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Oniria

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His head was bent, his muscles were tense, his body was fluid, and everything was in motion around him.

Creole ran, raced, as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran from their den to the base of the mountain and to the stream at the base of the waterfall. Once he arrived he stopped at the lake's edge and curved his head downwards to lap at the cool waters below.

Once he had drank his fill the man stared at himself, the shell of a Dragon, as he sighed heavily. Those citrine eyes once proud and strong now sad and filled with sorrow. He slipped them closed...

He couldn't look at himself anymore...

Turning away from his reflection the man sat down, back turned to the waters now, the flowing rushing of the waterfall all he could hear as the man sat in heavy darkness that was around him, everything else silent and motionless around him.

Creole pulled himself up to a more regal position, something more of his stature, and tried to remain calm as his emotions rushed to the surface. A fast rising tide as he did his best to push it down. Swallowing hard as if he had a ball stuck in his throat...

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She longed to understand, to know why violence was the way of their world and...was it? Did it have to be. Did anger always mean that one needed to resort to such ways. Her little mind was hard at work, heavy with the concepts she longed to pick apart.

Oniria left the den often, she left it to wander, to ponder, to learn and digest. And here she was again, fleeing the chaos of her many siblings; their growls and snapping of teeth out into the peace the crying peaks offered. Their looming tops shrouded in mist, but she sought the falls. The sound of the water was peaceful, trickling and cascading into the pools below.

Earthen pools, soft and busy traced the ground before her feet glancing over her shoulders at the den before forward again. Where her eyes found a great beast...but seemingly not a beast at all. A man that could almost be confused as either of her parents, dressed in solid white, but he did not have fathers blood red eyes..and he was definitely well...he.

The girl slowed her steps as she approached, he had...a different air about him than what she had been around.

Something solemn.

Her steps slowed as she approached, sitting down by the waters edge, she flopped her head to the side as she looked over at the man. ❝ ...are you ok? ❞ her tone was soft, and the words felt so foreign on her tongue.


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Oniria

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The scent of another should have filled his nostrils, but instead it was the pools behind him that filled his senses. So when the child arrived he didn't notice her until she was directly in front of the Dragon. ...are you ok? slithered through the air, twisted into his large audits and Creole slowly lifted heavy lids and looked upon the child with sorrowful citrine eyes, an amotion far to heavy to weight a child with and he bent his head to his chest to collect himself.

After a moment he looked back at her with a weak smile and nodded, eyes blinking slowly as he spoke. ... Yes... No need to worry yourself...He lied, his words almost a hiss behind his teeth as he forced out that grin that seemed far too heavy to hold upon such regal features.

She was rather large for her age, he guessed, his children were rather large at birth themselves, and had the markings of onyx and alabaster along her coat. Noting her age he made the assumption she was one of Nyra and Satan's brood, and dipped his head to her in greeting. I... I'm Creole... The Dragon King introduced, trying to relax his frame within the darkness surrounding them. The occasional frog could be heard chirping off in the distant for almost the same reason Creole chirped... To find their mate...

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"...Yes... No need to worry yourself..." he tried to say, but Oniria's taupe eyes thinned into narrow slits of judgement and doubt. His body language said something else, the entire aura about him heavy and somber. Her little ears flicked back as she considered what to do with the conflicting details in quiet debate. "I... I'm Creole..." even his introduction hesitated, elongated and drawn.

The girl scooted closer. ❝ Creole...well I'm Oniria, ❞ she offered, quirking a brow at the huge man. ❝ You don't seem ok... ❞ she pressed again, reaching out her little nose twitching as she sniffed at him. ❝ You seem sad - my sister Lithe seems that way a lot too so I know what it looks like ❞ she insisted.

❝ But...why are you sad? ❞ she asked tilting her head.


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Oniria

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Her eyes narrowed and the man smiled a little, softly and amused, the girl introduced herself as Onaria and Creole dipped his head in greeting. She judged him with a simple You dont look okay… and went on to explain that her sister Lithe often looked the way he did and she knew what sad looked like.

Creole frowned just a tiny bit, his facade melting away as citrine eyes shifted to the waters edge at his feet for a moment and she asked why he was sad…

He bit his lip gentle, nibbling on the onyx lines as he sighed and felt shoulders drop as everything fell away except the truth. I… I miss my wife and my daughter… They disappeared a long time ago and I haven’t heard from them or seen them in so long… Creole admitted, The Dragon loosing all sense of emotions except the most apparent one.

After a few moments of silence he shifted his gaze over to her without speaking. Wondering if she would be satisfied with his explanation even though he wasn’t… Reign was so much more than his wife, Atiyah was so much more than his daughter… Reign was a queen and Atiyah a Dragon… And yet now… They were nothing but distant thoughts… Scents long gone and only remembered by olfactory memories…

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She watched him expectantly, maybe a bit impatiently, fidgeting her paws and shifting her weight around, trying to stop herself from pressing him for the truth. "I… I miss my wife and my daughter… They disappeared a long time ago and I haven’t heard from them or seen them in so long…" her ears perked at the words, brown eyes fixating on him with a sense of wonder. She had known little affection since being brought into this world, into this family. And here this man was...Creole, missing his wife and daughter who he seemed to really love a lot.

Did her family love her?

She couldn't tell. They were all about dominance; violence. And she didn't think that was the same thing as love. Whatever Creole felt for his family...that was love she decided.

❝ Well...I bet they're off on some epic adventure! ❞ she beamed, her little tail swishing against the earth. ❝ It sucks they didn't bring you along...but I bet they're just fine Mister Creole, and they'll have killer stories to tell when they get home ❞ she smiled, an attempt to cheer him up.

And then, the thoughts from earlier spilled out.

❝ I don't think my family cares about me like you do 'bout yours, ❞ she blurted, gaze dropping to the water. ❝ What are their names? ❞




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Oniria

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She fidgeted in her seat while he explained everything to her, and once he finished she tried to reassure him that they'd gone on some "Epic Adventure" and he smiled a little at her optimism, it was a little refreshing in his seat of sadness.

Her eyes fell to the water in front of her paws and she spoke sad words that brought a twinge of pain to his heart to hear. I... I'm sorry to hear that... I'm... I'm sure you're mother cares deeply for you... He tried to return the reassurance before he went on with their names.

The missing ones... They're Reign... My wife... and Atiyah... I have Kira, Lucius, Nephthys and Vasili... At least here... A few of my children have been missing for... For quite some time... He admitted, leaning towards Oniria a little for comfort. His eyes moved to her smaller form and studied her body language for a moment, noting that she seemed sad all around, and he felt a little guilty for bringing this upon her. I... I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you sad Oniria... The Dragon explained with a soft tone. Guilt settling in heavily onto his body, causing him to visibly slump his shoulders and frame..

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"..I... I'm sorry to hear that... I'm... I'm sure you're mother cares deeply for you..." she shrugged, ❝ Pfft...doubt it, ❞ she proclaimed bitterly, using her paw to sweep a rock into the water. She'd much rather talk about Creole.

"The missing ones... They're Reign... My wife... and Atiyah... I have Kira, Lucius, Nephthys and Vasili... At least here... A few of my children have been missing for... For quite some time..." she blinked up at him, scooting closer allowing her side to press against his hip and let her body rest there. "I... I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you sad Oniria..." ❝ I'll be 'k... I'm a Drazen after all, ❞ the sarcasm lay thick on her tongue.

She sighed, leaning her head into him. ❝ I know you miss 'em, but maybe you should pay more attention to the ones that are here and less on the ones that aren't - I bet Reign would want that ❞ missing them wouldn't bring them back anyway, right? You could want something with all your might; like wanting your siblings to stop being asshats, and it wouldn't do anything.

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Oniria

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Oniria kicked a pebble into the water and reassured him she'd be okay due to her bloodlines and he smiled, hoping it was true, shifting a little on his haunches. The little girl leaned her head on him and the Dragon smiled, feeling the warmth of a father come flooding back in, the feelings he'd had with his babies when they were younger... Suddenly Hel popped into his head and how he'd never had the chance for these moments with her and bit his lip to hold back a choked sound. His smile fading quickly as the heartache came rushing back in.

I know you miss 'em, but maybe you should pay more attention to the ones that are here and less on the ones that aren't - I bet Reign would want that... Creole rolled these words around in his brain for a moment, how they made complete sense and how true they rang... She was wise for her age and it would take her far...

You're right... Oniria, you're very smart... Keep these words of wisdom close to your heart and they'll take you far... Creole nodded, smiling down at her with warmth, his tail coming to curl around her as if hugging her gentle and fatherly, You're right... Reign would want me to focus on what's here...She'll come back I'm sure of it... Though these words were uttered for himself, to self reassure that everything would work out... He had to trust in the gods and the universe...

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"You're right... Oniria, you're very smart... Keep these words of wisdom close to your heart and they'll take you far..." she blinked, looking up to him her dark muzzle buried in his ivory fur. ❝ ...ya really think so? ❞ she inquired, ears perking. She felt him first, and looked behind her - she'd never felt such a thing.

She had piled together with her siblings for warmth from the cold air but that was...different than this. That was to survive. This made her feel good inside too, it made her heart swell and it was...homey. The girl stared at his tail that wrapped around her in a warm embrace for a long moment, subconsciously letting herself press in closer pushing more of her weight into his frame.

"You're right... Reign would want me to focus on what's here...She'll come back I'm sure of it..." Reign. His family. She wasn't his family, but...why did she feel like she was? Even more so than the ones she was actually related to. ❝ Has she ever done this before? Gone away? ❞ she wondered suddenly, trying to take her mind off of the things that wore heavy on her young heart.

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