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Gabi stepped back, stunned.
“My parents?” He shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean. I don’t have - Luana is -” The flower’s voice rang out, ancient, ringing with the burden of the immortal. Foolish hatchling. Gabi flinched, stung. It had been some time since anyone had called him a hatchling, but at least whenever Luana called him one, it was meant as a comforting thing. This sounded like an insult. “What do you know of my parents?” he shot back, his fur ruffled. He didn’t want to show the flowers how unsettled he was, but it was hard. The only response was laughter; the wind had died. Gabi thought he heard a young voice attempt to speak out, but the words were lost in the wind, drowned by the older flowers. When the ancient voice sounded again, harsh and jarring, the laughter stopped immediately. If you don’t know, then you don’t know. If you want to find your friend, however, keep following the path - you want her so badly, yes? Dragon desires are funny… Gabi was confused. The path had ended here, but now that he looked again, a new path seemed to form its way among the flowers. A patchy bundle was visible at the end of the path, dry leaves and twigs forming what looked like a bird’s nest. It was speckled with bright primrose petals. There seemed to be a creature in the nest, and when Gabi peered closer, squinting, he saw Maple’s red-and-white scales. Swiftly, he made his way over. The flowers did not try to stop him. “Maple!” She was asleep, and did not stir when he called her name. A primrose petal moved suddenly, stirring despite the still air. Gabi’s body tensed, but suddenly he realized the primrose was not a flower but a pink moth. It stood protectively over Maple’s nest, holding its arm out. But when it saw Gabi, with his bright green eyes and the flower’s magic over his fur, it relaxed, and smiled. “Ah, a son of the Gladekeeper,” the Mith murmured. Pollen fell off its wings, and floated in the air, glittering with magic. It coated Maple, and tickled Gabi’s nostrils. Before he could speak, he sneezed violently, his eyes screwed up tight. He heard a soft gasp from the Mith. When Gabi opened his eyes again, he nearly fainted. He stared, swaying, about to fall over; his eyes were wide and unbelieving. In the nest, against the underbelly of Maple, lay a bundle of bark-and-leaves which hadn’t been there a moment before. Three tiny things, innocent in their existence, coated in pollen and Nature magic. Eggs. Maple’s eggs - and Gabi’s.
~
Luana and Treble sat quietly together in the center of camp, beneath the dim night light. They did not speak, but they did not have to. There was nothing to say. They could only wait and hope that Gabi returned quickly, with Maple. The sky began to lighten as daylight drew near. Soon enough, the darkness of the night was chased away by warm stretches of light across the sky, pink and gold. Luana and Treble hardly stirred, their bodies stiff with fatigue. It had not been a good night. Treble stretched her neck out, her neck-feathers ruffled. She glanced over at Luana, but the Guardian would not look at her. Treble was about to speak, when suddenly the Guardian jumped to her feet. “Do you hear that?” Luana asked, hopeful. But her gaze soon darkened as she realized the sounds from the forest were not their Clanmates returning. “Get inside,” she hissed to Treble, her claws grinding the soil. Her tail lashed. Trebel looked at the Guardian, and then at the forest. She heard slithering in the undergrowth, and a strange growling which she had never heard before. She didn’t need to be told twice. The Coatl turned and started towards the storage shed, which was half-built but hopefully sturdy enough to shelter her. Before she moved far, though, a strange, orange-and-brown creature appeared silhouetted above the rock-line. It crouched above Treble and Luana, ready to pounce. It had no tail, and glowing green eyes, with matching green markings along its neck. There seemed to be many ears down its neck, and along its side, leading to a set of gills. “What is -” before Treble could even finish speaking, the creature leapt at them. Luana was closest. The Guardian was quick on her feet, though, and dodged the creature. Treble fluttered her wings, hopping backwards - ready to take into the air. She did not feel prepared for battle, but Luana was able to strike the strange creature, knocking it away. Luana towered about the creature, which was just smaller than Treble, and threw it at the far end of the camp. It landed with a thump, and did not get up again. “What is that?” Treble asked again, her voice shaking. “No time for questions,” Luana said gruffly. “There’s more.” Her eyes shone. Treble tensed. She kicked off the ground to fly by Luana’s head. Her wings beat fast, as fast as her pulse. “Get inside,” Luana repeated, gritting her teeth. A wolf-life, Wind-aligned creature with bamboo growing along its back darted forward from the south end of campus, jumping over the unconscious orange-and-brown and hurtling itself straight to the two dragons. But Treble did not listen to Luana. Instead, she called forth her Arcane magic, the pattern on her wings pulsing with pink light. She shot a bolt of magic at the creature, making it stumble. The moment of weakness allowed Luana to dart forward and knock it out with a heavy paw, claws glinting. Treble glared at Luana. “I help you,” she said, firmly. A hardness passed through the Guardian’s gaze, before she nodded once. She began to turn away, but something past Treble’s shoulder caught her eye. “Watch out!” Luana called, but it was too late. A pair of bird-beasts - Luana recognized them as the Plague Basilisks - flitted forward. One leapt up, flapping its wings to glide forward, and knocked into Treble from behind, talons flashing in the morning sun. The Coatl stumbled and she fell lower, low enough for the second Basilisk to jump up and snag the Coatl with its sharp beak. The attack was swift and well-coordinated, and before Luana could react, Treble’s fine white feathers were soaked in blood. Treble tried to fight back, but it was useless. “No!” Luana shouted, and she rushed forward to fight off the two Basilisks, who were pecking and tearing at their prey. The Guardian swatted one away, but the second turned on her. It attacked her wings, snapping at the fine stretch of membrane. Luana grunted, and tried to shake the Basilisk away. It stumbled back, its wings catching the air to stop its fall. Its eyes were cruel and vicious, and ready to attack once more. And then a lightning bolt streaked through the air, startling Luana and catching the enemy in the air. It was dead in a heartbeat, and its body fell to the ground, crisped. Luana turned immediately to Treble, and noticed with relief that the Coatl was still breathing - unconscious, but breathing. The Guardian turned, ready to continue the fight with a new enemy. She positioned herself so that she stood in front of Treble’s body. To her surprise, a dragon stood there - green and gold, as if a plant had been dusted in sunlight. His wings flared, his sharp blue eyes narrowed. One paw was held out, talons crooked, while the other paw clutched a round jewel. “That’s the last of them.” He slowly put down his paw, and his face relaxed. Luana stared at the Pearlcatcher. She had not expected to see him, and she struggled to find her voice. Finally, she asked, “Who are you?” |
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“My name’s Reace. I was out for some food, when I heard the struggle. Are you alright?” Before Luana could say anything, he stepped forward. “Is she -?” “Alive,” Luana said, her voice low. She was torn; grateful at this stranger, but also wary. He was, well, a stranger. She changed the subject. “And the lower-BeastClans - where did they come from so suddenly?” |
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“Something disturbed their nest,” the dragon said, looking troubled. “Something worse - it’s out there still, to the south. You can sense it, if you walk towards the water…”
“Well, they better stay away from here,” Luana growled. “I doubt they will come this far west. For now, we should tend to your denmate - and start to build up the magical wards around your lair.” Luana eyed the stranger, distrustful. Why did all sorts of dragons keep flying through, thinking it was okay to attach themselves to her and Gabi? She huffed. But then she shook the thought from her head. The other two - Treble and Maple - they had grown to be great additions to her life. Treble had helped Gabi, and Maple, well… This dragon - he had saved Treble from trouble. Luana, too. The Guardian wasn’t sure she could afford to hold her anger for much longer. For now, though, she put it from her mind. With a wave of her tail - an invitation to stay or leave, whatever the Pearlcatcher preferred - the Guardian turned to Treble and gently began to lick her wounds. |
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They/Them a small storefront Click the spiral to the left for current avatar looking for 10/08 gen ones |
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