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Scales, Ears, & Eyes (butterfly0408 & Greeneyed23)

As he was hit from the side, Maia was not expecting it and so indeed her grip was lost and she went flying through the air. Falling down, down, down. Tumbling, she could not even figure out which way was up and which was down as she fell head over heels. The whole thing caused her to rapidly become dizzy so that even when he came to her aid once more, grabbing a hold of her once more, she still felt like she was falling even after they hit the ground.

As she clung to his chest, her body was tossed into turmoil. The heat from his body too one side while the ice chilled her to the bone from the other. "I.... I can't.... move....." she told him as she shivered against him, her voice a small whisper even as he was trying to speak to her in her mind. "I... I can't...... we are.... we are going to die.... aren't we?" she asked as she submitted herself to this as a reality once again.
 
He snarled. "I have sworn to your protection Princess. No." He roared then and unleashed a blast of flame then ignoring the blood and the pain, though it made him scream again, he hurled her free of the ice into the water of a nearby river while he roared in his rage and ripping free of magic and ice through rage and pure will, his hot steaming hole falling everywhere about him as he broke free snarling.

His scales were torn in many places and his bones stuck out at odd angles the many breaks clear, his head odd misshapen until he bathed both himself and the wizards nearest in a circle of his black flames, then after a pause burst free his head and bones healed, his scales beginning to mend while he leapt at Maia and covered her with his body, his body crouched low and still bleeding badly as he hissed angrily daring them to come on and meet him. His tail danced along the surface of the water while his wings had folded in upon themselves, though blood welled in the folds and dropped sizzling onto the water below him.
 
In the blink of an eye, she felt herself floating again. Was it in the air? No. She could not breath. Opening her eyes, she found herself gazing up at the world through the clear water. She realized that she could just float like this, forever. Die like this. But she had more to do with her life then to die like this. With one great kick, she shot up to the surface, breaking it with a great gasp of air. It was just in time to see him hit the water as well. Coming for her. Coming to protect her once again. Wagging through the water, she pushed herself towards shore, hoping to get some higher ground and stability that might aid them in this battle. "Why are they attacking?!" she gasped out.
 
He snarled whipping around her slapping a string of magics out the air, then slashed the spiked bludgeon across the foremost attackers forcing them back bleeding and hurt but not killed. He then spit in a long line then ignited the slick substance and created a wall of black flames.

He was gasping as he watched them attacking his flames. "Speak to them Princess. Tell them who you are. Perhaps they will cease this attack."

He was panting and still bleeding heavily. Already the black blood was staining the river and ground below them dark as his body. His breathing still sounded weak and painful and he was bleeding somehow darker blood out about his fangs and it was clear. this was what he had ignited. And he and Maia were covered in the stuff.
 
Everything was happening so fast and things so chaotic. Her head was spinning as she tried to get herself together. "Speak to them?!" she responded but she simply did not know what good that would do. Men did not seem to care what she had to say, even if she was the princess of the land. It was worth a shot and certainly better then nothing.

Jumping to her feet, she ran up the shoreline and held her arms out, blocking the wizards and him from one another. "Stop! Wait! I am princess Maia! I beg of you to halt! This dragon is only protecting me!"
 
They did indeed paused then they all flushed pale. Ellowe hissed his head near her his eyes flicking about them all distrustfully.

The leader, a tall lovely dark skinned woman with a huge staff of white ash, carved rather elaborately into a lengthy spiraling shape, stepped forward. "majesty...how can you fly with a Dragon? They have done so much to harm us."

Ellowe hissed again but said nothing. He huffed out a trail of steam then belched out a odd shape of pure flame that washed over him. He did this again and again ignoring it as his blood burning and seared on his scales until it was all gone and the scales had reformed. The stains were gone as well but the river seemed stronger now and the grass and plants it had landed on were all three times the size they had been.

The wizards were staying at all of this in wonder and Ellowe lightly touched her mind They want to kill me again...

The leader shouted something and they drew back again as Ellowe continued to burn and heal himself back into shape. She moved closer but stopped as Ellowe opened his jaws and this time released a single spit of flame that exploded at her feet. She nodded, making it clear she would get no closer.

She bowed to the Princess. "I am First Witch Lythia Majesty... Our loyalties are to the people thus to you. How may we assist you?"

Ellowe looked at Maia. We still have many hundred miles to fly and these people are needed here. They are healers not just magicians.

He said no more. It was entirely up to her.
 
She looked over her shoulder towards him with a glare in her eyes and thought to herself, 'Will you hush up I am working on this.' She could not ever know unless he told her so that her rage had for the first time actually propelled her thoughts through the bond that linked them into his own mind.

Turning back to the people, she raised up her hands to show she had no weapons and meant them no harm. "This dragon is not a threat..." at the moment at least. "He is a friend that is helping me to get home. I was abducted by a cult hundreds of miles from the capital, nearly killed. He saved me." She looked toward Ellowe once more then back to the people, "We both want peace and it has bonded us a allies for the time." She waited to hear the people's response to her words.
 
The leader blinked. "you have allied with a Dragon Your grace? Are you mad?"

Ellowe rumbled deep in his chest making them all look at him nervously but he did not attack. Yet.

The leader turned back to the Princess. "majesty surely you have been bewitched by his magics? You cannot seriously mean this. Allow us to slay him for you then we can escort you home."

Ellowe hissed now his lower jaw lowering a few feet to reveal the maw of black fire in his throat ready to burst out around his razor sharp fangs in an instant, his tail lashing back and forth carving liens into the earth and rock below, his talons digging into the earth as he prepared to lunge forward.
 
"NO!" She called out, intending the cry to be directed at both parties. Rushing a bit more forward, her arms when up to halt both sides here. "There has been enough death and bloodshed in this needless war. No more fighting. Peace cannot begin until the fighting stops." Her head turned to look at him, giving him a little extra hint of a glare. "We want peace. Don't we?"
 
He huffed, making her clothing and hair ripple then closed his jaws and very carefully settled himself then lay on the ground watching her.

The wizards stared in amazement. "you do...my gods. Majesty...still we should serve as your escort. where would you have us go?"
 
She shook her head as she turned her head from him back to the people. She gave him a strong smile, "I thank you for you concern, but we have traveled so swiftly in just a few short hours, we can likely be home to the capital by sundown.... as long as my travel companion is still up to it..." she looked towards him once more, trying to gauge his damage.
 
He huffed again and rolled his shoulders then spread his wings showing they were untouched as he growled, impatient to be off.

"Majesty you cannot travel alone with such a beast!"

Ellowe hissed and flapped his wings knocking the magicians over save the leader who had to slap her robes down rapidly, glowering at the grinning Dragon. "he is dangerous. And rude!"
 
She held herself on her feet through his next huff, turning on him with crossed arms and starting to talk to him like one would reprimand a bold child. "Oh stop that now! She is right to know. You are being quite rude! It's very unbecoming of royalty." She took a few steps towards him, putting her hands upon her hips then, "I do start to wonder if traveling with him is the best way to travel to peace." Her words held a hint of warning in them. "I grow tired of his fowl mood."
 
He smirked and spoke. "Im not a bird. And your people attacked. Now would you hush and get on? We need to get going. All of us."

The magicians stared all of them stunned. "he spoke... A speaking beast?"

he growled. "Im no beast. i am a Dragon. Now be off. Come along Princess. We have many miles to fly."
 
"And now they are not attacking and yet you continue to act with aggression towards them. They may have been the first to attack, but they do not attack now, yet you tempt them to do so once more with the way you act before them now. Can't you see that?" once more, her arms were crossed and her chin stuck up into the air once more, "And I will not climb back on you until you see reason... and apologize to them."
 
"This is not aggression. This is just the fact that i am big. But I am sorry i hurt their feelings. I will not apologize for enduring their insults. They were rude too." the leader blushed.

Ellowe smiled at the princess. "Double standards... Now please. can we go? they have work to do."

The leader piped in. "What do you mean?"

He raised a talon and pointed toward a distant village. "A spirit of some sort has released a disease on the people there. Not sure how many are ill but without you they will die."

The leader blinked. "how can you know that?"

he sniffed. "I can smell it. humans smell differently when they are ill and i can smell the spirit. they smell of sulfur and brimstone. impossible to miss. Get going."

The leader bowed to the Princess. "Majesty we must away. Have we your leave?"
 
Maia looked off into the distance that he pointed out. She could not smell a thing and yet somewhere in her head and her heart she knew he was right. "Yes. Go. Stay well all of you and may the gods be kind upon those you go to aid."

As they parted, she was left standing looking with displeasure upon Ellowe, "Were you being truthful or just trying to make them leave so you could have your way?"
 
He let her smell what he smelled. Sickness, sulfur, woe, and brimstone filled her senses then he cut it off. "I rarely if ever lie Princess. Now please Mount up. We have far too go. And hopefully I will be able to dodge any further attacks."

He grunted. "Bloody clever humans..."

He shook himself but kept his head down so she could retake her place on his neck.
 
She still held a glare in her eyes as she drew close to him one more, climbing onto his back once again and holding on. "You are going to have to learn some manners if you want to find peace with humanity. You can't just always assume that once they attack you they will keep attacking. If you present yourself as a threat, they will keep seeing you as one until you break the ice."
 
"My manners are impeccable. When I don;t have weapons or spells aimed at me. And again you should consider something. You snarl at me but you said nothing to their attack. Nor to how they talked to and about me and mine. Their manners were troublesome and they were kind to me. Do not lecture me unless you do the same to the others."

He gave her no chance to argue but leapt into the air flying much higher this time then once again and set off toward the palace.
 
She yelped as she found herself propelled back into the skies once again. All she could do was hang on. And let her annoyance with him grow in silence. The sooner they got back to her home the better. They could sit down with her brother, talk peace, and get the ball rolling in this whole mess. Then she could go back to picturing him as a distinguished prince charming in her dreams once more. Not a dragon monster and a beast of a stubborn man.
 
I can still hear your thoughts Milady.

He chuckled as he turned flaring his wings but dropping his rump and tail to let the wind push him on.

Am I really that much of a beast? And who are you to say who is stubborn?
 
Oh that only made her all the more enraged by him. "How DARE you! My mind is MY private place. You have no right to keep on reading my thoughts!" She was clearly very irritated by his intrusion. If she could not even have her own private place in her own mind, would she ever be able to have a private place for herself EVER again with him suddenly back in her life.
 
"Im not. But I can smell your emotions and sense them. And you keep sending out angry pictures of me. Impossible to ignore to. You keep shoving them into my head. Im really trying to stay out of your business but since this does involve me..." He carefully closed off the connection as she wished but she could also sense his own emotional state. There was no way to prevent them from catching that from each other.

"And to be clear I have been doing my best to stay out of your thoughts but you keep letting me in. i assumed it was because of how upset you are."
 
She was angry alright. "I am doing nothing but... but.... trying to cope with all this!" She started off soft yet ended up yelling the last bit of her statement in his direction. She groaned in frustration as she looking out at the skies around them. "I didn't ASK for any of this. No one asked me if I wanted these... I guess you could call them powers. No one asked me if I wanted to be a part of this war. My whole life, I feel like I've never had a single choice I have been able to make for myself. All I have had that was mine was my own thoughts and ideas and now I don't even have those."
 
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