Freedom offered
How long she laid there looking at the beast who said that he saved her from her throat being slit though the elder had been about to order them not to do such a thing Alora had no real idea but when it's pale green eye's finally closed after keeping them fixed on her she looked around on the mound it had placed her on for anything sharp to cut the ropes that kept her arms behind her back and thankfully, it did't take very long to find what she needed or to cut through the ropes now the only problem she had was getting down from the mound which seemed easier said than done due to the moss but it was't going to stop her not just like the cuts on her feet were't going to either so slowly but surely she started to make her way down the mound trying to make as little noise as she could which again was easier said than done as a few smaller rocks crumbled from under her feet which not only caused her to slip but caused sound to echo around the beasts cave holding her breath she glanced towards where the beast lay on it's mound eye's still closed and thunder like rumbles, coming from it showed that it had't been bothered by the sudden sound which allowed the breath she'd been holding to escape as she kept working her way to the ground.
"Easy does it" Alora muttered as she straightened one leg out to touch the ground causing her to wince as pain shot up her leg, the moss on the rocky that she'd been placed had been soft so she had't noticed just how much they hurt in till the cool and damp hard ground told her other wise, which caused her other leg to become frozen not wanting to share in the pain but if she wanted to get out of here and away from the beast then she'd have to bare it since making her way down the mountain would't be any easier on her already bloody feet.
Gritting her teeth she turned her attention to the beast once again it had shifted a little in it's sleep which allowed it to trail one of it's leg's down the side of it allowing her to see the midnight black talons that had held her so firmly as they flew and she could't help wandering how meany other offerings had been held by those same talons and met their end by them, so not wanting to wast an other second she starts to make her way to entrance of the beasts cave while keeping an eye out for that weapon she caught sight of as it carried her though unknown to Alora he'd been watching her the moment her bloody feet touched the cool and damp ground of his cave though he was careful not to move to much as he watched the golden haired human women's face turn to one of pain due to her bloody feet from, where the villagers had been dragging her towards his mountain it was why he had placed her on the most moss covered rock mass as to give her some comfort but in spite of the pain and sounds she caused she kept going towards the entrance of the cave, Drayce to lift himself from his mound to follow her though given how long he had lived he'd learnt that even a creature of his size could travel without making a sound which to most would seem rather amusing but a useful thing to know when you wished for someone not know that you were there.
As she got closer to the entrance of the beasts cave light caught the handle of the weapon that she had caught sight of as it carried her though upon freeing it from it's resting place it became clear that it had been here for some time due to the dusting of rust it now had changing it's once black colour to that of a coppery red which also lined the axe like blade on the other end but it was better than no weapon at all resting it against her shoulder she made her way outside though upon entering out onto the ledge it had landed on earlier which over looked the hidden valley of the peaks it became all to clear that getting down from the beasts cave was a no go unless she sprouted wings there and then, which caused a deep thunderous chuckle to come from behind her making her spin around only to come face to face with the beast who looked more a little amused.
"What's so funny!" Alora snapped.
"You are" the beast chuckled moving closer " as are those who were offered to me before you who thought they could escape my cave with such ease not so simple after all is it" she raised the rusted weapon intent on using it like so meany of the other's.
"I'm warning you now beast any closer and i will use this" she snapped again at him causing more thunderous laughter to leave him though as he lowered his head again the laughter was gone from his face and a warning flared in his pale green eye's as well as his voice.
"Then may i suggest never attack a dragon from the front" he was baring his fangs to her this time which allowed a small puff of black smoke to escape" unless you want to burned to a crisp or simply eaten"
"Better that than being a prisoner of a beast" Alora snarled at him.
"I told you before i'm more than a simple beast!that roams the lands below" the thunderous laughter truly gone from it's voice" I have called this mountain home for more than a thousand years making rare among even my own kind and i plan to keep calling it home for as long as i live and my name is not beast it is Drayce so use it other wise Alora i may not be able to control my temper"
"For one who does not like to be called a beast your acting very much like...." she paused in her words due to him using her name she had not said what it was or told him as such which seemed to cause him some amusement once again.
"If your wandering how i know your name" he said moving to stand beside her paying the weapon in her hand no further attention" I heard it be shouted as you tried to get your fellow villagers to see thing's your way as you fought not to become an offering never before had i heard such fire in a human's voice before which is why"
"Which is why you said you helped me" Alora said gripping the weapon more tightly than before as that ball of rage that had formed in her throat as the villagers dragged her to be an offering to keep their homes and lands safe that it caused her to do something which most would say was foolish though in her mind this beast was the foolish one for not paying the weapon more attention as she slammed the axe like blade of it into it's clawed foot causing to a far different roar to escape it's jaws while it's tail swiped at her knocking her bloody feet out from under with enough force that it had threatening to fall as it bared down on her the weapon still lodge in it's foot the reason for her sudden actions were simple if she could not simply escape this beast who'd only helped due to the fire it said she had then she'd fight for it though as she stared into those pale green eye's as it bared down on her there was a hint of something she'd never seen before in a beast or a simple beasts that roamed the lands below which was sadness though it faded as fast as it's temper did as it backed away attempting to pull the rusty weapon from it's foot.
"If you wish for your freedom to be returned to you that badly that you'd throw your life away by facing down a dragon" he said whimpering as he manged to finally pull the weapon from his foot"then i'd be more than happy to give it to you on the west of the valley there's a path that will lead you safely down the mountain and put some distance between you and that village of yours" slamming his tail against the side of the ledge caused a small part of it to crumble making a very slender and unsteady path"so go"
Getting to her bloody feet once again Alora made her way to the path that had been made while under it's watchful eye's though now it only stood on three leg's due to the injury she'd caused it which in turn caused her to pause only for moment though it felt longer than that as she looked down at her feet not once had this beast made her way it had carried her even when it reached it's cave placed her carefully on a rocky mound with the moss that was so soft under foot that she'd not noticed the pain, in till it was no longer underfoot in all this beast had shown her more kindness with in a single day than she'd been shown her whole life digging her nails into the palms of her hands she willed herself to keep walking due to the fact that a beast was still a beast no matter if it could talk, breath fire or fly higher than most birds ever could though as she staggered her way down the path it made a question played on it's mind if it had been given offerings before and it was letting her leave had it done the same with them as well and if so did it mean she was wrong about this beast at least?
Did Alora know how close she became to be nothing more than ash upon the ledge on which they stood?! due to her actions though she was't the first to do impale a weapon into his body and would not be the last, though as he watched her make stagger down the path which he made for her with a simple slam of his tail so that she could reach the valley and find safe path that would lead her down the mountain he could't help but let the smallest of smirks tug at his lips in spite of the pain and anger she caused him she was indeed different from other human's and most offerings that he had lead to that same path due to having no real interest in them back then as compared to now causing him to sigh and extend his wings allowing wind to catch under them allowing him to fly and follow Alora over head since he was't the only beast to call this mountain home and though he was more than willing to let her leave he still wanted to keep her here to keep thing's interesting just like their starring match had been.