The Soul of a Dragon

[Mama Z]

The music was almost surreal and one could tell that not only did the two have an ear for music, but years and years of practice had to have gone into it. Richard took a moment to glance out into teh darkened room, watching a few people trickle in. He smiled gently and then looked back down at the keys and his moving hands, though no longer was he just watching his hands, just merely watching the notes dance in front of his blue eyes. If anyone knew the ancient lullabye, they would know that the song was soon to come to an end. There was a final rise in the music as it reached its climax but before the last sounds of Linas flute died away, Richard moved into a quicker tempoed song.

This was far more lively then what had just played and of course Lina picked up the difference in songs and instantly began to play along with the rythem. This song though, did make people want to get up and dance.

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[Monkey Monk]

Relaxation turned to slumber and slumber turned to
trance. To any who watched, he would seem to be
suffering a nightmare. Yet Caliga was far from forming
some sort of dark dream in his mind. Alas, he suffered
the fate to relive a memory. One that he could only see
in this state and would quickly fade upon his
awakening. Every so often, a slight grunt of similar
noise would arise from Caliga. He would shift into his
seat every so often. Yet when he awoke, it was not a
simple snap from slumber. Quickly he would shoot up in
his seat and cough up waves of blood loudly into his
glass of water. After wiping his face, he looked around
at the faces that would undoubtedly glare at him for
interrupting the music. Quickly he rose to his feet and
strode outside.

Out in the cold of night, he closed his eyes and
remembered the dream before it would fade away into
the farthest recesses of his mind... There stood
Caliga, facing a figure wrapped in shadows. He gripped
onto his blade tightly before charging forth toward the
other. The metallic item rose high into the air in
preparation to cut through the unseen foe. Yet the
other struck forth and cut deeply into Caliga's cheek.
The man went flying across the area and slammed
against the wall. In this form he did not have those
creepy scales. Yet the previous blow was in the exact
spot as his scar. With a battle cry, he ran forth once
more at his enemy. Yet something impaled him through
the chest and the dream washed into darkness.
Desperately Cal tried to hold onto the dream, but as
always it slipped away. However, he knew it would
return to haunt him the next time he slept as it always
did.

[ame]

"Hey, you there!" said Ame as he saw someone exit the building, "Is there a violin in there I could play" Ame was expecting him to walk away or say "The hell you want" but still hoped for him to be kind. Most people freaked out when they saw a 4'7", upright fox with six tails.

[Felypsa]

When Misty awoke, she realized that the slow song had ended and a new, more upbeat one had begun. She beamed when she saw that the few customers who were there had already gotten up to dance in the space available—slowly at first, with one couple dancing alone, but they were soon joined by a few other fun-seeking customers. To Misty’s further delight, she observed that there were already more customers entering the tavern, attracted, as she’d hoped, by the music. The inn was still rather empty, however, but at this rate Misty predicted one of their busiest nights in months. She took note of a short, strange, hooded patron entering the tavern, who seemed to be hiding (did he have tails, or was that just Misty’s imagination?). She eyed him suspiciously, but then was distracted when she realized Caliga was nowhere to be seen.

She glanced over at the table he’d been sitting at, and to her horror saw that the glass of water she had given him was filled with blood. She looked through the window and saw that he was standing outside, and she was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved that he wasn’t dying or becoming a monster; disappointed that he hadn’t left completely. Berating herself for feeling that way, she tentatively picked up the bloody water and dashed the kitchen, dumping it down the sink and washing it away thoroughly. She refilled the glass and picked up a rag and hurried back to the table, wiping the blood away and setting the new glass of water on it. She thus efficiently erased any signs of Caliga’s misfortune, which she was certain would frighten some patrons away.

Her body was now tugging at her to dance, and, with a quick glance at her father, who nodded his approval, she did so. She removed her dirty apron and left it at her table, then got up there and started dancing like there was no tomorrow. It did not take long for her to find a partner, an amiable young man she’d seen in the tavern frequently (he was one of the regulars), and she began to dance, filled with delight. She was filled with the joy of the music. Her curly hair bounced around and she soon exchanged her first partner for another, and found it was the man who’d first begun the dance with his lover. That’s what so great about these dances, Misty reflected as she twirled happily, everyone dances with everyone, and social taboo melts away. Everyone’s equal on the dance floor.

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[Mama Z]

Misty wasnt the only one to observe the sudden absense of Cal, Lina had heard the ugly cough and watched him eagerly move towards the door. She couldnt help but feel the slightest bit upset that he would be leaving so soon. Eyes glanced down at the people dancing then back towards the outdoors, more people moved in, curious to the new kind of music but she curious to know if the changeling would appear again. A few more flattering notes and the sound of the flute eventually died away, leaving the upbeat piano tune to carry the rest of it. Quickly she set her flute down by her brother and winked an eye at him, before moving off teh stage and to the outdoors.

It didnt take long for her to spot him and she cautiously neared him. 'Caliga?' She asked tentively not wanting to startle him too much, 'Are you alright?' It didnt matter if she was playing or not during this song, it was more of a piano piece anyways.

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Richard watched as the people gathered on the floor and he was trying his best not to get carried away with the tempo (a habit that he was so terrible at controling at times). This, he thought, This is what I miss the most. Seeing people dance together in a clean manner was so rare these days. People sitting back and relaxing, was even a rarer thing. Everything was go go go it was almost heartbreaking. He glanced at Lina as she put her flute down then hurried out the door. Figures she would leave him in here all alone. Payback my dear sister, He thought further with a smirk, Payback will be oh so sweet.

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[Monkey Monk]

A smooth breeze moved about the streets outside.
Caliga remained with his back to the wall of the
building. His face was tinted up slightly almost as if he
was soaking in the rays of moonlight. The pale blue
scales that covered his face and chest glistened in the
twilight, especially the newly revealed ones on his
cheek. Silence held onto the man as he seemed
oblivious to everything about him. That gust of wind
from before stirred again, playing almost gleefully with
the strands that composed his coat. Despite the
peaceful temperament of the area, this being's mind
was far from calm. Fading images of the dream he had
just suffered continued to cross of his visage.

Yet when his name cascaded upon his ears, he let his
brilliant eyes snap open. He looked down to Lina and
focused his eyes. It seemed he did not recall her. Who
was this woman? How did she know his name? Why
did she care if he was alright? It was then he
remembered her to be the one he had collided with.
For some time, he said nothing and simply gazed at
her. However, his silence could not remain for long.
Slowly he let his head nod so as to reassure her that
he was indeed fine. Yet the gesture only was
half-preformed before changing to a side to side
motion. As his voice rang out, it was somber and yet
mysteriously blank at the same time. "No...I am not
alright. But do not concern yourself with my
miseries...go and join your brother in song. You can
help these people far more than you could ever hope
to help me?" Why was he pushing away the only
kindness he had perhaps had in months? His
reasoning was he did not wish to be a bother to this
woman. After all, he had seen that to associate in a
friendly manor with beings like him did not go over to
well in this city.

[ame]

"Hello," he said realizing the man hadn't heard him as a woman asked him if he was alright, "might there be a violin or viola in there I could play?" Just then Ame noticed that his muzzle and tails weren't hidden by his cloak. Now I blew it.

[Felypsa]

After a while, Misty decided she had better get back to work; more and more people were arriving. Her father had actually been signaling to her for the past five minutes, but she was oblivious, lost in the delightful dance. Finally she became aware of the business their tavern was having, and the moment she could, she handed off her current partner to another willing woman, and hurried over to wait on a few of the tables. She looked a little mussed up, her curly hair rather frizzy, her green eyes bright, and her cheeks flushed with exercise. She smiled at the customers, who seemed amused at her frazzled appearance. She took their orders, then dashed to the kitchen to place the orders with Cook.

She did this for several tables, and indeed needed help from one of the girls behind the bar who’d initially been helping her father. The place was suddenly jumping! Though this meant much more work than play for Misty, she was greatly pleased, not to mention impressed. She made a mental note to tell Cook to fix the best meal she could for the two musicians.

Two—then why was there only one? Misty, startled, saw that Richard was currently the only one playing away, and to her admiration she noticed that he was really getting into the music, his fingers flying tirelessly across the piano keys. She hadn’t even noticed the absence of the flute. Curious, Misty peered outside the window, knowing that Zerlina couldn’t have gone far without her brother. To her further surprise, she saw that Lina was standing outside with Caliga, talking to him quietly. Misty’s eyes narrowed as she saw that the mysterious hooded stranger stood near them. To her horror she saw that the stranger had multiple tails.

First Caliga, now this. She began to get nervous that these nonhumans would frighten away the sudden influx of patrons. But either Richard’s music was so alluring—or the customers too ignorant to observe Caliga and the fox-man. Whichever it was, no one seemed inclined to leave. That reassured Misty. She hoped that Caliga was okay, for his sake, and for Lina’s. Despite her misgivings about him, she wanted to know that he at least would be alright. She hoped he would come back in too. But she did not concern herself for long; there were dishes to be delivered, orders to be taken…and, sadly, dishes to be washed.

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[Mama Z]

More Scales, Zerlina noted in the pale lamp light and moonlight as he turned to address her question. Even his voice sounded pleasently blank. She frowned and her brows knit lightly in confusion. She was about to ask if anything more was wrong when a voice reached her ears. A violin or viola? She all but rolled her eyes at the question, did it look like she was carrying an insturment as such? Where was she keeping it? Under her her skirt? Takin in a deep breath to calm her anger she turned around, 'Does it..' Her voice trailed off as she got a good look at the figure before her. Green eyes grew wide and she jumped back slightly, hand moving over her mouth. Its not that his appearence startled her, she had met with much worse, its just that how could another demon ironicly run into them -again- and this one seemed uncaring about his appearence. After a moment she swallowed and gave a shakey, "No?' It was more of a question then anything. Oh hell, like she knew if there was one or not.

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You know that feeling you get when you know something was amiss but couldnt quite place it? Richard was recieving one of those feelings again, and generally, that meant a demon was around. Human eyes glanced up from the keyboard, lazily sweeping over teh audience. Everyone was having a splendid time it seemed, no one was hidden by a cloak or anything..and Lina was no where to be seen. He let out a small sigh, she always did this and he was running out of song to play! Shifting slightly, he played a distinct run of notes that would have sounded like part of the song, but it wasnt. It was a cue for Lina to get back in there before he stopped playing.

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[Monkey Monk]

Caliga looked over to the other impure as if he had just
noticed them. However, he did notice Zerlina's
uncomfortable state. Slowly he stepped toward the
fox-like creature. His hand reached behind him to rest
on the hilt of his blade. At the moment, he was in no
condition to fight. Yet that would not stop him from
trying to intimidate the other from leaving. He knew
one half-blood was more than enough. And if this one
started to play, it would only scare of customers. Those
wondrously colored eyes of his narrowed toward the
other. When he spoke, his voice was fatigued but still
cold. "There is no such instrument for you so I suggest
you leave. You would be only a hindrance to the kind
people of this inn."

Quite suddenly he began to cough once more though.
He felt his energy drain from his body as he fell to his
knees. Quickly he let his palms press to the ground so
as to support him as he coughed harder and harder. At
each and every pause, he would spit out copious
amounts of crimson blood. Once the fits of coughing
ended, he remained on the ground. He felt too weak to
rise to his feet. However, he was not surprised by
these rather gruesome occurrences that racked his
body. It seemed to happen every time he suffered that
dream. The pain he felt in that nightmare was always
overpowering. It always felt so real.

[Felypsa]

At last, Misty got a break. Her mother had come down and had taken over the dishwashing (thank the gods for that), and Cook had finished all the meals for now. Misty picked up the dishes and gave them to their respective orderers, then motioned to the other serving-girl to take over for her. There weren’t as many people eating, anyway; most everyone by now had either moved to the bar or were up on the dance floor. Misty seized this opportunity to find Zerlina and Caliga, and hopefully convince them to come back in. A quick glance at Richard told her she was none too soon; he seemed to be running out of both energy and songs. Smiling to herself, she whisked outside, shivering in the cold wind that had lately picked up. It was so different out here from the warmth and comfort of her inn. And, while the inside was packed with familiar, normal humans, outside there were (though unbeknownst to her) nothing but demons.

The moment Misty had left the inn, she stopped short, clamping her hand over her mouth to prevent an alarmed scream. She had already seen the stranger from within, but up close he was even more frightening and unnatural. Caliga and Lina were standing near this fearful creature, looking at him warily. Caliga was speaking to the six-tailed man, and Misty just caught his last words: “…you would only be a hindrance to the kind people of this inn.”

Before Misty could even react to these words, Caliga coughed and fell forward. Without realizing what she was doing or whom she was helping, Misty cried out and rushed forward to support him. She had momentarily forgotten that she was supposed to be repulsed by this partially-scaled man in her sympathy for his plight. “Caliga, are you well?” she asked concernedly, wincing at the amount of blood he coughed up. If he allowed her to touch him, she would feel the violet convulsions that wracked his poor body. Her sympathy for him overcame her initial disgust of him. I hope he’ll be okay.

Then she whipped her head around and glared at the fox-man. She spoke angrily to him, sounding braver than she felt; inside, she was terrified of this multiple-tailed stranger. “Look, I don’t know you think you are or what you’ve done, but I’m sure my inn doesn’t allow for that kind of behavior.” She didn’t realize this was all the result of a misunderstanding; that all this hideous-looking monster had done was interrupt and ask for a violin. She looked up at Lina and asked, “So what happened? And make it quick, I think your brother wants you back inside. It’s getting really busy!” For a moment she appeared digressed, beaming at her inn’s success, but then she sobered and looked back down at Caliga. I wish I knew what to do! she thought helplessly.

[ame]

"Scales, eh?" Ame said stepping back, "You're not as worse off as I. Can't do nothing 'bout that but I can help with that cough." Ame then reached into the pocket of some tattered sweats and pulled out a small white bottle. "You can't scare me off like that. I've seen worse."

[Mama Z]

A deep frown came over Linas face as the demon-thing pulled out a bottle. 'And what makes you think we should trust you?" She wasnt playing the part of a demon-hating human, more like the part of a friend watching out for another friend. She shifted over slightly to stand next to Cal and Misty, making sure this other didnt pull any fast ones. AT Mistys words she looked down then spared a glance towards the inn. Forgive me Richard, She couldnt just leave the two here. 'Creepy here just startled me is all.' She stated admitting the truth. 'But no,' She said addressing the question Fox-boy asked earlier, 'I dont believe they have a violin you could play.'

It was then, she noted that the sound of the piano stopped and a deep familiar voice came through, 'Lina..you cant leave me hanging like that.' Lina looked towards her borther then at the demon.

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It wasnt that the young "man" was getting tired of playing, its just that he was in all reality shy and playing in front of big crowds alone was well not one of his strong points. He had stopped playing and told the crowd that he had needed a quick breather and stepped outside. 'Lina, you cant leave me hanging like that.' He stated then paused as he saw his siblings look. Blue eyes wondered down to the tails of the demon, Cal on the ground and Misty and his sister moving protectivly around. 'Whats going on?' He questioned, all friendlyness seeping out of his voice.

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[Monkey Monk]

After several moments, the coughing was harnessed by Caliga.
Quickly he spat out the last bit of blood and began to rise. The
folds of his fur coat slowly straightened out as he put one knee
out. Like a barn rising for the first time, Caliga began to stand
up. Once he had done so, his legs were shaky for a moment. He
lost balance and shot out his hand to lightly press on Misty.
However, soon he had his usual strength and thus removed his
hand from the girl's shoulder, muttering his apologies. His
emerald eyes then looked to the fox-like creature. The moon
light gleamed brilliantly off his pale-blue scales. Once more he
reached behind him and gripped the hilt of his blade. He took a
step toward the other and narrowed his eyes, obviously about
to speak.

"You may have good intentions, but that does not change the
fact of what you are. In this city, half-bloods like us are
despised. At least my presence in that inn goes unseen for I
remain hidden. But how do you think the flow of customers
would react when people found out an impure was playing part
of the music? All the hard work of these siblings would be for
naught. So I kindly ask you to take your leave." His voice was
not the usual meek one. In truth, it was not only the longest he
had spoke around these people but also the loudest. For a
moment his gaze drifted to the vial with repulsions. It was
obvious he did not like to take small bottles of potion from
strangers. Seemingly to add on to his last statement, his blade
was drawn slowly. He pointed the tip down to the ground as he
awaited the other's response, standing slightly in front of Misty
and Lina with an almost protective stance.

[Felypsa]

Misty helped Caliga get up, wincing a little as he pressed his hand on her shoulder. Not because it hurt—it didn’t—but she felt creeped out by such close contact with the half-breed. Even though she liked him better than this fox-man, she was still unsettled by his scales and evident nonhuman quality. The shiver was involuntary. She hoped Caliga didn’t notice. But apparently he did, for he murmured apologies to her. She blushed, oddly ashamed at her childish fright.

She listened, agape, as Caliga continued to speak in favor of the inn, and of Escavas in general. And I’ve treated him horribly all this time! she thought miserably. He knew it and accepted it. I could never do that. I’d just about die if people treated me like that. Then he stepped in front of Lina and herself, almost protectively. Her respect for Caliga raised a two hairs; she still was wary of him because of his very nature, but she made a promise to be more careful in her treatment of him from now on.

Then she saw the glint of moonlight off the tip of Caliga’s sword. She swallowed nervously. This is getting troublesome. I don’t want a brawl, least of all with swords involved…he’s really serious. “Please don’t fight,” she begged both Caliga and the fox-creature. “There’s really no reason to, please…” She turned to the fox-man, shuddering instinctively at his frightful appearance. She worked up her courage and spoke to him again. “If you could just leave…quietly, peacefully…it would help a lot. I can get you a drink or something quick, but I don’t think I can let you into the inn…people would react,” she whispered, “and trouble will start. No one wants that. So, please, leave…” Her brown eyes shone with the same soft pleading that was in her voice. She really wanted to avoid trouble, especially tonight, which was possibly the most successful night The Rising Dragon had had in a long, long time…

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