Damien

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The only instinct Damien had was to run. He had been in so much pain for hours, but he was unable to do anything. He couldn't scream, he couldn't fight back. At last, he'd finally been able to regain control of his movements. But whatever these other weird dragons were, they noticed he was running away, and they chased him. The Imperial hadn't gotten a chance to pause and think about things. He had to run, he didn't know where, but that was the least of his worries. All that mattered was that he had to lose them somehow.

He didn't know how long he'd been running. When he stopped, he looked back over his shoulder. None of those dragons were in sight. Damien would have sighed in relief if he wasn't skeptical. Maybe they were hiding, waiting for the right time to ambush. It didn't matter if he couldn't see them. If he didn't keep moving, they would find him sooner. But he didn't continue running at his previous pace, he just walked.

Now was the time to recollect himself and thoroughly figure out what was going on and what situation he was in.

The land around him was filled with flowering plants and trees. Insects like bees buzzed around to land on nearby flowers. A herd of deer drank from a pond filled with crystal-clear water. The birds in the trees chirped their songs as various apes climbed the branches, looking for fruit. It was all so colorful and gorgeous, as though Damien had wandered into a paradise. He almost felt relaxed at the sight.

Judging by the landscape, he could tell that he was in the Viridian Labyrinth. That made sense - he had just flown from the Tangled Wood. Where he was in the Gladekeeper's domain was debatable. His best guess would be the Everbloom Gardens, judging by the abundance of flowers. It could also be the Gladeveins, but the only water he could see was the pond. There weren't any rivers that branched off in this area.

While he was just about ready to run as soon as he spotted his pursuers, he needed a moment to decide on what to do next.

Damien lowered his head and caught a glimpse of his talons. His eyes widened in shock and he raised them to further examine them. They were now shiny and opalescent, colored green and fading to blue. He craned his head to look at the rest of his body now that he had the time.

He looked nothing like he did before the incident. Not only had he developed the opal gene, but his scales had been replaced with black chitin. His wings weren't as leathery as before. They were in the same state, covered with the black chitin that covered the rest of his body.

The Imperial rushed over to the pond, ignoring the herd of deer beside it. Oh, how he hoped this was all a dream, a horrible nightmare, something he could wake up from. Now would be a good time to wake up from all of this and be with his wife again, back in the Sea of a Thousand Currents.

Remembering her made him feel a little better. He tried to picture her face in his mind. Her beautiful and kind face, her rounded and friendly features, her fins, her deep blue eyes, her iridescent azure scales...

But then he realized if he tried to go back to her, she may not recognize him. Or worse, the dragons that caused this would find her and harm her. Just the thought of them doing the same painful process they did with him to her or even killing her made him want to cry.

He might not ever see her again. He only had the memories they shared together. Meeting her, becoming friends, later wanting more out of their relationship, and then marriage.

Their wedding day was one of the best moments in his life. He could still recall his friends and family watching, and the Guardian he loved walking over in her lovely white dress. The wedding took place on the beach between the Sea of a Thousand Currents and the Sunbeam Ruins. The day was sunny and the scenery was breathtaking, but not as breathtaking as the sight of his lover.

They'd even planned on having hatchlings, raising a family together. They wanted to grow old together as their hatchlings grew up and perhaps even raised families of their own. Every time they had a disagreement, they managed to get through it and sort things out.

Manatee. That was her name.

His mind drifted off before he could stop it. Memories of their time together, their honeymoon, the walks they took, funny moments, sad moments, happy moments, they all played in his head. Damien wanted so badly to go back and be with her again, but that wasn't likely.

It was all so painful, more painful than the transformation he went through.

That's when he started to cry. He couldn't keep his voice down, even with the knowledge that his pursuers may follow his voice and find him.

At least let me tell her that I love her, he thought. Just let me see her one more time, if anything.

He couldn't stop thinking about it. He couldn't stop hoping and praying to the Eleven that he could see her once more.

Manatee, wherever you are, please be safe.

Bushes around him started rustling, and he bit his tongue to keep himself from making any more noises. Tears still streamed down his face, making his vision blurry. Whatever emerged from the bushes wasn't black and shiny, so that was a good sign. He blinked the tears out of his eyes a few times and his vision cleared a little. Now he had a better look at the one approaching him.

It was a Wildclaw with purple and blue scales that exhibited the python and morph genes. The dragon looked the large Imperial over, but her face wasn't threatening.

"Are you alright?" she asked him with a gentle tone. She raised her talons to show that she wasn't a threat, but there was a wariness to her gaze.

Damien hiccuped, his ears lowering. "They- These dragons, whatever they were, they took me," he tried to explain, but he started to ramble. "They turned me into this. I don't know how. It- It hurt so much. I-I don't know what to do. They're probably after me. I can't let them find me. I just- I want- I need to go back..."

The Wildclaw had a sympathetic look, and she traced her talons over his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "There, there..." she whispered. "What is your name?"

"Damien," said the Imperial. "I'm Damien."

"My name is Despina," the Wildclaw answered. "I'm so sorry you went through that. Do you have anyone close to you? Family, friends?"

The first word Damien blurted out was, "Manatee." He looked away in slight embarrassment, but he continued. "She's my wife. A Guardian, blue eyes and scales."

Despina tilted her head. "What is she like?"

"She's..." Damien paused. "She's one of the nicest dragons I know. She's always been caring, not just for me, but for everyone. And she's smart and open-minded." He shivered and more tears fell from his eyes. "Manatee... She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. She's funny, she's always listened to me when I needed it, and I did the same. I love her."

The Wildclaw nodded. "Do you have children?"

Damien shook his head. "We were planning on it," he whimpered. "We thought about the names we could give them. We thought about how we'd provide for them, our responsibilities."

"What names did you two consider?"

"If we had girls, we thought about Coral, Stream, Tempest, or Tetra," Damien revealed. "If we had boys, Thunder, Dune, Blue, or Otter."

"Those are nice names," Despina commented. "What about family? Do you have anyone you're close to in your family?"

"My parents and siblings," Damien muttered.

Despina gestured to the bushes, but Damien was too upset to care. "That's good," Despina mumbled. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

The Imperial looked at himself. He didn't notice anything serious except for a gash on his tail. He'd been so distracted that he didn't care about the stinging until now. Despina rested her talons on the other's tail, examining the wound.

"It doesn't look serious," she said. "That's good." Then she gestured to a dark red smear on the base of his neck. "Is this your blood?"

"I don't know," Damien admitted. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a few other dragons emerging. He tensed up, but Despina reassuringly rubbed his shoulder again.

"They're not enemies," she told him, watching the other dragons approach. "They're here to help. We'll bring you somewhere safe and get you cleaned up. You can explain more of what happened when we're there."

A spotted golden female Imperial held a large blanket in her talons and gently draped it over the black dragon, showing no signs of malicious intent. Another Wildclaw with a similar appearance to Despina but with colors of the sunset wrapped the wounded part of Damien's tail with bandages. A tricolored Skydancer looked Damien up and down, her expression unreadable.

"Who are you?" Damien blurted out.

"We're an anti-hive force," said the tricolored Skydancer.

Despina nodded in agreement. "I'm second in command. The Commander is back at our sanctuary."

The Imperial glanced around, nervously. "This is all so sudden," he remarked. "Will... Will I ever be able to go home? Will I be able to see my loved ones again?"

Despina and the Skydancer exchanged glances. "It depends," Despina confessed. "But whether or not you get to see them again, one thing is for certain. Even if they're far away, you can still fight for them. We're all fighting for those we love."

"It may be a lot to take in," the Skydancer chimed in. "But you can get through this. We're all fighting together. You'll have dragons who will be there for you, and I'm sure they'd do the same for anyone else. We're not just a force, but we're like a family."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself," Despina agreed. "You don't have to stay with us forever, but let us take care of you for the time being, alright?"

It surprised Damien that the dragons that captured him hadn't found him by now. He didn't question it. Right now, these dragons were offering him somewhere safe to stay and they were willing to talk to him. Maybe he really could climb back up from where he was now. Maybe he really did have a chance, and things weren't hopeless.

When the Imperial was ready, he got up and walked with the other dragons to the sanctuary.

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