Akeya was standing underneath a particularly large tree, watching the moonlight illuminate the ground where the foliage high above didn't protect it. She would step out and let the moonlight touch her as well, but not yet. She was planning the results of that to be a surprise for the person she was waiting for. She had the feeling that she would appreciate it, or at least be impressed. Honestly Akeya still wasn't sure what had happened that her body would react like that whenever it was exposed to moonlight, but it didn't appear to be harmful in the slightest, instead feeling somewhat refreshing and invigorating whenever it occurred. There wasn't anything she could think of that could be seen as a drawback, since she could still turn the effect off if necessary. And since it was both invigorating and admittedly looked pretty good (at least, she herself thought so and she was pretty sure that anybody who saw it thought so as well) she had no reason to think badly of it or try to hide it. Instead she would use it as a kind of present, or at least a surprise, for the person she would meet here.
The reason why they would meet in this place was partially because of that moonlight, which tended to come out strongly here. The other reason was that this place had beautiful forests which had grown up in the shadows, creating even more shadows for Akeya to hide in and make use of if necessary. It was a nice place, and Akeya quite liked it. She wasn't the kind to get sentimental or attached to specific locations, but she had to admit that if she had to choose a place to be this island, called Shadow Island, would most definitely be somewhere in the top of the list, right next to the village which she had lived in her entire youth and which she had left to learn more about the world and the many magics it contained. It wasn't completely certain why this place always had shady days and nights where the moon was at least as bright as the sun could hope to be, if not brighter, but it suited Akeya perfectly. Absolute darkness was boring and did not attract her attention. The best place to be was there were the light and the darkness were in both conflict and harmony, both present and absent. This island provided that a lot better than almost any place which wasn't artificial in nature.
And the fact that this place had these forests would also be good for the person that Akeya was meeting. Lumina loved plants, since she was a Dragon Slayer who manipulated and used plants instead of a more usual element like Akeya herself. It was curious, and Akeya was still trying to figure out all that there was to know about the newly discovered Rose Dragons, but if it made Lumina happier while close to nature and the plants then she might as well make use of that and make their meeting place one with much greenery. Besides, Akeya didn't have anything against forests herself. Forests were perfect places for hunting, at least the kind that she preferred and was so good at. There were many obstacles, hiding places, ways to track prey, shadows... For a Shadow Dragon a forest was a good place to be in, since it played straight into all their advantages and removed many of the disadvantages. A good forest didn't allow a lot of sunlight to get through, meaning that even during the day it was filled with shadows.
The half dragon thought about the girl that she had recently met, the girl called Lumina Rubyscale. She herself as a person was also curious, mostly because she was a dragon yet at the same time she wasn't. She was supposed to be the legacy of the Rose Dragons, who would help their existence continue in the future even after the humans had tried to hunt all the Rose Dragons down. The girl still had ways to go before Akeya believed she was up to the task though. Her control over the plants was already pretty good, and she had raw strength, but she had to learn a lot. Akeya might not be the best judge of this, since her dedication to becoming an excellent hunter and assassin was strong enough that it could be considered insanity, but she could teach Lumina a lot. To be wary, to read people correctly, to observe her surroundings and pick up on everything that could be important without spending too much time looking at that which didn't matter. To not let other people realize that you were observing your surroundings, to hide with skill rather than with magic and spells. To rely on technique rather than raw power. To utilize her plants to the fullest, to become creative with how she used what she had. To think of ways to win rather than ways to fight, to always be the predator and never the prey. To hide, disguise, deceive, trick, utilize, observe, discern, judge, research, study, learn, train, improve, win, lose, hunt, escape... There were a ton of things that Akeya could teach Lumina, and she was actually willing to teach her all those things.
Lumina was special because she was so far as Akeya knew the only human aside from herself who was actively turning into a dragon, not trying to prevent it or running away from it. Most Dragon Slayers never realized the situation they were in, but the ones that did either did their best to not turn into a dragon or stopped using Dragon Slaying Magic because they were afraid. Lumina wasn't completely aware, but she wasn't running. Akeya was curious about Lumina herself, her origins, the Rose Dragons, and what she would become in the future. Which meant she would be keeping a close eye on the girl.
Although today wasn't meant to be a day of serious matters. She wasn't going to train Lumina in anything unless the woman herself asked. Akeya had taken a day off (unusual for her) to just hang out with the girl in a location they both would like. She had thought of it after being reminded of the human tradition called valentine's day. She wasn't treating this like an actual date, more like just an opportunity to learn more about one another and try to establish a good relationship, but if Lumina wanted to see it as a date she wasn't going to deny it. She had this strange desire to actually help Lumina rather than being fully apathetic. Maybe it had to do with Mayu's request to help her look after the woman.
The reason why they would meet in this place was partially because of that moonlight, which tended to come out strongly here. The other reason was that this place had beautiful forests which had grown up in the shadows, creating even more shadows for Akeya to hide in and make use of if necessary. It was a nice place, and Akeya quite liked it. She wasn't the kind to get sentimental or attached to specific locations, but she had to admit that if she had to choose a place to be this island, called Shadow Island, would most definitely be somewhere in the top of the list, right next to the village which she had lived in her entire youth and which she had left to learn more about the world and the many magics it contained. It wasn't completely certain why this place always had shady days and nights where the moon was at least as bright as the sun could hope to be, if not brighter, but it suited Akeya perfectly. Absolute darkness was boring and did not attract her attention. The best place to be was there were the light and the darkness were in both conflict and harmony, both present and absent. This island provided that a lot better than almost any place which wasn't artificial in nature.
And the fact that this place had these forests would also be good for the person that Akeya was meeting. Lumina loved plants, since she was a Dragon Slayer who manipulated and used plants instead of a more usual element like Akeya herself. It was curious, and Akeya was still trying to figure out all that there was to know about the newly discovered Rose Dragons, but if it made Lumina happier while close to nature and the plants then she might as well make use of that and make their meeting place one with much greenery. Besides, Akeya didn't have anything against forests herself. Forests were perfect places for hunting, at least the kind that she preferred and was so good at. There were many obstacles, hiding places, ways to track prey, shadows... For a Shadow Dragon a forest was a good place to be in, since it played straight into all their advantages and removed many of the disadvantages. A good forest didn't allow a lot of sunlight to get through, meaning that even during the day it was filled with shadows.
The half dragon thought about the girl that she had recently met, the girl called Lumina Rubyscale. She herself as a person was also curious, mostly because she was a dragon yet at the same time she wasn't. She was supposed to be the legacy of the Rose Dragons, who would help their existence continue in the future even after the humans had tried to hunt all the Rose Dragons down. The girl still had ways to go before Akeya believed she was up to the task though. Her control over the plants was already pretty good, and she had raw strength, but she had to learn a lot. Akeya might not be the best judge of this, since her dedication to becoming an excellent hunter and assassin was strong enough that it could be considered insanity, but she could teach Lumina a lot. To be wary, to read people correctly, to observe her surroundings and pick up on everything that could be important without spending too much time looking at that which didn't matter. To not let other people realize that you were observing your surroundings, to hide with skill rather than with magic and spells. To rely on technique rather than raw power. To utilize her plants to the fullest, to become creative with how she used what she had. To think of ways to win rather than ways to fight, to always be the predator and never the prey. To hide, disguise, deceive, trick, utilize, observe, discern, judge, research, study, learn, train, improve, win, lose, hunt, escape... There were a ton of things that Akeya could teach Lumina, and she was actually willing to teach her all those things.
Lumina was special because she was so far as Akeya knew the only human aside from herself who was actively turning into a dragon, not trying to prevent it or running away from it. Most Dragon Slayers never realized the situation they were in, but the ones that did either did their best to not turn into a dragon or stopped using Dragon Slaying Magic because they were afraid. Lumina wasn't completely aware, but she wasn't running. Akeya was curious about Lumina herself, her origins, the Rose Dragons, and what she would become in the future. Which meant she would be keeping a close eye on the girl.
Although today wasn't meant to be a day of serious matters. She wasn't going to train Lumina in anything unless the woman herself asked. Akeya had taken a day off (unusual for her) to just hang out with the girl in a location they both would like. She had thought of it after being reminded of the human tradition called valentine's day. She wasn't treating this like an actual date, more like just an opportunity to learn more about one another and try to establish a good relationship, but if Lumina wanted to see it as a date she wasn't going to deny it. She had this strange desire to actually help Lumina rather than being fully apathetic. Maybe it had to do with Mayu's request to help her look after the woman.