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A Most Peculiar Education (CasualVelociraptor x SnakeofSeduction)

Nyx twitched when the other mentioned how cold it was, and hesitantly withdrew her wing. She was from a line of Ice Dragons, after all, at least on her Mother's side. Her Father was certainly a Fire Dragon, but her own blood was cold, and as much as she liked being icy, she wished she could warm Kate up now, instead of making her colder.

She paused when the other mentioned what had just happened, and she tilted her head at the other, keeping her close as she felt warm tears on her skin, "You.... You're worried." She mumbled. She couldn't read auras, she didn't think, but she could almost taste Kate's worry in the air, "You think we'll be in trouble..." She crooned.

It had passed her thoughts, but Nyx didn't care. She wanted to be happy, with Kate, "We'll be fine. No one will know." She said gently.
 
Nyx was being so cavalier about all this, about the risks, and it was making Kate annoyed as she exhaled loudly into her hands. Nyx would only be sent back to her country for her crimes against nature; meanwhile, Kate would be sentenced to hard labor for life in the prison continent of Jogadunda, kept far from her mother forever. She was also afraid to admit that she was worried about losing Nyx forever

“Well, yeah, of COURSE I’m fucking worried!” Kate shouted, then continued in a much lower octave in the dragonling’s ear, “You forget, this is a school for magic. Most of these students are elves who think I don’t belong here in their little old mages club. If people even spread a fake rumor that I’m a gods-damned clamdigger, who knows what people could do? They could cast a projection of themselves with Illusion, Enchant the window to spy on us, maybe even Charm that Goliath guard to try to trap us or something.”

Kate was now spiraling in an anxiety attack, clutching her bare chest as she breathed heavily. “Look, I’m really sorry, but we have to forget that tonight ever happened. That we ever...did things. I want to remain friends with you, and we can like, hug, maybe? But also, we have to be extremely careful and never do anything like tonight again. Do you understand? I don’t want you like that.”
 
Nyx really didn't understand what had Kate so worried. In her Flock, it was perfectly acceptable for two females, or two males, to mate, if they were happy together. She tilted her head, truly confused as the other exhaled loudly, sounding annoyed. Her wings fluttered, and then she flinched away hard when Kate shouted at her, ears twitching back and wings curling in on herself, tail curling around her leg.

Her words didn't make sense to Nyx. Why would people treat either of them like that? She rumbled, trying to calm Kate down, realising the other girl was spiralling, and not knowing what to do about it. Clearly she didn't want Nyx to touch her to calm her down, nothing like they'd been doing at least.

Of course, the last words to be spat from Kate's mouth made Nyx freeze up. She pulled herself away, standing from the bed, her wings shaking in upset as she turned her back on Kate. After a moment, she pulled her clothes back on, nodding, "Then you won't have me like that." She muttered, "I just... I need to take a walk." She sighed, before leaving their room, uncaring of any curfew.

She felt like she was hurting inside and out, as she walked. Inside, because of Kate. Outside, because of the cuts and bruises she'd gotten from saving Kate earlier, including those that still marred her cheek, albeit healing now. How could she have been so stupid? Her Father had warned her that these people wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. Still, she kept walking, careful not to get caught, wanting to give Kate some time to calm down. Maybe she could see if she could swap rooms with someone, for Kate's sake. Clearly the other didn't want her there.
 
As soon as Nyx left, Kate regretted her tone towards her roommate. Her one potential friend in life apart from Sarah Gordon-Hawkins, and she was shooting that down to protect herself without considering Nyx's feelings. But she was frozen to her bed; somewhat by the smell of sex that wafted over them, a reminder of her sin, but moreso by her own fear. Perhaps it was better to be alone so she couldn't hurt anyone else.

But there, alone as the one automakerze candle (one of the few pieces of technology they were allowed to bring into the school) of their tiny stone room went out, Kate cried softly into the cold tendrils of darkness that embraced her, and had a sense that it was...smothering. That it was...whispering to her? In other words, damn the torpedoes, Kate just needed Nyx in her life to some degree, whether that was as friends, or something else. Perhaps it was a selfish desire, just a reminder that she was a drain on this world, but there it was.

Whether she deserved the dragoness' company was an entirely different question, but Kate had to try. If she failed at this, then she only had herself to blame, but she would definitely fail if she never tried.

And so she wound the crank on the side of the automakerze to relight it, got dressed in her two-piece nightgown, and then set out to find Nyx in the yawning void, the candlelight illuminating her dark hair and her body through the sheen of the clothing.
 
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Nyx had managed to avoid her guards on her walk out, sneaking past the room they all shared. Some were keeping watch, others sleeping, but she managed to sneak past when they weren't watching. It was likely they were only keeping an eye on anyone coming into the building anyway, and those that were awake had had a long day. She didn't blame them for missing her.

Wandering out into the night, feeling the chill on her skin, she found a spot of grass to sit upon under the light of the moon. Wings wrapped around her under her cloak, she rubbed away the tears that slid down her cheeks, despite the fact that they were replaced moments later. What had she done? Kate clearly didn't want her around anymore, and Nyx should never have fallen so easily for her.

Unaware that Kate was currently looking for her, Nyx stayed where she was. She felt a little homesick in that moment, and the cool air drifting over her skin helped her feel a little better.
 
Kate could now hear the gently rolling tears of her roommate and barely see the dragonling's outline in the moonlight, as well as the spotlights of the Goliath that were faintly reflected off the trees and on to her.

Crap, Kate thought, now is NOT the time to be caught by that thing. Then she also realized that, even saddened like this- by her, no less- Nyx was still so alluring. A moment later, she berated herself with thoughts of, You can't possibly fix this, you perverted bitch. Can't you see she's too good for the likes of you? Just turn back and crawl in a corner and die!

Because her candle was too faint now, Kate was able to push off the darkness, supernatural or not, for just a moment as she concentrated and illuminated the area around them with an Apprentice-level spell called Inner Light. It was one of the few she knew by heart and one that had enabled her to pass the basic test. It also began playing a powerful yet softly reassuring melody in Nyx's mind for reasons unknown.

"Where do I even begin, Nyx?" Kate asked and sighed, dropping her light-casting right arm to her side. "I know sorry doesn't cut it, but I am sorry on a cosmic scale. The truth is, I got scared. Scared of what I am, scared of being the outsider here, scared of being found out. I took that out on you when you've done nothing but support me and save my ass, and it was beyond wrong. I can understand if you never want to see me again; I almost can't bear to see me in the mirror again. But search your heart, and tell me, please. Is there...anything I can do that would allow me to start earning back your trust?"
 
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Nyx didn't much care if she was caught out here. She was miserable, homesick, and now it seemed she'd lost her only friend, after barely knowing her for a short time. Her cheek ached with the cuts that marred it, and she wondered again what she'd done wrong. Was she truly that disgusting that Kate had only touched her for a distraction?

A light caught her eye in her peripheral vision, but she didn't respond to it. If it was someone else, which she assumed it was, she didn't care. And yet, her head twitched as a calming, powerful melody came with it, seemingly originating from the light and drawing Nyx's attention to it, or more accurately, it's wielder. Kate.

She ducked her head, swallowing thickly as Kate spoke, "You.. You already have my trust Kate. Always did." She mumbled, her voice thick with tears, "But...But I can't be shoved off every time you're scared of what I am, of being near me."
 
“I won’t ever hurt you like that again, I promise,” Kate said, nearly leaping towards Nyx before hugging the taller dragoness tightly. “And...I’m also sorry for saying that I don’t want you. I do. It’s just, we can’t act on that want, because this world would tear us apart entirely if we did, and I don’t want you to suffer as I have. Besides, I know I have to take the time to earn back the trust you somehow still have in me, to really be your friend.”

Of course, now that she thought about it some more, perhaps things might change in the summer, if they could eke out a few weeks in the woods...alone. But that was all very far ahead. If Kate could screw her head on right about something, not be a failure for once in her life, it HAD to be about this. It just had to!
 
Nyx glanced to her, allowing the other to hug her tightly. Slowly, she reacted, tucking herself against the other a little more as Kate apologised for her actions. She huffed, shaking her head, "You're my only friend, Kate. No one else here wants to even speak to me. I don't want you to suffer because you're friends with me but... but why can't we be together? Why... Why can't people accept it? I... There's nothing wrong with it in my... in my Flock." She mumbled, wishing the outside world made sense.

She didn't let go of Kate though, tucking her head into the other's shoulder, huffing softly, "I just... I want us both to be happy."
 
“Why can’t people accept it? I guess...I guess they have their reasons, around here,” Kate said. “But I don’t have to understand it. You just have to trust me when I say that just being friends is what’s best for us.”

If only either woman had known that, only a kilometer down the hill, Emily Caldwell, Empress of Caledoria, and Phinara Presymys, Madame Witch Mother and Headmistress of EUMS, were making passionate love to each other under assumed names in the modest tavern named the Port of Call in town...

Then the Goliath stomped towards the two of them, startling the young witch. Moments later, floodlights aimed by the slowly rotating head covered her and her erstwhile roommate.

“Hey, what are you doing up so late, you two? Don’t you know there’s a curfew?” Paige asked, sticking her head out of the right viewport.

Without missing a beat, Kate replied, “No, sorry...we were just talking.”

“Why outside?” the guard asked, narrowing her eyes. “After all, your room has way more privacy.”

“Um...” Now Kate was hesitating more, though she had no way of knowing if Paige could pick up on that. “We needed a little fresh air.”

“Then open a window. Which...most of this castle doesn’t have windows to begin with.”

“We have one window, and we’ll just open it next time we need air,” Kate sighed while rubbing the back of her neck.

“You do that,” Paige said, lowering the rescue cable. “You’re the one with magic, and I won’t always be lugging this giant thing around, so I don’t want to have to make a habit out of saving you,” she winked.

Was that...did she just...? Kate wondered the whole way up the cable and into the belly of the beast.
 
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Nyx clung onto Kate, nodding her head. The world outside of her Flock was strange, she was learning that now more than ever. She thought she'd found some comfort in Kate, and yet the other was too afraid of what being together might do to them. Or, more accurately, what being together would do to their reputations.

She jolted away from Kate's arms when a floodlight beamed down upon them, matched with the tell-tale stomps of the Goliath. She bristled a little, wrapping her arms around herself, and she let Kate speak. She could always say she was homesick, but Kate seemed to have it handled.

She didn't even look up toward the Goliath until she noticed Kate moving, and she sighed softly when she realised there was a rescue cable coming down to them. She followed Kate silently, not caring to speak, her wings hanging around her shoulders.
 
“As for you, Princess, if you want me to escort you into town one weekend so you can see more of this very strange, occasionally infuriating country, I can probably persuade one of your guards to take the day off,” Paige said. (Usually, her bribery for small bending of the rules like this involved a peek at her body whether the official was a woman or a man, although sometimes her persuasion was instead of the monetary kind, or trading favors.)

The Goliath pilot knew exactly what she was doing by offering Nyx a taste of freedom in contrast to Kate’s insistence on following the expectations set by others, and Kate fumed that she had painted herself into a corner with her own fears about what might happen, that she had to now follow or seem the hypocrite.
 
Nyx blinked at Paige as the other woman offered to escort her into the town on a weekend. Her guards would never allow it, and yet... she wanted to. Kate wanted to hide what they were from the world, wanted to hide how they liked each other. But Nyx wouldn't hide. She was a Dragoness, and she wouldn't hide away in the school just because she was afraid of people's opinions.

Her wings fluttered, and she nodded, back straightening a little, back into the regal pose she usually carried, "I would enjoy that. Though, my guards are difficult to convince of anything." She'd managed to avoid them tonight, by some miracle.
 
“I can be…very persuasive,” the pilot purred as the ponderous machine lumbered through the clearing carrying the girls for the second time today. “Besides, the agreement says they’re not allowed in the town.” She then added, with a flourish of her floppy cap towards her, “So I, as a Knight of Elthur, will simply assume responsibility for my beautiful Princess’s safety. There’s no harm in that, now is there?”

Kate, for her part, took the long ride back home (after being a little grumpy about hoe thickly Paige was laying it on) to think about how to address this. And once they were back in their rooms (after the massive transport somehow didn’t wake up any of their peers- perhaps they could sleep through a war at this rate!), Kate said just before going to sleep:

“I know I’ve hurt you terribly, my sweet Nyx. For that, I am deeply sorry. But I hope that in time your faith in me will be rewarded, and that at the end of our years here we will consider each other the truest of bosom friends.”

Nothing more, sadly. But perhaps that would be enough. Still, she couldn’t resist teasing, “Please don’t forget about me when you get a girlfriend, and share all the juiciest details you dare,” with a cheeky wink about the strong, sexy Goliath pilot, who Kate considered an acceptable substitute if she was to sweep Nyx off her feet, despite Kate’s own jealousy.

And over the next two weeks, the students did indeed work on their friendship. In school, Kate helped Nyx understand the history of magic as understood and how energy flowed from the Dreamscape to those magically inclined, while Nyx tried working with Kate on stirring a certain something within her soul that would allow her to present the healing magic Kate desired to manifest, and demonstrated with the fiery Destruction magic so unique to dragons and dragonlings.

Then came Saturday, September 24th, 1892, when Paige arrived at Nyx’s abode at the agreed upon time that evening looking rather dapper. She had spent nearly 400 notes on this getup, the better to deflect the attention of anyone in town, and even the most profligate of gossips at the school would assume Princess Nyx was out on the town with a gentleman. (She also carried her Sperling-Watson Model 1867 revolver on her hip in case they got too close; a lifetime of hard living had taught her that despite the nominal equality under law between men and women in Caledoria, many men were stubborn pigs who only listened to women who were naked, had money, or packed heat.)

“Shall I take you out on the town, m’lady?” Paige asked, Nyx’s guards nodding their approval of this excursion.
 
Nyx didn't entirely realise that perhaps Paige was flirting with her a little. She just wanted to explore, to be part of the world instead of hiding from it. And Paige was nice, and pretty, so that didn't hurt. Plus... Well, perhaps she didn't have the same views Kate did, the ones that had pushed her and Nyx apart. Still, the Dragoness did want to continue their friendship... even if she wished for more she would never abandon Kate just like that.

Back in their rooms, she just nodded quietly at Kate's words, not quite knowing what to say, the entire evening a little raw in her mind. But, over the next few weeks, things smoothed out between them. Nyx didn't once mention their time together, and acted like it had never happened. It was better that way, she thought, for both of them, if they wished to continue being friends.

And they worked well together. They encouraged each other, and worked on their magic and history, their lessons becoming easier with the knowledge the pair shared. It was easier to forget their argument when they had other distractions.

But now she was excited. She was being picked up by Paige, and she hoped what she wore pleased the other. It was armour, as was normal for her kind, but not the armour one would wear when going to war. Silver scales rested over her skin, her real scales beneath hiding her intimate areas more than the metal, and over that lay her cloak, though the hood was down when she answered the door. Pretty silver chains were hanging from her horns, delicate and gleaming as she smiled softly at Paige.

She noticed her guards, and nodded back to them, wondering how Paige had convinced them. She hummed, a soft purr in her throat, excited, "Please do." She returned with a croon.
 
Kate only gave a nod of approval and a forced smile as Nyx left their room and descended down the great stone stairs, looking absolutely stunning. She’d thought that she could grin and bear it, but screamed into a pillow once Nyx was out of earshot and arm in arm with that idiotic girl. Cross dressing soldier or no, how could she be so cavalier in risking Nyx getting hurt if anyone figured out the ruse?! At least, that was what Kate told herself to make herself feel better, as she wished that she could be arm in arm in her finest mage’s robes with the shining princess and her silver getup.

Meanwhile, Paige purred, “It would be an honor to even kneel at the feet of one as stunning as yourself, let alone have your arm.” And with that, they were off, down the hill to the sleepy village, where the dragon princess would be the talk of what little social scene existed in that hamlet.
 
Nyx beamed at Kate's approval. She may not ever mention her continuing attraction of Kate, knowing better now, but the others approval still made her feel less nervous about her date. And it was okay, because Paige was wonderful, and why should Nyx dwell on Kate when it was clear her friend didn't want anything more than what they had? She straightened herself before she left, hoping Paige approved of her outfit. It was traditional for her kind to wear this sort of thing, especially for the royals, and especially when they wished to look perfect for someone.

She gave a sweet, toothy smile as Paige spoke, a soft blush on her cheeks, and she held onto Paige's arm as she let the other lead. She hummed as they walked, smiling the entire way, "You look wonderful. I wouldn't want someone as beautiful as yourself to be kneeling for me, you're too perfect for something like that."
 
"You're sweet. I wish I could show you some of the fancier restaurants in Radiant that I can only just now afford," Paige explained. "But from what I hear, The Blue Ship's Belly, the pub around here, is very good even if it's not as refined as you're used to. But wait...what's it like to be a dragon princess? It must be so much fun, and relaxing."
 
Nyx hummed softly, already eager to see this pub that Paige had set out for them. But when asked about her life, she tilted her head slightly, "I... I would not perhaps call it fun. We Dragons are a warrior race, and my people need to be protected. If I am to become Alpha of my Flock, I need to know how to protect them. But... there are some fun times. Flying is always fun." She returned, her voice soft.
 
"It all sounds stressful, but I bet that is a fun part. I wish I could fly, but us mere humans need aeroplanes and airships for that, and can't hope to grow wings yet. Although, I have been hearing that some people can now propel themselves in mid-air with these new things called power philters by pushing currents of air down onto the ground, and other magical powers besides. They're pretty experimental now and should be rolled out to more people soon, and good for them if they want it, but I'm not sure if I'd drink one of those, even if the Empire ordered us to take them. I like being on the ground, and feel like at this point the Goliath and its big, loud, dumb feet are an extension of my own, and that feels pretty magical to me, y'know?" Paige asked as they entered the pub.
 
Nyx hummed, listening eagerly. She wasn't all too caught up on human culture, so to hear that humans were slowly learning to fly amazed her. For her kind, it was a built in mechanism, but humans were working out how they could do it themselves. She giggled slightly, a soft purr in her throat, as Paige mentioned that she'd much rather be on the ground, with her Goliath. She nodded, biting at her lip a little, "It is an amazing machine. And you are an amazing pilot for it. I haven't the faintest idea how you manage it." She stepped into the pub at her partners side, a little nervous when eyes moved to her.
 
"Your body...all dragonling bodies really, are amazing machines. I hear that in ancient times, some elves got similar mutations to the dinosaurs they revered and that's how they came to be. Well, we look up to you in the same way. I mean, look at us. Basically we're you with zero wings on us. And we can't summon fire either. How can that not be less cool?" Paige asked, mixing in self deprecation with genuine awe and some more flirting, underscored by a hungry lip bite whether Nyx noticed it or not.

"This guy," Paige now continued as she smacked the dampfsteel of one of the legs while two more Knights boarded it to begin patrolling the grounds for threats while the students carried on hanging out and studying together, "is an overgrown horse on stilts, and just as cumbersome to ride as that sounds. I've gotten a lot better at putting one foot in front of the other when we're patrolling a small area like this, but it takes months to really get a hang of the controls, and to have the speed we need, relatively speaking, I generally work with a copilot."

"And...well, I had a copilot in my life," Paige sighed. "And, well, her name was Viktoriyanda. Before I had to come here and give everything up." Paige's

Then she gently placed a hand on the dragoness's left shoulder blade was they went down the stone steps of the very small hill and wandered onto the quaint cobblestone street of Elthurscaldy. Indeed, it was a singular, rather crumbly street, running parallel to the docks that paralleled the harbor, upon which the entire town was built, and to which it staked its survival.

To cap off the initial walking tour, a low groan rumbled through the entire town, and could even be heard by the students high up on their hill from nearly a mile away.

"Have you heard a whale before? That's...uh...that's probably the last time it'll say anything normally, if you get my drift. Ahem," Paige said, still having a feeling of needing to walk on eggshells around the princess, lest she upset the international balance of power. "We should go in and find ourselves a seat before you lose your appetite, my lady."
 
Nyx rumbled softly in her throat to hear Paige being so self-deprecating, knowing the other was amazing. She listened, without interrupting, polite as she had always been. She listened to each word that came from Paige's mouth with rapt attention, and glanced up at the Goliath as the other smacked one of the huge legs. It truly was an amazing piece of machinery, and she thought it was far more than a horse on stilts. More dangerous, for one.

To hear that Paige no longer had a co-pilot made the Dragoness long to ask her what had happened. Was the woman still alive? Nyx hoped so, but she didn't dare to ask. Still, she flicked her tongue over her lips as the other finished speaking, leading her down the hill and into the streets, "But you are amazing. You couldn't fly yourselves, but you still found a way to get up into the skies." She hummed, glancing back to the Goliath, "Technology like that... it eludes my kind. We rely on magic, and instinct. Your technology is just as amazing as you are, and the fact that you can control it without a co-pilot..." She hummed, giving Paige a soft smile.

Her eyes widened as a low groan rumbled beneath her feet, and her eyes darted around to find the source. She frowned, and glanced to Paige, "A whale?" She asked, but nodded along, then paused, "You do not need to censor yourself around me, Paige. I won't get upset." She told her gently. She didn't like people treating her differently just because of who she was.
 
"Well, uh...that's...whales are..." Paige said. "You know what they are, right? They're a huge source of food and fuel for us. I'm sorry if I sounded too delicate, earlier. I just, I didn't know where you stood on the issue of whaling, whether you ate whale, or if even just the mention of whales out of my fat mouth would be a deal breaker for you ever dating a Caledorian. Personally, I think whaling is kind of a necessary evil for us to get off the ground at all, or out on the seas, or even just around on land faster than our regular, boring, non-magical feet, but we could do better to not overhunt them as a society."

"If you're sure you're not upset," she then gestured to Nyx while holding the door of the pub open, "shall I get us a table?"
 
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Nyx frowned slightly, but nodded. She knew what a whale was, she just didn't realise that they used them for food and fuel. The sound it had made had been pained, and it called to Nyx's more animalistic senses. She nodded along, however, and followed Paige inside, "It's not a deal breaker at all. I would be a hypocrite if I said it was, it's not like my kind aren't predators." She rumbled. It was a little horrific to know how they used them, but Nyx knew she couldn't change that. It was out of both her and Paige's control, and she couldn't blame Paige for the suffering of the whale.

Stepping inside, she glanced around, suddenly rather anxious to be faced with so many humans. She turned back to Paige, holding back from begging the woman to stay close, instead straightening her back, "A table would be wonderful."
 
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