Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"That's fine. We've got plenty to spare and we like to feed the rangers anyway," Ria smiled and sent her off. Roman kept looking back every now and then on his way, still unsure.

When she returned, David was just finishing with filling the stalls with fresh bedding. He stepped out with pitchfork in hand and gave them a smile. "Evening. Roman looks a little riled. Something happen?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"He got spooked by something in the loch." Fiona said as she took of Roman's saddle and blanket, sending him off into the pasture to run off some more energy before she fed him for the night. "Like a child that got brushed against. It's almost like he believes that he met Inverness kipper tonight."

"I did!" Danny called from the stall next to his father, his head peeking around the corner. "I did, didn't I, Da?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Maybe," David teased his son. "Everyone has a story except Annie and Alex, it seems like. Then again, they're the two scholars on the whole dragon story."

Annie was there too, spending a little time with Ferrous.

 

[heartofcourage]

Annie chuckled as she heard David speak her name. She turned to look at Danny as he stood in the aisle of the barn, looking excited about the idea of Inverness kipper. Bridget and Silas were off with Julia and Brogan for the evening, no doubt being spoiled by their grandparents.

"Alex and I use to sleep on the banks of the loch with Uncle Durban every summer in hopes of catching a glimpse of her." Annie said fondly as Ferrous nuzzled against her for another treat.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Since we've had Danny, Ann hasn't had a lot of time to go dragon hunting, but Alex tends to still go by the loch at night every so often," David explained, putting the pitchfork aside in an empty storage stall. "Of course Alex keeps insisting they can't find her because they haven't found something called a dragon-caller."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona suddenly went quiet as David mentioned a dragon caller. The children at the village had told her that she was a dragon caller. She had no idea what that meant, but it was an eerie coincidence.

"What's a dragon caller?" Fiona asked, trying to pass it off with a shrug of her shoulders.

"They can talk to dragons." Danny said brightly as he looked up at his father. "Right, Da?"

"They have to have a kipper egg to do such." Annie said as she led Ferrous out of his stall to run in the corral. "A special kipper egg if I remember right. It's made of black, smooth stone."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Alex has one, not surprisingly." David scooped up Silas then, bringing Danny alongside them. "It's time for the boys to get to bed. Feel free to stay with Roman as long as you like, Fiona," he smiled to her before taking his family inside.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona thought about that for a moment as David and Annie left her there in the stable. She had no idea what all of it meant, but soon, she had Roman saddled up again and she was riding for the Irons' house. Knocking on the door, she tried to wait patiently for someone to answer, Roman sniffing at the plants in the large garden. When the door opened, she turned to find Theo there.

"I need to talk to Alex." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"One second," Theo said with a nod, letting her in while he went to get Alex. The lean man soon emerged, wiping his hands off as he'd been working with herbs.

"Miss Blackstone," he spoke as he approached. "What can I do for you?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Can we talk in private?" Fiona asked as she glanced over towards the fire where Valentina was reading to Ruari in Italian, the little boy's head heavy on her shoulder as he enjoyed a rare night at home with his mother.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Of course." Alex stepped back outside with her, greeting Roman with a pat. "Is something wrong?" He asked as he turned back to her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I went to the village today with Roman for lunch and while I was there, the children told me that I was a dragon caller. I thought that they were just in awe of Roman, but when we went to the loch, Roman saw something. I saw something." Fiona said, Roman rumbling in pleasure next to her as Alex patted his neck. "I need your kipper egg."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex froze, staring at her like she'd just brought his entire world screeching to a halt. He stared for a long time, trying to figure out if she was just teasing him like so many had before. "You're serious. You're not joking with me at all," he muttered. "Wait here." In a flash, he was back inside. When he emerged again, he had a black box in hand and he opened it up to show her the solid jet-gemstone kipper egg. "My great-uncle Van gave me this when I told him how interested I was... he said if I was ever going to see Invah, I'd need it."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stared at the jet black egg inside of the box, glancing up at Alex as he told her that his uncle had given it to her.

"Well, we might be seeing her tonight." Fiona said softly as she glanced towards Roman. "If what Roman and I saw this afternoon means anything, she is there and she wants to come out."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex struggled with some internal decision then, and finally handed the box over. "Go. Let her see you first. If she's awake, all of Inverness will see her soon, but she ought to know you first." He then gave her smile. "I guess this means I won the race against Annie to bring her out."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You haven't seen her yet." Fiona said as she took the box in her hands and looked at Alex. "I'll let you know what happens."

She held the box carefully, pulling herself up into the saddle and pushing Roman towards the loch once more. She could feel him hesitating and knew that he was still nervous, but she wanted to see if what everyone had been saying about her was true.

 

[KieranSoares]

Roman came to a halt along the shore, the waves lapping calmly on the sand as if everything was normal as could be. He rumbled softly at Fiona as she approached the beach, wanting to pull her back.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona walked to the edge of the loch, her shoes wet as the water sloshed onto her feet. Carefully, she held the black stone egg and took a deep breath. She had no idea what she was suppose to do or if it would even work. Roman rumbled at her from a distance away, his tone full of concern and warning to get away from the water. She wasn't going to turn back now, she thought to herself as she cradled the egg in both hands and closed her eyes.

"If you can hear me, please show yourself." She said softly to the darkness.

 

[KieranSoares]

No answer came to Fiona's call. Roman finally stepped into the water, coming to try to nuzzle and nudge her away, when suddenly the water before them, not far past the dropoff, began to push up as some great force rose. The first thing to emerge were two long, straight horns that just curved ever so slightly at the end, followed by a gorgeous teal crest and a solid black ridge of fur like Roman's. A long reptilian maw rose clear of the water, the head easily the size of a large human, perched atop a long and gracefully-curving neck. A huge clawed hand rose from the deep to plant in the shallows and pull ed beast up until she was standing up on all fours. The sound of the water pouring off her was as thunderous as any natural waterfall, and her wings stretching open only to fold on her back sounded like massive flags unfurling. And when her eyes opened, Fiona would recognize that glowing teal in her eyes that was just lighter than her scales. Her tail swished round to rest in the water, and Fiona was able to take in the full majesty of the legendary guardian of Inverness, Invah Kyre.

Her head was as long as a human was tall, and her full size easily dwarfed most common homes in the town. She could probably fit inside the keep's main hall comfortably and perch on its battlements, and she probably had the strength to pick up one of its towers without breaking a sweat, if not more.

Her teal eyes searched, narrowed as if unused to the air and even the dim light of the moon, until her gaze came to rest upon Fiona. Roman was frozen in fear, but when Invah looked at him, he turned to grab Fiona by the sleeve, trying to tug her away.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona was frozen to her spot, ignoring Roman as he tried to pull her away. Her blue eyes were wide with awe and a slight fear, the egg in her hand gripped so tightly she swore that she might break it. Her voice was gone in that moment as the great dragon of Inverness stared down at her and Roman. No one would have believed her if she told them what she saw, save Alex and Annie. She wasn't sure that she wasn't having a hallucination.

"Invah?" She murmured in a shaking voice as Roman tugged on her sleeve to get her away. "I...didn't mean to disturb you. I thought...I didn't think that I could actually call you."

Fiona turned to push Roman away, looking at him as he seemed so concerned for her safety. She pointed towards the bank, telling him to go and wait for her.

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah took another step forward, leaning her great head down to Fiona's level. She glanced at the black egg and then once more to Roman who finally heeded Fiona and backed up a few paces. Finally she spoke in a beautiful, deep, feminine voice that was reminiscent of a few soft-spoken, confident mothers Fiona knew, like Ria or Suara.

"Good evening, little one," she murmured, her voice soft so not to be too loud for Fiona. She stepped out onto the shore and into the grass. Even thought she was a giant, her footsteps were light and nearly soundless. She shook out the long black mane that ridged her head, neck, and back, the fur so dark it was almost blue in the rising moonlight. "I was wondering if you'd come back after this afternoon."

 

[heartofcourage]

"So, I did see you in the water." Fiona said as she watched the dragon walk onto the shore, shaking the water from her mane. "And you did really tug on Roman while he was swimming."

She glanced towards her drake with an apologetic look for not believing him. He still looked so concerned, but she knew that she was in no danger from Invah. Something simply told her that the dragon would not harm her.

"My grandfather would have loved to meet you." Fiona said softly, thinking about on her family and their history with drakes and dragons.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Oh, I didn't mean to brush your friend there. His foot almost got caught on one of my scales. I'm afraid it happens quite a lot." She spoke perfect English, it seemed, and she was nothing close to the monster or the godly form many stories made her out to be. She was very real, seemingly kindhearted, and perfectly personable despite probably a century of not speaking to anyone.

"And who was your grandfather?" She turned back toward Fiona then, her tail curling about her long, lithe legs. "Oh, where are my manners... I am Invah Kyre of Skye, guardian to the loch and the royal family here in... I'm afraid I don't know what it's called anymore. It was once Inverna, ruled by the Ghis family under King Aod and my dear friend Queen Dianh."

 

[heartofcourage]

"My grandfather was Ephriam Blackstone." Fiona said softly as the dragon spoke to her. "I'm Fiona Blackstone. I was born and raised here in Inverness."

She listened as the dragon spoke of kings and queens that had long since passed from this life. It was true that the beasts could live for many centuries, it seemed.

"King Brogan Ghis and Queen Julia are the rulers now. Brogan is about to step aside for his son, Rhodan, to take the throne." Fiona explained in a soft tone as Roman continued his rumbling protest. "And that's Roman, my drake."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Calm down there, young man," Invah said to Roman, who froze when she looked at him. She gave him a growl and he laid down in the grass, submitting to her finally. She gave him an affectionate nudge and he rolled on his side, like a wolf showing his belly to an alpha out of recognition for her status.

Invah reached out then, guiding Fiona toward her as she lay in the grass as well. "Sit, my dear. Tell me about yourself. It's been fifty years since my last encounter with someone like you, but I didn't even get out of the water before they fled and I never saw them again."