Originally Posted by Ask Volibear

((I'm just going to smile and nod. Not because I agree, but because it's just not worth it to argue with you. You've made that abundantly clear already.))

As Shyvana raised her eyebrows in surprise, Volibear growled, his fangs barred. There was something strange about the growling, though, something rhythmic, almost as though he were laughing.

"I suppose you have been listening to the Chronokeeper and his claims that we Ursine are merely bears that have learned to walk upright, wear armor, and speak. I had expected more from you, or at least that you would give the Frost Archer more credit than that she would ally herself with a trained bear."

When she spoke, the laughter stopped and he shook his head.

"You combine the frost dragons who have not attacked the villages of the Freljord tribes, even though their settlements and our village are what they might consider artificial, and the dragons the Ionians revere as offerors of wisdom and strength, with those you have interacted with, with those who attempt to kill you or whom you attempt to kill. I suppose dragons must all be the same, though. Just like all Noxians think and feel the same."

"Even if they were, you could not be sure they were always that way. Even the most peaceful Ionian would react poorly to being threatened, generation after generation. For all of your certainty and lack of doubt, the humans could very well have decided that they thought the dragons were hiding some treasure, or even that their scales might make good armor or simply looked nice, and it could have started from there."

He let out a growl, shaking his head again.

"You frown on the Demacians who believe that all Noxians are the same, but you see all dragons in the same light. Strange."

Originally Posted by Ask Shyvana

(Why are you talking about arguing with me... over Shyvana's IC opinions? Sheesh, if you and Zyra want me to just go, say the word.)

Shyvana scowled, growing visibly angry rather quickly.

"I've met but one dragon in my entire life who has not tried to kill me simply because I dared to exist." Shyvana said. "I was hunted all my life, until finally, my father was murdered, and Prince Jarvan and I exacted revenge for it. Live my life, then tell me there's something wrong with what I think. Bring one of your frost dragons, we'll see what it does when it finds me."

Originally Posted by Ask Volibear

Volibear stood where he was, unmoved, as Shyvana grew angry.

"You hate all dragons, claim they're all evil, rage-filled monsters, even though your experiences with them have been limited. Yet you call your draconic form your true one?"

He let out a thoughtful growl.

"So do you believe yourself to be partially a rage-filled monster, or entirely a rage-filled monster?"

At the mention of 'his' frost dragons, he let out a dismissive snort.

"My frost dragons? They're no more mine than the Storm or you are. They are them, and theirs, and go where they and and Fate decree. I can bring them nowhere, and would not subject them to the judgment of a confused cub who cannot see beyond her own wrath and believes them all to be monstrous 'it's, even if I could."

Originally Posted by Ask Shyvana

"The latter." Shyvana answered. "I do my best to live as the human that Demacia needs me to be, but deep down, most of us know the truth. A kind monster is still a monster." She tilted her head. "Do you believe everyone is secretly kind and gentle? That all anger and hate is but a front for vulnerability? That is the cub mentality, Volibear."

Originally Posted by Suripi Okami

Um...Is this a bad time...?

Originally Posted by Ask Volibear

Volibear grunted.

"If the fourth Jarvan believed that Demacia needed another human, do you think that he would have made you a member of his elite guard, despite all the fear that you were greeted with on arrival by a people who sees you, still, as one who is not them? Would not a human from among their own have done better and have caused less trouble, if a human was what they needed?"

He shook his head.

"You try to be just another human, like a cub attempting to fly with the birds it sees overhead. You refuse to make peace with your own fur, and attempt to be something other than what you are, other than what you hate so passionately. Because of this, you can do nothing but hate yourself, or that part of yourself that is not what you admire and strive for and will never be such. That is the cub mentality, half-dragon. A refusal to accept what is right in front of your nose."

((And I don't even know where you're getting this assumption that he thinks everything is kind and gentle from. Is it just because he's saying that all dragons aren't inherently rage-filled, settlement-destroying, evil monsters?))

Originally Posted by Ask Shyvana

(Exactly~.)

Shyvana, even though she was annoyed, had to laugh at his bird comment. That happiness faded quickly, though.

"Prince Jarvan made me a member of the Elite Guard for my true form, I know." She said. "Even in this human form, I am more than a match for any human. But he doesn't need a dragon lumbering around, causing untold terror for all of Demacia. He needs me to be a civilized human, as well as a weapon."

She paused.

"...and it's SCALES, not fur." She added.

Originally Posted by Ask Volibear

((Just making sure.))

Volibear snorted.

"Your very presence causes untold terror for Demacia. You will never be 'civilized' enough for them to forget that you are not entirely human. And everything you say about all dragons being horrible monsters will only make them more fearful of you, half-dragon, despite all you might do for them. As you yourself said, a kind monster is still a monster, and even the fourth Jarvan would not hesitate to slay you if you threatened them."

Bjorn, who had been trying to figure out why she thought the Ursine chieftain believed everyone to be kind and gentle, suddenly spluttered.

"You really think that just because he says that not all dragons are monsters, he believes that everything is kind and gentle? That's..."

The Thunder's Roar turned to regard the summoner with a growl, instantly silencing him, then turned back to Shyvana.

"You seem to forget that there is something between kind and gentle and a monster, that just because they are not one does not mean that they are the other. You insist that things are black and white, and insult yourself and me by doing so."

He let out an unamused growl and flexed his paws.

"In your blind hatred, you forget the simplest and often most powerful motivator. Survival. It is not good. It is not evil. It simply is."

Originally Posted by Ask Shyvana

"Survival isn't nearly as powerful a motivator as anger." Shyvana replied. "Anger makes you fight to win. Survival makes you fight to not lose. There is a big difference."

She groaned.

"I know Prince Jarvan would not hesitate to slay me if I turned on Demacia, just as I would not hesitate to rip his heart form his chest if he dared turn me against the innocent." She said. "I am a proud Demacian, and I will do my best to be what they want, to quell their fears as much as I can. But I don't do it to be a Demacian. I do it to stomp the evil from this world, the murderers, the tyrants. From the dragons who refuses to let me live a peaceful life, to the Grand General of Noxus. As long as they continue to do what they do, I will continue to do what I do. And what I do is not very pleasant for my enemies."

Originally Posted by Ask Volibear

Volibear snorted dismissively.

"You are a foolish cub who believes that her way is the only one and uses words like 'evil' to describe those who do things you dislike. When you rip out their hearts, you call it justice or revenge, but call it cruelty or evil when they attack you. What you choose to ignore is that the dragons who attacked you likely saw you as a threat to their survival and their future as much as you see them the same way. If they are evil for attacking you, you are no less evil for attacking them."

He let out a cold breath, examining her once more.

"You fail to realize that, beyond your cities, beyond where the humans you try to belong to throw around useless words to help them sleep at night, there is no good. There is no evil. There is only what is. Is the bear evil for bringing down a deer? It has killed something, so does that make it a murderer? Do the Ursine commit murder when we hunt for food, or feel anger toward our prey? Does it feel anger toward us?"

He shook his head, letting out a growl.

"Is it anger that motivates a tigress to attack a hunter, or even a mother to defend her family from a thief? Is it anger that more strongly motivates Demacia's soldiers when they are under attack, or a thirst for survival? Anger clouds one's mind, while the desire to survive sharpens them and gives them clarity. Do not forget, half-dragon, that one must be alive to feel anything, including anger."