FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

Much noise was echoing around him, the entire world was a distorted mess, blurry and uneven, colors mixed together so chaotically that it looked like the surroundings would be painted by every possible color known to the world. The echoing, thudding noises were choking, squeezing as if he would be underwater, abused by the pressure in the depths of an ocean.

"I know Ignus. I knew all along"

Echo of a crackling fireplace rumbled a melody, the wild mixture of colors erupted with a red hue, even if the splashes did not resemble a fire at all, to him the place still looked familiar though, he will never forget that cracking sound.

This is where his family fell apart.

This is where it all had begun.

The horrible disaster that made him addicted to the eye of a bottle.

To red wine.

As red as blood.

The chaotic colors began to take shape, ruined and tethered like old wings, forming the interior of Athron's chambers, never filling its royal structure to the fullest however, remaining a wrecked ruin.

The walls began to drip with blood.

Exactly how he remembered it last time he was here.

"You gave me no other choice" he heard his own voice, more red paint spurted in the air of colors, precisely from the spot where he remembered he stood on that day, the color of anger spat out of his mouth

The fireplace formed itself, the only thing here that took its royal shape to the fullest, inside its belly however wasn't burning wood, but bones. The hazy flames a mixture of marrow and blood.

"Do not treat me as a fool brother. We are of the same blood, the ridicule of your argument is offensive to my intelligence, and to yours. There is always a choice, especially in family, you had made yours"

His sister's shape wriggled into appearance in front of him, no limb taking solid shape however, she was a blue mist, constantly brushed by wind, unstable, fading and yet not truly gone.

Like a ghost.

A memory.

A decision.

A regret.

A curse.

"You became complacent Athron! Blind! You would doom us all! Make our race extinct!" he heard himself scream, his voice however was distant, vibrating, barely coherent, like rusted hinges of an ancient door

He did not want to hear them.

Time showed that they were worthless.

"Did I?"

"Mom! Mom!"

The form of Athron quaked lively, for a moment taking a solid structure, he could see his sister in her full ice draconic feminine glory as she turned towards the new life. Her eyes sparkling with joy.

He saw this image many times over, it always appeared on the glass of almost every bottle, forming itself in the wine even, many times even on his tongue and when that happened he could only get rid of it when he drowned it under a torrent of wine.

Many bottles were needed for it to happen. Passing time only increased the amount.

Sometimes he doubted it even worked, sometimes it felt like he was killing himself with all that alcohol.

A small unimportant detail.

Unimportant in the face of this great regret.

How could he blame her?

What did you do?

"At ItseFA: " his sister exclaimed cheerfully

The whirl of colors turned into a small tornado, blew into the air by the macabre fireplace, the small whirlwind dashed across the room, dominated by mostly blue, letting only white to settle in in the mix until it finally crashed down and with a puff evaporated, giving birth to a small blue hatchling with stripes of white running from her shoulders and around from the eyes.

A very young girl still, but already as beautiful as her mother, a sight to behold and valuable treasure, so innocent.

How could he blame her?

Iris ran towards her mother, flapping her feathery wings excitedly, making a single small, not yet developed properly feather break from the membranes and fly freely around the room. A gold, round necklace with a sparkling, soothing sapphire in the middle jingled from her neck. In her small mouth she was carrying a small toy, much of its structure was made out of blue feathers, just like the ones from her wings.

Athron extended her paw and Iris dropped the toy into her palm, tail wagging excitedly and white, shimmering eyes looking up at her mother, glowing with almost lustful affection.

His sister burst, her scales dissolving, once more adopting the form of the bluish mist as she straightened up and examined the plaything. Among her whole insubstantial shape the toy was the thing that was perfectly solid, as if it was really there to be touched.

He recognized it immediately.

"It's a dove" his sister moved her mouth but it was his voice that said the words, so callously empty

"Yes!" his niece bounced up excitedly "I stitched it myself! It's cool! It's a symbol you know?"

"What does it symbolize?" Athron again moved her lips and just as before it was his voice uttering the words

"Peace" Iris chirped, yet there was no innocent squeak coming out of her mouth, once more it was himself, his full of regret voice

Longing voice.

Defeated voice.

Peace.

A wish.

A far cry.

A lost treasure.

Unattainable.

The wavering form of his sister remained static, the smoky form that represented her head remained hanging over the toy, the shifting mist cracked in the spot where her mouth was, she was smiling.

"Peace" Athron repeated after her daughter, even if her voice this time belonged clearly to her, he could feel his own regret vibrating in it

She knew after all.

"We like peace Itsefa, yes?" she clenched her paw over the toy "Treasure it as much as I will, it is as fleeting as seasons, remember to appreciate it and chase after it when it tries to run away. You find everything in peace"

Iris cocked her small head, scratching the cheek.

"I guess" she frowned, confused

Athron giggled.

"It let's you think clearly, that's important for royalty, keep peace at your side Iris. Remember that and you will live your life to the fullest. We have enough pressure in our lives at it is"

"I don't feel any pressure Mom"

The insubstantial shape of his sister exploded with brighter colors, he immediately felt pride radiating from her as she leaned down, cupping the cheek of her daughter gently, giving her a loving lick across the snout

You provided peace to your daughter Athron, that you did.

Of course you did

How could he blame her?

"Naturally, you're young" she smacked the blue butt, making Iris giggle with a bounce "Speaking of peace, I need some to speak with your uncle, say hallo and go play along. I'll find you when I'm done"

"Alright Mom!" the young dragoness pranced towards his excitedly

"Itsefa"

Iris balked, turning around.

Swimming form of a paw extended towards the young girl, the dove sat on top of it.

"Treasure peace"

Iris giggled, snatching the toy and bouncing on three legs towards him, in all this chaos her young silhouette was pristine, pure and so full of life. Of innocence and sweetness, she was smiling, let the Hells take me, she was smiling.

He already forgot how pretty she was when she did so, how she reminded him of his sister when she did so.

I'm so sorry Iris, so sorry.

If I only knew.

If I only knew.

"Hi uncle!" the young girl stopped in front of him, her tail was making wild, happy swings

He felt himself leaning towards her, paw extending forward.

Don't touch her!

Don't touch her I said!

Stay away you bastard!

He remained deaf to his own shouts, touching the soft blue head and giving it a tender pet.

"Hello Iris, very nice dove you made there"

"Thanks!" the girl grinned

"Play along now, I need to speak with your mother. I'll make it up to you later"

"Will you come play with me in the courtyard uncle?"

Don't you dare!

Do you hear me?

Don't you dare!

"Of course" once again the wails reached deaf ears, his red mouth stretching into a smile after the spoken promise

Iris put the toy in her mouth and ran off into the distance with a lively step her form puffing into streams of blue lines the moment she touched the chaotic, twirling mess of colors at the far end of the room.

"Perhaps you are right Ignus" his sister spoke, her shape once more turning towards the cracking with bones fireplace

Someone seemed to drop more into the pile when he wasn't looking, the skeleton parts were pouring from the opening, the pile too high and thick to house every bone.

Hollow thuds suddenly began to thump all around. The world as well as Athron herself started to pulse to the hollow beat.

"I have neglected my duties, I probably doomed us all, but was there any other possibility? Truly? You know me Ignus. I'm no hero, despite what the stories tell"

The thumping became louder, his sister's silhouette began to crack with the increased pace. The room followed the same path, the shaking colors bursting like bubbles, revealing only blackness or an oblivion behind its frail walls.

"I fought for so long, I'm tired and I deserve some peace. Was few years really too much to ask for?"

More noise, the thuds sounded like a drum now, Athron also joined the surroundings, her misty body breaking apart in small bursts of color, turning into nothingness.

A faded memory.

"No matter. I have no regrets, it was all worth it. I knew what I was doing. What about you Ignus? Do you know?"

She turned around, the surrounding world exploded, eaten away by oblivion, blackness embraced him, devouring all but the unclear draconic face of his sister. Snout that glowed as brightly as the stars on a cloudless night.

"What did you do?"

The head burst with a flash when one of the loudest thuds echoed across the spacious chamber

*

He gasped loudly, jerking his head up, he shielded his eyes behind his paw when suddenly a fierce light struck his eyes.

Daylight.

The world was a mess of colors for a while, for a second he wondered what kind of room from the past will form itself now, but when the red scales woke up, feeling the touch of sun rays on their surface, his mind restarted and started placing everything together.

The colors faded away, molding into solid shape, white, clean walls of a hospital.

He was looking through a window, staring out into familiar landscape.

A city.

Warfang.

Many years have passed since that conversation with Athron by the fire place.

Even the world has changed by now, literally in fact.

It was a dream.

"My apologies for waking you up, I tried to be as silent as possible, my old bones had a different view on the matter it seems. I swear they clack louder on purpose sometimes, just to irritate me"

He balked at the sound of the unexpected voice, heart jumping to his throat and head thrown back so fiercely that the bony extension at the back of his skull banged against the back wall, sending a rattling vibration through his earholes.

It was Athron.

He turned towards the direction from which the sound came, blinking fervently and rubbing the old eyelids to life, between the rubs he could see the swiveling silhouette of his sister.

Was she alive?

The fog cleared after a while, the draconic shape he saw shrunk and thinned, no longer resembling his sister, no longer resembling a dragon in fact.

It was a bipedal creature.

Fur.

Spotted grey fur.

Cheetah.

He shook his head, trying to shake reality back into submission, he planned to do it quickly and painlessly, neither happened however. His head felt like it weighted a ton, not to mention that it was sending agonizing pulses, it was like trying to move a huge, ringing bell tower.

After several more strenuous blinks he finally managed to piece together the shards of reality.

The old healer stood before him.

Amela.

She had her hands wrapped behind her back, watching him apologetically.

"No, no" Ignus rasped, his voice as sore and rough as rock, he immediately reflected himself, even to him his hoarse words were disturbing

The dragon cleared his throat, having difficulties with cleaning the sticky mold hampering his vocal cords. He was forced to turn his head, violently coughing into his fist, in steady spasms feeling as if he was about to choke.

"No" with one final cough he wiped his mouth, his voice still sounded like it was fatigued, but this time though a speck of cleanliness could be heard in his tone

"It is no matter" Ignus shook his head, he could feel his neck doing the movement yet the world began to move the moment he stopped, following the pattern with a considerable delay.

He was still hangover.

The unnatural shaking caused a vertigo.

His back smacked against the wall behind, the bony extensions on the back of his head grated against the wall, sending a delicate punch to his skull.

The bounce almost made him vomit, yet he held to the relief the wall provided, using it as support was far more rewarding than any discomfort could cause. He held tightly to the pleasurable sensation, he drank enough alcohol in his life to learn how to bottle up vomit, it was years since he last gave to the nudge of his stomach, which demanded to expel all that useless, unneeded toxic substance out of the system.

It didn't know however what he did, it didn't have to live with the consequences and constantly dream the taunting dreams of long gone time.

See her when she was long gone.

Fuck you stomach.

Drown in the poison, this is what we both deserve.

"The fault is my alone. I swore to protect my niece, keep vigil, this is my disgrace, you simply spared me more of the shame"

The spotted tail of the healer made a reassuring flick.

"There is no shame in daunting tasks, you've been here for a very long time already, tiredness is understandable. Nevertheless, as times before, I will ask you again to go home after the checkup, after the last accident and the current events the guards are on their toes, nobody will bother the patients unannounced. Iris is in good hands"

Ignus nodded, his duties and personal distractions keep him away from the city, but even he did hear about the elder cheetah's reputation. It was only fair to learn the names of important people dwelling in Warfang after they invited you in.

"I don't doubt that, still I do it mostly for myself, my way of showing care to Iris, even though she doesn't see it"

"I'm sure she does, in her own way"

Ignus smiled weakly.

"I lost faith in that a long time ago"

Amela scratched her earing, to hear words like that from Iris' family was strange indeed and a little bit confusing. The dragoness naturally didn't know how to appreciate care, her rebellious, hostile attitude quite accurately showed that.

But it was only a mask.

She wanted attention, she could clearly see that, she was simply afraid of letting anyone close again, whatever happened to her in the past had greatly wounded her, to the point that even her own mind plays tricks on her. Mental troubles aside, the girl was an example of blunt rejection, she simply didn't want feelings and emotions that made her happy once touch her again, in fear that she might get hurt once more.

Ignus' words however put a very confusing stab into her theory.

"You know her better than I do, but you are still family and I would like to believe that Iris appreciates that"

"Family" the dragon sighed, partially in mockery and partially longingly "This is the epicenter of the issue"

He noticed the healer cocking her head, of course she didn't understand, nobody did. He did not blame her, she like anyone else that tries to judge doesn't know what they had been through, what their lives looked before this Veil chaos.

Iris had become a broken vase that somehow, despite the cracks manages to keep itself together, even though it was shaking wildly.

The dragon waved his paw dismissively, the tip of his burning tail sent out several spark in the air, as if they would be fireworks announcing the end of an event.

"Our relationship is complicated, years of it are simply too difficult to explain to a stranger"

Amela nodded

"I will respect that" she took a deep breath "Let's see how our girl is doing, just in case she would still be sleeping, I suggest that you'll go home if visitation will be still impossible"

"No visitations" Ignus blurted out, rising both paws in the air defensively "I mean, if Iris is awake by any chance" paws dropped, he looked away, staring in the burning face of his tail tip "Don't tell her I'm here please. It's...better this way...for both of us"

She bowed in agreement, as a foster mother and a healer however who witnessed many times that the company of someone close lifted the spirit of the injured up she was greatly against such an idea. Then again it was not her place to convince people how they should live their family lives, as long as it wasn't directly interfering in the medical procedures, she would not serve as a a counselor.

One thing was for certain here, the relations in this family were truly complicated.

She entered the room, gently closing the door behind her.

Iris was still in the bed, lying on her belly, practically in the same position they found her in the sewers, merely flipped from her back as to allow a better air flow and digestive capabilities. The state she was in, while being on her back, was really threatening to her health, risk of choking on your own blood was extremely high.

The upper side of her snout was covered by a solid mask that from the outside looked as if it was metallic. It fact it was elastic, while stiff at the same time, she wasn't familiar with metallurgy, simply accepting the invention as another of the mole's technological wonders. All that interested her was the reaction of the organism to it and those tests, as expected, proved to be flawless.

It first half was a form resembling a draconic skull, with only the upper jaw present, excluding teeth naturally. This piece perfectly fit on the girl's nose, small, tasteless straps ran all around the dragonesses teeth, squeezing through the spaces between the fangs until they stretched out on the roof of the mouth, forming a thicker net. From there a couple more stripes reached up to the nose, where they created a zigzag around few bolts, that somehow got inserted painlessly between the gentle cracks in the scales, letting the mask have a proper grip on the upper jaw.

Naturally nostrils were uncovered.

This wasn't the end however, the other half of the mask stretched farther towards the head, having two holes for the eyes. Some pieces of it gently fell on the cheeks, like shoulder pads of an armor. The top of the head disappeared behind its cover, rounding up at the end as if a ball would be underneath. The rounded part had two holes that were an accurate fit for the girl's horns, it was tight but it allowed the mask to lie on the snout without the risk of falling, supported by the bolts naturally.

She had only a few draconic patients wearing that stabilizing mask, but each of them complemented the device greatly, many of them only at the beginning feeling discomfort, but as soon as the tongue got used to the straps inside the mouth, the irritation was gone.

None mentioned the bolts in their scales, which to her was an ideal recommendation. She tolerated discomfort in healing, but pain, especially constant and one you need to get used to, was not her favorite.

Dragons with broken bones are a very hard find, those bodies are made for battle, resistance unmatched by anything else. The last patient of draconic origin she had here with broken bones was a victim from the war with the Dark Master, an unfortunate yet lucky survivor of a golem attack.

Whatever beat up Iris was powerful and was really close to taking her life completely.

It was unthinkable to imagine that there is still a powerful enemy somewhere out there, capable of breaking even draconic bones.

She quietly made her way to the girl's bed, the tip of the tail jerking from left to right like a attentive spyglass on the ballista towers looking for enemies. She was very careful as to not make any sound. Amela folded her hands behind her back and leaned over the lying dragoness, examining her body, bandages were wrapped around the blue chest, tightly, turning the inner part of the girl's shapely figure into that of a mummy.

It was a very difficult work despite it, working with dead weight was never easy, especially when you had to put enough bandages to stabilize the spine. Some of the ribs were crushed and some bones collapsed, threatening the organs with internal bleeding. It was a taxing and delicate work to make sure that no more damage was done during the process of healing.

The impact was horrendous, usually such cases are taken care of by experienced personnel who knew where to touch as to avoid causing more harm to the patient, the less experienced healers understand that they have to be on the spectator spot in such cases.

She shook her head, disappointed, at the recent memory.

There were never so many volunteers trying to take over this arduous task like when Iris was brought to the healing room. She didn't blame instinct, especially in those young souls, as a healer she understood hormones better than most, but she would really like to make some sort of magical barrier in the hospital, blocking everything else out and leaving only duty in its place.

This was the first time she ordered only female staff to participate in the procedures.

The well being of her patients was the most important thing, and she really wanted to examine the underbelly where most of the damage was done, yet to do that she would have to touch the girl and she was certain that it would cause great distress to Iris. It didn't take a genius to realize that she had many suitors in her life, a body as slender as this is as rare as a mole with good sight, it didn't also take a genius to realize that this sort of attention was a curse as it was a blessing at some point in time.

A troubled mind like that of Iris doesn't simply appear by coincidence, it's a result of abuse.

The conversation with Ignus made it quite clear to her that the poison already sprouted roots in places it should never touch to begin with.

"Get away from me" a groan suddenly rumbled from up close, making the cheetah balk in a moment's notice, despite it's tired tone, the melodic accent with which Iris spoke made it sound like a lustful purr

It seems she had underestimated the sensitivity of Iris' trauma, still she was surprised to see that the dragoness didn't attempt to lash out on her immediately. She would land a strike if she really wanted to.

Or perhaps it was a simple moan through sleep? Automatic response, while in reality the dragoness wasn't even aware that she, or anyone else for that matter, is here.

"Did age withered more than just your tits Puss? Having troubles hearing me?"

Amela cocked her head, still quite unsure if what she hears is true, or did her mind suddenly turned senile. She walked towards the front of the bed, eyes trailing the length of the blue body, head remaining lying on the shoulder.

"Iris?"

She moved along the masked snout, pair of piercing white eyes followed her until she eventually stopped in front of the blue nose.

Amela gasped, clapping her hands.

"You're awake!"

The girl did not share her enthusiasm, the ice cold eyes buried their freezing attention into her, yet despite the overall callousness, she could see a faint glimmer of regret there.

"How are you feeling?"

"Perfect" Iris moved her paws, putting all fours as close to themselves as possible, she rose up on the bed on shaking paws, toes tightly gripping the material

"Lie down this instant!" Amela yelped, jerking her body, wanting to reach out towards the girl, body however made only a sharp spasm before returning back to its original position

She narrowed her eyes on the girl, tail wrapping itself around the ankles, she straightened up and folded her arms. The dragoness was a stubborn girl and there was no way she will learn anything if she commands her to obey her orders. Iris was a special kind of patient that didn't react to words of wisdom, despite her intelligence, lessons simply had to be shoved into the arrogant head.

One hand fell down, rubbing the scar on the belly hidden behind cloth, besides if the girl was so eager of tearing apart old wounds, she might as well feel how bitter their taste is on her own scales.

After all cheetahs are traditionalists and even though she strayed from the path of her clan, she was a still a loyal member to it. It was healthy for her own mental comfort to remind herself of that every once in a while.

Especially when a little flick to the nose won't hurt her, not when she applied means that would keep both of them safe beforehand. Out of the two of them, she still cared more for Iris despite all, patient is a patient and none will get hurt purposely on her watch.

"You can't stand Iris, it's too early" she said sternly, voice confident and as cold as the reptilian eyes on her

She knew the result already, deep down hoping though that somehow she will convince Iris and all that arrogant persistency will be abandoned

"And what do you think I'm doing now hag? Flying?" the purr slowly faded away, letting only the ugly toxicity rule, spilled from the girl's tongue like acid from a cracked poison barrel

There went any hopes for abandoning the notion.

Iris shuffled her draconic feet forward, reaching the end of the bed.

She was aware of the girl's disobedience and put her on the smallest bed possible, it barely stood above the floor level, having the height of a thick mattress.

"Bed sheet is far more different than solid ground. Besides the unusual strength you display now is a taught muscle reflex. A brief shock that will soon pass. Remain on the bed for your own sake, it's the best option for you now"

"If I didn't knew what was good for me then you wouldn't have the honor of lying your dirty, flea riddled eyes on me, bitch"

She jumped from the bed.

White eyes widened.

She felt as if she would land on a cloud, it wasn't a pleasant sensation at all, she felt as if her legs were suddenly cut off, sucked by the puffy surface of the cloud to the very underbelly. She lost her footing in an instant, unable to record where her legs stretched out as they gave up under her weight, she fell on the floor with a loud smack, dropping hollowly like a bag of stones.

Somewhere in the distance pulses of pain echoed, but the ache was unable to pierce through the veil of numbness enveloping her all of a sudden. The world started to spin, she tasted enough sanity killers to know that there was a narcotic in her system, she was drugged.

Her collapsed draconic face dropped right in front of the cheetah's feet.

Amela crunched down in front of the lying girl, looking down on her burning with murder eyes.

"Anesthesia. A doctor's best friend and partner in crime if need be" the cheetah smirked

"I willllll Illllllll uuuuuuuu" Iris slurred, drool slipping from her mouth in streams

The cheetah pulled on her sleeve, hiding the hand underneath the material before she began to wipe the spit from the blue mouth that only began to growl at her touch.

Instead of intimidating however, the crippled snarl only drew more spit out. No matter the state, the mouth kept on growling and pushing away from the clothed, furry sleeve.

"You will drown darling before you kill me if you won't control your emotions. Control is important"

The head stopped moving, eyes drilled into the cheetah, questioning, offended and so very, very confused. The blue lips opened, ready to voice something, the narcotic however only made the dragoness moan softly, letting more drool flow freely.

Amela kept cleaning the snout, yet the unexpected look didn't escape her attention, the murder from the eyes was gone, vanished, extinguished like a candle. She tried to remain calm and professional, but her eyes kept darting towards the white ones constantly.

A pair of piercing, soul stealing shimmering diamonds.

So pure and insecure.

She had to blink several times to make sure that she isn't seeing things, perhaps the anesthesia had some side effect. No matter how many times she blinked though, the pretty eyes were there.

It was like she would be looking into the eyes of another girl.

A child, lost, bewildered and interested beyond wildest dreams, she could see the begging demand for her to repeat her words.

"Control is important" Amela repeated the words slowly

Iris winced through the mask, a bolt of pain managed to find its way through the veil, blasting right at the skull. She wiggled ungracefully, wobbling like a turtle flipped on its shell, she felt as if her brain was sizzling, suddenly feeling a nagging throbbing inside. Some images started to flicker before her eyes, so chaotic and blurred that she couldn't tell what it was.

She felt pressure upon her mind as if a massive gauntlet would be squeezing it, as much as she wanted to rip the cheetah's head, she was glad for the drug, without it she was sure that her brain would sizzle from her earholes.

She lost control.

The realization echoed somewhere between the numbing pulses of muffled agony, muffled depression and muffled loss.

Afterglow.

Memory.

Horror.

Trauma.

She was familiar with the sensation, something had raped her mind, the thing that tries to slice its way through the drug was revulsion.

Smacking against her brain again and again.

Like hips of those horny fuckers against her ass.

Control felt so damn important.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkkk" Iris moaned, burying her head into the hand that cleaned her, pressing with all the numbing power she had against the arm just to put any pressure on the squeezing force holding her brain in its grasp

Amela's ears bent, surprised by the girl's reaction, for a second there she reminded her of a cheetah cub that demanded petting, but the ugly wince and groaning clearly showed that this had nothing to do with pleasure.

"Headache? Shhhh, stop thinking, clear your head. Let's get back on the bed okay? Let me get a good look at you" she whispered softly and despite her better judgment she pet the masked head delicately.

Iris kept rubbing into her clothes, it was difficult to say if she even was aware of her surroundings at this point.

"Come on now" the free hand trailed the length on the bandaged body until it tenderly slipped underneath the elbow, ever so gently touching the scale there

The girl instantly stiffened, neck immediately lunging forward and twisting, nose and numb lips bumped on her arm, she felt the surface of sharp teeth grazing over her flesh.

Iris wanted to bit her.

If not for the drug numbing her, preventing the dragoness from having any power over her limbs and lips, she would probably lose her arm right now. The narcotic making the girl to drool all over her arm

Muscle memory.

Poor girl.

She threw her hands up in a sign of retreat, Iris' mouth slipped from the clothes, head crushing against the floor just below the cheetah's knees.

"I have no foul intentions. I'm trying to only help here"

One of the numb blue forepaws managed to somehow find its way to the top of the head, white palm clenched there weekly, claws trying to find a hooking point from which they could pluck the brain out.

Iris kept groaning.

Amela swiftly sprung up, knees snapping a moan but she ignored the old bones, running from the room she quickly made her way through the corridor and into one of the nearby supply rooms.

She picked up a small bag of ice, it was handy having ice dragons here.

The healer immediately made her way back to the room, following Ignus' attentive look only, the old dragon knew that Iris woke up, but did not made any attempt to get inside. He was watching her with almost suspicious attention, this wasn't the first angry look she got in her line of work, nervous people always look for someone to blame.

Nervous people.

And Ignus was perfectly calm.

She returned back to the room, as quickly as possible crunching once more before the dragoness, knees playing another grating song on the way down. She pressed the bag against the draconic head.

The unexpected chill turned Iris' growls into soft moans.

The sound of relief.

"Better?" the paw that tried to pry open the skull tapped against the head blindly until it found her hand, it fell flat against it, putting more pressure onto the bag

Amela smiled, that was the answer she needed.

White eyes began darting across the room, huge and distant at first as if seeing ghosts, but when they landed on her eventually focus returned to them. The lost, insecure girl was gone, but the blazing devil of spite that Iris was usually was also not there. This was the look of someone who is full of expectations, ready to receive news she was waiting for so long.

Sight of someone who looks up to the one she's watching.

Like that of a child observing her parents.

Cynder looked the same way at her sometimes.

The cheetah gulped, heart making a flip, yet instead of breaking into tears she bit onto her tongue, whiskers flinching. She choked down the soft sob that tried to built up.

"How about we go back onto the bed huh?" she smiled warmly "We must talk Iris"

The white eyes turned alert, round pupils shrinking, almost forming slits.

True Iris is coming.

"You don't have the strength to get up yourself and the ground is not comfortable for you right now, you can't put pressure on that chest, you need soft surface. You need bed Iris and to get on one right now I need to lift you up. Is that okay?"

The paw clenched over her hand, weak tips of claws scratching the frail skin, threatening to break it.

She looked straight into the white eyes who now radiated nothing but contempt.

"The sooner you agree the sooner I'll stop pestering you. If you will prolong your recovery then I'm afraid we'll going to be seeing each other for a while still"

There was no point in pleading, or politeness for that matter, Iris cared about none of the two and would only take it as another evidence of your weakness she can exploit. To get anywhere you had to barter with the girl, give her the power of decision, or at least pretended decision.

With Iris you had to apply subtle manipulation.

She could always rebel of course, shredding all the planning, however the risk of it was small as long as you won't overstep your bounds, making it as blunt as possible.

Iris wasn't stupid, she knew she was being played, but she also realized reason and what trade means. It was all about satisfying an ego like her, calling out to her intelligence, she was a fallen princess perhaps, but you can't simply wash away royal blood. Dragons are proud creatures, especially ice ones who held any sort of seat of power.

In general it was all about respect, maybe it was not fair, but she was too old to be bothered by standards and shame. Many things stop to matter when you are at the edge of your lifespan.

Iris blinked finally, giving her the desired signal, paw slid off her hand.

Amela rose, removing the bag of ice she tenderly slipped her hands underneath the upper arms of the dragoness, the moment she touched the soft scale Iris stiffened.

She hoped it was because of the chill on one of her palms and not some other traumatic memory.

She doubted it however.

She hiked the dragoness up, lifting the upper body she turned with the girl around until she was facing the bed. Amela kicked off her shoes as she walked backwards, dragging the girl behind, she stepped on the bed, giving a gentle pull until Iris' upper half was above the bed.

She put her down gently, glancing towards the openings in the mask to see if Iris was satisfied.

The girl wasn't looking at her, she could see wrinkles of disgust near the eyelids, the pupils though remained locked on an unknown spot somewhere to the side. It was look of total shame and defeat, distant and empty, desperately trying to imagine that she was somewhere else right now.

Iris my dear child, you are so flawed.

With broken heart she moved behind the dragoness.

"Help me here a little" Amela grabbed the ankles, lifting the rump up by the hind legs, making a wheelbarrow out of the dragoness

"Crawl forward Iris, you can do it" she nudged the girl and despite the clear sign of discomfort in her white, draconic feet, toes curled so tightly that they nearly cut off the blood flow and turned blue, Iris obeyed

She moved quickly and judging from the hectic shaking of muscle, she realized that the limbs wanted to run.

Her caring old heart started to bleed at the depressing sight.

Iris was many things and most likely in many eyes she didn't deserve pity, after the dragoness scraped those old wounds she herself was of the same opinion. But now, seeing Iris' reaction, she could feel nothing but great sadness for the poor girl.

Maybe she was naïve and the old age is making her stupid, but she really wished for a day in this world where people will live with no traumatic events hanging above their heads.

In total peace where the work of a healer is not needed.

The paws slipped from her grasp, one of the claws kicked so unfortunately that it managed to delicately slice the skin on her palm.

A undeserved wound.

At least now she has something in common with her patient.

Iris curled on the bed, wrapping her tail around herself protectively, murderous focus returned to the eyes when she was free of the embarrassing moment. From underneath the mask she looked like a wary snake ready to pounce.

A victim and murderer in one.

It was scary just how much body language can tell us.

Amela sat on the bed, respectfully turning her eyes away from the girl as she sighed deeply, pretending to not notice the clear signs of abuse she was sending.

"Lie down on your flank please. Last request, I promise" she mumbled, fiddling with her fingers

The sound of crunched sheets rose up practically immediately after she stopped talking, she glanced quickly towards the dragoness to make sure she was doing as she was told.

Iris listened, flipping onto her right flank she stretched out the paws in her direction opening up the chest. The tail that formed a barrier around her previously now was hiked up, pressed against the underbelly by the extended paws that clutched it in place, making her look like a soldier holding a massive two handed sword.

"For what it is worth darling, I'm sorry" Amela took a wavering breath "I'm sorry for everything that happened to you Iris"

White eyes squinted on the cheetah.

"Shhhlllsh" Iris mumbled, tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was an incomprehensive gurgle

"Hush" the healer reached out, smiling warmly as she wiped the saliva once more from the blue mouth "How about I tell you what happened to you and what measures we took to help you. The drug should wear off enough by then to let you talk. I'm sorry for the dosage, but when it comes to dragons there is no middle ground I'm afraid, you either make it work or don't. Your healing abilities can be such a hindrance sometimes"

White eyes shone with nothing else but irritated impatience, it made Amela smile despite the clear rudeness in the look. When it came to the ice dragoness and her spectrum of vile responses, irritation seemed like a polite plea.

"Whatever hit you Iris was strong, very strong, your body carried damage from at least two fights to me. The first one broke several of your ribs, irritated the spine and almost threatened internal organ failure, almost as if something tried to crush you. The other fight, or fights only enlarged the already dangerous damage. Whatever attacked you maltreated you so terribly that you were a bleeding mess when we found you, your nose was broken and there was blood everywhere. You were breathing shallowly, some of the already weakened bones collapsed under the pressure and pierced your lungs, the bleeding wasn't strong but your terrible condition was enough for me to call out an emergency and put you on the priority list as a critical state"

Amela sighed, pity clearly heard in her exhale.

"We had to operate, we removed the bones, stabilized your state and put enough bandages on you to make you stiffer than a spear to let the bones fill the ruptures. We applied some spirit gems, I'm very skeptical in putting my trust in a force I cannot control but luckily you reacted well and the energy stored in the healing crystals sealed the internal bleeding, together with other more serious wounds. We left some of the other less threatening cuts and bruises to your regeneration abilities, let's allow nature to do its part"

The cheetah shrugged.

"No gems however will assist in mending bones together, you need time for that and that is why it is important that you keep the bandages and the mask on, do not remove them until I tell you, or you end up as crunched and withered as the hag you so nicely call me" Amela smiled, running a blunt claw across her face, age began to dry out her fur, making some of the strands to fall, never to regrow again so the moment her claw ran over the aged fur, instead of it glazing under the touch like fresh grass blown by wind, the old fur were stiff, sharp and quaking like needles of a spruce tree

She managed to spot a glimmer of fear in Iris' eyes, while her general aura remained disdainful the growing pupils betrayed her true emotions, eventually even a disgusted wrinkle appeared on her lips and that was enough of a sign already to know that the subtle threat worked.

Iris was a pretty girl and she was fully aware of her extraordinary beauty and even though she acted as if her alluring looks were more of a burden than a blessing, she was still female and as practically every female she didn't like the perspective of losing her youth, no matter how tiresome the attention, she simply wasn't keen on losing her attractiveness.

Seeing this Amela patted herself mentally on the back, congratulating herself, nothing made her happier than seeing a patient considering the proposals that will greatly speed their path to recovery.

She was certain that after her subtle threat, Iris won't even think about touching her protective, healing gear.

Shaking blue paws started to tenderly pat at the mask, trailing its surface on top of the snout, as well as inside the mouth.

Anesthesia was wearing off.

"You will have to stay here for a day or two, after I'm sure your spine is safe and sound you will be able to leave. The mask though will have to stay for a bit longer, your nose went through serious abuse, to make sure no bumps will be created after the healing process we will keep the mask on, the pressure it provides will make sure that the bones don't stretch out where they don't belong" Amela smiled "Do not worry though, the mask really adds intimidation points to your aura, people might stay away from you even when you don't treat them with perspective of hanging them by their own tongues"

"Speaking of perspective" Amela sat on the bed, turning her back to the dragoness she leaned backward, bending her chest so that her head aimed directly at the ceiling, the stretched out in a crosswise fashion arms providing all the support she needed to maintain stability.

Left foot began to tap to a silent rhythm.

"Yours is so... engaging which you only intensify by your own efforts that people, especially those that aren't your fans, like to examine. Thoroughly" she glanced towards the dragoness, despite the cheerful lean her look was serious, worried "This is not the first time you land under my care in such an awful state. One might think that you do it on purpose, just to see me, which, don't get me wrong, is flattering, but I'm old Iris and I would really not want to engrave your name on a door here, to make sure you will find a place here always. If this keeps going you will force my hand and I have a feeling that a hospital door won't be the only personal thing with your name on it, there will be at least one other place like that" she narrowed her eyes on the girl "Like a tombstone for example. Are you in a rush to get those things maybe?"

Iris growled angrily, looking away.

"It's not my fault!"

Amela's brow rises in surprise to the unexpected, honest protest, the emotions in the yelp far more interesting than the fact that the girl's voice was clean now, she had fought off the narcotic.

Draconic claws clenched over the skull, this time though there was no drug holding them back, the tips sunk into the scales, drawing droplets of blood.

Her brain began to throb like a dick once more.

"Iris!" the healer sprang towards the dragoness, lunging like a snake and despite her aged body her move was swift and agile

Her muscles still remembered some of the lessons she was taught when young.

The cheetah snatched the bag of ice and slapped off the paws away almost at the same time. She pressed it tightly against the blue head.

Iris gasped when the chill slapped her, it shoved the pain away, letting clarity in and in that short blink of enlightenment she realized that the stuff Amela talked about was as foreign to her as trust was.

Non existent to be precise.

The time spent before entering this thrash of a city right when it was cursed was the last thing she remembered recalled. The rest was a black, impenetrable hole.

Not the first time when she lost memories.

But it was the first time when she truly realized this, part of her life was erased that nearly got her killed.

How could you forget such a thing?

What else happened to her that she doesn't know about?

And why she starts to see it just now?

She snarled, latching onto the arms, the healer yelped in fear and tried to push away but she held her tight in her grasp.

After the initial fear of saying goodbye to her arms, Amela let out a sigh of relief when she noticed that the dragoness for some reason kept her claws away.

"I don't remember" she mumbled, her accented voice wavering, eyes staring out into the distance "I don't remember anything"

"Shhhh, it's alright, you got hit in the head pretty badly. Brief amnesia happens sometimes"

"Before that. I don't remember before that" her response was automatic, grinding tone similar to the sound of the complicated gears the moles use in their devices

It was the first time when truly fear was painting itself on the girl's snout, so visible despite the mask she was wearing. She looked like a child learning that her parents perished in war even when the news proclaimed victory.

She already had such a conversation with the dragoness, back then however Iris did not seem to understand, or take seriously her words. Now the situation was different, now it looked like she was aware of what is happening to her.

And despite her aggression and general offensive attitude that seemed to tell everyone around that she is the center of the world, flawless and in control, she did not like the news.

Troubled concern was not something Iris displayed gladly, or at all for that matter.

Perhaps there was a chance to for her to live a normal life.

Amela's eyes fell down, glancing at the white neckline where no golden chain obscured the sight of scales.

"Clarity can be so insightful. There is no medical explanation for our blindness, sometimes we see perfectly fine, but can't spot what we're looking for even when staring directly at it. Chains of memory are a heavy, invisible burden that is very difficult to discard"

The dragoness looked at her in frightened confusion.

"Past is important, but it poisons us when we let it. To live we must cooperate and not let us be beaten into submission. Everything fades away Iris, you just need to accept it, with no bag of ice on your head. You move faster without chains"

"Submission" Iris repeated softly after the cheetah, wrinkles of rebellious irritation soon crunched the lower lips, with a growl the paws unclenched, shoving the paws away before smacking the bag of ice from her head

You would want that horny motherfucker.

Iris snarled in fury, making the cheetah jumped in shock from the bed, she threw herself at the smacked away bag and without hesitation struck the ice held within, her paw enveloped in a veil of chilly mist as the frozen rocks cracked under her blow, giving away easily to her blow as if they would be made of glass instead of magical ice.

She stared at the thrown about shards, seeing her reflections flashing back at her, at least so she thought, each of them was twisted, they had the same shape of the skull as she did, yet the missing eyes, the different smiles, the cracks and bruises, each a characteristic trait that made the reflection differ from one another.

All were blue.

All weren't exactly her.

Yet all felt familiar.

All looked back at her.

Where they belonged

Feeling at home.

What nonsense is this?!

Iris growled, swiping with her paw, sending the shards flying from the bed, little moves, simple moves and yet she felt exhausted all of a sudden.

Chest started to heave, the panting rolled the tongue out of the blue mouth.

She felt ripples running across her brain as if an army of ants would start a parade on top of it.

"Mother" she whimpered pleadingly, one wing dropping numbly, she immediately began plucking feathers from m it

She was like a helpless cub left alone in the rain, abandoned by her parents.

One of Amela's ears dropped while the other perked up in attention. Strong gauntlet of pity gripped her heart.

She recognized the cry, Iris might see herself as superior, perhaps she even is, but she bleeds just as any other creature.

Loss of family rips always the same wounds.

She knew something about that.

"I'm sorry Iris, I truly am, I know the pain well"

Slight blush covered the blue cheeks when the dragoness threw her head up in shock, her white orbs danced in the eyeballs in total panic, unable to decide between feeling total shame or fury, stuck somewhere in between.

She was like a girl caught naked during a bath.

"But it feels good doesn't it? To finally accept it?"

"Accept what?" Iris snarled, squeaking like a youngster ready to break into tears because she was forbidden from going to an event she convinced herself to be her dream "Part of my life was deleted and I don't know why"

"You do, you called out the one responsible"

The shame was gone, fury took over completely, making the white eyes practically bloodshot red, the usually chilly aura of the dragoness heated up, the air around her began to sizzle.

"You know nothing of my mother whore! I'll rip your throat out bitch and no amount of drug will stop me!" the aura wavered, weariness kicking in, making her cough "You are a nobody compared to her"

Amela stepped back from the bed a little farther, folding her hands behind the back, two fingers on the left palm danced around over the feathers of a dart. She uses them to dose medicine, but the tranquilizing agent inside might as well serve as a weapon if applied in full dosage.

"I'm sure she is special and clearly means a lot to you, this is why your perception is so flawed, your thinking chaotic. Your mother influences you Iris, controls you and this is why you are sick"

The sheets turned to ice around the dragoness.

"You're done!" Iris parted her mouth, ice magic boiled inside her maw

The healer flung her arm forward swiftly, the hand removing not one, but three darts from around the belt sending them flying straight at the exposed neck taking a breath of magic. They hit their mark perfectly, her elbow began to sting, she might have the reflex and experience of her clan still in her blood, but age is age and bones will remember every rough activity.

Iris gurgled when the darts struck her in the neck, sending a strong powerful pulse throughout her body that cut off the air from her lungs, diminishing the magical breath in an instant, making it disperse in the air by turning into a thin mist.

She immediately reached towards the neck, with shaking paw pulled out the darts and flung them away. Another pulse struck her, sending her toppling on the bed, the foreleg that removed the darts remained in the air, quaking wildly.

"Puss" Iris spat out, the tremors projecting to her tail, making it bounce, if her voice would be capable of producing acid, the blob of saliva she spat out would now burn through the bed. She could not utter anything else, vocal cords began to shake like the walls of a ready to erupt volcano

And that was it, the girl did not try to attack again, she wasn't even angered as if expecting something like this to happen.

"It's not my intention to offend your family" the healer approached the bed calmly, wiping the droplets of the paralyzing plant from the neck before taking the shaking paw and letting the leg rest comfortingly on the bed

She held it through the shakes.

"Your mother means a lot to you, and I would really like to meet her, a female giving birth to a girl like you must be really special"

Iris ran her eyes over the withered hag in contempt.

"You will soon enough rotten witch. My mother is dead" she frowned after the spoken sentence, bewilderment stopping the quakes for a while

Why did she say that?

"Is she now?" Amela stretched out the hurting elbow, calming the draconic tail

"She is not in flesh with you Iris, yet you keep her alive still. You see darling, hospital taught me that we die twice. Once" she counted the options on her fingers "When our hearts stop. Twice, when our names are erased from memory'"

She pet the tail tenderly.

"If you want to live Iris you must clean your conscience. You have a troubled mind, a broken perhaps now, this period of clarity is even new to you. Your past is killing you, the abuse and pain you went through, the trauma can't sustain you forever. You must let it all go"

She felt the girl's muscles stiffening, seemed like another outcry was approaching.

Instead though the slender body relaxed, stretching out as if in defeat.

"Who said I want to?"

Amela's head jerked back, she was expecting almost everything from Iris, but a decadent response was not something she was ready to hear.

"You can't d-"

"I can do what I want" Iris closed her eyes, head started to throb a steady melody, unstable silhouette of her mother danced in the darkness of her shut tightly eyelids

"Leave me Puss. You got what you wanted, we're even"

Amela opened her mouth, wanting to say something but in the end deciding to stay silent. Iris laid there with her eyes closed, relaxed completely.

She had many years of medical practice, worked with all sorts of patients, some even similar to Iris.

And yet she did not understand what had happened.

Iris just let herself get attacked, in any other case something like that would make her explode in vengeance, and yet she simply accepted the blow, not even caring that an old cheetah like her put her down.

She wanted it, she had to.

But just before all that she was boiling with fury as genuine as the feathers on her wings and would not shed a tear if she managed to rip her old body apart.

Then there was confusion, fear, anger and all sorts of different shades in the white eyes.

It was like she would be speaking to a different soul each passing minute.

Poor girl was fused together by fuel of vengeance, all this time she thought that it was directed against the world that had wronged her and the subtle signs clearly showed that she had reasons to make the universe bleed.

What she did not expect to find in someone like Iris was the realization that the world is only a substitute. The true daredevil was somewhere else.

It was beating inside a ribcage of a beautiful dragoness with feathery wings.

A tragedy written with bold letters.

You cannot escape your own shadow after all.