Another chapter, Rayne begins to push back against Magnus' constant orders and dinner is seeeerved. Curious? Read more below!

MINE.

~Angel~
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Magnus began to keep a closer watch over his pupil, noting the little things he hadn't cared to pay attention to in the beginning. This little female was beginning to become more puzzling the more he learned about her.

When she came back into the lair behind him, he watched her look at the bow and quiver still sitting on the hard floor. Her eyes were looking for something but she didn't pick them up, she left them lying there. Curious. She asked him if he could do something with the body, she didn't want to go outside and see it lying there when she needed to leave. More curious. While she was writing she seemed to bite her lip in thought. That wasn't curious, that was just stupid of him to observe. Why was he looking there anyway?

He charred the body and tossed the armor like toys into his storage room but had to figure out what to do with the sword...a dangerous thing. He would have to keep it in his vault to make sure no prying hands would take hold of it to kill him.

“Rayne,” he said sternly as he looked the blade over with calculating eyes. “Wrap this in something, a bag, cloth, anything. The blade's charm only works on dragon skin so it will only be sharp for you. Please don't impale yourself with it, I don't want to burn another body today.”

Rayne, ignoring his usual callous nature with a small shake of her head took the hilt in her paws and had to practically drag it along the floor. She did as she was told, taking cloth and wrapping it around the sword several times before tying that up with some curtain ropes she stumbled upon in the storage room.

Magnus lounged a bit, lying on his good side while looking at the wrappings on his paw and bicep, sneering at them. How was he supposed to hunt with one good arm? He could carry it in his back talons he supposed, but then how graceful would his landing be? Not graceful enough, he'd do more damage.

“Rayne,” he called again loudly, still looking at his paw as he opened and closed it. Rayne, still dragging the now wrapped in heavy fabric sword, returned to his sight and set the blade down in front of him.

“Yes my lord?” she asked with a little huffing.

“Go and hunt for a deer or something,” he said with a little wave of his injured paw. “I won't be able to hunt for myself until tomorrow when these wounds are less tender.”

Rayne's face frowned, looking up at him without saying anything. Magnus' head tilted at her, before he scowled at her.

“I know you are not deaf Rayne,” he stated.

“Master, am I your pupil or servant?” she asked in a little nervous, but still annoyed manner.

“Is there a difference?” he asked back in a droll tone of voice. “You will do as I say, little mortal, then I won't have to eat you to keep from starving.”

Did—did she just ROLL HER EYES AT HER MENTOR?

“What was THAT?” he demanded of his mortal. Rayne turned away from him a bit, but he could hear her quiet chuckling, CHUCKLING at HIS EXPENSE.

“Did I not just defend you from a knight?” he growled down at her. Her head jerked up but there was no fear there, not like the first time she laid eyes on him and fainted.

“I believe I defended you, Master,” she answered him, much in the same tone Magnus used to correct her during lessons. Which irritated him more the answer or the tone? He had a hard time determining that. He lifted his clenched paw and slammed it on the ground, only to flinch and realize it was his injured arm and paw, clenching his teeth to keep from yowling in pain.

At that Rayne snorted before falling backwards and cackling on her back. She knew she should've been cowering in fear and waiting for the jaws to snatch her up to make an example of her but it was just too much! Magnus the Keeper claiming he would starve without a few good meals? Magnus ordering her to hunt and baby him? Magnus slamming his own injured paw to try to scare her into submission? Her legs kicked slightly as she was almost crying she was laughing so hard.

Magnus tried to keep from smiling. He couldn't help himself, she looked ridiculous flailing on the ground like a seizing rat. He allowed himself a moment of a quirked smile, trying to quell the warm feeling in his chest for causing her little fit.

His head leaned down close to her kicking legs and tail before he took in a deep breath and let out a roar that shook the cavern like an earth tremor! Rocks shivering out of place and and stalactites threatening to crack free from the ceiling! And Rayne, poor—insolent Rayne went tumbling a bit over her own feet before finally hitting the side of her cart with a loud “thunk!” She breathed hard as her tail exploded, looking more squirrel-like than tiger.

Magnus cleared his throat, bringing his neck up regally before giving Rayne a bored expression.

“Are you quite done?” he asked in the same droll tone as before. The silence and her rapid breathing were her only answers. “Good.”

Rayne's heart finally slowed as she looked up at him, getting up slowly and brushing herself off a bit. He could tell by her expression she wanted to let vicious words fly out of those lips but she seemed to contain them by looking at her tail and smoothing it to its regular size.

“Now, what are we to do about that little hunting trip?”

Rayne grumbled, her mouth closed so it wasn't understandable in the slightest but Magnus could understand he'd obviously struck a nerve, or her head, or what ever hit the cart when she smacked against it. She walked away from him and grabbed the bow and quiver, slinging them both into place before disappearing over the edge of the lair.

“AND YOU THANKED ME EARLIER! DON'T FORGET THAT—MY LOOOORD!” Rayne called as she reached the ground, Magnus' ears picking up the yell easily. His jaw tightened in anger.

“Insolent little whelp...” he growled as his eye twitched. HE was the giving one, HE took her under his wing and HE gave her a place to sleep without fear of being swarmed by the predators of the woods. And SHE was laughing and carrying on like SHE had a right to! He was the dragon! DRAGON! She was the little mortal he was allowing to LIVE!

Then a little voice popped up in the conversation with himself. If she hadn't been here today, Magnus might have been cut to bits by that sword. He shuddered with the thought of his own demise. For now, he would allow her to live, as a trade off for her almost saving his life. And amusing him. She did amuse him...but he wouldn't let her know that, ever.

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Rayne was still laughing, even though Master Magnus angered her to know end earlier. Just the look on his face and the little yelp in his throat made her smile. She was glad he was feeling up to threatening her again, even though they still all felt hollow. Sure, the roar had her nearly pissing herself, but the sneak attack was what made her angry. Then again, she really had lost her mind by laughing at him...maybe the sneak attack had been necessary. He was a dragon after all and she began to push back today. Why was she pushing back all of a sudden?

Maybe because he wasn't expecting it. Maybe because she didn't feel the need to be his only amusement lately or his servant. Even through his arrogant nature she knew he was doing it to get a rise out of her, push her into anger. For some reason that seemed to be his new goal after she returned from Sagewynd. It had worked of course, but not the way he wanted it to. She thought if she could play the game he was trying to play, he'd stop? But would he? Rayne seemed to know that answer before she'd finished the thought.

But it had been, dare she think it, fun to watch him get heated about it? To challenge him slightly? Yes, but unfortunately she would have to keep those thoughts to herself.

She pulled the arrow back and let it fly, striking a large wild bird easily. She walked over to the fallen carcass and pulled the arrow back out. Counting this one she had four, and that was all the weight she'd be able to carry on her own. Four little meaty birds wouldn't be enough for him, not by a long shot. She sighed heavily, before beginning to walk back towards the lair to at least give him the birds, and possibly apologize.

More than likely she would not apologize. She didn't take the life of another for him to throw it off like nothing. She had been taught that violence wasn't the answer when it came to those who could speak, but she swore she wouldn't let anything happen to Magnus. That drove her into taking the life of the knight, which she would pay for by the gods some day. Whether or not he believed that, she did.

She walked into the clearing, soot and charred grass crunching under her feet as she left the fowl in a pile next to her ladder. She looked up, knowing he'd send her out for more anyway and turned to leave to get a few more birds...hopefully just a few more.

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Magnus knew the fastest way to recovery was rest and food. But his little Rayne hadn't returned yet so he scoffed off into his cavern and rested after putting the damn sword in a hidden cavern. At least then the hunger in his belly would be pushed back a few hours.

He woke to something smelling deliriously good, his nostrils inhaling the scent greedily as his head lifted to follow it. It sort of smelled like when he roasted his dinner, but no...there was another few scents that didn't match. The smells were coming from outside, the sun setting and casting his glorious land in beautiful golds and reds. He smiled as he peered out through the cave's mouth, before he looked down into the mess of a clearing.

Rayne was humming a bit as she made herself a small little—device to roast meaty birds over an open flame, their feathers plucked off and no innards. But the scent...the scents were coming off of the meat in delicious waves. He climbed down awkwardly, making Rayne's head jerk towards him before she stopped humming and concentrated on the birds before her.

He lumbered over to her before lying down harshly behind her, encircling the spit and Rayne in a somewhat protective circle. He saw the larger pile of already roasted birds lying beyond the fire's reach and picked one up between two claws. He popped it into his mouth and chewed the small morsel down, a rumbling growl of satisfaction coming from his chest.

“What is this?” Magnus asked as he picked up another meaty morsel into his claws and popped it into his mouth, bones crunching between large sharp teeth.

“Forest fowl?” Rayne answered in a bit of confusion.

“Mmm, no,” he replied, before tapping a claw on the rotating birds over the flame. “What is this?”

“A spit, you make them for cooking lots of things,” Rayne replied calmly. Ah yes, cooking. He had heard of the practice before and knew some mortal species needed to cook food before eating it. He supposed roasting his meals was a form of cooking but the burst of sweet spices coming over his tongue from Rayne's meaty birds...that was far beyond expectations.

He snatched another bird from the pile and popped it into his mouth to savor it, a little drunk look on his eyes.

“I have decided something,” Magnus stated as he licked his long muzzle with his tongue.

“Oh?” Rayne said as she removed the roasted birds from the top of the fire, pulling them off carefully with her knife and adding the last to the half devoured pile.

“These are delicious,” he said as if his words made it truth. Rayne snorted a little, but Magnus' mouth was already devouring one of the still hot ones, which made her snort seem less rude than usual.

“I'm glad you like them, my lord,” she answered him. She took a little piece off with her knife, munching on it as well as a root she dug up and cleaned during her outing. His tail was swishing a little, before it wrapped around Rayne absentmindedly a few times, not tightly or even touching her but almost...possessive? Rayne only watched it, her face turning a slight crimson. “Master Magnus?”

“Mmmm?” he asked without asking, munching down the last of his bird morsels in a good few chomps and licking his talons.

“We missed our lesson today,” Rayne stated, before wiggling back and leaning her back into his thicker tail. Magus' eyes opened widely at the recollection, before huffing a little through his nostrils.

“Then ask a question,” he stated. He didn't like feeling he had forgotten anything, and wanted to make sure they were of even standing with knowledge as their trade. “Any question you'd like.”

Rayne paused a bit, finishing her root before curling her legs up to her chest to keep warm in the setting sunlight, although most of that was now blocked by her Master's large form.

“Were you ever mated?” she asked in an intent manner, looking back at him. He shook his head a few times, scaly lips pursed.

“No, I've never had much of a desire to be,” he answered, staring down at the mortal coiled in his tail. “Why do you ask?”

Rayne shrugged a little before looking into the fire still blazing beyond his tail.

“I thought you would've been.”

Magnus' head jerked in shock, how had she come to that conclusion?

“And why is that?” he pressed slightly in a more calm but stern voice. Rayne shivered once but then stopped, was she cold? She didn't seem to be...her face was red and her heart beat was faster than normal.

“You seem to like talking to someone, is all,” she answered. “Its hard to talk without someone to listen. And what I've been learning about the fire breathers, they're usually mated by your age or earlier.”

“From what you've learned, am I a typical fire breather?” Magnus grinned slightly, proud that his pupil could recall the knowledge easily.

“...No,” she answered, a little laugh at the end of the word.

“I have no real desire to be around anything but my books and scrolls,” he stated as he looked around the coming night of the forest.

“I—” Rayne stuttered a bit. “I'm sorry.”

Magnus' frown was evident even as Rayne didn't look at him.

“For what, mortal?”

“For—disrupting your life,” she replied quietly, nudging a rock with her foot. “Being here, taking you from your books, your work.”

There was that tightness in his chest again, which made him grunt slightly before stating,

“Do not be sorry for the pursuit of knowledge, Rayne. It is a hard craving to satisfy and so few beings on this land know it.”

Magnus watched her little body relax as she let out a little breath, the tightness in his chest increasing.

“You may apologize now for laughing at me, however,” he stated to relieve some of her tensions. “Since that is what you SHOULD be apologizing for.”

Rayne's body quaked with quiet laughs, before she looked up at him.

“I don't think so, My Lord. You deserved that.”

Yes, Magnus thought. He probably did.

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