The sun was warm and pleasing as it beat down, accentuated by just the hint of a breeze. The lake rippled as if privately laughing at some hidden joke known only to the waters. The trees all around gave an occasional wave in unison. And one tiny, blue, lizard-like creature sat at the shore, entirely without her clerical tunic, which was folded neatly and set to the side. Only one thing remained on her body - a golden medallion with the symbol of her goddess emblazoned upon it. And that was something she was almost never without.

The tiny kobold's feet dangled in the shallow end of the lake as she sat and basked in the sunlight. Her kind were known to skulk about in darkness and tended to despise the light. And yet, she herself was somehow acclimated to bathing comfortably in the brightness. It was a perfect metaphor for her life as a cleric as well.

Her apprenticeship under a human friar had taught her much of the world around her. She'd learned to speak Common much more fluently and easily (though her dialect and accent would never disappear) and her studies of religion entranced her daily. But more than new knowledge, she felt like she was finally giving voice to a knowledge she had all along: the path of righteousness. The path of mercy. The path of Sarenrae, her goddess.

As a kobold, she was part of a tribe of cutthroats and thieves. Kobolds that would do anything to get ahead and had no pity for anyone that stepped on along the way. She'd spent her childhood being pressured into stealing and being berated when she was hesitant to do so. She thought that she was broken. She thought that she was betraying her kind and her family. But now she understood that she was always meant to walk in the path of the goddess and that fate had stayed her hand from any serious crime. She'd stolen, yes. She'd even given minor injuries. But she had not killed. She had not stolen from the helpless or the innocent, either, so far as she knew. And she had to believe that the actions of her past could be forgiven. Forgiveness and redemption were two of the goddess' key virtues.

There was a small part of her. A part she hated with a passion. A part that wondered if her people were right all along. That she really WAS broken and should be a true kobold. That by turning her back on her people, she was a traitor of the highest order.

She reminded herself, that it was they who turned their back on her. She would have been content to live her life under their rules, if-

She shuddered. THERE was a horrible thought. To live her life the way her kind did. A life without pity or mercy. A life only seeking to gain more and become more like the dragons they so desperately wanted to emulate.

No, she could never go back. Even if she dropped everything and returned home. Even if by some astounding act they allowed her back in. She couldn't unlearn the lessons of Friar Thomas. She couldn't unsee the beauty of this world. She couldn't unhear the whispered words of Sarenrae, cast upon the wind and held aloft in dreams.

She had forgiven her tribe for casting her away. That was part of the path of the goddess. She had also studied what humans knew of kobolds and had written in their books. Their history, their relation to dragons, their religion... Anything she could find.

While some things seemed off-base, a great deal of the information surprised her in its accuracy. Deeply personal information about kobold life. Information no human could know on their own. Could it be that somewhere out in this big world, there was a kobold like her? One who did not shun or despise other races? She didn't know, but she believed firmly in her heart that there had to be.

One thing she couldn't find in any of her studies was information on what was happening to HER. Over the past year, her scales had taken on a beautiful, metallic sheen to them. She could not help be feel a sense of pride at their appearance, but it was also a bit concerning to her. And there weren't exactly any kobolds around to ask about it, either.

From behind her, she was surprised to hear a word of formal greeting in her native tongue. It was carefully sounded with strange syllabic emphasis, but it was clear enough.

She turned and saw a young boy in a robe walk toward her. His short, blonde hair haphazardly combed, but reasonably clean. As he neared her, he began to take off his robe, leaving light underclothes beneath.

"Brother Johann," Sapphire said with a smile. "Sapphire happy to see you. Was thinking of things and it got Sapphire's brain running in circles."

The boy sat down beside the diminutive lizard and removed his boots before plunging his own feet into the lake. "Did I say 'hello' right, Sapphire? Like... in Draconic?"

Sapphire laughed. "You say perfectly. But you say 'hello' in formal way, like if meeting a royal person. Sapphire not so special."

Brother Johann laughed as well. "I disagree. You are one-of-a-kind. I've never met a kobold like you." He winced and looked to see if he'd offended his fellow apprentice, but Sapphire simply smiled, looking at the noon sky.

"There LOTS of kobolds like me," she answered, still beaming, "They just not KNOW it yet."

"Something both our people have in common, I fear," he said with a sigh. "It's gotten dangerous to even travel to market and back. When I injured myself and heard someone behind me, I thought I was done for. It wouldn't have mattered if a human came out or not. I would have given it even odds that they would have stolen from me or simply kidnapped me outright." He grimaced, thinking about that fear. He looked to Sapphire. "But it wasn't a human. It wasn't a wild animal. It wasn't even a different kobold. It was you."

Sapphire nodded meekly, remembering that day clearly.

"Tell me, Sapphire. What was it that made you spare me? I don't mean simply not harming or robbing me, either. If it weren't for the cloth and that stick you gave me, I wouldn't have been able to put my leg in a splint in order to make it back home. You didn't just spare me, Sapphire. You saved my life." Brother Johann rubbed his leg, thinking. "So, what made you do it?"

Sapphire wasn't quite sure how to answer. It was a question she'd wrestled with herself many times. "Sapphire guesses... she was tired of things going in circles. Sapphire steal, Sapphire take things home, Sapphire impress tribe... Then what? Sapphire right back where she started. Worse, because they ask Sapphire to do more things. BIGGER things. Sapphire not want THAT kind of thing on her claws."

"Was it really just that easy, then? Was it really so easy to break the cycle?"

Sapphire showed her fangs in a grimace. "Easy? No. Hardest thing. Sapphire didn't really intend to break cycle. Didn't expect to be seen. Sapphire would have just stayed where she was."

"Doesn't that, in and of itself, repeat the cycle though?" Brother Johann insisted.

Sapphire lay back in the sand. She looked at the top of her hand, at her new coat of shimmering scales. Molting was never exactly pleasant, but this particular molt certainly brought with it a surprise. She sighed. "Yes. Brother Johann right. Things would just go back as they were. Sapphire supposes being spotted was the best thing that could have happened to her."

"So, I must ask again. What was it that made you spare me?"

Sapphire paused. "Sapphire don't know. Sapphire doesn't know why she does LOTS of things. Brother Johann not know what it like living in kobold tribe. Everything backwards there. Brother Johann like Sapphire. Friar Thomas like Sapphire. Back in tribe, NO ONE liked Sapphire."

"No one?" Johann asked, incredulous.

Sapphire shook her head. "Brother Johann not understand. Sapphire like crazy person to kobolds. Sapphire couldn't understand them and they couldn't understand Sapphire. You not grow up in place where there no one to turn to."

"That's where you're wrong, Sapphire," Johann said. He removed his holy ring with a kiss and pocketed it as he grabbed a handful of sand, letting it slip and fall through his fingers. "My father was a drunkard. A tyrant. A scoundrel. I never knew my mother. I have no siblings, either. There were no other kids my age that I was able to play with. So for the first few years of my life, it was only my father. And he resented me. He only kept me around because it would seem suspicious if he killed me." Brother Johann looked down at the water, then back up at Sapphire, who was eyeing the boy intently. "Do you understand what I mean, Sapphire? I didn't grow up in a good place. The only adults I was allowed to see were my father's friends, who were as bad or even worse than he was. When Friar Thomas rescued me, I didn't know there was any other type of life to live."

Sapphire didn't know how to respond. So a silence beat out between them.

Finally Brother Johann spoke again. "We're more alike than you know, Sapphire. That's why this question is so important to me. Because I want to know... would I have gone down the path my father took? Am I bound by blood to be a horrible person like he is?"

Sapphire shook her head. "Brother Johann is Brother Johann. Where he come from not change that. We all have lessons to learn and decisions to make." She held her medallion out in front of her and then let it drop back down to her chest again. "Sapphire not know if she has good answer for you. All Sapphire knows is, she did what she knew deep inside was right thing to do. Sapphire not know if she just kobold coward or-"

"NO." Johann said forcefully causing Sapphire to jump slightly. "Sapphire, you're no coward. You were told lies back then and you know it. You were raised by... yes... savages. It's true. No offense is intended, but if they couldn't see your kind spirit, then there is no other word to describe them." He laughed bitterly. "Hah. Maybe my father should join their tribe."

Sapphire laughed, too. "Maybe can be kobold and Sapphire be human. It good trade."

Brother Johann shook his head, giving a little smile. "No, I don't think it would be a good trade at all. Sapphire... you're proof that anyone can be what they choose. You are the very lesson our goddess teaches us. Sapphire, I don't want you to be anything other than you. It's exactly as you said before. There must be a LOT of kobolds out there that are like you... they just need to be shown it. The same is true of humans. Some humans think the only way for them is lying and stealing, or perhaps worse. We need to show them another way."

"It tall order," Sapphire said, tail tip curling as it often did when she was in deep thought. "Some people not want learn. Most kobolds not want learn."

"They don't need to," Johann said. "We can't reach everyone. But if we show even a few people the path of our goddess. Even if they do not worship her, yet they live by her tenants, then we have done well for her. For her, and for all of us."

With that, they both gazed skyward. The path of the goddess spread out ahead of them. They both would walk it as far as that path took them in an immeasurably large world.

---

Unsurprisingly, I wanted to do another Sapphire picture. This time, however, I drew her in the new "manga/sketch" style I'm wanting to practice with for the next chapter of Pokemon Trainer as well as various other things. I had a lot of fun drawing this and writing this, so I hope you guys enjoy it as well!