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[dragonspride]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, BARONSDRAGON. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 081.38.173.20 *** BARONSDRAGON has joined 081.38.173.20 <BaronsDragon> this probably isn't that secure <BaronsDragon> but at least it's not completely public to everyone

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[dragonspride]

Kain wasn't sure where that train of thought had gone, but the momentary flush left him self conscious, shifting; he could keep the wing over for comfort and not be as close to her.

"Even if being rid of the gods means staying this way, I could live with it." He'd be the scourge of some of the bandits and goblins, sure, but he could manage much the way he had been here.

"And I'm sure I could adjust enough to avenge everything Zemus has done like this." For a brief moment, there was a flash of fangs, and a faint flicker of a growl. "We can use the gods here as practice."

[blessedbymoonlight]

He shifted, and the movement drew her attention away from her thoughts. However, he kept his wing draped over her shoulder, so at least he wasn't retreating from her entirely. Still, she couldn't help but blame herself, in some ways, for his behavior. Surely, he needed space, and time to heal, but... wasn't ten months enough time to make peace with the past?

His confident look, and the baring of fangs, was mirrored in her own expression, lips peeling back from her teeth in a savage grin. "That sounds like a fine idea. You know I'll fight by your side, Kain. Without Cecil around, you'll need someone trustworthy to watch your back."

And speaking of Cecil... there were still a few matters left to discuss concerning the Paladin.

"There's something else that you need to know that I wasn't able to elaborate on before." Her expression sobered. "It's about Cecil... and Golbez. They're half-Lunarian. And..." Her voice softened. "They're brothers."

[dragonspride]

HEY IN CANON IT TAKES HIM FIFTEEN-SEVENTEEN YEARS. He was still overly conscious of what he'd done in the Tower, and it would likely take more than just time and space for him to not be caught by memory of that and fear of any form of unwanted contact with her. On the other hand, having her there in Ryslig, even with his own guilt complexes, was a comfort - and he wasn't going to deny that having her help was something he'd appreciate.

"Just make sure you're careful for a few weeks." Maybe others would be more disturbed by the idea - and he was quietly mostly praying she didn't end up part plant, for fear of the idea of a repeat of accidentally-setting-the-dryad-on-fire - but he'd grown so used to the changes that worrying about her being more vulnerable was almost bothering him more.

Not nearly enough to distract from the mental processing pause at finding out about Cecil and Golbez's relationship. He had a couple long moments of blinking blankly; he wanted to be more confused by it, but Cecil was a foundling, and ... "...That would explain why I always had the impression it was weirdly personal."

So it wasn't technically dealing with Golbez as entirely himself, but he knew better than anyone there how much of what came out under that control wasn't made up from whole cloth.

[blessedbymoonlight]

Rosa was, if nothing else, a healer with a pragmatic streak, and when faced with the inevitable, her first instinct was to do what she could to prepare for it.

"I know." Her tone had a note of finality to it. "The changes won't start for a month, at least, and I want to prepare for them as much as I can." Her gaze traveled along the curve of Kain's wing toward the spines growing from his shoulder, and the scales speckling his face. "I'm not so naive as to think this transformation will be painless. That's why I want to gather together medicines and painkillers, anything I can to make myself comfortable during the ordeal..."

How long had he'd suffered in agony as the changes took hold? Minutes? Hours? Days? She couldn't even begin to imagine, and her eyes softened in concern and sympathy.

She pretty much expected the long moments of confused blinking as Kain tried to process the information. It had come as quite a shock to all of them, to be perfectly honest. Well, maybe not so much for Kain and Rosa, who had grown up alongside Cecil, and had always known there was something just a bit odd about him...

"Suffice it to say, Golbez had his reasons for hating humans..." She closed her eyes, remembering the tragic tale related aboard the Giant. "And for hating Cecil, too..."

She wouldn't elaborate, not unless Kain wanted her to, but she suspected his already knew the details, or at least some of them. Golbez had kept him leashed for so long, it wouldn't surprise her if he had divulged some of his motivations to the Dragoon himself.

[dragonspride]

He let out a slow breath and nodded. "Whenever anything comes in quickly it's painful - but it usually passes when the change settles. You might have a hard time getting to painkillers yourself while it's happening." He remembered dealing with the first time it hit, and falling from a railing because the bones and tendons in his feet decided to grow out and change ahead of anything else.

It was a topic that was much more comfortable than some of what he'd heard around Golbez and the fiends that wasn't tactical information, but he shifted and gave an acknowledging nod. "He didn't say anything that would've tipped me off to the exact relationship, but I'd heard plenty of what violent, useless vermin humans were." He shifted a little again. "It's hard not to think of it when something comes up - the Rotans going after even children, some of us that hadn't been human to begin with..."

Leaving out that the one who'd given him the worst rattle that way had been Seth; whatever she might've done was eight hundred years in the past and she'd acknowledged herself that genocide wasn't the answer.

[blessedbymoonlight]

"I'll keep them nearby and try not to leave the house when the time draws near..." The more she thought about the change, the more she compared it to going through labor, and the sort of preparations involved in midwifing a new life into the world. Surely, her body would give her some sign, some indication, before the transformation truly got underway. "This doesn't have to be some sort of frightening ordeal, not with the right preparations and foresight. Besides..." Her fingers slid against the smooth scales of Kain's arm and settled upon his hand. "...you'll be there by my side, won't you?"

Did he have anyone at his side to comfort him during his transformation? Or was he left to deal with them on his own? The thought of being in that much pain without any sort of support... that was what Rosa found truly the most frightening.

She bowed her head, contemplating Kain's words. Or, rather, Golbez's sentiments as related by Kain. "He wasn't wrong, you know? People can be needlessly cruel at times..." She chewed her lip, the guilt of having reduced Kain to a helpless self-loathing puddle still fresh in her mind. "Their father was killed by the very people he sought to uplift, and their mother died while giving birth to Cecil. To carry such hatred and sorrow for so long, letting it fester in his heart like an open wound... it made him a perfect target for Zemus' dark magic."

They had learned that the spell worked upon the darkness that already existed within the human heart. It was why Kain himself had been so easy to control, too. Her fingers tightened against the Dragoon's clawed hand. For so long, she had wondered why he alone was affected, and knowing the answer didn't change the fact that he was someone who had become precious to her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be reminding you of such painful memories."

[dragonspride]

He froze at the close contact, but nodded. "I'll stay close when it's getting near time." He hadn't quite been alone, even if it'd been a mutual case of him and Roy floundering through the same thing, but since then he'd stopped more than once for someone else going through it; he definitely wasn't going to leave Rosa to it alone.

He just gave a faint shrug and a slow headshake at the apology. "It's fine." Rosa talking about it calmly was not quite the same as the jar of Seth's outburst in the burning village, at least, as thankful as he was for having gotten some sort of talk settling it later. "I think that was the problem, really; it's not limited to humans, and at that point, it becomes blaming the innocent for the crimes of a few."

It was something he'd had plenty of reason to think on anyway, besides. "The Giant seemed like it had been built for that sort of purpose to begin with; particularly after that, and Rota... I can't think but that such things would just become a vicious cycle of each side seeking revenge, until either someone stopped or there was nothing left but a wasteland."

[blessedbymoonlight]

It wasn't totally fine, but she'd let the matter drop for now. The flinch didn't go unnoticed, and Rosa hoped that one day he would learn to become comfortable in her presence again.

"And that's why I want to help aid in the reconstruction of Rota. If the cycle of violence is to stop, it needs to begin with us." It was meant more in a general 'newcomers' us, not 'specifically you and me' us. But the sentiment was the same, regardless. Kain had asked for her assistance, and she was more than happy to oblige. "I know I wasn't involved before, but I want to try and forge friendly relations with the natives, especially the ones that chose not to participate in the torture of innocent people."

There were a couple people that Kain had mentioned before who had stepped forward in that regard. A boy and... one of the bartenders, maybe? She would have to thank them properly one day.

"And... I want to do more than that. I want to deepen my knowledge of herbcraft and turn to more practical means of healing injuries. I know I can't do much without my magic, but... I want to help others. Especially the ones undergoing the change." She gazed up at Kain. "No one should have to go through this process alone. If I can offer aid and comfort during such a difficult time, then maybe... I can make a real difference in this world."

[dragonspride]

He nodded quietly. "There were others helping pull children and villagers out of the fire, and a doctor - one of us - who was seeing to Rotans the same as the rest of us, as well as she could. Link had helped me for a while, using his faerie rings to send rescues to Bavan." He made a small, thoughtful noise. "At this point, those that were truly dead set on it were likely fool enough to raise a weapon on their rescuers and mark themselves; if there are others who realized their errors and wish to make amends, I have no reason to deny them that."

At least, so long as it was genuine.

"There are libraries in Bavan, and some of the clinics may be able to help as well; if yours come early in the fog, we may both be able to go looking for those who are struggling." It might take some arranging, but it was something he'd done occasionally anyway.

[blessedbymoonlight]

She did recall meeting the green-clad faerie boy briefly at Rota, and the doctor she had heard tell of from the others, even if she didn't get a chance to meet her. "I'd like to hope that, given enough time and a chance to think on their deeds, that the instigators would learn to lay down their weapons for good, but... that's a rather naive thought, isn't it?"

People could nurse grudges for a long time. A very long time. Wasn't Golbez proof of that? Or... Kain? Though, surely, both of them would have had the means to resist those darker impulses had Zemus not been involved.

"I've been meaning to visit the hospital in Bavan; to check on a few people, and to speak with some of their doctors. They might not be able to provide me with any information, but it wouldn't hurt to ask, right?" And visiting the libraries would surely occupy her time between cleaning up the house and cultivating the garden. Which was nice. She preferred to be kept busy, and it would help to take her mind off... other matters.

She gazed at him with a new-found sense of admiration. "You really do want to help others, don't you? Not just out of a sense of honor or duty, but because you really do care about their well-being." And the smile Rosa gave him was one that clearly indicated she wouldn't accept any false modesty from him. "I feel so fortunate to have you at my side, Kain. I honestly don't know if I'd be able to accept my fate so easily if you weren't here to guide me through it."

He'd always been like that hadn't he? A pillar of strength and a standard for others to measure themselves by. Even Cecil looked up to Kain, though the Dragoon probably wouldn't it see it that way. He'd been so obsessed with trying to best Cecil in battle that he probably never knew how much Cecil admired the Dragoon's sense of conviction and resolve. But Rosa knew. She always knew... Even when Cecil couldn't confide to her in words, she knew.