XXIII
Leech waited, fully clad in her makeshift armor as she held her breath and stood tensely against the back wall of the lower chamber alongside Bone and Serpenta.
Serpenta sat in quiet concentration in the shelves, tail curled around herself as she summoned the illusion over the lair while they waited for the Sangu warriors violet had caught sight of only minutes ago.
Sinking her claws into the stone floor, she drew in a deep breath, meeting eyes with Bone who stood across from her, pressed tightly to wall and eyes fixed on the dusty light that filtered through the entrance.
She seethed as the sound of claws steps in the lair above. Heavy steps. The guardian must have come back.
The footsteps crossed the lair floor above, and she heard the murmur of the familiar voice. Siskah.
“Are they gone?”
“Not long.” answered the snarl of the nocturne from before. “I can smell them.”
“Perhaps they got frightened and fled.” Chuckled a third, unfamiliar voice.
The dragons moved closer, searching slowly through the upper chamber.
“Perhaps they left the salt behind.”
She felt her heart flutter with rage and fear as pebbles rolled down the entrance, and Siskah peered into the dim chamber.
“Nothing.” Growled Condor furiously, looking around as he followed the mirror down.
A second, strange mirror in sooty, furred armor and the Guardian made their way into the now-crowded chamber.
Leechroot met Siskah’s eyes, heart racing in her chest as he looked directly at her.
He couldn’t see her, could he? No, there was no way.
Yet she couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he strode towards her, sniffing the air.
“What is it?” Questioned the Commander.
Siskah stared through her, eyes gleaming beneath his helmet.
He drew back, turning to the Nocturne. “Nothing. I just…”
Leechroot froze as the dark-furred mirror came too close to Bone where he was pressed desperately to the wall, and the illusion fell apart around them.
Siskah’s expression fell into shock, as he stood frozen nose to nose with Leech.
She stared back at him, eyes wide before she bore her teeth and recoiled slightly, bunching her muscles and leaping with claws outstretched and tackling the scarlet dragon to the cave floor as everything around them exploded into chaos.
“Fall back!” Screamed a muffled voice from beneath the lair, and at the sound, Locust pushed herself from the grass alongside Newt and Storm, lunging for the remaining five dragons standing watch at the entrance of the cave.
The shocked dragons stumbled over themselves, some scattering, other freezing briefly only to be bowled off their feet.
Newt clashed hard with a weathered looking she-mirror who met his attack fiercely as the two rolled into the grass, while Storm chased a fleeing grey nocturne only to be blindsided by a pearlcatcher.
Locust tackled a far smaller coatl, snapping at their feathers and kicking them away as they scrambled, terrified, to escape her. She roared after them as they bounded thoughtlessly into the grass, flaring her wings and snarling triumphantly.
Her snarl broke into a yell as a snapper clamped down hard on her tail, screeching in pain and rolling to catch the thing in her arms, snapping her jaws frantically over it’s head in an attempt to free herself, but the heavy dragon held on with an iron grip.
While she grappled with them, Storm fought a losing battle against the pearl-catcher, cowed out of his initial ferocity as the grey nocturne returned and took to snatching at him from the air and sending him toppling through the grass.
Newt held his own against the scarred mirror, but only just, and both had drawn blood; wasting no time in tearing one another up.
Bone caught the furred mirror beneath his claws, nipping at them and shredding through their soft armor. When they squealed, he let them free, giving their tail a last nip as they charged blindly for the entrance of the cave.
The guardian, caught in the close quarters, fought with a clear panic and frustration, tail smacking hard into friend and foe as he tried to get his bearings and escape the cave.
The nocturne lunged for Serpenta, jaws snapping shut and tearing through her as he landed, only to watch her false image spill away from his jaws, frowning and snarling as she barreled into the side of his head, scouring his face before flying out of reach again, dive bombing him over and over again until his frustration grew and he sprinted for the exit.
“Leech, what are you doing!?” Siskah cried, stumbling over himself as she lunged, snarling, landing just short of sinking her claws into him again.
“Defending my home!” She snarled, hate thick in her voice.
“We don’t have to fight!”
“It’s too late for that, Siskah!” Leech spat, advancing on the other. “We won’t give you a single grain of salt! Leave us alone!”
She tackled the other again while the others rushed for the exit, biting down hard on his crest, but feeling a pang of guilt as he cried out, though only until he raked his claws over her stomach, rolling over her, but the hesitation in his eyes as he bared his teeth only fueled her anger.
She drove him against the wall, snarling as he scrambled to his feet and fled desperately.
Following Bone, she chased after the fleeing dragons, adrenaline deafening the pain.
As she burst into light, the two clans clashed together in a bloody struggle, and she stood frozen for a split second before rushing to her brother’s side, lunging for a scrappy - looking pearlcatcher and driving her to the ground, sinking her claws into the other’s side.
The pearlcatcher caught her ribs hard with a gilded horn, kicking her hard, but a battering of blows atop the other’s head sent her packing while Stormclaw gained ground on the nocturne.
“Thank you,” Gasped Stormclaw seconds before the grizzled she-mirror barreled into his side.
“Storm!” She cried furiously, but her world turned upside down as she was struck suddenly, rolling to the ground under the claws of Condor.
Locust’s air was forced from her lungs in painful burst as incredible weight drove her to the ground.
Her tail free from the snapper, she grappled with alarm against the new force, kicking hard and struggling to her feet. She caught a glimpse of a massive, bluish guardian for only a second before he lunged again, jaws wide before he snapped down on her throat.
She scrambled against his thick armor in vain, claws getting caught in the plates as she sought any sort of purchase, any weak spot, but found nothing as they tumbled across the earth.
Fighting for her life, she beat against him until he briefly released her, but only long enough to lunge again.
Locust gasped in air and ducked her head, leaping past him, but was driven to the ground at the edge of the lair wall as he bowled into her side. As her body crashed into the lair-side, the walls shook, pebbles rolling down past her claws.
Rolling quickly, she struck him hard with an open paw, disorienting him long enough to gain ground and turn on him, meeting another ferocious lunge as he sunk his teeth into her throat again, refusing to let go.
She roared in strangled pain, fighting back for all she was worth against his indomitable weight. Giving up all hopes at breaking through his thick armor, she drove him back against the wall of the cave with a heavy push, her muscles screaming in protest as she fought against his strength.
The cave rattled with the first bash, but he barely reacted beyond biting down harder, cutting off her air.
With all she had left, she bashed him against the stone again, and a third time as her vision faded.
Suddenly his grip on her released as a massive bolder toppled down and struck his head, followed by a shower of heavy rocks, battering him to the ground.
Falling away, she scrambled back as the massive guardian was all but buried in the falling stone, gasping in shock as she regained her breath, laying frozen among the battle as the rocks came to a still.
Violet watched in frozen terror from their hiding place atop the lair, Skink pressed close to her side as the fight raged on below. She dug her claws into the stone, praying for the others to come out alright. She watched Newt hold his own bravely, Serpenta distracting the aggressors with diving strikes, and held her breath, head pounding in fear. and when she caught sight of the armor-clad nocturne, bowling down Leechroot.
Her breath caught in her throat, caught in shock until she watched Skink brush past her.
“Skink! Stay here!” She hissed in horror.
“They’re hurting Leech!” He cried, scrambling out of the small alcove and rushing down the slope of the cave, wings spread as he half rushed, half glided towards his sister.
Leechroot wrestled desperately with the Nocturne, but felt her rage and adrenaline fade into worry and then terror as he battered her mercilessly, scouring her hide and driving her back. She snapped and tried to match his blows, but stumbled over her own feet as he pressed on until she rolled, falling on her back.
He lunged for her throat and she gripped his helmet in her claws, kicking against his chest and belly in desperation as he caught her in his jaws, but nothing seemed to phase him.
Suddenly the Nocturne screeched, releasing her and wheeling around, his helmet was tugged free from his head.
Disoriented and struggling to get up, Leech felt her heart stop as she saw Skink, clamped firmly onto the much larger dragon’s tail.
Before she could move, the Nocturne swung his armored tail hard, smashing the younger dragon into the ground and wheeling on the stunned mirror with jaws open.
“No!” Leech wailed, leaping up, but far too slow.
As she cried out, Violet barreled into the Nocturne’s face, digging her claws into him ferociously and sending the Nocturne backpedaling in pained shock.
Skink squawked pitifully in fear as he was released, bolting away, but the victory didn’t last long.
Condor clawed the fae from his face as she tried to fly away, smashing her into the ground and catching her in his jaws, shaking and tossing her limp form to the ground.
Rage blocking out all else, Leechroot lunged thoughtlessly at the nocturne, driving him to the ground, racking her claws over him before he bowled her off.
He lunged again, and instead of meeting him, Leechroot spun on her paws, feeling triumph rush through her as her armored tail smashed into his exposed head, scouring his face and sending him toppling back with the blow.
Struggling to his feet, Condor sputtered, half blind and badly wounded from the blow. She let him go as he stumbled over his paws to escape her, crying out for the others to retreat, and forgetting him as she rushed to her mother’s side, finding Storm and Newt already there.
Poole stood, made of stone as the rocks showered Silvermane, burying her mate under their weight.
Her wings drooped at her sides, the cries of the battle fading into distant muffled as she let the smaller mirror flee from beneath her claws.
She stepped forward slowly, then broke into a run towards the fallen stone.
“Silver!” She screamed, clawing desperately at the earth, forgetting everything else.
The stone scraped her paws and broke her claws but she couldn’t feel it as she dug with everything she had, hide hot with fear beneath her battered armor.
When the stones fell away from his still form, she felt the rest of her senses bleed away, legs suddenly weak.
She stumbled back, mouth dry, as she heard the furious, pain tinged cries of Condor echo across the grassland.
“Fall back! Fall back!”
Stepping backwards in a daze, she turned, bowling senselessly into a dragon and scrambling past them, fleeing blindly after her commander.
Violet stirred, moaning weakly as her senses returned to her, complete with the searing, aching pain throughout her body.
“Vi?” She blinked drowsily at Newt’s voice, eyelids fluttering as she tried to focus through the pain fogging her head.
She opened her eyes to Newt, Leech, Storm, Skink, Bone, and Locust around her, and felt her heart swell with warm relief.
“You… You’re all okay?”
The light in the cave was flickering and dim from candles, lighting the others gently. She couldn’t see them clearly, but they looked okay, if roughed up.
“We’re fine, Vi. How are you feeling?” Newt questioned, touching his nose to her cheek with tears in his closed eyes.
Violet tried to raise her head, nuzzling him back and taking in the bitter smells around her, and looking over herself now; bandaged tightly, with a strange yellow mush seeping through the wraps.
“I… It hurts. What…?”
“You saved Skink and I.” Leechroot murmured with a warmth Violet hadn’t heard from her since she was a little hatchling. “I - We - Thought you were dead.” She whispered, usually tough voice wavering.
Violet looked over Leech and Skink, who crept closer, but made no move to cuddle against her injured form. She laid her paw over his instead.
“I’m sorry, mom.” He whimpered.
“Don’t be.” Leech countered, “You were very brave. Don’t ever do it again.” She added with a growl.
“We won?” Violet questioned softly.
Bone nodded, although his eyes held no warmth of pride or triumph
“For now.”
Addendum to Home
Some time after the battle.
After the Battle
After changing Violet’s poultices, Storm wandered out of the cave, taking in the late autumn air and looking across the overgrown fields.
Still no sign of Leech.
He’d only caught her faint scent trails since the fight, and was growing worried for the other, but he’d had little time to look for her with gathering herbs and watching over Violet in her dire state.
Deciding it would wise to search for more marigold anyway, he wandered into the grassland, making his way slowly through the territory.
Locust wasn’t in the Sanguine wood, nor the Bamboo forest, and the seashore was bare.
Increasingly fretful, he continued on, along the damp soil of at the edge of the mire, and finally reaching the edge of the river between their territory and the wastelands.
Sighing shakily, he turned to leave when he caught a flash of a purple wing across the river, between the foliage of the small island in the center of the rushing water.
“Leech!?” He called, but his voice was drowned out in the rapids.
Uncertain, he took to the air, his shadow passing over the dark river as he flew low, making his way to the island and touching down gently on the cold mud of the island.
“Leech?” He called again, but received no answer.
Maybe he was imagining things?
His doubt faded into confusion as he heard a few soft squeaks, and made his way cautiously into the undergrowth.
He found his sister curled tightly in a mossy nest. She raised her head, eyes round in surprise as he pushed through the foliage.
“Leech? What are you doing out here?” He questioned, relief washing over him as he saw she was okay, but she drew her crests back defensively.
“Storm, I-”
Her voice died away at the sound of another faint squeak, and his eyes fell on the pale hatchling nestled against her stomach.
Storm blinked in confusion.
“Leech, where did that come from?” He questioned, but she only stared back at him pointedly, worry plain on her tense face.
“Is it... yours? But…?” He questioned incredulously.
She hesitated, drawing the hatchling closer as he approached.
“Mine and Siskah’s.” She whispered. “I only knew just before the battle.”
Storm lowered himself carefully, drawing closer to see the little one, still barely able to believe it, but he could see his sister tense, a protective growl escaping her throat.
“Don’t-” She snarled.
“I won’t hurt her.” He replied, wounded by her sudden fear of him.
Leechroot softened slightly, shifting. “Sorry... I know.”
“Is this why you’ve been gone?”
“No, I was chasing butterflies.” Leech snapped.
“How would I know? You didn’t tell anyone.” Storm retorted.
“I can’t tell them, not after everything, what will they do?”
“Leech… You can’t just keep her a secret forever.” Storm added, looking over the newborn with wonder as she nestled closer to her mother for warmth. "They won't do anything bad."
“How can you know that?”
Storm tilted his head.
“It’s mom and dad, Leech. You… You’re all stressed out. Things will be okay. I can talk to them first. She’ll be safer in the lair.”
Storm dug her claws into the soil, curling her tail around her baby.
“What if things aren't okay? What if they chase us out? Please don’t tell them.” She pleaded.
Storm drew back a little. “It’s okay, it’ll be okay, I promise. They won’t chase you out. Trust me. They love you, you know.” Storm chided.
“Storm…”
“I’ll talk to them first, and come back. Trust me?”
Leech watched him with unusual fear in her ruby eyes.
“Leech?”
His sister watched her baby with a mix of worry and love before she nodded gently.
“I’ll be back soon.” Storm assured, before heading off through the trees.
Later that evening, Leech carried the hatchling carefully up the slope to their home, passing timidly through the arch of the cave, refusing to meet her parent’s eyes as she laid the baby in her nest, giving her a gentle lick while the little one stared around at the strange dragons.
Newt approached her, and she glanced up sheepishly, only to see a calm smile on his face as he drew closer.
She watched in surprise as he sniffed at the hatchling and the little one returned the curious greeting.
“She’s beautiful.” Newt told her, before brushing against Leech and resting his head over her shoulders for a moment before drawing gently back.
Leech took a shaky sigh of relief, watching as Violet hobbled over on her injured paws, her eyes damp and crests raised attentively.
“Hello. I’m Violet.” She told the little one. “What’s your name?” She asked, half looking to Leech as the little one burbled in response.
“Clover.” Leech told her mother, warmth flooding her chest. “Her name is Clover.”
Ping List:
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Everburn
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LionHeart27
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sunnydaysss
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Dachshund59
Notes:
-Silvermane Fainted
-Sorry for two pings in one fr rollover, I really wanted to get his out and this was my only chance.
-Leechroot and Siskah had a one-egg nest and it got heads and survived. This was one of those things where I bred them impulsively and had to work the story around it haha.
-That's it for this part, ill start another one when I get back.
To Lionheart27
Thank you so much for the feedback, I appreciate it, and it's really nice to hear you guys are enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it!
I'll try to give Storm some more love!
To Daschund59
Thank you! I appreciate the feed back
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Breloom
Oh, thank you! I wish you luck with your Nuzlocke as well, I'm glad this inspired you! Would you like me to add you to the ping list? Thank you for the feed back as well!
