The Winged-Humans (8)
"If that's the case, Goddess, might I make a suggestion." The center elder of the winged-humans asked, remaining polite but also a bit forceful. Night Silver looked at him and nodded. "If possible, would you allow some elves to live among us? This should provide a bridge of safety for those who live around them as well." He asked.
Night Silver smirked. The center elder here knows what he's doing. To think he was able to discern what my plan was ahead of time. Now I don't have to ask him for it. Fantastic. "Very well, I won't make any promises, but I will not restrict anyone from remaining in your tribe, of course you'll need to have them stay of their own will. No tricks either. I can sense that as easily as I can feel my own breath." She answered, giving her permission. "To that end, it might be best to find a way for all of us to live in a central area to each other's settled homes… Hmm." She continued, looking at the map for a good spot. "How about right here, I'll build a nice permanent residence in this forest. The mountains are just over there. Not too far away, and they seem to already be cavernous which would make it a fair bit easier to settle there. And the Winged-human's homeland is about the same distance. I think something like this would work out fairly well. I can respond to any threats immediately. And so long as the same trees are planted here as there are in the other large settlement I've been helping with… I can arrive at any time, instantly." She carried on.
Immediately everyone looked at the map more intently to see if there were any issues. It didn't take long to discover the place that Night Silver had pointed to was a fantastic place, aside from the one major issue there.
"Goddess, that place… It's truly a wonderful location and would be great but there is a rather large horde of monsters living there." The Right and Left elders said in a moment of unified agreement.
"Oh that won't be a problem. If they can be helpful in some way, I'd prefer to have access to them. You never know how useful a monster is until after it's tamed… Though I do admit my taming skills leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps my threats will be enough to get them to yield. That is, if they are smart enough they will. And those are the only useful monsters anyway." Night Silver said.
"And what of the ones that don't listen to you, Goddess?" The center elder asked.
"Oh, I'll find a use for their parts somehow. I wouldn't want to be wasteful now would I." Night Silver answered. "That all aside, I'd like a group of your warriors to escort some dwarves to the mountains. You'll tell me if the place is acceptable for your needs." She continued. "Oh, and if there is something big in the way, I have ways of dealing with it." She finished explaining.
"Our warriors would be more than willing to do that." The elders agreed. "But, what will you do tomorrow, Goddess?" The center elder asked, with a curious look on his face.
"Oh, I'm going to pay that dragon lord a beating and a half." Night Silver said with such a casual smile it was almost chilling.
"Then we shall wish our Goddess good fortune in battle." The 3 elders said with a hint of pity for the enemy.
"Oh don't be like that, it's not like I'm going to kill it, at least, not right away. If it has the potential to repent I may just give it the chance to do so." Night Silver said. "It won't be for any other reason than my own selfishness to have another pawn to use against that damned Dragon Mother. She's about on par with the Dragon Emperor I helped in killing a while back. We don't have the numbers needed to do that again right away. Luckily she fears me enough to not pick a fight." She continued explaining. "I'd do anything to keep my followers alive. Even if that meant forgiving an enemy to turn them into an ally. That said, they will definitely be worked to the bone before earning my forgiveness completely." She finished.
It was around this time that the smell from the feast preparations began to waft towards them. The first reactions of the elders were distinct from each other and yet also the same sense of intrigue.
"What is this scent? It smells absolutely delicious!" The three elders asked, completely forgetting about the heavy topics from before.
"I guess that's a normal reaction to having this for the first time. But roasted meats are the best." Night Silver giggled a little.
Then the room opened up with a little girl there, huffing and puffing. "Please teach me magic… Mommy!" She asked so suddenly it snapped the elders back to their senses. Yet the elders couldn't think of what to do, to them what the girl said was beyond rude.
Night Silver on the other hand smiled. "Come here child." She said, the child not missing a beat ran over to Night Silver. The child was then promptly sat upon her lap. "You want to learn magic from me? This is good, I'd been thinking I wanted to try teaching as many of the young ones these skills as I could. It will provide quite the benefit for your tribe." Night Silver continued. "But you need to know, not everyone can learn magic. It isn't the same as training with a spear, or learning to fly with your wings. Even knowing all of this, do you still wish to try it?" She continued, asking the little girl what she thought about it.
The girl was beyond flustered at this point. Why? Because she was being held so closely by the goddess they all worshiped and by one who really did feel similar to their mother, but more than that. It was like in Night Silver's arms, there were no more worries. It was also partly because the child was pressed up against Night Silver's bosom, which only added to the warm and comforting feeling. "Yes Mommy! I want to learn your magic." She finally answered as her head was gently rubbed leaving a smile on the girl's face.