Strength in Separation Part 2

*I know this doesn't match the prompt, I just had to get the second part up as well.*

The Khindre glared down his nose at Will. "So what now?" he spat. "Are we just going to let this man waltz up to Aisllae?" If the nobleman hoped Kretar might show some kindness and offer a hand, he was sorely disappointed. Will had to stand on his own, and whatever dignity might have remained drained out of his feet and to the gutters. 

"No, we're giving him a chance to fix his mistakes." Glorriosa then leaped from his perch on the wall and landed solidly on Will's shoulder, saliva-dripping teeth like a hundred tiny daggers terrifyingly close to his neck. "I'll be going with him. And if he hurts Aisllae any more than he already has, I'll personally tear out his throat."

Will swallowed and felt his throat knot bulge and bump into Glorriosa's teeth. Knowing he needed to save face, he finished the action and strutted towards the alleyway he'd seen Aisllae disappear into. He didn't look back, not even when he felt unseen eyes stabbing into his back. Kretar, I'd guess. It seems he can't keep his nose out of our business. 

With Glorriosa's superior nose leading them, it didn't take long to find Aisllae. She stood in the dead-end of the alley, draconic horns pressed against the wall. Her face was cast only half in light from her fallen glowing spear, but Willard could clearly see tear marks staining her cheeks, fresh rivulets still running down them.

Glorriosa flapped off Will's shoulders with an uttered "Good luck." The young noble wasn't sure whether it was genuine or not. The small dragon somehow managed to dip into the shadows and vanish, despite his scales being bright platinum. Willard knew there were at least two pairs of eyes watching his every move, but the silence and shadow allowed him to believe he was alone with Aisllae. He stepped forward, an old sentimental part of him wanting to wipe the tears away. But that would be overstepping his bounds, so summoning up every last dreg of confidence, he strode forward and gently laid a hand on the girl's armored shoulder. 

Without looking up, Aisllae signed, Hello, Leo. 

Will twitched and moved his hand under her face to respond, but she jumped back when she saw his dark skin instead of Leo's tan coloring. Unable to reach her spear easily, Aisllae clutched her hand around the adamantine ax handle strapped across her back. 

Willard immediately and wisely put his hands up as if in surrender and then, slowly and cautiously, began to sign. Please, I just want to talk. I feel like we've gotten off on the wrong foot. 

Then talk, Aisllae signed tersely. Will couldn't help but notice that her eyes kept flickering fearfully back to the weapons on his belt like she believed he would skewer her and leave her to die in this alleyway. If anyone's in danger here, it's me. His eyes sought the shapes of the dragon and Khindre that were observing without avail.

 Still, he couldn't blame the girl for her presumptions. Due to the order in which they'd entered this alley, Aisllae was hemmed in, and many people would take extreme exception to the hurtful words she'd slung before fleeing. He had to divest that notion before he could even start explaining himself.

Smiling placatingly, Willard moved his hands even further from the hilts of his shortsword and dagger and signed. They won't hurt you, I swear. If these weapons were forced to draw your blood, I'd feel pain equal to yours, if not greater. Such an undertaking would undo me.

Aisllae seemed confused, and Will wondered if he'd used symbols too complex for a woman not classically educated to understand. Curse the Ursuthi for making such a complex finger language! As always, I focussed on learning everything there was to know and, in so doing, confused my old spark. He started to explain, but another sharp gesture from Aisllae told him to get to the point.

It was aggravating, fighting at such a disadvantage, but he supposed that a victory here would feel more gratifying for it. You must have felt so alone, he signed after a long pause. It seemed Aisllae didn't know what to make of that, so he continued. I'm aware that what my family did to you was unforgivable, and I'm deeply sorry for the pain it obviously caused you. We never expected you to try and escape. It was a first, honestly. None of the others took to the infusion half as well! But I'm rambling. If you'd stayed, you can be damn sure I would have done everything in my power to protect you. I cared about you a lot, Aisllae. I wish you could understand that.

Aisllae furrowed her brow. If you cared about me so much, why did you betray me? I saw you talking with Tandrik. I watched you agree with him! At least, the nobleman assumed she was referring to Grandpa Tandrik. She'd signed the words 'evil raisin.'

Will let out another long-suffering sigh. He'd known this question would come eventually, and he had no easy way of alleviating her fears and doubts. 

You've never had a family, so I'm sure it's hard to grasp. Aisllae took that about as well as a slap to the face. He winced inwardly at her hurt expression but bulled on, praying to Skaeda, bountiful goddess of fortune, that his life wouldn't end in a flurry of tearing dragon teeth. As a son of an influential noble family, I have obligations,  duties I must perform. This includes handling disputes among our people, attending meetings with other political figures, and partaking in the family business. Whether I wanted to deceive you played no part in the matter. Trust me, your cute smile and sweet, simple demeanor had me utterly charmed, but the 'evil raisin' ordered me to lead you downstairs and stick you with the needle. If I'd fought him, the punishment would be severe. He hoped using her own terminology might endear him to her.

Aisllae considered that for a long moment, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased. So it was either stick me with the needle or be killed?

Willard nodded, tears of relief moistening his eyes as he realized he actually had a chance at getting through to her.

I guess I can't fault you for that. But that doesn't mean I'm not still angry! You could have warned me or something!"

Will refused to let the jab get a rise out of him. He answered logically and calmly. See, but that's not fair. If I'd warned you, and you appeared more suspicious or knowledgable, the ruse would have been up, with the same results as not following through in the first place. You don't know what my family is capable of, and I hope that I'll be able to make you understand in time. What they're dabbling in scares me to the core. But, he chuckled helplessly. I'm risking myself even being here, talking to you now."

Is that true? You're willing to risk yourself just to smooth over a misunderstanding? That's pretty...

But Will would never know what she meant to say, as suddenly, there was a shimmer behind Aisllae, like sun glare, except they were in shadow. Willard knew it to be a conveyance window, a magical means of transport, and thus was unsurprised when something stepped out into the alley behind Aisllae. The man, or at least he thought it was a man, was draped in multicolored dragon scales, primarily orange and green. The helmet concealing his head sported cracked draconic horns, held together by thin wires. Before the man had even hit the ground, he lashed out, sweeping Aisllae's knees out from under her with a knobbly bone staff. The girl's mouth opened in a silent scream of pain as it cracked against unprotected skin and bone. 

Will was moving before she fell, crying out her name though he knew she couldn't hear it. With a tactician's eye, he assessed the foe's lackluster armor. The scales weren't draped in a way that provided much defense, only decoration. The young man's dirk and shortsword practically seemed to jump into his hands, one moment resting in their scabbards and the next in line to strike. His foe saw him coming and swung his staff viciously, but Will dropped to his knees and slid underneath it, realigning his blades and delivering a vicious ascending flurry of stabs to the man's stomach and chest. It would have been enough to kill any man, but his familiar shape and features belied a body devoid of humanism. Through soft skin, Will's enchanted weapons would have punched like a needle through silk, but both dagger and sword were repelled after sinking in a quarter inch. The cuts didn't bleed, but Will did see flashes of orange and green as their foe turned and caught the light of Aisllae's glowing spear. Does he have scales inside his skin? Will wondered disgustedly. That couldn't be comfortable. But then the young man's mind turned to his own situation. He'd fully expected his flurry to end this struggle, but now he was in a vulnerable position. Their foe realized it too and reversed his club to brain Willard, joints bending and popping unnaturally. The young nobleman thought death was nigh and felt nothing but regret, but the weapon was swinging far too fast for him to get out of the way. He'd die here alone. 

But Willard Tapporwhill wasn't alone. Hearing a distinctive clack behind his head, and wasted no time leaping to his feet. As he'd hoped, Aisllae was there, muscles flexing as her glowing spear repelled the deadly-looking staff.

Their argument forgotten for the nonce, the two met eyes and leaped into battle. Will was speed and agility, weaving around their scaly adversary's savage and uncontrolled attacks. Their foe's eyes shone with bright, wild insanity, making him seem more monster than a man. Will dipped in for quick strikes at his unprotected flank before ducking out and letting Aisllae make full use of the distraction.

And boy did she! Will counted himself fortunate to not be on the receiving end of her unbridled draconic wrath. He watched with awe as Aisllae accepted bruising hits on the shoulders, arms, and stomach, bulling through the pain to jab her spear deep. And while Will's weapons had little effect on the man's armored insides, her spear almost seemed to become temporarily incorporeal, sinking through skin and scales alike. Blood spurted as the spear sunk in, but the wounds cauterized as the weapon was removed. 

With the golden glow and the heat...one could assume that her spear is made of sunlight! His theory was confirmed immediately as Aisllae lifted the spear vertically above her head. Beneath the spearhead, a banner suddenly appeared, sporting an artistic depiction of the sun with a dragon's wings wrapped protectively around it, a derivative of the holy symbol of Rhadallyg. Aisllae waved the banner, creating a flash of sunlight that sent their enemy reeling, and suddenly Willard felt a wave of invigorating energy flow through his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his body was limned in soft golden light. Grinning, he pressed their advantage, slashing shortsword and dirk across the dragon-man's joints. He spun out of the way just in time to avoid being skewered as Aisllae hurled her spear through the air. It ripped through the man's stomach, out the back, and pierced into the stone below, pinning the man in place. Will raised his sword to finish the man off, but Aisllae was one step ahead of him. Like a flash, she was there, raising her ax above her head. With cleaving force, she swung it down, eyes turning draconic. The ax cut through flesh, scale, muscle, and bone alike, splitting the man in two from helmet to belt.

Aisllae stood for several seconds, panting as her eyes slowly faded from their golden draconic appearance to her usual calm, river-stone hue. Shaking her head in disgust, the girl tightened her grip on the ax handle. Suddenly, silver and gold flames expanded outwards from the ax head, consuming the slain man in a matter of moments, leaving nothing but ash and residual light from the now-vanished sunspear.

"Woah," Willard breathed. "That could have been me!" He made a mental note to avoid getting on Aisllae's bad side in the future. The young man gazed around the alley and saw the conveyance window still hanging in the air. "You're not the only one with cool tricks," he said, forgetting she couldn't hear him. The blade of the shortsword turned into a plane of lavender. He circled the portal with it, leaving a lingering trail of sparking energy in the air. Then, he slashed downwards, and the portal distorted momentarily before fizzling out of existence. 

Aisllae turned to him then, and her eyes softened just a bit. You fight pretty well," she signed. Will was shocked to find her utterly unfazed by what had just transpired. You probably saved my life there, so...thank you.

Will was happy to accept her gratitude, but he really wanted information. Who, or what was that?! 

Aisllae blinked, apparently surprised he wasn't informed. Unable to find the right sign, she spelled out a name, which only confused Will more. Who were the Gluttons of Tarragon? 

Aisllae could only shrug. All I really know is that they're hunting me. You really don't know them?

Will shook his head. My family has many allies, but I don't think that's one of them. I'd be happy to research them for you if you'd like. 

Why? 

Willard chuckled. Haven't I been telling you I still care all this time? And beyond that, I promised your brother I wouldn't hurt you. I figured saving your life would fall with that order. Am I wrong?

Now it was Aisllae's turn to shake her head. Thank you. Maybe...maybe you're not as bad as I feared. 

The nobleman smiled brilliantly in response.

Don't think I've completely forgiven you. But..this was a good start.

That's more than I hoped possible from your initial reaction. I'll happily accept that.

As they made their way out of the alley, Aisllae and Will found two more cooling corpses similar to the man they'd just fought. Both had prominent claw and gnaw marks marring their skin, but those were superficial at best. The killing blows were nowhere to be seen, visible only by a sheen of blood.

Seeing his confusion, Aisllae signed the words "shadow friend" and "mind knives." Kretar. Will shivered. The Khindre had apparently upgraded his kit beyond mere bow-and-arrow. He was a genuinely untraceable killer now. 

The more Will learned, the happier he was to have avoided direct confrontation with them thus far.

It took Aisllae shaking his arm to realize he'd been standing and staring at the corpses. C'mon! Let's go meet my friends. They'll be surprised to learn you're not totally evil! 

 I've already met most of them.

But she refuted him with a waggling finger. Meeting and kidnapping aren't the same!

Will couldn't suppress his smile. The difference between her fuming rage and this more happy-go-lucky side couldn't be more significant. He remembered a day when she'd laid her head in his lap and allowed him to stroke her coarse pink hair. Maybe things would never progress that far again. Regardless, he was excited to see how it would all pan out.

Following Aisllae out of the alleyway, he prayed to Skaeda once more that his family wouldn't tear him away from this one-of-a-kind girl again. He could only be so lucky.