Where Strong Are Weak

She had to stay strong. For all those she was carrying, for her family and clan, for herself. Huilu had to stay strong, calm and composed even if everyone else crumbled. That was the first lesson her father had taught her. And even if Huilu didn't think highly of the man he had a point in that lesson. Huilu couldn't afford showing weakness, or at least not all of it. She wanted to be the rock that supported everyone.
That was the kind of leader Huilu aspired to be. One that didn't stand on the top, but supported from the bottom.

But every once in a while even the strongest rock needed to crack slightly. And during those times Huilu went on a long walk, or flying. This time she had chosen the latter, the sun was shining dimly through the snow clouds and illuminated the sky in beautiful colours of gold and silver. It was the perfect time for a flight. And among the grey clouds Huilu was like a piece of the sky, gliding across the ever falling snow. And her tears fell as drops from the sky along with it. Dragons could shed tears, and Huilu had always thought it was bittersweet that such strong creatures at them had tear ducts.
Liun had been missing for such a long time now, several weeks, and Huilu and everyone else was growing ever so worried. Huilu was certain he had not abandoned them again, Liun wasn't the kind of person to break a promise, but something awful must've happened to him. Huilu cried from frustration of not being able to do anything.
Even the ever peaceful Huilu was imagining bloody things about what she'd do to anyone who had hurt Liun.

Huilu was returning from the sea, and saw the beach she always used for shifting. It was a large enough area for even her to fit, and people rarely came there so she wouldn't scare anyone. Huilu flapped her enormous wings and glided rest of the way with that one powerful push. Huilu landed half into the water, and her great body caused large waves and splashes. Huilu scooted rest of the way on the sand and shook herself a bit. For a moment longer she remained in her dragon form. Despite the tears Huilu felt stronger in this form, like she could carry what felt like the weight of the world.

Huilu peered over the endless ocean and let the cold ocean breeze dry away her tears. Or it tried, but one tear was always replaced by two. This was frustrating, even for Huilu. Usually her tears seized after going flying, usually she was in control of her emotions.
Liun's disappearance must've shocked her quite much.

Suddenly Huilu heard someone call out to her, and her head whipped around to stare at the source of the voice. How distracted had she been not to notice his presence? Huilu saw a man, quite large man though in this form he was small to her. He had his hands up, and as he spoke to Huilu she could tell there was kindness in his voice. Like he was trying to calm a distressed animal. Huilu found that a bit amusing, and a small smile made the corners of her mouth twitch.
And then the panic struck. This man had seen Huilu cry.

The man would see the large dragon shift right before his eyes. Huilu changed into a frail-looking woman, who was wrapped in a thick winter coat and pants. Her cheeks were still wet from the tears, and Huilu quickly lifted her mitten clad hands to wipe them away.
"Y-yes, I'm..."
Huilu's voice wasn't steady, and before continuing she took a deep breath and smiled her usual calm smile.
"I am quite alright, thank you for asking."

Why was this person so concerned over her? Huilu wondered that. But the moment she did she came up with multiple reasons. Perhaps he was just kind. Perhaps he was curious. Or perhaps he felt a sense of duty. All viable options. Huilu sniffed slightly and wiped the last of her tears away. Normally she dealt with pent up emotions by painting, sculpting or otherwise expressing herself through art. It almost always worked. But when the emotions were too great, like now, Huilu couldn't get them all out that way. She felt too much concern, sorrow, anger and guilt.

Huilu looked at the man for a moment after he asked his question, should she keep insisting she was alright? Should she reveal the reason? If so, how much? Huilu knew sometimes talking to a stranger, someone not involved, helped. But she had trouble talking to her own family and friends, would she be able to talk to this stranger? Especially since she didn't know his motives.
Huilu was too sad to not over-analyze, when she became too emotional her brain tried to become overly logical to counteract it.
"A...a family matter."
Was all Huilu finally said. Liun didn't share the same blood as her, but he was family to her. Huilu swiped away some hair that had stuck to her wet cheek.
"Excuse me, but who might you be? Why are you concerning yourself with me?"
Huilu tried not to sound rude, but she wanted to know. She didn't like not knowing things.

Huilu was relieved and grateful the man did not push for more information, and appreciated his sympathies. Even if they were not genuine or just skin-deep. Huilu tried to let go of her suspicion, it would only do her harm in this situation, and she tried to adopt a small smile on her face as she turned to face the man, her cheeks getting more dry by the second. But Huilu's eyes remained tearful, though no tears fell at the moment.

He, Leeroy, was a teacher. That explained why he had gone out of his way to ask Huilu about her troubles. Naturally not all teachers were like it, but the ones Huilu had met were gentle and kind and she couldn't find a reason to doubt Leeroy.
What if he's lying? Everyone lies.
Huilu ignored that thought and chuckled a bit at Leeroy's words about her making quite the entrance.
"I do apologize if I startled you. Normally this beach is vacant, and as you could see I need a lot of space in order to shift. But I enjoy leaving an impression, being memorable matters much more than being a passing thought."
Huilu had an apologetic tone and expression as she looked at Leeroy, but during the latter part Huilu sounded more thoughtful and spared a glance towards the sea.
"As for me, my name is Huilu Ehr'Sha. As for my occupation, hm, I suppose you could call me a freelance artist."
Huilu wasn't one to wave around her position as a clan leader, and she wasn't going to do that now either.

"Ah, yes, I can imagine being a teacher in such an environment must be challenging. But I hope the reward is that much more fulfilling."
It was working, Leeroy was helping Huilu concentrate on other things. Huilu was quite sure that was what the man had meant to do and Huilu welcomed the distraction. She spent a lot of time in her own head, so Huilu often needed help getting out of it.
"I am happy that the surprise was pleasant, at least. I would hate to make you think badly of dragons."

Huilu's smile widened slightly, as Leeroy complimented her name. She was in fact quite proud of her name, it was given to her by her now deceased mother.
"Thank you. It was given to me by the wind on the day I hatched. And I must say your name is quite nice as well. In my homeland I have never encountered anything similar."

The slightly self-deprecating joke didn't really make Huilu laugh, but she smiled and tilted her head to the side slightly, swiping some more hair behind her ear.
"I do not know about that. To my opinion, if you do not mind me expressing it, whether or not you are artsy does not matter. Creativity is needed in surprising tasks, especially with teachers. You need to think of ways to better connect with your pupils, and know the best ways of teaching them, and that certainly requires creativity. Besides..."
Now Huilu chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood with her next words after that slightly serious speech of hers.
"Muscles have been the inspiration for artists for centuries. I imagine you have the ability to be quite inspiring."

Huilu raised her brows slightly at Leeroy's comment on why he went to his run. But Huilu didn't dare to ask, unlike Leeroy she needed some manner of established friendship or special circumstances before she felt she had the right to ask about someone else's problems. And Leeroy had not been the one crying.

"No, you are not. But I must ask you the same thing, I am definitely holding you up from your run. You will get cold if you spend too much time halted, and by me."