Temper - ‘heat of mind or passion that is often shown in outbursts of anger’
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“This is the drake I spoke of.”
Katsum followed Hamujj Gah’s gaze to the large pen with a single Battle Drake in it, the beast hissing and glaring at everyone that passed by his enclosure. The drake’s scales were striped maroon shades while his eyes burned like amber fires. Compared to the other drakes in the pens nearby, he was massive for his young age and far more aggressive. The spikes all over his body were sharpened to dangerous points, and she guessed by the scrapes on the ground and rocky walls of the pen that he had sharpened them himself. He was quite a terror to look at, a lazy plume of smoke falling from his gaping jaws promising he would most certainly spit the flames he breathed at anyone who dared enter his domain.
The blonde miqo’te narrowed her eyes as she dropped her ears slightly in thought. This was the battle drake they were gifting her as a Sister of Ash? Hamujj Gah had promised that the drake they chose for her would not disappoint, and it certainly didn’t, but she didn’t expect to have to train it herself too. At least not from the very basics. This one looked as if he had hardly ever been touched let alone spent any valuable hours with the drake-handlers.
She looked up at the blue-robed Amalj’aa and crossed her arms, “He appears to have had no experience interacting with anyone..”
Hamujj nodded, “Yes, he has ever been a violent creature since the day he hatched. He is far smarter than the others of his brood and would fight them to get his way in everything. When they came of age to begin training…no one could stand against him. He was - he is - too powerful for any of the Ring of Ash to conquer,” He met her gaze with a confident nod, “But for the warrior, you who have conquered Ifrit, I believe that you are the only one who has the strength to win him over.”
“And if I don’t win him over?” They watched as the drake charged the pen’s fencing when a younger Amalj’aa threw over a slab of meat, scaring the youth into stumbling after throwing it in and fleeing, “What will you do if he is indeed ‘untrainable’?”
“Then I am afraid there is little hope for him. Such a beast could not live here in our camp nor could we risk it attacking others if it were set free.”
In other words, she was this drake’s last hope. If she didn’t “tame” him, then death would. The stoic scion sighed to herself, closing her eyes to think as the possibilities swarmed about her head. What had started as just a mission to learn of these friendly Amalj’aa had become something far more enlightening than she could have imagined. She found she enjoyed learning their customs and stories, trying to remember what she could and recording them in her journal to be able to take back and share with others someday so that they may see what she had through those stories. She’d watched some of the young come of age and conquer their drakes and she’d fought beside them, and even hunted with them - though hunting desert animals was far different than the forest elk and deer she had hunted on the Draic isle. She looked back up at the pacing drake and knew what she had to do.
“I am unsure if I shall be able to tame his violent temper,” Katsum mused, taking a deep breath, “But I will try to. I accept.”
- - - - - - - - - -
The two Amalj’aa standing on either side of the pen’s gate stared at the armored miqo’te with wide eyes, baffled to see that she was going to challenge the ‘desert dragon’. The knightess tightened her bun-wrapped hair and the straps on her shield, flipping her sword over her arm as she took a deep breath and nodded to them. With reluctance, they slowly opened the gate wide enough for the small woman to step through. The pen was built like an arena with the outer walls built overlooking the inside so that the tribe could witness a youth’s coming of age in the conquest of their drakes. She could see quite a few had come to witness hers, yet Katsum paid them little mind; the drake was far more concerning. The gate closed behind her as quickly as it had opened, but she didn’t bother looking back. It would only show hesitation, and as the glistening, fiery golden eyes of her adversary were already locked on her, it would be best to keep any such thoughts or feelings hidden.
Katsum watched the drake drop his head low, a deep, guttural hiss echoing from his jaws as his long claws scratched at the ground beneath him. She stood her ground, leaning down with a scowl and holding her weapons at the ready, glaring back at him as they sized each other up. They circled slowly, watching each movement and step, looking for the brief moments to strike where the other’s guard was weakest. As he hadn’t attacked yet, she could only guess that he was having as much of a difficult time finding an opening as she was, which was some small relief to know.
“Remember, this is the only chance, Katsum,” Hamujj Gah’s voice echoed over the walls as he stood in the tall outer walls of the pen, “He is far too smart and will learn your fighting style and kill you if you were to try a second time. Make this one chance count, warrior.”
She took a deep and slow breath and shouted, “On my honor, I shall.”
As if he understood the words they spoke, the drake as he snorted a plume of smoke angrily. With his head reared back, the drake roared and charged forward, closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds and standing on his back legs to tower over her as he swiped his claws down. She lifted her shield as the talons slammed against the metal and swung her sword upward against the softer under skin just under his left arm. The tip of the sword just barely grazed his skin, yet a thin, red line appeared as the beast yowled and stepped back. He turned to retreat, Katsum had thought, but when she saw his tail swinging around, she barely had time to lift her shield to stop the dangerous spikes from impaling her. The force was enough to knock her off of her feet and skid backward a few feet, and she rolled through to try and catch herself.
Getting to her feet, Katsum raised her shield again just in time to block the incoming jaws of the drake, the force of the scaled beast banging against her shield over and over again like he was attempting to break it. The drake hissed as he tried to claw at her, snap at her, anything, but each time she shifted her shield to block him. Rage built in his eyes and he jumped back and sucked in a deep breath. The scales lining his sides began to glow with warmth and his eyes lit up as she could see a spark in the back of his throat when he opened his jaws. Again, she held her shield fast as the drake breathed out as a stream of fire erupted from its mouth. Katsum felt the heat all around her, yet she held fast to keep from getting burned, clenching her teeth to hold her resolve. He was a stubborn one, and his anger only seemed to grow with each moment they fought.
And he was also getting smarter.
Suddenly Katsum felt a spiny barbed tail slam into her back and hook onto her shield. As she flew to the ground, her shield was ripped off of her arm and flung across the pen. She gasped trying to catch her breath and stagger back to her feet, watching the drake trot over and stand over her shield, its clawed feet reached down to dig into it. He hissed as if he was laughing and Katsum wiped the small trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. She adjusted her stance and held the knight’s blade with both hands, “Come on, then. See if your luck is any better.”
The beast growled and charged again and Katsum swung her trusted blade and sliced the air where the drake had to nearly fall over to dodge. Again he lunged in and again she deflected him. She met each swing of his jaws or claws with her blade, her movements fast enough now to match his without her shield weighing down her arm. Yet it was clear to her that they were matched in the sense of Katsum making sure to hold back a measure of her strength to keep from killing him. This was going to go nowhere and they would just be beating on each other until they tired out at this rate. She needed an upper hand to win this. While she tried to figure out how to gain that upper hand, she pushed him back a step each time they traded blows. The miqo’te would at least prove to him that she was the stronger of the two and see how he would react to that knowledge.
As she imagined, of course, he was not happy. He tried to bite at her blade and tear it from her hands, but the polished metal slipped harmlessly from his jaws. The drake hissed and growled, his talons scratching the dirt as he tried to brace himself against her and fight back, but still, she pushed him. Fire burned in his eyes and Katsum knew it was about to get ugly.
The drake caught her sword in its claws this time, latching onto it and slamming the tip of it to the ground under it. The brief moment of surprise was all he needed to catch her off guard and lunged to snap his teeth on her shoulder. Katsum dodged, his fangs scraping against the metal plating on her shoulder as she stepped back, wrenching her blade free from his grasp as she moved. Something caught her foot and she stumbled slightly, though that worked in her favor as the drake spun around and swung his tail at her again, missing her by inches as she had to duck to regain her balance. She spared only a glance to see that her shield was what had tripped her. She reached out to grab it, but the drake's talon slammed into it as he thrust his head down snapping at her.
Katsum jumped back to avoid him, yet he was now making sure to leave no openings for recovery. She shifted again out of the way as he clawed out at her then snapped at her, flinging one attack after another, adding his barbed tail for good measure as he fought with every fiber of strength he had. Katsum took a deep shaking breath and leaned back again to avoid his jaws and spun on her heel, switching the direction of her blade in her hand. She had one shot at this. She aimed at the barbed tail that was fast approaching and thrust the sharpened iron down between the spikes, through the drake’s tail, and into the ground below it. The drake yowled in pain, his body pulling against the sunken blade as it was just deep enough to stop him in his tracks. With an angry hiss, the drake’s scales began to glow again as it summoned its fiery breath and coiled in to face her. She scrambled to reach her shield from under his claws. The sound of his lungs filling with a deep breath filled her ears, and her trembling fingers desperately tried to grab ahold of the straps. Finally, she looped a finger into the strap and pulled with all the strength she could muster, freeing the shield from under the drake’s weight. He shifted slightly, yet he was unfazed as his jaws widened.
But it was over, and she knew it.
Katsum spun herself on her heel again and swung the shield around with her, turning a complete circle before smashing the iron shield across the side of the drake’s head. His head was blown to the side by the force, sending him backward, his fire dying with a stunned gasp. The drake fell on his side and lay still for a moment, his body shaking as his sides heaved and he panted. He tried to pull himself to his feet again, yet the impact of the shield had his legs trembling. His head was probably still rattling around; Katsum knew her arms certainly were.
The blonde’s arms were almost vibrating from the way the metal had hit, the echoes of the clashing forces traveling up her fingers and into her arms and shoulders until it was hard to tell if they were still vibrating or just numb now. She slumped slightly as she too gasped for air as she watched the drake think, trying for a few more moments to stand before his body fell still and his eyes closed. She’d done it. She’d won.
The crowd of gathered Amallj’aa erupted in cheers and shouts, the battle having put on quite the show it seemed as there were quite a few more than she remembered seeing. Katsum forced herself to stand up straight and reach for her blade. She pulled the blade free from the ground and out of the drake’s tail as Hamujj Gah and two others came toward her. One of the two quickly raised a clawed hand to the wound on the drake and spoke healing magicks upon it to stop the bleeding while the other reached out to her to help heal the cuts and bruises the drake had given her.
Hamujj Gah gave the miqo’te a wide grin - the closest an Amallj’aa could get to genuinely smiling - and nodded at her excitedly, “Well done, warrior sister. Well done!” The healer moved back from her and he stepped forward to hand her the golden collar and ring for the drake’s tail as well as what looked like a golden muzzle-shaped bridle, “The drake is yours now and so you must equip him with these relics so that all with know he is a battle drake.”
She sheathed her sword and slung her shield on her back again and then took the relics from him and glanced over at the drake, noticing now he was getting to his feet again and the Amallj’aa that had healed him had bound his jaws shut to avoid the drake’s fire. They truly were terrified of him. The drake came to stand before her as was prompted by the young Amallj’aa, the fire in his eyes a defeated smolder as he stared at the ground. He knew he’d been beaten and she guessed that he had watched countless other drakes be conquered, watched them become almost as slaves to their new masters. He had been fighting to keep his freedom, fighting his fate, and that was something she understood very well. Katsum gripped the relics in her hands and stepped forward to drape the golden collar around his neck and clasp the ring on his tail. Then she came to stand in front of him yet he did not look up to meet her eyes, though she did not mind. She raised her hand to his jaws and pulled the rope that bound his jaws shut until it snapped. She then tossed the golden bridle back behind her in the dust towards Hamujj Gah. The whole arena went silent.
“Katsum, what are you…” Hamujj gasped and the youths moved to cower behind him.
Katsum did not answer him nor did she even spare him a glance. She kept her sapphire eyes locked on the drake’s face. Slowly, the drake glanced up at her, moving as a new emotion - worry - now appeared in his eyes. He looked into her eyes, taking a slight step back as his curiosity was heightened too, but he did not dare to strike or flee. He stood silently before her, standing as equals. Katsum’s eyes softened and opened her mouth to speak, “We are not so different, you and I. Fearing a fate thrust upon us.”
The drake’s head turned to the side slightly, but he seemed to understand what she said. She smiled a very faint smile, “I do not force you to serve me, but I ask you to join me in my adventures and travels. Not as a beast of burden, but as a partner; a companion; a friend.”
Katsum held out her hand to him and waited patiently, seeing the drake’s eyes widen slightly as his gaze darted from her eyes to her hand in thought. Most she was sure would find this laughable, saying the drake would surely strike at her hand and be done with it, but she believed differently. Every animal she had ever come to know had a heart, a soul, making them far more intelligent than many people would think they were. If he wanted to attack, he would have already. She was vulnerable with her weapons put away, she’d be an easy target. But he didn’t. He understood her words too, realizing she didn’t want to beat him into submission and wanted him to accept her as she accepted him.
The drake’s scales were smooth on her hand as he had dripped his head and pressed his nose into her palm. She smiled warmly as she caressed his scales, and a deep sigh of what she guessed was relief rumbled in his throat as he closed his eyes. The Amallj’aa were in awe all around her, but Katsum only smiled as she pet the drake she had just befriended.
“They called you a ‘desert dragon’ right? Well then, from now on, I shall call you Draco instead.”
