A Matter of Diplomacy (Zax/Pocky)

[Chinchilla]

It had been so, so long since Paarthurnax had last truly lived among others. There had been the graybeards, with their tattered robes and their silence, but he had spoken to them only rarely. They had been content to leave him to his meditation on his mountain, and he had been content to leave them to their study. But it seemed that in this world, he had little choice.

They said that death rained from the sky, here. Paarthurnax had seen no death from the sky, but he had no desire to spend the rest of eternity trapped within his own bones. Meditation could only do so much. He would like to be able to stretch his wings as well, and there was no Alduin to breathe life back into his bones and call him from the earth.

Not that his brother would. Once upon a time, but not anymore.

The dragon, for this reason, had sought out two that he had been told were leaders of the Weyr. Not kings, emperors or jarls. Something different. If he wished to live among the mortals and their dragons that were not dragons, he would have to speak to them. Hopefully, isolation hadn't robbed him of all his diplomatic abilities.

Besides, he had other concerns aside from his own shelter and life. If he could enter this world, so could his fellow dov. He was robbed of his Voice and his fellows would likely be silenced as well. But they were still dragons, and still mighty. It would be cruel to leave this world unaware of the potential dangers if one of his brothers were to enter.

Or Alduin himself.

The dragon settled in the weyrbowl, doing his best to ignore the weyrfolk who gave him such a wide berth. There was nothing to do but await the arrival of his hosts, so that he could speak to them. He would have preferred a more private location, but it seemed his size would constrain him to the weyrbowl for now. Unfortunate.

[Zaxal]

Stop staring.

I am not staring, Ralelth said calmly. I am observing. He is the strangest dragon I have ever seen. She stretched out on her ledge, eyes still keenly trained on the two-legged dragon who wasn't of this world. The unbonded. The scaled. Paarthurnax was truly an odd creature for many reasons in Ralelth's mind, but that didn't mean he wasn't welcome.

Hae and I are going to speak with him. And then, Nocta sighed. Then I think we're going to have to talk to the Weyr.

Do you want me to call the council?

Not yet. Let me talk to Hae about it first. I'll be surprised if we aren't hearing from them by the end of the day demanding answers anyway.

Nocta walked out into the weyrbowl, her eyes drawn automatically to the shape that didn't fit. She had to agree with Ralelth -- she had never seen a dragon quite like him before, and she was almost a little intimidated. This whole business with the lost folk was beginning to get to her, make her weary and nervous, jumpy about what might happen if someone bad were to drop into the world.

The dragon was the strangest so far, and if she could have her way, that would be the end of it. However, it wasn't up to Nocta, and it wasn't as if she was going to try and turn anyone in need away whether they be human, dragon, or anything else.

She stopped closer to the dragon than most weyrfolk would dare tread, looking up at him and trying not to seem as nervous as she felt. "Councilmember Nocta of Igen Weyr. Welcome."