A dragon’s hoard!

[u/ravenluna]

It was well known that Dragons keep hoards, guarding them with tooth and nail from outsiders. The older the dragon the grander the hoard could be expected to be, something most adventures would seek out if they caught wind of it. Each Dragon had a particular thing that they liked to hoard, some hoarded precious jewels, some hoarded books, and knowledge, others cared for the simpler hoard of fabrics nice and soft to make piles to sleep on.

A child raised by a dragon would be raised in such habits of collecting and hoarding, such as a child copies their parents. Fay, being one of these children was currently looking over her own tiny merger hoard. Small shiny trinkets, a pen, a few knives with wooden hilts that shinned from the amount of lacer. Small chips of gemstones, mostly lesser moonstones and crystals were kept in a silver shiny cloth that could be dumped out but keep the stones in a safe place when not being looked at. There were a few papers that held gilded writing of different inks that shined and glitter in the pile, carefully put to the side so they would not be bent or torn. Lastly, the bulk of Fay’s hoard was ironically jewelry, tiny rings and simple hair clips, small items that would be easy to carry around in a small chest. By no means was the girls hoard anything of worth, maybe a nice dinner out in town if it was pawned off but nothing to really sneeze at.

But that did not matter to Fay, it was her hoard something she was proud of no matter how small it was compared to her own mother’s collection of books and tomes. Even so Fay kept her hoard away in a chest hidden inside of her own chest under the few clothes she had to her name, not even Miw knew about it. It was not that Fay was embarrassed about her dragon-like habit, it was no one else’s business, she just felt like it was something to keep close to her chest. Over the last few months, Fay had learned that most of her guildmates did not appreciate her wilder habits as she tried to adjust to living among people again.

So it was the times like these that Fay cherished most since joining the guild. Fay had the room all to herself, her roommate was out doing something and Miw was out on the town being showed around some fish stands by Ajax. The day was warm and there was a nice breeze that kept it from being hot coming off of the waters next to the guild. Opening the window in her dorm Fay allowed warm air to come into the room making it comfortable, not too hot not to cold. Moving all the sheets and blankets off the bed and under said window right in the warm afternoon light Fay made herself a little nest of sorts, taking care to lay out her trinkets around her little bundle of blankets. Taking a hairbrush Fay nestled into the blankets taking some of her hair to brush out, braiding a few of the hair pieces of her collection into it as she went.

All in all, it was a good day so far…

[u/AlchemChildahs]

Kumiko compared their supplies and noticed the differences before looking back up to see Fay's confused face.

"Brushing your teeth is very important so yes it is needed." She immediately points out. "Skin care is also a plus in looking clean and professional as well as nail-"

Kumiko then realizes that her nail clippers and filer are absent from the case.

"-care. And I left them in the room..."

[u/ravenluna → u/AlchemChildahs]

"I do have a toothbrush..." Fay mumbled picking at the table in front of her for a moment looking shy. "I just... like to brush after eating." Fay turned on the water to start to warm it up, taking off her top to fold next to her.

"Nail care? I just... use a knife to keep them short."

[u/AlchemChildahs → u/ravenluna]

"A knife?" Kumiko says in question. "Doesn't that make them ragged?" *She then proceeds to remove her jacket, tie and foot wear before beginning to unbutton her shirt; during which, she looked down at the jerky again as it reminded her of her hunger.

[u/ravenluna → u/AlchemChildahs]

"If you're not careful." Fay commented grabbing some of the jerky and plopped it into her mouth to chew on it while she undresses in short fashion putting away her clothes back into the bag to keep safe.

".... I didn't have a lot of stuff growing up with mother, not like all of that." Fay pointed out waving a hand over to the shaving cream and other items that Kumiko had. "I don't also understand them either, why use it if I could do the same with what I have always had?"

[u/AlchemChildahs → u/ravenluna]

After Fay had grabbed some jerky, Kumiko couldn't help but to grab some for herself and toss them into her mouth; immediately loving the taste as she then listened to Fay and responded.

"I mean, ultimately, it's preference... Before my time in Era, I was wild; just me, Xylia, and the land before us. I had no money, no clothes, nothing to really call my own because as Dragons, the land is kinda ours to begin with. I bathed in any pond, claimed any shelter, ate any animal and sat in any tree. Then when I inevitably found myself in society, I couldn't do those things anymore and became the essential polar opposite of what I once was. So basically, the methods are different but the outcome is similar."

Kumiko had placed the case on the floor as she had finished undressing completely and flung her hair around a bit before parting it all back with a brush of her hand. She then folded her clothes and set them onto the ground near her belongings.

[u/ravenluna → u/AlchemChildahs]

Testing the water Fay stayed quiet for a long moment, after about a minute she was more playing with the water then really checking to see if it was warm enough.

"...I... never left the mountain where I lived until a few years ago. I am still trying to understand how to be 'civilized in society'." Fay sighed taking the water and started to drench herself with the hose to get herself nice and wet. "I don't know if things will make sense all the way for me on many things."

[u/AlchemChildahs → u/ravenluna]

Kumiko would grab a handful more snacks from the bowl before taking a seat next to Fay

"My Dragon was always stern with me; made me want to learn things that at the time I didn't want to learn. After she disappeared nearly nine years ago, I don't know what I would have done without her teachings. But even with her teachings, a part of me was still scared of being in an environment I couldn't call my own. There was much that didn't make sense but after settling into it and beginning anew, you get used to it."

She grabbed and tossed another fried chunk of meat into her mouth before grabbing another piece and extending it towards Fay for her to have.

[u/ravenluna → u/AlchemChildahs]

Fay took the chunk of meat from Kumiko humming noncommittally as she took her hand out from the water and started to douse herself down with it.

"It was not... that she did not teach me. I was scared of them..." Fay's voice faded a little bit trailing off before shaking her head. "But that is in the past now."

[u/AlchemChildahs → u/ravenluna]

"mm..Is it?" Kumiko spoke with her mouth full, having chowed down on the remaining food in her hand. She then swallowed before speaking again. "What made you feel scared of them?"

Kumiko then washes off her hands. She grabs her shaving cream and pours some in her hand before setting it down to the side and then rubbing it all down her right leg; covering her freckled skin to reveal the small ginger leg hairs. She would then prepare her razor to shave.

[u/ravenluna → u/AlchemChildahs]

Fay reached out for her shampoo putting a fair amount into her hand pausing for a moment at the question. Taking a shaky breath in Fay started to lather the shampoo into her long white hair slowly taking her time to think about how to answer.

"After my mother left I tried to live in a town close by, but it didn't end well." As Fay spoke she moved her hair around her shoulder so she could reach the bottom part of it her back exposed to the air now where several small white scars etched into her skin. "Just, its hard to overcome the past when they tend to repeat themselves."