Private Tales The Colour of Broken Hearts

[Faye Valimir]

"How long until this new guide arrives?" She asked, once again, but doing her best not to look up into the sky and seeing the sun ascending higher. Faye looked to Olenn, who grimaced as he sat with the pain. Crouching, she put the back of her hand to his brow. "You are fine, my friend. You are responding to the salves at least. That is a good sign." She smiled, relieved.

"Dying... just like that." He smiled, sadly at that.

"Oh, do not fret." She smiled, for she did not truly worry for his outcome. Faye had the right salves and tinctures in her pack, and applying it just moments after she saw the snake strike his ankle, it had indeed saved his life. The snake itself had slithered away, not interested in the two humans wandering the Wylds but her white dragon made sure to keep an eye out on their clearing they sat in. "The pain receptors will still give you grief, but I am confident the venom isn't spreading any more. See? Your veins are fading back to normal."

She had some of his blood still around her mouth from where she had sucked the venom out from it and spat it out. Faye had used the bottle of alcohol she had brought with her to clean her mouth.

"Can you see where Feyrne is? Has she brought help?" Olenn's Blue dragon had been gone several hours to find someone to assist. He had gotten word from his bonded dragon that a new guide will be there to continue Faye's exploration so that her friend could seek better medical attention once back on the Wall.

 

[Talorgan]

Biersys didn't like having a dragon circling overhead. He could feel the tension in her flanks as she leapt from a rock, gliding down into the valley.

A battle between dragons was determined by several factors. Being larger and starting from much higher in the sky were the main ones. Altitude offered speed and a tactical advantage.

"Calm now," he murmured.

He followed her gaze. His dreq wyrm turned her neck towards the left.

"There we go."

He had little expectation of what was needed of him. Most of the times when he was a guide no one truly listened to him. They wanted to see the sights, not understood the nature of the wilds like he did.

They landed on a rock not far above the pair of humans he could see. Talorgan slid down from his saddle and made his way down towards them.

"Is everyone alright?" he called out.

 

[Faye Valimir]

"We are alright." Faye stood up, one hand resting on the back of her hip as she looked towards the man sliding from his mount. Not a dragon, which surprised her but she did not ask him about it. She knew of this man, knew that he acquired himself a dreq wyrm when his family had dragons of their own. "Olenn's recovering, but would need proper care back in the city. Thank you, for getting here so quickly."

It had been her father's dying wish she did not go out in the Wylds alone, as a blind dragon was not enough support. Snakes were the least of the problems out here.

"Perhaps you can give me a hand? Olenn refuses to let a woman help carry him to mount his dragon." And there was amusement on her lips, the smile aimed to tease her friend who only groaned. His dragon broke through the close treetops, winding through the trunks to settle and let his bonded climb up onto the saddle.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan glanced at Olenn. He gave a quiet grunt. He didn't know much about the people he was supposed to guide. He felt that he would have recognised her jet black hair and striking eyes if she had been at any events. Perhaps she was not of nobility.

He grabbed Olenn around the shoulders and lifted him up. The man was able to use one foot to stabilise himself and drag himself up. Talorgan used both hands to give him a boost. He got a good look at the snake bite.

"You treated this?" he asked. With his body paint, thick beard and gruff demeanour Faye might have been regretting her substitute guide.

 

[Faye Valimir]

"Yes, I did." She answered without missing a beat. "Packing an entire kit worthy for being out on the field did not see viable to me when salves and vials can keep one alive." This was not her first time out in the Wylds. She had been coming out here for years now, had learned things from the different guides that sometimes accompanied her. Olenn himself had taught her how to track down Thanasian yarrow, to figure out where such a plant would thrive.

Once Olenn was seated, sighing and holding tight to the pommel on his saddle, he gave a thanks to the man before lifting his gaze up at Faye. "Remember, the reports came in that the jarlax were three days away, the fight with the black dragon is two days away. Good luck on your search."

And he gave the other male an odd look, thinking better of giving him a proper farewell before his dragon moved out and bounded for the skies.

Faye's eyes fell on the replacement guide, a brow arching. "Your name?"

 

[Talorgan]

"Hmm," went Talorgan. "Impressive," he muttered to himself.

Too many, he thought, remained sheltered behind their walls and refused to understand the world beyond them.

Talorgan stepped away as the dragon threw itself upwards. The heavy beat of its wings sent a spiral of dust whipping up again Talorgan.

He turned back towards his client and gave a sharp whistle. Biersys snaked down towards them, keeping close to the ground.

"Talorgan," he replied. He didn't ask for her name back. He was of the Vulcarys family, but she did not need to know that. He padded over to his dreq-wyrm on bare feet.

"Where do you need to go?"

 

[Faye Valimir]

Talorgan.

It did not ring a bell, but he certainly lookd the part of a tribal person than a Thanasian. The fact he had a wyrm and not any dragon breed also painted him as odd in her experience.

"I want to travel towards the coast. There is a dragon I am searching for that I can collect scales from for my art. The scouts patrolling the area have reported it had gotten into a skirmish with Jarlax, some casualties on their side." Faye looked to her dragon, who was smaller, but still large enough to carry two people upon his back. The white dragon was a healer too, and despite his blindness, he was still sharp with his senses.

Extending her hand, Cathàn nuzzled his nose into her palm, moving to stand from his lounging position.

"My name is Faye Valimir. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Talorgan."

The namr Valimir was known, for they were throughout history, pioneers of the artisan trade and were successful merchants.

 

[Talorgan]

Faye Valimir

"Very well," he replied.

It was hardly a polite reply, but he had worked very hard to cultivate his gruff man-of-the-wilds image.

She watched her interaction with her dragon. No matter how brief, you could learn a lot about someone from it. Though perhaps it was only the worst of the nobility that treated their dragons as possessions.

"How do you use scales for heart?"

The question came to him as it was spoken. His own curiosity overriding his curt facade. Talorgan could respect anyone for wanting to expand knowledge of the wilds.

He held up a hand and Biersys made her way down to them. Talorgan started mentally mapping out some possible routes.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye did not mount up to her saddle upon her dragon, not when she preferred to go for a walk after sitting a few hours awaiting Talorgan. It felt nice to stretch her legs, to change the scenery she had near memorised.

"I am a glassmaker, Cathàn helps me in the workshop with his fire to blow intricate designs for nobility. Fetches a handsome price too. A few months of work can fund my explorations here. It is rather lovely to be away from the city for a while, would you not agree?"

Polite conversation, it was evident that Faye had spent some time with the nobles, but out here she was dressed for long periods of travel. Mud covered her boots and the legs of her trousers. There were scratches on one arm where a branch raked across her fair skin and took the payment of small beads of her blood. "Adding scales to my art is nothing more than a gimmick, but the scales are made to withstand immense heat and I must admit, the pieces I can put together are among my favourites techniques."

 

[Talorgan]

"Hmm, a glass maker seems like more of an indoor profession," he replied. Talorgan sounded as if he was bored of her explanation.

She did not mount her dragon. That surprises him too. Talorgan wasn't bored, but he refused to give away respect easily and acknowledge an artisan who might have explored the wilds as bravely as he did.

The terrain was rocky. He meandered between boulders as large as mountain trolls.

"It is good to get away from the city," he admitted.

 

[Faye Valimir]

"It is even nicer to leave the indoors. I unfortunately have inherited my father's artistic nature and my mother's penchant for the wylds. She was a dragon tamer. Like to also travel into the borderlands and beyond to tend to any dragon that needed medical attention. Hm, another thing I picked up from her."
She knew Talorgan expected her to fit within the mold of the typical Thanasians, and she was used to such opinions before. Because of her beauty, because of her profession, many expected her to be soft and unadventurous.

"I do not need to fear being out here ever again. A few years ago I almost died out here, but Cathàn found me. Healed with me with the curious magic white dragons have." Her dragon looked like the runt of a runt. Small, and obviously blind as his head turned to face the male.

 

[Talorgan]

He was being unfair, but he still felt slightly annoyed at himself to be wrong. It would have been fair more satisfying to come to the rescue of a fair and delicate noblewoman.

Talorgan was fairly quiet as they picked their way further down the valley. The ground was fairly dry underfoot. Thick moss made it soft beneath his boots.

"What happened?" he asked, curiosity nagging at him with each step. "When you nearly died."

 

[Faye Valimir]

The question did not faze her. Not when she had answered it so many times in the past. Curiosity had run rampant in those times, even her clients were dancing around the question for a while before bringing it up. It was rare for anyone in Thanasis to be close to death and still live to tell the tale. Scars still remained at her back, and they tingled as she thought of them.

"An unfortunate brush with the Saberean lynx. Saber teeth ruined my neck. It's claws tore up about my ribs..." Faye left it there. She knew Talorgan would know about the larger species of feline stalking these lands. "It got spooked and rushed off and I was on the brink of succumbing to my wounds when the pain disappeared. Cathàn had found me, healed me first before offering the bond. In my defence, I was in no state to decipher what the bond was but once I was better and woke up in Thanasis, I was glad for it."

Faye looked to her blind dragon, who managed to navigate their route through his senses and relied on Faye's sight through the bond to lead him forth.

 

[Talorgan]

"You found a bond with a wild dragon. A blind dragon with healing magic," Talorgan said.

"That is some luck. But it is not lucky to go out exploring without fear. That's just.. After what you went through, that is quite impressive."

He glanced at her dragon and back at Biersys. Talorgan didnt like the way it had sounded like he was trying to flatter Feyre.

"We will have to go quietly on foot into the territory of a wild dragon," he said. Their group wasn't made for battling an angry, wounded dragon.

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye smiled. She did not question him on his praise, nor did she poke fun at the change in his tone. She would take it as it was, an observation and respect as not all could come to face what she endured and still ventured out from the safety of the city.

"It is a Tsonye dragon we are looking for. I suggest we follow it trail once we come upon it and see if any scales fell that way. If entirety possible, we would be able to give the dragon a wide berth... but Cathàn can calm other dragons from their stress and pain. I would rather avoid that... but..." The option was there. It was clear she was not too ready to have her dragon do what he could, not when there was a risk.

Faye looked to Talorgan with a smile. "It will be some hours before we reach the coastline. We will need to make camp somewhere, or perhaps take shelter in one of the caves."