The pair watch Alistar leave. Even as the door closes Bethany shouts, "Yeah! Some clothes would be great actually." Though her growling stomach showed she wouldn't mind something to eat either. She was slight enough that the cloak wrapped around her so she didn't feel the need to just hide behind it anymore. "You know Cymbel, "she said slyly. "I may have a way for us to get me some clothes, all of us some food and for your reputation in this village to be forever the hero. It would involve a bit of deception and, *she looked over at Marthaen and quirked an eyebrow,* a bit of training on his part as deception doesn't seem to be something he's all that good at. I'm not even sure he knows what it means actually. Do you understand what it means to deceive Marthaen?"
Marthaen considered it for a moment and his eyes lit up, "Yes! I heard a male and female human discuss this once. The female claimed the male said he loved her so they could mate, though that's not the term she used, it was…"
"That's fine Marthaen. I don't think we need to hear exactly what she said to get the gist of it." She said quickly. "Your deception may be a little more complicated than that but I'm sure we can explain." To Cymbel she said,"Now I think it's time to get around to those introductions though if you don't mind we should step outside for a moment. You'll understand why in a moment." Before they left she whispered in Marthaens' ear. He looked at her curiously but shrugged and said, "Ok. You understand all this better than I do."
The pair stood and she smiled to Cymbel, "Step outside with us for a moment? And then we can discuss the particulars."

Cymbel recognized that look in her eye, and felt a pang of unease. He was familiar with what that tone of voice implied, and though he did not know what Bethany was planning–he had an inkling. "Personally I'd prefer the title of arbiter or mediator than 'hero'… Twenty years from now I'd rather not come back and hear exaggerated stories lauding my non-existent talents. Nevertheless, I'm willing to hear what you have in mind." When she asked the man named 'Marthaen' if he knew what the word deception meant, Cymbel looked aside with his hands behind his back. Ah yes, deception. He and it were on speaking terms more often as of late, due to traveling from place to place. So far the villagers and a certain female dragon were the only ones who had seen his true self physically. Realizing that going back with either Bethany of Marthaen in town meant he would have to disclose a few things about his appearance, much to his chagrin.

Keeping a straight face as Marthaen attempted to prove that he understood the concept of weaving falsehood, he was very much relieved as Bethany cut him off before the man would further embarrass himself. For once, Cymbel was surprised that there existed a person with less subtlety than him. He had been sure that others could always see right through him like a piece of tempered glass. Seeing that she suggested them all step outside, he nodded and followed suit. It was time to see what kind of plan Bethany had in mind. What he wasn't aware of was that he was now the only one present not privy to a very important piece of information relating to his task. 

Alistar made his way into town, quietly humming as he bussled about the streets. "That woman, Bethany was it? I'm pretty sure she asked for some clothes, perhaps I could get them without causing much suspicion. I mean, a male shopping for female clothes is cause for suspicion. I think." He talked quietly, trying not to look insane. "Well, whatever. She asked for some and I'll get some." He walked into a few more shops, grabbing a few things before heading to what he thought was the cloth shop. He walked in and asked for the tailor to make a plain dress. Nothing to flashy, as to help blend in. "Will that be all ma'am?" He asked, looking up at him. Alistar thought for a second. "Yes, that will be. Oh, could I get that by today? It would really help." Alistar asked politely, flashing his cute look. "Yes, you can get it in about three hours." He sighed out, not looking up. Alistar grumbled out a thank you and stepped out. "That should be everything. Guess I could go back and wait." Alistar stated as he made his way back to where the others were.

As the trio walked out of the little hut Bethany saw Alistar coming back up the road, though he wasn't carrying any clothing. Ah well, she thought to herself, I wasn't sure he heard me anyway. She waved him up and asked him to stand next to Cymbel in front of the hut they were all calling home for the time being. "We've asked you out here because I think I have a way for us to get clothing and food without spending a lot of money or possibly any in fact. She'd once seen a traveling show so she raised her arms theatrically and said, "Lady and gentleman," making the same mistake with Alistar as the clerk had, " I present to you, Marthaen. Ruby of the clan Kharendaen. Lord of the air and protector of virgins. See him now in all his glory!" And she waited to see the look on their faces but… nothing. She looked back and Marthaen was just standing behind her smiling. "Ummm, Marthaen? Don't you have something to say?"
He looked at her curiously, " I like sheep." She smacked herself on the head and muttered, "Say what we talked about!"
"Oh right! Look upon me mortals and fear my rats!"
Bethany looked over her shoulder and said, "It's wrath dear, fear my wrath." Speaking as if she were talking to a little child and in many ways she was. "Ok. Go ahead and change, just do it the way we talked about."
He felt a little foolish but he nodded and said, "Me." Instantly the slight, young man dissapeared and in his place was Marthaen in his true form. He sat back on his haunches and raised his snout to the clear blue sky, roaring "I AM MARTHAEN!" And he spouted flame that more than doubled his own height. His ruby scales glowing bright cast a shimmer of red around him and in the sun the reflection was almost blinding. For several seconds he waved his head back and forth, the flame reminiscent of a giant snake made of flame writhing in the still air. Then he settled back down to all fours landing with a thud that shook the ground. He lowered his snout to the ground next to Bethany. "How was that?"
She smiled and reached up to pat him and said, "I think that will be fine Marthaen." Then she turned to the two men in front of them with a big grin. "What do you think? Will the villagers be impressed?"

Alistar stared at the two in shock. "Okay, A: I got you a dress, it is being made as we speak. B: I'm male, feminine, but male. And C: Are you serious!? You are so cool! Oh, and D: You called him 'dear', So adorable!" Alistar stared angrily, before giggling like a child. "Can I touch your scales sir? I've always wanted to feel a dragon's scales! If I don't I could just die!" Alistar begged, looking at the two with puppy dog eyes. "Oh, and I got some bread, meat, and some water. Also, I didn't have your sizes ma'am, so I made a prediction. I just hope that the cotton was right. Oh, and I also hope you don't hate the colors. I wanted to make them look nice." Alistar said cheerfully, smiling and tilting his head slightly, a horrible habit of his.

Cymbel was confused for a while, wondering why Bethany was trying to get Marthaen to imitate a circus performance. He found it very strange. How would this help them solve any of their problems? It might work for the food and clothes perhaps, but how would this resolve the issue of the red dragon? Finding Marthaen's sorry attempt at acting too much to bear, he shook his head. Even if he wasn't exactly the best example, he felt his performance was in dire need of improvement. Then she told him to change, and the fey had thought he was going to shift into a different set of clothes when he found himself staring at a belly of scales in the reddest crimson. "Wait, what exactly do you mean when you say 'change'?" As his eyes followed upward, before him was an…adult red dragon. Cymbel stood dumbfounded as it spewed forth smoke and flame thundering in a loud voice. Then the realization dawned upon him. "…Oh. Ooh…OH BY THE GODS-"

The combination of a severe lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, and being confronted by the very dragon he had been sent to dispose of was too much for him to handle all at once. At the very sight of Marthaen in his draconic form, Cymbel's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fainted. His body crumpled into a heap on the ground as his glamour spell finally failed and the color drained from his hair and complexion. His hair had gone completely white, and his face lost its color. In truth he always looked like this, but to them it appeared as if he had blanched in shock. It took him at least ten minutes to regain consciousness, getting back on his feet slowly. When he saw the dragon was still there, he held his breath and closed his eyes, then clasped his hands as if in prayer while he exhaled. With the panic over, everything made more sense now. From Marthaen's odd speech, his general lack of tact, and Bethany's mention of how they had come to the abandoned hut.

"I'm fine…" He said shakily, the words more addressed to himself than the other three. Pressing his hand to his forehead, he sought to confirm what he knew so far. "So I assume that the reason why Lady Bethany is here, and why I was sent here–was because of Marth-er, Lord Kharendaen?" He wasn't sure what his mind was following anymore.

 

Marthaen sighed heavily as Cymbel hit the ground. "Typical." He murmured. Though when his appearance altered so radically he was truly concerned. "Bethany? What happened to him???" She trotted over unsure herself what had happened but he was breathing and she couldn't help but smile as she told Marthaen.
"I think it's alright. Though I'm not sure why he looks so different now… Let's give him a few minutes. In the meantime, Thank you Alistar. I'm sure whatever you got will be fine. My family had barely enough to keep us all clothed. Though now that I'm gone I'm sure they'll be much better off. They'll still know the joy of my drunken fathers' belt but if he doesn't spend the extra on more wine, everyone else should at least have a bit more to eat." She spat the last bitterly. "Though I doubt that will happen. Oh! And don't worry about touching Marthaen, I'm sure he won't care. Mind those scales though they may be rather sharp."
Marthaen breathed a little easier. He'd had plenty of people "fall asleep" when they saw him but never had their appearance changed so radically. He wondered idly what caused that and hoped this wasn't some new thing he'd have to get used to. When Bethany told Alistar it would be alright to touch him he rolled his eyes but truth to tell he didn't really mind. Even in Marthaens' limited experience he knew this ones actions weren't normal. It was nice to be around someone who at least stayed awake though.

When Cymbel came to, Marthaen and Bethany both breathed a sigh of relief. "I can only tell you what's happened in the last, has it only been two days??? It feels like a life-time. Anyway… I was a virgin "sacrifice" to Marthaen to protect my fathers" muttered cursing, "Sheep. In the end he not only saved me from the elements but in an odd quirk of fate saved me from the hell that my life has been and would have continued to be for the rest of it I'm sure. My life has been a dark shade of grey. Working from sun to sun during the spring, summer and fall. Followed by dark days of winter trapped inside. Hoping against hope that my fathers' supply of booze would last until he could at last venture back into town for more. The nights when he was drunk could be bad but the nights at the end of the winter when the alcohol was gone were much, much worse. " She shuddered at the thought. "He has given me a gift of something I've been bereft of for many years now. Marthaen has given me hope. As for the rest I'm not really certain about where he came from or indeed who Kharendaen is. I do know he is a gentle giant and the more I know of him the more I… enjoy his company. Now for as long as he will have me I am his "virgin". And he is my dragon. As for the rest of his story, I'm afraid Marthaen is the only one who can enlighten us all. Marthaen?"

Marthaen shrugged as though this story was a very common. "There's not much to tell really. I was born twelve seasons ago I believe that's three years. I was this size when I first awakened though I understand that's not the usual way of things. I was sent to a clan of gemstone dragons who had no ruby among them but…" He continued sadly, "They did not want me among them. Both my body and my magic were fully formed at my birth by one I call Mother and she sent me to be among the others of my kind. But my magic is wild and untamed as is, well, pretty much everything else about being a dragon and when I tried to land at a castle of some humans that named my clan allies… well it turns out that a fully grown Ruby can do a great deal of damage by smacking into it at full speed. If you ask me that was a stupid place to put a castle anyway. So, though I truly believe Kharendaen was loathe to do it, the others of the clan and their allies demand I be banished. I awoke in an abandoned keep high above a gorge not that far from here. Since then I've tried my best to learn what it means to be a dragon. I've stopped using magic except to change form because the results have been something between awful and truly horrific. When I was born I thought it was a wonderful thing but in sooth it's been nothing but loneliness. Sometimes when I think about it, it makes my chest hurt. Cymbel? You're a healer. Can you make it stop doing that?" He asked hopefully.

Alistar giggles with delight as he walked up to the dragon that Marthaen became. He gently stroke one of the scales and it felt…..odd, as though it was tough, but soft at the same time. He ended up zoning out and poked his finger with one of the scales. He feels this slight pain only barely, but just enough to snap him out if it. Before anyone could see he wrapped a rag around his finger. He stared at it wistfully, as if hoping something would happen. But, no red had appeared on the rag. As though he had no blood at all. He hid his look if depravity and bounced cheerfully back to his place next to Cymbel. "Well, since you guys were kind enough to share some of your past. I guess I could at least tell you what I am. Well, as you know, I am Alistar Evee……….Angel….of…….Death…." Alistar said quickly without thinking, once he had blurted this out he enclosed both his hands over his mouth as to stop the words that had already left his mouth. He had been too into the moment to realize that blurting out something like that could ruin any chances of getting to know these people. 'They may be loud and annoying but they at least have goals and are not all human. Maybe they will accept you for killing multiple people that were about to die. As per being a kind if reaper-angel. It is your job…….ish……'

Cymbel shook his head, feeling remorseful. "I'm sorry Marthaen, but that isn't something that I can heal. I…all I can do is give my sympathy." He understood what it meant to be the unwanted one in the group, the one who had the least amount of skill compared to others. Although his own family did not exile him, they were already ostracizing him in their attitudes and actions. In the end, Cymbel was the one who took the initiative and left on his own accord. "I dare not speak of myself as an expert in anything, but perhaps I could give some instruction on how to better improve your theatrical performance?" he asked. It was ironic that he was now teaching another in what he had been seen as a failure by his peers in the past.

He then listened to the child called Alistar, who called himself an 'angel of death'. Cymbel didn't pry for more information and assumed it was an euphemism for the word 'assassin'. Right now he still had too many things swimming in his mind and a few problems that still needed resolving. Turning to Bethany he asked, "So is this all that we have as a solution? I'm afraid I don't have anything better, though if either of you have a suggestion then by all means–please tell." The most important element was that it was convincing, convincing enough so it would leave the right impression and hopefully distract them enough as so they wouldn't question it later.

Alistar raised his hand in the air. "I have an idea! How about this, we still use the idea of the dragon. But, we have to add all of us in the process. Picture this, Mr. Marthaen terrorizing the town as his giant dragon self. Ms. Bethany will be casually going about the streets, when Mr. Marthaen snatches her up and starts to soar up. This causes a mass panic  and terror. Then, the hero comes in, wearing a mask, as to hide your identity. That will be you Mr. Cymbel. As well as his sidekick, me! We battle heroically and, just as it looks like we are about to lose, the hero burst out with a special move! Slaying the dragon and saving the town! Only to disappear, along with the dragons corpse. But obviously you won't actually be killing Mr. Marthaen , Mr. Cymbel. It will be part of the act! So, what do you think? I enjoy it myself, though I created it. But, it isn't too flashy and follows a basic storyline! Giving just enough action and suspense to start bringing in some good money!" Alistar exclaimed cheerfully, he looked at the others with a twinkle in his eyes.