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“Get. Out. Of my head.”

Brendin squeezed Alessio’s shoulder gently to try and bring back the lad’s focus.  “Alessio, lower your bow,” he repeated.  He recognized his expression, the panic and fear and anger.  The nausea from another mind invading your own.

Memories flashed through Brendin’s mind, filled with screams once more, but this time they were his as he lay on the black marble altar.  A shadowy, taloned hand reached out to his chest and dug its ebony claws in…

Forcing such bitter recollections from his mind Brendin knelt before the boy, putting a hand on his arms and gently making him lower the weapon.  “Look at me.  Listen to me.  He may only come in if you let him,” he whispered gently, hopefully in a low enough tone the dragon did not overhear.  I will give him silence if he does.  “Ignore him.”
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“I am a dragon, but I do not eat maidens.”

Jericho’s mouth twitched at the words.  Maiden…when has anyone ever called me that?

Somewhat haltingly she crept out of the shadow of the tunnel, her hand still on the hilt of her sword.  Cautiously she probed the others through her shakti: the boy was youthful but neurotic; the farmer was odd, both old and young, almost like one of the Sadi, but Jericho knew he could not be one; the other man, the one standing by the boy, something about him was maimed and feral and recoiled at the brush of her presence, though something more volatile stirred within him; and finally the dragon bore two other entities, though Jericho did not seek to probe them out further and risk overextending herself.  Ramseur had never felt like that.  She had shared her mind with the golden dragon many times, and always it had been a single consciousness.

But Jericho knew better than to ask and show her hand.  Perhaps she’d grown too cautious for her own good, but it couldn’t be helped.  She’d seen the consequences of being reckless.  She had no desire to repeat them.

“My dear Malvat,” she said.  Her voice was soft but yet carried clearly to the others.  “Do you not yet know it is rude to call humans ‘mankind’?”  Though the words were bold they were also gentle, and her tone made clear she did not wish to antagonize.  “It will not do,” she chided.

She came down from her point of entry and then sat upon the floor, legs crossed and her head propped lazily up by her left elbow.  Yet despite the display of nonchalance she had come only partway to Malvat and her other hand still held a loose grip on the talwar’s hilt.  The white gem in its pommel was pressed firmly into her palm.  It felt cool and soothing against her skin.

Jericho was portraying an air of ease and indifference but her guard was still raised.  If she appeared overconfident she was often thought a fool and underestimated.  She hoped this would be the case once more.  Dragons read thoughts, she knew, so she projected a single thought beyond her walls of yellow crystal.  You are not what you seem, are you?

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@joelle-stone
My hope is that Jericho has sufficiently distracted Malvat that Brendin’s words to Alessio go unnoticed.

@this-is-not-an-alien
Hey look Brendin’s taking a mentor role to Alessio…almost like he’s used to being an older brother…hmmm…

@kimlikesart
I hope I gave Nithel an accurate description.  Jheri (one of Jericho’s nicknames) is somewhere in the 700-1000 range; is she older or younger than Nithel?