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She accepted the sculpture with another blush and a softly spoken 'thank you' then moved to sit in one of the plush chairs in front of the fireplace as she looked the piece over, fairly certain he'd made her dragon look more beautiful than she thought it was.

She simply shrugged off his words about the other dragons, "I make most other dragons nervous. I'm the first and only healer among our kind and they're not sure how to interact with me, I guess. As for what to do now... I have no idea," she answered him honestly as she turned her brown eyes to the fire glowing beside him.

"Part of me simply wants to fly back to the island, back where I belong. But part of me is wondering what changes have been made here. I grew up in the village and came here to work. I served in the castle for years before I met Raid," she said softly, still finding it hard to say his name even after all this time but knowing she would have to get used to it.

Really, he'd been gone for just over a century now. Her mark was fading and she knew she had to move on.

"I haven't left there in a very long time, though. I'm not sure I even know how to be around the others now. Very few would have remembered me from then. The humans I knew would have all passed on and I don't know very many of the longer lived residents," she continued, being completely honest with him.

Sasha looked up at him with one raised delicate eyebrow, "And how would you know? You said I'm the first you've ever met so that isn't really a fair statement. And if you've been here for any length of time, I know you've likely met Sebastet, at the very least. She's a vampire and I know you like her, everyone who's met her does," she pointed out to him but gave a shrug over the others.

"As for knowing Ash... I know him only as far as passing him in the hall. He's an Incubus, after all. I knew Dancer as a young boy, not as the man he is now. I knew Desha only in passing and in his capacity as healer here, not to socialize with. I was a servant here, before, not a dragon. I thought I was fully human," she explained to him with another small shrug.

Sasha reached out a hand and tapped him on the arm lightly, "Cedric. You're displaying. That's usually reserved for someone you want to kill or a potential mate," she pointed out to him, gesturing to the claws and scales then went on with the conversation.

"As for Ash... He's got a good heart, but he's been through plenty of beds in his time over here, I'll admit. But I also have to admit that he's helped a great many here in other ways as well. He is, by nature, a sexual and sensual creature, but also a creature of desires, those of the heart as well as the mind. I can tell he's done a great deal of healing for Rebecca, though I won't tell you all of what I could see.

"Sebastet is Hylarr, likely the last of her kind. But she was Turned violently a very long time ago and is now vampire as well. Other vampires live here as well and you've probably met them without realizing it. One everyone seems to keep forgetting about is Cain, the librarian. He's one of those real bookish types, a bit clumsy, terribly forgetful about normal things, but never forgets anything he's read and knows the library better than anything else. He even forgets to feed and has to be reminded about it. Another who used to live here but lives in the Demon Realm now is Gypsy. She stays to herself, very strong and a good fighter, but not good with people. She started out as a slave and is now the sister-in-law to the demon king, Lareth.

"You have to take vampires on an individual basis, Cedric. Not all of them are bloodthirsty creatures, cruel and indifferent to others. Most of them are simple enough, they're just people with fangs and a different biology. I've actually met dragons who were more cruel than the vampires I've known. I've met humans who were more fickle than you imagine Ash to be. Dragons and angels do not hold the monopoly on kindness and light, you know," she explained to him softly, though it didn't take her eyes and thoughts away from the display he was showing even though she tried very hard. But her eyes just kept returning to him and seeing it kept making her blush.

Sasha looked down at statue in her lap and blushed even redder at his question. She shook her head slightly over it, blushing so badly that she felt light-headed from it. But she answered him anyway, though she wasn't sure why.

"N-no. Before Raid, I'd never... Then after... No, I haven't," she tried to say it out loud but the words kindof froze before she could actually finish a sentence.

She didn't even notice his fireball trick until the light from it caught in the statue then she watched politely for a moment before looking down again, still blushing.

Sasha shook her head over his question, "It doesn't bother me at all. It shows that you have very tight control over your abilities. Unfortunately, I have nothing as impressive to use to show you mine," she told him softly, keeping her eyes on her hands and the statue she was holding.

Then he said that statement and she frowned at him a bit, unable to help it, "I don't understand... W-why are you glad to hear I've only ever had one l-lover?" she stumbled through it a bit but she managed to get it out somehow. She truly couldn't understand his reaction and it showed on her face, despite the fact that she was still giving off a faint blush just from looking at him.

Of course, in telling him that she'd only ever had the one lover, she revealed that no one had ever courted her either. The few who'd tried to lure her into mating flights didn't really count since they were actually trying to kill her instead. So it made his reaction all the more confusing to her.

Sasha blushed again at his initial possessive tone but decided that she'd simply take it as a personal observation he'd made about himself rather than anything said for her benefit. After all, it was dragonic nature to be possessive about a great many things.

She sat in silence for a moment then stood, "I've taken up a great deal of your time, Cedric. While I thank you for that time, I'm certain you're wishing for a bit of rest. So I'll explore the castle a bit, relearn it and see what has changed and what hasn't since I was here last," she said softly then looked towards the staircase in the reception hall, thankfully visible from here, with a small frown.

"I suppose I'll have to take a room of my own now. I'm no longer a servant here, but a guest. It should prove rather novel for me," she said mainly to herself and gave a soft sigh over it all. After all, she'd never intended to return here at all. She supposed she'd have to take on a room on a temporary basis rather than a permanent one, but that gave its own problems as far as details were concerned.

She let one hand release the statue and fingered the dress she was wearing and considered that she'd have to have more clothes made as well, something one didn't have to consider when constantly in dragon form. She shook her head slightly and cleared the frown on her face as she turned her head to considered the stained-glass doors and finally made a decision.

"I think I'll look over Sebastet's garden first. The place is always a pleasure to look over and may inspire my wanderings further. At least the place is safe. Sebastet absolutely refuses to allow any fighting to take place there, after all, and has spelled it against such things," she continued, again, mainly for herself than for him.

Truthfully, she was going to use the garden to avoid any of the others here since she wasn't sure if she was up to seeing a great many people just yet...

Sasha gave a small shrug, "You can come along if you wish. I don't mind. There is something about this place that allows one the freedom to work through issues, find oneself again, or simply find the peace they've lost. I've seen it numerous times before and it still amazes me," she told him softly as she lead the way to the stained-glass doors.

But she paused and glanced down at the statue he'd given her and returned to the fireplace where she placed it on the mantle before returning to him with a shy smile, "It'll be safe there and I can collect it at any time," she said softly then lead the way into the garden.

((Exit))