[Day 162] Open. Power, responsibility, etc.

[dragonform]

Who: Ryu, and anyone else who finds him.
Open: Open
When: Day 162
Where: Walking around the Bastion.  Later on, the training building.
What: Ryu sorting himself out, and preparing for Colin's strike team.
Format: I'll match.
Warnings: Possible serious discussions, talks of violence, loss, sadness.

 

 

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity for him.  Losing everything, meeting all of these people who were hurting the same as he is.  Grieving did eventually come to Ryu.  In the quiet of his room, he felt the tears come.  The memories.  The possibility that no matter how much he hopes, his friends may be well and truly gone for good.  However, he doesn't want to let this thought keep him from doing what he needs to do.  There's far too much at stake for him to keep grieving.  Beneath the usually cheerful exterior the teen had managed to build over time, there is still a lot that weighs him down.

He wants a way to preserve the memory of his friends, and his people.  It is only a short time he had been given to know the remnants of the Brood, but those were one of the few times he felt he completely understood everything about himself, and his place in the world.  Though the title given to him as Prince of Dragons would mean nothing to the other residents of the Bastion, it's the memory he wants to keep alive.  His daily rituals have slowly begun to include visiting the Memorial and Shrine.  Something to ensure he never forgets the people lost, and a quiet prayer to Ladon, the Dragon God.  The spirit who watched over his people since before Myria's purge, and the one who gave him strength to carry on and gain mastery over the power of Infinity.

He had no idea if Ladon would ever know these prayers, but it felt like the right thing to do.  With his business finished there, Ryu felt it best to take a walk.  Hopefully trying to find a way to clear his mind, and prepare himself for accompanying Colin on his mission.  To that end, he would seek the training building once he truly finds his resolve.  Anyone who comes to find him in the training hall would see Ryu drilling himself through what appears to be slightly unconventional swordsmanship.

But in the middle of all of his thoughts and musings, he'll be found walking around the Bastion.  Thinking things over and trying to clear his head.

 

Comments

[dragonform]

I didn't meet her until this happened, but I can see just how many people are hurting from this.

[He glances to Paar with a slightly grim frown.]

It might not bring Night back, but maybe it'll ease their pain.

[wayofvoice]

We should take care that it does not cause more pain, all the same.

Colin is... [Give him a moment to think of an appropriate word.] Willing to listen.

[dragonform]

I agree.

[Ryu appears thoughtful for a moment, pausing for a moment before speaking.]

Could I ask you a few questions, Paarthunax? I know now may not be the best time, but I've met so few dragons in my life. Those I've met here are the first who have lived free from the Goddess' influence.

[And thus probably have a completely different perspective on what someone should do as a dragon.]

[wayofvoice]

I will answer what I can. We are still in some ways kin, even if not exactly so.

What do you wish to ask?

[dragonform]

[Oh geez, where to begin? Well... The direct approach is sometimes a good one.]

Do you think dragons have a place among humans?

[wayofvoice]

Greh, yes. It is not always an easy coexistence to create... I know that well.

Yet I have hope that our kind and others may work with one another.

[dragonform]

I hope you're right...

[He shrugs, turning his gaze to the Skyway.]

I've been hiding for a very long time, but I've come to accept what I am. I don't want to hide any more, especially if I can use my power to save lives.

[wayofvoice]

As long as you do not bring harm to the others here, then they will accept you as one of their own. I have learned this.

[Almost immediately upon arrival, as a matter of fact.]

[dragonform]

That's what someone once feared, but I've vowed never to use it to bring suffering to others.

[He glances back to Paar. He looks kinda sad, grandpa dragon.]

I just wish the others could have lived to see a place people weren't afraid of us.

[wayofvoice]

That is the way of things, goraan gein. Not all can claim themselves as survivors. It is a sadness that comes with life.

We must not let ourselves be dragged down by it. It is those we are with who must take our attention.

[dragonform]

You're right, but it doesn't make it any easier to keep hope.

[He shakes his head. In private, he still found himself mourning his friends, but that little mask he had on would occasionally crack.]

Ryu said something about your power coming from words. What did he mean by that?

[The subject of his dead friends was not one he felt like talking about at the time.]

[wayofvoice]

[If he doesn't wish to speak of it, then Paarthurnax won't push it. Everyone mourns in their own way and time. Sometimes intrusion is the worst thing.]

Ah... He spoke of the Thu'um, then. It is to take everything of something, the very concept of it- of fire, of force, of the skies- and then give it form through speech.

[dragonform]

I've never heard of anything like that before. I can use the elements when I transform, but I've never heard of putting it into speech.

[wayofvoice]

That is how it has been done with dov. Others have tried to mimic it, but it is not in their blood as it is ours- it takes longer to learn such things for them. Sometimes lifetimes.

[dragonform]

[He appears thoughtful for a moment, and then the question comes.]

Do you think it's something I could learn? I'm afraid I don't have much of the Brood's culture left, but I would like to honor yours as well.

[wayofvoice]

We could attempt it- I have never taught it to one of my kin that was so distant from me.

I have been teaching dovahzul, the language of our kind, to some here. Perhaps you could come to such lessons as well.

[dragonform]

I'd like that. [He answers with a genuine smile.]

Who else have you taught? Maybe I can practice the words with them when you're hunting.

[wayofvoice]

Crona is my best student. I have met no other race which has taken so well to my kind's tongue. N, as well. Alucard, Rin, and Ryu... They are still learning and they try. That is all I can ask of them.

[dragonform]

Is there anything I can bring back for you as an offering of thanks for teaching me? It means a lot to me to spend time with another dragon, since there were so few of my kind left, and even fewer who still had their power.

[wayofvoice]

I have little need for many things in my age. The company of those here is enough for me.

[dragonform]

If you don't mind me asking, exactly how old are you, Paarthunax? I don't really know how long my kind can live. Elder Jono was around five hundred years old when we met.

[wayofvoice]

[There's a low rumble deep in his throat.]

Five thousand... That is when I stopped keeping track.

[dragonform]

Five thou--

[Ryu just looks up at him in awe.]

I can't even begin to imagine living that long. I'm not sure I'm able to.

[wayofvoice]

[Another low rumble, this one something like a laugh.]

It takes much to kill our kind. It is as Bormahu bore us. Perhaps you will. Perhaps you will not. You have many years to discover the answer, still young as you are.

[dragonform]

I think you might be onto something, given how many times I should have been done in by now.

I'm absolutely certain I wouldn't have survived if I wasn't Brood.