Once A Tale (MXM, BXB)

malt's finest vacation

Once upon a time, there was a powerful dragon spirit.

His arrival foretold the coming of rain, of fearsome winds, of dangers no human could easily avoid. Above, far beyond human hands, the serpentine body danced like liquid through cloud covers, each delicate tap of a claw piercing the sky with lightning.

Cao Guanyu had been a dragon for a very, very long time.

For those dragons of the seasons, of the weather and the sky, their lives had been so long they began to forget their beginnings. Cao Guanyu did not know on which day he was born, how long, for all of those things faded away in time, as many things did. He watched over the kingdoms occasionally, amusedly interacting with humans, but humans too were passing things and did not linger long in the world.

Cao Guanyu had never known unhappiness or loneliness, had never forged a powerful connection enough to warrant those emotions, and he was unbothered by them. It was simply a fact of life.

Sometimes, the great dragon would travel, peeking over countries not so familiar with his kinds. He was amused for every human town, every human village was different and yet somehow very similar to one another. They were inventive, amusing creatures, entertainment of a sort. He travelled, he watched, leisurely indulging his time when he wasn't to bring a storm.

Sometimes, things on the surface called to him and he'd descend in a humanoid form. He enjoyed eating and sampling foods, but never anything more than that.

Many, many years passed before a flicker of change came over the dragon.

In a far-away kingdom, there was a funny little story. A story of swans, of witches and kings. A war, not ever so far away, and Cao Guanyu allowed himself to wander and to explore this land, counting on yet another point of amusement, entertainment.

What he did not expect was for a golden swan to nip sharply at his ankles when he attempted to sneak into the castle grounds.

He paused, staring down at the swan, who stared up at him. Golden-feathered, it had puffed itself up, was swaying its head back and forth like a vicious viper. The little beak on the end of its mouth snapped the air threateningly and Cao Guanyu, for all of his years, had never once been threatened by a bird. When he chuckled, it emerged from deep in his chest, carrying some of the sonorous sounds of thunder.

The bird was less than impressed.

It hissed, flapping open its wings and swatting at his body, trying to herd him right the way back he'd come.

A swan was forbidding him entrance into a castle. One that bore the marks of magic, and he could see it properly, if he focused on the swan closely enough.

A man, taller than himself, with hair as smoothly gold as the feathers. He was looming in front of him, as though overlaid over the swan and he hissed, "Get out of here! Thief! Trespasser! Oh, I mightn't be able to lock you in a dungeon right now, but I would if I could!"

Cao Guanyu, snickering, was herded by the swan-not-a-swan back to where he'd climbed over the wall and found himself hedged against the wall there. The swan glared at him angrily, wings fluttering with hot emotions.

A little golden prince, a little golden swan. How very... How very amusing.

"All right," he allowed at last, modestly, and smoothly leapt up onto the wall. "I understand. No trespassing allowed. Shall I come back another day with corn to soothe your fury?"

The swan hissed loudly.

Cao Guanyu merely smiled, amused, down at the creature, and left.

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