...And Punishment (Thorn and Murtagh)

[Angmor]

There was definitely something soothing about the babble of conversation muted by passage between floors. Niar had good memories of lying in his bed late at night during the parties that his father had needed to throw as a part of uru-baen high society, listening to the softened buzz of people talking and laughing until he finally drifted off to sleep. And, as it happened, it also made good background for breaking and entering.

As usual, Niar had been assigned to keep an eye on someone the Empire deemed worthy of notice, in this case a rather important noble in charge of, among other things, the processing of captured criminals and Vardeners. While not terribly suspicious by himself -Niar had watched him for over a week and a half, and thought that he was rather a frivalous and unintelligent man- Someone fairly high up in Niar's chain of command had gotten wind of a rumor that this noble had been letting some of the prisoners in his charge escape to the Varden, being covered simply by the sheer number of prisoners he received. If true, he could not be allowed to let more traitors and Varden supporters escape the Empire's grasp. And so, Niar had been dispatched as part of an operation to find enough evidence for a conclusion one way or the other.

Of course, it quickly became apparent that simply watching the man wasn't going to cut it. A report of Today, Mr. Thayer ate a lavish breakfast, went shopping for a new slave, bought a new cloak and went to his friend’s place for the party didn’t exactly give you a vision into a man’s innermost loyalties. For that, one either needed a magic-user to read his mind, (risky) or a burglar to search his premises (For the good ones, expensive). And so, Niar thought bleakly to himself, here he was, playing the voice of reason while this slightly highly recommended yet seemingly slightly crazed ‘freelance professional’ as he liked to be called did his work. Strangely, it wasn’t all that different from monitoring a small child. Speaking of which... Nim was getting just a little too quiet, a sure sign he was up to something.

Looking up from his reading, Niar wordlessly plucked a small golden figurine from the thief’s hands and placed it back on Thayer’s desk, taking care that it was facing the exact same way that it was when they came in. Not that it mattered. First thing he did on coming in was to firmly implant an image of the room in his mind, so that he could set everything to rights before they left.
“Hey, I was just looking, I swear.” The thief protested, too loudly for Niar’s comfort, as usual. He sighed, shutting the book he had been holding.
“Firstly,” He said, not even bothering to look at the thief as he set the book carefully back on the shelf. “Keep your voice down. Secondly, as you’ve been told, Thayer can’t suspect that we’ve been up here.” He gestured around the merchant’s darkened office. “Everything that you move, I will have to move back.”
“Damn kid, lighten up…”
Niar didn’t remember doing it. One second Nim was playfully punching his shoulder, the next his father’s knife was in his hand, edge held threateningly against the thief’s wrist.

Niar quickly hid his own surprise at the reaction. Hey, it happened. Why not make use of it?

[/Color]
“Do not touch me.” He growled, summoning what he hoped was a fierce scowl. “Do not touch me.”
Nim looked suitably impressed that a boy on whose height he had a good head and shoulders could be so gutsy. Niar held his ground, even though he was inwardly praying that the thief wouldn’t press the issue. The party Thayer had going down below might have been loud, but it wasn’t that loud. Not to mention that this thief could probably run rings around him in a fight…
“Alright kid, have it your way.” Nim exclaimed, taking a step back. “I’m going to go check the rope until we’re ready to go.” With that, he withdrew back onto the balcony they had used to enter, muttering to himself.

Niar breathed an inward sigh of relief, setting down the book he had been holding. He was glad that Nim had back down, but…
But where did that come from?
A year ago he would not have even considered pulling a knife on another human being, and now here he was, threatening someone for doing nothing more than irritating him.
What’s happening to me?[/Color]
He asked the question, but he already knew. His work for the Empire had happened to him. He was simply doing what he had to do to adapt and survive. He checked his reflection in the blade of his knife, seeing if he had indeed become the monster he was beginning to feel like. No, he did not suddenly sprout horns, or a permanent leer, or ghastly red eyes. His face was just the same as it always was. What would his father think of him, of what he had chosen to do.
The face in the dagger hardened.
It didn’t matter. There was no good choice for his position. He was keeping the only remainder of his family alive, and that was all that mattered.
Forcefully pushing his thoughts into a hard, cold portion of his mind, he jammed the dagger back into its sheath.
Concentrate on the mission, and you might just survive this one as well.[/color]

With that, he made another quick check of the room. So far, nothing that could be construed as evidence to shifting loyalties. What hadn’t he checked yet?
Ah, the desk.[/Color]
Now, to some it would seem a rather obvious place, but then they weren’t dealing with someone who was all that smart. The piece of furniture sat just inside the beam of moonlight from the open balcony doors, its polished wood gleamingly faintly. Approaching it, Niar picked up the one thing that looked vaguely interesting amid the clutter of papers and knick-knacks, a simple, leatherbound book. Opening it, the first page read The Personal Journals of Barthis Thayer.
Niar smiled in victory.
He began to flick through the book as fast as comprehension allowed, not noticing the shadow that flitted over the moon, just for a second…[/size][/Blockquote]

[.::Thorn::.]

OOC: Sorry for the Powerplaying! Please dont eat me!

That shadow carrried with it a sound, A deep thudding sound much like the beating of a heart when listened closely to. But to those that knew the sound well, It meant a great threat to its makers enemies and a great help for the most part to its allies. The source of this sound? The source was the great beating wings of the dragon named Thorn.

He had been watching the Empire spy quietly make his way into the house of one of the nobles that were much higher up in the command chain. Now to Thorn this man was nothing more then a common theif as he had never been informed of the purpose of the mission being undertaken within this house, He watched the man move out into the wide streets before the dragon made his move. He brought himself to the ground as quietly as a dragon could which in this case ment he had to glide to the ground and landing rather hard. The man had made his way down an alley and had stopped. This is where Thorn trapped his prey.

The red beast turned down the alley and began walking towards the man. As he grew closer he could see the 'theif' was no more then a mere boy, at least in Thorn's eyes. He growled loudly as his scales were illuminated by the light of a lantern as he stopped before the spy. He drove a mental spike into the mans mind and spoke quite forcefully, "What do you think you are doing boy! You know not the trouble you have just gotten yourself into!"

[Angmor]

Niar very carefully nestled the book back among paraphernalia on the desk, the tight ball of tension in his gut uncurling slightly. After a quick page-through of the journal, it became quickly apparent that Thayer was just as shallow as he made himself out to be, and that he was far to scared of his masters to even think of treachery. He blew out a small breath of relief.
Not tonight. One more night passed without having to help hunt down and kill someone right after finding out we had something in common.

[/Color]
"Can I come in this far, or will you kill me for it?"
Niar felt a renewed flush of guilt at the thief's words, but militantly held it from reaching his face.
"Aye, I'm done here. As the mission goes, I have what I came for."
He scanned the room one last time, matching its image with the carefully reconstructed memory of what it had looked like before touching it. As far as he could tell, which was very close, everything was in order. And if he couldn't see a difference, he guessed that a merchant who wrote about himself in glowing terms probably wouldn't either. Nim apparently wasn't impressed.
"There is such a thing as too careful, you know."
"Not for me." Niar retorted as he stepped onto the moonlit balcony, shutting the ornate double doors quietly behind him. "Now, time time to earn the other half of your fee. You unlocked this door, and now it has to be relocked, with no one able to tell that it was ever opened. Can you handle that?"
Never one to miss a witticism, Nim cracked his knuckles theatrically and pulled out his packet of lockpicks.
"Certainly."

For all his bluster, it was just the work of a moment for the thief to reset the tumblers of the lock.
"Is it to your satisfaction, oh Master of the Mission?" He asked mockingly as he put his tools away. Niar scowled back.
"Aye, it is. You have earned your fee, oh Freelance Professional." And with that last jibe, the job was finished. After a short climb from the balcony to the street, and it was at last time for Niar to part ways with this insufferable man.
"Shall I break off now?" Nim asked. "I need to count my gold. The Empire rather likes to shortchange you, I've found."
Alright, perhaps not yet.
"No, keep walking for a few minutes. There may be someone around here, so we have to look like we have a legitimate reason for being here."
Nim was silent for a long moment. Too long a moment. Oh please, don't say anything. Let's just have our little walk, and then you can be on your way.[/Color] There was to be no such luck.
"You know kid, I honestly can't figure you. A just keep wondering to myself, 'how in the gods name did a boy that age get to be in this kind of work?'" Good question.[/Color] Niar thought to himself, with no small degree of irony.
"Well, you can keep on wondering." He answered instead, not wanting to appear outwardly disloyal. The Empire always had a mage go over his memories after every mission, and he wasn't allowed to talk about how he had gotten to be where he was, among other things. Thoughts were one thing, deeds where another.
"Alright, have it your way." Nim was saying. "But all the same, you admit that you are young for this."
"The Empire doesn't care about your age, so long as you do what's asked of you. I can do it, therefore I do."
The thief was again silent, considering, Niar was sure, how to turn this bit of information to his own profit. He failed, apparently.
"Well, I guess I can't argue with the king then, eh?" He made to punch him in the shoulder, but Niar saw the hesitation run across his face as he remembered the gleaming knife against his wrist. Wisely, he withdrew his hand.
"Well, anyway... Time for me to be going, I guess." As they had been talking, they had come into a sheltered alley that hid them from view from the rest of the street.
"Well kid, time for me to get out of here. You try to have yourself a good life." With that, the hired thief gave a mocking salute and stepped jauntily back to the street, whistling lustily as he disappeared around a corner. Niar scowled after him.
Good riddance.[/Color]
Like most in the employ of the Empire, he hated anyone who made him think more than was necissary. He harumphed deeply, snugging the strap of his satchel out of nervous habit.
Forget him. You've survived another one, that's all that matters. She's still safe. Now time to report in and get it over with.[/Color]

As he turned back toward the street, something tapped his shoulder. Frowning, he looked up, just in time to see the tail-end of a streamer of dust and gravel that had been dislodged from the roof by a sudden gust of wind. At first he thought that perhaps a storm was rolling in.
Good. Some rain will help me get home without trouble...[/Color]
But as he took two more steps toward the main road, he noticed that there was something strangely rhythmic about the wind. There was a regular interval between each gust, evoking images in his mind of the air being beaten into a rising frenzy by a massive pair of wings. The accuracy of his imagination was almost immediately confirmed as something dropped down onto the street directly in front of the alley with a pronounced crash of scales against the paving. Niar felt like the workings of his insides had suddenly come to a surprised halt. While he recognized the general shape from myths, legends, and vague shapes in the skies of above Uru-Baen, he had never been this close to a dragon before.

He told himself that it was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The thing that attracted his eyes the most was the scales. They glittered in the light of the streetlamps like a carpet of jewels, their dusky red color immediately making him revise his favorite color. He was so entranced with the sight before him that it did not once even occur to him that he should run. But the dragon took a step toward him,a rumbling growl coming from the huge creature's throat, changing the countenance of its face from beautiful to terrifying. It seemed to Niar that his fear sent out leaden tendrils into the ground beneath him, rooting his feet to the spot. In his mind, he grasped desperately at reason, any reason, something about this situation that made sense. ...And found the cherished memory of his sister's laughing face. With that, he was in possession of his actions again.
Think boy, think! What does he want with you? Is this just some random thing that he does for the fun of it?[/Color] The dragon was halfway to him now, its claws grating against the cobbles. Niar took one look at the rubies of its eyes and answered his own question.
No, this isn't a game. So, what then? Did he see me and Nim in the house?[/Color] If so, that was probably the worst possible thing that could happen. If he was caught, he knew his superiors wouldn't bail him out. The whole point was so that if he messed up, no one need know that he was more than just a cat-burgaler. He would be sent to prison or killed, and then there would be no reason for the Empire to keep his sister alive. But this was a dragon. If he ran for it, what chance would he have?

It was quite close to him now, close enough that Niar felt its hot breath on his face. And then, something completely unexpected happened, so fast that Niar didn't even have time to shield his mind.
The dragon spoke.
What do you think you are doing, boy![/Color] In all of the stories he had heard, Niar had never heard of dragons speaking to anyone. He realized that he would have to completely revise his opinions of what a dragon was. This was not some exotic steed that had been tamed by someone of even greater power; this was a creature of sentient intelligence, and therefore deserved even more respect than that due to a dangerous animal. Especially because this one was angry.
At him.
You know not the trouble you have just gotten yourself into![/Color]
No, there was only thing that it- he could be talking about. And that was the one thing for which everything he held dear depended on him not getting caught.

Without a word, he whirled around and sprinted further down the alley. The way ahead was blocked by a six-foot wall, an obstacle that would stop most people in their tracks.
Niar was not most people.
Without slowing, he let his feet take him up the side of the wall as far as gravity would allow, just enough to grab the top of the wall and us his upward momentum to haul himself over. He dropped down on the other side and kept running.[/size][/blockquote]

[.::Thorn::.]

Pointless, that was the only thought that ran through Thorn's mind the instant the boy took off. Did he really think he could outrun a flying dragon. The streets of Uru'Baen were narrow and winding yes, but this thief seemed to prefer rooftops to streets. Which would be to Thorn's advantage in catching him. The dragon turned around out of the alley so that he would have room to take flight. As the beast hauled his bulk into the air he snorted in frustration. This could get tiring very fast, but at least it was something to do.

Thorn circled around a particularly tall building and as he did he swept the rooftops for the thief he caught the form of a young man running across the tops of the hovels these humans called homes. Thorn always preferred to sleep in the woods or in a cave, It felt more like a place a wild dragon would live. As he watched the boy jump from roof to roof he began gliding silently low over the buildings, by not making much sound he could use the dark of night to his advantage to catch this thief, this boy.

Thorn was no more then 10 feet behind the teen when he decided to end this here and now, He pumped his wings down and back to propel him forward and with his front claws reached to grab the boy, But just as he was about to grasp the thief the man ducked under him and began running in a different direction. The dragon roared angrily and pumped his wings again to gain altitude and made a high wide circle that put him in a downward angle aimed straight at the young man that continued running.

This time the red dragon did not miss. His claws shut around the mans torso and held tight. Thorn began to climb again in order to find the highest building he could, Save for the castle. He located one out of the corner of his deep red eyes and made a sharp bank toward it. He came to the roof that was no less then 70 feet off the ground and threw the boy onto the flat roof. He then disappeared into the dark of night for a few moments before coming back to the roof and landing on it after backpedaling to slow himself before touching down on the roof and folding his wings at his sides. He came face to face with the young man and snarled showing the rows of razor sharp teeth that his scaled lips kept hidden from view. "Now your in real trouble!" growled the now visibly perturbed dragon. "Now explain yourself! Make any move to escape and I will roast you where you stand, Niar!"

[Angmor]

Niar had never been so afraid in his entire life. Without thinking, he had climbed up to the nearest rooftop, doing just what he had been trained to do. Trouble was, his training had taught him how to avoid men, not huge, flying, law-enforcing lizards. He realized his error only when he heard a strange snicking sound, like to small rocks banged together, somewhere above and behind him. The sudden mental picture of the dragon swooping down from above burning its way through his mind like a lightning bolt, he threw himself sideways, just in time to catch the sight of the dragon's lethal claws snagging the air where he had just been running, leaving twin white gouges in the slate roofing before vanishing again into the night, leaving Niar surprised and breathless on the tiles.
You fool!

[/Color] Be berated himself as he took a moment to get his wind back. What were you thinking, coming on a damned rooftop?[/Color]
There was only one answer. He wasn’t thinking. Now all he could do was try to correct his mistake before the dragon came back. Thinking quickly, he remembered an open window on the building adjacent to the one he was lying on, just one story down. They were close enough that he could jump down and through it fairly easily, and then the dragon would have to tear down the building to get to him. He was sure it wouldn’t do that.
Or at least, mostly sure.
Hauling himself to his feet, he started running across the flat roof back the way he had come, wondering just how fast a dragon could turn.

He was almost to his goal when He heard a sound that sent a shiver down his spine, mimicking the pounding of his pulse in his ears: The rhythmic pounding of the dragon’s wings coming down behind him. Out of time, Niar threw himself into space, angling for the safety of the open window- and felt himself being snatched in midair, watching the ground fall away so alarmingly fast that his stomach felt like it hit the top of his mouth. It came as such a surprise that he did not even have time to cry out, or even feel afraid. For a moment, it felt perfectly natural to see the city shrinking beneath his feet. The margins between dream and reality had been removed. But then the world seemed to tilt sharply, and the inner serration of the dragon’s claws sank into his chest painfully, wrenching him from his reverie of disbelief.
It was about at that moment when gravity returned, and the staggered rooftops of the city rose up to claim him, and he got to be as afraid as he had ever been in his life for the second time in one night. And then he landed on something, and stars went out.

After a few seconds, he realized he was still alive. At least, he was still breathing, and as far as he knew, one didn’t need to breathe if you were dead. And also, his arm and chest hurt, and he was reasonably certain he wouldn’t still be feeling that if he were dead. But if he lived, why couldn’t he see?
He opened his eyes.
Ah, that’s why…[/Color]
He found himself lying on a square of tarred rooftop. Groaning against the pain, he sat up slowly, taking stock of the damaged. There was three almost identical lacerations on his chest and stomach that were leaking a small amount of hot blood. His back felt as if he had bruised it to the bone, and his right arm didn’t feel too clever either.
What was that all about, anyway? Why would the dragon grab me and just dump me-[/Color] It was at that moment that he looked over the edge, and therefore answered his own question. He was at the top of one of the great stone army barracks that dotted the city, the ones that were eight stories high. Rather far to climb, even for him. And with an injured arm…
No, he was completely at the dragon’s mercy.
Even as he completed the thought, he felt a great gust of wind from behind that almost knocked him over. Whirling around, he found the dragon himself, settling into a landing with a great rasping clatter. Once again, Niar was struck with the sheer wonder of what he was seeing. It was truly and awesome sight from so close, one that he had never expected to see in his lifetime. And it would quite possibly be one of his last.

The dragon’s mouth slitted in an angry snarl, making him shrink back as far as the confines of the roof would allow, which wasn’t much. Now you’re in real trouble!"[/Color] Came his menacing voice in his head, making him want to block it out and draw into his mind like a tower of refuge. But he doubted it would do any good, so he didn’t bother. He simply fixed his eyes on the roof beneath his boots and waited for the end. "Now explain yourself! Make any move to escape and I will roast you where you stand, Niar!"[/Color]
His head snapped up involuntarily.
“What? How could you possibly know my name?” The dragon simply tilted his head slightly, saying nothing. Niar realized that it perhaps didn’t work that way.
Can you understand me now? Is this how you know, you were in my mind?[/Color][/size][/blockquote]

Sorry this took such a hugely long time. I was lazy at the beginning of the week, and then the rest was just busy enough to keep me away.

[.::Thorn::.]

Thorn stared at this thief for a moment, He seemed at the very least marginally intelligent. Which was more then he could say for the last thief he felt he needed to chase. He doubted the guards even found the charred remains of his last capture. At least this one caught on quick."Yes, This is how I learned your name, I was in your mind for only a moment but I know a bit about you. nothing of any importance of course but I do know your name. Now, if you cooperate you will fair better then the last thief I caught." The red dragon relaxed a little knowing that this boy, if he was at all intelligent would not attempt to climb down the side of the building with his arm in its current state. "Did you really think you could get away that easily? And on the rooftops at that? I can outrun the fastest horse and you try to outrun me on foot on rooftops?" He made a sound in his throat that sounded like a very deep coughing which anyone who spent any time around a dragon knew was a laugh.

"If you tell me exactly what you were doing in that nobles home and give back what you took I might turn you loose. But if you don't cooperate I will have no choice but to turn you over to the royal guard. Now out with it!" The dragon folded his wings at his side and waited for the boy to speak, At this point Thorn really didn't think he would get anything intelligible from the thief from the way that he was so furiously shaking.

OOC: All I could come up with, So sorry, school coming up is killing my muse. Don't feel obligated to write a super long post unless you wish to do so, something short will suffice and I really feel bad giving you these short replys for the massive posts you give me. again, Sorry

[Angmor]

It was, Niar thought bleakly, the perfect example of what his father called the self-adjusting entanglement. A variation of the self-adjusting screwup, his father defined it as a situation that arises with no fault of one’s self in which all of the choices presented were equally bad. Niar had never truly understood what he meant until they day where he had fallen in with the Empire. Now it seemed to happen on a regular basis.

In this particular one, the first choice would be to tell the dragon everything. But if he did that, and if the dragon let him go, then his superiors would go through his memories afterwards, and probably kill him for telling.
He would die, and his sister’s life would be forfeit.
On the other hand, he could stonewall through it, presenting a bold face of defiant stubbornness… And then get thrown off the roof, or blasted into a cinder, or… whatever it was that dragons did to captured thieves.
He would die, and his sister’s life would be forfeit.
How could he make a choice like that?

There was only one thing he could do. In the face of two bad decisions, he had to walk the line between the two. And not fall off.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” He said, his voice quavering slightly. With his mind now bound up and sealed tighter than the Varden’s coffers, he did not want to open it again to converse in thought. The dragon snarled fiercely, making him cower closer to the edge of the roof. “N-not what I mean!” He stammered quickly. “I-I-I’m not saying that I won’t tell you, just that I can’t. If I were to tell you what I was doing in that house, someone very important to me will die.”

[/blockquote]

[.::Thorn::.]

Thorn snarled angrily at Nair, If the boy wouldn't tell him the truth, then what was the point in him living? He had been given a clear choice between two things, Tell the truth and live, Or refuse and be burned to death. While the latter would be a spectacular way to end you life he doubted that was what the young man would want. But it seemed that the young thief was not as smart as Thorn had origanally thought.

He drew closer to the boy and glared at him as he felt the door in the mans mind slam shut. Thorn snarled at him again. He really thought that he could prevent a dragon from entering his mind? Or did he just enjoy the thought of death? Either way he was testing the patience of this dragon, and paitence was not Thorn's strong suit.

He forced his way into the boy's mind again this time quite a bit more forcefully. "If you refuse to tell me then why should I continue to allow you to live? You have given me little choice in the matter, Tell me now or you will die here where you stand!"

[Angmor]

Oh gods, he's not going for it.

[/Color] So much for walking the line. This dragon was in no mood to be placated or forgiving.
And now he was about to die, and his sister with him.
Choking down the stomach-churning desperation, he went over his options one more- indeed, one last time.

He was atop a small rooftop, high in the air, with truly nowhere to run. Climbing was impossible, jumping was suicidal. He could not tell his interrogater what he wanted to know, and yet he couldn't not tell him.
There's no way out of this.[/Color] He thought despairingly. I'm finished. There's nothing I can do...[/Color] At that moment, as he was about to draw himself to full height and tell the dragon to do its worst, a thought sprang into his head, unbidden. How strong is a dragon's mind?

It was a diverting question. And one that he wasn't sure had been considered before. It occurred to him that yes, dragons were a species that, in his rather limited yet very hands-on experience, dragons would be a races whose only communication would be made by way of the mental realm. If so, were dragons very adept at mental combat as well? And if they were indeed adept... Would this was dragon be as adept as he was? Although there was little pride in it, he thought that he just might be the first human ever to find out. After all, it wasn’t as if he had much to lose for trying.

Taking a deep breath for really no reason at all, Niar burst from inside the defenses of his mind, thrusting a probe into the dragon’s as fast as he could, frantically groping for the center that he could isolate that would immobilize the creature…[/size][/blockquote]

[.::Thorn::.]

Thorn snarled as he felt this mans mental probe drive itself deep into his mind. Was this thief, this child really attempting to engage him in metal warfare? If he was then he was stupider then Thorn had thought. None the less he felt that this was no mere child. no,he felt stronger then that.

Thorn threw his mental probe into the boys mind as well as creating mental barriers around his mind to block the man out. He knew that there was almost no way that he could destroy these defenses, after all as far as he knew, no one had ever won a mental battle with a dragon before. Or was there something he hadn't been told by he teachers?Thorn however felt a wall in his defenses being undermined. He also felt that he should simply burn the man to death, but he wanted to see how far this would actually go.

As this wore on he felt the wall collapse and the probe break inside. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind that made him roar out in agony as the pain grew worse. He broke his attack off and simply grabbed the man in his claws and began to crush him, It was at that moment he decided he would forgo all this battle and simply kill the man, he had caused him enough trouble and it was time to end this. "Last chance! Tell me or you will die!" He roared into the mans mind.

[Angmor]

The mind of a dragon was the most alien thing Niar had ever experienced. He had always liked the experience of a human mind to something like looking at a great luminous globe of energy, shrouded by a nimbus of emotion and shot through with luminous lines of logic. But this mind was nothing like that. There was just so much to it, a level of ancient complexity that made humans look like tiny and insignificant creatures in comparison.
The resistance to his touch was so strong that it was almost overwhelming, but he pushed through it stiffly, flooding his mind with thoughts of just what he fought for to fuel his resolve. At last, he found eternities and seconds later, he was at last inside, pushing his mental spike deep into the dragon’s mind. But the dragon was apparently just as good at fighting both battles at the same time, because Niar suddenly found himself upended in the crushing grip of the creature’s claws, squeezing him slowly, cutting into his flesh… "Last chance! Tell me or you will die!"

I guess this is it, then. I’m finished.

[/Color]
The second he thought it, something deep inside him screamed refusal. It told him to fight until the last breath, to go to his end doing as much damage as he could. Grabbing hold of this part of himself, Niar drove his mental attack as hard as he could back into the dragon’s mind. He could feel that he was causing pain, great pain to the thing that was killing him, making it squeeze him harder, letting him use his own pain to channel back into the dragon’s mind, causing it more pain so that it squeezed him harder…
Unbidden, visions of his sister suddenly spring into his mind, memories of her kindness and her energy and her friendship. He could feel that the dragon could also see them, but he no longer cared. Let the thing see what it was destroying by taking his life.
At last, Niar felt all the breath leave his lungs.
I’ll see you in hell, lizard…[/color]
Was his final thought as he at last blacked out.[/size][/blockquote]