Palpable

An Evaluation of Motives

An Evaluation of Motives 
Challenge: Compassion 
» The only person Astra cared for was her brother, even if she hadn't seen him in years. So, of course, when she received word that he had been captured - well, nobody could blame her for wanting to see how he was doing. 

COMPASSION

Astra crept through the Pit as quiet as a mouse, employing every bit of the training Father had engraved into her being. Pausing in an alcove as two guards passed, she sniffed the air – Draco is definitely down here somewhere – and made a mental note to imprint a stricter training regime sometime in the future as they passed without suspecting anyone was there. She could have done a number of things to them – from suffocation to a slow acting poison to a knife in the back – if she wanted. Luckily for them, that was not in her agenda today.

They were still incompetent fools; these were high security prisoners.

Without a hitch, she found her brother and that human girl that had been captured with him in one of the strongest cells. His complexion was an ashen gray from the Suppressants and she nearly clucked her tongue at him. Draco should have known that he would never defeat Cassandra in a battle on raw power alone. If he had wanted to take her down, he should have used that mind she knew he possessed.

"If you wanted to kill Cassandra, you should have used your head. Brute force is not your specialty."

Draco barely twitched. "Perhaps all I wanted was to make her hurt."

That was odd. He had always been a bit of a pacifist for a dragon. What had Cassandra done to invoke his wrath? "We both know that you know far more ways to hurt people than with your raw ability."

He stood and faced her. If she was anyone else, she might have taken a step back at the savageness in his expression. "You look terrible," she said. His eyes narrowed and she added because he didn't seem much like himself, "I am not the one at blame here."

He faltered. "You are right," he said, and he sighed. "Sorry, Astra. It's been a difficult couple of days. Cassandra killed a friend."

A friend. What a peculiar concept that was made even more peculiar in his voice.

"Who is the girl?" she asked, switching into the language the human would understand. Hopefully, that was the correct language: Humans had a tendency to overcomplicate matters as simple as basic necessities such as communication. She knew of at least two human languages and they both had completely different sounds and writing systems.

"I am Victoria Grace," the girl said in perfectly spoken Draconese, though she had an accent. She stood and her eyes were hard. Astra was almost startled. "Are you going to kill us?"

Grace? General Grace had a sister, if she remembered correctly. She might have written it off as coincidence if she had believed in such a thing.

"You are with Draco?"

"He's my friend, yes."

"Then no." She locked her gaze with Draco's, and he shook his head minutely. This girl did not know who their father was? And yet she called herself his friend...

Don't tell her anything, she heard Draco even though he did not move his lips. I have not told her everything yet.

Will you?

He hesitated. If I am brave enough.

That was something she knew he had in spades. He would definitely tell her eventually.

She fixed her gaze on the girl again and allowed a grin to form onto her face. The girl looked nervous. That was good. Let her know that not all dragons were like Draco. Some were weak and others powerful, and most of them allowed their actions to speak louder than words. That was another thing with humans – they lied so easily with their false smiles and their pretty words that it made her stomach turn. At least she knew treachery when she saw it in Dracónia.

"I am here to free you." She showed them the key she had stolen from Cassandra.