An Unlikely Reunion[Quetzal]

[Aelodil]

"Sure is quiet. Wouldn't you agree, Lenora?" Said the youth to his crimson red dragon, her glistening scales matching his eyes. The dragon, none other than Lenora turned to her Rider with curiosity in her eyes. They had taken to relieve their tired muscles by laying down out in the garden of their now estate, courtesy of Aelodil, the youth's cousin.

"What is on your mind, Ragdar? You seem preoccupied. Is it a woman?" Responded Lenora, humor dripping from her tone and mind. She couldn't help but give a hum of laughter out as she imagined Ragdar with a woman.

Frowning, Ragdar replied with a serious tone in his voice, "Actually, yes. Just not in the way you think. Not all of us have the exact same thoughts when it comes to the opposite gender, you know."

Giving a puff of laughter, Lenora cut him some slack and drifted back to sleep. She knew what he meant - the ferocity of dragons when it came to finding a mate. She didn't disagree, but nor did she agree. But to her, it didn't matter. Not now, not with Ragdar having such a troubled face. Reaching out with her mind, she nudged his and looked him in the eye with those two large crimson eyes, his own crimson eyes reflecting in her's.

He shook his head. He drew a breath and began, "It's the girl named Isrydia. Remember? We fought off the Raz'ac. Yet, most of that was thanks to her. I never felt like I ever needed to justify myself of anything, sins or not, you know. But now.. now, I want to show her at least, that I'm not the monster I used to be. That I'm beyond that and I'm a better man now. Of course, there's no way to remove the past. This scar of a tattoo shall forever be there to make sure of that.." He ended abruptly, lost in thought.

After he had helped Isrydia fend off the Raz'ac from the village, he had taken it upon himself to redeem himself. But never would he forget the hideous acts he had committed. To remind himself of the terrible man he was, he used magic to force flame into his finger and drew the tattoo of the bear, the Sin of Anger, in his own red blood to match his dragon's scales, his eyes, and his weapon that reflected it's original red and the red of the blood of his enemies. He had drawn it on his chest, just where it would be visible with his jacket, supported by magic and open to the second button to keep the tattoo revealed.

Lenora gently ruffled his hair with a tiny puff of breath and said, "What we did," she started, emphasizing on the "we" as she continued, "can not and will not be forgotten. But we can redeem ourselves... I'm here for you, Ragdar, and there are others. Aelodil, for starters. Do not dawn upon the past, when you had allowed your anger to get the better of you. As long as you don't lose it again, it'll be fine." Her voice gentle and reassuring but with an edge that showed that no matter what his path was, she was with him.

Ragdar couldn't help the smile. For once in such a long while, he smiled that pleasant smile the ladies of the court always used to talk about when he was younger. The smile that actually had affectionate emotions behind it, rather than the smile that said he'll enjoy torturing you. The smile that actually reached his eyes. Lenora was shocked, but regained quickly and hummed, rather pleased. She gentle touched her brow to his forehead then said, "I will be back, little one. I must go hunting. Unlike you, who manages to retain his physical form with such little food, I need my food for my strength. Don't miss me too much." Her tone hinting she was only half joking.

Ragdar continued to grin and said, "Don't flatter yourself." But both of them knew he was already worrying about her and hoping she'd make it back soon. She kept her mind in sync with his as she flew away. Her thoughts roiling in his mind proved that he was not alone. Standing up, Ragdar sheathed Arucane and decided to walk around town. His jet black hair was, as usual, elegantly cropped just shy of his eyes. His reinforced tunic, black, with the royal crest of Aelodil's family, was also tinted crimson red at the special request of Ragdar. The townsfolk seemed to be unsure as he walked by. Never once had they had reason to be happy to see him. His arrival usually meant more cruelty and death. This time, however, the hollow, dead look in his eyes was gone. In it's place was a friendly, inviting smile. But the townsfolk did not trust him. Turning their backs, they walked away.

Not surprising.. He thought, After all, I never was a pleasant fella. Oh well. Though the smile didn't fade entirely, a stab of sorrow entered it and a light of regret flickered in his eye. He continued to walk through the town, enjoying the view. Not that it could match the view of the manor, but still, it was pleasant to be back in town. Even if he wasn't welcome. He finally stopped as he noticed two Empire soldiers harassing a lady. They were trying to use her, as it would seem. Ragdar grit his teeth and struggled to remain calm. He would not lose control and burst. Not again. Regaining his cheerful, but now ringed with seriousness posture, he walked to the men and calmly put a strong hand on his arm.

"You know, it's awful rude to treat a lady like that. I'd suggest you scram before I decide to get angry about it." He said, his voice cheerful but with a deadly hint to it. The soldiers laughed. Up until Ragdar's fist slammed into their guts. He held back, of course. He'd rather not punch a hole through the man's abdomen and the wall behind him, but he still put enough strength to make the man regret what he had been doing. The other man had no time to flee before Ragdar kneed him into the ground, the ground cracking. Ragdar closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and...

Grabbing the men by their collars, he threw them towards the barracks near the gates. He turned to the woman and the friendly smile returned again. He took a cloak out from his bag and draped it around her shoulders, along with a few gold coins in case she might need food, shelter, and water. He walked back into the sunlight and sighed. He put his shoulder against a tree and watched the sun. It was a beautiful, sunny day. He'd enjoy this view. If only for a little longer.

(Wow, sorry this is so long, but after all that time, my muse is really sky rocketing!)

[Quetzal]

The battle was to commence in a week, maybe two, and Isrydia was doing whatever she could to while away the time she had until then. She didn't want to think about it, so found herself leaving the camp as often as she could without damaging her training. Little more than a year ago, she had been a common travelling storyteller, and now she would be flying into her first battle on dragonback to face the most powerful and evil man in the world as she knew it, as a respected though hardly well known knight and dragon Rider. Life had a funny way of spitting out the unexpected.

Arlyn hummed gently once he landed and she slipped off his back. "I'll go see if Aelodil or Ragdar are in town first. It'd be good to give my legs a stretch, too."

"Probably best I go exploring or hunting or something, then. Don't want to panic the locals!" Arlyn said lightly, leaning down to touch his snout to his Rider's forehead before taking off again with a couple of beats of his wings. The wind from them threw Isrydia's hair all over the place. She chuckled and smoothed it back down again before walking in the direction of the cluster of buildings.

Her legs were stiff from sitting on a dragon's back for a good hour, but by the time she reached the first houses she had worked out all the kinks. The day was unseasonably sunny. The clear blue sky was gorgeous, lighting the world brightly and cheerfully. It put her in a good mood and helped distract her from any thoughts of war. That changed quickly as she heard violent shouting nearby. A man, maybe two, a frightened woman, and another man perhaps defending the woman. Whatever he was doing, he certainly sounded angry at the other two. At first, she planned to simply check everything was all right and move on, leaving people to deal with their own business, but then she thought one voice sounded familiar - the one angry with the other men. There was a couple of thuds, as if a scuffle was going on. That made up her mind; she would check what was going on. Perhaps the voice was indeed someone she knew, and perhaps someone was in trouble.

Finally finding the spot the sounds had come from, she found no one except a man leaning against a tree. She was behind him so couldn't see his face, but it wasn't too hard to put his identity together. Black hair, Aelodil's noble crest on his cloak, that sword from what she could see of its hilt, and with the voice she had heard here close to Aelodil's family manor. There weren't many contenders for who it could be. Stepping up closer behind him, she allowed herself a smile. It was good to see him again, though she didn't know how happy he would be. Last she saw him he was fleeing the Empire, having just escaped them. "Ragdar?" she called to him.

[Aelodil]

Ragdar had his eyes closed, enjoying the breeze that gently threw around his hair when he heard a familiar feminine voice behind him. As if he was in a dream, he turned slowly and looked at the woman who was smiling at him. He was so surprised that, for a second, his smile had lost that stab of pain and his eyes lost that glimmer of sorrow and he was absolutely filled with happiness. Then he remembered their first meeting and his face darkened a little. While she wasn't up-right rude or cruel to him when they fought off the Raz'ac, she didn't seem to have forgotten the brief time they spent when Arlyn had first hatched. The mistrust in her eyes at the time had made it more than clear to him.

Non-the-less, he broadened his smile and said, "That would be me. Nice to see you good and well, Isrydia. I'd assume Arlyn is off hunting? If not for food, then for a place to hide? I'd imagine he'll probably run into Lenora. She went off to hunt just a few minutes ago." His voice was a bit rushed and unsteady as he gushed out words. He didn't know what to say. The fact that she had walked to him and bothered to start a conversation at all made him happy beyond what words could express and he found himself struggling, not able to find the words to express his gratitude.

The few citizens that had lingered around watched from a distance and began whispering between themselves. He noticed her clothes. They were the same he was wearing, if only slightly different with his crimson lined robe in comparison to her normal one. The townsfolk seemed confused as to why two "members", as they thought they were, would be in town and chatting. It seemed mysterious and spooky to them and while most had seemed to be friendly towards the new lady earlier, they were now whispering, telling her to run away from the Sin standing in front of her.

Ragdar grit his teeth as he listened to the townsfolk. Not in anger, no, he knew why they hated him, but rather in sorrow. While his posture seemed angry, in his eyes was a sea of blood and in that sea one small droplet of salty water that showed his sorrow. Suddenly, Lenora was in his head and said, "Well, I seem to have met Arlyn here." She said as she dragged him into her eyes.

She was in the forest nearby and in front of her was Arlyn. He didn't seem to have seen her yet, so she walked towards him in plain sight and sent her mind to his, saying, "Hello Arlyn. Nice to meet you again. I do hope you have time for a chat this time." Her voice smooth and gentle, like a sea breeze passing by his mind, not intruding.

Ragdar snapped back to himself and asked Isrydia, "Well.. not to sound rude, but to what do I owe this pleasantry to? I'm glad you stopped by but.. if I am to be honest, I don't really know what to say other than.. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that our first meeting, when Arlyn hatched, was so unpleasant. I'm sorry for what I was and what I did. I'm sorry I'm not a saint. But enough of that, what brings you here if you don't mind me asking?"

[Quetzal]

It was pleasing to see Ragdar happy to see her, though Isrydia wasn't able to trust him fully. He had proved he was a decent man when they had fought off the Raz'ac together, but the war had taught her not to trust so easily as she used to. Once, she would have forgiven him in an instant, but now she was too wary of tricks and traps. For all she knew, this could be an Empire attempt to lure her into a false sense of security. She believed he really had left the Empire, and didn't think he meant anyone any harm, but you could never be too careful. Besides, it was impossible to tell how much of his past actions had been Galbatorix's control and how much had been him actually enjoying what he was doing.

"I'm glad to see you're well, too. I haven't been hearing much about you, so I presume you've been keeping your head down. Arlyn's off hunting somewhere, yes. We thought it'd be worry people too much to see a dragon around," she replied. Dragons were too big to fit down most streets anyway. She hoped there might be a city eventually where dragons could walk where humans did, but of course that was not possible considering how big some of them were. Valinor had been as big as a hill when she'd met him. There wasn't a chance of getting something like that down a street. It must be inconvenient being so huge. Anything could be crushed by an accidental movement, and it would be a lot harder to show affection through the gentle nudges Arlyn often gave her. One day he might grow that large, though she knew he didn't want to. Perhaps she ought to look into some spell that would halt his growth so he never did.

The citizens around them didn't seem so happy by the meeting. Let them think what they wanted. Any Varden spies would recognise her and would have been told of Ragdar's escape - all Varden informants were fully clued up on the alignments of all Riders to avoid confusion - so no false information would be received by the Varden. She had bigger concerns that what some people who wouldn't know her if she saw them again thought of her.

There was no reason in particular for her visit. It was more out of boredom and a desire to see a friend. She had been hoping to find Aelodil, but now she was sure Ragdar was a friend too she was glad to have found him instead. The mention of their first meeting made her look down for a moment. That had not been the best welcome to the world for the newly hatched dragon, but she blamed Reru for that, not Ragdar. He hadn't had much choice in the matter, and besides treated her as well as his oaths would allow. "With the battle so close, I've been growing restless. I came looking to see if you or Aelodil were around just for a talk." She said. "That first meeting, I don't blame you for it. With Reru and your oath, it was good you managed as much as you did, giving us the chance to escape. Anyway, there are better things to talk about. I never got the opportunity to talk with you properly before with the Raz'ac attacking. I've been wondering for a while, purely out of curiosity, how you escaped from the Empire. Surely Galbatorix's oaths had you bound? Even when broken, how did you manage to escape them all?"

Arlyn pawed the ground, sniffing to try and catch the scent of something tasty. A sudden mind touching his made him jump. He turned around to recognise Lenora. Jaws opening in a toothy grin, he moved towards her. "Lenora! Yes, I'm not busy this time, there isn't anyone trying to kill us," he replied happily. It was good to see her again. Checking Isrydia's mind, he found she had started talking to Ragdar. Nice they'd both found each other. She seemed less trusting of him, but Arlyn was perfectly happy to believe Lenora wasn't going to harm them in any way. "What have you been up to these past months? I haven't heard of any sightings of a red dragon around here. Guess you must have both the Empire and the Varden to hide from," he asked.