Aleksei: Dragon

Aleksei had a hard time remembering his death.

It went something like this:

Mishka wanted to steal a scale from the dragon, which sounded fucking great. Mishka was so fucking smart, so vicous and good. The black dragon lived inside a giant palace, which seemed like a pain to break into, so instead, they climbed down directly into the dragon’s hoard via the aerial entrance. Mishka turned them both invisible to make the infiltration easier.

Once, Aleksei’s grip slipped, and he started to tumble hundreds of feet down. Mishka vanished with a crack, caught him, then cracked them both to the ground. Mishka looked giddy, flushed pink with excitement.

Then, once they reached the dragon, Mishka was caught.

Aleksei hid. He listened, cold and shaking with sweat, while the dragon dangled Mishka above its mouth, and while Mishka kicked and screamed and swore at the dragon.

The dragon seemed impressed by Mishka’s moxie. It put some sort’ve… cursed cuff on him.

Aleksei pressed his face to his knees, burning with fury. It wasn’t fair, he thought. He couldn’t kill it. He wasn’t strong enough.

Then the dragon told Mishka to kill the person he loved most. Sacrifice, it said.

And, to Aleksei’s shock, Mishka went after him.

Mishka had a serious advantage over him. Aleksei was almost out of magic that day, and Mishka was at full strength. Aleksei bolted through the palace, but Mishka was fucking relentless.

This part was harder to remember, swamped by fear and anger and powerlessness. He just remembered… running as hard as he could. Mishka was screaming at him to go and get away.

When Mishka finally cornered him, he drove his sword into Aleksei’s gut, and Aleksei crumpled in agony, and died.

He remembered feeling mildly surprised Mishka loved him.

--

And then ten years later, he woke up.

He lay in a grave in the desert. It was nighttime, and his body hurt. A small group of elves stood over his grave, peering down at him. A cleric sat beside him, quietly chanting. She held a large diamond in her palm, and while Aleksei returned to life, the diamond cracked and turned to dust.

The cleric was Zoya Haeth. Aleksei tensed, holding his breath.

Aleksei had essentially kidnapped her son. Sure, Mishka took off on his own, but-- Aleksei was the one who convinced him to stay away, even when Mishka broke down and cried for his family. She could be really fucking pissed.

Zoya’s face was pinched and cold. Her movements were jerky as she stood up, brushing the sand off her robes. She wore black, and so did her five guards, which was uncharacteristic of her. “Aleksei Abernathy,” she said quietly, offering him a hand up. “I did not expect to find you in a hole in the desert.”

Aleksei didn’t take her hand. “With all due respect, my lady, I did not expect to end up in a hole in the desert. You brought me back?”

“Indeed.” Zoya’s mouth was tight and angry. “I am looking for my darling son, but he’s impossible to find. I was wondering if you knew where he went.”

“Not in a good ten years, my lady. I have been resting in Corellon’s paradise.”

“Yes. As I can see.”

“Any particular reason you’re looking for Mishka?”

“Yes,” Zoya said briefly. “I’m going to kill him.”

They helped Aleksei out of the hole, gave him clothes, and teleported him back to Alabaster. Aleksei was numb with shock the whole time.

Mishka was a fugitive. Mishka killed Aleks, hid his body, then killed Asenka Haeth ten years later-- and now Zoya was out for blood.

They said Mishka was a monster. They said he could change his face and walk without being seen. They said his footsteps made no sound. They said he could speak in tongues and read your thoughts. They said he could walk through walls.

Aleksei was fucking fascinated.

He kept thinking: *He loved me enough to kill me first.*