Methusela paced around the Valley's enjoying his newfound teenage freedom. He could go where he pleased now, and his mother had officially detached responsibility. If he got himself killed she would not mourn now. And she was not responsible for his actions, in any way.
Veraxitoc stayed for the ceremony as witness, should Methusela cause any problems and try to pin them on Seh'lvah.
Not that he would.
So far he hadn't strayed more than half the daylight hours travel away. He had no idea how to survive at night on his own, and he had vulnerable scale patches where his scales were growing loose and shedding to reveal harder, more dense scales, designed for fighting.
So as he sat by the lake in this particular valley, he sighed, swishing his tail. He still didn't feel happy, and the horrid scars on his wrists reminded him.
"I wish I was too dead to care..."
Storm picked her way through the brush, lost in her thoughts. The midday sun was warm on her tanned skin, and made the blonde streaks in her hair look like strands of pure gold. She saw an opening through the bushes ahead and smiled. She had finally reached the valley. Being the wanderer she was, she was familiar with rather a lot of places, and there was a lake here she had rested by the lake in this valley before.
She was about to push through the last of the shrubs when she caught a glimpse of a large shape out of the corner of her eye. She turned toward the lake to see a dragon -- a fairly young one by the looks of it -- sitting by the shore, looking rather dejected.
Her gut gave her instructions and as always, she listened. She took several steps back so that she was completely hidden by the shrubs, then closed her eyes and stretched, silently shifting into her dragon form.
Tanith quietly shook her wings out, taking all of 2 seconds to adapt to her much larger body. Without further ado, stepped easily over the bushes she had just been concealed behind and into the openness of the valley. Her obsidian-black scales glittered in the sun, their pale, aqua blue tips sparking as they caught the light.
Methusela felt the temperature in one direction change slightly, his scales slightly heat sensitive, and he turned in that direction, seeing, in his opinion, a pretty looking dragon. He wanted to say she was a Nightspinner, but she wasn't, something in his gut told him.
"Uh... Wh-who are you?" He stuttered, adjusting to avoid her seeing his arousal.
((OOC: He's gonna be like this the whole time btw, haha! Just ignore him, he's a teenager))
((No worries, I have a teenage brother IRL so teenage boys don't bother me! ;) ))
"I'm Tanith." she said quietly, lowering her body slightly to make herself look smaller. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She took a hesitant step toward him, the grass cool against your feet. She tilted her head to one side, her deep purple eyes peering at him in curiosity. "I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"
"My name's Methusela. I'm uh, a n-Nightspinner." Methusela shifted, hoping he wasn't clearly nervous or interested in her.
"I don't live too far away. Just a few miles one way. You?"
"A Nightspinner! Wow, impressive! I thought Veraxitoc was the only Nightspinner left. Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Methusela. I'm a Crystal-back, in case you couldn't tell..." she trailed off, not sure what to say next. Social skills had never been her strong suit.
Methusela was startled that she knew of Veraxitoc.
"How do you know of Veraxitoc?" Methusela was shocked, but he kept from saying that actually, she looked like a Nightspinner more than Crystalback, fearing she might take offense.
Chavi chuckled. "Does any dragon not know of Veraxitoc? I mean, he's kind of famous." She lowered herself into the grass, shaking her wings into a more comfortable position. "How old are you, Methusela?" she asked curiously. He couldn't be that old, since he hadn't been wandering about on his own the last time she had passed through here.
"He's never mentioned being famous before..." Methusela mumbled to himself.
"You want that in human equivalent or actual time alive?" Methusela had two contrasting answers. If he said a few months, he would seem juvenile. If he said his human equivalent, he would seem a lot older.
Another chuckle rumbled in Chavi's chest. "Whichever you prefer," she told him, her deep purple eyes twinkling in amusement.
"As for the famous bit...until just now I, like everyone else, believed Veraxitoc to be the only Nightspinner left in existence. I guess that kind of makes him automatically famous. Not so much anymore though, huh? I mean, with you around."
"Human equivalent of 16. Real age of about 1 year old. I will be 16 for the next 100 years, haha!" He conceded the point that either way he was young. Maybe she would understand him a little.
"Veraxitoc and I are still two of a kind... Although I heard tell that some red and black dragoness is roaming around, and looks just like a Nightspinner. An albino colouring." Methusela wanted to meet her badly, because that would be their race's chance of survival.
"Wow, really? Sounds like you Nightspinners are making a come-back!" Chavi paused, then added "Why are you sitting out here all by yourself? When I first saw you, you looked rather glum." She didn't mention that she had been a human then. What was the point? Her human and dragon forms were so different that she essentially had two lives, different acquaintances for each form, and nobody knew that the young human wanderer Storm and the loner Crystalback Chavi were one and the same. It had worked out well so far, no reason to change that now.
"We've been extinct for two thousand years, I bloody hope we are." Methusela grumbled.
"Just... Just thinking about stuff... That's all..." The reminder about his dad was a pain, unintentional yes, but still painful. He didn't want to remember about Shamgar. He wanted to forget.
Sensing his reluctance, Chavi quickly said "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
((Lame, I know, sorry, but at this point I'm having trouble coming up with what to say next...what now?))
((MEthusela spills the beans, lol))
"It's a home problem... My dad, my adoptive dad, Shamgar, left me and my mum a few weeks ago, and it's just... I can't..." Methusela tried to hold back a few tears, but failed miserably, silently letting them roll down his face.
Chavi's breath caught in her throat as her heart hurt for him. She didn't know what to say, she had never been very socially savvy, but she's always been better with kids than adults and he was just a kid.
On impulse, she moved over to sit next to him and draped her tail tentatively across his back like a one-armed hug. "Oh, Methusela, I'm so sorry. My dad left me and my mom too, before I was old enough to know him. I know...how much it sucks." she finished lamely. Words. They had never really been willing to cooperate with her.
"It's a bit different though... I wanted to know him, and he was hurtful, he was horrible, the last thing he said was so spiteful, like he never wanted to see me again, and I don't know why..." Methusela stifled back a small sob. He was confessing himself to a complete stranger, and he was trying so desperately not to cry. But it was futile.
"I got so upset, I... I..." Methusela didn't want to mention the state of his wrists, so instead he simply showed them to her.
Chavi's stomach dropped as she saw the terrible scars on his wrists. She couldn't help him, she was SO not qualified, she was the last person who should be giving this young dragon advice. But he had opened up to her, why she couldn't fathom, but he had, and she had to do what she could.
"It's okay to cry, you know. I won't think less of you. It's natural. And it's better than...hurting yourself." She hesitated, then added softly, "I would know." She shifted her weight to her back legs and sat up, turning her front feet upward to expose her own wrists. At first there was nothing to see, but then she flexed and her scales stood on end to reveal quite a few scars of her own, hidden by her scales.
"Oh... I... I didn't know... I don't want to cry... I need to show him I don't need him..." Methusela's bottom lip trembled, in truly futile attempts to stop himself crying. He didn't need Shamgar to be there. He didn't. That's what he kept telling himself.
But how he did. He needed to know his dad. He wanted his dad.
"I'm sorry..." He spoke softly before he just let go, giving in to the need to cry.
Chavi, not knowing what to say, just hugged him tighter with her tail.
"I'm sorry, kid. I'm really sorry." she murmured, trying to be as supportive as possible. She didn't know what else to do.
"I just don't know what else I can do... I want him to come back so badly, I miss him..." Methusela wiped his eyes with his wings, and scales fell off, revealing patches of flesh.
"Wow... I'm shedding scales still..."
She gave him a little half-smile. "Don't worry, it'll get better with time. All of it. Even the scales!"
She picked up one of the fallen scales and contemplated it, before flicking her claw and sending the scale skipping across the smooth surface of the lake.
"I suppose..." Methusela managed a small smile, and he looked over at a small boulder.
"That's a nice boulder..." He stood up, walking over, and coated it in flame.
Chavi laughed in surprise. "What are you doing?"
She dragged her claws through the grass, then tossed the shreds into his pyre, adding flecks of color to the flame as they burned.
"Don't get in the way, my fire is really hot..." He stretched his wings, putting as much energy into the flames as he could. They literally turned white, and the boulder visibly began to melt.
He cut off the flame, watching the boulder slowly try and cool down from it's white hot state.
"I'm gifted with hot fire."
Chavi's purple eyes showed her astonishment as the boulder literally began to melt before her.
"Wow! That's really impressive!" she exclaimed, impressed. She watched as the slightly melted boulder went from white-liquid-hot to simply insanely-scalding-hot, and she grinned. "I don't know, I think I like it better this way."
"It's a nice boulder now..." He felt slightly better for melting a boulder.
"Oddly therapeutic. I like it."
"Not to mention fun!" she added pointedly, still grinning.
"Thank you for listening to me... My mum, she took him leaving really hard... I have talked to her, but it's sort of home wrecked at the moment..." Methusela blew on a piece of magma, until it cooled, then picked up the molten rock, and threw it into the lake.
Chavi watched the ripples from the splash fan out across the lake before she replied. "It's okay. That's what...friends...do, right?" She hesitated. "I'll be your friend...if you want." He seemed like he could use a friend, and she didn't exactly have a ton herself.
"Yeah... I'd like that..." He smiled at her, before trying to decide if he was going to swim or fly home.
She smiled back. "Well that's settled then."
((My brain is dead, sorry. x.x Oh, and heads up, I just changed Chavi's name to Tanith. I like it better. Lol sorry.))
((ooc: That's ok :) ))
Methusela smiled. "Wanna come to The Colony?"
Tanith hesitated, then nodded and smiled at him. "Sure. Lead the way, my new friend!"
"Awesome." Methusela took a running leap into flight, circling at unnatural altitudes.
"What's the matter, scared of heights?"
She laughed at his youthful, enthusiastic speed. She took her time lazily stretching out her wings, letting the sun glitter off their dark gems, then all at once she launched off the ground, appearing next to Methusela faster than most humans could blink. "Of course not! What do you think I am, a pigeon?" She grinned at him, teasing him.
"You ain't seen nothing yet..." He beat his wings, and he was beyond the height of most mountain peaks, repeating the tricks that let him climb to places no other dragons Methusela knew of could. Up here was his escape. His freedom. The air was thin here, and almost non-existent. If she tried to climb up here, it could suffocate here.
Tanith watched in amusement as he soared. She made no effort to follow him, but rather jetted along below him, keeping him in sight as they flew toward the colony.
Methusela opened his wings to full extent, stretching the special talons, and spinning, releasing the signature scream that echoed across the valleys.
As they approached the Colony, they were met by a much bigger dragon flying towards them.
"That's Veraxitoc!"
Tanith joined him in the joyous spinning, although she could not create the same sound, but righted herself when she saw the other Nightspinner approaching. Dragons as a species recognized no king, but he was a very powerful figure nonetheless. As he drew closer she hovered in the air and dipped her head, nodding respectfully to him. "Veraxitoc. It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Tanith? I didn't expect to see you. Good to see you again." Veraxitoc looked at Methusela, who seemed to be rather happy.
"We met in a valley not too far away."
"Good to see you too," Tanith replied with a warm smile. "How have you been?"
"Stressed." Veraxitoc decided to say that, purely because of the drama in the Colony.
"Let us set down by the castle. Methusela, I believe your mother wanted to see you."
Nodding agreeably, Tanith followed Veraxitoc to the castle, landing on the large, sturdy old roof next to him.
"So what brings you to The Colony?" Veraxitoc's inquiry sounded slightly interrogative. Of course, the younger, smaller dragon would be powerless to stop him if he felt the territory had been attacked, but it hadn't.
Tanith lowered her head in deference as she replied, "Just passing through, on my way to Adela. I stopped by the lake to rest and met Methusela. He invited me back here." Dragons, much like wolves, were very territorial. She respected that. It was part of the reason she and Veraxitoc had gotten along so well in the past. She had made it clear she was no threat to him.
"You know me, Veraxitoc. I would never impose on your territory, you know that. You granted me allowance to pass through when my travels bring me this way, and that I all I am doing today." she smiled at him reassuringly.
"I know. But incidents recently have made me weary. I have been attacked. Earlier today in fact." Veraxitoc showed her the missing chunk of tail that a smaller dragon had torn off.
"They were small, but agile. Wyverns. Little bastards scratched my eye."
If there was such a thing as a dragon-sized bowling ball, that's how big Tanith's eyes were as she stared at him in disbelief.
"You've got to be kidding. Wyverns?! Attacked YOUR colony?! Never heard of a suicidal wyvern before. What the hell..." she was truly shocked. She had never heard of a wyvern having the guts (or stupidity) to attack a Nightspinner period, let alone in a colony! Of all the crazy things...
"No, they attacked me. I was out hunting, for a potential hatchling. Found a grey egg." Veraxitoc suspected that the local area was littered with Nightspinner eggs, possibly laid down by friends of his. Or even Loreiaka before she died. All the previous eggs didn't hatch, or got smashed. So potentially, they could be his own children.
"Oh, wow," Tanith murmured, then added "still, that's pretty gutsy. They just attacked out of the blue? I assume none of them are still alive to regret it?" This last she asked with a slight smirk.
"If none are alive, none can tell the warning. I will not tolerate violence." A low groan emitted from Veraxitoc's throat, an agonised sigh almost. They had done a number on him. A big one.
Tanith nodded. "Good point." At his groan, she turned to him in concern. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Could you find Seh'lvah? She knows some healing magic that would be of good use right now. I can heal my broken ribs." Veraxitoc slumped on the roof, and breathed a magic air over his ribs, feeling them heal.
"Of course!" Tanith looked forward to seeing the teenage dragon again. She and Seh'lvah had gotten along quite well the last time they'd met. She poised to take off, then realized she had no idea where she was going. "Err, any suggestions on where I might find her?" she asked Veraxitoc. The colony was large, but the land surrounding it was even larger, and her quest would go much faster if he could give her an idea of where to start.
"Try the eastern valley caves." Veraxitoc said, seeing the tell tale green glow that indicated Seh'lvah was in one of the caves.
((I thought Seh'lvah didn't have any magical abilities? 0.o Or is her bio not up to date?))
"Alright, I'll bring her here," Tanith nodded a confirmation and launched powerfully off the roof, her shiny black wings spreading wide as she soared up, then east , heading for the caves.
She circled in the air, studying each of the cave entrances until she found what she was looking for. That subtle green glow that Seh'lvah's emerald scales couldn't help but emit. She landed as lightly as a feather and took several quiet steps into the entrance of the cave, following the glow. When she saw the young dragon, she stopped, leaned nonchalantly against the wall, and said with a grin "Well hey Seh'lvah."
((None of my character bios are up to date... :/ ))
Seh'lvah panicked, hearing Tanith. Gods, she had almost forgotten Tanith ever existed.
"Oh, hey Tanith." Methusela called out from the cave, before going back to his job.
Seh'lvah tried to think of a response.
"Hello Tanith."
"Hey Methusela."
She took a couple steps into the cave, trying to figure out what she was seeing. "Did I interrupt a party?" she asked.
"No, I just needed to talk to Methusela. What do you need Tanith?" Seh'lvah's scales sparkled and shimmered in the low light of the cave.
"Veraxitoc is on the castle roof, he requires your assistance immediately," she told Seh'lvah, deciding not to go into details. She would let Veraxitoc do that.
"Of course. Are you coming?" Seh'lvah was rather hoping for a no, so she could speak to Veraxitoc on a private matter.
Methusela listened intently, but stayed out of the issue.
"I offered him my assistance as well, I should at least check in." Tanith said with a nod. She wanted to make sure the Nightspinner didn't need her for anything else.
Seh'lvah silently turned and took off. She didn't know why, but Tanith had always rubbed her the wrong way. They got along, Seh'lvah just didn't like Tanith that much.
They landed by Veraxitoc, who layed by a small egg, staring intently.
"Here comes another one."
Tanith rolled her eyes, attributing Seh'lvah's apparent moodiness to teenage hormones, and took off after her. "Found her."
Seh'lvah landed by Veraxitoc, whose eyes were fixated on this grey egg.
Before anyone could say anything, Veraxitoc hushed them, staring solely at the unmoving egg.
"It's time."
Tanith's eyes widened in surprise. Surely that wasn't...a Nightspinner egg? Veraxitoc sure seemed to think it was.
Seh'lvah went and stood behind Veraxitoc. Didn't want it to bond to her if it wasn't supposed to.
"Tanith. Come and stand behind Veraxitoc." Seh'lvah spoke the incantation, and blew green fire over Veraxitoc, healing his wounds.
"Let's see what you are..."
Tanith quickly moved behind Veraxitoc, realizing what Seh'lvah meant. She didn't want the responsibility of having a baby dragon bonded to her. She was SOOO not ready for that.
The hatchling wiggled, rocking her egg back and forth. She tried to uncurl herself, but couldn't within the confines of the shell. It was completely dark, and her little baby brain felt sleepy, but she pushed nonetheless, poking one of her wing-tip talons through the shell and into the daylight. Suddenly everything was more interesting, as light from the tiny hole caught her attention. She poked at it again, and another piece of the shell fell away. This was very, very interesting!
She stuck her nose through the hole, widening it even more, then realized that her head was stuck. In infantile frustration, she kick back with her hind legs and they punched through the shell on the other side. A faint crack ran across the top of the egg and she eyed it for a second. Getting her head unstuck, she pulled herself back in the shell. For half a second she considered curling up and going back to sleep, but she was too hungry for that now. And far to interested by the tiny sliver of the world she had seen. She curled into a ball, then exploded outward, the force splitting the egg wide open. She fell on her face with a dazed expression, then gazed up at the large black form sitting over her.
Veraxitoc made strange sound in his throat, an almost perfect motherly coo, but with some strange tones that made it rather masculine. The baby wouldn't talk yet. All it would know was cooing, and walking. He would see how it was, if it was physically healthy, and if it was hungry. If it was hungry, Seh'lvah could step in as a mother for it, her experience with Methusela making her ideal.
"Physically, she looks fine..." Veraxitoc looked at the dragon's eyes, wondering if perhaps this was a long lost daughter of his, or a relative of Methusela. It could potentially be both. After all, he never knew his parents, so it may well be that this hatchling simply took colours that skipped a generation.
She cooed in response, gazing happily up at him. Her eyes were deep blue with bright gold streaks radiating from their center, her scales the matte black that was standard for Nightspinners, with bright, glittery gold tips. She peeped at Veraxitoc, then gave a little baby burp, looking startled that her body could do such a thing.
"Bless. You can come and say hello now..." He flicked his tail in indication to come and introduce themselves.
"She'll recognise brood brothers and sisters, so Seh'lvah, if you could fetch Methusela?" Seh'lvah nodded, and took off to fetch Methusela. Veraxitoc meanwhile, let the hatchling approach him, trying to ascertain if the hatchling had imprinted him.
She toddled over to him, still somewhat unsteady on her feet, and flopped over on top of his foot. She rested her head against his leg and gurgled up at him with a big baby grin.
Tanith sniffed her curiously. She was definitely a Nightspinner. And in spite of herself, Tanith couldn't help but think how very cute she was...
Veraxitoc smiled. "What should we name you?" Veraxitoc wouldn't assume twins, since not all the eggs were accounted for, and it was not clear if Methusela was related. And Methusela would not know to identify a brood sibling, having never needed the instinct, it would have been deactivated.
The hatchling cocked her head to one side. She had no idea what the sounds meant, but she knew she liked the sound of his voice. She opened her mouth in a headsplitting yawn, then, with a tiny puff of smoke from her nostrils, she curled back up on his foot.
"Tanith? Any ideas on what to name here?" Veraxitoc gently picked her up, placing her between his paws, and cuddling the baby almost, keeping her warm against his fire filled chest.
As the baby nuzzled him, Tanith chuckled nervously. "I've never been very good with names. I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is Ash."
"That's a very human name... Shall we-" Veraxitoc was cut off by the sounds of a rather heated argument.
"I AM NOT IN THE MOOD TO TALK ABOUT THIS METHUSELA. NOT NOW. COME BACK TO ME IN THE MORNING WITH THIS, I AM NOT F***ING TALKING ABOUT THIS NOW." Seh'lvah was flying along with Methusela trailing behind.
As they landed on the roof, Seh'lvah marched up to Veraxitoc, her eyes literally glowing with rage. "You need to talk to him. Big time. I will talk to him when I have calmed down." She marched straight past Veraxitoc and to the edge of the castle parapets, where she spewed fire over the castle walls.
"Tanith, would you go and talk to her while I sort out whether these two are related?" Methusela stepped forward, looking nervous.
((Just do a paragraph or two describing what each character is doing to double character post))
((Lol don't worry, I've been doing this for like a decade. :P Thanks though.))
Tanith hesitantly approached Seh'lvah, mentally cursing Veraxitoc for asking her to do this. She had never much liked talking people in or out of things. "Seh'lvah?" she said hesitantly, ready to dart if the other dragon turned that fire on her. "He...he asked me to come talk to you. But you and I both know that words aren't exactly my specialty...do you want to just vent instead?"
The baby rolled around in Veraxitoc's hands, trying to take in everything at once. Seeing Methusela, she stared at him for a moment in curiosity, then turned her full attention back to Veraxitoc. There was so much noise, so many voices, and nobody was feeding her. Why was nobody feeding her?
((Heads up, I'm changing her tip color to gold because I didn't realize Methusela's were orange! Oops! Gonna go back and modify.))
((Oh right, my bad :P better safe than sorry I suppose, and we'll say that it was a trick of Veraxitoc's eyes))
"That bugger there, decided to sleep with a dragoness, not one that I will never have anything to do with, but the bloody resident dragoness at this colony! All in a drunken stupor! And then he expects me, his mother, not to react! To think that it's all cool. Well if he does, he's more stupid than his actions suggest! I can't believe him!" She sighed, and in her frustration, smashed a parapet with her skull.
"Methusela, get her attention. I need to see if she is related to you. After all, got orange scales." Methusela gave him a quizzical look.
"No, they're golden, but ok." Methusela made a slightly enhanced coo, one he had developed as a hatchling, in hopes that he could gain her attention.
At the sound of the coo, she turned toward Methusela, confused. Why was he making this sound at her? He wasn't her daddy. Or her mommy. What was he doing? She chirruped to express her confusion and trotted over to investigate him. She sniffed his foot, sneezed delicately, and shook her head, backing up. He smelled strange. Notfamilystrangeweird. Coming to this decisive conclusion, she moved back to Veraxitoc. Climbing between his feet so she was sitting under him, she peered suspiciously at Methusela.
"He...what?!" Tanith said. Having never lived in a colony it didn't seem that strange to her. He was a teenage dragon, and he couldn't sire hatchlings yet anyway, but she decided against saying this to Seh'lvah.
"Apparently you two aren't related. Now. What is Seh'lvah fuming about?" Veraxitoc held the hatchling close to his chest again, knowing that as long as the hatchling was there, he wouldn't get angry.
"I... I... I slept with Hari'lah..." Methusela's head dropped, ashamed.
"He slept with the other teenager in the colony. He has the potential to sire bloody hatchlings, Nightspinners can do that if they don't scent Nightspinner when mating. He's a complete idiot! I can't believe him!"
"Ohhh..." Tanith said, realizing why she was so riled up. She glanced back toward Veraxitoc, hoping to be relieved of talk-duty.
Veraxitoc caught Tanith's eye, and nodded. She could leave if she desired. This small revelation was none of her business, and if she didn't want to be involved, she could leave.
"Do you realise how risky doing that was?! You could have hatchlings Methusela, I explained full well what the dangers of doing this are, but you obviously haven't listened. From now on, you are to stay within sight of a trusted adult or Elder. Don't think about arguing this point Methusela. When I have sorted out naming this hatchling, and someone to look after it with me, then I will discuss this with you. Not before."
Tanith nodded gratefully and took off without a word, deciding to spend the night by the lake before she moved on.
Veraxitoc fetched and tended to the so far unnamed hatchling. Then when he felt it was the right time, he curled around the hatchling, and slept.
He tried to remember names of fallen comrades. Fallen brothers and sisters.
Calling her Loreiaka was too close to home.
Alethana? Perhaps. Moritha was a good name too. And Orithe. He would ask around.
She snuggle up with him, falling asleep instantly, completely unconcerned with things like colony politics and appropriate names.
Veraxitoc woke up the following morning, hoping to ask Tanith about the names he had thought of. Hopefully the names would be alright.
((Aethrie it is. :)))
The hatchling, sensing his movement, also awoke. She yawned and squeaked. Then her belly rumbled, making the loudest sound she had emitted in her short life.
"Someone's hungry..." He gave a small nudge to the young hatchling, and picked her up. He would ask Tanith to watch her while he caught something small for the hatchling to eat.
As he flew over the lake, he spotted Tanith asleep.
Tanith, sensing she was no longer alone, was awake in an instant and looking up at the sky. Oh. Just Veraxitoc. Nothing to worry about. She flicked her tail at him in greeting.
Veraxitoc slowed himself down, set the hatchling down, and then landed himself. Picking the hatchling up by her tail, between his lips, he walked over to Tanith, and set her down.
"Can you look after her for half an hour while I find some food for her?"
"Uhhh...sure," Tanith agreed hesitantly. "...only half an hour right?" She had never fancied herself great with kids, and was always afraid she'd do something to break them.
"Yeah, and think of a name for her? I can't think of one..." Veraxitoc said, before abruptly turning round and taking off, in search of decent sized game. He would let the hatchling gorge on meat until she was full, then he would eat the rest.
"Sure, no pressure or anything," Tanith muttered to herself, looking down at the hatchling helplessly. "What should we name you, little one?" she mused aloud, watching the baby roll around in the dirt.
The hatchling looked up at her and squeaked affectionately. The dragon standing over her looked...she struggled to form the thought...notwithhappy. It was the best her speech-less mind could come up with.
Tanith ran through names in her head. Dragons she had known, dragons she had heard of, dragons from stories her mother used to tell her... "What do you think? You gotta help me out here kiddo, I'm no good at the name thing," she informed the hatchling. All she got in return was a grin and a squeak. "No, I don't think Veraxitoc would approve of calling you 'Squeak'," she said with pretended firmness. That got a giggle from the baby.
Catching the food was simple. Swoop, grab and torch. Within minutes he had the food. Of spotting it anyway. He would double time it back, fly lower, faster, smaller. He hoped the baby wasn't allergic. And he had chosen the fastest, strongest looking deer. Less chance it was diseased or ill. A strong, healthy deer.
As he flew back, his mind wandered. What if it was Loreiaka's? That would make it his. Or Methusela. What if, all this time, he really was Methusela's father, his real father. That would make life simple. So simple.
"I wish I could ask her. I wish I could say sorry..." He muffled a small sob. Then a louder one. By the time he got back to Tanith, his eyes were streaming.
Tanith looked up as she heard the beating of wings and saw Veraxitoc swooping toward them, a large deer clasped in his jaws. But wait, his face was wet...what...then she silently gasped. The great Veraxitoc was...crying?!
Veraxitoc curled his lip, blowing fire over the deer to make the cooking thorough, and partly because it dried his face. He landed next to Tanith and the hatchling, and set down her meal.
Clearing his throat, he spoke in a slightly shaky voice.
"This should do..."
The baby gave him a suspicious look. His voice sounded funny. But she was quickly distracted by YUMMYFOODGOODSMELLS! With another startlingly loud tummy grumble she sprang on the deer, her jaws stretching wide as she dove in.
"Black," Tanith said softly, using the shortened form of his nickname Black-night. "What's wrong?"
"What? No, nothing's wrong, why do you ask? What made you think something was wrong? Nothing's wrong." The whole sentence came out as rather rushed, and he didn't look at her. It reminded him. Everything reminded him.
Tanith raised an eyebrow at him, then turned away. He was a proud dragon, and that was something she understood well. If he didn't want to talk, she wouldn't push it. "The names we've come up with are Pillaira, Lilith, and Aethrie." The baby dragon paused her nomming to shoot Tanith a look, and the older dragon sighed. "And," she added, her voice resigned, "upon her insistence, Squeak." The hatchling grinned triumphantly before going back to her half-devoured deer.
Veraxitoc smiled at the idea of Squeak.
"As cute as Squeak sounds, Aethrie. I once knew a human girl called Aethrie, she offered me sanctuary, risked her life to save mine. She was kind. I think Aethrie sounds good. It just took hearing it to jog my memory." Veraxitoc's memory wasn't budging. As true as the story was, he wouldn't think about it. He had met Loreiaka that day as well. It was painful to think of her, and he was trying to maintain composure.
Tanith nodded. "I believe we may have met the same person. I, too, was thinking of a human girl with that name."
The newly named Aethrie looked up with curiosity. Despite her distraction devouring her deer (which was now mostly gone) she seemed to understand that this was her name now.
Veraxitoc's eyes seemed to be staring into nothing for a minute as he decided to revisit that day. He remembered his nervousness when he first met Loreiaka, and physically smiled for a moment.
The sunlight was blazing down, and nothing much had happened except for the lovely girl who had taken him in, risking her life to help a dragon. So when he crept through the cave system, and saw Loreiaka standing there, he was dumbfounded.
A crimson Nightspinner. Truly beautiful.
He had fumbled his first words to her, being unable to speak. Then he had been stupid enough to speak his mind, and get into a challenge with her. They had fought. She had won.
When she said that she admired his courage and honesty, he felt his heart drop, fearing she was trying to let him down gently. So it was all the better when she said that they would try a relationship.
They spent the evening getting to know each other. It was blissful.
The memory sent a solitary tear rolling down his cheek, and he wiped it away, before thinking of other things.
Tanith, out of respect for the pride she understood so well, pretended she didn't see the tear. Of course she did, it was impossible to miss, but she knew that in his shoes, she would want to maintain her dignity.
Aethrie, on the other hand, had no concept of such things. She saw the tear, and decided she didn't like it. Not one bit. She ripped a hearty bone out of the remainder of her deer, then trotted over to Veraxitoc. She carefully placed the bone on one of his front feet. It immediately rolled off, and she huffed in frustration, a wisp of smoke puffing out of her nostrils as she glared at it like a disobedient child.
Not to be thwarted, she snatched it up again, giving a little baby growl and shaking it hard. She balanced it on his foot again, this time more carefully. Succeeding, she looked up at the giant Nightspinner, a pleased look on her face. As far as she was concerned, a fun bone for playing could fix any badthing.
Veraxitoc smiled, letting a few tears roll down his face. He wondered if that was what he needed.
Yes. I need that. Veraxitoc knew her jaws would be strong, so he picked the bone up in his mouth, and let it protrude, offering to play a game of tug with her.
He reached out with his rather limited psychic ability, in Tanith's direction.
"Tanith, I need a question answering. Is it wrong to regret doing the right thing? To want to have been selfish?" His psychic voice was completely different to his physical voice, the emotions underlying clearly plastered over it.
Aethrie immediately squealed happily and chomped down on the other end of the bone. She gave a little baby growl and shook her head in what she believed to be a truly vicious gesture.
Tanith tensed reflexively as she felt him touch her mind. Then she forced herself to relax. He wasn't prying, just talking. She carefully reinforced the psychic walls she had spent years constructing in her mind, then reached her thoughts out to connect with his. I think there is nothing wrong with that at all, she replied in her mind, her own psychic voice expressing how firmly she believed that. He was very, very upset.
You know, you don't have to keep up the kingly dignity around me. I'm not one of your subjects, who might grow doubts as to your strength. You are free to express yourself with me, and I shall never breathe a word to another soul. I hope you know that. Her voice was gentle, reassuring, but strong.
She knew that in the dragon world, a sign of weakness from the alpha could easily lead to a coupe. A king was not supposed to hurt. A leader was never supposed to cry. Because Tanith had no place in any colony, draconic, human, or otherwise, she had a freedom from all the natural laws of hierarchy that most in this world could only dream of.
I am no king, or leader. I am merely a frontman. A foreman for my people. I will not force any decisions, unless the situation truly calls for it. I am no king, and merely am too... Regretful to ever want to admit what I feel. And as much as I hate to admit it, I have put off a conversation far too long for it to matter who it is with. Veraxitoc, sighed mentally, preparing himself for the memories. Hopefully he could make it through. Hopefully.
Before my sleep, I was in love. She was perfect to me, we never argued, we were perfect. Nothing ever went without a laugh with us. He transmitted snapshots of his happiest memories. Their snowball fights, their races, their high altitude kisses. Just small things that showed they really were perfect.
Then, one day, after I went out to ensure the arrangements for the Crystal-backs to take over the job of my species, as guardians, as my species was dead from the century long Dragon Rider war, I came home, to find Loreiaka had killed all the others. And then she begged me to kill her. She told me it was a demon, and that it was her fault. That she deserved to be punished for her mistake. After half an hour of debate, I did it. I killed her as painlessly as possible. Then for two whole weeks, I sat by the ashes, in that cave, and wept. Two weeks I mourned for her. Then I left, deciding that two weeks was adequate, and went back to my duties. But nothing was the same. They nights were cold and quiet, the patrols boring and bland, the life I once had destroyed. So, once I believed the Crystal-backs would continue our work, I decided to sleep. To sleep for nearly 2000 years. And I woke up regretting it. Regretting my selflessness. My loyalty to my job. Veraxitoc gave a playful tug of the bone, letting out a sound akin to a puppy growl.
Aethrie narrowed her eyes and grinned around the bone at him. Her feet came off the ground as he tugged the bone, but she never let go for a second.
Tanith quieted her mind, listening carefully to his mental words, steeling herself against the emotions that saturated them. Veraxitoc had had a mate?! I would have wanted to be selfish too, in that case, she replied softly. Her deep eyes met his, communicating the sympathy she could not put to words. She had never had a mate, never had someone love her, but that lack alone helped her to understand the emptiness he felt. If there was one thing she understood to the depth of her being, it was being alone.
I bet she was beautiful.
Her scales were blood red, with black tips. Rare, especially among Nightspinners. She was truly beautiful. And now I have trouble looking at any crimson colours. They simply remind me of her. I wish I hadn't done it, I wish I could reconcile, but no matter how much I pray or beg or plead, nothing will make me feel like I'm apologising, or trying. Veraxitoc put Aethrie down.
"You're persistent, aren't you?" He smiled at her. She was cute, and probably the only thing stopping him crying right now. The only thing.
Aethrie growled playfully at him, waggling her tail, then charged and headbutted his leg.
Blood red with black tips...an albino Nightspinner... Something shifted in Tanith's memory, a faint glimmer she couldn't catch. She closed her eyes, and lightly pushed him out of her head so she could think straight. Nightspinner...albino...crimson...crimson and black... Why was that ringing a bell? Her eyes flew open. The ruby dragon! She remembered now!
Opening her mind again she mentally exclaimed Veraxitoc! It came out a little louder than she intended, and she quickly lowered her mental voice. Veraxitoc what if she's alive?! She quickly shot memories at him, images gathered over years of travel. A frost dragon colony up north...a young dragon she had believed to be a Crystal-back, whose scales were ruby with black tips, bearing no resemblance to any living Crystal-back...years later the glimpse of a red and black dragon flying high overhead...the rumors of a female Nightspinner that had been cropping up all over the world, more and more recently...
Anticipating his first argument, she added, Albinos are rare. You said so yourself. They are like, what, 0.5% of all Nightspinners ever born? What are the chances that a new Nightspinner, one of only 3 in existence, just happens to be female AND just happens to be albino?! If my calculations are correct, those odds are about one in, like, twenty-gazillion! Okay, so math had never been her strong suit. But her point was valid. Excited, she said, I don't want to get your hopes up, Black, but you said her crimes were the work of a demon. You know there are old stories of the draconic gods reincarnating dragons who had been killed before their time, or who were not responsible for their crimes. What if...?
Veraxitoc shot what seemed like an angry glare, and those were the emotions his mental voice portrayed.
No dragon has been reincarnated in years. She would not be the first to die for crimes not hers. And I watched her die... She would not survive what I had to do. She was tough, but I make sure that if I kill something, it is dead, understood? His mind retracted from hers, essentially ending the conversation, and apparently being his way of not barraging her psychically.
In all truth he just couldn't bear the thought that the dragoness he loved, and had killed, was wandering around out there. He couldn't bear it, and it hurt. He would never be able to face her.
He killed her.
Tanith, who had never been one of great tact, reached out and grabbed the mental connection before he'd finished withdrawing it. The definition of "reincarnation" is that the dragon IS dead! That's the whole point! Just think about it. Having said that, she withdrew and dropped the connection. That was all there was to be said on the matter. If he didn't want to investigate the coincidence of the millennium, that was his call.
Aethrie, sensing the shift between the two of them, took a step back and stared from one adult to the other in bewilderment. She tilted her little black head to one side and gave an inquisitive chirp, her gold eyes holding a look of confusion.
Veraxitoc refused to start up a new conversation, and instead just remained silent. He looked at Aethrie, and slowly lowered his head, showing gentleness. He wasn't going to get too frustrated right now. Something big would get broken later though.
"You Aethrie... Aethrie..."
Hearing what she now knew to be her name, Aethrie perked up. "Cheep?" she responded promptly, waggling her tail at him.
Tanith watched the two of them, a tiny bit jealous of their bond, in spite of herself. But no, the loner's road was her's. It was the one she had chosen. She turned to gaze out at the lake, wondering where she should head next.
Veraxitoc felt something click inside him, and he felt angry. He didn't feel right all of a sudden. He shouldn't be raising a child. He didn't need one. He didn't want one. He didn't deserve one. He wasn't a good rolemodel. He wasn't a good mate. How could he be a good father?
He laid down, sighing, knowing that she would grow up fast thankfully. He could survive until then. Surely.
"I think we'll get by, won't we. If this Nightspinner comes round, we'll ask just who she is. Maybe it's a relative. Maybe you don't recognise Methusela because you can't smell his real mother."