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I'm Only Human Pt. 7

John felt like he was on a cloud as he awoke from his slumber. Slowly opening his eyes he smiled in just pure happiness for the first time in a while. This was the first time he got to sleep in a bed, an actual bed. That cot in the dungeon didn't count. It was this little joy that brought him such great happiness. He learned long ago that sometimes you need to enjoy the little things, and this king sized little thing had other little things on it as well. Things like the great blue comforter that was so soft and warm, and the white silk sheets were to die for. The pillows were perfect, not to firm, not to soft. John was convinced that they had found angels and plucked only the finest feathers to stick into the pillows. To say he felt like he was in heaven was quite the understatement...and he still had yet to take a hot shower. Once he got into the room he barely had enough energy to take off his dirty clothes much less stand for an amount of time. He even skipped dinner due to his fatigue. He groaned as he slowly rose up from the bed as his bones popped and his muscles stiffened. He got out of the bed with a, slight gasp as the cooler air hit him, and walked over to the curtains. As he parted the curtains he threw his hands up in front of him to shield his eyes from the morning sun. It was just starting to peak over the horizon but it seemed to be in that one spot just to greet John with its light...no matter how much the light was unwanted on his gorgy eyes

The bathroom wasn't much different from bathrooms back home. He could clearly make out a sink and a toilet that looked a little strange but he figured that because anthro's had tails they couldn't just sit down. ' At least the shower is easy to spot. Thank God they developed indoor plumbing.' John thought as he stripped out of the underwear and turned on the shower. John gave a contented sigh as he felt the warm water pour over him. He sighed in content as he felt all of the sweat and dirt washed from his body. John stayed in the shower for a while, not ever wanting the warm fountain to end. However, the water made that decision for him going cold much faster than it would back home. 'It seems that there is much to be desired in the water heating department.' He though unhappily. Stepping out of the shower he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked back out into his room making his way to the dresser. He was told that his clothes had been placed in here and they also stocked it with other attire in case he wanted to wear something else. John opened the first drawer finding his clothes folded up nicely. Out of curiosity he opened the next draw. In it were shirts and other clothes made vibrant colors. He quickly closed it and picked up his things. 'At least they don't expect me to wear tights.' He thought as he brought his stuff to the bed. He had just dropped the towel when he heard the door latch opening. He grabbed the covers as a female wolf entered the room. In his rush to cover up however, his feet got tangled in the sheets and he went down with a small yelp. He climbed back up to his feet to look at the wolf. Her fur was pure white and she wore a black shirt with sleeves that stopped at the elbows, and a red skirt that went down to her calves. She looked afraid. John guessed that she was a servant of some kind and her actions had just caused an important guest to possibly harm themselves.

"S-Sir, Ma-master Pyrros request that you join him and his family for breakfast in the dining hall." She still looked at him while he spoke she was able to quell her nerves and delivered the message.

John sat up as the wolf spoke. "Yeah I'll be there when I'm finished getting dressed." He said gruffly. The wolf flinched slightly as she quickly turned and left. John felt a little bad about that scaring her like that. He made it a point to try and apologize to her later, but for now he had to finish getting ready.

When he emerged from the room and was greeted by a guard there ready to bring him to the dining hall. Nothing was said while they walked down the great halls of the mansion. As they went through the twist and turns of the mansion John felt glad that they had sent this guard to escort him. He was pretty sure he would have gotten lost in the maze of hallways and doors, thought the sound of the guards boots on the stone floor was starting to get to him. 'At least they'll hear us coming' He thought as the steady beat of the guard's footsteps hit the ground. _'Or would it be paw steps?'_he mused as they finally reached a set of large doors. The guard pushed one open and stepped aside allowing John access to the room.

The dining room was simple enough, windows on one side to allow light in while the other side there was a couple of doors that lead deeper into the maze of halls or maybe to the kitchens. The major piece of the room was, of course, the long table in the center of the room at which were seated three familiar dragons and an old grey wolf. In the back of John's mind he felt it weird that he had already gotten used to the fact that they were literally talking animals, well at least one was with the other being mythological beings. 'Then again it seems like my arrival was a lifetime ago with all that's been going on.' He thought as he headed to take a seat. Pyrros being the head of the household was seated at the front of the table. John took a seat directly to the left of Pyrros next to Krypt. Amaya and Cearra were sitting directly across from him. As he sat down he realized that he had never actually had a meal here with anthros before, and he didn't know what they ate. They had fed him water, bread, and soup while he was in the dungeon of, but was prisoner food. This was a normal meal that they eaten every day and he had no idea what food they would serve. He assumed there would at least be meat, but the problem was how it would be served. For all he knew they would be eating raw meat and intestines for breakfast, and if he refused they might be offended leading to a very bad situation. Before John could keep going down that nightmare he was save from his mind when he heard Pyrros clear his throat.

"So John I hoped you found the room to your liking?" He asked, clearly trying to get some conversation started with small talk.

"Oh my God yes. I haven't slept that well in--" John paused to think about it. He had no idea how long it had been since it had disappeared from his world. He didn't know how long he had stayed in the dimension with the masters but judging by the fact that he didn't look older than when he left he figured it couldn't have been that long. 'But then again one does not acquire the skills they claim I have in a short amount of time. Ah screw it I don't want to think about it right now.' he thought. "--honestly I don't really know how long but it sure as hell felt good." He finally finished.

John saw the dragon and wolf looking a little intrigued. He wondered what he said. He hoped it wasn't offensive. "So then you believe in a god then?" Pyrros asked and though he hid it well John could see some skepticism in his eye.

"Umm...well first off I'm pretty sure that everyone uses that phrase, even if they don't believe in a higher power." The old wolf gave him a confused look. "I don't know why it's that way so don't ask. It just is. As for me personally, I believed in a God but I was never one to follow blindly. However, after recent events I honestly have no idea what to think anymore." John answered.

Pyrros was about to respond when the door on the other wall opened and various anthros walked in bearing sliver platters with covers on them. While John was grateful for the end of that discussion, his mind went back to trying to figure out what might be under the silver covers they carried. 'Please don't be raw. Please don't be intestines.' John thought as the butlers placed the platters in front of those at the table and lifted the covers off. John let out a small sigh of relief as what he looked at was not only cooked, but it looked delicious. On his plate was cooked ham as well as an assortment of fruits. John looked over to the others who were already starting to dig in. All of them had a much larger amount of meat than he did on their plates. However, both Amaya and Cearra had a few slices of fruit on their plates as well, while Pyrros and Krypt had only meat.

Everyone noticed that John had yet to start eating. "Is the food not to your liking John?" Amaya spoke with concern. "We could always have the something else prepared for you." John shook his head as he picked up an apple slice. "No, nothing is wrong. In fact this whole thing looks delicious." He said and bit the slice in half, saying silent thanks that this world was more normal than it looked. They ate silently for a little a few minutes as John did he best to keep himself from scarfing down his meal. It was really good.

Finally a voice broke the silence. "Cearra, dear, you said that you planned on meeting Cassandra later?" Amaya questions her daughter.

"Um, yes I did plan on meeting her. Why do you ask?" Cearra answered, unsure what her mother was thinking.

"Well then I think it would be a great idea if you took John with you." Both dragoness and human stared with wide eyes at Amaya, who was smiling pleasantly as if what she said was a natural choice.

Both Cearra and John tried sputtering out excuses to Amaya's proposal. Finally John was able to respond after forcing a mouthful of food down. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to just waltz out there. I mean look at me." John motioned up and down his body. "I stick out like a sore thumb! Who knows what will happen if I set foot outside for all to see. Worst case is they see me and try to tear me limb from limb! Especially if one of them happened to be present during...you know."

"You say that as if everyone in Saraph was no more than some beast that would kill you for no reason." She stated calmly.

John's eyes widened as he realized the implications what he said. He breathed deeply cupping his face in his hands. "That's not how I meant it to come across. It's just after all that happened--"

"What happened is not something most Saraphins know about." Krypt cut in. John looked at the old wolf, asking for an explanation without speaking. "There were many in attendance at the Feast of Unity ture, but there are many thousands that live in Saraph. Those who saw the incident at the Feast have been told to keep what that day happened a secret. Furthermore, while you were in Therum the ones who do know about you were made aware of what had happened with you and Cearra. In short the few who do know of you accept that you now live here."

John bit on the inside of his lip while he listened to the wolf destroy any way he could get out of this situation. Of course what the wolf said did little to ease his worries as he would be walking into a city in which a good number of the citizens had the ability to tear him apart on a whim. He may have had his guns, but they would do nothing against a mob. And while Krypt said that those at the Feast accepted that he was living among them it was entirely possible that they might not be happy about it. Case in point Skeal, but perhaps they were right. Maybe he was overreacting to the situation.

"We are not asking you to go alone John. You will be accompanied by Cearra during your time out and it will be a good opportunity for you to get accustom to the city a little bit. We are not asking her to take you around the entire city, only that you stay with her where she goes."

"And if I say no." John asked, slightly unnerved about what she might say

"Well I could just ask the guards to escort you to the entrance of the keep and leave you there, alone." Amaya said in playfully, but the when she smirked at him he knew she was quite serious.

John's eyes widened at that. He knew he was beaten and sighed in defeat. 'Talk about no win situation.' John thought. "I'll need to grab a couple of things from the room before we go." He said to Cearra who had accepted along with him that this was going to happen. Although if he didn't know any better he could have sworn she looked kind of excited.

With that they went back to eating and the anthros engaged in small talk which John mostly tuned out. 'It was gonna have to happen at some point. I just really hope that they are right about me being a secret or else this might be a short trip.' He mused.

John's thoughts were interrupted by the old wolf's voice. "So John I believe we were just about to learn about religion when you were from." Krypt said. John groaned into his palms, which were planted firmly in his face.

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It took some carful verbal maneuvering, but John was able to avoid talking about the vast and convoluted topic that was religion. He did not escape unscathed though, as he had to promise to discuss the topic with the old wolf at a later time. As he walked through the halls with his escort he wondered how long he could 'forget' about that promise. After they had finished eating he made his way back to his room, only getting lost twice, and went about getting his things. He knew that he couldn't take any of his large weapons, so he opted to hide one of his M1911's under his hoodie. While they Pyrros or Krypt never explicitly said he couldn't take a weapon he had a feeling that they wouldn't exactly be happy to know that he was bringing it along. After all he was trying to get know the populous not try and kill it. Also if anybody that was at the Feast saw him with the gun that would probably be a sure way to get him mauled by a mob. John and his escort turned a corner into another hallway, but this one had a door halfway down it with a familiar dragoness waiting in front of it. She was wearing the same clock that she wore when she was kidnapped.

The dragoness saw him approach and crossed her arms. She looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Are you finally ready to leave?" Cearra asked, clearly irritated at having to wait so long.

"What I needed to do something alright." He defended. "And what about you? You look like your about to enter a monastery?

"What? This cloak was given to me by my mother. She put a lot of effort into making it." She huffed.

"I never said it looked cheap. I'm just wondering why you need to wear it." John said.

"I wear it so that I can blend in outside." She said as she looked to the ground nervously. "It's... easier if I don't get recognized, trust me."

By the way she was acting John could tell that she was very uncomfortable with the idea of everyone in the city knowing exactly who she was. "Is it really that bad?"

"You remember what happened when you saw me leave the city that day." She said still looking at the ground.

John hummed thoughtfully as he remembered nearly everyone in the city she came across kneeling. "Yeah I guess I can see why you want to stay anonymous, but don't think that cloak is gonna help much today."

Her face shot up to look at him when he said this. "And why not?" She asked challengingly.

"Cause you're gonna be with me and when they see that I'm following you there ain't a chance in hell you're gonna be able to blend in."

Cearra stared blankly at him. She couldn't believe that she never thought of that before.

"And to be honest if you go out with that cloak on every time you leave then won't they be able to recognize you by that. I mean it is a _really_nice cloak." He said as he grabbed the side of it rubbing in his hand.

Cearra grabbed her cloak protectively, and pulled it away. But the more she thought about it the more John's words made sense. "So are you suggesting I go without it?"

"No. I'm just saying that because I'm going with you it really isn't going to accomplish what you want it to." He said and pushed the door open leaving her to alone.

She mulled over his words. On one had she never went out without her cloak, it was her only protection from being recognized. However, John had made a very good point. With a heavy sigh she pulled off her cloak and folded it up gently. She handed it to the guard that escorted John. "Please make sure this gets back to my room." She said. The guard only nodded as he turned and walked back into the complex. She walked out the doors into the gardens and saw John sitting on a bench.

He saw her without the cloak and smiled gently. "Well than let's get this show on the road." He said as he got up. Cearra looked at him questioningly "Get what show on the road?" She asked.

"Yeah, figure of speech. Just, come on let's go." He said ignoring her continued confusion.

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As passed through the main gate and made their way into the crowd, Cearra glanced back at John who was doing his best to reign in the anxiety he was feeling right now. She smiled reassuringly at John as she felt his anxiety through the link, but there wasn't much she could do. This was something John would have to do for himself.

'Waste an army trying to save the damsel in distress. No problem. Infiltrate a heavily defended city to assassinate a dragon and failure means certain death? Sure why not. Go on a stroll through the city to accompany said damsel? Nope that's where I draw the line! God I feel like a social recluse.'_He thought trying to make himself feel better. He then noticed that there seemed to be a lot of species of predatory nature. _'Though in my defense most of these antrhos can tear me apart with their bare hands! Is it just me or are there a lot of predators out. God I thought they are supposed to be nocturnal!' Even though he was breathing fine John would have liked a paper bag at that point, for comfort. He would have gone on with his thoughts longer if he didn't notice that one of them was just staring at him. 'And so it begins.'

It started slow at first with just a few anthros noticing. A couple of them even stopped walking to stare, but with each passing second more and more of the anthros started to notice him. John was really starting to get uncomfortable as more and more of the citizens began to notice strange creature around them. It was all he could do not to draw his gun right there. However, something curious happened. Nothing. The anthros took a few seconds to look at him and they stared for a few seconds but they eventually went on their way. In fact other than the staring and the occasional gasp the anthros seemed to be completely disinterested in John. No one came up to him or attacked him. They simply stared at him as they went upon their way, like humans seen every day.

Cearra was smiling as they continued to walk down the crowded street. She had a good feeling that nothing bad would happen to John. After all if you thought about the history of Saraph they were once wanders and outsiders, but they had been lucky enough have been allowed to settle in this land. They were more accepting than John knew. At least hat was her theory anyways, and there was a small seed of doubt in her mind. Not that she'd let John know that. She was also smiling because she had not been recognized by anyone yet. They really did think that she was just another regular dragoness. The fact John was attracting all the attention probably didn't hurt either. With this the dragoness happily strolled down the street with the strange, furless being in tow.

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Cearra leaned against a building as she scanned the crowd for her friend. Whenever she got together with Cassie they always met up right in front of this market. The market itself wasn't anything special. It was a market that catered to the common folk and not the rich, but that suited Cearra fine. After all who would believe that the daughter of Pyrros would be buying from the Komon Market? She looked over her shoulder to see John nestled into a small indent in the building to avoid being seen. Even though it seemed like no one had a problem with him he still didn't want to be in plain view. It made him feel uncomfortable he said, being stared at like an animal. She irony brought a smile to her muzzle.

"So when is your friend gonna be here?" John asked, the discomfort clear in his voice. They had been there for about fifteen minutes and still nothing.

"She should have been here by now, though she was never one to timely." Cearra responded calmly. She was trying not to chuckle at the humans discomfort. On the bright side he was nowhere near as anxious as he was when they first left the keep.

John snorted in annoyance. "I'm really missing cellphones right about now." John said under his breath hoping she wouldn't hear him in the market, which was starting to get louder now that the day was progressing.

Unfortunately for him Cearra had heard the offhand comment and now there was another strange thing from his world that she wanted to know about. "What's a cellphone?" She asked.

John didn't answer. He just groaned bashed his head against the wall. He mentally prepared himself for the inevitable repeat of the question, but it never came.

"CEARRA!"

The shout was soon followed by a surprised scream from Cearra, which in turn was followed quickly by the sound of laughter. John quickly popped out around his "cover" not sure what to expect, however when he saw the scene in front of him he couldn't help but smile. Cearra had been picked up off the ground and was being spun around in circles by a horse, a female judging voice and laughter, with the dragon's legs and wings flailing in the wind. The mares coat was both chestnut and white, blotched in no particular pattern. It almost looked like someone took white paint and poured blotches of it onto the chestnut. Her mane was completely blonde and her tail started off blond with a black streak running down it, but the farther down her tail you went the more the blond started to fade black until it was all that was left. Her bright green eyes were shinning with happiness as she did her best to mimic a carousel...a carousel from hell.

Finally the horse decided that Cearra had had enough and set the dragoness back on the ground. Cearra struggled to maintain her balance as her world spun, however she was almost immediately twisted around as the mare turned Cearra so they were face to face. The horse embraced the dragoness in a bear hug and Cearra squealed in surprise. "Cearra it's so good to see you again! I haven't seen you since the feast and then I heard you were abducted and then they said you had returned but when I went to go visit you they said that I couldn't and so I thought something terrible had happened to you!" And on and on the horse went as tears of joy formed in her eyes.

Cearra finally regained her sense after such a violent assault, and started squirming in the horses arms. "Cassie! It's...good to...see you as well...but need air" Cearra said with a struggle. However, instead of letting her go like any other rational being might have done, the horse squeezed the dragoness tighter causing the Cearra to whimper. Thankfully for Cearra she only had to spend a few more lung crushing seconds in the vice like hug of the horse. Cearra felt the horse's grip fade and immediately breathed deep breaths of sweet, life-giving oxygen. Still somewhat dizzy from the being spun around Cearra grabbed Cassie's shoulder to steady herself as she regained her composure. Her breathing evened out as she straightened up and looked at the horse with a serious glare.

Cassie saw the glare and smiled sheepishly at the dragoness. "I over did it, didn't I?" Cassie asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Yes, you did." Cearra answered back somewhat harshly. Cassie's ears splayed back at her statement and she avoided eye contact with Cearra. Cearra's face softened at that. She could never stay mad at her friend for long. This time it was Cassie who squeaked when she felt the dragoness embrace her. "But it is really good to see you again."

John sighed as he watched the weird roller coaster that was the scene in front of him. "Ugh...women." He said as he rubbed his temples with his hand.

Cassie's ears flicked as she heard the offhand comment. "Hey if you got something to sa--"Cassie's voice cut off and her eyes widened when she saw who spoke. Cearra felt her friend stiffen and she knew immediately what cause it.

"CEARRA IT'S TH--"Cassie continued to try and shout her warning to Cearra, but the scaly hand on her muzzle effectively silenced her. John breathed a sigh of relief at Cearra's quick action, silencing the mare before she could make a bigger scene than they already had.

'Apparently someone missed the memo about me. I hope she's the only one.' John thought as looked at the very worried mare.

Cearra pulled Cassie's face so that she was no longer looking at John, but at herself. "I know who it is Cassie." She said calmly. She could see some of the fear leave the mare at those words. Cearra quickly glanced around and saw that their little display had caused a lot of attention to be drawn in their direction, but even though they drew the attention most of it seemed to be directed at John. She stifled her laughter. She thought about how flustered John might be that even through all that he was still the center of attention. "I know that after the Feast he has not had a very favorable perception, but trust me when I say that if it weren't for him I would not be here right now." She saw the mares eyes widen at the implication of what her dearest friend was saying. "Now I'm going to let go, but you have to promise me that you aren't going to yell and scream at him."

The mare just stared at John for a few seconds before she finally nodded. Cassie felt the claws of her friend leave her muzzle leaving her free to speak again. Much to both John and Cearra's relief the horse didn't sound the alarm once her mouth was free. She only looked at John then back to Cearra a few time before settling on Cearra, and said one word. "Explain."

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Cassie sat silently as she slowly chewed on an apple in her hand. It was about mid-noon now, and both Cearra and John had finished telling the horse about current events, from the point Cearra left the city to John's agreement to the council's proposal. Both John and Cearra watched as the horse just sat there, thinking over the whole tale. Cassie had to admit that some of the things that they said John had done seemed far-fetched. Sneaking into a camp of enemies, causing explosions without magic, and the fact that he had killed so many with those strange weapons he had. Cearra had seen what they had done to Keith and those kidnappers, but still it was hard for her to imagine John taking on so many foes and strike them down so easily. Then there was this mysterious proposal that was presented to John which he refused to go into any detail about. Oh and apparently she her family was never told about John, despite her family being at the Feast. John really hoped that hers was the only family that fell through the cracks.

Once they were finished Cassie thought about what they told her. If they told any other stranger in Saraph the same story they would have been labled as insane, but as crazy as some of this sounded Cassie knew it had to be true. In their very long friendship Cearra had never tried to lie or deceive her in any way. In fact Cearra was one of the most trustworthy of any of her other friends. Of course trust was the only reason she believed the story. Cassie was also one of the few in the city that was privy to the fact that Cearra had been abducted. The two families had been very close due to the their friendship, but even then they were only told about it the day before Cearra was brought back, and even then it was only after they had personally visited Pyrros and Amaya that they learned the truth. There was also the fact that John was sitting there right next to them. Last she heard they believed he had something to do with her abduction and if he was seen he was to be captured immediately. While some of the details of the rescue seemed unreal there really wasn't any reason to doubt them. However, there was still one thing that lingered in Cassie's mind "I have one question." Cassie said through a mouthful of apple.

"And that would be?" Cearra answered.

The horse pointed at John, who had to lean back in order to avoid getting jabbed in the face. "Just what were you doing when you saw Cearra get taken? You said you were looking over the city but why?"

Even Cearra looked at John with an intrigued look. She had to admit that she never thought of the question at the time, granted there was a lot to going on at the time and John had been less than talkative for most of their journey.

John slowly pushed the horses hand out of his face slightly annoyed. He couldn't tell if she was asking it out of pure curiosity or if she was trying to incriminate him in some way. The mare eyes stayed locked on him and betrayed nothing of her motives. John sighed and looked out past the city walls. He could just see a familiar outcropping in the distance. 'It looks a lot farther than I remember.' He thought as he pointed at the outcrop. Both anthros both tried to find what he was pointing at and he suppressed as they bobbed their heads trying to find was he was pointing at. "I was out on those rocks over there looking down on the city." He recalled. Finally both anthros locked eyes on the rocks, both their eyes widened as they saw how distant it was. "I stumbled upon the city not to long after, well you know, and figured I should scout it out." Even though it was only about a week since he was up there, it felt like an eternity. He smiled at how things had changed. "I was up there trying to find a way to sneak into Saraph."

Cassie was slightly surprised that he was actually told them. From what they had said John was really big on giving explanations. Cearra was surprised at his lack of vagueness as well, and she almost betrayed that he was so open right now. "Why were you going to try and sneak in to Saraph?" Cassie followed up.

John knew he was being a lot more direct than he usually was but he realized he was starting to come to a crossroad. The longer he stayed in Saraph the harder it would be for him to be as secretive as he was and still be accepted by the anthros. And seeing as it looked like he was here for the long term non-acceptance would probably not end up well for him. "Simple really. I needed food" He said matter of factly. "I only had enough food to last me a couple of days out there. The only way I could think of getting food at the time was to sneak into the city and steal some. I was trying to familiarize myself with the layout of the city and trying to find weak spots to approach from, when I the crowd part for one figure surrounded by guards." He glanced sidelong at Cearra. "It was too hard to ignore a sea of bodies parting for one and it made me curious as to who it was that would stop a whole city in their tracks. So I followed them as they left the city and...well you know the rest." John finished.

"So you were looking for a way to steal from us then." She said in an even voice.

John nodded slowly in confirmation. He began feeling uncomfortable at the way she said that. She didn't say that in anger, but because he had just said he planned to steal from Saraph he knew she wouldn't be ecstatic.

Cassie didn't respond right away as she looked at the ground. "You only saw what happened that day because you were going to try to steal food, and it was really by luck that you saw what happened." The horse looked up at John with a smile on her face.

John looked at her confused. He was not expecting that, nor what happened next. The horse reached passed Cearra and gently pulled John into a light hug. "You risked your life to save my best friend even though you knew what would happen if you were seen in Saraph. You did something I doubt many others would do, and you did it for a complete stranger." She released him and looked him in his eyes. "Thank you."

John was stunned but still somehow was able to reply to the mare promptly. Cassie was up on her feet after that. "Come on, the day is half over and there is still plenty to do." She said. Cearra was quick to join her. John finally processed what happened and rushing after the two anthros.

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Shopping. It seemed some things were universal. They ended up walking back to the same market that they had met up on. They had done nothing but talk and look at various things. Thankfully they hadn't bought anything yet, so that meant John wasn't becoming a bag boy. They seemed to be more interested in socializing with each other than then buying anything so he hopped it would stay that way. John had been on autopilot ever since, doing his best to not think about all of the chatter going about and also trying to ignore the constant staring of nearly every anthro in the city. Occasionally he would answer a simple question tossed his way. He was actually impressed that he could hear himself think much less the two girls when they asked him something. The market was really loud...like packed mall food court loud times three. They probably spent an hour in the market before they made their way out, and when John asked where they were headed he found out, to his joy, they were going to another one on the other side of the city. He would have screamed but he was already drawing enough attention as it was.

John was really starting to regret his acceptance to go with Cearra now. He might have actually preferred to have been tossed out of the keep into the streets to this. At least being torn to shreds was a relatively quick death. This, this was torture.

He was still sulking when a noise caught his attention. It was very different from the noises of the rest of the city. In fact it didn't sound like a noise that should be made in city streets. It sounded like metal hitting metal. He scanned the surroundings looking for a blacksmith shop or something that would make that noise. Finally he saw it. It was tucked away from sight, he was lucky enough to see from down an ally. He vaguely heard Cearra talking to him as he started down the alleyway. As he reached the end of the alley the space opened up considerably to allow for a large training ground. The space itself was had was boxed in by buildings at all sides, with only alleys or narrow streets to allow access to the space. As for the training grounds there were multiple arenas on the grounds, he could also see wooden dummies for hand to hand training, and even a small archery range. The grounds themselves were packed with anthros who were either training, waiting for their turn, or just talking with comrades.

However, what caught John's attention was the anthros fighting in the arena. None of the combatants were wearing armor as they battled, and from the sounds the swords were making it sounded like they were using real metal blades. He couldn't believe that they would take such risks for training. They weren't holding back either as he saw that every swing was fast, deliberate with the obvious intent being to strike down the opponent. He couldn't think of any reason that fighting with real weapons, or even blunted weapons, with such intensity would ever be a sane idea even if they had magic to heal the wounds. It was way too high a risk of dying to ever be useful.

It was at this time John saw a blade wielded by a tiger descend and hit the vulnerable forearm of his opponent, but once it made contact the reaction was not what he expected. The raccoon dropped the sword and clutched his arm as if in pain, but then then picked up the sword he had dropped with the arm that was struck. John was dumbfounded. "Even if those blades are blunted his arm should be broken." John thought. The raccoon and tiger shook hands in the middle of the arena before walking out, immediately handing the swords to the next contenders.

Unfortunately for him he was interrupted from watching next match by a certain horse. "Hey is that Keith? Let's go say hi." Cassie exclaimed ripping John from his thoughts by mentioning the familiar fox.

"Keith?" John scanned the training grounds again and saw a number of foxes present. How the horse could tell anyone from the other was beyond him. While some of the foxes had different coloration than Keith there were still plenty that looked the same to him. How she could tell the difference he could not tell. "Or maybe it's a different Keith that isn't a fox. How the hell would I know, last names seem to be a foreign concept around here." Cearra and Cassie had already started across the small street to the grounds. Sure enough there was a fox that seemed to be leaving the grounds when Cassie and Cearra came up to him. Now that John was closer he was about 75% sure that this was the same Keith that accompanied him on his little escapade to Therum. He looked up and saw the two girls approaching.

"Cearra, Cassie. It's nice to see you." He said with a slight bow of his head and a smile on his face. He then saw John approaching from behind them and his expression hardened. "John." The fox's tone was flat as he regarded John. Both girls shared a nervous glance.

John snorted at the fox. "You're a piece of work Keith. It's good to see you to." John said grinning at the fox.

Keith couldn't keep his act up long and a he grinned at the human. "After Therum I was hoping it would be a long time before I saw your ugly face again."

"Well if you gonna be like that don't come crying to me the next time you fall in a ditch."

The fox was still smirking as he turned to the girls, who had relaxed now that the tension had dissipated. "So what brings you to these training grounds today?" The fox asked.

John once again zoned out the conversation as another fight started. Once again both combatants were going all out and once again when steel met with body there was a distinct lack of body parts flying in the air. Though this time he was able to hear a grunt of pain as the anthro cradled the struck area.

"John?"

John turned his attention back to the three next to him. "What's wrong? You act like you never seen guards training before." Keith said with a smirk on his face.

"I haven't" He responded matter of factly.

Keith chuckled at his answer, thinking the human was joking, until he looked at the human's expression. "Wait, you're serious." Even Cearra had a skeptical expression.

John rolled his eyes and looked back at the fight. "Come on with the bombs I dropped on you guys yesterday it's a surprise that anything I say surprises you."

The three of them stared at him in confusion. "What's a bomb?" Cassie asked the question on all their minds.

John ignored the mares question; he didn't feel like explaining explosives to them right now, or ever. He wasn't really qualified to explain the intricacies of making things go boom. Instead he felt it was about time he got an answer to the mystery in front of him. "Hey Keith answer something for me."

"What is it?"

"What's up with the swords? They look and sound like they are made of metal but they sure don't look like they are doing any damage. Even with a blunt blade the way they are swinging those around you would think that they would break some bones."

The fox stared blankly at John as if it was the stupidest question in the world. "Those are training swords." The fox said. John's eyebrow raised and he waved his hand and if telling Keith to continue. Keith then remembered that John said his kind had no magic. "The blades are dull like you said but they are also enchanted so that the swords hit with less force even when you swing it as hard as you can. It really doesn't hurt any more than getting hit with a stick though it does leave bigger bruises than one. It's better than using another substitute like a wooden sword though. You get the feel for what fighting with a real feels like without the risk of getting seriously injured."

"Hmmm...interesting." John muttered. At this point John figured he should have been familiar with magic being an explanation. Still he still felt a small amount of doubt every time someone mentioned magic. 'Old habits die hard'.

John would have been content with watching the rest of the match before Cearra spoke. "Umm, Keith. Is it really a good idea for John to be here?"

"What do you mean?" Keith answered.

"Well last I knew the guard had a capture or kill order if they ever saw John."

John immediately paled and his body tensed at this. "What?" John looked back at the training grounds but this time he looked at the guards, not in battle. He noticed that slowly, but surely, the guards were starting to notice his presence, and they didn't look thrilled to see him either. He suddenly felt like it wasn't such a good idea to stand right in front of a guard training ground.

Before John could suggest leaving he felt someone grasp his shoulder. "Relax John." Keith said comfortingly. "That order was rescinded while John and I were away. The council made it clear that John is not an enemy or a threat to Saraph, and should be treated as such."

John relaxed a bit after hearing that. It seemed that the council was thinking ahead.

"However,"

"Aw crap."

"After what you did are there is still many of the guard don't trust you and I can think of one who wants to get a little revenge."

"Well then I guess we should probably get going." John said uneasily. It was just like he thought. Just because he had the councils okay didn't mean that he could free himself of concern. It seemed like there were plenty who didn't trust him. Not that he blamed them.

"You know maybe you should go sooner rather than later. I saw Khan here earlier." Keith warned.

Cearra's head snapped over to Keith "Khan's here?" Cearra asked fearfully.

"I haven't seen him since so he might have left, but the sooner you leave the better. If he found John here then, well it wouldn't be good."

"Who's Khan?" John asked looking between both of them worriedly.

The dragoness bit her bottom lip as she nervously looked around, her wings fluttering nervously. Even Cassie looked anxious about the situation. "He was one of the guards at the Feast." Cassie said.

"Ok, that helps a lot." He deadpanned.

"Khan is one of the honor guard." She added, but John still didn't understand. "He is a tiger."

"Okay so he a guard at the Feast and...oh fuck." The only thing John wanted to do at that moment was to get the hell outta dodge before a certain tiger decided to return the favor...except with claws. "So I think know would definitely be a good time to get out of here." He said as he took a step back before he bumped into something. He didn't even need to turn around to know what he bumped into. All he had to do was look into the eyes of the three anthro's to know what was behind him. He slowly turned around to confirm his fear. Standing behind him was Khan judging the look of absolute hate and rage emanating from him. If looks could kill, well if they could kill John would have been dead a long time ago, but the look in his eyes could have put fear in God. John felt a terror he hadn't felt since he broke through the tree line and saw took his first look at this strange world.

"What are you doing here creature." Khan snarled. He was breathing heavily and John could feel his rage in every breath. Looking at Khan now John noticed something he missed the first time. He was big. He was the same height as John but he was built. John could see how large his muscles were even with all his fur. With Khan being an honor guard it would make sense that he would be stronger than the average guard but still it seemed like a hard thing to miss. Though in retrospect he had a little much on his plate to notice just how big the tiger was. Looking at him now John wondered how he ever even hurt this beast.

"I'll ask you again creature. What are you doing on these here?" He asked again.

The situation had gone to shit fast, and John was very uncertain how this would play out. All he knew was that he couldn't show the fear he was feeling. "Oh you know, enjoying the scenery. Thought we'd stop by and say hi to our buddy Keith over here." John said calmly, pointing over his shoulder to the fox.

Keith tried to stammer out a response; however a quick glare from the tiger cut him off. "You are not welcome here creature. I would suggest you leave before I regret letting you go."

John looked around and saw the situation had gotten worse. All of the guards had stopped what they were doing and were starting to gather at the edge of the grounds. Some of the guards coming in from the streets stopped to watch what was happening, inadvertently blocking the exits, or maybe they did that on purpose. John was starting to freak out, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Almost instantly he felt a calm wash over him as Cearra walked up to his side. "Surely Khan you would not harm one who is considered an honored guest by the council? You know what the punishment is for such a transgression." She said calmly.

Khan growled at her intervention. His gaze fell to her and he quickly realized just who she was. "Cearra?" He whispered. His eyes went wide for a brief moment before the fire returned. "I was merely making a...suggestion to our friend here." The amount of venom in his voice when he said 'friend' would have made a King Cobra jealous. "The council may have pardoned him for his actions but there are those who did not welcome the news." Khan said.

By now there were a lot of guards who had gathered around them, completely encircling them in bodies.

"Right, well" John started walking towards the edge of the ring of guards. "I guess we should be on our way th--" John was stopped by a hand landing roughly on the shoulder.

"On second thought, why don't you stay?" Khan swept his arm around John and pulled him close. "Since you are such an esteemed guest of the council's then we should give you a tour of the training grounds."

John's gut dropped. That was something he definitely did not feel like doing. However, before he could protest the crowd around him roared in approval and converged on him, pushing him towards the training grounds. Cearra, Cassie, and Keith tied to get to Khan but they were swallowed up by the crowd as well, but unlike John they were left behind as the crowd moved towards the entrance to the grounds. They ran after the crowd as it moved towards the arenas with Khan and John at the head of the group.

When they reached the arena Khan released John from his grip. He then whispered something to a badger nearby, who nodded at whatever Khan had told him. With a very unsettling grin on his face the badger took off, and Khan turned his attention back to the human. "I'm not sure if you know but we have met before."

John was leaning his back against the rail of the arena one hand behind his back gripping his pistol. "Yeah so I've heard." John was doing his best to stay calm but being boxed in like he was made things look grim.

Khan smiled evilly at John's words. "Well then I guess it should come as no surprise that I don't like you creature, but you have the council's protection now."

"Again, so I've heard"

"I would like nothing more than to kill you for what you did at the Feast," Khan clenched his hand as he spoke and furry flamed his eyes again, but he soon relaxed again. "but I cannot. It's not because I want to follow the council's orders, but because I have no interest in dying."

"So if you're not going to kill me what are we doing here?" John let go of the grip of the weapon feeling somewhat better about the situation, but he still had his hand close to his back.

"Straight to the point I see. I suggest a simple dual." Cearra, Cassie, and Keith finally fought through the crowd arriving in time to hear Khan's proposal. Many in the crowd voiced their approval at this. "Fifteen minutes in the arena. The rules are to avoid striking the throat or other sensitive areas, and the only weapons you can use are the swords. Winner is the one who lands the most 'killing' blows."

"And what happens after that?" John asked, curious as to the purpose of such an act.

"Nothing. We go our separate ways and that will be that. What happened at the Feast will be like water under a bridge."

John looked at the tiger skeptically. "Just like that." The tiger nodded. By this time the trio had made their way to John's side. He looked over to them and he saw uncertainty in their eyes. He didn't trust Khan at all. He could try walking away from this but Khan had the entire crowd with him. Trying to get away could be worse accepting the challenge. The crowd was obviously hungry for a fight. They apparently wanted to see this fight, and if they were if he didn't fight voluntarily they might just do it themselves. After all, they did force him over to this arena. No, the crowd was very much hostile, and if he angered them then it could turn bad. 'Besides it can't be that bad, Keith just said that those swords were not very painful.'

However, there was something about this that seemed off, but at the same time that could be his fear getting to him. Plus, he had an idea that might put his fear at ease. "Alright Khan I agree--"No sooner had the words left his lips than the crowd roared in approval. It was frightening to hear how much the guards wanted this, in fact it almost seemed like they wanted the fight more than Khan did. His friend next to him were trying to say something but t they were wasting their breath because John could barely hear his own thoughts. "But--"John tried to start but the he was still drowned out. It took a couple more tries before the crowd became quiet again. "But I have one condition."

Khan's smile fell a little at this. "And what would that be."

John looked over at his three friends. They looked at him, just as eager as everyone else to see what he had planned. He pointed to the dragoness. "She will check the blades to make sure that they are safe."

For a brief moment a surprised look appeared on Khan's face, but it was soon replaced by a smug smile. "Have it your way, I will be waiting in the arena." With that Khan walked off, and half the crowd followed him. The other half stayed where they were blocking off any escape, but they left the four of them alone.

"What are you doing?" Cearra grabbed John and whipped him around. Of the three anthros standing there Cearra looked the most distraught. In fact it looked like she wasn't just confused like the other two, but also worried and even a bit mad.

"Doing my best not to die." He replied evenly.

"By going into a fight with Khan who just said that he wanted you dead?" She asked with a considerable amount of bite.

John just looked at her, shocked at this side of Cearra that had shone itself. He didn't understand why she would be so emotional over this. Sure he considered her a friend but still this was a bit much.

"John, Cearra has a point. This seems to be the opposite of doing your best not to die." Keith added.

"Well it's the best I can do in a no win situation. Besides you just said the swords are relatively harmless. As long as we make sure that the swords are actual training swords and not the real deal than I should be fine."

"John you are protected by the council's power." Keith pointed at one of the exits. "You could have just walked away from all of this and they wouldn't be able to do a thing."

"I don't think it would have been that easy." Keith tried saying something but John held up his hand to silence him. "Listen for a moment. They obviously are not found of me." He motioned towards the guards. "They were more than happy when Khan mentioned his proposal, and before I made a decision they had already brought me to the arena."

Cearra looked at Keith. "Does the guard really hate him so much?"

"Well, I know they aren't found of him and..." Keith looked down at the ground. "Khan may not have been the only one who said bad things about John." Cearra glared at Keith who held his hands up defensively. "Hey hey, you forgot John injured me as well. I didn't like. That's not enough time for me to try and change what I've done."

Cearra calmed down and turned to John. "But you still have the council's protection. They shoul--"

"They don't care about the council." John cut Cearra off. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with mobs, but we are quite familiar with them back home. There is one thing you don't do when confronted by a mob and that is resisting them, unless you have the force to resist them but even then that usually just ends up stirring the pot. Right now they want to see me fight Khan. If we refuse them then they might try to sate that desire themselves, without the practice swords. Now I don't know about you but I sure as hell don't have the force to fight off a mob. They are no longer individuals but a group and if they get to rowdy then they won't give a damn about what the council says."

The dragoness she looked over at the exit but the mass guards had not moved from their spot. "You shouldn't have to do this." She said quietly, defiantly even. She was the only one out of the three who could see past John's brave face. She could feel his fear and other emotions. How he hid them she had no idea, but she couldn't help but fear for him because of it.

"I shouldn't be on this world, much less in this position, but this is the way the cards have been dealt. The only thing I can do is play the hand I have."

Cearra sighed in defeat. John had proven that he was no fool many times. Now was not the time to doubt him. No matter what he was feeling emotionally she believed him when he said there was no way out. Suddenly she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Ma'am." A badger said, holding two swords in scabbards.

She looked at the new arrival in confusion before she remembered John's condition. "Right, thank you." She took both swords and placed them on the ground.

John watched as her hands both glowed as she ran them over the two swords. She looked up at John and nodded. The badger went to pick up the swords, up one of the swords, hopped the fence and then walked over to Khan handing him the sword. John didn't let the badger out of his sight, making sure nothing happened. Something still felt odd about this, but the badger did do anything but give Khan the sword so he pushed that feeling to the back of his mind.

He looked over to see Khan was already in the arena, watching him. He still had that look in his eyes. At the edge of the arena he turned to look back at the still sulking dragoness. "Hey." He said getting her attention. "They are training swords, so there ain't nothing to worry about." John didn't wait for a response as he quickly hopped over the wooden rails into the arena.

"Are you satisfied?"

John didn't answer him. He just turned around to his side of the arena and set his sword down. He pulled his arms inside his hoodie and removed his pistol, carefully hiding it in the hoodie as he pulled it off. Oddly enough he didn't feel any worse about leaving his only true defense behind. Setting both items down by his friend's feet he picked up the sword and unsheathed it.

Immediately he felt calm, like he felt when he rescued Cearra or when he was in Therum. He remembered what the masters had told him. That he had the knowledge, but it would only be remembered when he needed it to be. While it would be nice for that knowledge to make itself known right now he wasn't counting on it. He didn't know how to use the weapon in his hand, he should not be so calm. 'Can't be too hard right? Swing, swing, stab. It can't be that complicated.' He thought as he swung the sword around, but he could tell he lacked any kind of coordination with the weapon. When he used his guns the weapons felt like an extension of him. He knew the limits and the capabilities of the weapons and it was like second nature. The sword felt like a third appendage, a mutated extra limb that was there and was more of a hindrance rather than a part of him. "Well fuck."

"Are you finally ready creature?" Khan shouted. He was pacing back and forth impatiently.

'Like a tiger stalking his prey. Yeah this brings a whole new meaning to that.' He thought nervously. "Let's get this over with." John replied, throwing the scabbard on top of his hoodie. John held the sword in front of him, both hands on the hilt trying to at least look like he knew what he was doing.

A menacing, toothy grin appeared on the tiger face and he charged John. The sight of the large, powerful tiger banzai charging him caused John freeze up for a second. It would have been quite an impressive sight had it not been him who was the target of the attack. By the time John gathered himself Khan was feet away with his sword over his head. John was barley fast enough to counter as Khan brought the sword down on him. John struggled to stay upright as the force behind Khan's charge hit him. The crowd cheered as metal struck metal and John wobbled. John was able to hold firm though. Feeling stable he looked up at the two crossed swords in surprise. 'Huh. Maybe this stuff isn't as hard as I thou--' John's back patting was interrupted as he suddenly found that his feet were no longer planted on the ground. He hit the ground on his back and immediately he felt pain as his opponent's sword was brought down on his stomach.

'What the hell just happened? And why the hell did that hurt so much?' John was taking deep breaths as he clutched his stomach. The force of the blade knocked the wind out of him, and while the blow didn't kill him it didn't take a genius to figure out he had gotten clubbed really good. The guards that had gathered around roared at the 'kill'.

"Get up creature. It hasn't even been thirty seconds yet and I want to enjoy this as much as I can." Khan said

John got back to his feet slowly. He was breathing easier now but the hit was still sore. John glanced over to the three on the sidelines, quickly seeing their worried expressions. This was gonna be a long fifteen minutes. He took a deep breath, which thankfully didn't hurt anymore, and looked over at his opponent. Khan didn't seem like one for waiting however, as Khan was already about to thrust his sword into John's gut. John quickly spun out of the way and let his sword swing with the momentum of the spin turning a dodge into an attack. Khan, being the well trained soldier he was, saw the attack coming and easily intercepted the attack. When the blades met Khan pushed John's sword out of the way before bringing his sword down on John's now exposed arm. John yelped in pain, the blow causing his hand to spasm and his sword to fall. Khan was not done however; he wanted to add a little bit more flair to the kill. Khan spun around and used the attack John had just used to bring his sword in crashing into his head.

Thankfully because the nature of the attack Khan's aim was slightly off. He had been aiming to smash the sword right across the middle of John's face, which probably would have broken his nose even with the enchantment, but instead he ended up smacking John in the forehead. Still the audible thud of the sword making contact showed the force of the blow was rather sizable and even though it hit in a more favorable location it still hurt like hell. The hit laid John flat on his back, colors dancing in his vision and pain throbbing in his brain. He felt warmth trickle down his cheek. He reached up to feel that a small cut had opened up next to his left eyebrow.

"Is this all the challenge you can give me? Pathetic." Khan jeered.

John ignored him as he waited for his head to stop throbbing so much. He brought his hand in front of his face and saw blood on it. The sight of it caused John to feel fear again. He had to fight to keep himself from hyperventilating at the sight. Even though the blades were dull, and the strikes were magically absorbed Khan was still slugging hard enough to draw blood. It seemed he had severely underestimated how much power these swords blocked. This was a whole new ball game now and if he wasn't careful he could get things could get worse very fast. Still there wasn't much he could do about it now. He had gotten himself in this mess and the only way to get out of it was to get up and face the angry tiger, no matter how much his mind was screaming to do otherwise.

John once again got to his feet, but he was shaking a little. The blow to the head had really messed him up. Once he was back on his feet he reached for the sword again. When he touched it he was once again surprised by the effect it had. He became calm again, and while his body was still slightly shaking he no longer fearful. Concerned for his own safety yes, but it wasn't the fear that he felt when he saw his blood. While he may not have remember how to fight with a sword it seemed that something ingrained in his mind made him very calm when he held a weapon. John cut his thoughts short though as he remembered how quick Khan was to attack and this time was no different. The tiger was already nearly upon him again.

The match progressed much the same way as it started. John was outclassed by the tiger's years of training, but he wasn't completely helpless. Every time John would get up from being downed he would stay up for a little longer than the previous time. Still as the match dragged on John was getting tired and slower. Khan on the other hand seemed to be fueled by his hatred of John as he attacked with nearly the same intensity that he started with. At one point Khan had attack John so furiously that John had no choice but to run away, as he could not hope to withstand the furry of the attack. The whole crowd laughed at John as he ran around the ring, except for three pressed who were pressed against the ring.

They had not known John for long, yet Keith, Cearra, and even Cassie could not help but cringe at the thrashing John was receiving. Just a few days ago Keith would have been one of the ones in the crowd cheering at the display, but Therum had been a perspective alternating experience. Watching John get beat down Keith noticed that something wasn't right. It seemed like the damage done to John was greater than I should have been. It could just have been that humans were much more fragile than they believed. Khan was also known for his strength and ferocity so maybe those two things explained why John seemed to be getting hurt so badly. But the more he thought about it the more that didn't make sense. He had seen John run out of the forest around Saraph with an arrow in his leg. He watched him rip it out and continue fighting the ones who kidnapped Cearra. There was also the first time these two meet John had taken out Khan with nothing but his bare hands and he didn't seem to suffering any injury, then he escaped from them right after that .

The more Keith thought about it the more he suspected foul play. He glanced around and noticed the badger, Borun was his name, standing on the outside of the circle near them. He moved to leave the crowd, but something held him in place. He looked over to see Cearra looking at him in distraught. She thought he was leaving them. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He would have said something but it would have been a wasted effort with the crowd being so loud. Even without saying anything she seemed to know that he wasn't abandoning them, and she returned her worried eyes back to the fight.

Keith exited the crowd and quickly made his way across to the badger. As he neared him he eyed a shed where they kept training weapons that would work nicely. He reached to his belt, to a knife he had learned to never leave the barracks without, and unsheathed the knife. The badger was in the perfect position. In the back of the crowd and not hovering directly over anyone, so they wouldn't notice him. Keith quick pushed the tip of the blade to the back of the badger and covered his mouth. The shocked badger jumped in surprise but quickly realized the situation he was in and complied when Keith began to pull him towards the shed. When they entered Keith turned the badger around and pressed the blade into his neck. "What did you do Borun?" Keith snarled.

Borun was not afraid though, even with a blade pressed against his throat he grinned at Keith. "I don't know what you mean." He answered calmly.

Keith pressed the blade closer to the badger neck. "Do not play games with me! Real training swords do not cause injuries."

"Cearra checked the swords herself remember. She said they were ok." The badger was smug, like he thought he had already won the argument. He brought up his hand and laid it on Keith's wrist, pushing slightly so the knife wasn't so tightly press to him. "What are you going to do Keith? Kill me?" He asked mockingly.

Keith slammed the badger back into the wall, but kept the knife away from his neck. "No I won't kill you." Keith flashed his own grin. "I will let the council deal with you. And once they find out that you played a role in harming John, who by the way is a personal guest of Pyrros..." The badgers smile dropped at that and had it been able to his coat would have gone white. Everyone knew of the red dragons legendary anger. "Well who knows what they might do, but even you know Pyrros isn't known for his patience." Keith began walking away while the badger had begun to stammer a response.

"Wa-Wait!"

Keith smiled as he turned around. He was going to get his answer.

"If I tell you will you still tell the council?"

"Not a word." He lied.

"Khan was telling the truth when he said he didn't want to kill the creature." "His name is John." Keith interrupted with a growl.

The badger swallowed nervously. "Yes well like I said Khan doesn't want to kill him because he knows the council will have his head, but he wants to get back at him for embarrassing him like he did." Borun swallowed again. "He heard the conversation you had with him explaining how the swords worked, and came up with the idea."

"He heard that? How did we not see him?" Keith thought aloud.

"Perhaps you are not as perceptive as you think." The badger said snidely. Keith slammed the badger back into the wall and jammed the blade against his throat again.

"What was his idea?" Keith snarled. He would have shoved the blade into the badgers throat for the remark, but he still needed information.

"Ack! The plane was to give Khan a training sword that was partially drained of the protective spells. His blade is about at half power right now."

"How did the blade get past Cearra then?" He said slamming the badger into the wall again. The badger only shrugged his shoulders in response.

Keith roared in anger. He had his answer now. He brought his fist into the badger's cheek taking the badger by surprise. He stumble back tripping over the various tools in the shed falling against one of the walls. The force of his landing knocked a shield off its perch, landing right on the badgers head knocking him out cold. Keith saw none of this though. He barley heard the bang of the shield hitting the badgers head. He was too focused on getting back to the fight. He had to stop it before anything worse happened.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

Meanwhile the beating went on in Keith's absence and John was once again on his ass. "Do you yield creature? If you give up know I will let you go. End your humiliation. There is no shame in defeat." Khan jeered.

But instead of surrender John got back up just like he had every other time. He snorted in amusement. "No shame in defeat huh? Then what the hell is this if not payback for me beating your ass in the first place."

Khan roared in anger at the human's jab. John knew his words stung, but as the next furious assault came he had to question his own judgment of taunting the already pissed off cat.

On the sidelines Cearra looked in worry. She feared for John with good reason. Not for his life for she believed Khan when he said he wouldn't try to kill John, but for his well being. He had been knocked down many times since the fight had begun, and he was more scarred than not. Black and blue bruises dotted his skin and his body was laced with scratches and cuts. Most were minor scraps but others, like the one next to his eyebrow hadn't stopped bleeding. She was amazed the blood hadn't gotten in his eyes yet. His physical wounds weren't the only thing that gave her cause for worry though. There were a few different things Cearra felt from John. One was fear. His fear of not only Khan's rage but also the fear of pain the next strike was going cause. She also felt helplessness. He knew he was fighting a hopeless battle and so the only thing he could do was avoid being hit.

However there was something else that she could not feel, but see clearly in his eyes. Determination. When he was down, it pushed aside all the emotions he was feeling and allowed him to rise up to meet the challenge again instead of cowering in fear. It was his determination that lead him to goad Khan instead of giving in. His determination to not give in was what worried her, because in continuing the fight he was getting hurt even worse than he already was.

That thought that he was getting hurt even more made her suffer. Ever since he had dragged her out of the camp she had grown fond of the human. He was strong, brave, selfless, and many other things that others in her life had not been. As soon as other figured out who she was they tried to use it to their advantage. They tried to befriend her to use her. The only two that hadn't were Cassie and Keith. They were the only ones who never treated her as a mean to an end.

Then suddenly John comes in to the picture and he saves her not because of who she is, but because it was the right thing to do in his mind. After what happened at the Feast he had every right leave her to her fate, but he did not. During their time in the woods, after the escape, she began to notice something stirring in her. When he was close she felt...better, safer. When he was captured by her father she screamed at her father for locking him up in the dungeon, but it wasn't just because he had saved her and deserved better. She knew that if he was locked away she would be very limited in her ability to see him. When she did visit him in the dungeon she felt giddy and happy. She didn't know what to make of the feelings until a day or two after John left to Therum. It was then she realized that even though they had known each other for a short time she cared for John far more than as a friend. She was beginning to fall in love with him. So to see him like this hurt her as it did him. She could almost feel every blow that landed on him, on her. And there was nothing she could do about it.

John was doing better. It had to have been a whole minute since he was last struck. His body ached but he knew he couldn't let up for a moment, for his opponent had not let up either. Both combatants blades crossed making and X in front of them. Both of them were breathing rather heavily but only one of them doing so because of fatigue. Khan was angry that John had survived his attacks for so long. As they separated John went on the offensive making a strike at Khan who easily blocked it. However, no matter how well John was doing Khan was still clearly the superior and Khan would eventually strike him again. Unfortunately for John, the tiger had no interest in waiting to continue pummeling John. As their blades crossed again Khan threw his fist at John connecting hard in his stomach. John clutched his stomach, his chest heaving to replace the air that had rocketed out of his lungs. But John got no reprieve as Khan swung his blade in a low loop striking John in his chest. John flew onto his back doing his best to keep breathing, but after those vicious hits he was wondering how he could even still breath.

John noticed that he was at the edge of the arena, and in the sea of faces two familiar ones stood out staring down at him. 'Well this didn't go as expected...this is much worse.' He thought as he dragged himself so his back was against the fence. He could see Khan stalking towards him. By the look of things he was going to take another swing at John while he was still on the ground. He was still lying against the railing, his body not ready to get up again after the last attack. John was honestly surprised he lasted this long with how bad things were going. He watched Khan come closer raising his sword in front of him.

"Khan! Stop!"

A shadow passed over him obscuring his vision in orange, and leaving fluff in his mouth which he promptly spat out. He looked up to find himself staring at the tail end of Keith who stood defiantly in Khan's path, the crowd booing due to the stoppage.

"Would you really stoop so low to strike an opponent on the ground, unable to defend himself?" Khan growled at the fox, but didn't lower his weapon. "Or maybe that is the kind of thing you would do. After all, you are using an unauthorized weapon to fight."

At this the crowd fell silent, and everyone, even John, stared at Khan expectantly. To his credit Khan kept a straight face. "In case you forgot Cearra herself checked the swords and found nothing wrong with them." He said matter of factly while pointing to the dragoness who, along with Cassie, had hopped the fence to help John up. "Are you calling her a lair?" Khan said in a faux shocked voice.

"No, in fact she was right. Both weapons are enchanted." A murmur started to arise in the crowd, but Khan was still grinning. Assured that he was in the clear, but before he could speak again Keith continued. "But only one is fully enchanted." Keith said pointing to John who had an arm one are around Cearra for support, one of her wings wrapped around him protectively. "The other is enchanted to half power."

Surprisingly the crowd stayed silent after the accusation, though Khan didn't look as sure as he did moments ago. "Oh? You know what I think? I think you're just trying to get your friend out of the fight because he's being beaten so badly. Look at him! He is hardly the dangerous creature the council warned us about. He's weak and fragile." As Khan spoke some of the crowd voiced their approval at his response. A few even yelled for the match to be restarted.

However, despite the crowd Keith smiled knowingly. "Borun talked."

Any confidence on Khan's face was instantly blown away by a shocked expression. "He WHAT!?" Khan shouted before realizing his mistake. Instantly the crowd turned on the tiger. Khan snarled as he heard the now hostile crowd call him names and question his bravery.

John looked around at the crowd. _'He's lost the crowd, this fight is over.'_He thought as he looked over to Cearra who stared back at him, relief evident in her gaze. At this he allowed himself to relax, shifting more weight onto the dragoness who didn't seem bothered in the least about it.

Khan's head was swinging around as he was verbally assaulted from all sides. Finally he roared in frustration, quieting the crowd enough to talk. "Since when did you become the creature's breeder?" Khan asked with venom in his voice. "A few days ago you were claiming that should you have the chance you would make the creature pay. Well here is your chance. He said pointing at the injured human.

Keith didn't take his gaze off Khan. "Unlike you Khan I actually respect the council's orders. Once they hear about this not even Skeal will be able to save you from their wrath."

Khan growled at Keith. "What happened that made you that creatures bitch?"

Keith ignored the insult. "If it had been up to me I probably wouldn't have changed" He said with a chuckle, remembering how much he hated the one he now protected. "Fortunately that wasn't completely up to me, and during our time together I got into a situation where I was trapped, and he could have left me to die" That statement drew a curious look from everyone, including Khan. "In fact he had no reason to save me; I made it very clear that I hated him. Still when I was in need of help he was there to save me, so the least I can do is forgive what him for his actions." Keith turned away, they had talked too much, and John looked like he could use some help.

Keith reached to pick up John's other arm to help carry him but the human waived him off, sword still in hand. "I'm fine, can you get my stuff?" Keith nodded as he walked past the human. Now that he hadn't been fighting his body started to feel even more fatigued and hurt.

He started to turn to go toward the exit, still using Cearra as a crutch, when a cry broke the silence. John looked to see Khan rushing at him, the look in his eyes was now murderous. He had his sword raised above him and was a few feet away. His was poised perfectly to strike John right on his crown, if it wasn't for a body in the way. When they had turned Cearra was place in between Khan and John, and now she was set to take a good hit from the blow Khan was about to deliver. In his anger he no longer cared who he hurt as long as he was able to make John suffer, even if that meant striking one who was basically royalty to do it. There was no way to dodge without leaving Cearra in harm's way, and he wasn't about to let her be hurt for his sake.

A familiar sensation washed over John as everything slowed down. John's body no longer felt pained, and even Khan's scream was dulled to near silence. John arm that had been draped around Cearra for support pushed her from behind, flinging her away from the danger. He continued turning his body, bringing his now free hand to the hilt of the sword he swung it high colliding with Khan's downward stroke. The scene was familiar enough as they had been trading blows like this for the past ten minutes. This was the past ten minutes though. Khan had deliberately tried to harm Cearra, his friend, making the situation entirely different.

Instead of trying to take Khan on blow for blow John made his next move into something Khan didn't expect. Looking at the murderous eyes John lashed his fist out hard, catching the tiger right on his nose. Khan brought one of his hands to his face, memories of the feast in his mind as he checked for blood. John took advantage of the tiger's lapse in judgment and slammed his foot right into the tiger's knee cap. A loud pop was heard as the bone dislocated, followed by a pained scream the tiger started falling onto his good knee while clutching his dislocated knee. John wasn't done, however. John got behind Khan and shot his right arm around Khan's neck. He then brought his left arm around the back of Khan's head and started to squeeze. Khan desperately pulled at John's arm as his vision started to get hazy, but it was imbedded to deeply for the tiger to get a grip. With that failed he tried to stand up again, but with only one good leg he couldn't overpower John.

John saw claws gleam as Khan brought them down on John's exposed arms in a last ditch effort to break free. John felt the tiger's hand hit his arm; however, when they hit he didn't feel anything. No pain or blood or the sensation of his skin being split open. He looked down, confused to what happened. He was surprised to see that Khan's claws had stopped right on his skin. The tiger tried again and again but the result was still the same. The claws would not penetrate his skin. As John stared in confusion at what was happening a slight glow caught his attention. He quickly glanced over to see Cearra sitting up from the ground; her hand had a feint grey glow to it. He smiled. 'I should have figured she would find some way to help' He thought. Finally John felt his struggling slow but he still kept his hold. He brought his mouth to Khan's ear. "Let's get this squared away right now. I don't care if you come after me again. I will gladly fight you and let you beat me to a bloody pulp, but the second you go and hurt others then all bets are off. And if you ever hurt her...I will kill you" As soon as he growled out the last part he began to wonder why he said it. The struggling tiger in his arms reminded him he had other things to think about though. Seconds after he spoke in Khan's ear he felt the struggling cease and he finally released his hold. Khan's body slumped forward, still breathing but out cold.

John smirked at the out tiger. "Sleep tight big guy." He whispered as he slowly got up. Not one anthro spoke as he looked around the ring. They all had shocked faces at what they had just witnessed. A broken creature suddenly fought like he there wasn't a whole first part of the match, and once again took out a royal guard. John looked himself over and was slightly shocked himself. He was a mess. He saw more black, blue, and red more than his actual skin. He looked like hell, but he was still pumped up on adrenaline so at least he didn't feel like hell...yet.

He walked over to the three anthro's who had been his only allies and moved to Cearra who was still on the ground. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet, before moving over to Keith to get his things which were still on the ground. He unfolded his hoodie gently and put it on, being careful to tuck the gun back into his waist as he did it. The adrenaline was starting to wear off as John got dressed. Now he was starting to feel it, and as he slipped his head through the top he felt his strength start to leave him. He quickly grabbed the rail for support, but soon he felt three different hands on him. He looked at the three of them, no words needed to be said as Cearra and Keith wrapped his arms around their shoulders as they started towards the exit.

The crowd parted for them he passed. They were silent as the human passed by them. A newfound respect for the creature had instantly developed among the guard. One who could take such punishment and still defend his friends. It was soon after that the guard started to spread word that the creature was called a species called that called themselves humans, and that their strength and determination was the stuff of legends

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The three had to take turns dragging John back to the council's keep. As soon as they entered the mansion they were met by Amaya and Pyrros who were quite surprised when they saw that he was being dragged through the entrance by the others. Cearra, Keith, and Cassie explained what had happened to them while they dragged Jon to his room and got him ready to be healed.

Now lying on the bed a he could see a soft, green glow next to him coming from Cearra as she healed him. Thankfully, though his injuries were many, they were also minor. It was mostly bruises and small cuts, but Khan had been able to strike with enough force that to cause hairline fractures on some of John's bones. If the fight had gone on any longer there was a good chance some of those fractures may have become bigger. All in all John considered himself lucky that the sword the tiger used was half enchanted. He was also amazed that he was able to take that kind of punishment.

"So what happned?" Keith asked breaking John out of his thoughts.

"Wha?" John mumbled

"That entire fight you were severely outmatched by Khan, then suddenly you defeat him like he was a rookie. If you could have done that at the beginning then why didn't you?"

John snorted in amusement. "Hell if I know." He looked at Keith who had a less than pleased look on his face. "What I'm serious. Khan went on the attack and he was about to hit Cearra along with me. I wasn't about to let him harm someone else when he wanted me, and something just snapped. All the pain from my injuries just went away and I didn't even feel tired anymore." He saw Pyrros and Amaya look at each other, almost like they both confirming something to each other by stare but he decided not to say anything about it. "As for why I didn't do it earlier, well I don't think I could have done it earlier. I was fighting with the best of my abilities using that sword. I don't think I could have done any better."

Cassie gave him a confused look. "Even children play with wooden swords, yet I think they may have fared better against Khan than you did."

John almost winced at the statement. One he did not expect that to come from the mare. Two, he was still trying to decide whether she had just burnt him or not. "Well human's haven't used swords as primary weapons for hundreds of years, so it's not like I'm proficient in swordplay."

'Or at least not until I remember according to some.' John thought. He looked around at the anthro's who looked at him in shock. He rolled his eyes. "Really? Come on, nothing I say should surprises you anymore! You guys know full well what my weapons are capable of. Why would we waste our time training with swords when at it takes to kill is to point and shoot."

Pyrros shook his head. "I more surprised you agreed to a fight using a weapon you have no experience with." The other anthro's in the room nodded in agreement.

"Oh." John said as he let himself sink back into the bed. He looked at his arms. The bruises were already getting smaller, and the various cuts were starting to close as well. 'Damn she works fast'

"Well to be honest there was one other option, but it wasn't safe." John said. He didn't even need to look at them to know they were curious as to what he meant. When the brought him in the room they he had removed his hoodie again in the same way he did when he was at the arena. He grabbed the folded up clothing next to him and reached inside it to pull out the pistol. All of their eyes widened at what was in his hands and Keith visibly flinched at the sight of the weapon. John slid the magazine out of the gun and ejected the round in the chamber. He put the round back into the mag and set both gun and mag on the bed.

Cearra was the first to speak. "So you mean you had this with you the entire time, and you never used it?" Her voice sounded shaky. John was about to answer but Cearra cut him off. "WHY!" The green glow cut off as she looked at him, confused and angry that he had this weapon and didn't use it. "If you used it you could have ended the fight right there. Why did you choose the way that brought pain?" No one else in the room had an angle to see Cearra's face straight on but John, and her eyes were starting to water.

John didn't understand why she got so emotional but he didn't let her sudden change in demeanor affect him. Instead of scrambling to answer he calmly gestured at the gun. "This is an M-1911 Colt .45 pistol. And this" he picked up the magazine of the gun. "Is where the projectiles are store that are fired out of the weapon." All of them looked at the gun in interest. This was the first time he had spoken about them at length. "This storage area is called a magazine, and this magazine store eight projectiles in it. Eight. We were surrounded by, what, a few hundred guards. I could have taken this out, but then what. If they attacked I would have only be able to take out eight before I was defenseless." He said. "Plus at the time we thought they were regular training swords. It was the safer option."

Cearra didn't make eye contact with him. She only nodded her head and got back to healing John. Nothing was said for a while after that, so John focused on the healing process. He felt his pain fade slowly away. Instead of pain he felt tired and sore, which was entirely understandable giving what had happened. Suddenly light flooded his eyes as the setting sun found the perfect angle to assault his vision.

Cassie was the only one who reacted to this, and with a sense of urgency she quickly got up from her chair and walked over to the curtain. She gasped as the light of the setting sun bathed the room in its fiery light. "I didn't realize it was so late." She said to no one in particular. She quickly closed the curtains again before walking back. "I have to get home. I told my parents that I would be home before it got dark." She said. Cearra cut off her healing magic again as she stood up and embraced the horse. "Maybe in a couple of days we can do this again, except maybe next time we can stay away from the training guards."

Cearra chuckled as she looked at John's un-amused expression. "Sure."

While the three were talking Keith got up to leave as well, but Pyrros stopped him.

"When you get back to the barracks keep an eye on Khan. If he goes looking for John again I would rather know before it gets out of hand." He whispered. "Also I need you keep a watch on what the guards general feelings about John are. We need to contain any hostility before it gets out of hand.

"Yes sir."

"Good. I will send for you to come before the council to report your findings."

Keith nodded and took stepped past Pyrros, almost bumping into Cassie. "Are you leaving as well Keith?" She asked.

"Yes. I need to get back to the barracks before it gets too late. The commander will be furious at me for being late again."

"Come on. If you're so afraid I can walk you back." Cassie giggled as she walked out.

Keith stood stunned for a second before he started after her. "Now what makes you think I need to be walked back?" He yelled after her.

Whatever was said after that was unheard by anyone in the room. Cearra kept her healing spell up and all was quiet. Finally the green glow ceased for the last time. All of John's injuries had been healed, though he still lacked energy to move too much.

"Well we shall take our leave too John, there is much to do in the wake of this unfortunate event." Pyrros said as both dragons walked towards the door.

"Hey Pyrros." John said lifting his head off the pillow to look at the dragon.

"Yes." Pyrros said, turning his shoulders to face John.

"Don't punish them too harshly okay." John said. Pyrros looked at John, perplexed by the request. "I'm not saying that what they did was right, or even justifiable, but I can understand why Khan and the guards did this. I mean if I had been told that an enemy was suddenly to be treated like a friend for no apparent reason, I would be weary of them too. And Khan, well he wanted revenge which is never a good thing, but I can't fault him for it. Besides, I believe he is to valuable a fighter to lose."

Pyrros was surprised at the human's request for lenience. "It's true he is a good soldier. However, a soldier must not only know how to fight, but also to follow the orders he is given no matter what." Pyrros sighed rubbing his eyes. "I will let the rest of the council know of your opinion when I inform them. Who knows, maybe it might be enough to avoid the worst." With that he left with Amaya, closing the door gently behind him.

"So you would readily forgive Khan for what he did?"

John lay back again. "Like I said I understand why he did it. Does that make it right? No, but I don't think he should be punished to harshly. Besides if he does get kicked out of the guard he's just gonna blame that on me as well and then I'll never get some peace."

Cearra looked at him conflicted. On one hand she was angry at him for not being angry at Khan. Any normal person Cearra knew would try to have Khan thrown from the city. Then again John was anything but normal, and she admired his ability to forgive Khan. Right now she felt like finding Khan and roasting him. "You are a very strange person John."

"So I've been told, numerous times. Many times by you in fact." He said with a grin.

"Dinner will probably be ready soon." She said while standing up, her hand still on his arm. "Will you be joining us?"

"I honestly don't think I can get out of this bed, much less go find my way to the dining room." He said smiling, and eyes closed.

Cearra nodded at him and started to walk away. "In that case we'll have the servants bring yo--" She stopped as she felt John's hand around her wrist. She looked at his hand and then at him. His face was serious.

"I want to thank you."

"Thank me."

John nodded. "Well for one you healed me right now." She was about to say something but he cut her off. "And two, well I want to thank you for what you did back at the arena?"

She looked at him questioningly. "What I did?"

"When I was behind Khan at the end, he was right about to tear my arm apart with his claws but they didn't go through my skin, and I saw your hand glowing."

Her eyes widened as she realized that he had seen what she had done. "I-I just couldn't stand and watch you get hurt anymore." She explained, her voice defensive and John could see the tears start in her eyes. It was almost like she feared that he would disapprove of her actions even though he clearly didn't.

"You've done a lot for Saraph John, but you've done even more for me. I doubt I can ever repay you for saving me." She said softly "To see you getting hurt like that and not do anything about it. I should tried to do something to help." Tears were flowing from her eyes now. "So when I saw what Khan was about to do I just couldn't watch anymore."

To say he was confused would be an understatement. It seemed that this fight had taken great toll on her than he thought, and all that stress was coming out.

Cearra let go of his hand as she fell to her knees, burying her head into John's chest taking him by surprise. Her wings splayed out and dropped to her sides like they were made of lead. John's pulled his arms to the side as she collapsed and held them there as she cried. He didn't know what to do. On one hand she was a friend that needed to be comforted, but at the same time there was a small part of his head that told him to get her off him. She was a dragon after all and she was being fairly intimate with him. The more he thought about it though the more he tuned out the part telling him to push her away. He closed his arms around her, holding her to him. 'Regardless of what she is, she is my friend, and right now she needs my help. I can figure out all that other crap later.' he rationalized.

As she cried he rubbed her neck soothingly trying to get her to calm down. It took a few minutes but finally her tears stopped flowing. "I didn't realize that the fight affected you so much. Once they surrounded us there wasn't much we could do, but for what it's worth I'm sorry I put you, all of us, in that position." He said whispered in her ear.

She sniffed a couple of times. "Why should you be sorry? You just said there was nothing we could do." She said in between sniffs.

"Because when I heard the sound of the swords hitting each other I went to find out where it was coming from. If I hadn't tried finding the source then we would have never gotten in that situation." She didn't say anything, she just held onto him tighter.

They went quiet again and John found himself looking over the form of the dragoness, thinking that it wasn't unattractive. His face flushed as he realized he was checking out Cearra, and the debate raged again in his head. She was another species; he was a freak for having such thoughts. But then again she was obviously not a mere animal. She could walk, talk, and she had feelings. Then something clicked. 'She has feelings for me.' He thought as he held her close. It all made sense now, and he now understood just what she must have gone through emotionally to bring her to this state she was in now. 'And I...' he thought for a moment. Somehow this changed everything. That voice that had been screaming at him before that those kind of thoughts were disgusting had fallen silent. 'I think I have feelings for her.' Nothing occupied John's mind after that, and he enjoyed the feeling of the dragoness pressed against him.

He felt the dragoness shift in his arms and he let his grip of her go. She brought her head close to his and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you John."

John went still as her lips touched his cheek. Once again her scales proved to be far gentler than one would think. He looked at her with wide eyes as she pulled away from him. "For what?" he asked, surprised he could talk straight.

She smiled warmly at him. "For always being there for me." She said standing up, grabbing hold of his hand again.

A knock at the door brought John out of his daze, and breaking the pair out of the somber mood.

"Mistress Cearra? Are you in there?"

"Yes what is it?" Cearra said as she wiped her eyes.

The door opened to reveal the same maid who John saw in the morning. "You mother and father would like to know if you were going to join them in the dining hall."

"Yes, yes I'll be right there." She said. 'Well it was nice while it lasted' Cearra thought as the maid bowed slightly and closed the door.

"So, mistress huh?" John said. Even after their little moment he couldn't help but make the little jab.

"I hate that so much." Cearra groaned, holding her head in her hand. She looked at the human, who was trying to stop his smile from getting any wider. She glared at him but it did little to deter his smile. Sighing, she started for the door. "So you won't be joining us then"

"You asked that already remember." He said, yawning and stretching his arms. He shifted into a lying position and closed his eyes. "Do send my regrets to the Lord of the mansion." He said in a faux British accent. Cearra looked at him, perplexed as to why he spoke that way. John heard her draw a breath but cut her off. "I'll explain it another day." He said while chuckling.

Cearra wanted to protest, but all she could do was smile. "I'll hold you to that, and much more." She said as she shut the door behind her.

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1 Week After the Assassination

The door flew open, striking the stone wall causing a loud bang to rumble deep in tombs. "You are earlier than expected my lord. It seems that the death of your ambassador grieves you more than expected."

The door slammed shut as the figure behind him snarled. "Do not make the mistake to believe that I cared about his life. He was a tool, just like everyone is nothing more. Don't make the mistake of believing that I care for the life of a tool, or you may find yourself being replaced."

The old polor bear smiled. "Of course my lord, I didn't mean anything by it." He said cackling. There was a reason he agreed to be a servant to his lord. He was not troubled by things like feelings. All at his command were pawns, to be used and if they died so be it. There were plenty more where they came from. If they had no use to his lord then they were cast aside, and any who may be useful were taken in. He was one such case.

Ulrik was his name. He was just a simple bear living in the very bowels of the city, where the common lived. Filth, sickness, and hunger were the only things guaranteed in the Pit. Ulrik did anything he could to get by. He had done a number of 'normal' jobs, and more than his fair share of 'indecent' ones. However, there was one thing that Ulrik enjoyed more than anything in his life. It was more of a curiosity really, and when he returned to his run down shack he called home he would go to a secluded room where he would indulge in this pleasure. One did not have to look far to find bodies in the Pit, and hardly anyone would ever look for the missing. So with his knife at hand he would open up the dead. He noted all he found from muscles to organs, he even theorized how they connected to the larger whole of the body. He went through countless bodies during his dissections.

He might have gone on like this till the end of his days, but luckily one day someone found him. He picked up a body one day that was better maintained than most. Not as skinny, and they looked well cleaned. Most importantly it was a dragon. That should have been the flag that told him to leave the body alone, but he ignored that thought. After all how often does one get to work on a dragon? It was only when the guard busted his door down did he realize that the dragon must have been nobility. He was taken before the King and Queen who were disgusted by his actions. They accused him of murdering the noble, and how could he argue against that. He had mutilated the body so much it was impossible to tell what had killed him before Ulrik got to him. Though even if he could have proved he didn't kill him they would have condemned him anyway for what he did to the body. The King ordered him to be hung for his crime. He would probably be just another body if it had not been for his lord. His lord saw the usefulness one like himself could offer. So he had him released, without his parents' permission of course, and gave him live subjects to test some of his theories. Usually they his lord wanted them kept alive so they would give up whatever secret his lord wanted, but every now and then his lord only wished that the subject died the longest, most painful way possible. Those were the ones he liked the most, and it always amazed him how the body was connected. Snip a muscle here and they can't walk, or break this and they die.

"So what have you found?" His lord said impatiently.

Ulrik turned around to face his lord. The dragon loomed over his own frame. His black scales blended into the dark room so well he might be mistaken for a shadow except for two things. His lord's piercing blood red eyes that looked at Ulrik impatiently. The other was a strange mark on his chest. The mark was red, about the size of a closed hand, with what looked like red fissures emanating from the mark. "It is quite interesting." He said turning back to the table in front of him. On the table was a white sheet draped over an unmoving figure. He pulled back the cloth to reveal a navy blue dragon with a sizeable hole in his chest. "I must admit that I have never seen so much damage done without one exploding the body completely."

The dragon looked at the body blankly. "The reports say that none saw the attacker. I do not believe that no one would have seen what made a wound like this."

"I believe the report is accurate sir." He heard the dragon growl, and the sound of his wings flaring. He did not like others telling him he was wrong, at least not unless they could prove it. "Furthermore I believe that this large wound proves it." He added quickly.

The dragon stopped growling, but the anger in his eyes was still apparent. "Oh, how so?" he said threateningly.

"Well my lord if you look at the wound, specifically the ribs here." He said pointing to bones that were exposed. "The bones that are still intact have been pushed outward, meaning that this is not where the entrance where the weapon pieced him." Ulrik then pushed the body on its side and pointed to a much smaller hole in the back. "This is where the weapon pieced him."

Upon seeing the entrance wound the dragons eyes went wide. "What kind of weapon enters the body like that, but does this kind of damage leaving it? I know of no arrow that can do this. Nor do I think I have seen wounds like this before."

"With all due respect my lord, yes you have." This time the dragon was not angry, but intensely curious at what Ulrik had to say. "The last time we saw wounds like this was on a much smaller scale. The bodies of those sent to Saraph had wounds similar to this."

"So are you saying that Saraph sent the same thing that killed so many of our soldiers, to Therum?" The dragon eyes were still wide in shock.

"It would seem that way, yes."

The dragon stayed in a state of shock for a few moments, but it did not last as a grin formed on his muzzle. "So Saraph has finally slipped up." He thought as a plan started to from. "Ulrik, I want you to take detailed notes and sketches on the wound. When you're done you may release it for burial." He walked over to the door, the glee evident in his demeanor. "Saraph may finally be within our grasp."

Ulrik's face grew a twisted grin at the dragon's words. The final goal was apparently in reach. "As you wish, Lord Draco."