Creative Corner

Requiem
Arliin's Diary, Entry II
We're going to Water, to bring Vale to a doctor. We decided we couldn't wait any longer, this night he woke up screaming, again. I hope there's something we can do for him.

Admittedly, Caron had never been a lover of the water. Then again most dragons who were not native of the element were not big fans of the Sea of A Thousand Currents. The weird seaweed that had to be eaten to survive under water tasted disgusting, breathing was still difficult, and they didn't ensure you wouldn't get crushed by the pressure or choke on water if you breathed the wrong way. Still, he didn't have much choice. There was nowhere else he could find someone who knew about visions and futures and stuff. so he winced when the water weighed his wings down, but didn't fly away. He was going to do something.
A splash near indicated that Arliin had also entered the water. Caron saw the Tundra struggle for a few moments, fur weighing him down, but the younger dragon gained control of himself almost immediately. Vale, on the other hand, had never looked more at ease.
"So..." the Spiral said, to break the tension. Lately there had been way too much silence between the three of them, for his tastes.
"A healer. Anyone knows where to look for one? We're going to have to ask the locals, huh... Are you fine, Arliin? Having trouble swimming?"
"I'm fine. Let's go on." the Tundra responded.
"Oh. Well, I'd be incredibly weighed down by all that fur. It's shedding right now, right? Is it annoying?"
"Caron. Please don't feel the need to make pointless conversation."
Caron bit his lip and swam a bit faster.
"Look, there's someone there. We can ask them!"

The mist in the room somehow made the water so thick it was almost unbreathable, even though the fact that there was mist in a room full of water.
"Uhm..." Caron hesitated, looking at the Snapper.
Seer? Thyma is the best one around here. I think you want to meet her."
"Hello... We were looking for help..." he said, wondering if the old female could even see them. She seemed to be staring off into space, even as she smiled, baring her pearly teeth.
"Welcome, troubled soul. I see you are seeking answers."
"G...greetings." Caron finally said, looking nervously first at Arliin, waiting by the entrance, then at the door behind which Vale was waiting for him.
Right. I'm doing this for him.
"Greetings." he repeated, and he could feel a smile forming on his lips. He almost couldn't believe his cowardice. Getting to meet an actual seer was a wonderful occasion, and it was the reason he had ever begun travelling in the first place - meeting interesting people. Why he had settled down, he couldn't understand, but it was something that had happened. And now he had a clan to take care of. He had hatchlings to take care of.
"A member of my clan is gravely plagued." At least that's what he thought it was. But he couldn't really know what had been affecting the little Fae.
"Hm? Is that really the reason you are here?"
"Yes... Yes, it is." The Spiral answered, frowning.
"Hah! But I don't think so, young dreamer, in fact, it's quite the contrary!"
Caron was beginning to get annoyed. "Then what did I come here for, wise seer?"
The old Snapper grinned another toothless smile.
"You came here for yourself, didn't you? Didn't you want to know of your chains?" the seer asked, staring at Caron.
"I don't have any chains, and if I will get some and lose them, I'll just get a new pair." The Spiral dryly responded, turning around. This had just been a waste of time.
[/i]Guess the voices about seers being crazy were real after all.[/i]
A chuckle filled the room, and all Carin could think, trying to ignore his goosebumps, was how it could be heard if they were under water.
"Oh, but you already have chains, young dreamer. Many more than most, and much heavier than what they should be. Guilt binds your neck, and helplessness your arms. Regret holds you still. You'll never be able to take true flight with all that weight on you."
"What are you talking about?" Caron whispered, still staring at the door. He could hear the seer chuckle behind him, that endless chuckle that wouldn't stop. He felt sick. He wanted to run away.
"You have already understood, haven't you? I see the light in your eyes."
"Caron, let's get out of here." Arliin said, glaring at the Snapper. "It's pretty evident that we won't find help."
"You too, little one. Your chains are so heavy. I wonder how you can even move your hands, with such a load of helplessness on you. Oh, and so much blame. So much hate. Are you trying to hide your guilt? Or are you trying to compensate for her missing?"
"Shut up."
"Your hate, it is growing heavier by the second. Do not try to put the light off, young one. Once it's lighted, it can never go away until you are free of your chains. So much hate. Where does it all come from? Who is it directed at? Won't you tell me?"
The door slammed behind the Tundra.

"Well... That was creepy. Remind me never to go to these seers again." the Spiral half-heartedly attempted to joke, once he found the Arliin waiting for him outside.
"Let's just get back home Caron. It's pretty evident we won't find anyone who knows what Vale has here." was the only reply he received. He hesitantly nodded, then started swimming towards the surface.

Day 25
No results for Vale. The seer we contacted didn't tell us anything. Actually, she just spoke of chains. I'm wondering whether the seeing gift is just a mental illness. If so, maybe Vale could be affected by it? Oh Gods, I hope not. There wouldn't be anything I can do to help him, there wouldn't be anything anyone could do to help him. He can't be mentally ill. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for his nightmares.

Arliin's Diary, Entry III
Woke up to find Caron gone. That was what the rustling was apparently. I thought it was just Vale having another nightmare. I tried to help him, but there was nothing I could do, so now I just try to sleep. Still, Caron apparently is gone. Probably back to Water territory, looking for help. Gods know what is going to happen to him if he finds none.

Water dragons seemed to be particularly active at dawn. Much more than Plague ones, or Arcane ones, at least. The streets were full of people. And Caron felt watched.
Not because he looked like a fish out of the water, no. It was a different kind of watching. Something was observing him, and Caron didn't like it.
He made his way through the streets, slithering through the water like a snake. Spiralling like he usually did was proving to be more difficult in liquid.
Something was still watching him. Eyes on his back, they couldn't be more evident.
He kept swimming through the streets. He vaguely remembered the fact that he needed to look for answers to his questions, but the eyes were more important right now.
He kept swimming. There seemed to be nothing else he could do.
"Hey, mate." a voice asked behind his back, and Caron jumped, as much as one could jump while under tons of water. He knew that if he turned around, the eyes that had been fixed on him would be given an identity. He just knew it.
He turned around, and released a half-relieved, half-disappointed sigh when he only saw a Ridgeback smirking at him.
"You look lost. Looking for something? Want some help?"
Might've asked before...
"I came to look for assistance." Caron murmured, pondering the idea of running away. Someone who had followed him for this long may not have entirely good intentions.
"That's cool! What kind of help do you need?" the Ridgeback asked, what was supposedly a friendly smile fixed on his lips. Caron hesitated just a moment, before deciding that whatever was holding him back - whether pride, diffidence, or just some stupid stubborness - was not nearly as important as receiving help for Vale.
"I'm looking for help, for a friend. He's been having... Nightmares." he said, looking at the Ridgeback to scan for reactions. There were none, except a concentrated face.
"They wake him up at night and sometimes he has nightmares when he wakes up, too. I... we think it may be visions."
Something flickered in the Ridgeback's eyes, but his expression remained still otherwise.
"How long?" he asked, and Caron understood immediately.
"Since he was born."
"All of them ugly?"
"Yes."
"All of them?" the other insisted, frowning. Caron hesitated, then nodded.
"Well. Unlucky little one, mate. Very."
There was some silence, as if there was something that shouldn't have been said. Caron waited.
"A Cassandra." the Ridgeback finally commented. "You'd better cut his tongue off or something. Those things are dangerous. People die, and most of the time you can't even tell if they're predicting the truth or just making things up. Well, they don't make things up, but maybe they see stuff that won't happen in another hundred years, so that's of no consequence to you."
"What is a Cassandra?" Caron asked, frown deepening.
"It's a gift. Well, a curse, as far as I know. They are aberrants, dragons gifted with Vision, who can only ever see disaster. Sometimes you get paranoid and listen to all they say, and you starve to death when they predict poison, or sometimes you ignore actual threats, like Beastclans at your door. They may not look like it, but they're dangerous. Plus, they get worse over time. I suppose your friend is pretty young, because after a few months they lose sense of reality and start living in their future. That's... Much, much worse than death. So if you want a tip mate, do the little one a favor and kill him while he's still young."

Day 26
So I now know what Vale has. I couldn't tell him. He would be destroyed. He was already crying when I came here. Refused to talk, but I'm pretty sure he had another one of those visions. If they get worse over time, I wonder if it'll just be better to actually kill him.

Day 28
I finally told Vale. He didn't react much, but maybe he did and I just didn't notice. He just said I wouldn't kill him. I was glad for that for a moment, but that Ridgeback said Cassandras only ever predict disaster.


Day 33
Arliin is changing . There's something really wrong here. It looks like all of his kindness disappeared. I'm afraid for him, and I can do nothing to help him. Oh Plaguemother help me, I can't lose Arliin too. I'd go crazy.

The Tundra closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
A screech somewhere near. Ignore it Squishing. Carin digging his claws into an enemy. He wondered if he was wounded.
Ignore it.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe...
"Slow!" he barked under his breath, hitting the ground with his front paws.
"Concentrate, Arliin!"
"It's too damn slow! I can't get enough Breath to attack!" the Tundra snapped.
"Relax! You know you won't get any Breath if you don't actually concentrate on your meditation!" Caron reprimanded.
Arliin gritted his teeth and closed his eyes again. Never mind the chomping at a short distance.
Breathe.
Pain, searing pain in his side. He panted.
Breathe. Ignore it, IGNORE IT DARN IT, breathe, breathe, BREATHE!
More pain, more cutting. He felt hot blood run down his leg. Sounds, sounds that indicated Caron was trying to get to him.
Not fast enough. More pain. He gave in. He opened his eyes, and charged at the opponent.

Day 35
Caron has done that again. Arliin died, and he's gone into the state where he hits himself and refuses to move. And he's crying. Crying a lot.
I have to do something for him. I need something to do for him.
Before the nightmares get me.

Caron couldn't believe his eyes.
Rolling on the floor, full of slight cracks, was an egg. A Plague egg, a green, slimy egg. Vale looked at him from the entrance of the den, expectantly.
The egg trembled, and it cracked more.
"It's hatching." Vale said.
As if that wasn't obvious.
"How did you get this?" Caron murmured, voice gone. Whether from surprise, or from too much yelling, he didn't know, nor did he care.
A piece of the shell popped out. Pinkish skin peeked from underneath the protection.
"I bought it. Sorry." the Fae said. He didn't sound sorry. Then again he never sounded anything. He was a Fae.
More cracks. There was silence in the den. Caron didn't know what he was exoecting, but he was staring at the egg from up close. Waiting for it to hatch.
The hatchling rolled out of the shell, and the Spiral's heart skipped a beat.
A Mirror female. Her colors were wrong, but it was just like her. Red eyes, fins, soft claws. Just like Battlecry.
Red hues of skin, just like Arliin.
He saw drops wet the floor, and it took a few second to understand they were his tears. The hatchling was looking at him curiously.
"What will you call her?" Vale spoke, interrupting the silence. Caron lifted his head to stare at the Fae. He felt his heart burst. It hurt. Feeling emotions again, after so much emptiness, hurt.
"Requiem."

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EDIT: adding an AN, because it was late at night and I forgot to make one. So. That last part is pretty crappy, but yanno, I don't want this to become stressful for me, so no editing.
Ridgebacks. I love Ridgies, and I'm pretty sure that Caron and the average Ridgie would be great buddies if they ever were to meet each other. And no, he wasn't really acting suspiciously, he was just curious about the weird, definitely-out-of-place dragon going round the streets. Caron is just getting paranoid xD
Arliin died, oops. Poor Arliin. I started thinking "character development" and then nope.
I found two eggs in the span of a few days, how cool is that?? One was a Plague egg, but it failed the coin flip, twice. The second was a Nature egg, and it survived, so yay, welcome Khusavir!