Who: Audrey Leradine & Lavitz fon Amell What: Meeting Amarant Where: Outlands When: October 9th, backtracked Rating: PG? Status:complete
A morning on which Lavitz was reluctant to crawl out of bed was a usual morning. As soon as the sun filtered through his window (the one that was far too fucking large) the only thing left to do was nestle further into the duvet to hide from its rays, as if they offended him somehow. Zelda, unsurprisingly, felt much the same, often curled up by his knees.
This particular morning had him confined to the bed until noon, and he was making no exceptions for anyone today, not even Audrey.
Thirteen years. Had it really been thirteen years already? Over a decade ago, and he could remember every detail, every emotion. Could still feel the burn and recall the agony, the sensation of the ground beneath him, the smell of blood and seared flesh.
It had been an accident, but his family had never forgiven Amarant using him as a scratching post; for as much as his family appeared to despise him, he still had that sliver of humanity to hold against them.
Audrey was retrieved from Genevieve’s estate at some point around one, long after Amarant, he knew, had eaten and stretched his wings to assuage some of his inherent grumpiness. The dragon was most understandably at his most volatile when hungry. This way, they could limit any potential for another accident.
(But he wasn’t going to pass off the worry that maybe, year thirteen -- a most unlucky number -- would bring with it another mishap.)
As they neared the gate that would take them outside of the city, he sighed. “You know you can still say no to this, even though you asked.” Well, ordered.
The change to nobility had been a little difficult on Audrey-- particularly now living in the Nobles District. With eyes on her at all times, she had become more stringent on where she was seen and wearing what. Thankfully Miles’ home was found in the Commoner’s District, and there was no need for her to sneak out under the disguise of a maid. After her appointment with Miles, she was home just in time to see Lavitz arriving to pick her up.
Arms were interlinked as they made their way through the northern gate. Pulling the skirt of her cream dress up as to carefully go down the stairs, her hands fiddled with the pearl necklace she was wearing. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, feet stopping as they passed the gate. She stared off into the distance-- they were meeting with Amarant out in the open where the dragon could truly stretch out his wings. Her grip on his arm tightened a bit. “Y-yeah, it’ll be fine.”
Lavitz came to that stop with her, following her line of sight. The fear in his heart lingered still; lightning didn’t strike twice in the same spot, but if it tried, could he keep Audrey from harm? Could he fight for Amarant’s life again? He’d do his best or die trying.
His gaze drew back to her. “I don’t know if this will make you feel any better or not,” he started, voice quiet, “but the last time he hurt someone was thirteen years ago. He’s come a long way since then.” And I won’t let anything happen to you if things go south.
Kiernan’s words had started to ripple into her mind as Lavitz informed her of Amarant’s wrongdoings. It wasn’t particularly making her feel any better-- especially now knowing he had hurt people in the past and she could easily become another statistic. Audrey had to shake her head before focusing on the land beyond the gates again. “It’ll be fine. You said so yourself. I trust you. Besides, this will keep us plenty busy.” Turning to look up at her friend, she smiled and squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Let’s go!”
It had taken them some time to get to a nice clearing. Audrey had stretched her arms out, spinning in the open space. In all truth, she had never seen Amarant. She knew Lavitz had a dragon, knew it was male and the name was Amarant but she had never seen the creature. Glancing around, she pursed her lips. “So do you just whistle for it like a dog or?” she mused looking around then up at the sky.
The open field should’ve given Lavitz some comfort, but it didn’t. He knew that thirteen years ago, he’d come out here with the same expectations: to be with Amarant for some hours and maybe encounter a few stray wolves, but nothing that would end with him waking in a hospital bed. Today, he wasn’t going to make that mistake, so he kept the halberd strapped to his back, not willing to take any chances. Not today, of all days.
Despite knowing there would be nothing to see but clouds, he, too, glanced up. “Not quite,” he admitted, fishing the amulet out from under his collar to brush his fingers over it, without really needing to. A few quiet seconds passed, and then without a warning, a massive shadow glided a good fifty feet over their heads. Against the sun, the dragon, with all of his impressive wingspan, was but a smear of black above them. He could’ve been anything, but that form had been familiar for years.
Amarant took his time descending, circling like a grotesquely large bird before finally coming to land, keeping his distance upon hitting the grass with little grace. He flapped his wings once, snorted smoke, and looked directly at them. Without the glaring rays of the sun in the way, the winged beast appeared in full detail: scarlet from head to the base of his tail, save for the beige lining the underside of his belly, tail and wings, and the ram-like horns adorning his brow.
Lavitz forced a weak smile. “Audrey, this is Amarant.”
Audrey had stopped her spinning and looked over as Lavitz brushed his fingers over a pendant. Tilting her head to the side in slight confusion, her mind was cleared as she felt a shadow over her. That wasn’t a cloud. Audrey immediately gazed up, hand blocking out any rays to get a better look. A frightened gasp escaped her lips as she stared in awe at the silhouette above them. Scampering over to the dragoon, she hid behind him, her arms wrapping themselves around his waist as he peeked around trying to get a better glimpse of the dragon. The closer he got, the tighter her grip became. Like a child, she continued to peek around her friend, trying to better size up the dragon. The snort of smoke had made the blonde flinch and dig her head into Lav’s back.
It hadn’t been until the dragoon had properly introduced them that Audrey had finally let go of his waist. Leaning her head out and away from his back in order to look at the beast, she offered it a forced (and very frightened smile). “H-hello,” she stuttered, hands not letting go of the fabric of Lav’s shirt.
All that Amarant gave her in return was another snort as he folded his wings in, as if he’d understood the greeting.
Having remained still for Audrey’s benefit, Lavitz finally shifted, quietly relieved at the absence of her arms. He looked to the top of her head. “Do you want me to go over to him first?” In truth, the fifteen-foot long dragon was an intimidating presence. Most people went their entire lives without seeing one, let alone being within twenty feet of one, and Amarant was hardly friendly in appearance with his gold, slitted eyes and sharp claws. If dragons could glower, this one did.
Taking a deep breath Audrey nodded to him. Letting go (as if against her will), she stepped back, then another step, then another until them hem of her dress had gotten stuck between her foot and a rock. This was Audrey at her clumsiest as she toppled down to the ground, landing on her bum. With her arms stretched behind her in order to support her, she looked back up at her friend. “I’m just… going to sit here.”
The fall had happened too quickly for Lavitz to prevent it, but he did turn to her, worry knitted into his brow. At the very least, she seemed unharmed. Mimicking her nod, he angled himself toward his dragon, who eyed him with some suspicion. He knew the look; it said Who is that person I don’t recognize, and wanting to ease everyone’s mind, he started to speak before even reaching Amarant.
“I know today isn’t a good day, but Audrey’s only here to say hello. You don’t need to be here for too long.” Now at his dragon’s side, he raised a gentle palm to settle against that long, powerful neck. It smoothed across sleek muscle, moving with the rise and fall of every breath. There was more to say, but the words caught in his throat as he commit to memory the sensation of Amarant’s skin beneath his palms.
He didn’t believe in luck or miracles, but his dragon still being alive after their accident all those years ago had to be something like that. If not for Nowe, would there even be an Amarant to introduce to others? Death had come too close, much too close, but now Nowe was dead, and there was no one to share his gratefulness with.
Forgetting himself, Lavitz dropped his forehead to the red dragon’s neck, breathed in, and then pulled away once the moment had passed. “So let’s try not to scare her any more than we have,” he finished, stepping back on cue before Amarant huffed, shifting into a position that wasn’t unlike a dog curling up for a nap.
Amarant’s stare alone had Audrey glued to the ground in place. Biting her lower lip she watched the two with concern in her eyes. However the way the two interacted was something like she hadn’t seen before. It was as though the dragon understood him without the use of words-- a deeper connection she couldn’t possibly understand.
The huff caused her to flinch again.
Her fists curled in the dirt before finally getting the courage to stand. Pushing herself off the ground, she dusted her dress off before clearing her throat. Staring at the two ahead, she watched the two with a frown. Could she just approach the beast? Just like that. Taking small baby steps, she inched her way closer and closer until she stood only a couple of feet away from him. At her distance, she could feel the exhale of the dragon billowing her dress softly.
She gave Lav a confused look before proceeding. “I’m uh, Audrey. It’s,” she paused looking back at Lav before returning her stare to Amarant, “very nice to meet you.” It understood her, right?
A very shaky hand had stretched out in front of her as if trying to pet his skin, slowly inching forward in a very unsure manner.
Things might’ve gone according to plan if Amarant had any consideration for her feelings-- or dignity. That hand might’ve connected, she would’ve been able to touch a dragon of all things, and maybe the dragon in question would’ve been content to sit for a little longer, but he had other plans.
Namely, dropping low to sniff this strange, approaching person, breath moving the bottom of her dress once more. And rather than him lifting his head to return to position to accept the touch, he caught one of his horns beneath that dress and paused, unsure of what was happening but knowing he didn’t like it.
The quiet Shit that left Lavitz’ lips, shortly followed by a “Hold on, don’t move”, shouldn’t have come with a laugh. Only it did.
“Lavitz, get it off!” she practically yelled as she watched the dragon struggle beneath her dress. Audrey had a bit of difficulty trying to contain the situation as her hands hovered over the beast’s head, trying to think of a way to get him unsnagged from the fabric at the same time not wanting to touch it.
It was happening fast, and the dragoon knew, in less than two minutes, it would become very bad and very fast. He was at Audrey’s side in record time, exercising much less fear of touching Amarant as he settled one hand along the base of that horned skull. The catch in the fabric wasn’t too difficult to untangle, and in seconds Amarant was free, withdrawing his head and shaking it as if the material remained wrapped around him.
Lavitz returned his hand to the dragon’s neck, soothing him with his touch before glancing at the younger girl, his amusement long gone. Or so he thought.
“I don’t think he liked your dress,” he said, finally.
“Well it was none of his damn business investigating under there,” Audrey retorted, ruffled up like an angry chocobo. Her hand went up to her chest, feeling her frightened heart trying to beat out of her ribcage. Taking a breather, she tried to calm her heartbeat down. When she felt ready enough, her eyes went back up to look at the imposing figure.
“I mean, if I could just uh, touch him. We could call it a day right? I mean, you’d tell Kiernan I flew around and everything was dandy, right?”
The mention of that name forced Lavitz to still, palm still pressed to the dragon’s leathery skin. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that Mag hadn’t already spoken with Kiernan. While they’d parted on good terms, he couldn’t help but worry, something so unfair to her when she’d promised she wouldn’t leave his side. But promises could easily be broken, and of all the people to break such a promise, Kiernan would cut the deepest.
He tore his gaze away. “I don’t think Kiernan wants to hear from me for a while.” As if sensing the shift in mood, his dragon re-adjusted his wings. “But you can touch Amarant if you want,” he added on.
It wasn’t difficult to read Lavitz and she could already see the change in his demeanor by his posture. The stillness in his stance meant she had brushed on an uncomfortable subject. Was he still having problems with Kiernan? Audrey frowned, shaking her head. “That’s not it, y’know?” Rather than touching the dragon, Audrey’s hand reached for Lav’s shoulder, gripping it tightly for a second. “Kiernan loves you very much, he’s just worried about you-- like the rest of us.” Letting go, she had put her hands behind her leaning her head to the side, offering him a comforting look. “Give him time. He’ll come around. Kiernan won’t leave you.” Her hand reached his. “Just like I’ll hold your hand when you feel frail.”
This wasn’t the direction Lavitz had anticipated this day to fall in. Talk of Amarant, of the accident, maybe, but not Kiernan. That topic was still too fresh and painful in his mind.
So he opted for a different one that was just as painful, but much easier to bear.
“I never said thank you. For that night.” He hesitated, expecting the worst out of these words. “I didn’t say it because I wouldn’t have meant it at the time, but I mean it now.” A shift, of an awkward nature. Her fingers were grasped, gently. Thanks for not letting go.
“Sure, that’s what friends are for, right?” Audrey replied to him, her tone awfully cheerful hoping that maybe through the light of her demeanor she might make the shadows disappear over Lavitz. Audrey’s eyes returned to Amarant, watching the dragon distrustfully. With a deep breath, she returned her attention back to the matter at hand. She was going to touch this god damned thing and get this over it.
Without Lavitz’s guiding her, Audrey just went out to reach the dragon’s horn, tapping it quickly and withdrawing her hand as though the creature was made of fire.
The mood was going to continue to shift whether he liked it or not, so he held his breath, waiting for Audrey’s moment to pass rather than cruising back down memory lane, the last place he had any desire to be. And when that moment quite literally turned out to be just a moment, he couldn’t help from frowning.
“Is that it?”
“H-he didn’t do anything,” Audrey replied to him, her eyes glued on the dragon in front of her. “He just lied there, he didn’t even look at me. Do you think he noticed it?” Her gazed turned to Lav, an eyebrow raising in confusion at what just had happened.
Sensing Amarant was still miffed about the dress fiasco, he pressed forward, sliding his palm over leather and muscle. Touch alone wouldn’t alleviate all of the dragon’s huffiness -- there came yet another smoky exhale, to make that point -- but it would help.
“You can try again to be sure,” he offered, “but maybe for a little longer than a second and a half.”
Returning her gaze to the dragon, she pursed her lips as he huffed again. She didn’t like seeing the smoke rise from his nostrils-- it just made her feel wary. Still, she needed to have some sort of resolve. Besides, after this Kiernan would no longer be able to give her any shit about her her… dragonophobia. Reaching her hand out, it shook (rather violently) as it neared the dragon. She had been so close to touch it, but she withdrew her hand quickly, exhaling all her fears with it.
This was stupid, she was living by these stupid fears. It was in her jumbled state of emotions that Audrey’s hand slapped itself onto Amarant’s forehead. In realization of what she had done, her eyes widened as she stood frozen in place, awaiting the dragon’s reaction.
Lavitz’ breath caught in his throat. All of his own cold fear came rushing back, slamming into him from behind. As gold, reptilian eyes shifted to Audrey’s face, the look reading as a cross between I am really displeased and You’d make good barbecue, he moved. The eyes focused on him, this time, as he crouched down. The amount of trust required to lean in front of a fire-breathing dragon’s face should’ve been stunning, even to him, but he’d long been too accustomed to pushing the limits.
“She means you no harm. Everyone’s nerves are a little rattled today.” Especially mine. A hand came out to lightly touch Amarant’s snout. “We’re fine, right?”
In response, the dragon fluttered his wings. That was about as good of a Yes as he’d get.
“I just slapped your dragon,” Audrey muttered quietly. “And I’m alive.” It took her a moment to register what she just said. A deep breath was exhaled and she fell on her bum. Bringing up a hand to her forehead, her mind was still racing and making sense of the situation. After a minute, her eyes finally came up to look at the reptilian beast in front of her. “Amarant,” she cooed to him, raising herself up, slowly it came closer before brushing across his scales. With wide eyes, she stroked the dragon again. Then a third time. Bringing her hand back to herself, she looked at her fingertips. Nothing had happened. Everything was fine.
Looking at her friend, Audrey raised her eyebrows. “Did I just…?”
A half-smile greeted her. “Touch a dragon and live to tell about it? You did.” Lavitz smoothed his palm over Amarant’s snout before rising to full height. “We should let him go for now. He’s not used to being the center of attention, since I don’t make a habit of bringing everyone who asks to see him.”
But I made the exception for you was meant implicitly.
His last sentence made Audrey smile, a warm feeling growing in her chest. Her slow nod turned into fervent little ones as she agreed with him. “Yes, let’s not overstay our welcome, shall we?” A shaky hand reached out again, fingers brushing against the scales. She didn’t trust the creature, but she also didn’t feel the urge to drop on the floor and play dead as she normally did. “Farewell, Ammy,” she cooed.
Stepping back, she turned towards Lavitz.
“Thanks.”
That small smile had remained as he’d admired her movements, soaking in the knowledge that not long ago, she’d trembled at the notion of even being near a dragon. Fear had given way to awe for now, but he knew this would be a work in progress. If she was expecting not only repeat performances, but a ride one day, this was a challenge to look forward to.
Meeting Audrey’s gaze, Lavitz paused, considering his words. And when the ones he wanted to say didn’t come, he opted for a soft, “You’re welcome,” and glanced once last time at the scarlet creature a few feet from them. Today hadn’t been the sort of day he might’ve called good, but sometimes, even okay sufficed.