The Crucible Campaign

21: Ruby River

.^^ the Shield Talisman ^^

— Cassidy —

"She's asleep, don't worry. Sleeps like the dead, and this close, I can feel her dreams." I heard Tommy lie, and narrowed my eyes, confused.

'Does she want me to hear whatever they talk about? Huh. Guess Sister-Code just trumps Girl-Code.'

I heard Sandy chuckle, still sitting on the log next to where I was laying. "That's so useful... heh. But I want to ask, how do you think your mother would react, if... Well, how would you react, if I wanted-" she stuttered, then hesitated.

"Literally no one in my family cares if you date Cassidy." Tommy said dryly.

She laughed softly. "No, not that. What if I wanted to show her my homeland? She mentioned she missed the desert, and I haven't been home in almost a year... I'm overdue a visit."

I blinked. 'Whoa... that would be awesome... should I be listening to this, though? I should be asleep... I'm faking being asleep... dammit...'

I missed what Tommy replied with, but Sandy sighed. "So... you wouldn't mind if she was gone for six months or so?"

"I mean, I would mind, but only because I'd miss the idiot. I wouldn't stop her, if she wanted to go. I might even go with her, just to keep her out of trouble. Not that I don't trust you to keep her out of trouble, of course, but the last time she left my side, she lost her legs and an arm. I haven't let her out of my sight for more than a few hours since. Maybe I'm a bit overprotective." Tommy blushed, something I could feel, at this distance.

'Awwww, you big softy.' I smirked.

Sandy smiled. "You are welcome to join, if you like. I wouldn't even mind if all of you came. I'd like my family to meet-... all of you."

"Awe, does my mother have to ask your mother for permission to marry you two?" Tommy teased.

Sandy sighed. "Yes. I mean, it's possible without it, but it's not appreciated, not really. Either my mother would have to come here, or the other way around... But!!! It's just a thought!!!" She added quickly.

Tommy hummed seriously. "Totally hypothetical. Yep."

Sandy relaxed. "Right. Exactly..."

They continued talking back and forth, and I guiltily listened in, trying to ignore the beating of my heart as I thought about the implications. I mean, I'd known the woman for a week, but we were so compatible...

"Well, it's two months, one-way. A few thousand miles of open ocean to cross, after all. Every six months or so, I make the trip and stay a month or two... I'm due to travel again in two months." She chuckled, and suddenly her breath halted.

"Alright, stay calm... is there immediate danger, nod slowly." Tommy spoke calmly, and I froze, feeling her terror from here.

She squeaked, and I smelled blood, just as a corpse was dropped on top of my legs. "I have taken the liberty of returning to you your putrescent attempt at a trap. Neither it or you are welcome in this forest." A Deep, brassy voice shook the campsite, originating somewhere about twenty feet above my head.

I leapt up, and pointed the Light Hammer at the origin of the sound. Towering above us, its chest at 20ft tall, was a massive dragon, its scales an odd color of blackish-green, (hard to be sure in the dark,) and horns of the blackest ebony I'd ever seen, spreading down his neck and back from the top of his skull.