Author: Remedy, Posted: Fri Jun 8, 2018 9:28 AM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Rem chuckled and shook her head at him. “I didn’t realize that you were happy with putting on a show for dryads… If that’s what gets you off.” It was a great joke as she kissed the tip of his nose. She relaxed under his claw drawing on her back. It was weird but she would get used to it.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” She winked a bit after what he said. The half angel growled right back at him. “Should have just taken me before breakfast in that case. Or was it something I did or said?” She nipped at his lip as he kissed her. “If you aren’t careful you are going to be a second breakfast… and then we’re going to lose our entire day.”

It was perhaps the first time she noticed how small she actually was compared to Jace. He had at least a foot on her if not more. She was so much lither than him as well. A blush crossed her face as she watched him. “You know… why not.” She took him and brought him down to her level kissing him softly. “I’ll make you feel even better I promise. Breakfast can wait… I burned it anyway.”

The next year was going to be interesting. She wondered if her grandmother knew the dangers of putting two young people together… but then Rem realized that the old woman was probably only thinking of their health. Remedy found so much more on Horae Island. She found Jace and quite possibly their future together. Something she thought had avoided her until now. The half angel was happy for once.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 2:17 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace exhaled in contentment and laughed low in his throat as Remedy rolled so that she was sitting on top of him. He kissed her back, and looked toward the door where he could see several of the dryads peeking but when to go about their business when Remedy growled at them.

“Can you blame them. I think we put on one hell of a show,” he chuckled as he shifted his body against hers. He grinned at her as she laughed and snuggled up against him. He rested his claw over her back and lightly traced shapes on her skin.

“Sorry about breakfast. I know you put a lot of effort into it,” he said sheepishly. “But honestly, you were a lot better than anything I could have actually eaten,” he growled at her. He caressed her thigh gently before he kissed her. “That was something that was much needed. I feel better than I have in what feels like years.”  

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 12:57 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy enjoyed the faint smile on his face as she pulled away. The morning was spent cooking breakfast for him that was edible. Sure there were a few burnt pieces of but as the granddaughter of Fire who wouldn’t burn a few pieces? At least that’s what she told herself to feel better about it. “I tried not to burn it but face it Grandma isn’t the best cook in the world to learn from.”

Her green eyes scrunched up a bit as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. Then he was behind her and it made a bit more sense. “I don’t know… I wouldn’t consider myself appetizing.” Again she was reeling into him and accepting his neck kisses. Her hands went to his arms as she ran them up the best she could from how he had her positioned in the doorway.

“You weren’t too bad yourself,” it left her lips almost in a whisper as she controlled herself. Control wasn’t her best skill. She found herself wanting to go all out or not at all. The situation with Jace was making her regret never learning to control herself better especially because she knew what she wanted. The half angel was quick to get his shirt off after she turned towards him and accepted his kiss just as fierce as he had given it.

Letting her fingers feel every inch of him available to her at that point it was easy enough to immediately tell where this was going as the dragons went and hid away. He deftly picked her up and put her against the wall near the loft. Clothes were thrown randomly about at that point. It easy to keep someone as light as Rem pinned to the wall while doing so.

All of their actions spoke of how much they wanted each other's company or otherwise. Even the trees seemed to lean and look into the door way to see what they were doing. Which probably would have bothered Rem if she wasn’t so invested in making Jace feel good. From the wall to the bed she quickly sealed her wings so they were in the way. It made things easier and less uncomfortable and awkward.

That was how their whole morning was spent. When they were finally done Remedy held onto Jace. He was still over top of her but she gave them a good roll and kissed his neck. “Now, what was the point of cooking breakfast if you were going to waste it?” She joked before kissing his lips tenderly. Finally, her eyes moved to the doorway. “Next time we close the door… the dryads are watching us.” She made a noise in her throat that was more like an ‘excuse me’ and watched as the dryads went back to their normal business. There was a silly grin on her face as she laughed about it and snuggled herself into him. She liked the way she smelled like him now, it was relaxing to her.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 12:27 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace curled around Remedy and nodded at her words. She was telling it how it was. Truth was, the void she filled in him was a very different void that the one that had been created by the losses he had suffered. Nothing could replace them. Not in that way at least. But he was still glad to have her there with him. He obeyed her direction to sleep and within minutes of curling up with her fell into the most restful sleep he’d had in what felt like years.

He only stirred again when Remedy slipped from his embrace the next morning, and he looked up as she left the bed, but let his head fall back when she reassured him she was only making breakfast. A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips when she nipped his nose, and he curled back up into his pillow. The smell of cooking food was what really woke him up, mostly when she was cooking things a little too well. When she alerted him that everything was done, he slowly sat up and climbed out of bed and staggered over to the small table where she had sat there meal.

“It looks good,” he said as he looked at her where she stood by the door, the pale morning light illuminating her in a beautiful radiant halo. “But… I see something that looks even better,” he mused. He moved up behind Remedy and slipped his arms about her waist. He pulled her tight against him, and kissed her neck. As if picking up where he had left off with her in the hot springs, he began kissing her a little harder, even nipping softly.

“You were so soft and warm last night,” he breathed in her ear, his hands roaming across her figure, but this time venturing where they hadn’t the night before. He pulled her back away from the door but didn't bother shutting it and kissed her fiercely, his claw sliding up beneath her shirt. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 10:01 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“Aye,” she said as she looked at his face. She felt bad for punching him that hard but it had been more of a reaction. “Thank the gods I don’t punch as hard as Grandma.” They sat there hugging for a long time as he told her about how long he had been suffering.

Once they got to the bed she took the katana and threw it off to the side. She sat by his side and listened to his story. She pulled him into her and kissed the top of his head. “I think we all think like that after bad things happen Jace.” She pulled the blankets up on them and moved down so she could put her head on his chest. “But, if you weren’t here right now… I would be all alone.” It was true she had family but she was so distant from them… but with Jace, she had opened up.

Her eyes went up to him and she smiled at him. “You have me, Jace. I’m not going to go anywhere. I promise that even when the one year is up if you’ll have me I’ll stay. I’m not trying to replace everyone you’ve lost or asking you to replace who I have lost… but I think that if we stay together and we try and figure out what this is that we won’t be alone anymore.” She kissed his cheek and nuzzled him softly before she closed her eyes.

“You look like you need sleep. I’ll stay up until I know you are safe… Okay? Get rest.” In the morning he was holding her and it was a weak enough grasp that she was able to pull herself free. She saw he woke up and kissed him gently. “Rest a bit longer okay? I’m going to make you food.” She nipped the tip of his nose before sliding out of bed and getting the dragons to cooperate with her. “Eggs… ham… The good stuff.”

She cooked him a whole breakfast and while she burned bits here or there she was rather pleased with herself as she put it out on the table. “Breakfast is done,” she didn’t have to yell because of how small the cottage is. The barricade from the night before was still up. She rolled up her long sleeves and set to work as crashes filled the cottage from her throwing things into an unused corner. “Thank you,” she said to one of the dragons who brought her some juice for breakfast. She set that onto the table. “I think we did a lot of work this morning already,” she commented as she opened the door to see the water trickling off the trees.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 9:21 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

He was absolutely mortified that he had hurt her. But despite that, he was even more shocked that despite that, she was more concerned about him. She was quick to show him that she was ok and removed her shirt so she could press his fingertips to her relatively shallow cut. He could feel the minor injury healing beneath his touch and he fell back his hands on his face as he moaned loudly. His face throbbed and touching it didn’t help much.
“Well, let’s just consider us lucky that I have such a hard head,” he said as he dropped his hands to his sides and looked up at her, getting a nice view of her exposed chest before she pulled her shirt back on and pulled him up into a tight hug. He was trembling slightly as he embraced her back weakly. When she asked how long he’d been suffering like that, he sighed and decided it was probably best to be honest. “Since I first came to Revaliir… after my world was consumed by the Void,” he admitted. “Unlike worlds that the void consumes when they are at the end of their time… we were engaged with war with the Void for years before it finally succumbed,” he explained. He stood up with her shakily and picked up his katana before he followed her over to his bed and sat down upon the edge of the bed.

He looked at the ceiling, trying to decide if he was ready to talk about what had happened. Finally he let out a resigned sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

“In my world, those who had powers that could compare with Revaliir’s deities were called Gods or Guardians. All my family were of that power type, and it was our job to stand against the Void that was spilling over into our world and threatened to consume it completely. It raged on for years, and I watched family members and friends fall to the denizens of the Void. Eventually it came down to a choice. To either reverse everything and bring back the fallen, but undo all that they had done in the past… or allow our Worlds to fall and bring an end to it by either moving on to a new world to live, or join our fallen in eternal rest. In the end, we made the choice to let the World fall. Otherwise, reversing the events would have made the sacrifice of all those we lost pointless. I decided that I was going to go and find a new world to call home. So I came here to Revaliir,” he explained. He collapsed back on the bed and curled up beside Remedy.

“In all honesty… I should not have survived the war. Sometimes I wish it had been me who had fallen instead of my other family members. I was the least skilled, the least trained out of all of them… I should not have lived…” he said softly. His eyes were sunken with dark circles around them, making him look even more tired than he normally appeared. Tired, haunted, and scared.   

Author: Remedy, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 8:12 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Oh, this was getting old fast. If she didn’t love… wait love? There was an audible groan in her head. She should just kill him now and save him the trouble… Well, she couldn’t and wouldn’t do that but she about turned her head just to knock sense into herself. The katana to the collarbone hurt but it only hurt a little compared to the force she brought with her.

“About damn time Jace.” She didn’t let him go just yet. “Yes, I’m bleeding and yes you hurt me… but are you okay?” There was concern in her voice. “I’ll heal look.” She took off her shirt though she was nude underneath that wasn’t the point. She put his fingers were the blade had cut her and it wasn’t that bad. “See? I’m fine. You are the one I’m worried about… Besides the fact I could have just killed you with my fist just now,” she rubbed the back of her head before putting her shirt back on.

She pulled him up and hugged him tightly. “You’ve been through some rough shit haven’t you?” She kept him close and kissed his forehead. “I’ve seen that look before when Grandma would go off the deep end. That’s why it’s okay that you hurt me… It wasn’t so bad. I could have stayed upstairs if I thought it was going to be easy but I knew it wasn’t.” She pushed his hair back. “How long have you been having problems like this?”

After a minute or two she got up and dragged him over to his bed pushing him down. "You are an idiot. If you try and shut yourself off from me now I will kill you. I didn't open myself up to you after three months for you to turn me away because you are afraid of hurting me." She climbed into the bed with him and looked at him. "I'll sleep with you and make sure nothing else happens."

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 8:00 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

He had been keenly aware of someone coming down the stairs. He held absolutely still as she came down the stairs. He didn't hear her call his name. Instead, at that moment he moved with alarming speed halfway up the ladder and grabbed her by her dominant arm and held her roughly against the rungs with his katana pressed against her neck. 

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice a sinister growl. Her threat fell on unhearing ears. He didn't see the pretty angel that just some hours before he had been locked in a passionate embrace with. The person he saw was shrouded in shadow, with glowing eyes and no discernable face. "Who are you?!" he demanded again. "Who do you work for?!" He applied a little force with his katana and it bit into the figure's collar bone a bit. 

What surprised him most, was that despite the fact he had he thing in a position where it could not draw a blade on him, he felt the bite of his own katana on his own collar bone. It made him draw back in surprise and shock for a second, and the fog broke. He saw the figure as Remedy just as her left fist connected solidly with his jaw. He fell backwards, still holding on to her, his blade clattering away in the dark. He landed hard on his back, and he was seeing stars. His face hurt and he was pretty sure that some teeth had been knocked loose. She was sitting on his chest now, lifting him up by his collar and shaking him. He snapped out of his daze and gazed up at her as lightning filled the world again. 

"Remedy? You hit me… oh gods, you're bleeding… I'm bleeding… I hurt you!" 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 7:44 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy didn’t know when she fell asleep. The sound of the fire popping was relaxing to her. Jace was warm and she didn’t even notice when he moved her to her bed. She was so light that it was easy enough to put her up in the loft.

It was a while after that when she woke up to the noise downstairs. Her green eyes peered down to see Jace acting weird. Her blonde hair was a mess from her own tossing and turning. She was quiet but only because she had no weight to her. Her eyes went to the barricade and to the katana. Something wasn’t right. “Jace?”

Her voice spooked him and he turned around. There was a look in his eyes. She could tell in that moment he didn’t know her. He was quick to grab her dominant wrist. “Jace let me go,” her voice was threatening. It wasn’t long before there was a question or two. “I am the wrong person you want to piss off Jace.” She warned him again. She knew he wasn’t himself but when he cut her with the katana she lost her shit.

“THAT MOTHERFUCKING HURTS,” and she swung her right fist. Unlucky for Jace she hit like a rampaging dragon with either of her fists. “Now snap out of it before I beat the snot out of you.” She had knocked them both down and her face was hurting and bruised from her own hit. She picked him up by the collar. “Wake up.”

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 7:18 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

At first he worried she wasn't going to tell him. He wouldn't have blamed her however, but when she explained as succinctly as possible what had gone on between her and her former lover, he nodded slowly. He gave her a wry smile when she ended her tale with being forced to live with him on Horae Island. 

"Well, it only took you three months to warm up to me," he teased gently as she turned on his lap, and lifted her arms up around his neck. He saw the hurt in her eyes, and wondered what it was that she would see in his. Not that it mattered as he followed her lead and proceeded to kiss her. At first it was soft and almost timid, but as they sat there in each other's arms, things quickly went from timid to passionate. Hands and claw moved over and under clothing, touching and exploring without crossing lines. It was exhausting, and over time the passion faded and became gentle as fatigue overtook them both. For a while Jace just enjoyed holding Remedy as she slipped into dreams, before he carefully carried her to her bed up in the loft where he tucked her in. 

The storm showed no sign of letting up, but Jace felt too tired, and despite the anxiety that still lurked there, he fell asleep. His sleep however, wasn't restful. He tossed, and turned in his sleep muttering, occasionally crying out. After a couple hours, the storm became particularly violent, and Jace sat bolt upright in his bed. In his hand was a katana that for years had laid hidden but always within his reach. He held the blade at the ready as he slowly moved throughout the cottage, his bare feet soft upon the wood plank floor. He stalked up to the window above his food preparation counter and carefully peeked through the gaps in the shutters. Lightning lit the world as thunder shook the world, and he watched invisible intruders as they surrounded the cottage. Deftly he moved and barricaded the door with beams he had set aside just for this. He made noise, but they already knew he was there. As a matter of fact, they could have already infiltrated the cottage. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 6:50 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

She liked the fact that she could make Jace feel better. It comforted her that she could do something for him. So there they were sitting by the fire. She was in his lap with his around her. It was a feeling she had certainly missed. “It’s good for me too so don’t thank me too much.” She smirked at him as she joked.

For a moment she stopped herself and thought about. “He had kids ya know? Thought he was safe just because of that. I loved his kids. I loved him too. We were pretty close and we got intimate a few times. Found out he had been running around on me with another woman. I cut it off. It hurt me bad. So I pushed people away even more so than I already did.” She snuggled into him. “Then Grandma forced me here… and you wore me down. For better or worse I would say.”

Remedy turned herself in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Doesn’t matter now does it?” There was a bit of hurt in her eyes but she gave him a smile. “I’m here with you.” She kissed him by pulling him down to her. They kissed for a long time and felt each other up at various times. Though it didn’t go any further than that. Soon Remedy was asleep in his arms after the long day. Emotionally she was drained.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 6:18 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace jumped a little when Remedy came over and wrapped herself and the blanket around him. But the embrace calmed him down at little and he allowed her to pull him towards the fireplace. The kiss was light and gentle and it made him smile softly. He lightly caressed her cheek before he sat down on the floor with her in his lap and held on to her. The closeness helped chase away the anxiety a bit. 

"Thanks, Rem," he said softly as he held her. "I haven't had anyone to hold like this before…" he admitted to her quietly. He turned his gaze to the flames and watched them dance across the logs, the sap in the wood popping and snapping. He lightly nuzzled the side of her face. "Rem… I know you mentioned you had a boyfriend before, and that he hurt you… but I have been wondering… how serious were the two of you? I have guessed that you must have been really close if he hurt you as bad as you say…" he knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but he wanted to know. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 5:02 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

He was actually really good at doing this for her. Remedy laughed with him but it was just as light. She knew he had a hard time letting people in. They were a lot alike in that instance. “I understand all about that… Losing people you love.” She reminded him gently. There was a shiver as he put his hands on her. Even the claw was on her upper arms. The more he came closer the more she reeled back into him. She could feel his heart through the necklace between her breasts. A soft noise left her lips as Jace kissed her neck. She wanted to continue with him but the storm ruined the moment.

“Aye, would be bad if we were caught out here when the lightning starts up.” She collected her stuff and went inside with a towel wrapped around her. She found some of her nice pajamas and put them on before grabbing her heavy blanket and dragging it with her.

Remedy could tell that Jace was suffering alone. After a whole of watching him, she came over to him and wrapped the blanket around both of them. “No point in you being lonely.” She snuggled up to him and kissed him softly. “You don’t have to be on edge anymore by yourself.” Her blanket was warm and she gave him a smile before moving them to the floor.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 10:45 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

He was actually shocked when she accepted his help and even turned around to face him. The water was too high for him to have been able to get a good look at anything, but the fact that she wasn't yelling at him or getting mad for having made such an offer surprised him quite a bit. He nodded to her instruction and deftly and skillfully began preening her wings from the bottom up as she had told him. The proficiency he had in doing such a task suggested that he'd had practice. He removed dirt, mites, and broken feathers that were in the process of molting. 

"I know," he told her softly. "I have a hard time letting people in too," he admitted. "Shocker, right?" he said with the barest hint of a laugh. He sighed. "I've just lost so many that… it's hard to want to open up…" he admitted. "So I put on this mean grumpy façade to keep people away…" he explained. He finished preening her wings and slowly placed his hand and claw on her upper arms. He took a step closer to her, his normally calm heart thumping a little harder in his chest as he leaned in and gently placed his lips to her neck. As he did, thunder rumbled across the sky and he looked up and stepped away from her. The sky had turned a dark angry gray and the wind that blew through the trees was a chilly one that brought the promise of heavy rains. 

"We should go in. This is supposed to be a really bad series of storms…" he said before he turned and climbed out of the hot spring and wrapped his towel around his waist before he paused to gather his things and give Remedy the privacy she needed to exit the spring. 

Sure to his word, the storm struck with a vengeance, heavy rains, fog and vicious thunder and lightning. Throughout the evening, Jace was visibly on edge as he kept the fire going in the hearth to stave off the chill that the storm brought with it. Every flash of lightning and crash of thunder made Jace flinch, though he did his best not to show how it was bothering him. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:43 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

She was surprised by him. He had spent the majority of the time pushing her away. Just as much as she had been pushing him away actually. Her face was flush but it was hard to see if it was because of the water or because of him. Taking the white cloth and soap from him she washed herself up. She made eye contact with him as he looked at her. She almost lost her breathe in that second.

“Could you? It’s been weeks… I can’t quite do it myself.” Her heart skipped a beat and she turned around to him. “I don’t mind at all Jace.” Her face flushed a bit. “It’s awkward but it doesn’t bother me.” She turned back around and looked at her wings. “You start at the bottom and work your way up.”

While he worked on her wings she was sort of lost in thought. "I don't dislike you, Jace… I did get worried about you when you were fighting that dragon. It's just hard for me to let people in."

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:22 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

"I wouldn't have invited you in if I minded," he said, a slight smile on his face. "But the question is are YOU okay with it?" he asked in return. Her response made him chuckle softly and he waited while she submerged herself. She was under for quite a while and he knew it was probably because this was not what she had expected him to do, frankly he was surprised at himself as well. 

When she finally did resurface, he lightly tapped her shoulder and handed her a coarse cloth and the bar of scented Sularian soap. "Here," he said gently. He glanced over his shoulder at her back and her fluffy white cherub wings. 

"I could help you preen your wings, if you want," he offered her. "I won't peek or anything," he promised. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 9:34 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy found herself in a bit of a panic the moment he called her out. For a few moments her body shook with a fear. Was he angry at her? "It's not what you think… At least not completely." 

He told her to get in the water anyways and she took a huge gulp before coming out of the bushes. So much for that bush hiding her smell. All she wanted to do was wait for her turn. She dropped the towel around her and slid into the water. Looking up at the little ones she blushed a bit as they normally got a kcik out of everything.

"Are you sure you're okay with this Jace?" Her face was flustered but she hid herself under the water. She still wasn't sure what to make of it. When he asked her if she was she there was a shrug. "Guess I've gotten used to it." It was very awkward as she turned from him and went under the water to wet her hair. She hesitated before coming back up to the surface. Gods she should have just stayed in the cottage and waited.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 9:20 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

That was more like the Remedy he had come to know. However, after that, he found himself constantly having his chivalry tested. He seemed to walk in on Remedy at the worst time possible and it was rather annoying. His dragons got a good laugh at it though. The first few times he had reacted with typical fluster and embarrassment. But after a couple weeks of it happening at least twice a week, he had hit the point would just accept it with a sight and not allow it to bother him anymore. He would still be respectful and not stare, however. 

What was more interesting was how she had come to start watching HIM while HE was bathing. From what he understood it typically was the other way around. He noticed however, that it wasn't more than simply waiting for her turn to bathe herself. 

Finally after a while of her lurking in the bushes where she thought he could not sense her, he finally looked over his shoulder and sighed. 
"You know, you would have called me a pervert for lurking in the bushes and watching you bathe," he said. "You might as well come join me," he said. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 8:54 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy came up to the edge of the hot spring and put her chin on her arms as she watched him. “Maybe you just brought my shell down. However, with an answer like that, you can go fuck yourself.” She gave a smile and dipped herself back into the water all the way.

–

The next two months were interesting. They had to be careful around each other. Remedy didn’t know how many times Jace had actually walked in on her changing. At first, it was really awkward and after a while, she managed while he was in the house. Though his reactions were cute and funny to her she was really starting to wonder what the hell was wrong with her if anything.

There was also the matter of the hot spring. She didn’t know when it started but she would go about the same time he was in there. She would wait for him to be done and there was no harm in watching him. It’s not like she saw anything. She about gagged the dragon when it caught her. She put her finger to her lips and enjoyed the silence surrounding the two.

They worked so much better when they weren’t running their mouths off at each other. Sometimes though they did work well together. So she sat there like she always did waiting behind the bush just watching.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 8:15 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

"You like to slee–you know you can cook your—oh never mind!" he growled clearly getting flustered as he turned and started clambering out of the hot spring. He huffed in irritation at her next question. "Of course I was! You die, I die, remember?" he said in exasperation as he twisted water out of his clothes and started walking away from the spring, his face still a flustered red. When she called him a pervert, he decided it wasn't even worth trying to change her mind. He rolled his eyes skyward and threw his arms up in defeat. Clearly she had hope for more of a reaction because she called his lack of defense a confirmation. He sighed and glanced over his shoulder at her slightly. 

"Honestly, Remedy, are you going to believe me if I tell you otherwise?" he asked, his tone a skeptic one. She surprised him by tell him she actually did value his opinion. He sighed and put his hands on his hips, and shook his head. "I've never looked at a woman who didn't want me to look," he told her simply and went to walk off. 

Her next question caught him completely off guard and he actually tripped over his own feet in surprise, before he actually looked back at her, a look of bewilderment on his face. She was sunk in the water up to her chin so there was nothing for him to see except her white blonde hair that was plastered to her face. 
"Have the levels of Circulos Inferos frozen over or something?" he asked wide-eyed.

Author: Remedy, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 9:43 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Once he dropped her she held her arms over her breasts more and sunk down into the water. She sort of felt violated by the little dragons for sending him after her. “I… like to sleep in the hot spring. It helps me feel more refreshed as of late.” Her voice was soft which wasn’t normally the case with Jace. Normally she was throwing up a front and being an ass.

“So you were worried about me then?”

When she thought she was getting too soft she turned her back on him. “You are a damn pervert. Holding me tight like that.” She threw that wall right back up hard. His response to her was less than satisfactory as she looked back at him.

“I mean you aren’t saying anything so I must be right.” She covered herself up more as he looked back at her if only for a moment. “I would believe you if you told me because I… value your opinion.”

For a moment or two, there was silence before he told her his response. She sunk down into the water and bubbled at him for a moment before he started to walk away. “But what if I want you to look?” It was a spur of the moment thing where her face went red and she instantly regretted saying it.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 9:35 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

"Remedy! Are you ok?!" he asked, a hint of panic rising up in his voice. Then she was screaming at him, demanding to know what he was doing. "What? Kato said you passed out!" 

That's when he heard Gogi and Kato in a nearby tree. He felt his face solidify into a glare as Remedy yelled at the tree, verbalizing his very feelings. However, when she spoke, he looked at her a bit confused. "Uh… what?" he asked, not registering what she had said. He felt her wiggle in his grasp, and she repeated her request. He looked down for a second then it clicked and he released her in a hurry and quickly turned around, his face growing quite red. 

"Right… uh, sorry," he apologized. "I honestly thought you were in trouble. Your heartbeat was fast, like you were in trouble…" he tried to explain. He sighed and clambered out of the hot spring. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 9:24 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy was having nice and pleasant dreams. It didn’t happen often but when she spent time in the water she was at peace. Floating about the top of the water feeling the Venti air while being in the hot water. It was so nice.

That was when the screaming happened. She wasn’t aware she was out of the water. So when she woke up and he was holding her tightly she began to struggle in his arms. “JACE! What the hell are you doing.” She couldn’t get free as she put her hands across her breasts the best way she could in his arms. “Why are you doing what you are doing?!”

The dragons were snickering nearby. “YOU LITTLE SHITS!” She tried to turn in his arms and all she did was rub up on him and that made her blush. “Jace…” She looked back at him. “Can… You let me go? You are holding onto me really tightly…”

Once he questioned her she blushed more and wiggled in his arms. “Please, let me go?”

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 9:15 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

After the whole eventful day with the Boreas Dragon and the hydras things had been busy but much calmer. This particular day had him addressing the issue of the dryads on the north end of Venti. They of course were quite happy to see him, and it turns out that they were much more receptive to his guidance than he had really anticipated. One of them even mentioned that the reason that they had been so irritated was because the Borea Dragon had been sending colder weather to their edge of the mountain than they wanted. Now that Jace had dealt with the dragon, the Dyads were much happier, and less likely to eat the random island visitors. 

He was on his way back when Kato arrived, screeching about Remedy. In fact it was so frantic that Jace couldn't even understand what the Ataiyoan house dragon was saying. "Whoa, slow down!" he insisted. "What about Remedy?" 

Now that he was paying attention, he could feel her pulse through the necklace. It was rapid, like she was in distress. Jace took off at a dead run back through the trees. He tossed his bag and staff to the side when the hotspring came into view and he plunged into the water without thinking twice as he grabbed Remedy about the waist and hoisted her up so that her head was out of the water.

"Remedy!"

Author: Remedy, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 8:41 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Her green eyes pinned on him as he gawked at her. It was really her fault for just going and starting to strip on a whim. She was too used to it and it was honestly her first response. She blushed a bit as he turned around.

“Thought you would like to be carried back and thrown into the water. It sounded funny at the time.” She mused as she took the bar of soap from him. “You aren’t going to get washed up or are you going to wait for me?”

She washed herself up quickly. “God you stink. I can’t tell what is me and what is you.” She had it on her a lot lighter than he did. She used the soap in her hair and washed it out just as easily. She pushed herself out of the water after approaching him and dropping the soap over his shoulder. “Thank you Slime King.”

That was one adventure she would rather not repeat.

–

It had been a few days since the incident with Jace. It left her unnerved and she was careful about going and bathing from then out.

Gogi came over and gave her some soap. “Thank you, buddy,” she reached up and gave him a few head pats and scratches. “Stay on lookout alright?” There was a happy noise and Remedy went about washing herself up before she laid in the water and floated about.

The necklace was between her breasts as it was long but she kept it on for reasons. Today Jace was out doing business in one of the other sections. Her eyes felt heavy and she began to fall asleep in the hot spring. It was easy enough to fall asleep in the water.

Kato and Gogi had their own ideas as they had realized that Remedy liked to fall asleep in the water. She always did it when Jace was away for business. They did a few clicks or whatever it was when they talked before Kato sped off to Jace. The small dragon began to freak out and yell that Remedy was in trouble and not responding in the water.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 8:26 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy was an incredibly deceptive individual. Outwardly she didn't look like she could lift anything heavier than maybe twenty pounds, let alone a full grown man. She was light too, which made her picking HIM up like a doll and carrying him all the way back to Venti going on about how badly he smelled. When she went to throw him into the large hot spring there, he held on to her arm and dragged her in with him. 

When he surfaced he had a big grin on his face as she yelled at him. What he hadn't expected was for her to immediately start stripping down. He gawked for a moment, trying to process exactly what she was doing. 

"Wait, Rem, what are you—-ayayay…" he turned his back to her, and used his hands to push his hair and water out of his face. "You know, if you didn't want me to pull you in, you really should have not carried me back here on your shoulder," he said with a slightly nervous chuckle. As if sensing their return via scent, Gogi was flying above them and dropped a bar of Sularian soap into Jace's hand. 

He cleared his throat and offered her the soap without turning to look at her. "Here… might as well use it since you've gotten undressed…"

Author: Remedy, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 8:06 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“NO, I got something in my eye when your dumbass got eaten by the dragon that’s all.” Remedy huffed up at him. “I was not worried about you. Worried about you killing me maybe.”

The discussion with the dragon went well and Remedy took a sigh of relief. “Oh gross you smell terrible.” She picked him up over her shoulder and hauled him back to the house. “You smell like gross rotten fish.” She threw him into the water and let out a noise as he pulled her in with him.

“JACE!” At first, she flailed in the water. “Son of a bitch,” she gasped as she started to immediately strip off her heavy clothes. “Everything is soaked…” She threw off her top and her pants and flailed about until she stopped dead and realized he was in the water with her.

“WHAT?!”

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 7:33 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

"Nice to know that someone had the good sense to grab you—wait, were you CRYING over me?" he asked as she wiped her cheeks. "See, now, I'm touched. You were WORRIED about me!" 

He let go of her hand like she demanded, though it had been HER that had been holding his. "Yeah, while you were busy fainting, I was actually getting something done," he chuckled. He moved passed the hydras and walked back up to the dragon and stood directly in front of its snout. Like he had ordered, the dragon had remained absolutely still. 

"Now, let's make something clear. You will not venture out of Glaciem with intent of snacking on the other dragons again. You have plenty to eat in Glaciem. You will not attack me, and you will not attack Remedy. You will let me do my rounds in Glaciem unhindered. I will respect you, and you will respect me. Fair?"

The dragon got a very offended look on its face and narrowed its eyes at Jace. 
"Well?" Jace asked. 

"I don't suppose I have any choice," the Boreas Dragon conceded. 
"Not if we want to remain friends."
The dragon scoffed and rolled its eyes, but growled in defeat. "Fine…"

"That's what I want to hear," Jace grinned. "Now, get out of here," he said, pointing back to Glaciem. The Boreas Dragon didn't have to be told twice. It got up off the ground and tested out its wing before it took off towards its own territory. He heaved a sigh of relief as the hydras came over and nipped and nudged at him.

"That could have been a lot worse," he said, as he scratched the neck of one of the hydras. He heaved a deep breath and turned back to Remedy. "I don't know about you, but I think I am done for the day," he said as he ran his claw through his hair. He pulled his claw away and made a face at the smelly slime it came away with. 

"What did I expect? It probably had dead knights rotting between its molars…"

Author: Remedy, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 4:36 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy sputtered awake like she had been in a daze. His words were barely reaching her. “Shut the fuck up… You are killing my head.” She rubbed her eyes to hide that she had been crying over him. The last thing she needed was him to catch onto that.

“Was not swooning over you. I was worried you were going to get me killed. So I went and I was going to help you but then you were all ‘No Remedy get back to the herd.’ and the hydras picked me up and put me back like a damn doll.”

She heard the laughter and gave her own as she took his claw and got up. “I’m alright. Just wasn’t prepared for something that intense.” She staggered a bit with her movement and looked at the boreas dragon. “Damn I missed it giving in?” She looked so tired now like her body hadn’t been prepared to deal with that.

The little ones came over and rubbed on her legs. “I’m alright little ones.” She rubbed their heads softly and released she was still holding onto Jace. “Give me back my hand.” She pulled her hand back and stuck out her tongue.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 4:31 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

When Remedy passed out, Jace was in the process of carefully removing the staff from the Boreas Dragon's mouth. It had agreed to be calm and still in exchange for the removal. Jace didn't let his aura drop until the staff had been removed and he heard the hydras crying out to him about Remedy. He looked at the dragon. "Don't you move," he ordered and he turned and jogged over to the herd. The hydras were going on and on about his aura choking her. Alarmed that he might have been hurting her, he released the aura and his draconic features receded to their normal state. He lightly tapped Remedy's cheeks, and called out her name to try and get her to wake up.    "Remedy! Wake up!" He lifted her up into a sitting position and continued tapping her cheeks.

Once her eyes fluttered open, he sighed and sat back again. "Ok, I know I am amazing and all, but seriously? I didn't think you liked me enough to swoon over me like that." The hydras around them let out cries that might have been considered laughter as the hatchlings nuzzled the two of them. "You ok?" he asked as he stood up and offered her his claw.

Author: Remedy, Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 3:39 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy was ready to fight it but one of the Hydra’s grabbed her by the back of her shirt. She watched as Jace got a handle on the situation. He was actually yelling at her. The herd had been back though but when she sprinted the herd that went to get her. “IT WAS BACK YOU PIECE OF SHIT.” She was fighting the hydra to let her go. She wanted to help him. Her little heart was going about as fast it could.

The hydras moved back and took Remedy with them. Dropping her on her ass. All of the hatchlings came around her which made it impossible for her to move. “FINE, you win.” Some of the smaller ones got on her lap and made all sorts of noises at her. “Don’t be cute with me.”

However, it was the aura that was surging through her body now that made her start to hack and cough. It was almost suffocating her. The hydras let out a distressed call to Jace as Remedy eventually passed out from the intense magic.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 8:14 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

When Jace saw that the dragon was willing to leave him alone in exchange for going after Remedy and the herd, he knew he was going to have to do something drastic. So when he got the chance, he used his staff to vault up and over the dragon's neck where he landed square on its head. He grabbed the dragon by the horns and tried to get the dragon to steer itself into the ground. This just irritated the dragon, and it thrashed its head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge Jace.

Jace lost his grip and was sent skyward. He hadn't planned on this. He had no way of controlling where he was going, and as soon as he saw those dragon jaws coming up to snap at him, he made himself as small as possible as the maw closed around him. 

As Remedy broke through the hydras, yelling and screaming at the dragon to let Jace go, the dragon turned its attention back to her and charged at her, content to have another tasty snack. A suddenly look of discomfort and disgust filled its scaley face and it reared back and began acting as though it was choking. It lowered its head to the ground and looked as though it were struggling to keep its jaws closed tight. 

There was a loud grunt, but who from it was hard to tell as the dragon's maw slowly began to part. Jace stood there, feet braced on the dragon's slimy tongue while his arms and back pushed hard against the top of the dragon's mouth. His form seemed changed, scales patching parts of his face, and his eyes shone a fierce amethyst, as draconic horns were sprouting from his head. 

"REMEDY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! GET THE HERD BACK!!" he growled at her. He slipped slightly on the dragon's tongue and the mouth closed for a moment before he forced it open again. Carefully, he reached out of the dragon's mouth and grabbed his staff. He forced the dragon's mouth open as wide as he could and wedged the staff in place long enough for him to exit the jaw without begin caught by the teeth. 

"All right, now you over grown scaly pain in the ass," he said to the dragon as he walked around and grabbed it by the eyelid. "That's enough out of you!" The aura that Jace was putting off at that moment was one of ancient draconic lineage, and the Boreas dragon's eye widened for a moment before it stopped still and stared at him. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 6:58 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

It didn’t want to talk to Jace. It just wanted a meal. Jace was looking mighty tasty about now but that loud mouth little one he had been with looked tastier considered how much of a target she was being. The boreas dragon narrowed its eyes on Remedy from a fair and let out a loud roar as it began to charge towards the group.

The hydra circled around Remedy who was with the little ones. “JACE!” She screamed as she watched him literally leap onto the dragon’s face. He probably did it to get the dragon to pay attention to him. Rem’s heart was racing as she tried to get back the hydras. They weren’t letting her through so she hugged the baby closer. “JACE!”

The dragon let out a ferocious roar as it flung its head about and when it finally got Jace off of its face and into the air… The dragon got Jace in its mouth. If it couldn’t chew Jace it was going to try and swallow Jace.

There was a heartbroken cry from Remedy as she busted out of the hydra’s line and ran for the dragon head on. “LET HIM GO GOD DAMN IT” There were actual tears coming from her eyes as she ran for the dragon without a weapon. He wasn’t dead yet… She would have known because she would have been dead too.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 6:07 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

The Boreas dragon must have been able to smell that they were coming because almost as soon as Jace had gotten to a point where he could intercept the dragon, it decided to take wing. It remembered from their previous encounter than he was landlocked and that the beast had the advantage of flight. However, now Jace was able to focus on the dragon alone, and not on Remedy or an egg snatcher. 

As the dragon launched itself upward to glide across the fields of wildflowers to attack the herd, Jace positioned himself directly between the frost dragon and his island charges. With a grunt he heaved this staff up and threw it like a javelin with extreme precision and skill. The staff point struck one of the wing joints and the wing was instantly crippled and it crashed down with an angry roar. Jace sunk into a low stance and stalked towards the dragon. 

"It's about time you and I had a little chat," Jace growled low, his eyes flashing as the spikey fringe on his draconic arm grew and hardened into protective blades. The dragon surged to its feet and tested its wing experimentally. It proved uncooperative, and the dragon turned its icy angry gaze on Jace and roared angrily. Since it couldn't fly, it started running at Jace, charging towards him in hopes of either catching him in its jaws or trampling him. 

Jace in turn ran forward, snatching up his staff as he went. He kept low, and dodged in and out of the dragon's legs, striking it at key points with his staff, making it quite angry. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 4:48 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“Oh sure nice. I’m sure you are so very pretty to them.” She made a gagging noise as him and chuckled a bit more. He was pretty to look at though that much was sure. “They probably would nab you just to have children with you.”

Once they got to the herd she nodded and split off before she stopped. “JACE!” She yelled at him. “BE CAREFUL.” Her heart rabbited a bit faster at the thought of him getting hurt again before she ran towards the hydras. She spoke to them the way only Rosenites and other forest aligned critters could. “You need to move. The dragon is coming to get the hatchlings.”

She scooped one of the baby rose hydras up and started to herd them. “Come on go faster! We don’t have a lot of time.” That was when the boreas dragon swooped in. The adult hydras got around Remedy as she tried to get back to Jace who was facing off against the beast.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 4:32 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace was silent at first, as if trying to decide if he was willing to tell her anything at all. After all that she had told him, it would have only been fair.
"We both lost our worlds to the Void," he answered, his voice barely more than a whisper. There was pain in his face and voice, but his eyes were distant and haunted. That was all he said about it. 

——————————————–

Three weeks later, Jace, while still annoyed that they had to be forced to live together, was coming to find that he was appreciating that Remedy was around for several different reasons. One, by now he had completely healed from the egg snatcher debacle. Two, menial chores took up a lot less time since Remedy was around to help with them. Three, she helped him keep track of where work needed to be done on the island. Four… despite what he had originally intended with his life of isolation, he found he had actually missed having someone around. Possibly because Remedy was a lot like the sister he had lost. 

"I've never had a problem with nabbing any of the dragons," Jace replied with a bit of a shrug. "Though reminding them that attacking island visitors would probably be a wise idea," he agreed. He smirked a little bit at the thought of being snatched up by the dryads. "I think they would miss me too much. They wouldn't have something pretty to watch in the hot springs if they snatched me," he chuckled. "But the pollination from Terra might have put them in a tizzy," he agreed from the rock he had been perched on, surveying the Igni flats where the drakes were stalking. 

When Remedy mentioned the shadow coming down the Terra side of the mountain, he turned and looked towards the rocks. She wasn't wrong. But what would have been coming down the mountain? Well, if it was trying to be sneaky…

"Oh no…" Jace muttered, and felt Remedy's heartbeat rabbit as she was tearing across the ground towards Terra where the hydras were sunning with the newest hatchlings. They would have made a nice target for a certain aggressive Boreas Dragon. Jace grabbed his staff and ran after Remedy. 

"You get the herd out of there! I'll deal with the dragon!" he yelled at her as he turned his trajectory towards the bottom of the mountain. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 9:46 AM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“It would be a pretty miserable time wouldn’t it?” Remedy sounded defeated about it all. Her green eyes watched as he put up his clothes for a moment. She was musing what he said. “When you say we have a lot in common what do you mean? You don’t have to tell me today… but someday when you are ready.” She didn’t want to force me. She told him because she was ready to tell someone.

–

A few weeks passed by and things seemed to have settled down. They were more tolerable of each other. They helped each other and the small dragons seemed much more comfortable with the two of them being around each other.

“The Dryads on the north end are fighting again… over water this time. Though there was a guy that went through and they tried to nab him. I think we should probably make our way over there and try to tell them that it’s not acceptable. I really don’t need them nabbing dragons… or you for that matter…” She shivered a bit. “It might just be that season for Dryads. They only started this behavior after spring kicked into full gear.”

Looking up from the little board she had notes jotted on her eyes went wide for a moment. “Jace… there is a huge ass shadow coming from the mountains going towards the hydra grounds. THEY HAVE THEIR BABIES OUT THERE THIS TIME OF DAY!” She threw the board down and made a sprint for it. Luckily her body had healed fully thanks to keeping near him. Her heart was racing so hard as she thought of the absolute worst.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 9:29 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace washed and listened to her story. Suddenly a lot of her treatment and behavior towards him made a lot of sense. He really couldn't blame her, in all honestly. He probably would have been very much the same. When the question arose why he suddenly cared, he sighed and put his now scrubbed clothes back into the basket and carried them to the drying line. 

"I could justify being short and harsh with you when you were just visiting my island. It was a way to distance myself from you, the same way you do to others. Now, I could go on doing that, but it would make for a pretty miserable year for the both of us. I don't know about you, but if we are going to be forced to live together for that long, I don't want it to be absolutely miserable," he replied. "So, this is me making an effort to better understand you, so that perhaps we can at least live civilly enough to not rip each others heads off," he said as he hung up his clothes. 

"We…" he sighed. "We actually have a lot more in common than you'd think…"

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 8:14 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“Because Jace… Nothing is as it seems.” There was a sad smile as she looked at him. “Even Grandma has a reason for being an asshole. Life hasn’t exactly been kind to us even before the fall of our homeland to the Void.” She turned her face away from him as she thought about it more. It was the first time she had bothered explaining herself.

“See… Mom and Dad raised us in this beautiful garden like place in a small cottage just big enough for the four of us. Ma was an angel and she was a beautiful spirit. Suppose that’s what made Dad fall in love with her.” She laughed and gave Jace a smile. “Astrid was just little when we got the news… Dad had been killed by a vampire hunter. A stake through the heart would kill anyone… They didn’t realize Rosenites were different. Not that it mattered much to them. Grandma lost her ever loving fucking mind… It caused a rift between her and Grandpa Seth… I’m still not sure what happened.”

She shook her head and looked up at the sky. “Ma was so in love with Dad that the weight of his death made her so sick. Her mother had been sick too and she died from it… So just like her mother before her Ma died young.” There were tears a bit. “Grandma came and buried Ma next to Da. Picked up Astrid who had no fucking clue what was going on. She just kept asking where is ma? Where is da? Why are we all alone? Are they coming back? Grandma didn’t know how to respond. She took us in and her downward spiral of drinking started to happen but she was nothing but kind to us. She found Grandpa Blaine not long after that. He helped raise us and soon we had Uncle Jayden in our little group of misfits.”

She rolled her shoulders. “But there was this guy that I absolutely loved at one point… I was young and stupid and should have seen the issue. He would just go between me and this other woman. I had no idea but I was so angry and upset. I learned that people were assholes and that I should just stay away from them. That people are no good and they will only hurt me. So I did my best to protect Astrid from it all. She didn’t remember. She doesn’t remember. She doesn’t need to. I love my little sister and I want to give her the world. I suppose that’s why I flew off the deep end when that boyfriend of hers was an asshole and played with her heart. It broke her and Grandma sent her away to Laeto to get better. She was with our cousin Daphne. That’s my story anyway. Not the greatest of tales nor the happiest… but that’s why I hate people.”

After a few moments, she turned to Jace. "Why are you so interested now?"

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 6:50 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

He had remained still and quiet when Remedy had snuck in. Truthfully her discomfort had kept him awake. So when she had come inside, he had known and he cracked a bit of a smile before he rolled over and went straight to sleep. 

When he got up, he wasn't surprised to see that she was up and out again. He looked out the window and she seemed to realize that he was up and immediately began yell out conversation to him. At first, he thought that she was yelling at him again, but it turned out that she was actually giving him and explanation. He opened the door and stepped outside. 

"I can't imagine why," he said as he came out with a basket full of dirtied clothes and a smaller bag of soap flakes. He knelt down by the small spring that he used for cleaning and began washing the clothes. "I mean, you grandmother is the picture of hospitality and kindness," he pointed out with a hint of sarcasm. "No, but in all seriousness, why is that?" he asked looking up at her. "I mean I have my reasons for being a grumpy recluse, but why would the granddaughter of a Sularian Queen hate being around people?"

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 11:18 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Her whole life had been protecting Astrid. It was stopping Astrid from ever feeling so sad like she was. Her sister was innocent and never knew her parents that well. She knew the finer times of being with their grandmother. She knew growing up with their adoptive grandfather. She knew the happiness and not the hardship. Remedy had protected Astrid from that bad life. She most certainly didn’t value herself as much. She was broken and undeserving of the happiness her sister had… or did have. It broke Remedy’s heart to watch Astrid go through heartbreak after heartbreak. It was nowhere near what Remedy had but it was enough to just see her go through relationships.

The dryad that dumped her got a solid glare from Rem as she looked up at the tree. Plants were so fickle. Spirits were fickle to but still, the half angel wrapped herself up in the blanket and closed her eyes. Screw it, she would figure out a way to make this work.

The Venti night was what surprised her the most. She was so used to Sularia the night chills caught her bad. So she brought the blanket around her more and stubbornly laid there shaking. When he came out and nudged her she kept her eyes closed defiantly.

Rem cracked an eye open as he went back inside the house. It had a nice cozy atmosphere to it and before long Remedy dragged herself up with her blanket. Gently she closed the door not to make any noise and had her fill of the food. Not knowing where else to sleep since they hadn’t quite gotten that far she curled up in front of the fire and passed out.

In the morning, when she woke up Remedy went back outside before he got up. She fluffed out her extra set of clothes, restrung her bow, worked on some arrows, and did anything she could to offset her mood. “It’s not that I don’t like you,” she stubbornly yelled at the house once he was up. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I just don't like people being near me."

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 11:08 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Her words actually surprised him and stung in a way that was unexpected. It wasn't because she had such a low opinion of him, but more so that she had such a low opinion of herself that she honestly seemed to believe she hadn't been worth saving to begin with. He never got a chance to make a retort before she was grabbing her stuff and storming out of the house again, this time to scrub her muddy clothes in the small bubbling hotspring that welled up just past the door, and hang them to dry before she flew up into the branches of one of the feminine shaped trees and tried to get comfortable for the night. 

He watched with raised eyebrows as she actually started to doze off before the dryad that lived in the tree got tired of holding Remedy up and slowly dumped her on the ground. Jace felt a slight discomfort from the action, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The trees had been listening to the conversations. 

He shook his head and set about making a meal. Toasted bread with melted cheese and some salted goat made up the meal, but it was filling. As the evening wore on, he started a fire in his fire place to combat the chill that came with the Venti night, and stuck his head out the window. It appeared that Remedy was still stubbornly curled up on the ground with the thin blanket she had brought with her. He sighed, and walked outside and knelt beside Remedy. 

He nudged her softly to see if she was at least awake. He didn't expect her to respond, but it was too cold for anyone to actually sleep outdoors like that, so he was pretty sure she might still be awake. "Look, I know you don't like me… but I have a hard time believing that you have such a low opinion of yourself that you feel you aren't worth being saved or cared for. But just to set the record straight, I don't save people unless they are worth saving… The door is open if you decide to come inside, and there is some salted goat, bread and cheese if you are hungry," he said before he turned and walked back into the toasty warm house and climbed into his fur covered bed. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:43 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“Well, I don’t know why you even bothered.” Remedy snapped at him. “Since I’m SO much trouble you should have just left me to die in the Tundra and saved yourself. At least then you wouldn’t be dealing with me now. You could have told Grandma that it was a work hazard. I’m sure she would have believed you. So go ahead and regret it.”

There was more grumbling from her as there was rattling. The sound of her stuffing the bag full of her stuff. Rem grabbed her muddied clothes and made her way for the door. “Don’t even bother.” She slammed the door again before she started to clean her clothes. Remedy was stubborn and it showed in everything she did. She was hurt so, therefore, she was being an asshole.

She scrubbed the mud out of her pants and hung them up on a tree branch. Using her wings she got up high and pulled out a blanket before she wrapped it around herself and got a stubborn look on her face. She didn’t need his cozy warm house, or his food, OR his company. Remedy closed her eyes and started to drift off. She was tired.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:33 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace's anger deepened as she went on calling him names as he helped get her back onto solid ground and followed several paces behind her as she berated everything on their way back to the house. 

He turned his back on her as she began stripping down and changing right in front of him in the main area of the tree house. 

"You know… This so called asshole that you hate so much saved your hide from becoming that dragon's frozen dinner," he said icily. "Don't make me regret it," he said as he pushed passed her as she finally slipped into her clean dress. He took off his own sopping boots and left them by the fireplace to dry before he walked back into his personal sleeping area that was tucked back behind the main pillar of the tree. 

"I don't like this arrangement anymore than you do. But frankly, if you are going to continue tell me you want to die, and you want me to die, then I have no problems making you sleep outside."

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:22 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“Sounds like a merry time. I think I’m quite done being alive now. So if you could KINDLY GO DIE IN A HOLE.”

Her face snapped back and looked at him. “You a fucking idiot if you think you are the only one with problems like that. Or did you forget that my homeworld was eaten too? That I suffered in that too? Idiot.”

Finally, she gave him her hand and she made all kinds of displeased noises as he picked her up. “God you are a douche bag,” she snapped as he put her down in not the nicest of ways. “Thank you for saving me your royal assholeness.” She started to make her way back to the cabin. Her eyes were so sharp looking at him like she was cutting through him. “I’m sure you struggled to actually want to help me. If I wasn’t tied to you, you would have left me in the mud and stayed in the cottage. Really a comforting thought.”

They got back to the cabin and she threw her shoes outside before digging through her bag. Getting out clean clothes. “Gods she packed… a dress.” She mumbled and started to strip not caring if he was right there. “I need a washcloth.” She got the cloth and started to wash the mud off before slipping on the plain dress. “I hate this. I hate you. And I hate this situation.” She grumbled harshly.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:12 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

"If you die, I die. If I die, you die," Jace said, heaving a sigh as he put his hands on his hips.

"I don't know about you, but I didn't survive a world consuming war, and an egg snatcher aided by a frost dragon just to die here of exposure in the mud," he said. He carefully picked his way down the embankment to the edge of the water and mud and wade over to Remedy.

"Give me your good hand," he ordered simply before he hoisted her up to her feet. He lifted her out of the mud with a slurp, and carefully waded out of the mud and back up onto the embankment. He set her back down once they reached solid ground. He wasn't rough about it, but he wasn't exactly the most gentle either. As far as he could tell her feet and legs weren't injured. If they were it was an injury previous to their blood pact, otherwise he would have been able to feel it too. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:59 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“Go die,” Remedy hissed up at him. The little half angel crossed her arms and looked forward as the water rushed by her and started to drag her a little bit. There was a disgruntled noise from her lips as she held herself in place. She was not happy with this situation at all. “I don't even want to be here. Screw this place.”

After several minutes of not moving, she finally gave him a deep begrudged sigh. “Besides even if I wanted to. I am stuck in this mud. I can’t get out because of my leg.” Remedy wouldn’t even make eye contact with him because it was embarrassing. “I’m going to die of a cold because I can’t get my ass out of the mud.”

She crossed her arms tighter as the wind blew and she shivered. “Can you please just get me out of this mud hole?”

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:49 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Jace heard the splash and rolled his eyes as she screamed at him to leave her alone. He moved through the trees and stood above her on the embankment and folded his arms and watched her just sit in the water like a small child throwing a temper tantrum. It was almost adorable. Almost.

"Remedy, please come back to the house. You are going to end up getting yourself hurt or worse out here in your condition. And I'm not too keen on my injuries getting any worse than they are," he insisted flatly. 

There was silence between them, nature and the fairy dragons filling the air around them as the dryad trees around the edge of the embankment turned to look at them and see what was going on. "Come on, get up out of the water, or we'll both catch our death," he said.

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:36 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

The sounds of nature were weird to her especially with her head pounding the way it was. She made her way over to an embankment where she walked across it and looked at the water. Why the hell should she care what Jace felt? Why should she even stay there? Why the hell did it matter if she did die? She had a good run, didn’t she? She wasn’t even from Revaliir. She started to let her thoughts drift farther and farther south.

Remedy heard her name from his lips but didn’t even acknowledge him. She kept going and she was stubborn about it. Her side began to ache as she put her hand on her wound. The movement unbalanced her and she slipped off of the embankment and down into the shallow end of the water. She let out an aggravated scream. “JUST SCREW OFF AND LEAVE ME BE!”

From the way, she was trying to move Remedy couldn’t get herself up so she just HMPPP’d and sat there in the water. “This sucks ass…”

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:30 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

What Jace had seen in her eyes in that moment before she had stormed out had alarmed him, perhaps more than the entire situation. He had seen that dead look in her eyes in his own many years ago. He struggled for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he was going to just let her waltz off. He growled to himself when he remembered that she was not in any condition to defend herself against the fairy dragons, let alone anything bigger than Gogi and Kato his personal house dragons. 

He stomped out of the house and followed after Remedy. Fortunately, the easiest path to follow was probably the one she was going to take, but she still had a few minutes on him. He wrapped the corded necklace that Toya had left for him around his claw a couple times, and tucked Remedy's into his pocket as he went to follow after her. 

"Remedy!" he called out, only half enthused about finding her. "Remedy, come back!"

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:00 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Remedy’s eyes flashed up at Jace and there seemed to be a deadness to them. “Whatever. What the fuck do you actually know.” She pushed herself up out of the chair and made her way towards the door. “And screw you.” She slammed the door open and made her way outside. She didn’t care if Jace was going to follow behind her. She didn’t care where she was going to go. She just kept going. The stupid necklace was giving her a heartbeat and she had half a mind to do something about it. So she took it and threw it into the cottage before she got too far.

“I really do hate everything.” She looked up at the sky before continuing her way into the trees. It had been a long time since she was left to the silence of her mind. Since she let herself be tired of everything. The past thirty years of her life flashed before her until she saw herself as a little girl. The moment the news of her father’s death had reached not only her but her mother. Astrid hadn’t yet been old enough to even remember much less understand why her father hadn’t come home.

Estrella’s descent into weakness was so soon after that… that it gave Remedy whiplash. Astrid and her had lost both of her parents so young… Then she lost her grandfather to gods know what and her grandmother was a pool of alcohol and violence. Still, her feet kept going even though she wanted to collapse under the weight of everything.

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 11:26 AM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Toya had a point. Even the few moments that he had been standing beside Remedy, he could feel his pains begin to fade. He lifted up the corner of his shirt to reveal the bottom of his injuries and saw that even as they spoke they were beginning to fade. "So you are saying we inadvertently created an ancient blood oath? Like… in the stories of dragons giving half their hearts to dying humans?" Jace asked, trying to wrap his head around the situation. "How the hell does someone just 'accidentally' do that?" He suddenly decided he didn't want the answer to that. If a Goddess couldn't undo it, then this time he had REALLY screwed up. He felt like punching something, but was stopped when Toya jabbed his arm to make a point. He made a face. She was small, but she could hit, that was for sure. He rubbed the spot as Remedy squealed and yelled at her grandmother. Jace listened silently, glaring, as Toya went into detail about what was going to have to happen. When it came down to it, it was either live with Remedy there on the island, or go back to Sularia and live there, and she was certain she knew what his response was going to be. 

"Not a snowball's chance in hell," he said firmly, which easily answered both Toya's query and Remedy's demand about getting a choice. His face darkened visibly and muscles in his face twitched when Toya suggested this was Fate. His fist and claw clenched so tight that it was almost certain Remedy could feel the bite of his nail on his palm as he stared at the spot where Toya had previously been filling before she had left his abode. 

He ignored Remedy as she fell into the nearby chair and began whining about their current predicament. "FUCKING BRILLIANT!" he roared as he turned and punched into the central pillar of the tree house that his claw drove clean through the wood. Anger still flaring, he pulled his claw from the hole and took a couple of deep breaths before he looked at Remedy. 

"Your sister will be fine. Who knows, she might actually get to have a life without you sheltering her," he replied abrasively. 

Author: Remedy, Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:56 AM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

“I realize you saved her… but you did a lot more than that kid,” Toya stared at him for a long time. “I want you to take notice of both of your wounds now.” She could see it even now. They were finally starting to close. Remedy was barely conscious from Toya ragdolling her but she could feel herself getting a little bit better than she was before. “You’ve managed to poison each other. When Remedy healed you with Angelic magic it was one half of an ancient pact that can be sealed with blood. It’s not something most people know about. When you added your strong blood Jace… You created a pact so strong that Angela doesn’t dare try and break it. She thinks she could kill one of you.”

Remedy staggered getting up wit ha grunt. “What does that mean? Is that the reason you are having us live together for a year?”

“More than that. You two have to watch your asses.” She jabbed Jace in the arm hard and Remedy squealed in pain.

“THAT HURT! What the hell Grandma.”

“It’s like poking a voodoo doll but both of you effect each other. You cannot leave each other’s sides if you go out adventuring. You cannot so much as scratch yourselves without the other feeling it. The reason for the necklaces is so you can monitor each other in case you need it. Gifts from Angela… Artifacts that will disappear in one year’s time. This is about babysitting you moron. This is about your lives. You two caused this and we can’t fix it. So… It’s either you live here on Horae or you come live in my house for a year Jace. I think I know your answer.”

Remedy put her hand on her hips and started to tap her foot almost furiously. “And I don’t get a decision in this?”

“Well no… You really don’t. Fate hasn’t been kind to either of you so I hope you come to terms with each other quick. The better friends you are the better this will be for your health. If you continue to brood against each other… This is going to be one very long year for you both.” Toya threw Remedy’s pack on the ground and walked out the door leaving them both there to think about it.

“This isn’t fair…” Remedy fell into a nearby chair. “I don’t like it when my life gets torn apart…” She looked sad for a long time. “What will Astrid do without me for a year?”

Author: DragonTamer, Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 10:27 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Things hadn't exactly been a picnic since he had sent Toya's gold dragon back to Sularia with Toya's granddaughter unconscious in its claws. Honestly, he had passed out in the frigid glaciem tundra for a while before his healing had kicked in enough to allow him consciousness long enough to get back to his tree in Venti. Since then he had spent the majority of his time bedridden due to the pain and lack of strength to do anything much more than the most basic of tasks. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't healing. Something like this had taken him only a couple of days to heal once upon a time, but now he was pushing nearly two weeks and it was almost as bad as the day it had happened. The wounds had sealed perhaps, but the mauling across his side and chest was still red and purple from bruising and bleeding, and faint blue veins of light latticed his chest. Those veins were the most perplexing part. He couldn't figure out what they were from. 

When he heard the tell tale approach of Toya's dragon, he stiffly struggled to get a shirt on as his pseudo-wyvern Gogi and Ataiyoan house dragon hissed and shrieked about Toya approaching and being in a foul mood. That was obvious, he could hear her berating someone as she approached. He barely had the chance to stand up with his shirt pulled on all the way before Toya had kicked in the door. He barely had time to register what was happening before she was throwing, yes throwing, a ragdolled Remedy at him bodily. He caught her, and fell backward into the wall by the fireplace. He saw stars as his entire upper body erupted in pain, and he put Remedy on the floor quickly as he sucked in air to keep himself conscious. He wanted to throw up the pain was so bad. He was seeing stars as Toya was yelling at him about using his blood to heal her. 

"What the hell are you going on about?!" he demanded trying to catch his breath as he straightened up. "I saved her ass, that's what! And who the hell are you calling old?" he demanded in return of Remedy who had called him a grumpy ass old man. He was still trying to process what the hell was going on when Toya made the announcement that Remedy would be living with him for the next year. His already pale face went ashen. 

"LIKE HELL SHE IS!" he barked as Toya threw the necklaces at them. He caught it with his claw and looked at the rather plain beaded trinket. "What the hell is this?" he demanded. He looked at Remedy as she commented she could feel a heartbeat. He could feel one too, through the necklace, light and fluttering rapidly. "I'm not putting this on," he growled softly. "We had a deal, Toya. I would work here for you and take care of the island as long as I was allowed to be undisturbed. Babysitting your granddaughter was nowhere in our agreement."

Author: Toya, Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 4:51 PM, Post Subject: Punishment [P/R]

Toya took Remedy by the arm and marched her through the house. “YOU LET HIM PUT HIS BLOOD IN YOU?”

“I WAS PASSED OUT!” Remedy squealed as she tried to pull herself away. She had a backpack slammed into her chest. “OOF” Was the air that left her lungs as Toya threw her up onto Karith’s back. Remedy was soon behind her grandmother as they flew off towards Horae Island. Remedy was all busted up from cuts, wounds, and even a broken arm.

Once they got to Horae they landed near Jace’s cottage. Toya grabbed Remedy over her shoulder and after a pick of protesting she kicked the door in. “JACE!” Toya hurled her granddaughter at the tamer. “You want to tell me why you had the bright ass fucking idea to put your blood into my granddaughter to heal her? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU TWO IDIOTS HAVE DONE?!”

Remedy shook her head and Toya glared. “No, of course, you don’t. You are two idiots. Two peas in a god damn pod.”

“He IS A GRUMPY ASS OLD MAN GRANDMA DON’T PUNISH ME!” Remedy squealed out as she lifted herself off of Jace.

“You are every bit as responsible as he is for this mess. You are just as grumpy as he is too so don’t give me that bullshit.” There was a fire in Toya’s eyes. “For the next year… You two are to live together and do everything together.” Taking two necklaces out she threw them to both of them. "Put these on… I'll explain the situation more once you do." Remedy put hers on without question but more so with a pout but the feeling from the necklace made her jump.

"A heartbeat?" Remedy batted her eyes as she looked up at Jace then to Toya.