and i'm still waiting for a life that never was
The illusion had the desired effect: the dragon slid to a stop, swallowed its next fireball, and belched out smoke as it seemed, for the moment, to be entranced by the illusion. To her chagrin, however, Tal did not join her behind a nearby snow bank. She watched with dismay as the dragon tried to eat her illusion, which promptly dissipated into the air. She couldn't hold onto the larger enchantments for very long yet - which was why she had wanted Tal to hurry.
But it seemed that her concerns about the dragon were unwarranted, and it suddenly made a great deal more sense why the keening outside the tavern had drawn her friend away after their meal together recently. The dragon wasn't trying to kill him; it was his companion!
Relaxing, Alys popped out from behind her snow bank and approached Tal and his dragon. "Thanks!" she said, offering a shy smile. "I've been training to make my magic stronger. I can't do the big ones for very long, but my small ones are just about perfect!" As though to demonstrate, she called up the cardinal she'd made when they'd first met, which zipped from her shoulder to circle around the dragon's head, taunting it by staying just out of reach. "I didn't realize you had a dragon," she said. "Is that what called you away, last time?"
Tal askled what she was doing out here, and Alys shrugged. "Well, I met Hotaru and joined the Academy, like you suggested, so I thought I'd stay in Halo for a while. As for what I'm doing here, here, I was taking a walk. Deimos told me I'd get stronger faster if I worked on my physical fitness as well as my magic, so..." She trailed off, unwilling to admit that she had very little knowledge about how to actually go about training physically. Walking was the best she'd come up with so far, and she was beginning to get to the point where it no longer tired her. She'd have to come up with something new, soon.
But it seemed that her concerns about the dragon were unwarranted, and it suddenly made a great deal more sense why the keening outside the tavern had drawn her friend away after their meal together recently. The dragon wasn't trying to kill him; it was his companion!
Relaxing, Alys popped out from behind her snow bank and approached Tal and his dragon. "Thanks!" she said, offering a shy smile. "I've been training to make my magic stronger. I can't do the big ones for very long, but my small ones are just about perfect!" As though to demonstrate, she called up the cardinal she'd made when they'd first met, which zipped from her shoulder to circle around the dragon's head, taunting it by staying just out of reach. "I didn't realize you had a dragon," she said. "Is that what called you away, last time?"
Tal askled what she was doing out here, and Alys shrugged. "Well, I met Hotaru and joined the Academy, like you suggested, so I thought I'd stay in Halo for a while. As for what I'm doing here, here, I was taking a walk. Deimos told me I'd get stronger faster if I worked on my physical fitness as well as my magic, so..." She trailed off, unwilling to admit that she had very little knowledge about how to actually go about training physically. Walking was the best she'd come up with so far, and she was beginning to get to the point where it no longer tired her. She'd have to come up with something new, soon.
Alys
