Akhira's Story

Akhira was annoyed by this place that held strange beings inside. Strange beings who wanted only to 'help' her not eat, kill or be cruel to her. Humans were cruel, barbaric; not kind. And it appeared that this Anton was the most annoying of them all. Most likely just because he was a healer to the core.

And so, when the cheeky bastard threatened her yet again, and dragged the sheets off her, she wanted to swat at him with her claws. A thing that the dang ribbon on her arm would probably not allow her to do. Now, her options were only eat, or starve. Eat and live a caged life, or starve and fade away. Those were her only choices in this situation. Or maybe... Blue eyes alight with a fiery rebelliousness, she sat up and glared daggers at Nadiya and the Nurses.

Her skin glittered dangerously like her Dragon hide bouncing rainbows off her skin attractively. Black and ivory white locks spilled down her shoulders, framing her small body. Sitting with her feet under her, she grabbed the plate of food, emphasizing the movements, and... threw the food onto floor, making sure that the food hit the floor in a good way.

Maybe... this starvation would be her way to mourn the loss of the winds, clouds and storms. No more flying. A thing a dragon like her needed the most. It was a painful loss she felt deep in her chest. She needed to let it out someway, whether being silent or starving herself. Just someway... And this, this Healer could not understand her loss. In a way, she wanted to shout at out Anton, that even Chlorra could not keep her from this... To shout at both him and The Primordial One, that a Dragon is not a slave, but she didn't.

Instead, she glared at Nadiya and the nurses, a sudden panic making her growl warningly. Behind the the threatening growls, there was a low keening coming from her chest. So low and sad. Almost like a mourning purr.

Nadiya looked on in dismay as the dragon buried herself into her sheets, hiding away with a sudden jolt. She subconsciously began to wring her hands in anxiousness, watching the exchange between Anton and the dragon girl. He once again tried to appeal to her, but also included a calmly worded threat. Hearing the name of the eerie woman from before sent a slight shudder down Nadiya's spine, the country girl biting the inside of her cheek at the thought. In her opinion, Chlorra had roughed up the poor dragon more than enough already!

Anton made it clear he wasn't about to let stubbornness override his intended treatments, and she nodded at him as he walked away, not surprised he wanted her to keep an eye on the dragon. Whether it was simply for observation or because he wasn't about to entrust her with anything else right away was irrelevant. The dragon was a patient, and Nadiya was genuinely worried about her. Keeping silent, she glanced around the room and noted one, no...four black clad female figures. Their garb was reminiscent of a nun's smock, but otherwise just dark medical attire. The veils threw her off though, the look resembling Chlorra a bit too much for her liking.

Returning her hazel eyes to the dragon girl, Nadiya let out a soft gasp at the sudden change in appearance. The girl was beautiful in all her forms, but those eyes were so fierce...so angry. The smashed plate made her flinch slightly, but Nadiya didn't move away. How could she get her to eat?

Her thought was quickly replaced upon hearing the dragon begin to growl at her and the black clothed nurses. The young woman's eyes were hard and angry, her growls clearly a warning, but there was another sound to it. More of a poignant whine of sorts. She sounded so....sad.

Unable to bear hearing such obvious distress, Nadiya abandoned any caution she had and moved forward without even stopping to think on her actions. In one swift movement, she wrapped the petite female in her arms, embracing the dragon and doing her absolute best to soothe her. "It's ok miss...Please don't be sad or feel like you have to keep anything in. I don't know how to make you feel better, but I promise I'll try."

Akhira & Nadiya
It didn't tale long for Anton to return after the sound of the platter crashing against the floor wrung throughout the room, and the two girls could nearly hear him sigh from all the way down to where he was. Soon the sound of his heels was all they heard as the whole infirmary went quiet as he was walking back to the bed, and stepped right before coming into contact with the food in question. One of the maids from outside had heard the commotion and on trained instinct came in with a bailing cloth in hand. A nice calmly looking young girl with red hair, and green eyes. She stopped at the same mess as Anton made eye contact with her only giving one order "Get the food back on the platter, and wait." He had been in the middle of something, seeing as he was wearing a set of gloves stained with a lite tinge of red. Ones that he slowly removed as he looked at the maid once more "Would you be a dear and fetch Aella for me.. leave the food there." He informed as she was about to take the platter with her, but instead she sat it on the stand at the foot of the bed and nodded before leaving with a rather quick step in her pace. Anton looked back at Nadiya as if you exemplify her attention on the subject.

"I was rather hoping we could avoid this, but seeing as she is dead set on being stubborn, and the master is not to be bothered at such an early hour. We are going to have to resort to a more drastic measure." He snaps his finger and the dark nurse is on Akhira in an instant springing past Nadiya's back pulling the dragon over, and laying her out straight as if she were a rag doll. Ending with her hands being held above her head as she lay flat on the bed, with a hand across her midsection and another clenching her wrist together. The nurses size making this task all the more easier for herself.

It did not take long for the maid to return, with another in tow. A testament to how well the servants were able to weave their way through the hive that was Raven Home. It was apparent that the other maid was in fact like many of the others, wearing a nearly all concealing dress, coupled with a veil that was cinched tight around her face. Though it was obvious that she was more physically different than the one before, being nearly wire thin and she moved with a rather strange stride in her step. Anton looked on at Nadiya and spoke "To be clear you must know this if you are to work with me, the maids who wear veils are not to be trifled with in the lightest. Many are nowhere near human and those that choose to wear the veil are not permitted to remove it unless ordered. Especially ones like our dear Aella here." The docile maid walked up towards the group as the orgional had returned on to her other duties after showing Aella in. She approached and Anton gave her a nod to acknowledge her presence as she looked on at him through the veil. She leaned in as he bent down towards her and put his lips to her ear, only for a short transaction of words to pass between the two. Her head shifting towards Akhira as she looked back at the two, with the feeling of watching two conspire against her ever mounting.

"You brought this on yourself and I hope you learn from this, because the experience will not be pleasant." Aella settled herself near the foot of the bed and climbed on as the nurse rearranged Akhira to a sitting position. Folding her wrist down behind her back and taking hold of her chin with the other hand, with a grip that nearly made her hover over the sheets. Aella raised her hands to remove the veil only to stop as her attnetion fell on Nadiya, and only continued when Anton nodded in correspondence with her. As the veil came down it became more apparent to the two that the thought of this being a young girl was more far fetched than a dream could manage. She was in fact a woman though her other features fought that hypothesis seeing as her head was bald with taught pale flesh,and gaunt cheeks. Her pearly teeth were in a perpetual clench as the lack of lips did very little to cover them, and her eyes were no less then what seemed to be bottomless holes in her head. With no nose to speak of save for two slits running parallel down were that organ should be.

Whatever she was escaped Nadiya but that was to be expected, seeing as humans did not come across creatures like this all that often. Akhira on the other hand with her more vast knowledge of things beyond the human realms could tell the girl was an Ut'zel. A form of being stuck in half life that feasted on living flesh like a ghoul, with a gaze that could bend most creatures mortal and beyond to their will. Aella reached out and took hold of Akhira's cheek helping to pull the young dragon closer, and meet her gaze. The feeling of panic was primal as all of Akhira's senses lit on fire once again and for all the fighting her body did, the hands holding her did not budge, and in her weakened state it was easy to see they possibly never would. As Aella looked her deep in the eyes she could feel her resistance melt away as if she were not herself anymore and soon the hands holding her had left. A flash fog like haze fell over her as she realized that she was no longer being restrained and as her sight corrected she could see Aella place her veil back on and step away from the bed. Only for Anton to slide the platter of jumbled meats across her legs, and right into her view.

It hit her then that she was hungry, and not with any kind of hunger that she had felt before. It was so strong that she could die if she did not eat, she wanted that food, or to more of a point she needed it deeply. Quickly she found her hands dipping into the meat and even though she knew were it had been and how angry she was with those around her, she had to eat. It was an instant after that, she shoved both fist fulls of food into her mouth and began to chew in the same fashion a shark would dine on its own meal. Biting on one section of the meal, and nearly swallowing the other parts of it whole. She was eating in such a fashion that even for her the experience was beginning to become painful in a way previously unknown to her. Only for the haze of the experience to end nearly as quickly as it began. Her body groaned with such a sudden intake and though her mind was returning to her, she could see that the maid had left, and the platter before here was nearly spotless. Cleaned by the ravenous nature of her suddenly induced hunger. All that greeted her view now was a wry smirk from the lips of Anton as he looked on.

Babble
Misha clapped her hands as Babble nearly exploded with sounds that one could possible understand to be enjoyment. She was looking him over as he corrected himself, and dropped an ear to Chlorra as she walked around him. "Its good to see he is more active when the ribbon isn't restricting him as much." She walked around him as she eyed him over again in effort to see if anything had changed. "Does that feel better my friend, is it good to have all you're senses working all at once?" Chlorra did the same as she took a quick look at the young elemental and gave her own evaluation on the subject.

"He does seem to be doing better, though I must admit it is somewhat of a problem with how his power lets him invade the privacy of the other house members. I guess I need to tune the ribbon for a more precise measure before we leave here.. and maybe get his quarters replaced with the same material we use here."

Misha who was still somewhat beside herself was already waving away most of what Chlorra was saying as she padded up and seized Babbles forearms. [color=orange]"We can worry about all that later, but I would really like to know what his thoughts are about meeting someone like himself... Come on, tell me. Doesn't it make you feel all bubbly inside, like meeting a new friend?

Akhira felt her resistance, all that was herself, fall away as she bent to engulf more of the food. A sickening feeling made her clench up, made her queasy. She had no thoughts, nothing except for the feel of bone crunching between her powerful jaws. She didn't stop to really chew her few, only to devour as much as possible. A thing that soon became painful as the teeth of this form were not made for such things. It wasn't until nearly all the food was gone that she felt it. A pain twist inside her small body, a sickening feeling that was enough to stop her hands which were mid-way to her mouth, full of meat. Her throat felt course, like she had just eaten nothing but pine cones for days, and it didn't help that her stomach was clenched in an all too familiar way.

When Akhira lifted her gaze to Anton's smiling one, it wasn't one with victory at how she had somehow been able to stop the compulsion that had been placed on her. It was an agonized one, one that was way too familiar with the action that followed such a look. With a quickness that belied her ill look, she turned to the side to vomit up the food she just eaten.

Akhira knew the drill with this, and had pulled her hair back so as to keep it from getting dirtied by her own stomach contents. She continued vomiting for several minutes, the agonized expression still on her face when she finally stopped. Spitting out the taste of bile in her mouth, she stayed hunched over on the side of the bed, in a direction faced away from the audience she had just remembered. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand and continued like that for awhile, feeling as if she had just had her insides ripped out. Not to mention having lost whatever dignity to she had.

The absence of Blackfire at this moment, really hit her hard. It created a feeling of free falling with broken wings. A scary experience indeed. It reminded her of the time she got sick in the colony place.

The sickness had last a fortnight already, and at the worst time ever. They had just been wandering through a small some-what city like colony of humans. It was not the best environment to contain a sickly dragon, especially one like her, and Blackfire had complained about it during her first few days of illness. She had set the tavern they had been staying at, on fire several times and nearly transformed into her skin a few times. It was a good thing that Blackfire had been there to mentally force her to stay in her small human shape. Although these things weren't as bad as when Blackfire realized, that food would be a difficult thing to acquire for her since some human foods had a tendency to make her sick. And to get enough of that specific food that didn't get her sick to keep her from going berserk for days on end in such a small place? Impossible!

"Well, I guess peaches are no good." Blackfire commented casually as he held her up, keeping her from falling into a bucket of her own vomit. Her jaw had distended and her skin had become a sickly pale blue, especially around her mouth. It was a ghastly sight. She had stopped then, and had given her mentor a look full of hate. "I don't want to feel this way anymore, It's tiring..." To which she was responded to with a, "You are a strange one indeed, to have never been raised with the nest. When a nestling is sick, all do their best to remind the sickly one that they are needed. You mustn't give into the shadow sickness, I will make sure of that." He reminded her of how some dragons who suffer from many illnesses, usually end up losing themselves to the black sickness inside their minds, from not being able to fend for themselves (that's what she really thought it was since Blackfire also told her that many dragons nowadays don't get sick). Shadow sickness, It was a thing elder dragons thought happened to those dragons most in love with the sky get sick and can't pull through the separation from the clouds... When a dragon's fire inside them is extinguished from sadness and longing. Or so that's what Blackfire had told her when she first got sick.

Maybe shadow sickness is real, and I will succumb to it after all. Akhira reflected on that thought, and stupidly remembered how Blackfire had been too superstitious about things. An old tale, that is all. It will not help me now. She hung her head, and let out a low growl, "I..." Akhira couldn't finish what she had begun to say, and clutched the sheets in her clawed hands, a grinding sound coming from her teeth.

What was she to do now? A dragon that had already been living in her own hell due to her body's weakness, knew what it meant to give up on dreams that will never be real, but to be forced into yet another cage? Bitterness. Grief. Hatred. Agony.

These feelings have no where to go... And so they must disappear. It was cruel. The blue fire inside her, dimmed greatly. In the end it was her own body telling her that she could fly no further, no faster, no way. She was trapped, and even starving would not help. Her body was her greatest enemy, and she hated it. She hated feeling this way. I want to stop feeling this way.

Before she could try her hand at soothing and encouraging the dragon to eat, Nadiya was all but told to move aside as Anton and more of the dark nurses appeared. One of them forcefully restrained the dragon girl, and Nadiya looked ready to protest, a soft cry of dismay leaving her throat at the harsh actions. What kind of caretakers were these?! How on earth was being so hasty and forceful likely to help the patient learn to do this on her own?

The young woman looked up at Anton as he spoke to her, looking rather unsettled and about ready to protest. "I-I never meant to infer they were to be trifled with...or unskilled..." she began to protest, wondering why the man thought she doubted the mysterious nurses.

Any further thoughts of commenting died, the threatening words sending a shiver down her spine before the newest veiled nurse descended upon the now helpless dragon. Aella's visage was met with a mortified gasp, and Nadiya looked on in disgust as she manhandled the poor dragon. The creature's appearance was unnerving enough, but seeing her bewitch the patient sent a sick feeling into Nadiya's stomach. Horror filled her features as she witnessed the young dragon shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could, and the smirk on Anton's face chilled her to the bone.

Why? Why would he make the inhuman nurse bewitch his patient? Eating that fast was bound to make someone sick, or worse- make them aspirate food on accident or choke. She wasn't surprised to see the dragon regurgitate some of the food she had just crammed down her throat, feeling almost as though she would cry for the poor thing.

Nadiya wrapped her arms around the dragon, doing her best to position herself protectively in front of the obviously upset girl even as she looked at Anton with anger. "Why?! Why was that necessary?! Making her eat so fast could have hurt her more! What if she had swallowed the food down the wrong pipe? What if she choked? I-I want to learn from you, but what kind of physician would subject an obviously stressed out patient to such a rough treatment? Tell me why!" Nadiya shook her head, anger and worry churning in her gut, and she shook slightly in her distress. Hearing the dragon girl growl stirred a protective feeling inside her, fretting over the girl no less than her own family. Watching the dragon for any sign she was hurting her, Nadiya gave a slight squeeze, hugging the being in her arms.

"Force-feeding her should have been a last resort! H-h-how could you have them treat her so roughly? She's probably just scared!" It took considerable restraint to not shout at him, or call her newly appointed teacher a callous fool. Instead, she glared, eyes moist with unshed tears that threatened to spill forth.

Nadiya wrapped her arms around the dragon, doing her best to position herself protectively in front of the obviously upset girl even as she looked at Anton with anger.

Akhira felt the increasing growl begin to be directed at the Insect once draped all over her. Her skin felt itchy, heavy from the contact with such a lowly creature. "Force-feeding her should have been a last resort! H-h-how could you have them treat her so roughly? She's probably just scared!" What a stupid little Insect.

Defeat made her shoulders feel heavy, as if someone had just literally threw tons of chains onto her and dumped her in the sea. She was sinking into the insufferable darkness, away from the light. She hung her head, and in a manor befitting a tired beast shoved the Insect away slowly. At the same time she was inching away, with her face pointed away from Anton and the nurses. "It's only a natural course for them to do so. Besides, it wasn't the eating so fast that made me empty my stomach. I've just... always been sickly."

The words she had never spoken aloud to Blackfire, nearly made the tears fall from her eyes and it was only her desperate pride that kept her from crying here. That's right. I've always been sickly... A sickly dragon. What a pity. Akhira was unknowingly sucking the heat out of the room, creating a cold atmosphere near her. "If you were smart, you also wouldn't anger a Ut'zel but I guess an Insect like you wouldn't know what they are."

Her heart wasn't in the insult, but it was just natural for her to speak barbed words.

Nadiya & Akhira

Anton looked on as the two girls prostrated him in their own ways, and a part on him found this rather funny. Despite the young woman being so defensive for the weakened dragon coiled in her little bed, only when he spoke to break the silence did his enjoyment become known. "I do hope you will not be this ignorant of the world when I begin to teach you." He said as he began to lightly berate Nadiya doing what he could to point something out to her. "Do you think she actually cares how you feel about her, no matter how genuine you're nature is towards her, it is no matter to her. Even now she thinks of you as nothing more than a spec of life, not even worthy of breathing... its their stubborn pride dragon's. Something that proved to be their downfall more, and more every single generation" It was at this moment the two noticed him wringing his fingers around an object under his shirt, either a pendant or stone, it was hard to tell.

"It is admirable however that you feel like she needs this protection, believe me, in time you will change that outlook on life. There are obviously those that deserve pain, and death, just like those that deserve as much care."

His eyes wrinkled slightly with a tone of surprise as Akhira mentioned being so sickly all her life. He aproached the bedside once more as he looked over the young dragon in Nadiya's arms, and instructed "I suggest you hold her for the time being, less you want our associate to do something more drastic." He said as he motioned towards the dark dressed nurse behind her, who even now was poised to act, growing ever closer over the Nadiya's shoulder. Akhira all the while could see Anton doing something with his hands more akin to magic then any form of first aid. In her vision it was blanketing his hand with a pale light moments before reaching under Nadiya, and pressing it against Akhira's side.

She felt a quick soothing sensation, like a salve was being rubbed across sore muscles. His eyes keeping their focused position as he slowly roamed his hand over her body, as if looking for something. "You're wrong to think that I would be the one to upset Aella.. Her story is more tragic than most, and she has been serving here even longer than myself, so in that aspect she has my respect. She lost her whole family to raiders, only to be used, and discarded by them... then tortured to death by the lord they sold her too. So no.. I am by far the last person who would be angering her." His eyes narrowed as his hand stopped, and pressed slightly more as he inspected almost directly under her arm.

"How peculiar..." he leaned back up and motioned for a guards attention, not even giving him the time to approach. "Could you summon the master, and tell him I have an issue that he needs to handle" As he leans back up, Akhira can see the impression of the item from before pressing through his shirt. Whatever it was, it emanated an intense source of magic, and seemed to encompass his body in the process.

Babble

Babble was soon being lead through several open archways as the little girl was pressing him on, with Chlorra following up from behind. Ahead of himself Babble could see that indeed there was someone sitting on a stool near the center on the last room. There were playing an instrument of some sort, a long wooden frame, fat at the bottom, and thin at the top. Using a hollow case and several thick strings of what looked to be a kind of hair to help it make its tune. "Agnus, we've brought you a visitor." The persons for, which was somewhat coiled around the instrument, quickly unfolds and looks up.

While his eyes see nothing but a tall thin being cloaked it a large flat robe, with a heavy mask that encased their entire head, save for what looked to be a large key hole in the front. Misha tugs on his arm as she pulls him closer towards Agnus. "You're really going to like her, she has always been one of my best students." Babbles senses could see that this Agnus was rather thin, nearly emaciated so, with strong tense arms and legs that jutted out from under the massive robe as she sat on the small stool. The items she wore made discerning her anatomy entirely impossibly, seeing as the mask was made of the same metal as the rooms coating, and she was pressed so tightly her instrument that they both seemed to be one in the same. The key hole of the mask faced Babble as he began to take in more of the room, its make was just the same as a normal home. Seeing a bed in the far corner, along with was seemed to be a bowl for washing ones self. Only for his attention to be grabbed by a singular note striking in his direction.

The pressure of the note was physical, as he could feel it lightly strike him in the chest as she drew the bow of the instrument back once more and struck another cord slightly.

Chlorra looked on with a sort of amusement as she questioned Misha's choice on this action. "So how is this supposed to work? You know she can't speak, and he doesn't even have his own voice."

Despite the soft and steadily increasing growl, Nadiya didn't move away from the dragon, simply glancing down apologetically. She hoped the girl would come to realize she meant no harm. Careful to not make any sudden moves, the young woman was surprised to feel the dragon's shoulders sink and her head hang despondently. Before she could ask what was wrong, she felt the younger (or younger looking at the very least) female slowly start to push her away. At last, the dragon spoke, and her words were met with a soft cry of empathy from the country bumpkin.

Nadiya felt her face begin to color slightly in embarrassment and displeasure, her new master already chiding her behavior (not that she was particularly surprised- she had started to argue with him). She was at least somewhat soothed by the knowledge that he still intended to teach her in spite of her questioning him. Even so, she was still not fully convinced he was correct in how he decided to handle the dragon, regardless of his explanation. Being reminded of her cluelessness of the world outside of her village only further added to her dismay.

Anton went on to explain how the dragon she was defending thought nothing of her feelings, and Nadiya wondered how on earth the man could possibly deem to know how the dragon felt. She never said as much, the dragon throwing out an insult (though without the usual malice and spite such a comment usually would hold) before she got the chance. Insect? Nadiya blinked in surprise, biting her lip.

"W-well, no. I've never even heard on an Ut'zel before..." Nadiya admitted, shivering slightly. Perhaps she was imagining it, but the air seemed to be growing colder all of a sudden. "But still, regardless of how a patient views those treating them, shouldn't the goal be the same? To be compassionate and treat them as best we can?"

Anton's suggestion was met with a shake of her head, not willing to let the strange nurse do anything further to the dragon. Nadiya gently took the dragon into her hold once more, watching as the man reached out with a glowing hand to touch the dragon's side. How many people in Raven Home could perform magic? Would she be expected to know magic as well? But didn't someone have to be born with the ability?

Despite her misgivings and displeasure with how Aella handled the poor dragon, the story related to her by Anton definitely tugged at her emotions. What a horrible experience to go through. Nadiya glanced over at Aella sympathetically, admittedly feeling bad for the poor thing.

Once Anton pulled away from the dragon, Nadiya released her hold as well, murmuring a soft apology now that she knew the girl didn't seem to want to be touched. Instead of repeating her attempts to soothe the dragon, she watched as Anton gave instructions to the guards, his words earning a puzzled look. What had he suddenly noticed that she had yet to pick up on?

Akhira was tired and stressed and completely... out of her elements. Being a patient to these 'Healers' was a bother. And then to have such an Insect to be clinging to her... The growl emanating from her chest grew louder and in her irritation, clasped the sheets underneath her with her claws tearing through them. She held no interest in what else Anton had to say and think about her situation, only that she held no regard for the Insect's feelings.

To this she thought the Insect would let go, finally understanding that to continue these 'Compassionate' acts would be pointless, but she was surprised that the Insect continued to hold her, perhaps even more tighter now. Confusion made her blink and if anything, made her feel even more suspicious toward the Insect.

"Could you summon the master, and tell him I have an issue that he needs to handle." Before, Akhira had begun to become despondent to the physical world, withdrawing into her mind when Anton spoke, it jolted her back into action, like someone had thrown cold water into her face. "No!" Now Panicked, she launched herself off the bed and seeing a wardrobe nearby, she ran into it, closing the doors behind her.

Now panting and grasping onto the wardrobe doors with her claws she yelled out, "I don't want to see that man's horrid face ever again!" The darkness of the wardrobe calmed her, made her feel somewhat more secure than Nadiya's hug. Perhaps, maybe, no, she was being childish again, or was she? Or was she being arrogant? I don't understand why I'm hiding. What is the matter with me? Before, when she had hidden under the sheets from Anton, it had been to shirk the entire conversation with him, but now....

Akhira didn't know what was wrong with her, and not knowing that, it made her angry at herself. A thing she wasn't new to, but this time, she felt that she was being... Not right. Uhhh! My thoughts are just going in circles! They don't even make sense! She wasn't exactly afraid to see the Primordial One again, nor did she think that his face was horrid, but she did know that she didn't want to be seen in this state by him. He'd probably be all arrogant about whatever Anton thought was worth telling him about and then snap his fingers and fix it with his immense powers and expect us to be all amazed by such an act. Like what he did before when she had fainted.

Babble
Agnus sits there with her head slightly cocked with the response that Babble was able to give her, though it was not usual for someone to even respond with the near exact same tone, and sound despite how he was treating it in return. She began to play again using low sliding notes that painted a sort of picture for Babble to see, though in all honesty it was her own interpretation as well.

It was the image of a lone figure kept within a box, left for many weeks at a time, and only removed when it pleased someone other then themselves. He movements were quick but methodical, and her tuning hand was pulling hard at the cords. Doing maneuvers that would put the most deft surgeon to shame. Babble could see that she was not throwing the sound from the instrument like any of the others in the first room. Instead she held the object so close that it bellowed up from within her own body, and resounded through the hole in her metal cowl. She was somehow using her whole body as a conduit for the sound to travel, and adjusted the notes as they traveled through her.

Babble could tell that she was asking him about what exactly his story was, even though it was an unsure answer that she could see him in the same way others did.

Nadiya
Anton was quick to sigh in dismay as he watched Akhira shove her way past Nadiya, and himself. Quickly waving off the nurse in order to keep her from acting, only to catch the door of the wardrobe almost straight across the room from them. Anton stopped to look for a moment as the same guard from before came by to inspect the commotion, who was quickly given the same motion by the doctor as well. "Well if this isn't an interesting turn." He mused for a quick moment as he looked over at Nadiya. Only for the two of them to hear the young dragons muffled voice on the other side of the thick, wooden door. The frame could be heard straining slightly as he guessed that she was possibly pulling rather hard on the inside, in an attempt to keep someone from following.

He kept his eyes fixed on the wardrobe for a minute as if waiting for something to happen, only to look at the guard, question. "Am I to take it that Kenner is on his way?" The guard quickly nodded, pulling a smirk from the doctor as eh looked at Nadiya. "Good, than he can deal with her all he wants. We have more to do than just wait on her the whole damn day." He motioned for both the guard, and the nurse to wait there just in case. As he then began to signal for Nadiya to follow, nearly forcing her to pull her attention away from Akhira at the moment. This lead her to follow him further down the cause way between the long line of shaded beds, until they happened upon an alcove between two sections of beds. This was a section of stairs that lead up two sharp flights, hitting upon the floor above, and once they were up there Nadiya's nose was assaulted by sharp, pungent smells. It was easy enough for her to recognize that the room above the infirmary was a lab of some sort, given to rows of shelves much like the work station of Aemon from before.

However the center of the room was meant to view down on the patients below, as if the ceiling was somehow transparent. "Brilliant isn't it, my own little laboratory, complete with an observation lounge as so I can view my handy work." It was possibly becoming more apparent to her now that Anton was not just a doctor, but a scientist, and many of his actions were to illicit reactions that he could then observe.

The look on his face painted the idea that he was vastly proud of his space in raven home, only for his to validate this thought in his own words. You'll be hard pressed to find a more grand a lab in all of the free lands... much less the crown." He grimaced as that word left his mouth, and he looked down from Nadiya to see some of the patients below. "All of the gathered knowledge here, and all of the materials to do whatever you please with can be rather daunting at first. But I am sure you will get used to it, everyone does." He finished the sentence by looking in her direction, then motioned around as there were several others moving about the upper floor. In actuality it was not many, but it was enough to keep him occupied with a decent staff.

Akhira
Time droned on as Akhira stood there inside the large wardrobe, holding tightly with her claws pulling deeper into the frame of the door. It was some time after she heard anything meaningful, aside from the usual happenings within the infirmary. Having not heard anything from Anton or any of Nadiya for over a few minutes now, only for several rapping knocks against the door.

"Akhira.. its time you come out now." It was Kenner, and she could hear him send both the nurse, and guard both their separate ways. Only for him to return to the door "...At least let me in or come out, because I honestly would not like to have a conversation through this door."

"Akhira.. its time you come out now."

Akhira started at that. "...At least let me in or come out, because I honestly would not like to have a conversation through this door." She shut her eyes and her claws dug into the wardrobe even more, her breathing becoming faster. Panic. Panic. Panic! I'm panicking!!! What for!? The thoughts whirled around inside her head, a taunting fear that danced about within the darkness behind her eyelids. Inside her chest, her hearts were beating rapidly. Fear, it was a thing she had tasted before many times, and a feeling she was not welcome to. Calm down. I have to calm down. And think.

Akhira purred in confusion, a roughness and jumpiness in it that said she wasn't purring out of comfort. She caught her breath and shut her eyes until she remembered. The comforting warmth of the darkness. The darkness inside the nest. It was a memory from a long ago, that had kept her from ever having a fear of the darkness like a human would. She began to think, and as she was more of a bestial being at the moment, she thought her way through the foreign words the Primordial One had just said instead of shouting out no. "-let me in or come out-"

Obviously, he would not be able to fit inside the cramped room of the wardrobe... And she... What am I thinking!!?? Her thoughts had suddenly gone off track. Angry at being the one inside the wardrobe hiding, she growled out, "I don't want to see you!"

Which immediately was followed by fear when she remembered who she had just snapped at. Panic made her shout out again. "I.. A-And I didn't mean to... I'm so-" She bit her tongue. It was like the ability to think had been suddenly wiped from her brain, like she stopped working right... Her control over her inner fire slipped and smoke dispersed from her mouth exactly at the wrong time. She started coughing, and nearly choked on a fireball. Akhira groaned and hit her head against the door of the wardrobe, Something is wrong with me; I must be sick. It reminded her of why she was in the wardrobe in the first place.

"What are you here for, again? I'm sicker than usual?" Her words were frantic, grasping for any reason as to why she was behaving this way. She however, remained inside the wardrobe, completely confused.

Nadiya watched in dismay as the dragon she was so hoping to somehow soothe and comfort dashed away in a panic, only to go and hide in a wardrobe and seal herself inside. Despite being growled at and called an insect, she couldn't help but feel she had failed the dragon- fearing if she by any chance made it worse. The thought made a small bubble of guilt nag at her, and the retreating figure was followed with a soft apology. Poor girl.

She wasn't given time to try and initiate another conversation, nor did she get to see what Anton called Kenner for. Nadiya followed behind her new master as he beckoned her, looking back once in worry at the wardrobe where the dragon was hiding. She hoped she'd be ok.

Hazel eyes glanced around at her surroundings, pupils widening as she took in the elaborate ward and then, a laboratory with observational capacity. A soft gasp escaped her lips, the female looking at everything in apparent awe. She had only ever imagined such elaborate set ups as this healer had. Not only a full infirmary, but a full laboratory as well! The smells that assaulted her nose were not unpleasant as some might consider them, though quite a number were new to her.

Nadiya nodded in confirmation of his words, fully inclined to agree. "It is. I...I never even dreamed of seeing such a laboratory or infirmary." she marveled, looking down at all the patients he had. So far it seemed the dragon was still in the wardrobe, but was otherwise not in danger. Tearing her gaze away from the floor to look back at Anton, she regarded him in silence for a moment, mulling over his choice of words. His handy work? While she had no doubt he meant he could observe how his treatments and healing efforts were going, she had the feeling he could also mean 'handy work' in regards to his concoctions and experiments up in his lab. She just hoped that didn't mean he was any less a physician- or any less sensitive to his patients well-being.

Finally noticing the other workers, Nadiya began to observe them, curious and anxious to see how they performed. She wondered if they enjoyed working in such a lavish environment? She was eager to find out.

Nadiya
Anton looked down over the rail as he pulled his gaze away from Nadiya for the moment and scoffed. "Well.. it seems Kenner has made it here.. in impeccable timing as always." He motioned as to show her the tall figure standing in front of the wardrobe, giving several rapping motions against the door. "He is just going to go soft on her.. like he always does with new arrivals. Where it up to me she would be flogged twice in the morning, and made an example of. Several lashes are always necessary to ensure strict obedience."

He motions for Nadiya to follow him over towards the center of the platform, closing in on what seemed to be a work table. Producing a handily sized book from below the far edge of the right side, and placed it down on the table in front of her. Giving it a small flip to open the pages, revealing that the book in question was actually blank, and then slid it over to her. "From today on this book will be yours... wait. Can you actually read, and write?" He gave her a sideways look before dismissing his question in nearly the moment after asking it. "Never mind.. you will learn."

Quickly producing a mortar, and pestle from an adjacent drawer on the table, he slid them just as close to her as the book. "Firstly I want you render down this extract here before I get back, the process should take you no less than ten minutes." He finally set a large bowl of thick petals in front of her from a nearby shelf, as it was easy to see that his attention was quickly becoming divided. Giving her a small nod before hurrying down towards the long end of the room, and around a corner to disappear from sight.

Akhira
Kenner looked on at the door to the wardrobe, slowly pressing himself against to surface to hear her quickly breathing against the other side. Only to turn and lean against the door on his side, looking up at the ceiling for a few moments to wait, and see if she was able to bring about another response. "I wonder how things are going in there for you.. but you do know that it would be incredibly simple for me to rend this little wooden box in half, and pluck you from the wreckage." He waited for a few more moments only to see if she was going to add another breath to her fear of the situation, and a small thought crossed his mind as he began to contemplate what needed to be said.

"How about this.. if you agree to talk with me, then we can have the conversation in any part of the house... or even outside the house, if you like?"

Babble
As Babble came close to the end of his section of the song, Agnus pulled the notes away. Curving the image back, almost like she had reset it back to the way it was before. She played more slowly as she lifted off from the beginning of the song once again, as if trying to show Babble something that he had missed before.

She defined the image to consist of herself, carving the head into a singular image like that of her own adornment, and she began to show him a second image that approached the cage. But what transpired was hard for him to understand as the image soon became too much for him to stand, either it was the sound or the image she implied. It was just something that was after all this time, still alien to him on some fundamental level. The last he could see before pulling himself away was the image being the reason she was released from the cage.

It became obvious now that she was referring to master Kenner, and his rescue of her in the beginning.

Akhira was completely disoriented and when The Primordial One spoke again, she was silent in her panic. "I wonder how things are going in there for you.. but you do know that it would be incredibly simple for me to rend this little wooden box in half, and pluck you from the wreckage."

She let out a chirp, "Yes! But I don't think a gentleman would!" Even in such a state, she was being to maintain a bit of her indignant mood. It was right at this moment that she felt like she wanted to crawl back inside her egg. To be unborn. What a terribly human thing to do, that she clenched her fists so hard that the skin hardened around her knuckles, creaking. They became a substance nearly like glass, that if seen by a human, they might have started at the sight. Even more so when cracks began to run across her palms, some glittering white light shown from the insides of what should have been flesh and blood.

"How about this.. if you agree to talk with me, then we can have the conversation in any part of the house... or even outside the house, if you like?"

Her hearts skipped a few beats, and... began racing much more, but for a completely different reason other than fear. But then, suspicions shot down her sudden surprise. He could be lying. Just setting up a trap.... but, I'm already here, so...

Retracting her claws from the wood with an audible sound, she pushed it up an inch. And another one. Until you could see her face, eyes covered by her wild bangs, and the indecision shown by the way she bit her bottom lip with her fangs. Finally, she came out of the wardrobe, her hands clenched and held behind her back.

Akhira was an akwardly pretty sight when she peeked from underneath her face to those around her, looking at all others except Kenner.

At Akhira's notion that he was not the kind of person to do such a barbaric action, he slanted his exclaiming slightly "Well you have me there.." Followed by a light twist of his hip to adjust his stance. He was more than willing to wait her out of the small confines that she was able to work her way into. Though he would be lying if he said that there were not other more pressing matters in his day.

He laid a hand on the door of the wardrobe, and pressed against it lightly. Leaning up against it as slowly as he could manage, so close that he could feel her presence on the other side. She was so scared, but not in the sense that it was a scary place. More so because it was the unknown measure that consumed her in the moment. But deep in that feeling he could swear that the sense of hope was swimming around in that far flung mist.

He backed away from the wardrobe as soon as she began to press against the door, and was there to greet her with a slight smile. His stature placing her nearly square with his bare chest, having to crane her neck slightly even if she was a decent pace from him.

"Well my offer still stands if you are willing? He proposed for her to hear again.

The scoff of the physician prompted the young woman to follow his gaze, letting out a soft 'oh' upon seeing the head of the house. As her new master said, Master Kenner was standing before the very wardrobe the unhappy dragon-girl had hidden herself in. Nadiya subconsciously began to wring her hands slightly in uncertainty, wondering if everything would be all right. Anton's sentiments on the matter made a shudder go down her spine (though nothing compared to how she felt around that eerie and unpleasant Chlorra). She didn't disagree with discipline, but did a frightened patient really fall under the same category as an ill-behaved child or the like? Nadiya personally didn't think so, though she decided not to say as much. Instead, she bit her lower lip, trying to calm her once more rising nerves.

Nadiya followed Anton without a word, allowing him to speak even as he offered her a book. A sizeable one as well. The young woman finally looked up at the male with a mixture of eagerness and embarrassment. It was an odd combination, but as thrilled as she was to receive the book, she was loathe to point out how little she could actually make out. To her surprise, instead of him telling her to study up, the book was shown to be quite empty of words. Before she could ask, Anton brought up the very question she was afraid to answer, though she knew she must. "Only numbers and measurements sir....plus a few names of plants..." she admitted, face flushing in shame. Thankfully, he seemed to not be particularly concerned with her answer.

The mortar and pestle was a much more familiar sight, and she gripped the pestle in her hand to feel it's weight. Before she could say any more, her ingredient was presented to her in the form of thick petals. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Anton's instructions were met with a nod, her hands already moving to begin the task. "Yes sir." She mashed and crushed the petals as she had done to many an ingredient, stopping only briefly in the beginning to pour some water into the mortar so as to properly turn the petals into a soft paste.

Akhira twitched at the sound of Kenner's voice, and indeed, if she were in her true form, her tail might have been twitchy nervously much a stressed out cat. She waited a moment, grousing silently that Kenner was forcing her to speak instead of just forcing her along like last time. Perhaps he was being a gentleman? Or perhaps not, maybe he was just being the unexpected Primordial One that he was. She was deeply uncomfortable with the entire situation, but having been shown a glimpse of what sounded like hope to her, she stamped down her proud spirit and let out a breath and nodded in general agreement to Kenner's offer.

The outside air was something she needed to live, and in fact, it was something so dear to her that the possibility that Kenner was lying to get her out of the wardrobe filled her with a wary fear. It made her become fully aware of how just fragile she was at the moment, not entirely in body, but maybe in... spirit...?

Akhira waited for Kenner to move, to do something other then make her stand her... She still hadn't looked at him but she did notice in her periphery the foolish little ant from before... Nadiya...

Despite the various sounds of the patients and the lingering concern for the dragon girl, Nadiya managed to focus on her task and fell into a rythm, taking care with the plant itself. She couldn't recall the name of the flower, much to her dismay, but the scent and the knowledge that it was toxic remained in her memory. At least, she was pretty certain it was the same flower.

Before long, her new mentor returned, surprising her as he reached for her mixture from behind. Aside from a slight squeak of surprise, she was quiet, watching the man with baited breath. To her surprise, he brought some of the paste to his mouth, earning a slight gasp. "S-sir, isn't that poisonous?" she asked, faltering a little. Perhaps she was wrong about the flower she was working with? Doubt began to nag at her subconscious, growing all the more at Anton's expression. Was he upset with her? But he seemed to approve of her work, so why did he look so disappointed? After a moment of hesitation, Nadiya dared to question him. "Did I do something wrong sir? Have I displeased yu in some way?" she asked tentatively.

Awaiting his answer, she found herself unable to resist the temptation to glance down through the glass floor, eyes landing on the master of the house, and then the closet where the dragon was hiding.

Babble

The two continue to play their song for only a few minutes before she comes to a slow stop, with Chlorra and the young girl behind them quietly taking in the performance. Not sharing a single word between the two aside from what one would call an avid glance every now and again. Agnus begins to make what could be attested as more of a guttural sound with her voice, and speaks in a vastly muted tone. "Hungry..."

Misha is quick to interject herself into the moment as she leans in over Babble's shoulder. "Oh that's right, you didn't eat last night..." She disappears from view as she moves into a side room away from the small group and returns with a small hand cart. There is no food on the try that it carried aside from what Babble could tell was a large glass, full with some liquid pierced by a straw. As she stopped next to Agnus, the woman reached forward with her thin fingers. Pulling the glass up and sliding the straw inside the aperture covering her face.

The young girl looked at Babble for a moment before speaking. "Would you like something to eat as well? I am not sure if all of the new arrivals had managed to eat yet."

Nadiya

"Miss Naudiya.." Anton's voice pulled her back from keeping her attention elsewhere. Seeing his impatient expression as she turned to see him once again looking her over. "I did not have you brought here so you could just waste you're time gawking at the others.. or Kenner for that matter." He placed the bowl down with a heavy thud against the table. "You will have more than enough time, and chances to see such things in you're duties here. Though I am sure you haven't seen much of anything like this in you're life." He slides the rest of the small prospect along the table and sidles up near her as he looks down into the main area, peering at what she sees.

He scoffs at her interest for a moment before resigning himself to speak. "Yes.. the mixture was poisonous, but as you'll come to know is that we are protected here in this house and though there can be accidents, Kenner or Chlorra do what they must to right such events." He crosses his arms as he and Nadiya see her Akhira remove herself from the wardrobe. He chuckles as if musing to himself about what she had to go through, just to give up her hiding spot, which wasn't really much of a hiding spot.

"If there are any other question you may have, I suggest getting them off you're chest now.." He adds with a snide voice chirp in his voice.

Akhira

Kenner had begun to lightly lead Akhira through the halls of the building, staying on the same floor as the moved towards what she realized was the opposite side from the entrance. He was quiet the whole time as well, not speaking or returning eye contact with her for the whole time. Though it was easy for her to become slightly uneasy with the whole ordeal as they walked. The halls were full of other people with the various sounds, smells, and faces rushing around. The sea of bodies split as Kenner walked ahead of her, only stopping slightly as several servants would offer their thanks as they passed. They would only call him by the moniker master, though non bowed or took a knee in his presence. They all seemed to be moving in full force to get their daily duties down, and then be on their way once again.

From what she could see around the edge of his shoulder, he was gracious to each face that he saw, and each time he was spoken to. He would either give a solemn smile or nod to respond, noticing that his normal demeanor was that of a calm, quiet individual.

Before long her eyes began to wince with the familiar vision of natural light pouring in from the far end of the hall, and as they grew closer the sound of gulls began to follow. If it wasn't for him being ahead of her, she would quicken her pace into a run with the urge that nature was pulling at inside her. Only for her to feel a hand grip hers and she was soon running along with him. He was moving at a brisk speed with his wide gate striding in each step, he pulled her along side as to more easily help her keep pace and when the two of the broke the threshold of the door at the far end of the hall, she could see it. It was the ocean, vast and with a deep azure shine.

They were on a terrace overlooking the ocean from the side of the building, and as she looked there could be seen other such structures jutting out from floor above them. Which most likely proved true for several floors below as well, were she to lean over the edge and look down. The salty wind of the ocean swept over her as she could see several ships out in the marina away from the landmass of the peninsula. Even more so to her surprise she could see other beings out on those ships, and even other winged entities above them. Either stretching their wings or at play, from this distance it was hard for her to tell even with her exceptional sight.

As she looked out into the ocean, Kenner moved into her view with his smile intact as he gazed down at her. The wind was having somewhat of a field day tossing his hair around his head, making him look as though he was a silvered lion thanks to how much hair he had. But he used only a hand to get the mess under control as he swept it all to one side.

"Well... is this setting more to you're liking."

Nadiya's eyes shifted back to her newly acquired mentor, biting her lip at his tone. She hadn't meant to upset him, and already he was scolding her. The thud of the bowl caused her to flinch, suddenly worried he was deciding she wasn't worth his time. Despite her misgivings on his attitude when dealing with the dragon-girl, she couldn't deny he had a point. This was not how she was hoping her first impressions would go.

"Forgive me sire. I didn't mean any offense, nor do I wish to waste this opportunity." she said apologetically, looking almost cautious as she dared continue. "I know I shouldn't stare or pry...I just, was worried about her. She was hurt and she seems so distressed. And the master of this house is unlike anyone I've ever met." Nadiya waved her hands dismissively, hurrying to correct her words lest he misunderstand. "I-I mean, you and the master of the house, and the other figures in the household are all so....so gifted. Magic is almost unheard of in my parts." Nadiya's voice drifted off, afraid to admit she felt rather small and pathetic by comparison. Would they be upset that she knew no magic? She wondered if she could even have any aptitude for it at all.

Nadiya flushed at Anton's scoff, looking at the mixture she had prepared even as she listened to his answer. So she was correct in what plant it was. But even so, how could they be protected in this house from a natural danger? Was it because the healer could use magic?

The young woman glanced over at Anton, looking thoughtful as he bid her to ask him any questions she might have. She had so many questions! But ones that were for this moment in time? She pondered it for a moment. "Am I permitted to write to my family...once I can properly read and write as those with a proper education can?"