Time is slipping away from us so stay

[notforsale]

Who: Nyra and Kai
Verse: Dragon Prince
What: A case of unintentional breaking and entering ends in an unexpected pair bond for the mating season.


Nyra had never envisioned having to live life on the run when she was younger. Scavenging supplies from unwary travelers and leeching off the kindness or pity of others had gotten her through the last two months, but only just. She had no friends, no allies, no place to go except away. There were few people willing to give her more than a day's refuge once they saw the garish brand burned into her back, if they even gave her that long. No one wanted to risk word getting back to Savas that they were harboring one of his escaped conquest trophies. No one wanted the wrath of the warlord falling on their heads.

Having witnessed firsthand what the tyrant was capable of when he was in a forgiving mood, Nyra could not say that she blamed them.

Strangely, the residents of the small city she had entered less than a week ago had been rather more tolerant of her presence than most. While she had not been given the warmest of greetings she had not been chased out or otherwise sent on her way. Instead she had been taken in by an old grandmother who lived alone near the edge of the commerce district. The woman had asked for neither her name nor her story - in fact, she had rarely said a word to her at all. But there was an aura of knowing about her that made Nyra suspicious. Especially when she had knocked on her door earlier that evening, as if she had already known that Nyra was planning to leave. As usual the woman had said nothing, only nodded and thrust a small package into her hands then closing the door behind her. The package contained an old shawl and a pot of the paste that she had been using to dull the colors of her scales - everything she would need to slip out of the city with any level of anonymity.

Actually getting out of the city without drawing any sort of attention was an impossible feat. Even with the late hour the streets were still filled with people, and though there were many who were distracted by their companions she found herself catching the eyes of more than a few individuals. Their lingering gazes seemed to follow her long after she passed. She kept her head down and kept moving. Locking eyes with anyone was the last thing she wanted to do just then. Her skin prickled and her chest ached with the want to stop and talk to the starers, to present her best side and entice one of these strangers into something deeper than meaningful looks, but she couldn't risk it. She had to move on and continue searching for waters that even Savas would not enter.

The sensation continued to gnaw at her focus until it became borderline overwhelming. An obscenely loud moan echoing from an alleyway somewhere to her left sent a shudder down her spine and drew a low curse from her lips. Someone had not even had the decency to seek the privacy of a building before jumping their chosen partner. Nyra paused and dragged her hands down her face, tail flicking in irritation as she saw curious passersby trying to peer into the darkness of the alley. There were too many people here. She needed an alternate route if she hoped to escape with her dignity intact.

She had almost made it past the center of the city when someone shouted behind her. Instant anxiety spurred her into bolting down the nearest path without waiting to see if she was in trouble, or even if the person had been shouting at her to begin with. Her irrational panic blinded her to her surroundings, to the fact that the buildings she passed were growing more and more ornate and grand in design. Nor was she aware of the fact that they abruptly stopped, giving way to an imposing wall of natural stone, an outcropping of an ancient mountain. Spying a small hole near the base she dove into it, squirming her way through the narrow passage until it spit her out into a sheltered cave. Only then did she finally stop.

Surfacing with a gasp she grabbed hold of a half submerged bolder with shaking arms and leaned her head against it, eyes closed as she struggled to slow her breathing again.

"Idiot," she whispered to herself, her voice harsh in her own ears. So much for blending in and not making a scene.

Comments

[kekai]

The Prince had thought that escaping to his private grotto would help with the urges this year, but with the new female in the town, it really wasn't as helpful as he hoped. He wanted to find her and see why she chose to come to his city but he forced himself to stay put. He didn't need to go rampaging around, and especially not during the season.

The splash alerted him, and Kai set his book down, watching to see who came up. One eyebrow raised as the female he had been just thinking of popped her head up and heaved herself out of the water, clearly panicked. He got up slowly and held his hands out to his side and slowly approached her, making sure to make his steps heard.

"Is someone chasing you?"