It was in the middle of the ocean, Forsikr ocean to be exact. Cliu'rar Sarra, the leader of the water clan cruised through what could be considered his territory, sharks fled from him, whales welcomed him, singing together in the deep. Dolphins could not keep up with him, but they tried and loved to accompany him as far as they could and although Cliu'rar Sarra enjoyed this, it was not making him welcome them. He was on serious business and that was why he was heading out to Forsikr. An earth dragon was crossing the ocean.

Such an act was unthinkable... why would it need to cross? Cliu'rar Sarra didn't know. What he did know was that one of his own dragons, Marco, was heading out to kill it. He didn't know why all of the dragons hated another, it didn't seem right... but he knew he had to stop it. If only the dragons were more like Nel'beka or even Oi'nuzzsha, who instead of acted now and questioned later, they would at least look into the problem and decide the best way to deal with it. Killing isn't the best way to deal with it, at least not always.

Ah finally! Cliu'rar Sarra could barely see the other smaller dragon's slim body cutting through the water.


Nissa glared at her surroundings from the bow of the ship. She hated the water and, although she didn't want to admit it, was practically terrified. Of course she couldn't swim; as an earth dragon, she'd sink like a rock, and as a human, she'd flounder around until she drowned. She turned to her crew, who were oblivious to her dragon side. Nissa had picked up this ship at a port. If she had a choice, she wouldn't go through here at all; it was water dragon territory. But her journey would only take a day or two, and speed was of the essence. She leaned up against the side of the ship and just stood there, enjoying the suns rays, the only familiar thing out here.

With a crash, the ship was hit with great force and rocked, nearly going over on its side. Where was once sun now swiftly turned to rain, then sleet. The clouds boiled with ferocity, and the angry head of a dragon raised up with beside the ship, eyes angry and jaws open, numerous jagged teeth protruding. Unlike most dragons, this one was meant for the ocean with no legs, only its sinuous body to act as its weapon.

Nissa's heart beat quickly as sailors ran around her frantically, screaming about a sea demon and trying to keep the ship not capsized. Nissa locked eyes with the dragon and her instincts kicked in. The ship was going down, there was no doubt about it. But she wasn't going down without a fight.

In a flash, Nissa had transformed into an earth dragon. She figured she would drown eventually, but on the way, she would take the attacking water dragon out.

All thoughts of her mission flew out of her head as she launched out of the boat towards the water dragon, a roar escaping her throat. At least the dragon would spare the humans, she thought as she hurled towards the head of the dragon, claws outstretched.

Marco roared as she latched onto his face, violently whipping his head this way and that, trying to dislodge her. His body and tail crashed through the ship in his anger, the sailors being killed and drowned and the sea reacted with his emotions, creating a massive storm around them.

The ocean started to turn, whirling together, creating a maelstrom that went down to the bottom of the sea.

With the combination of the slipperiness of his scales and the violent way he threw her around, Nissa's claws were eventually ripped from his flesh, but only after one of her shoulders was dislocated. She snapped her jaws and slammed her thick tail towards his face as she was flung towards the thundering swirl of water. Nissa felt herself get beaten by pieces of the ship as she was dragged into the water, her form causing her to sink even faster, dragging water into her lungs as she tried to take a breath to roar her last defiance. Nissa just choked, seeing stars in her vision as her brain began to black out with pain and lack of oxygen.

When another roar sounded, it was Cliu'rar Sarra this time who growled and lunged at the other, snapping his wings and plucked Nissa from the water, slamming his horns into Marco's neck. Keeping the smaller dragon against his chest while his massive tail kept him afloat, Cliu'rar Sarra slapped Marco with an outstretched claw while he still kept his throat in his mouth. In response, the other dragon's tail came up out of the water, slamming into his leader's neck. Cliu'rar Sarra was forced to let go, roaring in pain and dropping the earth dragon. Cliu'rar Sarra's blue eyes were enveloped in yellow, calling upon the storm to help him. With a crack, a streak of lightning came down and struck Marco's face as he reared up to roar in return. The following slap on the water from Marco's body was just as loud as the crack from the lightening that killed him.

Cliu'rar Sarra echoed Marco's last roar with a keen of sorrow, calming the storm sadly. It was then when he suddenly remembered Nissa. With a dive, Cliu'rar Sarra opened his wings and flew down into the closing maelstrom, grabbing on the smaller dragon with his jaws just as the water crashed together and he almost lost his grip on her, the amount of water he was trying to control was clearly out of his league. Cliu'rar Sarra finally managed to through break through the water, Nissa bleeding from his jaws. Quickly, he flew with as much speed as he could manage to an island he knew was near and it was already too late for the humans.

Nissa regain consciousness only to begin hacking seawater from her lungs, each cough searing through her shoulders, one dislocated and the other clamped between rows of sharp teeth. Nissa groaned from the pain, confused and dazed, hardly knowing who she was, much less where she was going. She felt sand beneath her claws and felt a brief wave of relief before she passed out, not even able to offer up a token struggle to the huge water dragon still holding her.

Releasing her as gently as he could, Cliu'rar Sarra grimaced when he felt his teeth slide out of her flesh, nosing her over onto her side so she could clear her lungs. At least she was still alive.

It was some hours later, thirteen to be exact and in the cool night air Cliu licked her wounds, the bleeding finally stopped. "Ah..." He sighed gently, "I'm much too large for this..."

When Nissa regained consciousness, she didn't open her eyes immediately, as her eyelids felt heavy. She tried to situate herself: she felt sand along her side, her throat felt like someone had shoved a cup of salt down it, and her body hurt. A lot. She realized she could hear the surf, which would explain the sand.

Then she remembered what had happened.

Her eyes shot open. She tried to move, but neither one of her front limbs would work, and the rest of her body could barely take it. All she managed was shifting her weight enough to make her shoulders scream at her. She weakly snarled at the water dragon in front of her--at least, she thought it was a water dragon. It was kind of huge and she couldn't see perfectly yet. Nissa tried to control the sand, but she didn't have to concentration and all she managed was the sand rising a foot around her, the start of a protective cocoon, before it fell back to the ground. Some of it blew into the various cuts on her back, and she snarled again, this time at the pain. Nissa started to internally curse. This dragon could do anything at this point, and she could barely raise a claw to defend herself. This wasn't exactly the death she had envisioned.

"Woah woah calm down lil'lady..." He started licking her again, trying to get the sand out that she put in, "Don't struggle, you aren't nearly strong enough yet." Cliu raised some clean and fresh water over the cuts he inflicted, "I'm sorry my kinsmen hurt you, I tried to stop him..." Cliu'rar Sarra laughed softly, "In truth you nearly tore his eyes out."

"He was trying to do worse to me," Nissa growled, her voice raspy. She moved her neck, glaring at the larger one. What the hell is he doing? Nissa thought. The water felt good, but she was so tense at this point she wanted to scream at him. "Aren't you going to kill me now?" she blurted out, more blunt than ever.

He pulled back his head as his neck settled into an S shape, regarding her silently. His blue eyes were unreadable, but it was clear that he meant her no harm, the only things visible were compassion, a slight sorrow, and pity. "My dear..." He said gruffly, "Why would I?" Cliu'rar Sarra looked pained then he looked at her again, "Do you know who I am, earth dragon?"

"You're a water dragon," Nissa said, just as blunt. "And that's why." Her scales bristled a little at the look he was giving her, all of it unnerving, especially that hint of pity. She was not one to take pity well. Really, though, anything but a look of anger from a dragon not of the Earth tribe confused her. Nissa could handle being attacked in the middle of the ocean better than the look he was giving her. But... Something about him seemed... familiar. Like she had definitely heard of him. The way he talked, moved, acted... and the fact that he was the largest dragon she had ever seen.

Cliu'rar Sarra sighed heavily, creating a strong breeze, "It saddens me the way little ones think these days..." Shaking his weaponized head, he leaned closer to her and began to lick her wounds again, spreading more water over them as evenly as he could. Luckily for him he had sustained little damaged from Marco. With his muzzle near her claws, he nosed her over slightly to get to a deep wound on her belly.

Nissa couldn't stop herself from automatically lashing out with her claws, an instinctual reflex, really. She had been frozen in shock when he once more started taking care of her. It sort of reminded her of her own father, whenever Nissa got into fights. But suddenly her mind clicked back on. This was a water dragon. He was nothing like her father, and there was no way this would end well.

Her claws came to a shrieking halt on the scales of his cheek and Cliu'rar Sarra himself grimaced at the sound. Although it didn't hurt him that much, he couldn't help himself from letting out a deep and low growl. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." he whispered, "I am Cliu'rar Sarra, I'd recommend you stay still while I go about helping you or else I could do more harm then good."

Cliu'rar Sarra. Nissa's eyes widened. Of course. The largest dragon there was, the leader of the water dragons. Staring down at her. Personally taking care of her wounds.

And suddenly all Nissa could think was how hungry she was. It was an odd thought until she felt dizzy from the confusion and blood loss. And if his statement was supposed to relax her, all it did was make the proud Nissa completely terrified.

"Honey..." Cliu stopped long enough to talk, "Calm down... you're in shock hun, just settle down..." He licked her again, "Earth dragoness, if I wanted to hurt you, why am I helping you?" He looked at her tenderly and ran a claw along her cheek in a fatherly way.

Nissa flinched from the contact. "I don't know," she hissed, her voice still raw. She scrunched her eyes shut and tried to flatten her body to the ground, just trying not to think about it. She really didn't have any idea why he was helping her. Nissa didn't have that much imagination yet.

He leaned back from her and chortled, "Here dear," Cliu'rar Sarra pushed several fruits towards her, "You must be hungry."

Nissa stared at him suspiciously, as if he had read her mind. She reached out, grunting at the pain in her shoulder, and hooked a claw into one of the fruits. She brought it to her face, sniffing it thoroughly--as if she'd have any idea what poison would smell like. Nissa then took a small bite, settling down to wait and see if it would make her sick. She refused to make eye contact with the giant dragon, instead staring out at the water, even though it made her more nervous.

Cliu'rar Sarra settled back on his haunches to watch her, the giant conch shell on the end of his tail gathering water and letting it fall back into the ocean. He was however, a little sad that she didn't trust him.

After a while, Nissa had to admit that she was feeling fine. She stuffed the fruit in her mouth, glad that he at least had known that earth dragons do much better with plants than meat, as so many others thought differently. Nissa reached out for the next one, suddenly ravenous, and paused, hesitating. She stared first at it, then at Cliu'rar Sarra. After a while of pausing, she decided to just eat it. I mean, if I die of poison, at least I'll have been proven right, Nissa thought. Because honestly, she was becoming more hesitant than ever. She felt in turmoil and she couldn't even blame it on the damn fruit.

"May I have your name young lady?" Cliu'rar Sarra asked quietly, playing with the sand beneath his claws.

Nissa stared at the fruit in her hands silently. She didn't want to give him anything. But... he had just given her fruit. And he had probably been the one to save her life. And... A name probably wouldn't do much harm at this point, really. "Nissa," she said, her voice less raspy as the fruit gave her some moisture to ease her throat. She usually followed that up with a little family history, the typical greeting of an earth dragon, but she fell silent, still staring at the fruit.

"Are you thirsty?" He asked her, creating a pool of water next to her head, "Go ahead... drink, there isn't water that is more pure then this."

Nissa didn't move for a while, looking at the water. She leaned forward finally and filled her jaws, letting the water slide down her throat. It felt fabulous and Nissa was just angry at her body for enjoying it. Nissa didn't take another drink. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, even putting down the fruit she was holding. She stared at her claws, clenching them in the sand as she waited for the water dragon to finally get angry and finish her off.

"Because... Marco went off as soon as he heard the news... he intended to kill you. I didn't want him to, and I tried to stop him. Marco managed to get to you first and you know Nissa," Cliu said, opening his wings and stretching them real quick before he continued, "You weren't a threat to us, and you still aren't, so why should we kill you?"

"Because I am intruding into your territory!" Nissa said, exploding. "I attacked a water dragon! I tried to attack you not too long ago!" Her eyes furrowed at him as she got more agitated. "I wasn't born yesterday! Even I know that trespassing in the territory of another dragon clan is grounds for at the very least provoking them to attack! And as far as I can sense," Nissa growled, looking around as she tried to struggle up. "I'm still in water dragon territory, so you tell me right now why I'm not dead."

"Well... he attacked you first if you recall correctly... and why are you so afraid of me? Have you heard something about me that was bad?" Cliu'rar Sarra asked carefully.

"You're a water dragon! Not an earth dragon! That's reason enough!" Nissa snapped, frustrated with the conversation. She remembered something. "Plus you're a dragon who... Who... Has liasons with fish!"

He recoiled as if he had been slapped.

"She... she is not just a fish... she is their..." He stopped and shrugged his shoulders, his wings shifting with the bulge in muscle, "I love her... and I love my daughter." Cliu'rar Sarra turned and looked up at the moon, "Why does that make me bad?"

Nissa immediately felt bad that what she had said affected him so much, and in doing so, felt angry. "Because dragons should look to their own kind," she said, her voice low, the sting in them weak. "Their own clans. So you should just leave."

"If I leave, you'll die. I can't allow that." Cliu'rar Sarra finally turned back and began licking her again, not letting up until she was fully clean and all her cuts and scratches had stopped bleeding. Finally, Cliu stopped and looked her over carefully, "I think I need you to turn into your human form so I can bandage your wounds..."

Nissa swallowed a retort; she was less agitated now and could figure out that the anger she felt was a direct result of not wanting to turn human. In this form, she couldn't really move, but she at least had her claws, teeth, and thick hide. In her human form, she just felt... naked. However, Nissa just slowly nodded, her dragon form slipping away to her dark-skinned human form, wearing the usual leather. The wounds began to sluggishly bleed again with the change in form and she just stared at the sand, still confused as to why he wasn't gone.

Cliu licked her again, then turned himself, "Now hold still," He said, his voice deep. Cliu'rar Sarra in his human form was tan, not as dark skinned as Nissa but dark from being under the sun. His hair was fully gray with a slight tint of sage in it but his eyes were just as bright as they were when he was Nissa's age... and his body was still as toned. The water dragon wore a loose white shirt and khaki shorts with bare feet. Taking some long leaves, Cliu'rar Sarra wrapped them gently around her wounds, smearing on a salve he had made while she was asleep. "Thank you for trusting me..." He said when he was done.

Nissa pouted a little. "I'm not," she said, reaching over gingerly to pop her arm back into place, gritting her teeth at the pain. It was much easier to do in human form, she had to admit. "I just don't see much of a choice." Nissa laid down in the sand again, suddenly feeling really tired. "I mean, nothing else I can really do at this point," she said, her voice growing quiet. She mumbled something else indecipherable and, against her will, fell back into sleep.

Hesitantly he touched her hair then recoiled, "She is not Koi." He said to himself, moving off across the beach a little and returning to his real form, "Ah I miss you two..." Cliu'rar Sarra whispered, a few tears managing to fall to the sand.

---

Koi... was so small! Her little wings barely keeping her above the water and her lanky legs had not the strength to keep them folded against her skinny frame. It was a night of love. Koi's mother, also in human form lay in the crook of Cliu'rar Sarra's arm, watching their daughter play above the water. They were happy. Cliu'rar Sarra could only see them when his lover was not on display to the humans... he would not want her cover blown. These humans gave her everything she ever needed, and they adored little Koi and they constantly had to remind her to stay a fish when humans watched. Yet... her power even as a little girl was dangerous. Seduction was a powerful tool and they had to make sure she could keep it under control. Poor Koi, she was an outcast among the dragons. He was constantly insulted by his union and they only thought she was a fish! His reign had been shaken by this and threatened, yet no dragon had the nerve to challenge him right out. He was happy.

---

Cliu'rar Sarra awoke with a jerk, the sun just peeping over the horizon to shine on them.

Nissa jumped at his sudden movement. She was just coming out from the bushes, having woken up a while before with the desperate need to pee. She couldn't change back to dragon form yet, or the bandages would fall off, so she was still a bit cranky. She really didn't like her human form. In Nissa's dragon form, she had almost lost all the color of juvenility, so she looked practically like an adult; her human form revealed her as a teenager, looking barely 15.

Nissa limped over and sat in the sand next to him, not too close. "If you're seriously planning on keeping me alive, you should just kill me now," Nissa said with a huff. She had been thinking about this a while. "I'd rather die than be indebted to a water dragon."

"Is it really that bad?" He rumbled in laughter and turned his huge head to look at her with one eye, "If you want... I won't tell a soul. It doesn't matter to me, I do not view this as a way for me to have you indebted to me. Besides, what would I, Cliu'rar Sarra, a leader of my clan need with a child?" He knew that had to have stung, so he changed the subject, "I know you are thirsty, the conch behind me has water in it if you want it." Cliu'rar Sarra's tail lay bare against the sand, never staying still and it looked strange for the shell to be detached.

Nissa threw back her shoulders, almost strutting over to the shell. "A child of the earth clan," she reminded him, taking a big gulp. She felt seriously dehydrated and in no mood to pretend to be above anything he offered. "And not quite a child. I'm almost ready to join the warriors, like my dad." She fell silent, drinking the water, almost too quickly. She was sure to feel a little ill later. "What's she look like?" Nissa asked abruptly, harshly breaking the silence.

"Who my dear?" Cliu'rar Sarra replied softly, his head on his front claws, just starring out into the ocean.

"Your daughter," Nissa said. After a brief pause, she added, "you mentioned her earlier."

"Ah," He sighed, getting up slowly and stretching in the sun, "My little black Koi... she is an odd little dragonling. According to her mother, when she reaches maturity, she will gain some white and a lot of bright orange... She really is a beautiful little thing..." Cliu'rar Sarra laughed lightly, "When she gets older she will look like a longer bodied giraffe than anything else. Koi has gained my size." Cliu chorkled then glanced over at Nissa, "Are you feeling better?"

Nissa glanced back at him. He seemed alright; she had heard him mutter a bit during the night and guessed something was bothering him, although it was a vague guess that it was his family. She shrugged it off, wondering why she even cared in the first place. "Better," she admitted. She could feel her control increasing. She knew that if she started controlling the earth too much she would overstress her body at this point, but at least it had all been subdued to a dull ache. She could see the bruises even in her dark skin. She looked away, a little angry. "Don't you have things to do?" she growled, staring at the water and wondering how she'd get off of here.

He turned his full muzzle around and looked at her for a moment before saying, "No." and smiled a toothy dragon grin.

Nissa grumbled deep in her throat, glaring at her feet. She let the silence drag on for a while; her parents were always annoyed with how gloomy she could be when pouting.

Her parents. Suddenly Nissa was reminded of why she was there. Her angry silence suddenly turned depressed as she played with the sand at her feet.

Cliu'rar Sarra watched her before finally breaking the silence, "Here... let me show you something..." Turning towards her, he pulled his conch shell over to himself and dipped a claw in it for a moment before pushing it to her. "Dip your finger in and tell me how it tastes..."

Nissa gave him a suspicious look, wondering what he was up to, then dipped a finger in the water, sticking it in her mouth. In a second, her face turned sour and she snatched her finger away, spitting in the sand and rubbing her tongue with her clean hand. "Ech!" she said, stringing together a few choice words. "What did you do to it?"

He chuckled, "Isn't it obvious? Your mind has now memorized that taste of poison. There are many types of poison a dragon can put into water and many a dragon of different tribes have been killed by it... I'm going to teach you how to recognize poison." Cliu'rar Sarra dipped his claw in the water yet again, "Now, try again."

"What? No! I knew it, you were trying to poison me!" Nissa said in a huge outburst. Her mouth felt tingly and she just glared at him until that went away. Then she grumpily stuck a different finger in the water and gingerly licked the tip. "This is sweet," she growled, now just confused, which made her angry.

He ignored her accusation and continued on, "Sweet for sleep, sour for death, many different poisons, all the same taste. More then a mouthful can hurt, more then that kill." Cliu'rar Sarra paused for a moment there and sighed heavily, "Nissa, our clans are dwindling, if I could save one dragon from an untimely death I would teach all I could. Just remember, that your gut tells you truth, or at least, in pertaining to poisons. The more deadly ones, the ones without taste, you can spot the differences if you are patient enough. Always approach a water hole with caution. If you can't find an animal or insect with a short lifespan alive in that water do not drink it. That is a major thing dragons do not look for."

Nissa found herself actually listening-LISTENING-to a water dragon tell her these things. She averted her gaze and tried to remember the last time she had even paused to check for dead animals in any watering hole before digging in. She just stared at nothing and fell into silence again, confused as to why he was telling her this. Sure, he just said that he wanted to save dragons--but that wasn't the truth, was it? This whole thing was more confusing than even her hardest logic problems back at school.

"...I could probably teach you nothing about fighting that you don't already know, but this, I know a lot about... and intimately." Cliu'rar Sarra looked at Nissa, "If you feel you are indebted to me with being saved, then promise me this. If my daughter is ever in need of help, help her. Don't pass her up because she is a water dragon, because she will most likely be made fun of and defenseless because she is only half dragon... that is all I ask of you." Cliu stood and stepped into the ocean, "I'll be back in a little bit... please don't try to leave, you might die." With that said he opened his wings and glided into the water, disappearing.

"Goddammit!" Nissa shouted at the water. It was useless; the guy was already gone. Nissa snarled, and stood up, pacing, ignoring the pain in her body as she picked up handfuls of the sand, compressed it into rocks, and threw it at the trees in frustration, making marks. All he asked? Asking her to help a water dragon-no, a half-water dragon-was just as bad as... As what he was doing for her, right now.

Nissa threw herself to the sand and had herself a good tantrum, screaming at the sky and kicking her feet into the sand, although she couldn't do too much without opening her wounds. She wanted to get off this damned island already, but the big guy was probably right about dying. She saw how eager his friends were to finish her off, not to mention the fact that she couldn't swim or even build a raft.

She rolled over and just hoped that Cliu'rar wouldn't actually come back.

"Young lady, how would you feel if some dragon came and got angry and messed up your home?" Asked a raspy feminine voice from behind her.

Nissa gave a very unbrave squeak and leaped up, tearing open a wound in her side as she spun around. She ignored the extra bleeding and did as she usually did when something startled her: treat it like a threat. Nissa landed in a crouch and studied the owner of the voice.

An old woman sat on the sand as if she owned it... and in fact she did. Her hair was stark white and kept cropped to her skull which enhanced her perfectly green eyes, so green that the foliage behind her seemed a part of her. It was obvious she was really really old by all the sagging wrinkles around her face, "I am J, an earth dragon by nature, but a recluse hermit by choice. Cliu'rar Sarra allows me to stay here and keeps me hidden from the rest of his clan."

Nissa really only heard the 'earth dragon' part. Her spirits brightened slightly, only to crash a second later. "Oh by the GODS the guy has a collection!" she said, her voice a little on the shrill side.

J stared at her... then laughed, "No my dear, we always have a choice. He is just holding you here for your own safety... I can't imagine how much energy he spends keeping me hidden, but now with two of us... wow. Oh and by the way deary, I raised this island, this is my home so I trust from now on you will treat it as such?"

Nissa sniffed, peeved at the reprimand. "The earth cannot be owned by any one earth dragon," she said. "...unless it's in another dragon's territory." She turned and sat, her back to the earth dragon in a symbol of defiance; she had never had too much respect for her elders, a trait her parents lamented. "And as such, my safety is only compromised by being in the middle of water dragon territory. The moment I'm allowed to leave I'm out of all of your hands, and off of your crummy-ass island." Nissa frowned, staring at the ocean. Was the big guy really using energy keeping her hidden? That new knowledge disturbed her now.

"Well now," J scoffed, "This island is mine because I raised it, and also I am a hermit, I don't need a large living space." Her face brightened, "Child, you need to learn that some dragons don't have a problem being among other clan members." A shadow loomed suddenly above Nissa as Cliu's giant head looked down at her, his neck completely turned toward her while his body was behind her. A large bundle of seaweed was in his jaws and he dropped it at her feet, "Boo."

He had startled her momentarily, but Nissa soon recovered, and looked at the seaweed with an incredulous look. "And just what is that?" she asked, genuinely ignorant and maybe a little disgusted at this mass of green and brown.

"Its kelp. Its quite good to eat, I thought you might like some variety to your meal." Cliu'rar Sarra took up the bundle and padded further onto the small island and put the seaweed down gently on some grass, "Morning J."

"Morning Cliu," The earth dragon replied, her withered smile widening, "Thank you for the kelp, I'll help you prepare it."

Nissa made a face at the kelp, especially how it moved when Cliu dropped it. She decided that she wasn't going to eat it-if it came from the sea it probably wasn't that good for you. Nissa didn't even like fish that much. And if that was the case, Nissa certainly wasn't going to offer to touch it. She looked away, bored, focusing on one thought in a sort of meditation, like she would have done back at home when trying to pass the time.

J made a small fire, drying out some of the strands of kelp which created a delicious smell on the slight breeze of the island. Combining the kelp with bits of small fruit and it smelled amazing. Not long after both J and Cliu sat in human form, enjoying an afternoon snack.

Nissa glared at the ocean, stubbornly ignoring them both. This whole situation was beginning to tick her off. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten that day or much the day before, just a few handfuls of fruit, but she refused to give in.

Standing, Cliu'rar Sarra walked over to her, carefully holding a large kelp piece acting as a plate with some fruits and a few exotic edible vegetables, "Here, Nissa, you need to eat, so you can regain your strength."

Nissa blinked, having fallen back into her meditation. Her stomach growled again as she stared at the kelp plate. She finally frowned and took it, still turning her back on the two as she hunched over it and began to eat the fruit, avoiding the kelp altogether.

"You know, that kelp will help you heal almost twice as fast?" The water dragon murmured to her, then walked back to J, continuing a past conversation.

"Now that just sounds like shit my parents would say," Nissa growled. Suddenly the beach seemed way too claustrophobic, and the sound of J and Cliu talking pleasantly-like Nissa HADN'T almost died, like she WASN'T trapped on an island against her will, like she DIDN'T hate them both tremendously right now-was grinding away at her resistance. Something inside of her broke. Nissa stood up, the large piece of kelp firmly in one hand. With deliberate movements, she wound her arm back, throwing the piece into the ocean and ignoring the shooting pain in her shoulder. Then she turned and limped-slash-stormed off into the bushes and trees, heading for the exact opposite side of the island.

After a while, Nissa reached the other side and found herself once again staring out at ocean. Suddenly, memories of being dragged down into their depths popped into her head and the teenager shuddered violently, tearing her gaze from the now-calm waters. She walked a ways back into the island's foliage and found a patch where the shrubs were thicker than in other parts. Nissa thought that the power of wood would dampen her presence from most earth dragons, except some pretty powerful ones. Of course, the old crone did raise a whole island in the middle of water-dragon territory, so...

And suddenly she was drowning again, the memory not leaving her. Nissa took a reflexive breath, curled up on the branches of a large, slightly hollow shrub she had crawled into, and buried her face in her knees, breaking into uncontrollable tears.

Gray eyes full of sympathy watched her from behind the shrubs, her long Doberman-like ears twitching as she dropped her head and muzzle to the ground, sniffing gently. To an untrained eye the dragon looked young, with no scars, but no sign of any ability to fight. But its body was sinuous and graceful as it stepped over the bushes, keeping its head with its twin horns lowered. The gray eyes were mostly blind, but its nose had not changed at all throughout its mass amount of years so it lifted its head to the shrub, gently putting its nose against Nissa's arm. Being gentle and comforting, J in her real form crooned deep like a mother would.

Nissa sniffed loudly, turning to look at who was beside her. Some earth dragon. It was singing like Nissa's mother used to, so Nissa's brain went on automatic, to when Nissa would turn into human form to hide in small places and cry. Nissa wrapped her arms around the dragon's neck, not caring who this was. "I w-wanna go home!" she cried, sobbing.

J didn't answer, just slipped one claw behind the girl's back and pulled her out of the wood, cradling her to her neck. Gently laying down, J curled into a circle around her, still crooning to quiet her tears.

Nissa curled up, releasing J's neck and just pressing herself against J's side, her hands clenched in front of her like a small child as she cried.

After a while, she ran out of tears, and soon, she was just hiccuping, her eyes puffy from the crying.

Lifting her head, J licked her face, cleaning her eyes and purred softly, "It is healthy to cry my dear, its never a weakness."

Nissa pushed J's head away weakly, wiping off her face. "Shaddup," she said. "I hate you. And the water dragon. I don't wanna be here." Her heart obviously wasn't in it anymore-the incident had left her pretty much emotionally drained. But her parents didn't call routinely call her stubborn for nothing.

"Hate is not a healthy emotion, for dragons or other creatures, it just promotes more hate. I respect you, and Cliu, you are both warriors, but it is a dance, not exactly a hateful profession." J replied softly, continuing to lick her face.

"Shut up," Nissa said, frowning fiercely as she gained back a bit of her fire. "I gotta go home." She had at least gained back a bit of sanity--maybe these crazy peace-freaks will listen to reason. She pushed J's head away again, wiping the rest of her face free of tears.

J uncurled her body from under Nissa so fast she hit her bum on the ground, "You need to heal before you can do that."

Nissa growled. "I'm good enough," she insisted, standing. "You don't even have to do anything. Just gimme a hint and I can do it myself. I..." Nissa gritted her teeth. "By the time I'm healed she'll already have hatched!" she said, her voice way louder than she had intended.

"Hatched? Are you expecting someone?" J asked, her eyes brightening from this new information, "I myself have never mated, but females are born with the ability to be motherly... I'm sure they can talk to the child and have them wait for you, hatchlings are just as smart as a young human!"

Nissa hung her head. "But... I don't know if they would want to wait for me..." She trailed off, wrapping her arms around her midsection awkwardly. She suddenly didn't want to talk about it. "You came here to get me, didn't you?" she asked, her voice tense as she stared off, once again refusing to make eye contact with one of her captors. "I'll go back now."

"I didn't have any intention of getting you, just comfort you child." J said bluntly before stepping away, her large and fat tail swinging behind her as the old dragon disappeared into the brush.

Nissa snorted incredulously. This old earth dragon was obviously lying through her teeth. In a jail, it was simply unnerving for a captive to be out of sight, even if they weren't going anywhere. Her mind went back to her home, where her mother was no doubt crooning over the new egg. Nissa began to sullenly walk back towards the beach. When she finally arrived, she plopped into the sand and laid on her side, looking totally listless, staring out to the east, where her home was.

A low and deep growl sounded danger behind her.

Cliu'rar Sarra, his body of muscle tensed like a coil and his dangerous head lowered to the girl defensively.

Nissa's hair stood on end at that sound. She flipped over to her stomach with a little more effort than she was used to and found herself facing a dragon looking like he was ready to pounce. In a flash, Nissa had transformed back into her dragon form, teeth bared. She was ignoring her wounds for now-obviously they weren't that important. The sand around her feet hummed as she stared at Cliu'rar Sarra, flexing her claws and waiting for him to make the first move. Nissa certainly wasn't one to turn down a fight.

Water exploded on either side of her as the much larger dragon roared and stomped down on the sand, his image flickering as parts of him formed from the water, then twisted and changed. Clui'rar Sarra feinted with a claw, the rapids that charged through the air circling them as his tail with the weaponized conch shell flicked effortlessly through the air.

Nissa's sharp gaze took in all the weapons heading towards her from above and dove into the sand. She had to resurface not even ten feet away, though; the sand more than a couple of feet was soaked with water, and it was like trawling through mud. However, she leaped out of it and rolled, trying to avoid the weapons long enough to get close to him and attack.

Rearing up, the water dragon supported himself with his tail and hindlegs, swiping at the air with his front claws. The water responded to his call, each swipe throwing water at impossible speeds as he bellowed his supremacy.

Nissa didn't even give her usual battle cry. She was a little more focused than her typical training session or playground battle. She dodged the first three attacks with more speed than one would attribute to her, but the water just kept coming. On the fourth try it caught her hindleg. While she was still falling a fifth attack caught her in the side and sent her back across the beach. She rolled, using the sand as a cushion. As she rolled, she sent a tremor of the earth towards the water dragon, calling up a pillar of sand compressed as much as she could make it to spiral upwards from right below Cliu.

That sand column hit water and disintigrated enough to leave Clui'rar Sarra undamaged. Nissa slammed into a wall of water and Clui was over her in an instant, his tail a blur coming down towards her head.

That last attack had taken everything she had; Nissa had barely been able to shift sand about only an hour earlier when she played with it. Making the sand-rock column totally wiped her out. It even hurt to blink. Her mind was fogged over as she almost seemed to watch Cliu reach her in slow motion, and watched the attack happen frame by frame. In the split second she tried to roll out of the way, her muscles failed her, shaking with a completely lack of energy. She could only watch her doom coming with a look of terrified defiance. Nissa didn't want to die, but she certainly wasn't going to go down begging.

The shell slammed into the sand next to her skull with a loud thud and the water died down around her, bubbling meekly before disappearing completely. "So you see," Cliu said softly, "How easily I can kill you, how easily any dragon can kill you." Turning, the water dragon walked away from her, who once looked like the most scariest thing alive now looked more like a calm and passive being.

It was that sudden change that surged Nissa to her feet, even though she only just collapsed on her stomach again. "You think I don't know that!" she spat, baring her fangs. "But I can't just relax when something important to me is happening. It damn well ain't my style. I don't think, you self-important load of useless earth, I do." She finally looked away, shaking with rage and shame. "I knew even before you attacked me that I couldn't even successfully kick the ass of a hatchling. No need to rub it in." She hauled herself up and sat on her haunches, cleaning herself indignantly. She had a feeling there was a lesson in what he just did, but it was kind of vague.

This whole situation was kind of vague, actually. Nissa finally was able to put a claw on what was making her frustrated. She was never much good with riddles or metaphors, and this whole situation seemed to fit into a gray area she was very uncomfortable with. Maybe... she thought, hesitating in her current shaky actions. Maybe this isn't going in a bad direction...?

"A warrior has to have the right balance of action and thought, or else that warrior can be beaten by one that does use their brain rather then their brawn the whole time," Cliu called back over his shoulder settling down in the sand, digging himself in so he looked to have grown from the island himself.

"Dun wanna change," Nissa murmured, shifting back to her human form once she was clean. "Change's bad. Kickin' ass is good." She looked at the ocean. Maybe she did rely too much on her strength. I mean, it doesn't seem to be working right now, Nissa rationalized. She stared at the water, trying to think right now. She ended up kicking her legs violently, spraying sand everywhere around her and burying her face in her hands. "This is stupid! It's like one of those horrible riddles!" she exploded. "Thinking about this is impossible! You!" Nissa snapped, pointing at Cliu. "You're a water dragon! Jeer and tell me I'm a dry, stupid rock-lizard who is too weak to be called a true dragon!"

"You aren't weak, just injured." Cliu murmured right back in response, closing his eyes, "And you are not stupid."

"Don't compliment me," Nissa said, falling back in the sand. She could feel her adrenaline seeping out of her body, leaving just shaking muscles. "Don't you know... anything... about being a good dragon..." Nissa closed her eyes, feeling herself drift off. She felt confused, but there was just the glimmer of understanding in that haze... And she wasn't sure which one she was more afraid of.

When she woke up, the sun was shining directly ahead of her. The rays felt good on her skin, but that was not the first thing Nissa felt.

She was starving. She had finally surpassed her tolerance of withholding food. Nissa would have declared all of earth dragons weak as hatchlings and chained herself to one of these stupid trees for something to eat.

A pile of cooked seaweed and fruit lay close to her, as well as Clui'rar Sarra's familiar conch shell full to the brim with water. J and the water dragon were no where in sight.

She drank the water first, some of it dribbling down her face. It didn't taste funny, so she didn't hesitate much. Once she had wiped out the water, the fruit was the next to go. And even though her stomach bulged, she tried a bite of the kelp. Nissa decided it didn't taste half bad, but the full feeling was catching up with her, and she realized that with the speed at which she drank the water, she'd be feeling sick in a little bit. She gritted her teeth, cursing herself for not remember that... Maybe, Nissa mused, this is what the old man meant when he said I should think before acting. She stuck out her tongue at the thought and lay on her back in the sand, sunning and ignoring her stomach.

The sun soon disappeared behind clouds, as a storm was brewing over the ocean. The center of focus appeared to be a spot out in the ocean, the clouds circling around the lone figure within. It was Cliu, in his human form, his arms upraised as he called upon the rain, the clouds responding into a gentle drizzle instead of what it might have been.

Nissa had been looking around for shelter when she noticed the rain wasn't coming down as hard as she had suspected. Peering over the water, she saw Cliu calming the storm. The amount of power that must have took sent a shiver up her spine, and she had to admit to feeling a sort of grudging admiration for that. Then again, she didn't know that much about the powers of water dragons; hatchlings may have been able to do that. The powers of other dragons wasn't exactly appropriate dinner conversation. Nissa bit her lip and contemplated asking Cliu about it later as she moved her location to a tree, sitting under the scant protection it provided, watching Cliu work. She didn't really care about the light rain, but she liked to be in contact with dry earth.

When Clui'rar Sarra was done and certain the storm would not come back with a full or greater source he turned into his real form. He made his way slowly back to the island and made it there using slow and awkward movements, literaly dragging himself up the beach where he collasped and proceeded to sleep.

Nissa raised an eyebrow at his collapse. Well, maybe it's not so easy, she thought. She frowned as she realized that the storm would not have been so light if he hadn't interfered--and in such a way as to make him collapse. "Did he do this for the hag and I?" she mused aloud. "...this 'thinking' thing is confusing." She huffed slightly, staring at Cliu.

A gull came along, climbing along the shore towards Cliu. Nissa didn't like gulls; they screamed and were generally mean creatures, not too friendly to any dragon. She found herself going with her first instinct: she flicked a rock that landed at its feet, causing it to fly away from Cliu. Nissa found herself glowering again at the action, but she also didn't feel... as bad as she thought she would.

The sand rippled around the huge dragon's body, finally becoming solid in an effort to move him away from the water. When Cliu was in the rough grass of the island did it stop and J popped her head out of it, checking on him before disappearing once again.

Nissa sighed. Seeing J use her power just reminded her of how weak she was currently. Her body still ached from the amount she used the other day. She'd like to be back in earth territory; she was so used to the earth there that using her power was not at all this hard. Nissa bit her lip, wondering something suddenly. "J?" she called out, knowing the dragon was nearby.

The sand rippled again, then, "Yes?" The dragon appeared walking out of the bushes, "Yes Nissa dear, what is it?"

"Why did you leave the earth territory?" Nissa asked, truly curious.

J glanced at Nissa, her muzzle unreadable. Finally the dragon sat down, curling into a loose loop with her head facing Nissa and her eyes blinking, "I left because my family despised me. I had fallen in love with a wood dragon... and... they killed him for it, then forced me to leave. I strayed into many territories, my grief blinding me to many things and I arrived at the beach..." J paused and shrugged, "I tried to drown myself in the ocean and Cliu stopped me." The dragon sighed softly, "When he didn't attack me, we began to talk and he offered me a haven for myself... here."

Nissa's first thought was, You fell in love with a wood dragon? However, she swallowed that with just a little difficulty. "How long ago was that?" she asked, curling her legs up under her chin like a child listening to a story. 

"Oh that was... more then 1600 years ago," J looked wistful, daydreaming of the past, "I was already 420 years old, and Cliu had just stepped into his role as clan leader at the young age of 197. By the gods its been so long..."

"Wow," Nissa said. "You've been here for more than 1600 years and nobody's found you?" She looked down. "And... Cliu risked losing his new appointment for you? Jeez..."

She glanced back at his sleeping form with a grin, "He has always been a kind young gentleman, and does whatever he can do for me while he is here." J set her head down on her paws, still smiling, "He has such a loving heart, its hard to imagine him being mean for no reason."

"Not so young," Nissa muttered. "Besides, don't you think he's being kinda... I dunno, idealistic?"

"There used to be peace between the clans, you know child? None of these... territories. That was so long ago... near our creation in fact, not many know about it anymore. It was before we were given our human forms, and before the humans themselves came to be." J blinked, "If we were able to exist together before, why not now?"

Nissa shrugged. "If we weren't able to keep existing together, maybe it wasn't meant to be," she pointed out. She wanted to win the argument, so she shut up before her next thought escaped: but if the other dragons were void of hatred like Cliu, they'd probably be easier to get along with. Even though J didn't say it, Nissa still felt uneasy at the thought. She blamed it on eating her food too quickly and stared up at the clouds, trying not to think about it.

"Well, yes, there were problems, young dragons intermixed and were banished. Who knows if they still exist? Tis a shame, a real shame..." The dragon shrugged in a very human-like way, "But the past is past."

"Ya," Nissa muttered, bored already. She wasn't one for history. "I think I'd die if I couldn't visit my territory," she mused. "Outside of it, it just never feels quite right."

"Its all in the mind. Perhaps if you created something yourself it would feel fine." J commented after she yawned.

Nissa pouted a bit, then held out her hand over some sand. The sand swirled under her hand, building up speed as it spiraled upwards-then she fell backwards, covered in a thin layer of sweat, breathing hard. She just didn't feel connected to this land.

"Rest Nissa, you'll be strong enough to leave soon enough."

A week slowly goes by, with Clui'rar Sarra gone most of the time, only J was there to keep her company.

Over time, Nissa slowly warmed up to J. Part of it was loneliness, another part sheer boredom, but talking to J was somehow more calming than talking to other earth dragons. It's not that Nissa wasn't proud of the vitality and temper of her clan, it's just that it was a strangely nice change of pace to not have to shout or punch to get herself heard.

One day, Nissa was once again lying on her back in the sun, looking at her skin and wondering if she had always been that dark, when she unexpectedly opened her mouth and started talking to J about something she had been wondering for quite a while. "Do you think children are... special to their parents forever?" she asked.

J glanced over with her mostly blind eyes and sighed softly, scratching her muzzle with a claw, "When I was banished they disowned me and took my birth given name, but my mother told me that she would never stop loving me. I think it depends on how the parents were raised. My mother came from a family that was very close, where my father's family fought a lot and came close to killing each other. He was ashamed of my behavior, but my mother had forgiven me."

The old dragon shifted her weight and stretched lazily, "I guess it depends on the parents and how they were raised."

Nissa thought of her parents and their family. Her grandparents seemed decent enough. "It just seems that the whole 'love' thing gets old after a while," Nissa said. "I've barely been booted out a year and already..." Nissa trailed off. She knew J had told her all about her sordid past, but Nissa was still hurting. In fact, the more she stayed on this island, the more she kept wondering if they even missed her.

"Do you and your parents create a bond when you were born? A mental one? My mother and I continued to be in contact till she died..." J admitted softly.

"Not real strong," Nissa said, her voice quiet. "There were some... complications when I was hatching. Nothing serious, but I only get feelings from her when I'm on earth clan soil, or really close to her."

"Hmm... I see..." The other dragon answered, "What about your father?"

"I was close to him and all, but other than him being really physically readable, there wasn't any psychic connection or anything..." Nissa frowned, uncomfortable with all this talk. Maybe her parents just wanted to try again and get a child who could do all that J was saying she should have been able to.

"It isn't a common occurance Nissa, I'm sure your parents love you just as much as they will love the new dragonling. I wouldn't worry about it." J turned her head and squinted off into the sun's direction, "Clui is back."

The huge water dragon landed gently in the sand, for he had come from the sky from doing errands along the border of the fire clan, "Good afternoon ladies." Clui'rar Sarra said pleasantly, licking a few gouges in his scales before giving them both a dragon grin.

Nissa noticed the nicks as she sat up. "Alright! Talking with your fists already, old man? There may be hope for you yet!" she said, enthusiastically. She was less caring about his visible scratches than the fact that she needed to forget that J had guessed what was bothering Nissa, even though she thought she kept it hypothetical. Maybe she just needed to hide it better.

Clui laughed, "Some idiot fire drake terrorizing my clan, that is all. I sent him home with his tail between his legs... Ready to go home? The weather is stormy, so now is the best time to leave while other dragons are occupied." The dragon was right, dark clouds were on the horizon.

Nissa almost hesitated, but caught herself right on time. "Yes," she practically spat, jumping up. She glanced at the cloud apprehensively, but she was tense from anticipation.

J stood and bowed low to Cliu then turned her head to Nissa, lowering it with her neck looped up, "Goodluck child." J didn't move from her position, waiting for Nissa to complete the dragon hug.

Nissa did hesitate at that, but then decided she'd miss the old dragon and threw her arms around the neck. "Have fun on this godsforsaken island," she said, sarcastically but with some affection in her voice. She ran a hand along the hardened scales before turning and running towards Cliu, glad she was finally able to move freely. She didn't bother turning into a dragon, since it would be easier to transport her human self.

The leader of the water dragon held out his claws to her, waiting for her to settle herself within. Clui stood on his back legs let out a keen of goodbye to J, who in turn stood as well and answered, "I'll be back J."

"And I'll be waiting for you, Cliu." With that said, the water dragon looked down at Nissa and winked, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Nissa said, her voice more than a little nervous as she settled herself further into the claws, her gaze drifting over the expanse of water. "Hope this won't take long..."

As they went further from shore, Nissa squeezed her eyes shut and hunched over on Cliu'rar Sarra's back, chasing away the bad memories of water.

Cliu smiled gently at her and flew as calmly as he could through the somewhat buffeting winds, breaking through the clouds to clear skies and minimal wind. "It's alright Nissa," He told her in his rumbling voice, "I will deliver you safely."

Nissa peaked open her eyes, noticed how high up they were, and decided against doing that ever again. At least they weren't in the water. "We won't get attacked up here, will we?" Nissa asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

"The air dragons are not as violent as others my dear. This is my domain, almost as much as it is theirs." Cliu'rar Sarra flew higher into the air, the wind cooling the water off his hide from the rain. After a few minutes in the distance a black smidge on the horizon appeared. "The mountains are close young one."

Nissa immediately straightened, straining to see the first sign of her homelands. Even knowing how far up they were, she was more than relieved to see the solid masses up ahead, the only things that never changed in her lifetime. And now, sitting up, she felt suddenly exhilarated. The rush of wind on her skin, the feel of free fall occasionally as Cliu flapped his wings... For that second, Nissa wondered what it would feel like to fly. This brief moment of perspective both frightened and calmed her, and she once again clung to Cliu.

He grinned down at her again and focused once more on the clouds, feeling with the moisture within for anything solid. When he deemed the path was clear he angled himself and Nissa down through the clouds. The sea was still below but the shoreline was almost directly beneath them.

Eating up the sight of the ground, Nissa felt an urge to spur Cliu on that she barely suppressed. In the back of her mind, she knew this was a huge adventure you didn't just walk away from-but she also almost jumped off right then and there to get to her family faster.

The huge dragon circled like a bird of prey, getting closer to the ground with every turn. Once close enough, Cliu dropped back his wings and landed in the shallow waters of the ocean, not willing to provoke the earth dragons by stepping on dry land. "There you are little one," He moved his arms forward and set her gently upon the least wet sands.

Nissa immediately darted forward, but as her feet hit the dry sand, she hesitated, then stopped. Turning around slowly, she had a look that was part sheepish, part distasteful, like she was about to do something necessary but unpleasant. "Uh," she started, pausing to choose her words. "...thank you. I know you, uh... you didn't have to do that." She stopped, half-turned around, and forced herself back to facing Cliu. "And I guess if I see your kid I can help her out," Nissa said, toeing the sand. "I can't guarantee it, and only if we meet personally, and I might just give her a hard time anyway, and if she's too fish-like you can just forget it." Her voice had faded off to a murmur as she looked at the ground, almost glaring up at Cliu out of the corner of her eye. She was trying to make this seem anything like what it was: an expression of gratitude.

Cliu gave her a sharp and curt nod, "All that I ask, is that you try." He told her softly, "And, you are most welcome Nissa, congratulations on your new sibling," Cliu'rar Sarra smiled and bowed deeply before stepping his way through the water before disappearing below the waves.

Nissa watched until he disappeared, then turned and vanished into the heat of her own nation...

---

Nissa looked over the edge of the rock, eyeing the small dragon suspiciously with reptilian eyes. The kid was more ornamental for anything, and Nissa could tell instantly that she'd be almost useless in a fight. But it was obvious she'd be a big dragon, like her father, and the colors...

"No way," Nissa whispered to herself, turning to leave. She was almost far enough away where she could forget it all when something made her stop and turn around. She saw the snake and was there crushing it in her jaws before she realized what was happening. The snake was too close for her liking.

And all of a sudden, she had something to protect.

She hunkered down once again and studied this child, this 'Koi,' wondering how their paths would cross in the future...

---

Nissa's eyes snapped back to the present. She didn't know when her fingers had begun to trail over her scars from those days, but by the look in Sier's eyes, it wasn't that long ago. "No," she finally answered, easily shrugging off his hands. "I don't have to. And maybe that's why I'm doing this." A fierce light glowed in her eyes, and even Sier backed off a little. "This is what I should do." She took a step forward, and Sier inched slightly back. "Why should I make a distinction between the races of dragons when our enemy will not grant us the same courtesy?"

Koi brushed back several long strands of her hair before blinking at the exchange before asking cautiously, "Sier... you fought against them with my father... how can you not help him now?"

"It might have been a long time ago, girl, but do you really think any of the dragon tribes have fully recovered from the encounter?" Sier replied. His voice wasn't as biting, it just sounded... tired.

"If you cannot join us, then do not impede our progress," Rutte said, frowning.

---

---

a chance encounter
a chance encounter part 2
a chance encounter part 3