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@wingiby-iggiby

Hi Wingiby,

Thank you so much! That helps a ton!

Please excuse Liorah for being so terribly rude. She insisted, and I couldn’t stop her. *Long, suffering sigh.*

Honestly, I love the way you’re writing Kiark! He’s a really great character, as is Wylo! I loved that part you wrote about Wylo, it was fascinating!

I can’t wait to see how Kiark responds to Liorah’s impulsive stubbornness. I really didn’t intend her remarks to be offensive in any way. She has a terrible habit of making enemies wherever she goes because she habitually insults people. Feel free to let Kiark retaliate as much as he likes XD

Liorah

“See? That one has no exit. It’s airtight, and we would have suffocated.”  I pointed out.

Ehud stared at me, then started beaming. I couldn’t help smiling back. His eternal good humor was contagious.

“Cool! If my science class had been that neat I wouldn’t have dropped out…no, wait, I think I got expelled from that one…” He stifled a sheepish grin.

Though I didn’t exactly understand what he meant, his tone indicated it was positive. I smiled.

I turned to the noble and snapped,

“Does that answer your question, or do I need to explain what air is and why you need it?”

The young noble only grinned at me as I made a point of scowling at him. Instead of replying, he turned away. I glared at his back. Arrogant brat. Couldn’t even bring up the decency to respond to my thinly-veiled insult.

The other girl spoke. I hadn’t talked to her yet, though I had noticed her watching me. She seemed to notice everything.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Don’t worry about your companion, I intend to have a word with him.” She started, her voice controlled. “Now, about the dragons. First of all, you will not ever again refer to either of the dragons as beasts. They are at least as intelligent as you, possibly more so and if you wish to face their anger you can call them beasts to their faces.”

I frowned. ‘Dragons’?  I had no idea what that word meant. It was either a foreign word or something we had no concept of. Apparently, it was some sort of highly intelligent creature. I stifled a grin. Though, even a rock was intelligent if you compared it to the arrogant noble.

“As for keeping the dragons together I understand your concerns there but that’s just too much power concentrated in one group. I’d much rather place her in a group with either some of the more easygoing members or with whichever groups will have either Kami or your friend as members. Now what I need from you is to determine which people are best equipped and which people will need more assistance. I can’t afford to have the weakest members grouped into one team. Next, I’ll need an assessment of each persons’ strengths and weaknesses. Understood?” The girl said crisply.

Apparently, the conversation was about dividing the teams. And these dragons. The girl’s plan was logical and well thought out. It made perfect sense to me. I tugged at the knot that held my turquoise head-scarf in place. The long strip of fabric was heavy, and there was no need to keep it on. The sun was goodness-knew-where.

I barely controlled my laughter when I see the dumbstruck expression on the young noble’s face. That clearly wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. His expression changed to fury as he leaned in closer to the girl.

I still heard him clearly when he growled,

“Missy, I think we need to talk,”

His tone was so disrespectful that I froze in indignation. Who did this arrogant pig think he was?

“I didn’t come over here to be bossed around and talked down to. You’re not my superior — and, in fact, I don’t remember anyone putting you in charge in the first place. You can’t order me around, you can’t tell me what to do, what not to say!”

I rolled my eyes. Oh, dear. An offended noble who took himself much too seriously. I pitied the girl on the other side of the argument. How was she even able to keep from smacking him? I briefly considered doing it myself, then decided not to make enemies. Yet. I’d have plenty of time for that.

“I can talk how I like, and guess what? Dragons are beasts, and unless you want that she-beast getting too fired up and roasting her charges, she should be kept with her friend! And,” He hissed, “you will not go up to my uncle unless you want a sword through your guts.”

I crossed my arms, indignation washing over me. How dare he? This wasn’t a question of rank, it was a question of common civility, and he had crossed even that line. The girl had done nothing to deserve that. Her reply had been perfectly logical and sensible.

I felt more than ready to punch him, and I might have if I hadn’t seen the bemused expression on the girl’s face. I decided to wait it out. She had this under control.

I unwrapped the layers of turquoise fabric. I could have burned a piece of it instead if I’d thought of it. Oh well, it might come in handy later.

She crossed her arms and leaned back a moment. Kiark turned to leave but she grabbed his elbow and spoke in his ear. I strained my ears, but only caught a few words.

“–Spoiled little twit–”

I grinned. This was going to be good.

“–going to have a fit every time I make a decision–”

“–whine to your pig uncle and leave us big girls to do the real work.” Her voice became even sharper near the end of her remark so I could hear every word.

I felt an almost irrepressible urge to applaud. He drew himself up to his full height, ready to throw his whole force of ignorance, arrogance, and disrespect into the battle. She narrowed her eyes and dug her nails into his arm.

Her voice dropped until I couldn’t hear anything.

A few whispered sentences later, she pushed him out of the way and went on with her work.

I returned to the subject at hand. I nodded at the shiny surface.

“Anyone try breaking that? There’s a reasonably close exit for the air behind it.”

“What if it’s magic?” Ehud asked,

The girl who’d just been arguing with the noble came up to Ehud, and they had a short exchange. I didn’t understand more than half of it, and that part didn’t make sense, so I focused more on the interaction between the two. I was surprised at how affectionate the sharp girl was with Ehud. He seemed to sense something wrong, but didn’t openly ask about it.

Before I could introduce myself to the girl, she turned away and spoke to the blind girl. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but the blind girl seemed uneasy, despite her almost constant giggling.

I focused my attention on the noble instead. I’d been aching to.

“I beg your pardon, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” I said, trying to be charming. Gavril made it look so easy, but unlike him, I wasn’t naturally charismatic and genuinely interested in every person who happened to cross my path. I honestly didn’t care about this noble or his opinion of me.

He turned and introduced himself as Kiark.

“You must be a great ruler. Perhaps a king?” I asked, folding my headscarf into a square and tucking it into my belt. That was better. My long auburn braid was in complete disarray, but I could rebraid it later.

I didn’t think for a moment that this ill-mannered fool was a king. He would have gotten kicked off the throne with that attitude.

“I’ve seldom seen such arguments,” I said, in a tone I thought of as admiring, but which probably sounded nothing less than ridiculous. “In fact, I don’t believe I’ve seen such wisdom, diplomacy, and excellent debating talents since–” I pretended to hesitate, noticing how Kiark puffed up with pride. I was grinning internally. This was going off perfectly.

“Since I saw two five-year-olds argue over a goat,” I said, my tone switching to the utter contempt I felt. “You’re acting like a spoiled toddler, Your Most Royal Whatever. Do you even have the common sense of the average chicken?” I asked, pretending to be genuinely concerned.

“Look, if you don’t put your ego in your pocket, we’re not going to get out of here alive. Do you understand?” I asked, sweetly.

I’d done this before to other arrogant nobles’ sons, much to Gavril’s amusement and Mother’s despair. There were few things more satisfying than seeing their egos’ deflate after I changed from flattering them to insulting them.

A soft noise reached me from behind the mirror. A low, rumbling growl.

_____________

Hey everyone,

I’m sorry that was so long! It was a bit tricky to get all of Liorah’s responses in the right places.