Witch AU (aka the sad rp)

[Deathcap]

Raven had spent the day meticulously working with herbs, separating, drying, and preparing them for hours, peaking at the sorcerers books when he had the chance. He'd been allowed to learn to read only so he could discern ingredients and complete minor tasks for his master, but it hadn't taken long for him to learn far more than he was allowed. The second the man left, he found himself drawn to the ancient texts. The first time the other had caught him, he'd received a beating for handling the old books, but since then, the man had seemed to slowly start to instruct him in some of the ways. Master Aislin was not a kind or benevolent man, but he was better than the the masters in the workhouses Raven had spent his childhood in, with their cruel tempers and apathy for the workers. Aislin on the other hand was the sort of creature mothers warned their misbehaving children of; the witch in the woods with gnarled features, who would turn them into frogs should they not eat their supper or carry them away to use in potions if they stayed out after dark. The man knew all sorts of dark arts; his tiny cellar apartment was full of bones and bleary things in jars, otherworldly metals, strange spices and hides and parts of creatures Raven couldn't begin to name. When the man had taken him away from the workhouse, he'd been petrified of the other's strangeness, they way he spoke in tongues and smelled of death, but now he simply seemed normal. His oddities were nothing to be afraid of, and Raven was more curious than scared of him, which both frustrated and endeared the witch to the boy.
When he heard the basement door slam above him and Aislin's dark boots appear on the top of the staircase, Raven jumped and quickly shoved the book he'd been reading under a swatch of shimmery tan cloth, and went back to hurriedly chopping herbs.

He glanced over his shoulder as the other headed down the stairs, carrying a cage covered with burlap and seeming to struggle a bit before setting it down on one of the shelves."Boy, come see this." Raven could hear shuffling and looked over nervously before doing as the other said. "What is it?"
The man gripped the burlap between his gnarled fingers and pulled it back, revealing a small, dark colored serpent. Raven blinked, thinking at first she was some kind of lizard, but was startled to see her tiny wings.
"A dragon." Breathed Aislin. "It took me years to get this specimen, I thought I'd never see one. This thing will give me a name among my companions." He bragged cheerfully. "And alive, too, not some sewn together bat-snake." He muttered.
Raven had seen the creatures in books, but they looked far more fearsome than this poor creature. He felt sorry for the little thing. "What do they eat?"
Aislin grumbled.
"It's not a pet, boy, no. Just a drop of dragon's blood is worth more than all the king's gold, had the fool who sold her to me known that, I would've been out of a dragon. I'll gather up the instruments tomorrow, for now, fill it up on water, I heard it'll make its hide easier to deal with."
Raven swallowed, not liking where the other was going with this.
"W-wouldn't they be worth more alive? I thought dragons were extinct-" He started, feeling a little sick.
"Absolutely not." The man muttered, finding a loaf of fruit bread he'd stashed away and trying to get it down, still quivering in excitement. "You mind yourself, I know what I'm doing, maybe if you do well I'll give you a tooth for the effort, that's worth more than your life, boy, so do as your told. Get her some water, I'm going to find some proper steel and get a drink to celebrate." He barked in his old, dry voice, peering at the dragon again, as if he himself couldn't believe it was real.
When the other had hobbled up the stairs and shut the door, Raven relaxed a little, but still felt horribly uneasy. Couldn't dragons speak like humans? Weren't they more intelligent than a man? It felt wrong to butcher the thing like a bird.
He pulled a chair over and sat down in front of the tiny creature, having retrieved the water, but scared to open the cage door.
"Hello?" He tried softly. It already looked terrified. "Want some water?"

[melodiousmysteries]

The small serpent cowered opposite the cage from the man, shivering from both the cold and fear. She watched him leave, unscrunching herself from the cornerto curl up in a warm ball, tucking her nose away. This place has a lot of strong smells that she didn't like, and it was far colder than she would prefer. She squinted at the boy in the dim light, hesitant to get up from her safer smell proof huddle and get any closer to the human boy than absolutely necessary. Her head perked up a bit at the mention of water. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the merchant had fed her that morning, so water sounded enticing at the moment. She shifted to her feet, creeping a little closer to the boy.

[Deathcap]

Raven blinked at her as she came forward. Did she somehow understand him?
"Water?" He asked again, opening the cage door cautiously and placing the cup inside, gently brushing her shoulder in the confined space as he drew back, curious and worried at the iciness of her scaly skin against his warm hand. The poor thing. He unwrapped his bandana from about his head, letting his dark bangs fall loose, and gently pushed it into the cage to cover the bottom, to keep her tiny feet from the cold metal, trying not to alarm her as he did so.

[melodiousmysteries]

She crept up to the cup slowly, flinching back a bit when his hand brushed her, but when he didn't make any farther motion towards her she took quick eager gulps of the water. She jumped up a bit again when the hand returned, this time with a cloth. She lifted her feet to allow the bandana under her sniffing at his hand a bit curiously as he pulled back. She sniffed at the cloth for a moment, bunching it up in a less careful and precise manner so that it covered only the space she would need to sit or lay down, insulating her feet just a little bit more against the chilled bars of the cage that was her home.

[Deathcap]

Raven watched her as she adjusted the cloth under her, all doubt that she was an very intelligent creature gone. He felt pity for the little thing, and hesitated before reaching his hand out. "Wanna come out?" He asked her. She seemed passive and harmless, and whatever Aislin wanted to do, it wasn't right for her to suffer in the meantime. "Come here, ill find you something warm." He offered gently.

[melodiousmysteries]

The dragon sniffed at Ravens hand as it was extended again, slinking out of the cage after it. She stretched out her wings a bit, extending them fully for the first time that she could ever remember.

[Deathcap]

Raven took her up on his arm, holding her against his chest so she could balance, feeling wonder stir in his chest at the sight of the tiny creature; it felt unbelievable to be holding such a thing. He pulled the blanket from his bed and carried it over to the woodstove, placeing it on top of the stones for a while, before turning it over and letting it warm the other side, letting her perch against him in the meantime, but not stopping her if she chose to alight somewhere else. As long as she didn't get into Aislin's stores, it didn't matter. While he waited for the blanket to warm, he walked over to the shelves where they kept their food, glancing around. "Hm, what do you like to eat, huh?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. They didn't have much, and he was forbidden from taking Aislin's good meats or preserves, but there was a chunk of cheese wrapped up, maybe that would work?
He got the yellow lump and held it out to her to sniff. "Hows this?"

[melodiousmysteries]

The dragon chirped a bit in distress as she was picked up, wobbling awkwardly with his movement. She hopped down as he tried to position the blanket, slowly moving toward the opening of the stove while the boywas distracted. It was so warm and nice. She placed a foot on the coals carefully, soon crawling the rest of the way in and resting comfortably on the coals. Yes. Nice and warm.

[Deathcap]

Raven nearly dropped the cheese in shock as he turned to find the creature inside the fire, panicking internally,and trying to figure out how he was going to save her before he realized she'd curled up contentedly. That was fascinating, how was she so invulnerable to the heat of the fire? He watched her for a few moments before cautiously continuing with his chores, trying to think of an argument for Aislin to spare her life, even long enough to change the man's mind. Aislin must have compassion somewhere him, he'd saved Raven, after all, maybe if he could show him that the little one was intelligent, he'd reconsider.
As it started to get late, he worriedly went over to the stove. "Come on, little one, he'll be back soon, you cant be in there." He tried to explain gently, trying to coax her out with the cheese.

[melodiousmysteries]

The creature watched the boy moving around the space from.her comfy spot. She reached her head out to sniff at the cheese. She licked it curiously, making an odd face at the taste. It was weird, but she was hungry. The scaled creature crawled out of the stove after the morsel.

[Deathcap]

Raven gently shut the stove behind her as she went for the cheese. "I'm sorry, I wish I could let you stay." He apologized, feeling guilty, but concerned about what Aislin might do if he came home to the creature out of her cage. He took the now-hot blanket from the hearth of the fire and scoop her up as gently as he could with it, carrying her back to the cage and opening it's door, hoping she would make it easy and go in on her own.

[melodiousmysteries]

The creature chirped when she was picked up again, looking between the cage and Raven. Not wanting to return to her tiny space she squeezed out of the warm blanket and climbed up and over ravens shoulders, perching there like zome sort of bird.

[Deathcap]

Raven startled as she climbed up his shoulder, clearly distressed by the cage. He sighed, uncertain. How mad could Aislin get? Against his better judgement, he went to sit at his bed, laying down on his side to watch her and draping the blanket over her. "You better be good, okay?" He mumbled.

[melodiousmysteries]

The dragon hopped down onto the bed with the boy, tunneling under the blankets to curl up against her new warm friend in her blanket cave, content.

[Deathcap]

Raven relaxed a little as she curled up, wrapping his arm around her once she was settled and feeling warmth fill his chest; she was like a little cat or something.
He stayed with her there quietly, trying to gauge the time it would take for Aislin to return, but lost himself in thought and slowly drifted to sleep.

When he woke up, it was to Aislin's cane whacking hard into his stomach.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The man demanded loudly, as Raven scrambled up weakly. "S-sleeping?" He blurted in fear, not sure why he was being hit, before he remembered and felt his heart sink, watching in worry as the older man grabbed the tiny dragon around her neck and forced her into the cage cruelly, locking it shut and shoving it. "You let it out!? What were you thinking?!"
"I-I was trying to get it to eat, it seemed cramped and cold in the cage, I was worried it was going to die." He tried to explain, worried that any argument he might've made for the dragon's life was going to be ignored after such a mistake, while the man continued to strike him unrelentingly with the cane. "Do you know how much that could've cost me, do you ever think?" He shouted. "I trusted you to look after something important and I come home to that, you ungrateful, irresponsible, brat!"
Raven tensed and covered the sides of his head against the strikes until they faded in strength, and the old man went to cursing and swearing. He was clearly drunk and tired, and even swinging the cane around seemed to exhaust him. Raven felt a pang of worry for him as he seemed unsteady on his feet; feeling guilty for upsetting the other as he rubbed his bruised ribs. "A-Aislin, I'm sorry, I just- it's intelligent, it understood me, it's not some dumb animal, I felt bad-"
"That's enough." The other growled raspily. "Get the dragon for me." He muttered, grabbing a jar. "I'm doing this before you and that thing cause me any more trouble."
Raven felt his blood run cold. "Aislin,-"
"Now! Hurry it up."
Raven slowly walked to the cage and opened it again, trying to hush the dragon and carefully picking her up again, looking her over where Aislin had grabbed her. "Master Aislin, please listen to me-" He tried to speak again, petting the dragon soothingly and feeling his stomach flip when he watched the other unseathe his knife and set the jar out on the counter. "Hold it still for me."
"Aislin, no, listen-" he started, clutching the dragon close to his chest then, not about to hand her over.
"Would you listen to me!?" The elder shouted, hurrying over and trying to take the creature himself. He tried to pull her from the boy but as Raven turned his back to the other, Aislin tripped over the blanket on the floor and crumpled to the ground with a thump.
Raven jumped and turned, his heart leaping his his chest, horrified, but as he reached down to help the other, he realized the man was no longer moving, and crouched there silently, still holding onto the dragon in shock.

[melodiousmysteries]

The dragon squawked painfuly as she was tossed into the cage, her wing caught it the door as it was slammed shut behind her.she scratched lightly at ravens chest as he held her, trying ti get loose and swueaking miserably. Something hurt more than she had ever known, and right now he was making it worse.

[Deathcap]

Raven heard the dragon's squeaks and came out of his shock, worried by her cries. He loosened his hold on her, looking from the dead Witch to the tiny creature in fear and bewilderment. What had he done?
He gently set her on the counter, worried by the state of her wing. "S-sorry." He got out blankly, feeling the room spin, dizzy with terror. "D-Did he hurt you?" He asked weakly, concerned for the dragon but still not sure this was real. "I-Its going to be okay." He added softly, not sure if he was trying to assure himself of the dragon.

[melodiousmysteries]

She tiny dragon hobbled on the counter one wing outstretched at an awkward angle, the other pulled in tight to her side. She sniffed at the pained appendage, trying to lick it better, but that just made it hurt more.

[Deathcap]

Raven watched her, sure at this point she was hurt; he'd seen injured pigeons before moving in much in the same manner, and swallowing in discomfort. "J-Just stay there-" he told her shakily, turning and walking over to Aislin, holding back a muffled sob in panic. What had he done?
He checked to hear the other's heart, unnerved by the silence, before uncertainly trying to move the man over to his own bed. He tried to be gentle as he rested the other on the mattress and hesitantly drew a blanket over the other's form, trying not to be sick. Backing away from the bed, he looked around, trying to think of how to help the dragon. He finally drew one of the books from a top shelf, flipping it open to a page on poultices, opening another on bones, thankful for once he'd disobeyed the old man. "I'll help, just stay still." He tried to tell her, not really certain how much she understood.
He gathered the herbs and ingredients and began crushing and mashing them in a mortar, wetting it with honey to form a soft green paste. Questioning if the herbs seep into her skin. Her fireproof scales might not be absorbent like a human's skin was, but what else could he do?
Before heading over, he stood on his toes and pulled down the hunk of salted ham drying near the back of the shelf, and tore off a few strips, washing them to soak out the salt as best as he could, and bringing it over to her, resting it in front of her, hoping to distract her from the pain.
"Here, go ahead. I'm going to put this on your wing, it'll help." He told her gently, letting her see the mortar full of paste before setting it down and dipping his hand into it.

[melodiousmysteries]

The dragon whined pitifully from her place on the counter. Waiting for the boy to return. She sniffed at the meat, sufficiently distracted by her empty stomach, laying down to chew at the meat greedily.u

[Deathcap]

Raven gently reached around to cup her uninjured side with one hand, to keep her steady, and gingerly spread the poultice over her injured wing, before binding it with the bandanna to keep it close and from moving around anymore, trying to work quickly and as gently as possible to keep from distressing her, before moving back to let her eat.
"Sorry, it'll help." He told her gently. "It'll fix it." He wasn't sure how much she understood, but he hoped she would comprehend basic words.

[melodiousmysteries]

The dragon whined a bit when the bandana shifted her injured wing painfully, reaching her head around to sniff at the boys hands. She soon returned to her meal once he was done, enjoying the meat infinitely more than the cheese.

[Deathcap]

As the dragon ate, seemingly oblivious to the weight of their situation, Raven began to pack hurriedly, stuffing important herbs, valuables, food, and books into a large backpack. They couldn't stay here; the man would be discovered, and even if he wasn't, Raven had no money to pay the land lord, and he felt sick and worried staying in this place now. He gathered the scant coin stashed around the cellar, stuffing it in his pockets, and gathered some changes of clothes. He slipped off his bedraggled tunic in favor of a proper shirt, vest, scarf and coat to brave the cold streets. He strapped a small dagger to his belt for safety, but found himself concerned with Aislin's books. He looked over at the man's still form sadly. The other had devoted his life to collected the ancient and beautifully illustrated texts on magic and arcane secrets, each one was worth more than anything else he'd owned. When he'd packed the food, coin, clothing, and other necessities into the pack, he stuffed as many of the books he could in, sadly leaving a few massive works on more obscure, dark arts behind, alongside an old, brick like volume on insects and another on poisons. He set the pack aside and walked over to Aislin, unsure, but gently placing his hand over the other's chest and whispering a tearful apology. They hadn't been close, and Aislin had been cruel, but the man had fed and housed him for the last 10 years of his life, and he felt overwhelmed with guilt. He stayed there for a while, quietly, before picking up the pack and heading over to the small dragon, reaching out his hand to her. "Come on, we're going to find somewhere nicer."

[melodiousmysteries]

The small creature crawled up ravens arm somewhat awkwardly, unable to use her wings to balance herself. She rested on his shoulder like before, sniffing at the boys hair.

[Deathcap]

Raven looked at the small creature worriedly. He couldn't just walk through the city with her there, could he? He pulled the pack around to his front, opening and rearranging it so one of the blankets was on top and shifted it around a bit, awkwardly with his one free hand until he'd formed a sort of nest. "Here, you should hide until we're away from people." He told her, patting the space he'd made inside the top of the pack and holding the flap open for her. "You can look out, just for a while, okay?" He was truly surprised she was listening to him at all, she had learned some words, or at the very least, directions from people. He wondered how old she was; she seemed smart for a young creature, so maybe this was as big as she got?

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