V M From The Ashes

[Ridley]

The sand-baked dunes of the Mesa Roja deserts were very dry and very prone to temperature fluctuation. As a result, the dunes often found themselves swept, at least in the flat, arid areas, by vicious dust devils that scoured any remaining detritus from those unfortunate plants and animals that were caught in the storms into the air, and scattered them across the desert sands.

Some little scavengers, however, knew exactly how to take advantage of the sudden twisters to find the most valuable treasures in the desert: Food and water.

So it was that a little sandshrew was eagerly hopping around the dunes, looking as it had learned to look, feeling through the sand with it’s sensitive paws. The sandshrew had no trainer, and thus no name, having lived a long, satisfying life away from any other pokemon he’d ever need to share food with, which showed in his oversized belly..

After a twister, many animals had made themselves scarce, not wanting to be caught in the path of a sandstorm, but for the little burrowing pokemon, able to stay safe and cozy in it’s own burrow, the tremors above it brought no alarm, only the promise of a waiting meal:

Dead insects, scraps of scattered meat, cacti that were half-broken and all too easy to crack open and drink from, and sometimes even a full carcass.
The sandshrew had mixed feelings on finding one of those, as most animals were far bigger than the sandshrew was, so the little mouse eating them took a long time, and a rotting chocobo or kodo was also an attractive target for far deadlier scavengers. Still, the sandshrew would enjoy itself by filling it’s belly with such attractive prey all the same, even if it kept a cautious eye out for any scavengers that might contest it’s newfound meal, at which point…

The sandshrew would, of course, ball up and roll away. Fighting fierce battles with bigger creatures was for other pokemon.

This, of course, meant that when the little shrew dug into the sands, felt it’s claws dig into toughened skin that felt relatively fresh, and looked around to find an enormous bony crest jutting from the sand, it immediately did a double-take for any encroaching Jackals or Utahraptors looking to steal a meal.from the small shrewling. The deserts of Mesa Roja were incredibly dangerous, after all, and there was more than a few dozen different creatures that would love to eat a little sandshrew.

Then, the sandshrew realized that it had just been a few minutes since the twister, after all. Nothing would be coming after it’s little prize so fast, and so there was nothing to fear. Greedily, the desert mouse looked over the behemoth curled up in the fetal position on the sand.

It had clearly died in a violent fashion, bone showing through areas of it’s skin, massive gashes were accompanied by the occasional hole, and scorch marks were present all across it’s chest, along with various pieces of shrapnel embedded through the skin of what seemed to have been a massive dinosaur. Scraps of it’s massive wings were scattered across the desert sand, and the little mouse wasted no time running up to one of the wing-scraps next to him and using the quarter-sized strip of wing to test the taste of it’s new sandstorm present. The mouse took one bite, and…

Delicious! Leathery, but well-textured and filled with flavor. Very savoury and covered with smaller, delicious parasites already. The sandshrew was pleased, and immediately hopped a little further up the creature’s body, quickly figuring out what it would eat right this second, and what it would carve up later. Hopping past the emaciated ribs and up to the large, purple creature’s slender neck, the sandshrew decided it would start there, first. Once the little mouse had nibbled through, it was pretty certain it could at least bury the head, and from there it’d just be the sandshrew’s little secret stash of sirloin serenity.

The Sandshrew eagerly hopped over to the predator carcasses’ vulnerable neck and leaned in to take a bite.
And large, yellow eyes gleamed in the Sandshrew’s peripherals.
Immediately, the sandshrew jumped away in surprise and shock - this was impossible! The little rat had seen the monster’s skeleton showing!
Even so, the creature had the Sandshrew in it’s sight, yellow eyes glowing, and the frightened creature wasted no time in turning around.
The other creature was faster though, and as the pokemon’s claws scrabbled against the dirt, it felt jaws clamp against its stomach. The Sandshrew’s mind turned to sheer terror as the little mouse was grabbed and hurled into the air, and it could hear the predatory pteranodon exhale as it’s jaws widened.

‘Maybe living alone wasn’t such a good idea’ were the sandshrew’s last thoughts as a crocodilian maw snapped over its body and one bloody chomp freed it from any further suffering.

 

[Dawn Snow]

The men surrounding the princess hovered their arms towards her. The five of them held out their palms and the apparent leader of the mage group spoke out to Dawn. His voice was rough and wrinkled as his face.

“Are you ready?” He asked. “Teleportation is rather finicky magic, that’s why we have so many people here to help cast the spell.”

“I still think it would be easier to sneak in the old fashioned way. It’s not like I’m not good enough to do that anyways.” She responded, standing in the center of the incantation.

“Maybe so, but we don’t have the time. We have to get you in as fast and discreet as possible.”

”I was not aware that something as advanced as teleportation was discreet.” Nyx chimed in. Her voice rung in the back of Dawn’s mind. The princess rolled her eyes and grunted.

“Whatever. I don’t like this but let’s get it over with.” She gave up and braced herself for the spell to be unleashed upon her.

“Very well, hold as still as you possibly can. Wouldn’t want to send you without some necessary limbs.” The old man cackled to himself.

“Some?!” Dawn questioned his position as a mage as the men around her began to chant some weird script in Zu’ul around her. Once she realized he might not be kidding, she clenched her muscles and held as still as she possibly could.

The incantations went on for some time. They chanted some incomprehensible sentences in her their native Akame language and then suddenly everything went black. It seemed like a dream momentarily, as if maybe she just lost her eyesight for a moment. She couldn’t speak, but she could think clearly and feel her body. When she could finally see again, it was suddenly much hotter than it should be in Xenithia and sand could be felt between her toes. Looking around, vast deserts and plateaus could be seen throughout the horizon. Needless to say, this isn’t where Dawn expected to land.

“Where the fuck are we?” She asked Nyx, checking to see if all her limbs and gear was still in place. “Did they send us all the way to fucking Heiss? I didn’t know teleportation could span so many miles.

”Actually we have a huge problem.” Nyx replied, her uneasy tone made Dawn’s mood even worse. With a groan, she waited to hear the rest. ”The only Akame connection I can feel right now is yours. Which means we're no longer in Quotin.”

“What the literal fuck?!” She screamed throwing her fist into the sand. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted those douchebags! Shit, where are we then? The human world?”

”If we were, I could at least feel the Akame soul in human’s shadows. So, I imagine we’ve been sent to absolutely different physical plane that I have no govern in. Nyx’s voice even came off as worried. Dawn facepalmed and sighed, drawing her katana.

“Well, it’s hot, sandy and stupid, but there’s no use in standing around in a desert trying to figure out what just happened.” She said as she began to trail across to open sands in a random direction. “Better find a native settlement or anything but sand I guess.”

 

[Ridley]

Ridley let out a primal roar as the sweet taste of fresh marrow and flesh sent vibrations through his body and blood dribbled from his beak. For a moment, the space pirate generals primal instincts took over completely as his consciousness sprang to life, and the space dragon took no time in informing any interlopers hiding in the landscape exactly who the new apex predator of this land was with a primal roar of challenge, leaping up to his full height.



But then, as the howl faded away into the desert, the space pirate general regained his intellect, and a host of questions came to mind to the massive beast.

Where was he? Certainly not Zebes - the gravity was far too low for it to be the space pirate fortress. The desert environment told the space pirate little - he'd been on many desert planets in his life. An experimental taste of the air told the reptilian general that the air was fresh, and not some underground fabrication, and surprisingly supporting of life by Pirate standards.

The Space pirate exhaled, and a wave of pain overtook his entire body. The space pirate commander lived with pain - had felt a dull ache across his body that had only grown more and more solid as time had went on - And a few trails of steam emanating from the pirate's body immediately told him why. His plasma channels... the specialized organs and veins that channeled his fiery energy into lethal blasts - they had been burned. scorched, ripped apart from the inside. pain like a hot knife lanced through his body and the Dragon briefly stumbled forward, falling off his feet.

Ridley's body would not be his master, though, and Clawed hands grasped forward to hold his body back up. He was still in bad shape from-
The hunter!

A thousand violent images sprang back into Ridley's mind and Ridley let off a low growl, grinding his teeth together as his eyes narrowed. Samus Aran... The creature that had challenged him in the depths of Norfair once again. The memory of that battle was still very hazy in the details, but the memory of the hunter blasting a bolt of plasma into his gullet remained all too clear.

The Hunter had overloaded his body with a combination of her plasma and Ridley's own fire, and caused the Space pirate to explode from the inside out!

Ridley realized what this meant after a moment. His body had lost the ability to manage it's heat. The numerous bits of steam seeping from his wound saw to that, and the desert sun felt unusually inhospitable to the heat-loving Ridley. He needed time and energy to heal. Any attempt to utilize his plasma until he healed the scars the hunter had left would only lead to a repeat of the earlier unpleasant explosion that had wracked his body, and he was already so wracked with scores of wounds and damage that he doubted he would survive any further combat for long without taking serious damage.

A conservative approach, then, until he could feed, could regenerate his energy with that of other life-forms. Unfortunately, as Ridley tasted with his tongue across the landscape, he tasted very little to be found in the area. Some cacti that would offer precious moisture, a few rodents, and..

Something that could almost be mistaken for human.
Ridley’s eyes narrowed at that taste. The idea that there was intelligent life nearby was a potential boon to the large dragon, provided they didn’t know his reputation. The taste of this one was only slightly off, so Ridley guessed that it’s origin was more or less the same species and level of threat.

The Space Pirate Commander’s first thought was to find and eat this one, but a single human would add little to his diet, less even than the sand mouse he had just consumed. However, if the creature didn’t know the Space Pirate Ridley by reputation, and given the barren area he found himself in, it was quite possible it was a lost traveller, someone in dire need of assistance…

And if he gave assistance to this poor, unfortunate soul, any suspicion of his intimidating stature would be dulled by this humanitarian mission.

At least until he saw fit to show them his true, glorious form and make them kneel before it.

The thought created a sadistic grin that lasted even as Ridley unfurled his wings, half-broken veins and mangled leathery tissue straining in pain against the Alien’s hefty request, but the creature managed to lift it’s body into the air above that it had long since made it’s home, and carry it’s emaciated body far above the ground. The flying lizard only had to look around a little bit to see the creature he was looking for, a black speck far beneath him, crawling across the ground on it’s small legs, and, keeping his claws held back and his flight speed very deliberately consistent, the dragon swooped down to catch up to the youth.

Ridley’s first thought was that he was right not simply to write this one off as a snack. Not because of any apparent danger, with the little metal synthetic claw it had pulled from an ebon holster, it’s unimpressive musculature, or the tiny arm guards it seemed to wear. It was more that the small creature was scarcely much of a meal. If the starving dragon was actually that desperate for a meal, he could likely get more out of a skeleton than this bean-pole.

Still, she was, as he understood it, pretty by the standards of the human races. That only enhanced her potential as a bargaining chip, and he kept that in mind as he slowed down in front of the small morsel, hovering as he looked down with the sympathy only a crocodile could show.

“I see you are a lost traveller of this desert as well.” The Pirate commander’s voice cracked through the wind, a rough, harsh voice more befitting a storm than a real creature. “There is nothing but sand for miles and miles, wanderer. You may not get far in this desert on your own…”
The dragon pauses a moment as the human holds it’s blade out, seemingly cautious of Ridley’s sudden entrance and actions.

In responds, the dragon lowers itself to the surface of the sands, tail going flying into the air as wings are furled, and the dragon sets itself into a low bow with enough force to send the sands behind him flying into the wind.

“My name is Ridley.” The dragon states with as friendly a tone as his voice can manage thinking back to a conversation he once had with a young blonde child, decades in the past, adds with a grin, “I am aware I may appear frightening… we certainly look very different from one another… but I am sure we can still be friends.”

 

[Dawn Snow]

"It's hot as the volcanoes of Heiss. Why of all places in this multiverse did those damn wizards 'accidentally' put me in a desert?" Dawn blurted out loud in frustration. She wiped the pouring sweat off of her forehead and looked ahead for the light at the end of the tunnel, or more accurately the oasis in the middle of the desert.

'How would you even know what a volcano looks like? You've never left Xenithia's borders and I don't remember creating a volcano anywhere.' The goddess snapped back in a bit of chuckle.

"Oh, shut up. I know what a damn volcano is. It's a freakin' analogy." The princess barked back angrily. Her mood only continued to get worse with the insane heat stroke. "In all seriousness, I won't survive out here without proper supplies. If I can't make a miracle happen soon I really will die."

'The girl with a god born into her consciousness needs a miracle to survive something like a desert?'

"The all-knowing god doesn't understand how deadly a desert terrain can be to the unprepared traveler?" A moment of awkward silence swept past the two before loud gusts of wind broke it. The sand kicked up aggressively in the demon's face blinding her from the blur of a giant creature landing uncomfortably close to her. She used a quick burst of her speed to put some distance between her and it and, mostly out of reaction, unsheathed Kagetsume ready to defend herself. When the smokescreen of sand dissipated, it presented the twenty-foot tall dragon in front of her. This thing was more than any dragon she had seen in Xenithia, though. Especially when it began to speak. It claims to be passive, although that doesn't mean docile.

"Okay, friends. With a dragon?" She asked herself. "I know dragons are a mighty and proud kind of race, so what's stopping you from ignoring me and letting me die here or even just burning me like a poor animal and devouring my carcass? If you really did want to eat me, you could've easily just swooped me up and crushed me or something." She asked.

'You're talking with a dragon.' Nyx blatantly said inside Dawn's mind. A comment she just pushed away and ignored.

 

[Ridley]

Kill the questioning little brat before you have to suffer any more of it's cocky lip. It should not speak to you so. Ridley's primal instincts screamed. It would have been so easy for the dragon to reach out with it's claws and impale the soft-skinned ape like it was a shish-kebab. Surely, it would at least allow the rage that always sat so close to his vision fade away.

But Ridley was not some simple animal and his more rational intellect told him that this was a complete waste of energy. instead, the Dragon's lips curled and it gave a mighty grin, loose scales flapping over red gums and showing an array of razor sharp teeth inside Ridley's vast maw. "I see... you've never heard of my race in your world..." Ridley would continue as his grin broadened. "Or at least, not as we truly are. I am a dragon of the sky, yes, one of an ancient race." The dragon continued. "But we have lived long, and outgrown our pride. My race has sought spiritual enlightenment for some time... or had, before the Chozo ripped my kind limb from limb." The Dragon continued with a tone that expressed a very well-imitated sadness behind his gaze. Inwardly, the dragon chuckled to himself. The delicious irony of not only stealing the planet, the technology, and the life from the bumbling Chozo that he had seized Zebes from, but their very history, to be used as a tool in order to help him break down everything they stood for, was incredibly amusing to the old lizard.

Still, he had no time to think about that, as he continued. "My species has dedicated itself to living in harmony with nature. While I must hunt and eat as any of my race must, moreso, now that I have obtained wounds of such grievous import, I would never kill and eat another sentient life form, particularly one so young and ready to write their own story across the cosmos."
The old Dragon wanted to Retch. It wanted to retch, lick up the resulting acidic bile, and then consume the woman in front of him to make up for the lunch it had made him miss. but the cunning monster would have it's goals, and it's momentary loss of pride would be quickly filled in by the gain of this creature's trust, if only for a few moments.

"Still, I am an old creature, and as an old creature, I am experienced. The desert is my home, but I am too badly injured from a fight with one of those horrible Chozo.". Well, that wasn't a lie. Samus Aran was one of those insipid statue builders at the end of the day, even if the hunter had a thousand times the spine any of those useless flightless birds ever would. "Similarly, I can see the sweat glistening from your body, smell the perspiration even within this wind." Ridley added, getting more practical. "A town would be farther from here than you might make in your state. My own code implores me to help you." The dragon continued. At this, he lowered himself, showing his bony crest as he looked to the ground. "I offer my back to you. Together, we may navigate this desert. If you are willing to help me in hunting and searching for signs of civilization from atop my back, I will offer to you the opportunity to comb this desert for shelter from the skies. With unity, both of us may survive, where divided, we may fall to the clutches of this planet's harsh deserts."

Of course, Ridley had found harsher deserts in the back of his nostrils, but mentioning that was both unnecessary and would likely not help his case. The Purple alien was getting impatient even as he stated his pitch, hoping he would have to do nothing further to convince his quarry, as the woman looked him up and down from its defensive stance, still holding the stupid metal stick it intended to defend itself with if Ridley drew closer.

The Zebesian space pirate had spoken more today already than it ever liked to on any day - Language was something that had always seemed so bothersome over physical gestures and more primal communication, and yet filth like humans seemed to prefer to wax exotic over much simpler and more useful communication skills. Ridley supposed it was likely due to the fact they were born almost blind, deaf, and dumb compared to superior life forms, and while this creature didn't smell like a human, it didn't seem very different from one in that respect either. Still, if it refused his offer, the dragon's next line of consideration would be if it was more worth his time and energy to simply leave the fighter here, or use that stupid stick it held onto so proudly to nail it's face to the nearest cactus and then consume it slowly, while it was still raw and wriggling, taking his time in exchange for it's mild affront to a being it should have treated as it's god...

 

[Dawn Snow]

'I'm not sure you can trust a dragon, especially one wise enough to have learned human speech. It's ancient and likely deadly.' Nyx said to her charge. Dawn again ignored the comment and inspected the ancient creature before her. It was unfathomable to consider a dragon to learn English, but the Akame are just as advanced as the human society, if not even further advanced with their abilities to tap into magical currents. One thing was absolutely for sure, though: Dawn could not survive a desert this harsh and she was willing to take her chances. If the dragon did decide to eat her, that would be a quicker death than a slow painful death of dehydration. The Akame princess sheathed her sword and offered a slight bow.

"You must forgive my imprudent approach, after all, I have been transferred from a different dimension into this one. I had no idea how to react to a dragon who could mimic my tongue." Dawn said in forgiveness. She rose her head to meet eyes with Ridley again. "However, I have met ancient beings akin to kinds like you and I have been wary to them. Even once I was attacked by the immortal phoenix in the mountains of Xenithia, but she turned out to be a pretty cool dude. Nevertheless, I accept your aid in mutual benefit: We shall scout for a place to tend your wounds and get myself out of this harsh, sandy shit-hole. I am Princess Dawnika Snow of Shadeclaw the Third. I doubt that name carries weight in this universe, but I am royalty to the demonic race of the Akame who control all aspect of darkness and death."

'Are you sure it's okay to announce your presence like that? What if this thing is allied with the Illumina? Sol will be the death of you and your rash thinking child.' Nyx barked at her harshly. The game of gods annoyed the princess. It's all Nyx thought about and constantly hounded her over. If she wanted an obedient little dog, she should have possessed someone like her uncle and not her.

"If the conditions are fair, then could we be heading out? I need water badly. I've already been walking for close to an hour now and it's only making me more annoyed than having been put off course by those idiotic mages in my home universe."

 

[Ridley]

A burst of Smoke accompanied Ridley's thoughts on the subject as the little creature continued to speak. It was royalty, but not of the type Ridley could ransom, which was rather irritating. Those of illustrious lineage were rarely useful to him when they had nothing to steal and no recognition to utilize. Her next statement would have made him snort in derision if he hadn't been trying to win this creature's trust at the moment. Control all aspects of darkness and death...

A small girl barely tall enough to come to his waist... managing death?
No. There was one being here who managed death. and it was standing directly in front of this so-called 'Akame'.

Ridley looked across the sands at her next statement. "Water..." The drake repeated, remembering years of harsh living along the frontiers of space, flying from barren planet to barren planet, and began looking for...
A careful sniff confirmed it. A type of scent that confirmed minimum amounts of acid in what was mostly a watery combination.

The Magenta dragon turned, looking to the right and found what he was looking for. It was a trick he had learned to smell out due to how easy it had made hunting in the past - after all, most beings required water, though Ridley normally preferred to metabolize his moisture from fresh blood. Knowing how to find water-giving plants, as a result...
Ridley's tail would suddenly fly up into the air, it's full length comparable to the entirety of the Wyrm's body as it extended. The thin, armored appendage bore a wicked hook on top with a curve Ridley had frequently used to cut humans apart in new and interesting configurations.

The tail whipped to his left as he turned, then struck out ten feet to the right with a whip-crack that rang through the air, embedding itself in a nearby barrel cactus. in one smooth motions, ridley Pulled hard, and tore the visible top of the cactus from it's roots with the strength of his embedded tail. with a precise flick of corded muscle, ridley flipped the deadly tail horizontally and saved the majority of the watery fluids from falling into the desert sands by using the cacti as a container. Pulling the barrel cactus back slowly, the animalistic creature waited for his tail to get close before slapping the bottom of the cacti with animalistic strength firmly into the ground, turning the cacti into a suitable drinking vessel that was firmly planted into the ground.

With a grin and a gesture with his claws, Ridley presented the cacti to the Akame with a flourish of his talons, before stepping back slightly.

The half-demon had a quizzical look on her face. Ridley had done this whole process in the span of a second, so he imagined it might take an extra moment for her to process what he'd done. He also supposed it might have been the slightest bit distasteful to the soft-skinned creature, but he couldn't be sure, as she'd made her face very perfectly blank after seeing that, likely evaluating him once more.
Eventually, however, she gave a simple shrug, and Ridley busied himself looking and sniffing for prey as she lapped up the water. Good. If he'd needed to explain the purpose of this to the humanoid, he'd have given up.

As he'd found nothing in the immediate area, the dragon instead leaned down in front of Dawn. Stretching his wings out, and pleasantly realizing the pain in doing so had become a little less immense, The dragon's back was not built for riding, and he himself hated the idea of being a mount, but there was certainly enough room for a single passenger of Dawn's size. "Hold on... tightly." The Alien would say with a grin as he offered his back.

The snarky teen would put a hand on her hips at the statement. "Uhh... yeah. I was pretty much already planning on that."

An irritation-based hunger pang went through Ridley's chest at the smart aleck statement, as the former royal found a way onto his back.

As soon as he was certain Dawn had a good enough grip on his body, Ridley's arms and feet would plant themselves firmly on the ground, the Space dragon tightly coiling up and bending into the sands beneath them.Then, the mighty beast's wings swung upwards in one fluid motion, exposing their full breadth to the world.

As one, massive cords of tensed muscles and fibers would crush down into the earth and push, and the ground beneath the two of them would shift and shake as the master of Norfair launched himself into the air with one mighty motion, clearing a dozen meters and then some into the air. then, beating heavily on the wind, the flapping of Ridley's wings would send a rush of air out in all directions, and Ridley's body would shudder with the pain of once again forcing his wings to obey.
Like all other things, though, Ridley forced submission from his over-stressed muscles with sheer willpower as he dashed forward and upward, looking for landmarks from their new aerial view. The shrubbery and dunes of Mesa Roja sprawled forth as distant dots as Ridley raised higher into the troposphere, and before long the heat of the desert had been significantly dulled by the cooling grace of the wind around them.


The Dragon and the Princess flew across the clouds at a relaxed pace, the limits of the space pirate's current pace. The Akame seemed fairly silent for the majority of the trip, and Ridley was not one for conversation, so instead the drake focused on looking from area to area. Occasionally, the pair would find something large and tasty enough to take down and eat, the Dragon using his own claws as makeshift to cook the half-demon's portion of the meal. Most meals were done in compartive silence, with just a few small details passed back and forth between the two on what they'd seen so far, and where they should head next, before moving on. The Dragon's frame was definitely showing less signs of disrepair, bone no longer visible despite many of the Dragon's wounds remained grievous, and the draconic pirate was happy to see that his continued consumption were already fixing his injuries.

Still, if took almost a day, just as Ridley was looking for a cave to spend the night within, for the flickering forms of dancing lights upon the ground to clue him into a sign of civilization.

The dragon swooped down without even mentioning the fact to his cohort, a sharp turn that got a prompt "Hey!" From his passenger.

"We've found... some form... of civilization." The dragon would bark high enough that his deeper voice would carry over the gusts of wind.

The pair landed in front of the gates, and Ridley could already hear the cocking of crossbows.

A trio of guards advanced on the pair, as Dawn hopped off of his back the moment they arrived.

"What's the meaning of this?" The young Akame asked.

"Identify yourselves and state your business! one of the guards stated, his nervousness visible even beneath the leather helmet as he propped his halberd forward.

The leader of the trio, a dark-skinned human with a surprising amount of muscle, striking red hair, and the largest nose Ridley had seen on one of these primates stepped forward. "I am Mimoka, sergeant here. Can your mount speak?"

For a moment, at the statement, Ridley's vision turned red, and his claws scratched against the ground. Ridley was not a pet of some stinking primate! The idea came over the starved dragon for a moment - the idea of rending the gerudo into bloody pieces and consuming her like a rich steak.

But reason, as it had many times recently, won over Ridley's instincts, and the cunning space pirate put one hand up in a gesture of peace. "I am quite capable of speaking. We are traveling companions. Beings lost in the desert. We are far from our own homes, and seek proper shelter. will you allow us into the city?"

Ridley was incredibly pissed off at how easily this act came to him. Pretending to be his anti-thesis and putting on his best chozo impression was working very well for him, and the Cunning God of Death was used to playing possum, but the idea of himself speaking in such an unintelligent fashion rankled him

Dawn looked tensely between the guards, and Ridley, and Ridley saw an opportunity to tip the scales.

"Apologies. Perhaps I should have let you go in on your own. It appears my presence has made this far more... difficult than it should have been for you."

The irritated princess blew a tuft of hair out of her face. "If they're stupid enough to think we came all this way to try to threaten them by ourselves, that's not really your fault."

The Gerudo sighed, and Ridley knew his gesture of faked Camaraderie had moved the human. Such weak little things, relying on their feelings. It was why Ridley found them so easy to predict and control.

"Fine. Get in there. And hurry. But you. The Gerudo stated with a sharp tongue. "If you feel like causing trouble, just be aware that you wouldn't be my first dragon hunt. And I have an empty spot above my fireplace that's just your size. If I get to have something like you stuffed and mounted, I imagine I'd be the talk of the town. So by all means, give me an excuse."

Ridley didn't like this one. Ridley was going to murder this one. But not now. Now, Ridley nodded as best he could, and coiled his tail around his body. "May we go in?" The Reptile politely asked, already theorizing from the taste of her sweat what she might taste like. Her eyes seemed unusually sharp, and in Ridley's case, good eyes tasted better.

"You may go in."

Sauntering in on four legs through the gate, the drake made sure to bump the stuttering guard from before, the Halberd nearly dropping from his hands at the touch of the dragon. The smell of fresh urine told the dragon that this was truly a pathetic example of a human being, even by their limited standards. sniffing with displeasure, the lizard headed on into Karim, as a new world opened up for the pirate to exploit, manipulate, brutalize, and destroy to his heart's desire.

 

[Dawn Snow]

The duo moved past the gates of Karim, getting the obvious stares and glances of the locals, mostly towards the much larger and intimidating of the two, and inspected the buildings and structures around them. The entrance was much grander than Dawn expected from a desert-bound civilization. She had expected something more akin to the Heiss; they were a nomadic species of beings that embodied the element of fire, just like how the Akame embody darkness and death. She imagined tents and huts made of hide and so on. Nevertheless, she shook it out of her mind and glanced over to Ridley.

"I apologize for the rudeness of the guards in this city. If this were Nyx, they would have thought twice before being so rude to anyone with the ability to reason." Dawn said, even though her apology probably did nothing to help the mood of the space pirate. She placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "Already I am feeling homesick, but I imagine you wish to recuperate from your wounds and do your own thing. I myself would like to take a look around this town before I start to gather some information on the world I now occupy. So, I would say this is where our mutual camaraderie ends. I imagine you could have easily survived the desert without my own help, which means this pair was more in my favor. You have my sincerest gratitude." The Akame finished with a bow.

'I still think you're fucking crazy if you think that thing has any good intentions in this city. Nyx's godly, powerful voice chimed in during her bow.

"I really must be going now. Safe travels to you from now on." Dawn said before turning away and heading off through the city to find an inn or a tavern where information always passed through.

 

[Ridley]

Ridley walked through the great town and glanced at the city of Karim. new scents invaded his nose, the fluids of what smelled like at least a dozen species in different quantities suddenly ringing alarm bells in the great wyrm's nose as age-old hunting instincts signaled that here, here was tired prey in droves. Those senses were right, of course, but Ridley was no mere brute - the horde of people around him would, in time, be exploited, worked to near-death, and consumed for his own personal glory, as was his right as apex predator. The creatures here seemed mostly of the humanoid persuasion, but avian, reptilian, and even a few amphibian scents tempted him with the delicate aroma of civilized prey species.

It wasn't hard for the drake to figure out why, either. outside the city, he'd noticed the growth of more temperate turf and relatively lush plant-life. It had reminded him of the vegetation he'd found on SR-388 during his short venture to that planet. Inside the city was a difference of night and day, however - he could feel it in his talons digging into moist ground, could feel the water in the air cling to his bones and seep into his wounds, and the feeling of heat mercilessly lessened the moment he'd taken a few steps into the city. It was obvious this city was built around a large oasis - considering how desert planets often were, in the old raptor's experience, potentially the only oasis, whether due to scarcity or design.

All of this was very important information to Ridley, because one of the first things a space pirate learned was relative value. Water was prized to some degree across the galaxy, but no more than by a world with inhabitants reliant on it, but in low supply of it. The majority of a planet's value for it's inhabitants laid first in their basic needs - therefore, if Ridley had a few talons sunk into Karim, he'd be able to exert control across Mesa Roja.

the thought allowed the Space Dragon to simply snort out a puff of steam from his nose, as a faint, ashen chuckle left his throat.

"Think nothing of it. I merely did as my kind have sworn to - help those lesser in need." Ridley replied, already feeling happy that he would not need to keep this farce up much longer. Soon, he'd worm his way into this city's society in a more practical fashion, and he would be able to walk how he wished, where he wished, "so our brief partnership is at an end. I wish you safe travel."

Ridley's tail swiped once across the ground at the statement, it's hooked tip scraping against the rough earth below him before he turned away from the demon princesss with a flick of his tail through the sky.

For her sake, the little worm would hopefully never meet Ridley face to face again in her life. Unless she was hiding a cunning mind and ferocious soul behind her innocent exterior, the dragon saw little of worth in the youth, even as a pawn. Should she find herself getting in her way...

Ridley clenched a fist as he walked away, imagined the warmth of the Akame's blood flowing out and spilling onto his claws as her body was ripped asunder between his talons. It would be so easy, so satisfying, so sweet. he would not deny himself on a second meeting if the little humanoid caught his ire once again. The drake walked down the road, taking his time as he looked for more familiar portions of the city - parts of the city he would be able to respect. Parts of the city that would hold people who spoke the language of wealth and Power and unrestrained violence...

Ridley's teeth were revealed as the space dragon gave a sinister smile, baring his teeth to the city of Karim.