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The Miracle of Defiance (Starring Lorelai Dannehur and Erit of Eastcris)

Lorelai's eyes were round as saucers in awe and amazement at the sheer number of dragons surrounding them. If it hadn't been for the sound shield Irasel had erected that drastically muffled all the ruckus the dragons were stirring up, Lorelai had a feeling she would have been crouching behind Irasel with her hands firmly clasped over her ears in an attempt to shut out all the noise. While the sound barrier was up, Lorelai took the opportunity to softly request of Irasel, "Would ye mind terribly puttin' a spell or enchantment on me clothes te help keep'em from gettin' ruined? I thought I'd try te look nice fer th' elder dragons, but I don't know how rough th' younger ones like te play." Lorelai did find herself taking cover behind Irasel at his dramatic display of power, but only as her own safety precaution to make sure she was out of range of the magic gathering in his hand since she was the closest to him. She gave a slight startled jump as Irasel released a stream of pure raw magic at the sky, but after the display she'd seen when he'd driven off the rioters Lorelai wasn't that surprised.

Lorelai beamed a wide smile in excitement as she picked up on Irasel's stating Essenstadt was a land of the draconic and eagerly asked, "Oh? Ye mean there's more than just one?" Feeling a little shy with everyone's attention focused on her and Irasel, Lorelai worked up the courage to politely introduce herself. She was used to avoiding attention instead of being the cause of it. "Um...h'llo everyone, I'm Lorelai. Um...it's truly an honor te meet all of ye." Lorelai dipped her head in a respectful bow before straightening and giving a shy smile. Lorelai could only hope she'd made a good first impression considering she'd never really greeted a dragon before.
 
Irasel smiled slightly at his Apprentice's shy greeting, looking up at the denizens of Essenstadt as they watched her, perplexed slightly. After a long moment, a dragon with smooth, scaleless grey skin bowed it's long neck, sniffing the fox-eared woman before blowing a gentle puff of violet smoke—completely safe and smelling faintly of the air after a rainstorm—into her face before the edges of his maw twitched in what was unmistakably a smile. The Aldari turned to Irasel and spoke, then, in an unbelievably deep voice that seemed to resonate with the earth at their feet. "I had thought, Sorcerer," he rumbled, "that you did not wish to take a wife? Yet here you stand with such a youngling at your side, and you have not even played one of your usual tricks." He turned back to Lorelai, "Have no fear, little one. We are carnivorous, yes, but prefer the taste of sheep and elk to that of your kin. Besides, you are protected by your Sorcerer. A word of advice, though, don—"

The Sorcerer in question coughed rather loudly, smiling to mask his mild annoyance. "She is not," he said simply, "my wife. The girl is my Apprentice. I have brought her here to continue the pact, and to inform you that I will be gone in another century or so." The grey elder dragon bowed his head, rumbling "Sad news. Thessa and Miren were looking forward to your accepting their offer."

"Perhaps to you, Erias, but not I. I have no reason to stay in a world that Ea does not live in, beyond my responsibilities." He smiled at Lorelai again, patting her head, "But now I have my Apprentice. The wait is bearable, now." He glanced around the ridge that all the dragons perched upon, "And she would very much like to learn about dragons," he looked down to her, "so would you like to attend Essenstadt's welcoming festival? We'd be the guests of honor."
 
Lorelai tilted her head to the side in polite confusion as Erias was interrupted by Irasel before the dragon could inform her just what exactly he was advising her against doing. Her face grew red as her hair, but whether it was over Erias's mistaking Lorelai for Irasel's wife or Irasel stating that she wasn't married to him, Lorelai didn't know which. Lorelai's ears flattened and bowed her head at the mention of Irasel intentionally dying possibly in the next century. It saddened her that Irasel had grown so tired of the world that he wanted to leave it and secretly Lorelai hoped there was some way she could convince him to stick around before the deadline he mentioned. If he left, Lorelai knew she'd miss him terribly and not just because he seemed determined on spoiling her rotten. Sure he seemed a tad eccentric and absent-minded at times, but Irasel was also a truly kindhearted individual who Lorelai trusted with her life. It had been a long time since Lorelai had felt she could trust someone so completely and, selfish as it sounded even to herself, Lorelai didn't want to lose that again. She was brought out of her thoughts at Irasel's asking her if she wanted to attend the welcoming festival to which Lorelai absently replied, "Hmmm? Oh! Oh yes, terribly sorry. Yes, I'd like that very much." Lorelai gave Irasel a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she followed along nest to him to wherever the dragons were leading them.
 
The dragons were leading them, as it happened, to the edge of the cliff on which Essenstadt rested, overlooking the forested plains from whence they had come. Lorelai's hometown was several week's hard riding away, now, and there was nothing to be seen for miles in that direction but grasslands and thickets of many types of tree. Irasel, himself, was bored of green, so with a "Yawn" and a snap of his fingers the grasslands sprang to life with uncountable amounts of every kind of flower, the trees also leaping into bloom. Some of the dragon servants whispered to each other in awe—they shared in their master's reincarnative immortality, but not in their trans-mortal memory, and thus none of them would remember Irasel's last visit so long ago. Suddenly, many of the younger dragons leapt into the air, soaring high and spouting elements from their maw with piercing, keening roars, their magics meeting and intertwining in a most fantastic lightshow as hatchlings—who were more reminiscent of large lizards, for their wings had not yet grown in—alongside their servants brought out the feast that had no doubt begun it's preparations when the house came ito view last night. Irasel smiled and tousled his Apprentice's hair at the spectacle, saying "Careful around the bronze ones. They can get excited easily. Just a touch of flirting can end... messily." He sighed at the memory of his Master giving a young bronze a coy little wink and the dragon in question lying there, twitching, for hours while his unfortunate servant tried to clean up the pool that only seemed to grow larger. "Very messily."
 
Lorelai was simply blown away at the combined spectacle of Irasel's making a bland landscape suddenly burst into bloom accompanied by the younger dragons' flying lightshow. She exuberantly hopped in place next to Irasel while clapping in sincere appreciation of what she had just witnessed and exclaimed, "Oh, brilliant! That's simply beautiful, that is! It's times like these I wish I knew how te paint 'stead o' just sketchin'. Better yet, d'ye think I could someday learn a spell te magically capture a scene like this in a frame? That'd make a nice picture te put on the wall." At Irasel's mention of excitable bronze dragons, Lorelai's expression became slight uncomfortable as she replied, "Aha...any advice on how I can avoid gettin'em...er, excited?"
 
At the mention of a picture, Irasel nodded before waving his hand over the view and, with a whisper of "Immortalize, Eternalize, Seal and Thus Idealize", a large roll of vellum materialized in his hand with a small *pop!* before he flicked it open, revealing the scene before him as though showing it through a window. He promptly rolled it back up and handed it to Lorelai with a smile, "Yours forever. As for not exciting them, easiest way is to try and show as little emotion as possible towards them. Unless you want them to be out of the way for a little while." As the hatchlings and servants finished arriving, Irasel sighed and thumped his heel on the rock they stood on, a sharp clap echoing around them as the stone before them was Moulded, rising into a large, intricately carved table—so carefully pictured that it's very atoms were arranged just so, with details imperceptible to the naked eye—accompanied by equally detailed chairs for the humanoids. The servants, grateful as ever to have a miracle worker present to lighten the load, were quick to arrange the platters of food and tableware. Their jobs done, they bowed and left, which bothered Irasel to no end as now there would be many empty chairs around the table.

Nonetheless, he turned to the assembled denizens of Essenstadt and gave a small bow, his "Thank you" being amplified by magic to fill the air around them before he gestured for his Apprentice to have a seat. "Eat some breakfast," he told her, his speech normal now, "and then you can play while I catch up with some old friends." As he said this, some of the Aldari—male and female alike, judging by their humanoid forms—transformed themselves and sat at the table, no doubt to learn about Lorelai over the meal.
 
Lorelai's eyes widened in delight and she gave Irasel a gratified smile as he presented her with a picture of the preserved image she had been admiring. "Oh, thank ye Teacher! It's simply beautiful, I'll treasure it always!" She carefully tucked the rolled vellum in her traveling bag that she'd found in her closet and brought with her since she didn't know how long Irasel planned on staying away from the house. After observing Irasel make a carved table with intricate patterns out of a simple large stone, Lorelai eagerly bent to examine every detail. She looked up with a slight frown as Irasel mentioned going off to play after she'd had breakfast and muttered in a disgruntled tone she meant for only Irasel to hear, "Teacher, would ye at least try te stop talkin' te me as ye would a child? I find it uncomfortable and te be honest, it's embarrassin'." Satisfied for the moment at voicing her own opinion, Lorelai turned to the table and her stomach gave a hungry rumble at the sight of all the platters of good food stretching from one end to the other. As she sat down and started to fill her plate, Lorelai hopefully asked the others joining her for breakfast, "Say, anyone up fer a little information exchange? I tell ye what ye'd like te know about me and in return ye could just tell me whatever ye feel comfortable with sharin'. That sounds fair right?"
 
He was briefly confused by her asking him to stop treating her like a child. He wasn't, at that moment; he himself greatly enjoyed playing with the hatchlings and Aldari. Nonetheless, he left her to her company in search of his own, finding many of them as young Aldari again after their rebirth. The Sorcerer spent a deal of time talking with them, though there was nothing to really catch up on. Immortals tended to live very slow, idyllic lives if left to their own devices after a century or two. It was why Irasel had given up travelling the world; nothing changed quickly enough to keep him interested.

The dragons-turned-scaly-humanoid with Lorelai, however, were abuzz with chatter both amongst themselves and to the new Sorcerer's Apprentice, each asking who she was, how she'd gotten the contract with Irasel, how far along in her training she was, how powerful was she? Most commonly, though, she was asked "Which Wood King is your father?" and "Would you like to fly with us, later?" Dragons of all ages were very playful creatures, always wanting to play some game or another and getting bored very quickly when they weren't at play. An unknown visitor was doubly interesting to them, particularly one with enough promise to become a Sorcerer's Apprentice.
 
Lorelai laughed gaily as she was bombarded with questions right and left. She held up her hands in playful protest to try and stem the flow as she laughingly requested, "One at a time, one at a time I beg ye. Now then, let's see if I can answer yer questions in order. Ehm...me name is Lorelai Dannehur and, as fer how I got th' contract...well that's a wee bit of an embarrassin' story." Lorelai reluctantly explained how she'd been hired to break into a house just to check and make sure a valuable sword was there, how she was caught and attempted escape once she quickly learned Irasel intended to kill her. She concluded her story with, "Teacher must have been impressed with me shape shiftin' abilities and offered te make me his Apprentice." Thoroughly ashamed of her shady past profession, Lorelai's face was a deep red from embarrassment as she explained, "That's all behind me now. I never wish te pick up thievin' again now that it's no longer necessary fer me survival. I'm hopin' te walk th' straight and narrow now, and I believe Teacher has given me th' opportunity te do it. I'm afraid I'm not very far in me trainin' at th' moment as far as magic's concerned. I really wanted te learn how te read an' write first, so I just finished m'readin' lessons yesterday. Teacher says I've learned enough te study books on me own now, and he's promised te start me writin' lessons next b'fore we get te magic." Lorelai gave a sheepish grin as she added, " 'Fraid I'm not all that powerful at th' moment. All I'm able te do are basic animal transformations at me current level seein' as I'm only a beginner. That's pretty much me only ability I've inherited on me own and I haven't really found th' time te practice it 'cept fer comin' up with animal forms I thought wouldn't attract much attention. Fer example-" Just for laughs, Lorelai morphed in quick succession from a squirrel to a chicken, followed by a mouse and lastly a ferret before returning to her true form. Her clothes weren't even rumpled or out of place as she gave a shy smile and took a bite of her breakfast. She tilted her head to the side and blinked owlishly in polite confusion as she asked, "Beggin' yer pardon, but I'm afraid I have no idea what a Wood King is, and...me parents died a long time ago so I'm afraid I don't really know anythin' about them. I've already fergotten what they even look like." Lorelai's gloomy expression at her last statement was quickly replaced by a wide hopeful grin as she asked, "Truly? Ye sure ye don't mind? I only know o' one or two small flyin' forms meself, but I'm not sure I'll be able te keep up unless I figure out how te change inte somethin' bigger. Hmmm...maybe I could try precticin' turnin' inte ahawk or an eagle later. They're pretty big." Lorelai wouldn't even dream of asking to ride on a dragon's back unless a dragon actually gave her permission first. Otherwise, Lorelai felt boldly asking herself would be degrading for the dragon and she certainly didn't want to offend anyone if she could help it. She wasn't worried about getting eaten or incinerated since she was acquainted with Irasel. Lorelai just didn't like the idea of possibly insulting someone who she wanted to be friends with.
 
The Aldari were amused by her last words, their reactions varying from chuckling to raucous laughter as the dragoness sitting beside Lorelai, an emerald-scaled creature of good proportion considering she was a full foot taller than the Apprentice, smiled to her, saying "We meant riding one of us, little one. Contrary to popular belief, dragons love having passengers. Makes the flight more interesting with someone to chat with." The table quieted after a time as they all turned to her. "Little Lorelai, Wood Kings never die. Oh, certainly, your birth-father might have passed away, but the ears and tail mark you for what you are; a being bred to work magics beyond the scope of men. Do you truly not know of Isiah and his wives?" The dragons, being Arebjyrn, were quite well-acquainted with the legends of their Demon Eater progenitor, and the angelic wife who was their greatmother. It perplexed and saddened them to see that one who was so obviously Esabjyrn not know their ancestry.
 
Not minding in the least that everyone was laughing at her expense, Lorelai joined in the gaiety and laughed along with them as she replied, "Oh that's what ye meant. Certainly, so long as nobody minds I'd love te go flyin' with ye." Lorelai was secretly thrilled at the offer as she'd never ridden on the back of a dragon before and didn't really think anyone else she'd previously known back home had ever experienced such a privilege either. Lorelai's expression turned apologetic at the second mention of Wood Kings and replied, "Terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I still have no idea what a Wood King is. I believe I've heard mention somewhere of Isiah, but it was so long ago I can't remember the details except that he was very powerful." Lorelai's eyes widened in wonder. "Goodness me! Ye mean I'm related te someone as powerful as Isiah? I-I had no idea! If ye please, would ye mind tellin' me more about his history and family tree? I'm afraid I don't understand how I'm related to him."
 
The dragoness laughed lightly and patted Lorelai's head. "Oh, no," she said, "best leave the lecturing to your Master. Sorcerers tend to be picky about things being their way, and Irasel is far better acquainted with Tael's tales than we could ever be. Besides that, Ancestry is a magic beyond we Dragons and useless—therefore unstudied—to Sorcerers. You'd need a Wizard" The dragons, having eaten their fill and growing uncomfortable in human form, left the table in a steady trickle, some going to where Irasel was telling stories with the help of some illusions, others to fly around the cliff. The dragoness beside Lorelai stood last after the Apprentice had eaten, and shifted into a brilliant green dragonelle, spreading her wings proudly and lowering her front. "Come on," she said, "climb up and off we'll go."
 
Lorelai eagerly nodded in agreement as she replied, "Thank ye fer th' advice, I'll certainly make sure te ask him about Isiah soon as I get th' chance. Seein' as I'm still just in th' beginnin' stages and haven't really learned any magic yet, I'll bet it won't be long b'fore Teacher introduces me te Wizards. I think he said somethin' at one point about me learnin' some o' their spells once I start trainin' in magic."

Once Lorelai finished off her breakfast, her eyes widened in amazement as she watched the scaled humanoid shift into a green dragon. "Wow...yer magnificent, miss!" Lorelai beamed widely at the invitation to climb on and didn't hesitate to follow the dragon's request. Once Lorelai was comfortably seated on the dragon's back she made sure to ask, "How's this? I'm not makin' ye uncomfortable, am I? Just let me know if I need te move."
 
The dragonelle chuckled and shook herself a bit, causing Lorelai to be shaken as well or fall off. "Not at all, little one. Now," she spread her wings, coated in brilliantly verdant feathers, like the wings of some exotic bird or angel, and crouched, "hang on tight!"

And they were off. With a great surge upwards and a beat of her wings, the dragonelle left the ground very, very far behind, soaring out over the plains and swooping high and low, flying loops and spirals to make one's head spin and once diving straight down, waiting for the last possible moment before her wings snapped back open and carried them far aloft once again. Irasel watched his Apprentice's flight with a smile, remembering how exhilarating his first flight had been. He could fly himself now, of course, but it was nothing compared to riding dragonback. Vanna had a certain affinity for young Apprentices, it seemed to him; he quite vividly remembered her carrying him in much the same way when he was Lorelai's age. After a long while, she carried the two of them back to the cliff, swooping into a smooth landing with an ease that spoke volumes of her eons of collective practice. They were greeted by the Sorcerer's measured clapping before he spoke. "So how did you like the ride, Lorelai?"
 
Lorelai gave a startled squawk in surprise as she noticed the ground falling away and spreading out like a patchwork quilt beneath them. Even though Lorelai could easily catch herself if she fell by transforming into a bird to break her fall, she still slightly tightened her hold around the dragonelle's neck while still being careful not to cause her new friend any discomfort. Lorelai found the feeling of airborne weightlessness to be the most amazing experience she'd ever had in her short life to date, and as her stomach felt like it had butterflies, Lorelai laughed out loud as she exuberantly cried out in great excitement, "Oh my, oh my, OM MY!" While the dragonelle performed daredevil sky acrobatics, Lorelai was actually having the time of her life as she whooped and hollered in great excitement along the lines of "Woooooo-hoooooo!" at every steep climb and dive.

The flight ended too soon for Lorelai, as she had enjoyed the experience and the sense of freedom while in flight immensely. Lorelai slid from the dragonelle's back and landed in a crouch before straightening up. She still had a huge grin spread across her face not only from the experience of riding on the back of a dragon but also due to the fact it still felt like Lorelai had butterflies in her stomach which gave her the after effect of feeling slightly giddy. In response to Irasel asking how she liked her first dragon ride, if possible Lorelai's grin only stretched further as she enthusiastically stated, "Oh, it was BRILLIANT! It was, it was...I can't find th' right words te do it justice, that's how amazin' it was!" Turning to the dragonelle Lorelai gushed in sincere gratitude, "Oh thank ye so much, I enjoyed that immensely! I had no idea th' world was so BIG! I've always been trapped in one small area up until just a few days ago." As a thought suddenly occurred to her she asked Irasel, "Oh, when would be a good time fer me te ask ye about Isaiah? It seems I'm somehow related to him and didn't even know it! Life certainly is funny that way, isn't it?"
 
Irasel raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Vanna, the dragonelle shifting her forelegs slightly under his violet gaze. "I had thought," she said, pointedly avoiding meeting his eye, "that she deserved to know who she was. Why you had chosen her." Irasel sighed at that, folding his arms and looking out over the plains. "You know as well as I, Vanna, that Esabjyrn never leave the Orchard Wood. Not even Ea had seen one, and she was nearing a thousand when I took over." The descendants of Esalyn and Isiah had, millenia ago, fled the world into the deepest recesses of the sacred forest their greatfather had given their greatmother. It was a place shrouded in myth to the scholarly and completely forgotten to the comnon man, for it was said to be in a world half a step removed from this one, and that only Esabjyrn could step across the boundary. Not even a Sorcerer like Irasel could enter without invitation.

He sighed again after a moment, then smiled at Lorelai. "I will tell you what I know of Isiah Tael, Apprentice, but not even I know everything on the matter. It was at the dawn of the world, after all. But today is your free day, so you have no lessons." He waved his hands over to the crowd of dragons where he had been, "Now go and mingle. They're eager to meet you, you know, and to play. Dragons love their games, you know."
 
Utterly confused, Lorelai blinked with a comical owlish expression on her face as she asked, "I'm afraid I don't understand, am I related te this Isiah fella or not? And why didn't ye want me te know about it, Teacher?" She sighed as Irasel changed the topic of discussion and decided to save her questions on Isiah for later as it seemed Irasel didn't think now was an appropriate time to answer them. She hoped perhaps tomorrow he'd be in a more chatty mood on the subject and so for the moment went to mingle with the dragons as he requested. It really didn't take much of Irasel's persuasion as Lorelai was naturally curious about the dragons to begin with. She was eager to learn what she could about them and thought it would be interesting to find out what the stories she'd heard since childhood had gotten right, and amusing to learn where mistakes had been made or what other folks had simply made up for embellishment.

With that thought in mind, Lorelai walked over to the crowd of dragons and greeted them with a wide friendly grin and a hopeful smile. "H'llo again everyone, I was wonderin' if I could ask a few questions? I b'lieve I'm just as curious about all of ye as you are of me. Would ye mind tellin' me a little about draconian history? Teacher told me ye like games, what sort o' games do ye enjoy playin'? Would ye mind tellin' me about some o' yer laws and customs? Do ye really burn down villages and carry off everyone's food, or are those just stories people made up te get attention?"
 
There were many draconic expressions equivalent to quirked eyebrows, the dragons all looking to one another and choosing what to say to which question; mind-speech was a delightful thing. After a brief instant in which the expressions—and thus, thoughts—were conveyed, a red Aldari, getting on in years and thus having a deeper, craggy rumble for a voice, spoke up. "Draconian history, sadly, is a fragmented thing. Claws don't make much good for writing, and our memories only retain so much. The Drakei, our servants, have been doing a good job of it, but only for the past hundred years or so." He laughed now, "Besides that, little one, we are far from the only dragons in the world. To ask us about all of dragonkind is demanding a bit much; we're like humans. Everyone's a little different, with a different story and their own way of telling it."

"And as for games, a hatchling said—or, as hatchlings do, thought—next, "we like a lot of things. King's Table, Wingping, fire-breathing contests... If it's competitive, we like it!" There were many murmurs of assent. "Dragons," the hatchling continued, "as with all the most powerful creatures, love showing off. Ask Irasel to show you what he can really do sometime, you'll see what I mean." They all agreed to this one; Sorcerers could create their own entire worlds, it was said. Supposedly, Isiah Tael had been the first Sorcerer, among other things, thence why the Esabjyrn's haven was so difficult to find.

"Dragon laws..." A glittering onyx dragonelle said, her lithe, serpentine form arching low to place her eye-to-eye with Lorelai, "Well, to be simple, we have just one; 'respect'. We've never really had a need for others. If everyone respects each other then everyone at least puts up with each other. Our customs, though, change from time to time as memories are lost and new things are found interesting. Irasel has, I'm certain, told you about this?" She blew a puff of bread-and-honey scented smoke into the Apprentice's face. "One of many things. Another is that dragons who leave cannot return in that lifetime. They will need to be hatched again here."

And when it came time to answer the last question, Irasel stepped in. "That, Apprentice," he said, "is an unwelcome subject to broach. Some dragons have committed crimes against men before, yes, but out of necessity for others. Dragons themselves subsist comfortably on Æther; eating material food as they did with you is a celebratory act." He smiled at her, patting her shoulder lightly to show he meant no harm, "They are noble creatures, Dragons. At least the ones I know of. For every cow carried off, a starving family finds themselves with beef for a few days. For every village razed to the ground, a hive of cruelty is wiped off the map. The harm they do is actually good."
 
Lorelai politely listened to the elderly dragons' explanations concerning their laws and history. "Ah, that certainly does make sense. And...yes, now that ye mention it I do recall Teacher explainin' a bit about dragon customs. I'm afraid me memory needs improvin' so I don't accidentally ask th' same question more than once. Do ye have any favorite stories or legends passed down through storytellin'?" She asked the younger dragons, "Any chance I might get te watch one o' yer games? They sound like fun." Lorelai had the feeling that Apprentice or not, it might be dangerous for her to try participating in a dragon's game if the names were anything to go by and decided simply watching might be a safer pastime.

At Irasel's rebuke, Lorelai's face turned the color of a sunburned tomato as she realized how offensive her question might have sounded. "Oh dear...I'm terribly sorry, everyone. I didn't mean te offend anyone, honest." The dragons seemed like an easygoing bunch, but Lorelai was still appalled at herself for such bluntness. She really liked the dragons and already considered them friends. As such, she didn't wish to say or do anything that would make them think any less of her. Lorelai had remembered Irasel mentioning a more primitive and less sophisticated branch of dragon and had come up with a theory that maybe they were the reason dragons everywhere had been given a bad name. She'd simply been trying to figure out if her theory was correct, but Irasel had given her a rather unexpected answer to her question in relation to the dragon raids. Lorelai thought to explain why she'd brought up the subject to begin with, but thought better of it as she didn't want to risk further offending anyone. Instead, Lorelai decided to change the subject completely by asking, "Say, anybody here like music? I'm pretty good on me flute if I do say so meself. I'm no expert mind ye, but I do think I'm decent at least." Lorelai was glad she'd stashed her flute in her pocket just in case she ever got a chance to play it.


((Sorry it took so long. I hope my post isn't too short.))
 
There was a mildly roaring chorus of assent, voices filling the air and mind with universal consent. Irasel held up a hand and, slowly, the sound faded away. "Though it should well be obvious from that reaction," he said, "Dragons love good, rich music. However, their standards are rather high, so unless you're quite confident I'd advise against trying to play for them." He smiled, then, fishing around in his pocket and pulling out a newly-conjured silver flute, decorated with blackened gold scrollwork. "That said, if you still wish to try, I won't stop you."

One spoke up, then, saying "Perhaps you could show her the ropes, eh Irasel? That violin on yours was very effective last time!" The Sorcerer coughed and shuffled his feet at the memory; his own musical ability had been laudable in those days, and had earned him a deal of popularity, but he was centuries out of practice. Something told him he'd barely know how to hold the instrument, now, let alone play "Evenmorning's Waltz" as he had. He smiled, then and turned to Lorelai. "Well?"
 
Lorelai's face lit up in excitement at the cacophony of approval from the dragons present, though she did have to flatten her ears against her head to muffle the din as a prevention of possibly going deaf. She gave a wide grin in response to Irasel's advice and replied, "Well, I do happen te know o' at least one tune that's always a crowd pleaser. I thought o' bein' a street performer once instead of...y'know...me previous occupation. Only trouble was, I didn't have enough material te make a professional livin'. But I do think I'm pretty good with what little I've been able te practice with. Here's a sample fer everyone's listenin' enjoyment."

Lorelai shyly accepted the flute Irasel offered her and inclined her head in thanks before putting the flute to her lips. She began playing a cheerful, upbeat tune with her foot tapping in rhythm to the music while her ears and tail twitched and swayed to keep tempo as well. When the tempo picked up, Lorelai started a lively jig until her feet became her own personal drumbeat. Lorelai loved playing music, but it wasn't very often she had the time or a willing audience. She lost herself in the music, temporarily forgetting she had an audience and simply allowed herself to have fun with every note the flute in her hands helped her create. Her joy and enthusiasm for the music she was playing echoed in every note until the melody was brought to its conclusion and Lorelai took a theatrical bow.
 
As she bowed, her audience responded with bowed heads and much stomping of forelegs from the dragons and clapping from the Drakei. For Irasel, he gave a small smile and slow, measured clapping before the congratulations quited down, at which point there came offers or requests to play some games. The Sorcerer smiled at the group and patted his young Apprentice on the back. "Well, judging from the sound of things you've made yourself quite popular here, little one." He looked at the sky and smiled; there were a few more hours left in the day, yet. "So, will you run along with the younger ones, or would you rather stay with us elders and learn some games of strategy?" He smiled and left her to think.

It had been a long time since Irasel had played any games with others, and longer since he played against a dragon, but he had kep his skills sharp nonetheless with the numerous boards and decks he kept in his home. Plenty of long, lonesome days had been spent pouring over various stratagems to stave off boredom, and it showed; he didn't necessarily win all the games, but he gave his opponents a run for their money at every turn. His personal favorites were Tablut and Shogi, both old games predating even dragons and demanding an ability to calculate and plan several moves ahead.
 
Lorelai beamed with pride at the reception her playing earned her along with Irasel's compliments. "Ye really think so? Thank ye everyone, I'm glad ye enjoyed it!" She gave a sheepish grin and politely declined learning to play strategy games with the explanations she wasn't any good to begin with and really didn't have the patience for them. After bidding Irasel and the elders a short farewell with the promise to see them later, Lorelai trailed off in the company of the younger ones.

It wasn't long before a game of Wingping was under way and Lorelai was completely enthralled with watching two competing dragons in an airborne wrestling match. She made the acquaintance of a very chatty young dragon named Arellea who kept Lorelai in a constant state of amusement with her animated commentary and play-by-play of the game. Even after the game was over, Lorelai still couldn't tell who had won. When it was time for the evening meal, Lorelai's stomach gave a loud rumble to let its owner know it was impatient to be fed again. As Arellea led the way to where the evening meal would be served, Lorelai felt comfortable enough with her new companion to ride on Arellea's shoulders in the form of a ferret, responding in a high squeaky voice to Arellea's thoughts in her head. While she talked, Lorelai occasionally scampered back and forth across Arellea's shoulders or perched on the dragon's head to lean over so they would both be on an eye-to-eye level with eachother much to Arellea's amusement. As Lorelai caught sight of Irasel, she stood on her hind feet on Arellea's shoulder with her left front paw wrapped around the dragon's neck for stability while she waved at the Sorcerer. It was most likely a comical scene watching a ferret riding on a dragon.
 
It was indeed unusual to see a ferret perched dragonback, waving like a person. Irasel, however, regarded it as unusually uninteresting; being able to make one's imagination reality tended to make things that were truly strange hard to come by. He gave a small wave back, moving a final piece on the board before chiming "That's game" and standing to walk beside his Apprentice and her new friend. "So, Apprentice, have you enjoyed your time here with the Dragons? It seems so, if your new friend is any indication." He nodded at Arellea, who he had known late into her past life by the same name; that was something that never changed in a Dragon's cycle of incarnation, their name and their basic self. "Though you may wish to be careful. This one is prone to bouncing about a conversation." A smile appeared to show he meant no harm, and he reached down to stroke the ferret-Lorelai's head. "Now shall we head to supper?"

The evening meal was taken at the same table Irasel had made before, with him at the head and his Apprentice seated at his left, as was customary. The seat at the farthest end was empty, also customary; there were more than a few jokes made about this or that one, or even Lorelai, taking it, but the barest hint at Irasel's annoyance assuaged any actual attempt. The Sorcerer ate in relative silence, stepping in only to aid his Apprentice in answering questions about her training or to prevent her answering questions that may land them in hot water with a word and a pointed glare at the inquirer. He had to admit; eating actual food was a pleasant experience after so long without.

When all were said and done, the plates and cutlery and leftovers were removed and the Dragons left the Sorcerer and Sorceress-in-training alone on the cliff. Irasel stood, hands crossed behind his back, looking out over the field. "Lorelai," he said, "do you truly wish to learn of Isiah? I cannot promise that it will do much good, but I will share what I can."
 
Lorelai's back paws did an excited shuffle on Arellea's shoulder as she exuberantly replied in a high squeaky voice befitting her current stature, "Oh yes, Oi've been havin' a glorious time! Everyone here is so wonderful, an' it seems Oi've got a lot in common with me new friend Arellea here."

Arellea chuckled in good humor in their minds as she lightly joked to Irasel, Your warning comes a bit late, I'm afraid. Lorelai has already experienced my habit of unpredictable topic hopping, but she insists it just makes our conversations all the more entertaining.

At Irasel's mention of supper, Lorelai's stomach gave a loud hungry rumble with the thought of food causing Lorelai's face to flush red as a sheepish grin spread across her features. "Um...sorry, Teacher. Would ye mind takin' that as a yes?" As they headed to dinner, Lorelai flipped from Arellea's shoulder and landed on her feet before turning back to her true form of the redheaded fox girl everyone was so used to seeing by now. Once everyone sat down to supper and the meal was underway, Lorelai told hilarious tall tales mainly containing one comical mishap after another happening to her. Part of the humor in these melodramatic tragedies was the fact they were obviously untrue and Lorelai kept her audience guessing as to what wild scenario she'd come up with next. At one point Arellea asked, Then what happened? With all the theatrical seriousness Lorelai could muster she dramatically replied, "And then... I died!" Lorelai's facial expression and delivery of her last sentence to her tale earned her a good laugh from Arellea. The evening meal passed pleasantly for Lorelai, though on occasion she was left blinking in confusion at Irasel's suddenly putting an end to the joke with the empty chair at the end of the table or silencing someone asking a potentially awkward question. Lorelai politely didn't comment and pretended to be oblivious to his actions as she felt he must have a good reason for them.

Once the meal was over, Lorelai felt comfortably full as Arellea bid her and Irasel goodnight with the promise to meet them tomorrow for breakfast. It wasn't long before Lorelai and Irasel were left alone. Lorelai's fox ears pricked forward in hopeful interest at Irasel's suddenly offering to tell what he knew of Isiah. "Yes Teacher, Ah would very much like te hear about'im. If anythin' Ah'm sure it's an interestin' piece o' history." Lorelai wasn't one to easily get her hopes up at finding long-lost blood ties, especially with beings as powerful as the Esabjyrn. Even if she was one of them as Vanna had said, that still didn't explain how Lorelai had ended up living in the outside world if the rest had secluded themselves in the place called Orchard Wood. She hoped Irasel's explanation might help her better understand what little she'd heard of the Esabjyrn along with how she came into the picture of possibly being related to them.


((Sorry for the long wait, time got away from me.))
 
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