Kaitaka

Ever since he was a hatchling, Kaitaka looked up to Miss Velvet. She was a caring and loving third parent, looking after him whenever his parents were busy with their own duties in the clan. Kaitaka's admiration for her only grew over time, watching the way she cared for the constantly-ill Progeria and the other dragons who came into her care.

As Kaitaka grew, he began to assist Velvet with her work in the infirmary. She's his role model and mentor, and has become his secondary mother when his own mother Iriekain is unavailable. She cares for him like he's her own offspring, and Kaitaka feels just the same. With a pure white bandana holding his long fur away from his eyes, Kaitaka has become an excellent healer, a powerful force in the fight against disease and pain, and will do everything in his power to follow in Velvet's footsteps and become the clan's (second) most potent healer.

...

What a beautiful story.

A great, powerful Tundra following in the footsteps of a tiny Veilspun.

It would make for a lovely tale...

...If only it didn't have such a sad ending.


However, after such a long, prosperous tenure as a duo of healers, tragedy struck. Velvet brought Kaitaka to the Pox Consulate in search of a young Plague dragon who was said to be suffering from a terrible infection. Kaitaka was eager to help, but he was reckless. They did, in fact, find the little Plagueling, but at a terrible cost. The dragon lashed out at the two, and though Velvet was careful, its claws caught Kaitaka, digging past his fur and plunging its infected talons into his flesh. Kaitaka cried out in agony and fought back against the attacker, flinging it away from him. It landed far from the pair and stumbled to its feet to scuttle off back into the Pox Consulate. Kaitaka made to chase it, only to collapse to the ground, incapacitated by the long, near-identical slashes that had been dug from his shoulder almost to his elbow.

Velvet cared for the injured Tundra, patching his injury and cleaning the blood from his fur before bringing him back to the lair for further medical attention. However, the damage had already been done. The claws that had torn into Kaitaka had been infected with a terrifying sickness; when they broke his skin, the bacteria that gathered there had transferred into his blood and begun multiplying. Kaitaka awoke the next morning in excruciating pain and found that the bandages on his left arm had entirely been bled through. Velvet came to change them and found that the skin beneath was beginning to be eaten away by the vile bacteria that had made themselves at home inside of him.

No matter what measures Velvet tried to take, Kaitaka's condition only worsened. Splotches appeared all over his body, marking where the disease devoured his skin. His fur fell out and his nerves screamed to be free. Velvet covered him in bandages but it changed nothing. He cried and cried for her to free him from his agony but she could do nothing. The best she could do was attempt to numb his pain and frequently sedate him to give him breaks from the way the disease was destroying him.

His parents and sisters watched in horror. Nowadays, Pop and Iriekain can be found more often than not in the Infirmary, and Pippy and Zip are always sick with worry about their brother. Yet there is little they can do but allow Velvet to do her job and be there to comfort the suffering Kaitaka as he lay on his bed, hanging on by a thread.

"It's only a matter of time," Velvet always reminds herself, but Kaitaka clings to life. Every time it's believed that the disease may get the best of him, he comes back with a burst of energy and resilience. Kaitaka recovers his strength a little bit at a time, but he has a long way to go, and the unknown disease that's been wreaking havoc on his body isn't going anywhere yet. Velvet does her best, though; she has never lost a patient before, and she's not about to lose her first anytime soon - especially not her bright-eyed, cheerful apprentice.

Kaitaka hangs on. He hangs on still, despite his body's best efforts. He doesn't want to die. Not while his mother stays by his side. Not while his mentor patches his wounds. Not while his sisters bring him flowers and snacks and tell him how their days went. He will not die.

He. Will. Not. Die.