FSE

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Chapter 12

"Polywhat?" Infinity pulled back, trying to uncover the mystery in his eyes. His chuckle didn't help to illuminate the question. But it did rub her scales the wrong way. "I was being serious!"

"I know, I know." Lyyreth planted himself opposite her, holding claws up from her sudden barrage of batting. "Just not used to the ones being taught...Not knowing anything of what's being taught.

"I know..." She sighed, ears pinning to her head. "I didn't ask to-" She was cut off by a single digit to her maw.

"Shh...I wasn't not going to teach you. I mean come on...That would be ridiculous." He smiled a warmth spread about her belly and so did she.

"Okay." She composed herself, trying to wiggle free the warmth through her tail. With a serious of rumbles and tapped her claw. "Well. Where do we begin? Is it like the spell with the water?"

"Hold on hold on. Love the enthusiasm." He amusingly chuckled, eyes traveling to her hinds and back again. "Polymorphing is the ability to change into different animals or even be able to shift one's size."

"Other animals?" She laughed, cocking her head. Surely, he wasn't serious.

"How is that outlandish?"

He had her there. So, she stifled her laugher and apologized. "You may proceed."

He nodded, "And all dragons can usually do this. Well...Blue's can't but that's because they have thicker scales." He stopped and tapped his chin. "Guess that would include purple dragons as well."

She grabbed his face, drawing his gaze back to her. How cute he was, but they were doing something. "Focus."

"Ah yes." He laughed, frills fluttering like a butterfly. "But any dragon can. Even you! Or at least in theory." Gently he placed a talon to her shoulder, then a series of other places. "It should come as easily as the magic did to you. You know...Unless you're not really a dragon and fooling us this entire time."

"You've caught me." She rolled her eyes, placing a claw to her chest. "Happened to be a smarter than the average hydra that got far too above her head."

He laughed, she laughed, and the air filled with their warmth. When it died away she was left fixated on what he'd said. Any creature? The possibilities were endless.

"And you're serious. Any creature at all?" She listed off at least dozens of animals she was aware of as her tail thumped behind her. All the pictures Axton had showed her as he laid upon her lap or she curled around his sitting form. She lingered for far too long on the eating habits of the desert kangaroo from western Rothdell. Commenting on how cute the tiny pouches the mothers had to carry their young.

"Well you'd have to have seen them." Lyyreth pointed to his eyes. "You know...with these."

As he giggled, she playfully scowled. "I know that you green dunce." She halfheartily swatted his snout away with a thump of her tail. But that certainly begged the question on what she could choose. They hadn't seen many in the flesh at the tower. She drooped for but a second before shooting up with a smile. "Do pictures in a book count? Cause otherwise I'm only down to rabbits, fish and deer. Maybe a mule from that one town? Either way, far too little a number."

"Not sure." He rumbled as she flared her spines. "Mother said something about getting the smell and sounds right...Don't think you can get that from a book."

Well of all the things, that certainly tossed a scale into her plans. Figures they had to dash her hopes like that. "Do I have to taste it then?" She grumbled sarcastically. "Or have to smack it a few dozen times with my claws?. Perhaps I have to cook it up a-" She grinned as his snout took on a more stern like visage. Almost a first for him.

"You're not takin this seriously."

She shoved him with a wing "Don't you have joking in that forest of yours? It was what the humans would call..." She rolled her claw, choosing her words as if she were talking to a freshly born pup. "Lighten up."His only reply came in a silent stare, the fluttering of his frills egging her further on."Besides. Like I'd go about licking every animal we came across. I think they'd start to get confused."

Lyyreth shifted in place, his sternness cracking like an egg. He fought back a chuckle but tried to shield it away with a claw. Clearly he had some draconic pride in him. "That would be preposterous. Who would lick every animal...Or make a spell like that?"

"I wouldn't know." She rolled her eyes, shoving him again to a belly warming chuckle. "But that sounds like a spell I'd invent. Can you imagine?" She chuckled softly, getting captivated by a family of ducks passing overhead. Their wings held wide into a peaceful glide. Their family spread out on either side of them to form a V. One part of life that was denied her, a loving family to help her grow. Instead she got a lich and years upon years of misfortune. Her chest ached as if wounded, filled with a longing that twisted like a serrated knife and sprouted icy roots that burrowed deep into her ribs. Quick distraction of the mind was in order. She scooched closer as the male was following along in her movements, clearly enjoying the time with her by the quickened breaths he was taking. Was he nervous? She coughed softly to get his attention. "Who showed you how to do this polymorph? Was it that red friend of yours?"

"Hardly." The green laughed, "He was rough with it at first...But actually...You can probably guess who did." Lyyreth padded after her as she took a few steps away. "Mother of course." His words came slow, tentatively stepping around the hole in the room. "Most dragon parents would I imagine. Add that to the magic lessons...The hunting lessons..."

"Can you show me that as well?" She spun around so fast she nearly sliced him with her tail. She had to make up for last time, right? Cobble together a life for herself. Finally, be normal after all those years in the tower. It's what Axton would have wanted, it's what her father wanted, hell, it's what she wanted.

"You'd want to know?"

"No. That's why I just asked you." She snorted, playfully rolling her eyes. "But if you want an exchange... I can teach you about hunting and hiding your longful looks from a _very_vigilant dragoness."

He blushed, turning his head away,"And will the dragoness keep slipping she finds you cute whenever she talks?"

"Ahem." She softly kneaded the ground as they both giggled. "Yes...that."

"I would like to add to the agenda that I said I wasn't gandering at you."

"And I'd like to second the motion that I don't believe a word." She circled him before sliding in, pushing one of his forelimbs with her nose. "Now show me. Before I lose what dwindling patience I have."

"Um...Sure." With but a sneeze the dragon explained the basics. How to breathe properly. Guide the magic through her limbs as she also focused on the form she wished to take. With an accompanying motion to her forehead she could transform into anything she imagined.

To show her he sat upright, did the required motions and tapped his onyx armored snout. In a puff of thick, lavender smoke the dragon vanished, only to be replaced with a brown and white feathered duck with a cute yellow bill.

"You're a duck!" She instantly dover in her snout to sniff at him. Her nose nearly knocked over the feathery thing as she prodded and watched with a swaying tail. He looked like one, smelled like one. The longer she stared the more she forgot a dragon had just been in front of her. "You're a gosh damned duck!"

When he shifted back she was more than ready to start herself. Her heart was racing, claws were trembling. Only made worse when Lyyreth swooped in to guide her movements with his own paws. Despite her willpower she giggled and nuzzled at him, lost to the growing warmth between them. He returned it in kind, almost making her swoon and lean against him. Though he put an end to that as he dragged her back to the starting position.

"Mind on task! Mind on task!"

"Speak for yourself." With a smirk she composed herself. "Let's see if this comes naturally to me as the water trick in the river." Practically bouncing on her paws, she circled him, nosing at him to continue.

"So any animal I can think of huh?" She sat down, placing a paw to her head.

"Any that you've seen. So, a bird or a fish."

"Or a deer, duck or horse." She stuck out her tongue like a sword. When he sneezed nervously, she wiggled her tail and closed her eyes. At first she focused on the spell, thinking of a duck just like he'd been moments ago. Keep it simple and just do what'd he'd done, but something brought an end to it. From her mind came the fleeting image of a creature with tiny spots all over its furry body. Little whiskers extended from it's white, furred face. It had cute little wedge like ears, and a tail that whipped about when it made a purring noise.

Feline. At least that's what she thought it was called. She recalled the similar shape and fur pattern from a book she and Axton had read. But it wasn't this feline. Nor did that explain how she knew how it smelled faintly musky, nor how it slunk about like a hunter on the prowl. It was adorable to be sure...But how she exactly knew was eluding her. Enough so that she was certain her face was going to be scrunched up if she held it any longer. When the magic started welling up in her limbs she'd already decided, this was going to be the form she took.

Each breath was laced with a smoky scent as a lavender cloud consumed her. Her body trembled and numbed as if in a deadfall, but only for fleeting seconds at a time. She hacked and coughed as the grass that she could see sprung upwards, till it was tickling at her belly scales. What was the meaning of this?

When she looked she nearly leapt up in surprise. Her body was skin, bones, and covered in tan fur. She rose a white, furred paw, staring at the tiny pink beans that rested on the underside. She could almost giggle at how adorable they looked, before unsheathing her claws one by one.

"Is it possible to shift without knowing a form?" She tried to ask but only meowed. Meow? What kind of sound was that?" She started to try and wave away the purple smoke, ears twitching absentmindedly on her head. This continued until her paw struck the nosey face of a curious green scaled tree. That tree turned out to be a dragon's nose. Lyyreth's nose to be exact, and his yellow pools filled to the brim with excitement.

"Now isn't that an interesting form." Lyyreth towered over her like a mountain, his inquisitive sniff ruffling her fur like a strong breeze. "I think the humans call it a cat. A rothdellian sand bean to be exact." The green dragon pulled back, chuckling at his knowledge.

She leaped away from him, contouring her body to get a good look. She was certainly this cat creature. Down to the very little spot she imagined on it.No wings, scales, or even spikes along her body! With a paw she tried to smack at her tail. It wasn't hard at all! As the green amusingly watched her display she pranced around the area, rolling at times to get a feel of all of her fur over the grass. She ended up on her belly, tail flicking lazily back and forth as Lyyreth followed. When his nose returned, she smacked it away with her paws. She hadn't meant to do that.

Was it an instinct? She looked at her paws as that wedge of a nose chuckled mere inches above her. Better yet, where had she seen this before. Especially if this came from the kingdom of Rothdell. She'd never been there before.

Was it one of Hadariel's memories? She stared for a tad too long, gazing deeply up into Lyyreth's eyes. Like those sunflower seas sparkling in the sun somehow contained the answer she sought.

"Well you look cute as a cat. Like a miniature, furry dragon."

She purred at the compliment. If only she could talk in this form. It was going to get awfully annoying if she had to mime all her requests.

"Bet you wish you could talk right now. One negative about it unfortunately. The form you need to take has to have the capacity fo-"

She leaped up and smacked him in the nose. When he stared down she gave him narrowed look and nodded. Of course I do.

Sighing, Lyyreth reached out to caress along her back. His pads making her butt shoot straight up on it's own accord. Little tremors of electric pleasure trembled through her, guiding her along his entire pad to seek out more. Once more she was slave to instinct, purring madly away with her eyes closed. Slowly she basked in the pleasurable glow he'd subjected her to.

"Instincts are one of the hardest things to fight initially. You'll laugh at the first-time brother and I became horses. He couldn't stop gobbling down hay." Lyyreth's pleasure pad came to a stop, so she smacked his paw with her own. "Hey!" He recoiled like he'd been bitten, dramatically flaring out his wings and frills in alarm.

Crouching she purred, eyes dilating as she watched him. Her tail flicked at her paws, her body tensing, ready to pounce as the green dragon shifted from claw to claw. He mimicked her stance, lowering himself to her level.

"Are you trying to hunt me? That's adorable!"

She pounced her reply with outstretched claws.

Away the green dragon scampered, throwing up dirt and golden grass loosed by his claws. Round trees and bushes she chased after his heels, ignoring the brazen fact he was letting her keep up. He laughed joyously in the air, just barely keeping his tail away from her eager, smacking paws. Her hunt brought them darting around a moss eaten stump, scattering what bugs lurked there in an explosion of multicolored wings. Flower and plants tried to halt them but they were trampled under soft and scaled paw alike.

But then things changed as the laughing green dragon leaped a tad into the air, and was consumed by his own dark lavender cloud. When he landed, he was but another cat. One nearly identical to hers. He gave her a crouched look that told her deep into her bones he wasn't going to stop.

Oh, so he wanted to make this fair? That was his mistake.

His ears twitched as he detected her joyful pounce, rolling with her in the grass as they crashed together into a pile of fur and tails. He batted her with his paws, then playfully gnawing at her neck. To that she put it to an end by smacking him upside his face, and unwinding herself with a growl. To her threat he froze in place, and when her paw next touched the ground he bolted up a tree. His claws hardly left a trace on the towering pillar of bark and leaves.

Down he laid on one of the branches, spiny tongue licking his paws. Almost like he were trying to tease her. His tail dipped over, swaying almost seductively. Begging her to catch it.

Upright she sat, watching it sway, fighting the overpowering sensation to catch it between her paws. With each pendulous movement she thought of all the other animals she could try. Would they be different? Different baseline senses? More instincts to fight and learn about? She could spend years trying to get to know numerous forms, traveling the world possibly to see as many animals as she could find. Could she become a human? His tail flicked again and her mind steeled.

_Back to the matter at paw._She had a cat to catch.

Up she leaped, paws narrowly missing the flicking tail. She landed but a distance away, yet not to be discouraged she returned to do it again and again. Though this time Lyyreth peered over with those big, yellow eyes of his.

"Meow." Her playmate asked, the tilt of his head still cute no matter his form.

Hmmmm. She'd have to catch this tail at the source. With a burst of energy and unsheathing of her claws she raced up the reluctant tree. Her quarry had nearly a second to retreat but she closed the distance. But he had one more dirty trick up his furry sleeve.

Lyyreth leapt from the branch! So of course, so did she, and again the chase was on. For countless minutes of unbridled happiness, they wove around the numerous trees, stumps, vines, even a lap or two around Cordenth's sleeping form. Who didn't even stir a scale with their passing. Their game shifted as her paw sought out his flank. This prompted a dead stop, spinning around and bolting like a loosed arrow.

How she'd missed this. Running about without a care, blood coursing through her veins, heart in her ears. The breaths passing through her lungs faster and with great heat. Pure excitement filled the marrow of her bones, bringing life to new waves of energy. Lyyreth to her surprise was much better than she'd thought he'd be at this game of chase. Course, he did have a brother. Perhaps they practiced this when they were little? But he caught her eventually, grabbing at her flank. The game flipped once again, and she was chasing him instead.

She'd sneak glances at his determined face during his turn to chase, her ears pinned down. Once or twice she considered letting him catch her. At least give him an easy win once an awhile. But each time this thought would whisper, she'd bolt faster away, leaving the green dragon to taste air. This game ended as her paw slipped and the ground gave way by the water bank, and down she went into the cold water.

She exploded with smoke as the river struck at her like an icy knife. Up she grew, scales flowing over her body as she cackled away like a woman gone mad. She fell to her side in the shallows of the water, splashing water every which way as she unleashed her unbridled joy. When was the last time she'd been this happy? Act like all the weight of the world was stopped for just a moment? Her scales glowed with heat; her head was delightfully fuzzy. For once, she was glad to be alive. She couldn't help but giggle softly and smile as Lyyreth appeared over her. Not as a cat, but his proper form.

"Good to see you in such an agreeable mood."

"She splashed his snout with a laugh. "Oh, you just like seeing me make an utter fool of myself. Glad that's what you call agreeable."

"Of course not." His snout wrinkled as she righted herself and rose to all fours. "Just..." His voice grew a tad quieter as he met her eyes. "Like seeing you happy is all. Not to say you've not been happy...But this is more..pure..um..yea." His frills grew dark green as he clearly fought off a growing sneeze.

Of course he'd care more about her than the wound in his chest. With a playful roll of her eyes, she strolled over and nosed at his cheek. Then she splashed him good and proper, so that he may join her in her wetness.

"Hey! I was offering my honest words." He laughed, trying to nip at her tail as they pranced around in the shallows.

"And I thought you could use more water. Here, have some more!" Her tail dragged a wave of water to crash upon his horned head, leaving the dragon dripping She stopped to giggle, laughing as water curled through every green and black scale like rivers along a mountain.

"Think that's funny?"

"That a trick question?" She smiled, only to suddenly yelp as a green weight pounced onto her. Over she tumbled through the shallow water, getting thoroughly soaked from scale to tail. Ending only when he'd been on top of her, paws across her chest. He was panting, frills dark green. She was caught by his eyes as her breaths mirrored his own. "Rather rude of you." She said softly, "To suddenly pounce. Whoever taught you something like that?"

"Maybe it was." He wiggled his nose. "But someone was rudely splashing away like an unruly wyrmling."

She mocked a gasp. "Whoever could _that_have been?"

"You know how cold this water is?"

"Enough to upset a green dragon." She tapped at his chest grinning, earning herself a rumble in return. Both chuckled, intertwining their growly sounds with that of the water around lazily drifting by them. They held each other in view for a tad too long, at least until both were trying to look away with burning scales. "Can you possibly...Maybe get off? I'd rather not have you on top of me all day."

Before he could even offer a counter phrase or catch her on her words, she cut his snout off with a paw. "I know how that sounds, but can you get off?" She showed her teeth, giving him the most innocent eyes she could give. "Please?"

"Fine." He snorted, rolling off her. "Anything for the princess I suppose."

"Wrong again miss royalty." She strut over to him, nuzzling along his serpentine neck. Like little sparks of lightning black scales met green, "You're the princess. I'm the knight."

"Right." He nuzzled back, his soft rumble making her push harder against him. "How could I forget?"

For moments words didn't come, only nuzzling against one another to a chorus of their combined hums. Black scale met green, she softly licked his frill, he returned it with a tongue to her cheek. Nothing else seemed to matter as she continued this dance, he draped a wing around her. She nuzzled softly against his neck.

"Mind the spines." She smiled, basking in the all-consuming warmth. "They can pierce troublesome green dragons."

"How dastardly. They sound terrible."

She gasped, pulling away and smacking his snout. "How dare you say that about my spines. They've been around far longer than you." Before he could even figure out what was going on she'd already wrapped her forelimbs around his neck and dragged him to the earth laughing. "You'll pay for that you know!" Together they fell in a mismatched pile of green and black scales, the setting sun now casting a warm glow about him. Once more she found herself captivated, snouts almost pressed to one another as they panted and rested in their exhaustion.

Like an emerald in the sun she found him handsome to no end. When did this happen? Was it the sun kissing his scales and giving each an enchanting glow? Or was it the way he smelled, or his onyx scales rising and falling with the same excitedness that hers did?

"Have fun?"

"Duh." She softly touched his cheek, "Haven't played like this in ages. Always traveling...Learning...magic...Never any time to just unwind." She sighed in her bliss, wiggling her tail through the grass. "See? Don't listen to that sourpuss of a brother. Stick with me and everything will be alright. Maybe teach me more magic. Better _than_your mother and stuff."

"Really?" His head perked up, frills flaring out. He looked honestly shocked. "You want to?"

She rolled her eyes. "Once again, duh." She pulled his head back down, he licked her nose. Like ice her body froze. So, did he. What should she do? Her heart was racing as she caressed his head. By the wide eyes he gave her, it seemed he didn't know as well. So, without thinking she licked him back, her heart got faster. The air suddenly felt at least ten degrees warmer as they stared into each other's eyes. Panic subsided with every breath, calming as they lost themselves in each other.

"I think you need to get better at hunting though. You're rubbish. Almost like you enjoy a female pinning you to the ground..." She stopped dead, ears splaying on either side as Lyyreth laughed up a storm. "Yes yes, I realize what I said. Laugh it up scale head." She hissed.

The conversation was rather abruptly changed, and she found herself losing track of time as the dragon joyously went on about how to weave spells. He even brought to light something about crafting_holes_ in your spells so they wouldn't hurt chosen people you didn't want to. Though he admitted he had been unable to replicate the effect. He even made it a point to illuminate her on that he could change your breath.

"Like I could breath electricity?" Her eyes lit up, but then narrowing. "Or do you mean like changing it to be warm or cold or something, or make it smell like rancid meat."

"The first one." He chuckled. "Though that would be rather shocking to be honest."

So, she smacked his snout for his bout of punnery. "Stop with the puns. We've talked about this."

"Never!" That green snout wiggled away into the grass, halfheartedly batting at her with his claws. What began as a slight pat turned into full-fledged wrestling once again, bringing devastation to the grass as the two dragons rolled about the golden field to the enchanting sight of the sun. But eventually they tired as limbs dragged them down, and the sounds of their pants became more frequent. Even the sun itself seemed to put an end to it, slowly sinking to the horizon and bathing the sky in vibrant strands of lavender and grey.

"Guess we should get back to your brother." She sighed, flopping next to him with an all too earned smirk on her snout.

"I guess so." He replied, a look of utter content on his. "Though do we need to? Everything seems so much better here."

Her scales tingled as he said the last words, eyes giving her a cautionary glance. Was he still not saying anything? She chuckled at how dark green his frills were now. Practically the same color of the trees back home. "I suppose so." She wiggled over to him, rubbing her scales against him in an affectionate nuzzle. Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't mind, simply continuing her affectionate assault while her purrs of pleasure filled the air. For minutes they nuzzled against one another, content to bask the time away and stay lost within the aura of each other's glow. When the sun had almost slipped the bonds of the earth they had cantered back to Cordenth, who despite his earlier nap was alert and as diligent as ever.

"You've been quite the busy dragons." He eyed them both with a growling suspicion that made Infinity shift from paw to paw. Whatever he was insinuating wasn't true.

"Whatever is going through that head of yours didn't happen." She snorted, her spines springing to life. "Someone had to keep his mind of the present." She strut around with a raised snout passing the judging green. "Not lazily drifting off into the slumber land. Like some _other_dragons we know."

Cordenth wrinkled his snout, snapping to Lyyreth and searching him up and down. "And how about you. Feeling alright? Ache doing any good? Getting tunnel vision? Fuzziness in your claws?"

"You can stop your worrying mother." Lyyreth grumbled, circling a spot in the grass before flopping with a pleased groan. "I didn't break a talon or wing. Nor do I have little wounds that need kisses."

"Keep that tone and you'll have one of those things." Cordenth countered in a guttural growl. Though Lyyreth shied away from this, the green dragon snapped to her with a hardened gaze. "And since when have you been this argumentative? Guess you find yourself wound up in her feminine charms?"

"Feminine charms? If I had those, you'd not be such a stick in the mud." She laughed, passing the pair with a jovial swish about her tail. "Maybe next time Cordenth you should join us if you're being so inquisitive." She grinned, meeting the green's eyes and showing off every tooth she had. "Instead of getting a good look at the back of your eyelids."

"Seriously?" His frills flared out as he continued to pester them about their exploits. Question after question spewing forth like a broken dam.

"And he says he's not our mother." Infinity laughed, giving Lyyreth a playful eye. The green quickly caught on and joined her. This all but wedged a knife below Cordenth's scales.

"Well. At least I was cared about him!" His tail thumped defiantly on the grass. "Instead of playing about like a couple of newly hatched wrymlings." His wing talon thrashed out, pointing square to his brother's chest. "Especially when he has that _thing._Living in him. How you can run around, and play is beyond me. I'm starting to think that you're positively mental."

That was crossing a line. Infinity merely growled, nearly lighting the air ablaze with her hardened glare as Lyyreth gasped his surprise.

"You know what? I don't think you're even worth the trouble." She declared, casting a wing between them and lowering herself to the grass. "I'd start treating your brother like a dragon instead of a hatchling before you start judging how others treat him."

"How would you even know that?" Cordenth countered. "You were locked in a tower since your youth. The fact you try to preach about anything is comical. What you know could be counted on two claws!"

Her wing retraced as she snapped her teeth, but she didn't have to respond. Lyyreth was right to her side, defending her with bright eyes. His teeth already bared and frills flaring threatenly.

"That was too far brother. She may not have the experience we had. But she has had some regardless. To disregard her is the closest to a true insult you could lay bare before our claws. So, stop treating me like a child. I don't need to be defended at every hour. Who held their own against Grozo? Who helped with the bring an end to that fort? Who's still breathing after all this time?" The green proudly flared his wings. "That's right...Me."

"Fine." Cordenth snarled, casting his brother a withering glance. "But don't come whining to me when things go more south than a gryphon's thoughts." The green dragon snorted, stomping his way away from them until flopping down with an angry snort.

Well, she didn't expect to do that. Though she moved close to Lyyreth, her attention focused on Cordenth's flicking tail. She sighed, her spines dropping in time with her. "Listen Cordenth. Back at the tower. There were days where I didn't know how things would play out. If the horror, we were experiencing would ever change or get better. The weight of such things crushed down on my spirit till I considered taking my own life."

Her head lowered nearly to the grass, ignoring Lyyreth's own as he pushed it in with a whine. His concern was touching, but not needed at the time. She softly rose a paw and pushed it away.

"Do you know how hard it is to like_anything?" She rose her brow as a pair of icy blue eyes hung about the air. "We coped with everything that was thrown at us. Axton and I. Found solace in what fleeting moments we found. When the entire world felt like it was crumbling around us. So, you'll forgive me if I try to comfort your brother in the only way I know how." Ice flickered across her heart as Axton's playful laughter came faintly in a faint breeze. "What's the alternative? Dreadfully focus on the next part of this quest? I _pray that the healer we seek is where it ends. For if it's not..." She swallowed hard a lump in her throat. "I honestly can't bear to think what happens next...Just another person I couldn't...."She sniffed, wiping away a droplet of moisture from her eye. Oh great, now he was going to think her soft or something. Nothing but a crybaby of a dragon.

But Cordenth didn't say anything mocking or condescending. He simply regarded her with the interest a scholar might to a lecture. The proud green shifted a paw in the grass before letting out a deep sigh. His tail curled around him, and any aura of malice was extinguished with the evening's breeze.

"Then continue to do what you're doing."

_Well that was bloody surprising._She expected him to go into another rant and raving about the unorthodoxness about her healing. She found herself stunned, unsure what to do next. She pulled her head when she regained her faculties.

"Cause it's the happiest that I've seen him in a while. Plus, not to mention yourself. Honestly good to see the pleasure on your snouts. Especially after what has...and what's been going on." He stared out to the dwindling sun. His eyes like sunflower specters in the fleeting light. "And I sure as hell won't be the one that stands in the way of this healing regimen. If it truly helps him..." The green sighed again. "Then who am I to stand in the way of that?"

"Wonderful!" She blurted out in a near warble. She practically leaped up, tapping her toes excitedly as the male looked ready to wretch. She padded over to him, tapping the ground near his feat. His attention drew towards her snout, eyes wondering what she had in store. She grinned. "Now say it right."

"Right how?"

"For being a tight scaled worry wort.." Her statement hung in the air as he regarded her like she'd just told an out of season joke. "Well go on then." With a wave of her paw she chuckled In the back of her throat. "I'm not joking."

But Cordenth didn't reply, his scaly ridge ever rising in interest. "You're serious right now?"

She nodded. "With all the importance you can muster out of those scales."

He sighed, thwacking his tail on the grass. "FIIIINE." He groaned, flopping his head to the ground with a defeated groan. "I Cordenth do apologize to you lady Infinity on this day for my most grievous words of hurting. Then proceeding to act like..." The green dragon gnashed his teeth, "A tight scaled worry wort."

"See?" She poked his nose with a talon, the green snapped playfully, and she retreated swiftly back. "That's more like it. Especially from a princess."

With her teasing of the older brother complete she crept her way across the field to the resting place of the dragon that'd captivated her interest. The one whose awkwardness had set her heart aglow and pulled her mind into realms she'd not known before. Once, twice she circled his resting place before plopping down beside him with a tired groan. The poor green was too tuckered out, he didn't even lift an inch in her direction.

Stars slowly flickered to life across the violet sky, issuing their greeting from their heavenly resting place. How peaceful they were, just floating ever so out of reach. Even as the ache of the day crawled up her spine she didn't mind, lowering her head and letting out a tired snort. Tired eyes did yield their stalwart ground, and Infinity slowly drifted towards slumber. That was, until Lyyreth nuzzled up beside her.

Her heart stopped as the green scooched closer. The air grew warm as she lay there, brimming with excitement in her shallow breaths. They hadn't cuddled since the night at the town, even if part of her really longed too. It appeared as the though the green had taken the initiative, and she couldn't find the courage to push him away. She basked in the comforting warmth of his scales pressed up to hers, and the securing wing he fastened over her. Without thinking she nuzzled back, resting her snout next to his. The day she couldn't think of getting better somehow did. Maybe she should say something tomorrow? She could rest like this each night. Her tail flicked its last waking motion before the enchanting arms of sleep took her.

* * * * * * * * * *

And so ends another day for the onyx dragoness. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I do really like writing this for her. Especially when stuff gets stacked against her. Course what will come in the night? Another pleasant dream? Or more of Hadariel's memories fleeting at the surface?