Moonwing was beautiful, Karuka had to admit through the agony of the dragon's thoughts ramming their way into her skull. She was graceful in flight and gleaming in the hazy Alerian sun. She was a force of nature, the harbinger of death and destruction, the embodiment of maternal wrath in its full fruition.
If she'd jus' come t' take th' men who killed her child, I doubt I'd've blamed her. Even though one of those who took down Sunwing was dear to her, Karuka could empathize with the dragon's rage. If someone killed Taische, she would sunder the realms to have her vengeance. But she would only revenge herself upon the responsible parties. Their lovers, their children, their families - the innocents that surrounded them - how could she justify so much cruel violence?
People can justify anything. Same with dragons.*
The redhead stood in the shadow of a scorched building, watching the pandemonium. Anyone caught in the dragon's breath was instantly, mercifully dead. Those caught on the outermost reaches of the flames, however, laid strewn in the streets, masses of screaming boils and blisters. Worse than the sound was the smell; the rancid reek of burnt hair mixed with the sickening, bloody smell of charred flesh. Men, women, children. Innocent. Guilty. Moonwing didn't care.
A young man with sandy brown hair rushed past her, carrying a scythe. Karuka grabbed his arm with a golden hand, giving him a stern look. The boy couldn't have been older than twenty-one or twenty-two; he'd never seen a dragon before, much less knew how to fight one. He was just desperate. "There's no sense in y' dyin' here. Getcher fam'ly. Run. An' pray us other fools live long enough t' keep you an' yers safe."
"But-!"
"GO!" She shoved the young farmer back, more with her will than her words. If he had a wife and a baby running or hiding, he was probably only out to buy them one more moment, if he could. But if he couldn't even face a human hero, he had no business facing a dragon, and he knew it.
D' y' see, Storm, what y've done? Karuka shook herself. Her lover had to have a plan with provoking the dragon - or an idea of an end result and no idea how to get there - and it was her job to work with it.
He's distractin' her. Karuka motioned to Taodoine, who launched himself while she jogged forward through the slag and the char, still searching for the well. She was dimly aware that something was wrong within the building on which the dragon perched, but there wasn't much she could do about it just at that moment.
Arrows whizzed through the air to plink nearly harmlessly from Moonwing's armored hide, and others - men and women with more courage than sense - converged upon the crumbled church. Karuka preferred staying closer to stone buildings rather than risk standing out in the open. Her child still needed her, and she had no intention of dying here and now. But for her attack to work, she had to get much closer than comfort allowed.
Where's th' damned...? Ah. It sat nestled against a large building in the square, which was why Karuka hadn't seen it sooner - a half-circular wall above a reservoir. She wished she'd found it before Storm had spoken up; what she was about to do would only enhance his power against the dragon.
Well, if he survives t' blast 'er again. I swear, if he gets crushed by this 'un, he'll not ever hear th' end of it from me.
The druid's hands cut through the smoky air, calling upon the water and amplifying her power over it. The well roared like a stormy sea when she launched her attack, and three tons of water burst forth from the ground, speeding for the enraged and grieving Moonwing.
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