long ago that kidnapped maidens and stole riches. It's our nature to acquire treasure, I don't judge you for dressing all elegantly and pretending you're better than everyone else. My race has become a joke, but that's the way life is now, apparently," he went on, turning from the spring to look at her. "You just let this happen, why didn't you try to change anything? We both play our parts in the big game everyone else decides for us. If I can get some treasure and art out of the deal, why shouldn't I?" he paused, giving a slight chuckle.

"I thought about changing to deliver that in my true form, but it wasn't worth it. I was thinking about starting something to eat, were you hungry at all?" he asked, tone calming from being stern and angered.

Calarel let out an irritated noise at the sound of the dragon's claws scraping over stone as he followed her to the spring, lifting her head but only to turn it away from him, not acknowledging his initial words about the spring. She glared at the cave wall, not giving a damn about the spring or anything else. She did feel a new flare of anger at the dragon's words though, lifting her head to glare at Tossik angrily. “You think it's so easy to just not go along with it?” She snapped at him, “You know about as much about humans as I know about dragons then. I don't have a choice, I'm a woman, we never have a choice. My life belong to another from the moment I was born without a cock.” Her voice turned into a snarl towards the end, getting angry all over again, so she of course showed no interest in his offer of food.

“And no thank you, I'm not hungry,” she hissed at him before turning her head away from Tossik, “Please just leave me alone.” Her head deposited itself back on her arms on top of her knees and she resumed glaring at the cave wall. She knew this was hardly the dragon's fault, but he was the only one around, and he was just so... complacent! It was easy for her to take out her anger and frustration on him. Calarel did not foresee herself letting this go as easily as he did. What did she get out of any of this? He got what he wanted, her husband would get what he wanted, what about her?She just wanted to be able to choose something! Anything more important than what she was going to wear for the day, and even then sometimes that was decided for her. She gave a heavy, shaking sigh, feeling more overwhelmed now than ever.

It would probably just stand to infuriate her further, but Tossik didn't seem to react to her answers, barely turning or moving as she snapped and shouted. Just waiting for her answer to his question about food, the dragon shrugged as she responded and started walking back to the main area. "Suit yourself. Let me know when you're hungry, won't do well for your future husband to find you dead from starvation," he said, calling back as he went, words echoing through the tunnel as he got further from the spring. She was angry, and had a right to be. It seemed like he was aloof about everything, that he didn't care about her future, but her words had an effect.

Their argument hung on his mind as he got some meat from his stores and prepared it. Both of them were stuck in situations they didn't want to be in: she was essentially a trophy, her life all about someone owning her to show her off: her parents, her future husband, and a trophy didn't get to decide how or where it was displayed. He wasn't any better, basically a puppet, strung along to play the part of the big, scary monster. A well-paid puppet, but a puppet nonetheless. Something big would have to be done to break that monotony, but who knew when that would happen?

An uneventful few days followed. Tossik put the dowry from Calarel out of the bags and into his stores, save for a couple of them, "conveniently" set aside for someone to grab should they enter his lair to rescue someone. The relationship between them didn't seem to improve much, they barely talked or even stayed in the same room. Neither of them tried very hard to talk or get to know the other. They both knew all they wanted to know about the other. Plenty of time for them to think, and the thought had been on Tossik's mind about his life and what had happened to the once majestic dragon kind, basically now being well-paid actors. It finally broke the quiet streak when a boisterous, deep, male voice called out from the main entrance to his home.

"Hear me, foul dragon! You shall be slain, and the lovely Calarel will be mine!" he called out, the exaggerated sound of a sword leaving its sheath following. Tossik looked up, standing in the spring as he'd been bathing. "Took him long enough," the reptile said, wings extending as he leapt up, flying through the tunnel to get back to the main area. He was sure the girl had heard this guy's challenge, so he didn't bother to find her. As he got to the larger output to his treasure room, Tossik morphed back to his true form, bones cracked and scales shifting as he grew back to his full height. With a resounding roar, he shot through to the room, hovering in the air for a moment before landing in front of the knight. His head cocked for a moment. He was older than the usual challenger, body not...typical of a warrior. Firey red hair and a large beard over the steel of his armor, he was giving Tossik a cocky, menacing grin. "If you've harmed her, I will tear each one of the scales off your body and cast it in the fires of hell! I, Sir Melihad, shall destroy you! Calarel will be mine forever," he boomed out, Tossik doing his best not to sigh.

Calarel kept to herself for the next few days, she wanted nothing to do with the dragon that was playing a part in simply being transferred from one vault to another like an object. This was going to be her life, and she seemed to have no say in it. His words stuck with her though, just as hers stuck with him. Tossik had accused of her just idly going along with everything, she tried to tell herself that wasn't true, but could she do more to try and stop all of this from happening? She was just a small cog in a big machine, but losing one piece like that could cause problems, and if more pieces fell out, maybe it would make the machine break. So Calarel waited, deciding that when the time came, she would not go quietly.

So when she heard that loud, proud male voice announcing itself at the entrance to Tossik's cave, she ventured out of bedroom, making her way carefully out to the front to see what was going on. Really the only appeal any of these 'suitors' (as she could hardly consider them as such, since all they did was falsely defeat a dragon, and not actually court the women they wound up marrying) might have had with Calarel was their looks, since it was the only thing she could really see of them. This man didn't even have that. He was older, portly, and if he were to ever have to actually fight anything, he would be doomed. She frowned deeply, there was no way she was marrying him! She disappeared back into the cave briefly, trying find a weapon in Tossik's hoard for her to use.

Sir Melihad seemed to be quite the character actor, hamming up the role plenty. Was he purposefully trying far too hard to play the whole 'savior, gallant knight' part? Perhaps, Tossik wouldn't blink an eye if someone told him this was the first time the older man had put on a suit of armor, the first time he'd really held a weapon. The dragon's golden eyes examined his grip on the blade, it wouldn't be hard for even a barely trained soldier to knock it away from him. This man was just playing brave knight because he heard a pretty girl was this week's captive. Maybe he knew of Calarel, waiting for his chance for her to be the one taken by a dragon, for her turn to be given to whatever man was first in line at the cave to take her.

This boisterous, older man got her just because he was the first to show up at Tossik's home and ask for her. It wasn't fair, and the dragon had a rare emotion come through him, that of guilt, for the part he'd played in other girls coming to such bad matches. What he'd told Calarel earlier came back to him as he thought this, just how inane and stupid the entire game was. He was a hypocrite, blaming her for just going along with things and not even trying to change them if she felt so strong about it. Tossik hadn't exactly done much either, for as much as he'd complained and seemed to hate the charade that had become the life of a dragon. Perhaps it was time to change that.

"Brave knight, I see your passion, your drive to rescue the damsel. I truly fear being on the receiving end of your shining blade, but I must tell you: I am not the drake that you seek. It's not false to say I've taken princesses in the past, but for now no such girl resides here."

After some searching, Calarel found a short sword among the gold, jewels, and baubles that looked somewhat functional and not just like another decoration, pulling it out and hefting it in her hand a little. To be honest, she knew very little about sword fighting, she had never been allowed to learn, and she'd only seen them used a handful of times. But she had to do something, and she knew for a fact that many noblemen weren't as bold as they liked to pretend to be, maybe even just having her threaten him would throw him off enough to make him think twice about wanting her as a wife.

She gripped the sword and marched towards the mouth of the cave, where Tossik was actually trying to get the knight to just leave, though she didn't know that. So she walked outside, brandishing the weapon and glaring angrily at the 'knight', “Go on about your way!” Calarel growled at him, though she paused when she got a good look at him, scoffing loudly, “I thought you knights and lords were supposed to be young handsome, have you just been too lazy to come out and face a dragon until now? Certainly took you long enough...”

Tossik's words certainly weren't what Sir Melihad was expecting. Thinking the beast would play along with the big act, he was taken aback as the dragon was quite eloquent, and respectful even about the whole thing, and not, you know, threatening to burn him to a crisp and saying he was going to keep the girl. "You, but, they told me she was here! You jest, foul creature!" the red-head shouted, pointing his blade at Tossik. The dragon let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "Sir knight, I assure you, no princess is here," he said. Almost instantly after he'd finished the sentence, Calarel had burst into the cave, waving a sword and shouting. "Damn it, girl," he muttered, looking to her as the knight did.

None of this was going as Sir Melihad thought it was supposed to. He was told it was just pretend you were going to fight a dragon, do a little fake swordplay against the beast, then you got to leave with a princess and a bunch of gold. "Uh, m-milady?" he said, stuttering some as he spoke, trying to figure out what was happening. "This dragon must have you spellbound, some how! Not only have you lied to my face, you've hypnotized this beautiful maiden, curse you!" he said, turning back to Tossik and pointing his steel at Tossik. "Her? No, she's no princess. I needed someone to tend to my things when I am away, so I've hired her as a helper, a maid if you will. She's a bit foul mouthed, not a people person. Clearly not a princess, right?" he said to the man, though looking down to Calarel, eyes trying to tell her to play along.

Calarel stood there for a moment, a proud, stubborn glare on her face, thinking that she was being very brave and defiant. She scoffed a little when the knight told her that she must obviously be under some spell placed on her by the dragon. Yes, because only a spell could make her not want to be with such a handsome, dashing man. Her green eyes rolled at him sarcastically. Even if she did want to go along with this whole being rescued farce, she certainly wouldn't want to be rescued by Melihad the Fat. She opened her mouth to say as much, when the knight accused Tossik of lying to him and then the dragon claimed that she wasn't a princess at all, that she was in fact his maid.

The young woman's brows knitted in a confused frown, looking up at the dragon with a perplexed expression. She blinked a little though at the look Tossik gave her, clearing her throat a bit before she looked back to Melihad, “Ah, yes! I'm no lady, just a maid.” She cleared her throat softly, still trying to get her mind to adjust to this new situation. Calarel gave a wicked smile as she remembered what she'd been about to say, “And even if I were a lady, I certainly wouldn't want to saddled with some big fat lump like you.” Her chin lifted a bit and she planted the tip of the sword in the ground, one hand gripping the pommel and the other on her hip, smirking.

Tossik gave a light smile, looking from her to the knight once more. Now they were acting, though not the roles expected of them. It was just a matter of if Melihad was as dumb as he appeared to be, if he'd believe their farce. "See? A simple maid, if a bit mouthy. Not much of a matter, as she's mostly here just to tend to my hoard and stash, clean up while I'm away, and what not. A good servant, but not a princess. So, with that, as what you seek is not here, I would ask that you leave us be, great Sir Melihad. I'm sure wherever she is, your princess is waiting for you to find her so she can be your bride," he said, giving another bow of his head to the rotund swordsman.

Melihad looked quite flabbergasted, gaze quickly switching from Calarel to Tossik. His sword lowered from being pointed at the dragon to resting on the stone floor of the cave. A hand raised to scratch at his flaming red-head, confused. This was...completely opposite of how he'd thought this was going to go. The lizard was supposed to fake a fight and then give up, the girl was supposed to love him immediately, and then run to him when he won, kissing him and running away with him, along with a big dowry of gold and wealth. Easy peasy. This was...weird, and hard to deal with. "I, you," he sputtered out random syllables for a few moments, finally fixing his gaze on Tossik and frowning. "My squire must have led me astray, his fault entirely," he said, sheathing his sword and storming away, muttering angry curses. "You should teach your maid some manners! A knight deserves respect!" he shouted back.

"Of course, of course, I'll see to it," Tossik called, watching the man walk away in a huff, holding up a claw to Calarel, motioning for her to wait. He held it until Melihad was out and gone, grinning like an idiot when it was clear. "I cannot believe that worked. We should be honored, the dumbest knight to ever live just graced us with his presence."

Calarel still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but if it meant that she didn't have to marry this idiot she didn't care. She just gave the rather clueless 'knight' a condescending smirk at the very confused and flustered look he gave the two of them. The wind was taken right out of his sails and he seemed to be at a complete loss on how to handle the situation. Finally though he accepted Tossik's lie, putting away his sword before he walked away, muttering to himself before shouting back some advice to the dragon about his maid's behavior. Calarel scoffed and rolled her eyes, thinking that what that man deserved wasn't respect but a swift kick in the ass.

She waited quietly though when Tossik motioned for her to, knowing he was wanting the knight well and away before either of them said or did anything. She didn't share in his mirth and amusement though, frowning a little as he grinned laughed. “Yes, I suppose he did,” she told him, the sword still in her hand, though mostly forgotten now, “But... why did you do that?” Calarel was clearly confused, and even looked a little suspicious, wondering at the dragon's reasons for turning the portly knight away. That wasn't how things were supposed to go as far as she knew, and he had seemed to have no issue with it what so ever a few days ago.

As Tossik grinned and gave a few laughs, he started the process to change into his other form. Cracks and the sound of sliding bones let out as they shifted and changed size. Scales made a slithering motion as they shrunk along with his body. Soon enough he was back into the more humanoid version of himself, stretching out his limbs to get the last kinks out of the change. "He barely even tried," he said, getting the last of the laughs out and shaking his head. Turning to move, he paused at her question. "Why did I do that?" he repeated, stopping his step.

Tossik gave a nervous chuckle, and shrugged. "Maybe I've upped my standards in the knights I let 'take me down.' I didn't think Sir Melihadtoomanyturkeylegs deserved to beat me and take you. Your dowry, I mean. If I'm going to let someone take something from me, they'd better deserve it. Maybe the next one won't be such a buffoon, eh?" he said, starting to walk once more and head back to the living chambers. He wasn't quite willing to admit it was because he felt guilty and didn't want her to have to wed someone like that.

Calarel was watching the dragon with obvious suspicion as he seemed to have to think about his answer for just a moment. She wasn't sure about his explanation, frowning softly as he claimed that he had simply not wanted to tarnish his reputation by letting such a sad excuse of a knight 'defeat' him. Tossik had hardly seemed to have such discerning tastes when they had argued before, she didn't know if she believed him, but she couldn't think of any other likely explanation. He certainly didn't care about what happened to her, so Calarel didn't think that he had gotten rid of 'Sir' Melihad for her benefit.

She just sighed a bit and followed him back inside, saying nothing else on the subject for the rest of the night. Though the next day she found herself watching Tossik with that hint of suspicion, obviously wondering about what had happened yesterday, and what would happen now. Calarel was still thinking about it as she bathed in the hot spring in the back of the dragon's cave, getting out and wrapping herself in a soft, towel-like blanket after she dried herself, walking back into the bedroom of the cave, her pale skin a little flushed from the heat of the water. She didn't see Tossik, so she put the towel aside,trying to get dressed quickly before he could turn up.

Tossik was just as happy to avoid talking about the incident and why he'd lied to the man. He ate, poked around through his hoard, bathed, went through the usual goings of a dragon in his lair. Of course, while they were quiet and keeping conversation brief, avoiding the topic, that didn't mean it wasn't on the dragon's mind. Mostly, he was trying to figure out if there was more to it than just being guilty about the princesses in the past, something about Calarel was different, but exactly what that was was a difficult question. Well, a good night's sleep would get rid of it, and it seemed to the next morning, as he went out for a fly in his natural form.

After a while he returned, morphing into the human-like form as he came into the cave. A good morning, the brisk air felt good and he'd been able to hunt for a while, bringing back some meat to prepare and preserve. Calarel didn't seem to be around, he left the bodies in another off-cave as he went around to look for her, hoping he hadn't just missed a knight venturing in and taking her. Venturing to the bedroom, a grin crossed his face as he caught the girl, bare skin causing him to stop. Well, maybe she wouldn't be totally different from the previous girls. "Enjoying the spring, I see."