Jewel smiled; she seemed excited about it. But her mood changed suddenly, and she wasn't excited anymore; she was upset, and started talking about Rhitarion. She watched Karliah as she explained why she felt bad for him, and there seemed to be a real reason to feel bad. That would explain why he didn't talk too much about his father; he couldn't bring himself to talk about him just yet. That was perfectly understandable. But then there was the fact that he was supposed to be the one to break the spell, and let them all return home. And he wouldn't ask for help, either. He couldn't take everything on all by himself. But what could anyone else do to help? He didn't even know what was supposed to be done to do that. She shrugged that thought off as Karliah asked her if he had told her about the spell. Jewel nodded.

"Well, he told me the dragons would be allowed back into Ialeos, but nothing more..." What else could possibly happen? But Karliah explained that it was supposedly going to be a big deal; a grand celebration, both in their home and where the humans and elves lived, what the dragons called the Lower Lands. She was right, though; there was no telling how long it would be before that spell was broken and they could return to Ialeos. She changed the subject fairly quickly, back to her mother. She wasn't sure what might happen in an argument between Rhitarion and his mother. It was one thing for him not to talk to his friend for a little while when they had an argument, but it was something completely different to not talk with his own mother. She watched Karliah get up to carefully put the dress back into her closet, and then turn back to her. Jewel thought about her question for a minute, debating.

"Honestly...I'm not really sure. ...Actually, I've been very curious to know more about dragons. I think I would enjoy hearing more about your kind," she replied, smiling.

As Jewel told Karliah that she would love to more about Dragons, she smiled. Then, the Dragon took hold of Jewel's wrist, leading her to the bed. "Then we should sit. There is no need for us to remain standing if we are going to talk about such things. I would be glad to tell you what I know..the history of the world and anything else that I can about my kind" She sat down, moving so that Jewel could sit anywhere on the bed that she wished. Karliah smiled, pulling the hood of her hooded dress down. "Dragons..we have been around since the beginning of this world. We were created by the being that created Varnaya..her first attempt at creating a being. It is said that she poured all of herself into this creation. For many years, it was simply us and the world. In the beginning, Dragons were not like we are today. We were beasts..nothing more than terrible creatures that simply hunted, fought, bred..and eventually died. My kind was like this because the Great One left out one key ingredient in our creation..the ability to think and speak.

Instead of trying to fix the problem, she created the Asaldi. Your kind was created in her image though you lacked her passion and love for the world..the ability to care for all of the inhabitants, you could never do this on your own. It is nearly the same for the Hiralru. Alone your races could never rule if you are fighting with one another. The Great One realized this too late. During this time, the Asaldi and the Hiralru feared for their lives as my kind terrorized the world. We burned and froze the world below us. Killed any that dared to try and stop us. The Great One could only watch as her perfect world slowly began to crumble.

The Asaldi and the Hiralru were fighting amongst each other, blaming the other race for the Dragons' rage. To them, it was obvious. We were angry because the other race had angered us in some way. This was not true. It was simply the only way we knew. The Great One began trying to find a way to fix everything here on Varnaya. The Asaldi and the Hiralru were not capable of ruling the world. That left the Dragons..or she would need to create a new race, something that she did not have the life force left to do. It would kill her to create another race. So, she fixed us. We were all granted the ability to think..to speak..and to shift in case we ever needed to blend in with the other races.

The moment that we gained these things, we all stopped the terrorizing that we'd been doing. It was if our eyes were open for the first time. We left the Lower Lands, convening high in the sky to speak. It was there that the first Dragon King was named, Dramgoth. He was Rhitarion's ancestor. He is the one that first recognized the pain that the other races were going through because of us. Because of this, he created the laws that we still follow to this day. He is also the one that had Ialeos constructed.

Anyway, once Dramgoth took over rule of the Dragons, things began to slowly get better for everyone. Because we were almost exact copies of the Great One, it was always in our nature to care for the world. We just didn't know because we were animals. For many years we worked to gain the trust and love of the Lower Lands. It was only when Rhitarion's gradfather ruled that we had fully gained this. After this, the Great One came before us..granting us immortality. This was something that we had never known before. Imagine, Jewel, if another Dragon had been chosen to rule. It is doubtful that he would have seen the errors of our ways. Things would be so much different and you probably would have never met any of us." Karliah paused for a few long moments, allowing her friend to digest what she'd just learned.

"Other than that, there is really not a whole lot about us. You can tell our scale color by our hair color in this form and our size by our height. Males can breathe fire whereas females breathe ice. Really, we are much like your kind. Our government was based quite a bit off of yours. That is why we are so similar. Now, when a Dragon is filled with rage..and I mean the blinding hate kind of rage, we lose our humanity. We revert back to the beasts that we once were. When this happens, the Dragon must be killed. There is no turning back. Tithendir is getting close to changing. That is also why he was able to best Rhitarion. He fights with no fear of death..he can only see the prize that he seeks. Rhitarion will have to take care of him soon, I'm afraid." Karliah paused once again, eyeing her friend. She smiled then, "We usually try to stay calm. If for some reason we do become angered, you can tell because the ground around us with shake..sort of like if a earthquake is happening. This only happens when we are in this form and while we are speaking. However, we really have to be upset for this to happen, though. Is there anything else that you wished to know? I'm sure that I am forgetting something.." The Dragon fell silent, watching her friend. There were none that still lived that knew most of this information save for the Dragons. Karliah wondered if Jewel realized this and how lucky she was to be able to know so much.

When Karliah had her sit on the bed, she sat next to her friend, on her right, one leg crossed underneath her so she was facing her. She was going to learn more about the dragons! She was excited, though she had no idea how much time it would take up. That didn't matter, though; anything took time, especially explaining about an entire race to someone who was so new to the idea that they even existed. She had always been a little curious when her parents had told stories of them, but had figured, since they didn't have the answers, it didn't matter, since they didn't exist. She listened intently to the story her friend told.

She found it odd, really. Their version of everything was very different; she could only assume that someone, most likely another elf, had created it to explain something. Besides, their story hadn't made sense; if the elves had been created to promote peace, then why were they involved in a war in the first place? Surely they would find another way. But this story, about the Great One creating the dragons, and then the Asaldi, and then the Hiralru. She couldn't understand, however, why the elves and humans always seemed to hate each other. All she had known for most of her life was the war between the two; nothing about how or why it started. But it seemed they were natural enemies. They fought over the dragons attacking; rather than seeing in as dragons trying to survive and attacking everyone, they blamed each other for the dragons anger. It seemed a senseless conclusion.

And then, when the dragons ruled, they started governing humans and elves. But this couldn't have been the intention of the Great One; the dragons being forced from their homes, and the war between humans and elves starting all over again. Why, then, had the spell been cast? Why would she allow such a thing to happen, if it would only spark another war in the Lower Lands? Everything just sounded so much more complicated when the story was added to what little she already knew. But she knew little of what governed a society, in general, so she wouldn't be able to understand unless every little detail had been explained out for her.

Her story ended with Rhitarion's grandfather, the dragons being granted immortality, and then a strange thought; what would have happened if some other dragon had been chosen to rule? What might have happened if another dragon, one that didn't care for the other races, had been chosen to rule instead? The thought was a little disturbing. So she had to assume the Great One knew what she was doing after all. But still...for the dragons to be removed from Ialeos, and the war to start all over again; a war that she had never heard of, one she doubted any other elf knew about. There was a lot to think about, a lot to put together, and too much to try to understand in just one sitting.

Karliah added in a few facts about the dragons in general; males breathe fire, females breathe ice, height showed size, hair color showed scale color, and then the dragons rage. If an elf got mad, the most one had to worry about was perhaps cold silence, mean words, possibly a few hits. But for a dragons rage to have so much affect...she imagined that an angry dragon was probably the scariest thing she could imagine dealing with. She hoped she wouldn't have to...but, if she stayed with Rhitarion, Tithender was likely to show up again, meaning she might have to. Her thoughts were disrupted when Karliah asked if there was anything else she wanted to know. She let her thoughts go over every question she had; she didn't want to rush and ask too many questions at once, like she had done to Rhitarion when they had met.

"Well...quite honestly, this is more than I thought I could learn in one sitting! But... and this probably seems like a stupid question...but I'm assuming the eye color stays the same in both forms? If the dragon is so strong when they loose their minds, when they revert back, how exactly are you expected to be able to kill them? ...When we ran into Tithender the first time...he said something about Rhitarion not being a red dragon...like it was something significant...but Rhitarion said something about no longer following the Ancient ways of the Throne. I don't understand what that was about in the slightest. I was hoping...you might know?" She had paused after the first two questions, to wait for an answer from her friend. That way, she was only asking one question at a time, and not rushing her friend, and giving her time to think on each question. When she started the third, however, she was hesitant. She could barely even remember that much; she did her best not to think much about those encounters with Tithender, but she had been curious about that particular exchange.

Karliah listened patiently as Jewel asked her a few questions. "Yes. Our eye color does not change. So, for instance, Rhitarion has crimson eyes in this form then he has crimson eyes in his true form. The only difference in our eyes is that when we are in our true form our pupils are slitted whereas in this form they are like yours. Actually, when we begin to shift back into our true form, our pupils will change to their normal slitted appearance. You can see it before the change actually takes place." Karliah paused for a moment, thinking over the next question that had been asked of her. "Well, you would need to understand rankings in order to understand how a mindless Dragon could be killed. The Dragon King is the most powerful Dragon in the entirety of the world. The fire of Clakinryn, that is..the fire of the Great One, burns within our King and his line. This fire is unique in that when they access it, instead of burning the color of a normal fire as the breath of the other male Dragons do, theirs will burn white and blue because it is so powerful. It is this special fire that allows for the Dragon King to be able to kill a raged Dragon with ease. Rhitarion believes that Tithendir will realize his errors. You must realize..Tithendir grew up with us. He was our friend and we all care deeply for him. No matter what he has done. Do not worry, my friend. Rhitarion will defeat him when the time is right."

Karliah was surprised to hear that Tithendir had brought up the old ways. It was unexpected..and in front of the Elf. The Dragon's face softened. "Back in the beginning of the world, up until father took over as King, the crown prince had to be a red Dragon. This was because Dramgoth was a red Dragon and it was believed that they alone possessed the fire of Clakinryn. This was not true, though. father abolished this practice shortly after he took over, saying that it was a foolish way of thinking. If he had not done that, Rhitarion could not have been marked as the future king." She smiled then, thinking of the Dragon that had taken her in.

"Father was a great and powerful seer. I've no doubt that he foresaw that his only true child would not be a red Dragon. He even perhaps saw the great things that Rhitarion will do in his life. It is hard to tell for sure. He would never talk with me about such things. It is a silly thing, really. Imagine all of the Dragons that should have ruled that could not simply because of their color. Tithendir and his father both believe in the Ancient ways of the Throne. Therefor, in their eyes, it should have been Tithendir that was marked as the future king, not Rhitarion. This is why he is trying to kill my brother. I cannot take the throne as I am not of royal blood. That would leave only him, as the heir. Tithendir knows this and that is why he is so persistent." The female Dragon watched her friend closely. She could easily see that Jewel was quite curious about the Dragons. She hoped that she understood that she would answer any question with happiness. If she was going to be staying with them, these were all things that she would need to know.

Jewel nodded as Karliah answered her questions willingly. She was glad to know more about the dragons, not just because she knew she'd be staying there for a good length of time, but also to fulfill her own curiosity. She was also pleased she had guessed right; there was little change in a dragon's eyes. And it was strange that only certain dragons could kill an enraged one. But, she supposed, it might be better that only a few were that strong; they were less likely to be questioned, less likely to get into some sort of argument. But, at the same time, what if the wrong person had that flame? She doubted it had ever happened; the dragons kept the peace for too long for that to have happened. There was always peace, as far as she knew, until the dragons managed to disappear. So clearly something had been done right.

And the explanation on the old ways that Tithender had brought up in the first place made all too much sense. Usually the red dragons were the ones with the unique fire, but Rhitarion was black, and he had it. That threw everything else out the window; it wasn't the color of the scales, then. But what gave them that power, then? Something had to, for them to be so different from the other dragons. Obviously, it ran through a certain bloodline; it was inherited. But why? She decided it must have something to do with the fact that that particular dragon was chosen as king.

Rhitarion hadn't mentioned much about his father, but he had once mentioned that his father had a powerful gift for seeing. So had he seen something, had he seen that Rhitarion would figure something out? That he would be able to do something to fix this whole mess? He must have, to have left something like that for him to figure out. But...how much did he see? He didn't see an elf helping him...did he? That would completely explain why Rhitarion had said he felt she was important. In which case, she was happy she would be able to help after all. But, if it's something different...why would Rhitarion had sensed she was important? She had too many questions; ones she might not even have the slightest idea about. Besides, she had wanted to talk about the dragon in general; she would save those questions for later. But...there was something she had to ask about one dragon in particular.

"...Why is it that Tithender is so against the humans and elves? He said something about us being nothing more than servants or slaves or something for dragons. Is that just something to do with him, or are there other dragons that think the same way?"

Karliah hesitated this time, wondering how much she should tell Jewel about Tithendir's beliefs. Her face became more serious than it had been before. "Jewel, you must understand how we see ourselves before I can explain anything about Tithendir's words. We know that we were created to mirror the image of Clakinryn. Because of this, for the longest time, we only saw the Asaldi and the Hiralru as below us. Though, most of us did not think that low of you. Even now, most of us see ourselves as above every being in the world. Tithendir and his father take this belief to the extreme. There are very few of us that believe in such things. You must know Rhitarion's feelings on this. He adores the Asaldi and even the Hiralru. I am..unsure if my brother told you how father died. The Humans that hunted him down and killed him were brutal. They didn't just kill him..they made sure that he suffered greatly before life left his body." Karliah paused for a moment, sadness written over her face. "Rhitarion is the one that found him. He saw first hand the cruelty and hate that the Hiralru focused towards your kind.

However, even though he has seen all of this, he still holds the two races close to his heart. He would do anything for you. As would most of the other Dragons. There is only a very small number of Dragons that think as Tithendir does. As long as Rhitarion lives, he would never allow such a thing to come to pass." Karliah smiled then at her friend. "Don't let Tithendir get to you. What he thinks does not matter."

Sudeenly there was a knock at the door. Karliah bid the being to enter. The door opened, revealing a rather short male Dragon, he bowed to the two females before speaking. "I..I'm sorry to intrude, my Princess, but there is a delivery for you..from lady Prevrena." Karliah smiled, "Oh yes! If you could just bring everything up to this floor, to Lady Jewel's room." The male quickly agreed and headed off to get the clothing and shoes.

Karliah beamed at her friend. "Looks like your new wardrobe got here just in time! You should have just enough time to get ready for dinner. Come! I'll help you. Maybe you can wear something that will grab Rhitarion's attention. But..with mother here I'm not sure how aware he'll be. Maybe you can ask him to take you to the library or something similar tonight?" The female Dragon rose from the bed and led the way to Jewel's room. She moved quickly and opened the door. There were several packages laying all over the bed, covering it completely from view. Karliah moved, slowly opening the packages, one by one, and putting the items up in Jewel's large closet. Karliah turned suddenly to Jewel, "So, have you seen a outfit yet that you'd like to wear? Dinner will be ready in two hours so you need to start getting ready. I can finish putting everything up. Let me know if I can help you with anything."

Jewel had to think really hard on this one. She hadn't realized so many dragons saw themselves so much higher than elves or humans. And with good reason, too. She already knew that not even an elf could keep up with a dragon. Well, Karliah had said that was there weren't many who shared the beliefs to the extent that Tithender and his father had. That just made her curious, though; how had humans managed to kill a dragon? It just didn't make sense; she couldn't even see a group of elves being able to kill a dragon, let alone a group of humans. And they even managed to make it painful for him. Surely he must have been stronger than that, and would have fought them? ...Unless he believed the same as Rhitarion did, in which case, he wouldn't fight back for anything.

And Rhitarion still saw the two races the same; he didn't hold any real grudge against the humans for what they did to his father. She couldn't even be sure she'd do the same. But then, she had been taught growing up that humans were bad; something like that would only enforce that sort of opinion. She couldn't imagine still caring for a race that had killed one of her parents. She couldn't make sense of it. At the same time, however, it was only a group of humans; not all of them. So maybe he didn't hold it against them because it wasn't all the humans that had wanted the dragons dead. Or maybe he just was too nice, too compassionate, to hold it against them.

She jumped as she heard a knock on Karliah's door; she hadn't expected to hear anyone paying her a visit, really. Not that she figured Karliah didn't have any other friends, but because she hadn't thought anyone was going to visit her at that time, when she had said they'd be spending time together. Karliah told him to enter, and the short dragon at the door bowed. She would never get used to that. Ever. He stuttered as he started to tell her that she had a delivery, and she recognized the name of the dragon that had sent it. Her clothes were done. And before supper, like Prevrena had told them. She wondered how anyone could have clothing delivered so quickly, but then, she had never even attempted to make clothing; she had always bought or traded for her clothing back home.

"Yes, it does look like the clothes are done." She followed the female dragon all the way to her own room. It was fairly obvious that they had kept all the packages together, covering her bed with them. She couldn't even find the bed under all those packages. She helped as Karliah started putting all of the clothing in the closet. She knew she had never made clothing before; she had no idea how long making one item of clothing would make. But to make so much clothing so quickly? Even she knew that was fairly fast; an elf or human probably couldn't keep up. Dragons were amazing. She hesitated as Karliah asked her if she had seen anything she wanted to wear to supper.

She looked over everything they had taken care of so far, searching through the closet. Had she seen anything she wanted to wear? Karliah had suggested wearing something to get Rhitarion's attention, but, as she said, he probably wouldn't notice it while his mother is there. And how would she even begin to suggest Rhitarion show her around the library? As it was, the only reason they had gone out to see the start was because Karliah had brought it up, and she had gone along with it because it sounded like a good idea, and a good chance to spend some time with him. She forced herself out of her thoughts; she had to pick something to wear. Karliah had said she only had two hours to get ready. That was plenty of time to get dressed, but she was having a hard time deciding. Karliah continued to remove the clothing from the packages, and Jewel looked over the dresses, thinking. Finally, she reached out and pulled out a dress at random, somewhat pleased it was a little simple. And the same green as her hair, too; that was luck, she figured, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

Sure, closing her eyes and picking one at random was childish, but she wouldn't have been able to choose otherwise. Maybe if she had had a chance before to look over all of them a little more carefully, but it was better than nothing. She hurried to put it on, not wanting to end up being late for supper; she didn't want to be late and make a bad impression on Rhitarion's mother. That just didn't seem like a good idea, no matter whose mother she was. Picking at random wasn't the best idea, either, since she didn't even know which one she looked best in; that was another reason to hurry. She wanted to get Karliah's opinion before heading down to supper. She turned to her friend.

"Does this one look alright? I just had such a hard time choosing..." She hoped it would be fine; otherwise, she might just put it back and try a different one. All of the clothing sent looked wonderful, of course; she just didn't know which ones would look alright on her...or would help grab Rhitarion's attention afterwards.

Karliah looked to Jewel, smiling. "I think you look lovely! It is perfect. Yes..I imagine that having so much to choose from when you are used to not having this much is daunting." she laughed, putting up the last of the package that she was holding. "I'm done here. All of your things are in the closet now so you have no excuses not to dress up while you are here." she said in a joking manner. "I suppose we can go ahead and head down to the dining hall. By the time we get there, everyone else should be as well." The female Dragon slowly led the way, walking through the hold. "Don't worry about the wrappings that your new clothes were in. After we eat, I'll have someone head up to clear it out. At least that'll be something that you needn't worry about."

As they entered into the dining hall, the places were already set but no one else was there. Karliah led the way to the side of the table that had three settings. "You can sit next to me again. Best to give mother and Rhitarion some room..just in case they start arguing. I'm hoping that won't happen but you never know." Karliah sat down at the middle placing and simply sat there, waiting for the others to join them. "Calenor seemed to be in a better mood earlier. Hopefully that means that Rhitarion is no longer angry with him. Of course..his attention has been shifted to mother. I'm hoping that she won't stay too terribly long.." The female Dragon suddenly fell silent as Calenor entered, alone. His eyes found Karliah's and then he looked to Jewel. "Don't worry, they're behind me. And before you ask, Karliah, they are getting along as well as can be expected." he said, taking the last seat that was near Karliah. The female smiled brightly. "Good. Hopefully it will stay that way."

A few seconds later Ekeli entered, then Rhitarion followed. They both took their seats, but neither said anything. Ekeli began speaking with Karliah as they waited for the cooks to bring out their food and drink. "My dear, why you insist upon helping those that are below you, I will never understand." she said, pausing for only a second. It was obvious that Karliah was not happy that the Queen's focus had been turned to her. "You and Rhitarion both need to start taking care of your titles." She then proceeded to continue speaking about the Prince as if he was not there, many times referencing the deceased king. She was comparing them and it was beginning to get to Rhitarion. At last, the cooks brought out food and served the Dragons and then poured their drinks. Just as everyone was getting ready to begin eating, Ekeli spoke again. "Rhitarion, I still do not understand why it is that you are taking so long in breaking the spell. We have been in the Lower Lands for two=thousand years. Your father would have already broken it.."

Suddenly, Rhitarion was no longer sitting but was behind the chair that he was just in. To Karliah and Calenor, it was very obvious that the Prince had finally reached his breaking point. Karliah could not blame him. She couldn't understand why their mother insisted on comparing him to their father. Ekeli merely narrowed her eyes at Rhitarion, seemingly not bothered by the fact that the other Dragon had moved so quickly. "I'M NOT HIM! I never was nor shall I ever be.." as he spoke, the flooring and everything else in the dining hall began shaking. Calenor and Karliah quickly moved from the table, as a precaution. "If you are so unhappy with what I have been doing, then perhaps I should simply allow Tithendir to take the throne. Obviously, I am not measuring up to your standards." The pain..the hurt..and the sadness that was on Rhitarion's face was quite blatant. Karliah felt terrible for her brother. Suddenly, he was gone, leaving them all.

The shaking immediately stopped when the male Dragon was out of the room. Ekeli didn't seem bothered at all by the Prince's outburst. She merely began eating, acting as if nothing had happened. Karliah and Calenor made their way back to the table. The began eating as well only this time no one spoke. Karliah had hoped that Rhitarion would return to eat, but he did not. By the time everyone had finished, his plate had grown cold. Ekeli left when she was finished, not speaking to anyone..and then Calenor, leaving Jewel and Karliah alone together. "We need to go and find him." she said, eyeing her friend. "It is rare that my brother gets so angry, though I can not blame him in this instance. Come, we'll check his room first."

Karliah led the way out of the dining hall and up to Rhitarion's room. She entered without knocking and looked around. "He's not here..and his sword and traveling clothes are gone." she said, looking to Jewel. "Hopefully he's not gotten too far. We should still be able to catch up to him. Hurry!" Karliah was out of the room and heading down to the main floor, hoping that Jewel was keeping up. Once reaching the outside, she immediately felt the cold. She could only hope that her brother had not actually left but was nearby. Her eyes looked about but she did not see him. She frowned. "He's not in camp..which means he headed out..I'm not sure which direction, though." She fell silent, trying to decided which direction that they should try first. After a few moments of silence, she decided. She began walking off towards the woods that were nearby. "Keep close, Jewel..something feels off."

The female Dragon continued on into the forest. Every once in a while she would call out for Rhitarion though he never answered the call. They, after about thirty minutes of walking came into a clearing that was surrounded by large trees. As soon as they stopped a voice sounded. "Well..well..well. What do we have here? A princess and a slave." Karliah's heart dropped. Tithendir. Karliah looked to the right, her eyes falling on him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, glaring. "I am merely looking for Rhitarion..the same as you. Has he left camp? I would very much like to meet with him." He had a sinister look on his face. "Of course he is still in the camp..and there is no way that I'm letting you near him. You're mad, Tithendir. Why can't you see reason. It doesn't have to be this way." Karliah said.

"Oh but it does. As long as Rhitarion draws breath, I can not take the throne. So I must end his life. If he truly is still in the camp..you would not be out here calling for him. I do believe that I know a way to draw him out." He fell silent, moving quickly. He stopped behind Jewel, smirking. "He has a soft spot for this creature. Let us see how long it will take him to come to your rescue." With that, Tithendir pulled out his sword, holding it in a position that he could strike the Elf from. There was a odd look to his eyes. To Karliah, it was obvious that he was nearly past the point of no return. There was nothing she could do to save Jewel, she could merely watch. As Tithendir's blade swung down, something stopped him from connecting with Jewel's flesh. As Karliah looked, she realized that Rhitarion was standing there, his blade out now, blocking the other Dragon's attack. There was a dangerous look to his eyes. It was obvious to the female that her brother was not happy with the events that were unfolding.

Jewel was pleased she had chosen something that must have been nice. Sure, it had been a random choice, but it worked, obviously, and she was just glad she wouldn't be forcing herself to change into something nicer, especially since supper was so soon. She glanced over the wrappings from the packages before turning to follow Karliah. she was walking slowly enough for her to keep up, and to even walk at a leisurely pace. Karliah was right, too; she would have to dress up a little more while she was there. She had no excuse now; there were plenty of nice clothes in the closet now. She sat next to Karliah when she suggested it. No one else had arrived yet. She hoped everything would be calm; neither Karliah or Rhitarion seemed to want their mother to stay for very long. There had to be a good reason, if neither of them wanted to be in her company for very long.

Calenor walked in then, glancing at the both of them before saying that Rhitarion and his mother were behind him, and apparently getting along. Well, that was a good thing; maybe this evening would be uneventful, after all. Then Ekeli and Rhitarion entered. Neither one spoke, until they sat down. She did what she could to hide a frown when Ekeli started talking to Karliah. Why shouldn't Karliah help others? Even if, technically, their titles were below hers, why should it matter? She was only helping other people. And then she started comparing Rhitarion to his father. She knew, even before Rhitarion became upset, that that was definitely not a good thing.

And, just as Karliah had explained earlier, the room started to shake. Rhitarion was suddenly standing behind his chair, speaking to his mother, obviously angered by her words. She noted that Karliah and Calenor had stood up, but Ekeli was still seated. She decided it was best to be safe and stand back with the pair of them. She knew he had said her mother treated him like a child, and her mother was similar sometimes, but she hadn't thought it would be quite this bad. To compare him to his father wasn't right. He was gone suddenly, and she followed the example of the other two, sitting back at the table again and eating silently. It wasn't the comparison's that had made him so upset; he had seemed to be tolerating it until she asked about him taking so long to break the spell, to allow them back into Ialeos. That was on his shoulders, she knew, but really, he had to know how to break it before he could even begin to try. And, trying to figure it out all on his own was probably frustrating enough; he didn't need his mother nagging him about it when he was probably frustrated enough on the matter.

And, as if it was bad enough that he was upset with his mother, he wasn't eating, either. He didn't come back to eat. That couldn't be good for him. Ekeli finished her food and left without another word; was she upset that her son was so mad? Calenor left soon after, also without speaking. She nodded at her friend's suggestion; they needed to find him. she had guessed he didn't get angry too often; the ground hadn't shaken once when they were dealing with Tithender, and she would have though that that would have been more than enough to anger him that much. But obviously he felt more anger towards being compared to his father...and being nagged about breaking the spell.

She followed Karliah up to Rhitarion's room, watching curiously as she walked in and peeked around. Did they not bother to knock because they were siblings? She guessed so. Anyway, what would he possibly be doing in there besides sulking or trying to calm himself down? But Karliah said his travelling clothes and sword were gone; where would he have gone off to? He had said he'd be there to watch Karliah sing; he wouldn't just leave...right? Karliah hurried off, and Jewel did her best to keep up. She kept Karliah in her sight, but knew she would fall behind if they tried to keep this up for too much longer. Karliah stopped, allowing Jewel to catch up with her. She watched, trying to keep her panting quiet so the dragon could think.

After a moment of thinking, Karliah finally chose a path, warning her to stay close. Jewel knew it was for the best if she didn't get herself separated from her friend. Besides, she felt that something was wrong. Jewel glanced around herself as she walked with Karliah, every now and then calling Rhitarion's name. where could he be? He wouldn't go that far away...would he? He shouldn't have, if he did. Not on his own. ...Not that he couldn't take care of himself, but she knew Karliah would worry, and that she herself would worry, too. She paused, looking around the clearing, before hurrying to make sure she didn't let herself become too far separated from the female dragon.

Jewel felt herself stiffen slightly at the voice. She turned a second after Karliah did, to see Tithender. She knew she had recognized that voice from somewhere. But, in all honesty, that wasn't what had bothered her the most. No matter what any dragon thought, she was no slave. Not that there was much she could do about it; she didn't stand a chance against a dragon. He and Karliah spoke, and he said he was looking for Rhitarion, as well. Probably looking for another chance to try to kill him. Despite what Karliah said, Tithender was stubborn, and apparently very intent on killing Rhitarion. Why he was so anxious for the throne, and all the responsibilities that came along with it was beyond her.

She blinked when he moved, and was suddenly behind her. She didn't need to look; she could hear his voice behind her, saying something about using her to draw Rhitarion out. But, if he wasn't in the area, if he wasn't anywhere nearby, how could that possibly work? If he had no way of knowing what was going on, how could be possibly be drawn here? She bit her lip, closing her eyes. She wasn't able to keep up before, what could possibly make her keep up now? How could she possibly move before he killed her? But she'd just have to deal with it; whether Rhitarion had said she was important to breaking the spell or not, there didn't seem to be much that could stop this.

But the sword never hit her; and she thought she had heard a small clash of steel on steel. She glanced at the blade blocking Tithenders; Rhitarion's. She hurried away from the pair; at this point, she'd only be in Rhitarion's way, and she didn't want that. She glanced back at the pair. Rhitarion had seemed hurt and upset before, but now she only saw anger. Did he really have that much of a soft spot for her? Well, Karliah had said as much.

Besides, that wasn't even important now; Rhitarion had been injured the first time she had seen Tithender, and he had used that advantage against Rhitarion the last time. She wasn't even sure he had fully healed; wouldn't he just try to attack the same spot again? Wouldn't he just go for the back? She watched the pair carefully.

"Be careful..." she mumbled, mostly to herself. But she really did hope nothing would happen this time; that Tithender wouldn't have the chance to hurt Rhitarion again; that Rhitarion might actually be able to walk away from the fight this time.

Karliah had not realized that her brother had been so close to them. In order for him to arrive so quickly, Rhitarion had to of been following them. No doubt wanting to still be alone but making sure that nothing happened to the women. She was at least glad that even though her brother had been upset, he'd cared enough for the both of them to keep near them. The female Dragon concentrate on Tithendir and Rhitarion. At the moment, they were both glaring at each other. And then, Tithendir spoke, a unnerving smile on his face. "Dearest cousin, we were just talking about you. I am glad to see that you are on the mend. It will make killing you all the more sweeter." Rhitarion did not speak, merely watching the other Dragon closely. They moved out of the stances that they'd been in, allowing some room between them.

Tithendir's gaze shifted to Jewel once more. "You can not hope to to defeat me, cousin.." Suddenly, Karliah was speaking, anger in her voice. "Tithendir..you are being foolish. You do not even have the fire of Clakinryn. You could never truly be our king." The red Dragon turned his focus to the smaller Dragon. "You know nothing. If Rhitarion dies and he has no heir the fire will awaken in the next of kin." Karliah immediately came back at the other Dragon. "You don't know that either! It has never happened before. What you are wanting to do is the highest form of treason. No one will follow you if you go through with this."

Rhitarion had remained silent during the exchange merely watching his cousin. At last, he was finished with the arguing. "Enough! The both of you. Tithendir, if you insist upon fighting with me.." he said, putting his sword back into its sheath. "Then you will fight me as we were meant to. Not as Elves." Karliah immediately realized what Rhitarion was suggesting and in all honesty, it was the best situation. It would make it harder on Tithendir to injure her brother. They so far North that it would be fine if they were in their true forms. The female Dragon gently linked arms with Jewel, worry written on her face. She had complete confidence in her brother, it was Tithendir that worried her. He was not known for fighting fair.

Tithendir smirked. "A wonderful idea. Your pet will see that I am the better Dragon..she will curse the day that she met you as I tear the flesh from her bones." He laughed maniacally. He backed away, and quickly shifted. He took off into the sky, lazily making loops high in the sky above them. "Rhitarion, don't do this. Tithendir is crazed. He will stop at nothing to kill you." Rhitarion looked back at his sister, then to Jewel, and once more to Karliah. "Do you not think that I know that? This is simply the best option right now. If I fight him in this form, there is a chance that he will get by me and come after the two of you. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you." he hesitated, the pupils of his eyes slowly becoming slitted. "I am sorry but I've made up my mind."

With that, Rhitarion turned away from Jewel and Karliah, closing his eyes. It had been nearly two-thousand years since he'd shifted..unlike Tithendir who had obviously done so more recently than most Dragons. Rhitarion remained standing very still as his bones began breaking so that they could rearrange themselves. The pain was immense and he tried as hard as he could to remain silent. Karliah frowned every time she hear a bone or joint pop. She could see that her brother was in pain.

After about a minute of this, a bright light engulfed the male Dragon. A cry of pain ripped from his throat though it quickly died off. The light had grown quite large and suddenly, a black Dragon tore out of it, flying up into the air. As he left the large clearing, his tail and wings clipped a few trees, breaking branches and causing them to fall near the two women. Rhitarion joined Tithendir up in the sky and for a few short moments, the two merely circled each other. Even from the ground, it was easy to see that Rhitarion was slightly larger that his cousin. A slight advantage that Karliah hoped would help her brother to walk out of this fight in one piece.

Karliah turned to Jewel for a moment, their arms still linked. "You are the first being in two-thousands years to see the true form of a Dragon. Let us hope that we all make it through this." Up in the sky, Tithendir was growling loudly..almost sneering at Rhitarion. In that moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, Tithendir attacked. For a long time, Rhitarion and his cousinflew about the sky, ramming into each other, using their claws to fend off the other. Suddenly, Rhitarion fell from the sky, landing out of sight of Jewel and Karliah. And then Tithendir came to the ground before Jewel and the female Dragon. He spoke, though his mouth did not move. 'You see? I am the better Dragon. Even in this form he can not beat me. Now, little creature, the red Dragon lowed his head, eyes staring Jewel down. 'I think I'd like to cause my cousin much anguish before he dies. Goodbye.' The Dragon opened his mouth, moving towards the Elf. Karliah knew that she could not get her friend out of the way quick enough. Just as he was about to take a bite at her, the jaws of a black Dragon were suddenly around Tithendir's neck.

He quickly moved his head back, roaring in pain. Rhitarion did not release him, but instead gave a great shake of his head, effectively pulling the other Dragon from the women. Even in the dark light of the evening, Rhitarion's scales seemed to glitter somewhat differently than his cousin's. The two wrestled for a few moments before Tithendir breathed fire at Rhitarion. The black Dragon merely stood there, allowing the flames to engulf his body. When Tithendir stopped, smoke rolled off of Rhitarion's hide. Without warning, he opened his mouth, releasing brilliantly colored blue flames. Tithendir immediately took off, flying. 'This is not over, cousin. I will have your head.'

Rhitarion slowly moved closer to Jewel and Karliah. Once he was close, he lowered his head, his crimson eyes focused on the two. 'You are all right? I am sorry that he got so close to you..he caught me off guard.' Karliah smiled at the two of them. "At least he took off. He probably wasn't expecting you to fight back with fire of Clakinryn. It was a smart move." Karliah poked him in the snout, smiling. The Dragon then huffed, breathing heavily. "Don't get huffy with me, Rhitarion..Soo, Jewel, what do you think of a Dragon's true form?" Karliah asked, beaming.

Jewel watched them. So maybe Rhitarion was near by; he had to have been, in order to get there so quickly. She hadn't expected it; maybe he hadn't actually intended on leaving, and was only staying near the area; taking his things just in case something happened? She wouldn't know unless she asked, and now was definitely not the right time. Not with Tithender so close. And it was obvious Tithender was still intent on killing Rhitarion, no matter what the case was. Karliah pointed out he didn't have the fire of Clakinryn; she had figured that much; Rhitarion had that, apparently. He seemed to think, however, that killing Rhitarion would cause the fire to awaken inside of him. If it had never been done before, how could he possibly be so certain?

Jewel hesitated when Rhitarion put his sword away. what did he intend to do, exactly? Fight without a weapon? But Tithender had gotten so close to killing him before; wouldn't that just make it easier for him to accomplish what he wanted? But he instead made a different suggestion; that they fight not as elves, but as they were meant to. What did that mean? She glanced briefly at Karliah as she linked arms with her, but turned her attention back to the males. Tithender, at least, seemed to approve. So what was going on? She blinked, seeing him transform into a dragon. Was that what Rhitarion had meant, then? Karliah didn't want them to fight like this; Tithender wasn't going to stop for anything, and Jewel knew that already. But Rhitarion was stubborn, fully believing that this was the only way to keep Tithender away from the females. She watched the pupils turn to slits, just like Karliah had said they would, and then he, too, transformed into a dragon. Instead of the red scales that Tithender had, though, he was black. His transformation was slower, too, and even seemed to be more painful. Why was that? Tithender didn't seem to have a problem.

and then Rhitarion took off after Tithender. They circled for a few moments before they started attacking each other, using anything they could to win. It seemed odd that Rhitarion was even slightly larger than Tithender. She wasn't sure it would change much, though; the difference was small, and she wasn't sure how much of an impact that would make. She glanced at Karliah as she spoke, then looked back to the dragons. No one, aside from other dragons, had seen a dragon like this; if anything, they had seen an elven form, and had absolutely not idea they were dealing with a dragon. It seemed like she was probably the only elf that had any knowledge of the dragons; she had heard stories and knew things no other dragons knew, and now she had even seen a dragon it it's dragon form. but that thought was quickly pushed aside; Tithender and Rhitarion were still fighting.

And this fight seemed to be taking quite a while. It almost looked like they were closely matched, like there wasn't going to be an easy winner. But then Rhitarion fell from the sky. She watched, worried, until he was out of sight. Then she turned her attention to Tithender. Was that it, then? Rhitarion fell, and that was it? Tithender had won? She bit her lip; why would it end this way? It couldn't; Rhitarion was fine. He had to be. His father had told him in the vision that he would have to do something about the war between humans and elves; at the very least, Rhitarion would be fine.

It seemed odd to her that the dragon could talk without moving his mouth; were all dragons like that? She assumed so. But that was hardly important at that point. He thought he was the better dragon, all because Rhitarion had fallen from the sky. He knew Rhitarion wasn't dead, though; he was just taking the chance to kill her, to upset Rhitarion. To make things harder on him before he went back to kill Rhitarion. And Jewel knew she wasn't getting out of this one on her own; even Karliah didn't try to move her out of the way. Perhaps she realized she couldn't do anything to help, and that was all Jewel could see. They weren't getting out of this on their own.

And, sure enough, Rhitarion came back, jaws around Tithenders neck from behind. That was most likely the only way they were going to get out; with Rhitarion's help. He shook Tithender away from them, and the pair started fighting again. But then she was caught odd guard; they started using fire. Tithenders was fairly impressive, but Rhitarion didn't even attempt to move out of the way. He just stood there, allowing himself to be surrounded by the flames. And then Rhitarion returned with the flames of Clakinryn. Tithender took off immediately afterwards, making sure to let them all know he wasn't done with Rhitarion just yet. But, for the time being, it seemed they might be safe. Who knew how long it would take for him to return for another fight? Hopefully it would be quite a while.

Jewel looked back to Rhitarion as he moved closer to her and Karliah. His form had changed, but he really hadn't. He even asked if the pair were alright. Which, obviously, they were; they hadn't been touched throughout the entire ordeal. She had been worried, and she assumed Karliah had been, too, but that really was the worst of it. She smiled, giving a small laugh when Karliah poked Rhitarion's snout. He didn't seem to like it much. Actually, he didn't seem to like it at all. She took a moment to think about it, watching Rhitarion curiously.

"Well...actually, it did frighten me at first...a little bit, anyway. But, really, it is fairly impressive. I can imagine that it must be hard to be used to that form, and then to have to use an elven form. It can't be a comfortable change..."

Both Dragons listened intently to Jewel as she spoke. Karliah released Jewel's arm, turning slightly as to look at her better. She smiled kindly at her friend. "Yes. It is very hard to remain in this form.." she said, motioning to the Elven form that she was currently in. "However, most of us are used to it now. In the beginning, it was terrible. For us, we felt as if we were being forced to be something that we were not. I have already explained to you how we see ourselves. Imagine if you were in our position. How would you feel if you were forced into hiding?" Rhitarion slowly rose his head, simply choosing to listen to the females. Slowly, though, the male Dragon began to step towards the two beings that stood before him. In a instant and a flash of light, he shifted back into his other form. He stopped a few steps in front of them, a soft smile on his face. "I have not been in my true form in nearly two-thousand years. Normally, it is not nearly as painful but since it has been so long, it was more so than normal. Tithendir has most obviously been shifting quite a bit..otherwise he would not have been able to change so quickly."

Karliah butted in, a serious look about her. "There was a time when you could shift even quicker than Tithendir did today." she said, almost glaring at the taller Dragon. Rhitarion merely ignored Karliah's comment, his bright eyes resting on Jewel. "Come. We should get back. I doubt that Tithendir will return tonight but I would rather not risk it." He turned and then began walking, leading the way. Karliah rolled her eyes, making sure that Jewel saw before following. "You know, we wouldn't be out here if you hadn't huffed off like you did.." The male Dragon immediately spoke, cutting his sister off. "And you should not have been out this far..nor should you have brought Jewel with you. You placed both of you in to trouble. If I had not heard you calling for me..Tithendir would not have hesitated to kill either of you." He fell silent, continuing to walk.

The female Dragon looked down, realizing that her brother was right. "I'm sorry, Rhitarion..and I'm sorry for bringing you out here Jewel. He is right. I could have gotten us both killed." As she finished her sentence, the arrived back in camp. Karliah left Rhitarion and Jewel, obviously upset with herself. The male Dragon sighed softly. "You must be froze," he said, hesitating..waiting for Jewel to catch up to him. Rhitarion then walked slower than he had been, allowing Jewel to walk next to him. "I had not intended on leaving, I merely needed to get away from my mother. And..these clothes are quite a bit warmer than what I have been wearing." He smiled at her as they slowly made their way into the hold and up onto the top floor. When they reached Jewel's room the male Dragon bowed to here. "I believe that we have all had far too much excitement for one day. I will come for you in the morning, if you'd like. I am not planning on getting up too awfully early..unlike today." He smiled at the Elf but then hesitated for a moment. Then, suddenly, Rhitarion wrapped his arms gently around Jewel, pulling her into a tight hug. "I am sorry if I worried you..it was not my intention." Almost as suddenly as it had happened, the Dragon was suddenly gone. He'd moved quickly and made his way to his room, laying down and wondering what had possessed him to hug his friend for so long.

Jewel listened to Jewel, explaining that it was very hard for the dragons, and how it felt they were forced to be someone they weren't. She couldn't quite imagine how it would be, but she understood that it couldn't be a comfortable feeling. She had guessed that much on her own. She glanced at Rhitarion as he started to walk closer, shifting back into his elven form as he came closer, explaining that it was harder since he hadn't shifted into that form in a long time. Two thousand years seemed like a long time, anyway, to be stuck in a form that he wasn't used to.

But Karliah seemed upset, or perhaps just bothered, that Rhitarion couldn't shift as fast as he used to. Jewel figured it took a while to get used to shifting again, since, like Rhitarion had said, it had been a while since he had shifted, but Tithender must have been shifting much more often lately. Rhitarion, instead of answering her, insisted they head back, just in case Tithender decided to show up again. She followed, and he didn't say much else about Tithender, or anything else. He did, however, respond when Karliah told him they had been looking for him, and so it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't run off like that. She thought over what he said for a moment.

He had to have been fairly close, then, if he had heard Karliah calling. At least he hadn't been going too far out, then. Karliah apologized, now she realized that Rhitarion was right. But they had been worried; it hadn't been all her fault. Jewel could have even spoken up to stop her, but she had wanted to know where he had gone, just like she had. She ran off, apparently upset. But at least she knew her friend was still in the camp. Chances were, she had run off to her own room, or perhaps just somewhere she could be on her own. At least, she knew that would be her reaction. She hurried to catch up with Rhitarion when he stopped to allow her to walk with him, instead of following behind him.

She listened closely as Rhitarion explained that he was just trying to get away from his mother, and that he really didn't have any intention of running off. He only took the clothes because they were warmer. She assumed the sword was just in case something happened. He walked her to her room, where he bowed. Perhaps, after everything that had gone on during the day, it was better if she get some sleep. She'd have to look for Karliah in the morning, to hopefully talk with her, if she had calmed down even a little bit. She figured Karliah probably needed it.

She looked back to Rhitarion with a smile as he spoke, smiling. Suddenly, though, she was wrapped in a tight hug. But then he was suddenly gone, leaving her standing there, feeling just a little awkward. It had all happened so randomly, so suddenly, she didn't quite know how she was supposed to react. Either way, he hadn't given her any time to react. He had just hugged her, apologized, and then was gone. She hesitated, then walked into her room, confused. What was that about? She shook her head; maybe she would talk to Karliah about it when she found her in the morning; maybe it would make more sense then. Part of her wanted to go look for the dragon then, but what if Karliah did want to be alone? No, perhaps it was best if she waited for her to calm down.

She shook her head, walking over to the bed. Perhaps she'd think a little clearer then, too. For now, perhaps it was best if she just went to bed. If she could manage to get to sleep, anyway.

Rhitarion, as he'd laid on his bed, debated with himself. He wanted to apologize to Jewel for having hugged her. He feared that she would be angry with him for it. He talked himself out of going to the Elf. Instead, he closed his eyes, attempting to get some sleep.

---

The next morning, Rhitarion awoke and bathed. He felt the need to get any remnants of the fight from the day before off of him. He took his time, thoroughly enjoying the time he had alone. He worried that his mother would go at him again as she had the day before. He was not looking forward to spending time with her. Once he was finished with his bath, Rhitation got out and dried himself off. The Dragon dressed for the day and then exited the room. As he was slowly making his way to Jewel's room, Karliah was suddenly in his way. "Mother wants to see you..now. She said that it can't wait." Rhitarion sighed, then spoke. "Very well. Will you escort Jewel to breakfast? I was supposed to walk with her.." Karliah nodded her head quickly and watched as her brother walked away..though she thought he seemed rather distracted.

Karliah then walked to Jewel's door, knocking softly. She waited for her friend to answer the door. When she did, Karliah smiled at her. "Rhitarion sends his apologies but he has been pulled away to take care of a few things this morning. I will be escorting you until he is free." The female Dragon then proceeded to lead the way to the dining hall though there were no places set save for the two meant for Karliah and Jewel. "It will only be us this morning. I'm sure word has spread that Tithendir was so close to the camp. It's got everyone worked up. Anyway, enough about that. Rhitarion seemed rather distracted this morning. Not like himself at all. I wonder what could have been possibly on his mind. You wouldn't happen to know what would be eating at him, would you?"

The female Dragon waited, allowing her friend a moment to speak. As she listened, she took a seat and waited patiently as they were served breakfast. Karliah smiled at her friend. "So I was thinking that perhaps you would like to help me out in the infirmary? I've a few patients to see today and then I'm free."

When Jewel woke up, she laid there for a few moments. She didn't really want to wake up just yet, but Rhitarion had said he'd be there to walk her to breakfast. She sighed before stretching and getting up. She dressed, again choosing her outfit at random. As she waited for Rhitarion, she looked over the dresses she had. There were a lot of colors to choose from, so there was plenty to pick from when she needed to. She didn't doubt there wouldn't be plenty of chances to dress up during the festival, anyway. She glanced at the door when she heard the knock. She felt her stomach twist just a little; it hadn't been this bad before he had hugged her, anyway.

She walked over to open the door. She was surprised to find Karliah instead, but still gave a smile. She had wanted to talk with Karliah, anyway. So maybe this was a good surprise. She explained that Rhitarion was busy; Jewel knew she should have expected that. Someone with his title was bound to be busy. She followed Karliah to the dining hall, where there were only two places set. She assumed everyone else was busy, too, especially since Tithender was so close to the camp. Then she asked about Rhitarion. Jewel hesitated a moment before sitting next to her and answering.

"Well...after you left, he walked me back to my room...and we talked for a few minutes. And then, out of the blue, he hugs me, apologizes, and then he was gone. Probably went back to his room. I wasn't expecting it...and it didn't seem like he was, either..." She shrugged. It had been a surprise; that much was certain. She glanced up as the cooks started to serve breakfast, then back to Karliah.

"Sure; I'll help you in the infirmary. I've never done much in an infirmary before, so you'll have to tell me what to do," she answered with a smile.

"Wonderful! I don't mind at all at telling you what to do!" Karliah laughed, a smile on her face. "I promise it won't be anything too difficult." The female Dragon then fell silent for a moment, thinking about what Jewel had said about Rhitarion's actions the night before. "You know, I bet he had no idea why he was hugging you. In case you've not noticed, my brother does not often show such signs of affection. I think he finds it hard. More so since father died. He did seem confused, as well this morning. If you could get him to open up..I bet that would help him to see his feelings more clearly. Maybe you could ask him about father? It's not healthy that he has not spoken to anyone about his death. As far as any of us are aware..Rhitarion still loves both races but if they killed father..why would he? Unless..he knows something that we do not. Anyway, enough about that. I'm sorry for running off last night. Rhitarion was right. I should have never have brought you outside of the camp and I am sorry, my friend. It will not happen again."

Karliah quickly finished her meal and then patiently waited for her friend to, as well. When they were both done, Karliah rose. "Come. We'll go ahead and head down so that we can get all of my work out of the way. Then, we can do something that you'd like to do." She led the way out of the dining hall and all the way down to the infirmary. The trip there did not take too long and it was mostly silent until they arrived there. They entered the large room and Karliah turned to her friend. "If you want, you can sit over there.." she said, pointing to a small chair that was in front of a small desk. "I need to organize a few of my things. If you could do that for me, numerically, I would be much appreciated. It's easy. The colored ink that is on the rolls of paper tell you the number range so just match up the colors since I doubt you can read our language. Just find me if you need any help." She left Jewel then, and went about seeing her patients.

---

Rhitarion had been busy with his mother all morning. After they'd gotten into another argument he was able to get away and was now currently looking for Jewel and Karliah. If he recalled correctly, they would be in the infirmary as his sister had a few patients to see that morning. He entered into the large room and immediately saw Jewel. He approached her from behind silently. "I see that Karliah has put you to work." he said, smiling. He turned his gaze from his friend, looking for his sister. It seemed that she was still rather busy. "If you want, I was getting ready to find something to eat for lunch as I have yet to eat anything..would you like to join me?" he asked, watching the Elf closely. He was a tad bit nervous..he was unsure of how she would react after he'd hugged her the night before. Would she even speak to him?

Jewel stared at her food thoughtfully. Would that help? She could imagine it would be hard for him to talk about his father. But would trying to get him to talk about him upset him? Would he maybe get mad if she brought it up? But Karliah was right; it wasn't healthy to not talk about his father...or, rather, about how he felt about his father's death, and about his father in general. Karliah changed the subject abruptly, apologizing for putting her in danger the night before, when Tithender showed up. She gave a small smile in response.

"No; it's alright. We were both just worried, was all." She finished her food and stood to follow Karliah. It wasn't very far to the infirmary. She nodded at Karliah's instructions, then looked to the scrolls. That would be something else she should learn; reading their language. It would make everything so much easier if she was going to be staying with the dragons for a while. She looked over the scrolls briefly before sitting down to organize and put the scrolls in what she hoped was the right order. Considering this was all she had to do, she thought she might be doing the easier work. This wasn't hard at all, and Karliah was the one dealing with the patients, taking care of them. At least the task she assigned to Jewel didn't require much practice.

After a while, though, she jumped a little when she suddenly heard Rhitarion's voice. She glanced back at him with a small smile. She had just been finishing up, anyway, when he invited her to lunch. She finished up quickly, and glanced at Karliah. She seemed busy still.

"Oh, well, yeah, sure. I'd like to join you."Maybe she'd get a chance to ask about his father, while she was at it. And hopefully Karliah wouldn't mind too much.

Rhitarion smiled at Jewel. He was glad that she didn't seem at all bothered by what had happened the night before. He noted her glace to his sister. "Do not worry about Karliah. She will not miss you for some time. She tends to get into in depth conversations with her patients." He fell silent for a moment, his crimson eyes regarding the female Elf near him. He turned and led the way out of the infirmary, walking slowly up the flight of stairs. As they walked together, Rhitarion spoke. "I am sorry that I was unable to escort you to breakfast. My mother wished to speak with me on a few things."

It did not take them very long to reach the dining hall and already their places were set. Rhitarion pulled out a chair for Jewel and waited for her to take her seat. He then gently pushed her closer to the table before taking his seat across from her. As if they had been expecting the Prince and his companion, the cooks brought out their food, serving the couple. The Prince thanked the two cooks that had brought them food before beginning to eat. He ate slowly, every once in a while glancing at Jewel. "Where has Belenus gotten to?" he asked, smiling once again. He had noticed that the bird had been absent for some time and he hoped that nothing terrible had happened to him.

As far as he was concerned, Rhitarion figured that the small bird was simply amazed to be around so many Dragons. "I wouldn't worry too terribly..he's most likely amusing himself." he said. "I am surprised that Karliah had you working already. She normally waits a little bit before getting someone to do her work. It wasn't too bad down there, was it?" He could recall the last time he'd helped his sister. She'd been backed up and was trying to do many things at once and so he'd been down there, trying to help her with patients. It hadn't ended so well. He'd been in over his head. "I'm just glad that she had you down there..not me. I am afraid that I don't do so well helping out in the infirmary." he laughed lightly. "My mother is leaving tomorrow, I believe though she will be back for the Festival. She says that she merely wants to spend time with me and my sister however I believe she is more interested in making sure that we are taking care of things as they should. I have apparently become lazy according to her. Father would have already solved the problem..according to her.." He fell silent then, merely staring at his plate. He wanted more than anything to break the spell but the time was not right. That much was clear to him..otherwise they would already be back in Ialeos.

Jewel nodded; Karliah was probably pretty busy with her patients. She got up and followed Rhitarion to the dining hall. They hadn't had breakfast, but at least they could have lunch together. Perhaps she'd ask about his father. ...Well, maybe when there was an acceptably silence...or a chance to turn the subject to his father without seeming too random about it. She didn't want to seem nosy about it, though. It wasn't like she wanted to upset him by bringing something like this up; like Karliah said, it just wasn't healthy not to talk to someone about it. She was worried. That was enough reason...right?

She sat in the chair when she realized he was waiting for her, and glanced at him as he pushed the chair in for her. This was a first, too, but at least it was a nice enough gesture. She only just noticed that he was glancing at her every now and then. It was odd, and quiet, at first. But it was kind of nice. She blinked, looking at Rhitarion when he mentioned Belenus. She glanced around briefly.

"You know...I have no idea. I haven't seen him in a while, now you mention it..." How could she have forgotten about Belenus? She had named the bird, and let herself get attached. She felt bad about forgetting the tiny bird. Rhitarion added that he was probably fine, and amusing himself. That made her feel a little better, but she still knew she shouldn't have forgotten. He had helped her find Rhitarion that first day; she should have kept better track of him. Then the subject change to Karliah having Jewel help her in the infirmary, and smiled. She had actually enjoyed it.

"The infirmary isn't so bad, really. I thought it was kind of interesting, really. Granted, a little boring, doing nothing but organizing, but still interesting." She couldn't imagine organizing it being too hard. Perhaps Karliah just had her doing something easy since she hadn't been there for long. Rhitarion had said that usually she waits before having someone help her with work. But that was fine; it just meant that Karliah trusted her to do things like that for her. It pleased her, as well. Then Rhitarion brought up his mother. She hadn't exactly disliked her, but she thought it might be for the best that she was leaving so soon. She seemed to upset Rhitarion, perhaps unintentionally, but still. And this seemed to be the main reason; breaking the spell. This probably wasn't a good time to ask about his father; not while he was already frustrated with his mother.

"...It sounds like she's just anxious to go home, just like I'm sure you and everyone else are. But she doesn't seem to understand that you're doing your best to break the spell and get everyone home. If it were possible to do it faster, you would have done it by now. It just...isn't time yet. But it will be, and then you'll be able to break the spell, no matter what your mother seems to make of the situation." She gave him a smile, hoping to bring him out of this frustration.

Rhitarion's eyes were glued to Jewel as she spoke. He smiled when she finished speaking. "Yes..and I can understand that. However, her wishes are unrealistic. She is one of the oldest of our kind that are still living and so she is more impatient than most of the others. She just knows exactly how to get at me. I would do anything to allow my kind back into Ialeos. I believe that there is something that I have yet to discover..the thing that will lead to the breaking of the spell. I have a feeling..that it has something to do with the vision that I had. Perhaps something will happen during that battle." He sighed softly, falling silent once again. Thinking back, now, about the vision that he'd had..Rhitarion decided that perhaps he should have a few Dragons out near the field, watching in case the battle began. He would have to see to that later that day.

The Dragon finished eating and merely waited for Jewel to finish as well. As he sat there, a smile was still on his face. "I am going to be walking about camp today..just watching everyone, if you'd like to join me. I've noticed that quite a few of the other Dragons are changing. I would like your opinion..to see if you notice it as well. Perhaps I am just being paranoid." When they were finished with their meal, Rhitarion rose and waited for Jewel to join him. He then led the way slowly through the hold. "You know, perhaps we will find our feathered friend while we are out. I suspect that he is having far too much fun." He laughed lightly before continuing to lead the way. "I should hopefully be free for the rest of the day. I made sure to leave my mother with Calenor..he's fairly good at keeping her reoccupied. He saves paperwork that only she wants to do and then by the time she visits here she has tons to do."

The finally reached the exit of the large building and Rhitarion led the way down the steps and then began walking towards where all of the smaller tents were. As they slowly walked amongst the other Dragons, Rhitarion spoke quietly to Jewel. "So tell me..do you see anything different about them..compared to me or those in the hold?" The Dragons that were walking around them, many of their eyes were a duller shade of green, crimson, or silver. They also did not appear as lively as they had so long ago. As he watched them, Rhitarion could see that the younger Dragons were not..acting like Dragons. They reminded him more of Elves. He was afraid of what would happen if they did not return soon. Their race was beginning to disappear.

Jewel listened intently. There wasn't much he could do if he didn't yet know what he was supposed to do. His mother was just being impatient, like Rhitarion had said. He felt that the battle played an important role in breaking the spell, though. Was he supposed to stop it? Or was something else supposed to happen at the battle? There was too much that could be done there; she just wished she knew how to help. His mother had said he mentioned thinking she was important...but how? She was just an elf. But there had to be something. She realized suddenly that Rhitarion had already finished his meal. She decided she'd better hurry and finish her meal, as well. When she had finished, she gave him a smile.

"Sure; I wouldn't mind joining you." There always was the chance that he was being paranoid, but she highly doubted it. It just didn't seem to fit, though. She stood up after he did and followed him through the hold. As she did, she glanced around. Maybe he was right, and they would find Belenus just entertaining himself. But that was hardly her main concern; she had no doubt he was just flitting around somewhere, perhaps hanging around the other dragons. What if Rhitarion was right? What if the dragons were changing? That was a very big problem.

When Rhitairn whispered, asking a question, she glanced around. Okay, so maybe Rhitarion was right. This was a big problem, then. But what exactly were they supposed to do to fix it? She already knew that one, though; they had to get back into Ialeos. She frowned before examining the dragons closely.

"...If I didn't know better...I'd say they were elves," she whispered. "They just seem...kind of...I don't want to say dull, but really, that's all that comes to mind. They lack the energy of the other dragons...the eyes are too dull..."

The Dragon nodded in response to Jewel's statement. If she noticed it as well, then things were getting bad quickly. He continued walking slowly, his bright eyes taking in every being that they passed. He kept his voice low, "It seems to be affecting the younger Dragons right now. I've no doubt, however, that soon enough it will begin spreading to the others. I am..unsure of exactly what is causing it. I do know that returning to Ialeos is the only way that this will be fixed." He fell silent, trying to think of how to break the spell that prevented his kind from returning home. Over the past two-thousand years he had racked his mind for possible ways to break the spell. None of them had worked so far but perhaps it just hadn't been the time. It was all very frustrating for him.

For everything that he had ever learned throughout his life, Rhitarion was utterly lost. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. The vision that he'd had days earlier had not helped. All that he knew now was about the coming battle that would take place nearby and that he was on the right path. Other than that, he truly had no idea what he was doing. He sighed softly before turning his gaze to his friend. "My mother has informed me that it is beginning to happen with those that she is in charge of. I'm afraid that it is only a matter of time before most of my kind are like this." He led the way still, walking near his friend. He found that by being so close to her that it..calmed him. He did not understand it. Perhaps he could speak with his sister about it later..

Rhitarion slowly led Jewel a bit farther away from the tents. They'd began to receive odd looks and he didn't care for them. "I suppose I should go over all of the written histories that we have. Perhaps there is something that I missed.." Though even as he said it he knew that he'd gone over everything. He was merely trying to come up with something to do. He hated feeling so useless. Perhaps his mother had been right. He was not fairing very well ruling..something that made his mood drop considerably.