FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 59

Each made step sent vibrant pings across the icy castle's grounds, the shrill noise no different from a cacophony of laughter she heard in her life countless times over. The walls were closing in on her like the bones surrounding her skull, the palpable mockery of hordes of satisfied ghosts hummed all around, never ending, never weakening.

Their cries bouncing around the tight walls of the chilly coffin, without any space to vent out from they painted silhouettes of draconic demons on the freezing canvases. Even though her paws recognized the touch of the floor, eyes caught glimpses of familiar curves the shadows were still there, among them all, wherever she glimpsed, only one towered above each of them. Touched by the characteristic fins running from the top of the head it was the only one which mocked her with any color in its eyes. The only purple shade she never wanted to see joined the demonic host of Silence.

Why? Why are you all still here?

Go away!

Iris smashed her head into the wall, the previously injured scale collapsed under the additional pressure, the damage tore a chunk of it, making it flop on a piece of flesh right next to the eye like a dirty bandage. The uncovered wound kept winking, spurting line after a line of blood, a piece of a bone shyly smiling from behind the red curtain.

Together with the clanking sound from the last pieces of the already ruined half of the mask crashing against the ground came the familiar sharp hisses of shattering reality.

Or at least that was what it usually meant, her world was already a never tiring blur of shifting colors when she left mother's side with her chores in mind.

She continued on her way, painting the floor with her blood she lowered her head more and more, the medallion around her neck was heavier than ever before, not only overpowering the muscles in the neck but also the will to do anything about it. The chain burning itself into her scales fit precisely into the already healed mark mended together previously by a force no different from motherly support.

The cracking laughter of demons feeding themselves on her plight, with no intention to shut up despite her best efforts in finding mother, supported her head from collapsing completely, marking themselves as another side in this struggle that kept her in limbo, in a place somewhere between triumph and regret.

The kind of trap she had never encountered before.

"Let's celebrate brother" Athron dismissed a peacekeepers who just stopped whispering into her ear hole and while the lips didn't really support the spoken up words in any way, the shining eyes were a completely different matter though.

"What poor soul found its demise?" Ignus asked, observing the reddish, mushroom wine flowing from the neck of the tilted bottle, unconsciously holding a paw to his own throat.

"Now, now brother, why do you always imply such things? Am I really that harsh to my enemies?"

"You know I don't like answering rhetorical questions"

Athron laughed, emptying her mug with one swing.

"I'm a mother now brother! I must be a worthy example to my offspring, pay attention and you'll see compassion and care blossoming within me"

"I see it already. Flowers sprouting on a corpse don't change the factl that it's still dead though" he emptied his own glass, wrinkling badly when the liquid passed down his throat.

The freezing chill in the eyes lost all the manner of its joy, adopting the cold reflection of the surrounding walls in such a way that a foreign observer wouldn't be able to tell which of the two has more soul in it.

"You see Ignus, the difference between you and I is that I don't hold firm to ideals, I improvise, I adapt, this is the only way to progress in a cruel world like ours. Many mock me for that, many plot against me, in the end however it is me showing them where they belong, because brother, despite everything, I know what it takes to change the world, the rest needs to fall in line or be made an example of"

She refilled the mug just when her claws were about to clench over it one of her blades flicked the cup, spilling all of the contents on her front paws.

"My wine spilled"

Ignus was too busy with drinking his own share to care.

"Someone needs to lick it clean"

A cold breeze wafted from his flank, slapping his head in the direction of his sister just in time to notice intense blue hue fading from her orbs.

"You're fucking kidding" he hissed, knowing that piercing stare all too well

Athron felt around her straightened still lips.

"I'm not smiling"

"What changed Athron? What did I do that you take such pleasure by humiliating me?"

"Again my brother, leadership it is not about the idealistic vision of today, but predicting a reality that will be"

"I hate it when you're being cryptic"

"And I hate to have my paws dirty. I'll leave it to you to decide which is more achievable. Do hurry though, I'm not known for my patience. That little detail however is a matter of today and I'm certain that you are well aware of it"

Ignus stared at his sister, the flames on his tail tip boiled together with the blood in his veins. In times like those he always questioned two things, one of them was the dilemma about the impossible to explain fact how two dragons hatched from the eggs of the same mother can be so different from one another. The second thing was the question about the time frame where he will finally stop loving her, he balanced on the border of patience for so long and yet still remained on the same side all this time.

Even if he dreaded the perspective of crossing it, sometimes he wondered if it really can be that bad on the other side. He had his doubts if his relationship with Athron is worth saving, besides her who else is out there that he cares so much about that he could end up hurting?

He hated this fucking city. It's sucking the life out of him.

He emptied two more mugs, one after the other before he approached his sister and without any more unnecessary thoughts got to work.

"Good boy" Athron pet the bony extensions, each of her clap reigniting the fire burning at the end of the red tail "Just do make sure you're completely thorough"

He growled, with great difficulty keeping his fangs away from her toes.

"It is done Mother"

Both of them got paralyzed at the sound of the accented voice that didn't differ much from a death's rattle. Athron was the first to turn her head, greeting her daughter with a broad smile.

"Well done my child, come here, enjoy a drink, you deserve it"

Ignus quickly pulled himself up, his move so swift that he almost smashed his head into his sister's jaw. He wiped his mouth quickly clean, paw that was prepared to remained pressed against the mouth, swiftly dropped down at the sight of his niece in the distance.

"What the hell happened Iris?!"

"I have..." the young girl's voice trailed off with a slur, as if the dragged line of blood flowing from her head was the one stretching the tongue "...satisfied my mother's wish"

"And I'm proud of you my girl" she spread her wings, opening up her paws "Come here for a hug"

"What the fuck Athron?" Ignus' eyes were burning "What did you made her do?"

"Simple chores across the castle to lift some weight from her old mom's shoulders. Nothing fancy"

"Nothing fancy? LOOK AT HER!" he blurted out, tongues of flames wafting from the nostrils when the claws of their owner pointed at Iris, quickly followed by his own eyes.

It was weird, illogical, but he still felt his heart drop at the sight of Iris, feeling burning daggers of guilt stabbing his heart.

She stood in the hall with wings and tail lying on the floor, floor which she steadily painted with her own blood flowing from the ruined draconic face. Her head was a mess, half was covered by a mask from underneath which stared an eye that made that of a rotten corpse more lively in comparison. Despite the unappealing, physical view, it was still nothing compared to the heart wrenching feeling that this was the most accurate and honest glimpse of Iris one could take.

A soul so broken where the true face is so scarred that the worn mask became as natural as the wounds. Melding together into one inseparable piece, like a painting drawn by a tortured artist willing to rip the canvas over and over again just to start fresh.

Oblivious to the fact that each tear spills black ichor around leaving a festering, deep cut behind.

He reached for his horn, pulling at it, trying to get rid of an unreachable itch that only intensified the longer he observed her pitiful state. It was an incurable agony, something that should annoy him, right now didn't matter in the slightest, not in the face of a question burning its mark in his soul.

What did you do?

The most scary part about it was the sensation of loss where he was unable to tell who between the two of them is the one responsible for creating this dilemma.

"Don't be so dramatic brother" ears flopped down in such a manner that if one would mistake them for a pair of mouths he would see them yawning "We are dragons, essential work in our case always requires a bit of blood to be spilled. We heal and move on, this world doesn't look kindly on those that get distracted by mere nuisances"

"This is not some small scratch Athron! Her face is completely covered in blood, I can see a bone winking even from here!" the ice surrounding the red dragon started to give away under him with steady hisses.

"Come daughter, let me take a look at you" wings made an inviting shake despite the fact that the head of the owner paid no attention to the one being asked to come closer. The aura of an old, lacking any patience female grew with each tap of claws hitting the chilly floor. Icy music kicking streams of frost in the air in an unison more loyal than that of a trained pet.

Iris didn't mind the chill, shaky steps of legs seemingly supported only by the weight of the wings pressing against the ground carried her over right into mother's embrace. Giving away completely when she touched her, becoming completely still the moment the tongue started to lick against her wound.

It hurt so damn good.

"Better now my dear child?" Athron asked between licks, tongue scooping up all the blood from the snout, locked however in a constant struggle with new each flow being pushed out by winking with bone crack.

"Yes Mother" Iris clawed her way into the soft, blue scales, latching herself to the protective body, burying her face into the chest, listening to the beat of the only heart that ever had room for her.

She couldn't fit though.

Iris wiggled, turning and twisting she searched for the known spot of a welcoming, graceful that only a heart of a loving mother could produce. No matter how bad she turned however, how many times she scratched and poked the blue chest to reveal the desired tone, each pound still sounded like a one produced by a male's heart.

A heart that bled purple.

"Enough of this sentimentality don't you think..." Athron growled when her nerves shivered under another sharp poke "darling?"

"I love you Mother" young claws only intensified their investigating efforts after that squeak.

"Great" the Queen hissed through clenched teeth, with eyes full of freezing cold she glared towards her brother, pointing at Iris with her tongue she nodded commandingly to the side.

Ignus acknowledged the meaningful command, of all the orders given to him by his sister, this command was the only one he enjoyed fulfilling after a very long time.

"Come Iris, this wound still bleeds despite Athron's..." the itch returned with an increased by tenfold strength that it practically hurt "...best efforts. We need a proper remedy to seal it"

"Yes my sweet..." ears flickered lively, pushed into action by the fiercely furrowing in deep concentration forehead" Plume! Yes! My sweet Plume!" a pretty smile spread the blue mouth, spreading the lips so effortlessly that not even a single, spontaneous wrinkle appeared.

Paws clenched over the younger body, pulling it away with a grunt, the only thing that for a second faltered the ideal risen corners of the smiling mouth, shifting them into an image of, full of bored abhorrence mental agony.

"Go with your uncle, come back when you're healed" Athron gave another lick across the wounded head "Just take your time, proper rest and healing are very important things. Come back only when you're ready so we can have lots and lots of fun. Alright?"

Ignus snarled, he was angry, he didn't know at what or who to be precise. The irritating words that came out from his sister's mouth pissed him off, yes, since she talked in a way as if she would be addressing someone with only a half of a brain. But then again, he was also irritated by the fact that Athron couldn't act in any other way, how she could know what maternity is when all the reserves of care were as dry as a pond on a desert.

And then finally he was angry at himself for allowing for all this to happen in the first place. He doubted he would be able to control his fury if not for Athron, ironically, giving him a task to focus on. She irritated him, yes, but at least work, no matter how vile and condemning it might be, kept his mind focused to some degree.

Because he was afraid that at some point, the growing fury will make him lash out and do something very stupid. As his little group of conspirators taught him, even the best of intentions when motivated by anger can have disastrous effects.

Something he was sure that some already felt on their scales judging by Athron's earlier mockery.

"As you wish Mother" young blades withdrew from the blue flesh, making the Queen hiss when they drew streams of blood behind them, each freshly made hole pushing out a drop of crimson which winked like flirty eyes. A match, that at this time, neither of them had enough of courage to admit just how good a fit they made.

Iris followed the command of her mother, after the first few steps one might have expected that the task she was given will be accomplished without a hustle. Then the world spun, vision pushed into a twister after a painful clench in the head felt like it grabbed a hold of her brain. Legs began to stumble, looking for a pawhold that suddenly was no longer there, ice, usually so welcoming, became the worst enemy of the four white draconic feet.

Ignus spent too much time around frost to remain oblivious to what is happening. He leapt forward before even the first muscles in the blue legs decided to give up and stretch away to their hearts content. He appeared next to the young girl just in time when her head started dropping, propping it gently on his own nose the only fall that was heard was that of a splotch of blood landing in between his eyes.

The previously licked streams of blood returned, marking the blue face more diligently than her own natural, white stripes.

"And be thorough about it brother" full of irritation scoff filled the hall when Athron locked eyes on the orb of blood on her chest, keeping the paws stretched away as if fearing that her own flesh was the most hungry of acids "The girl is making an awful mess"

"Naturally sister, your concerns are most vital to me" the polite voice matched the burning fire in the eyes as good as a flame pairs with tar "Come Iris, hold my tail, we'll move with careful, slow steps. Bite as hard as you want" cinders reflected by the fiery eyes danced on the frame of the sensually built Queen "I'm used to the pain"

*

"Stop acting tough and sit down, or you want me to also scrape your teeth from the ground after I'm finished with mopping up your brain?" he sorted through the drawers, paws moving freely and without hesitation, probably the only perk when one decides to also work from the shadows is that will to become jack of all trades. Experienced doctors and soldiers are hard to come by in the sewers after all.

"I don't want your pity" Iris let out a slurring snarl, standing on all fours her unsteady, waving frame made her look like a drunk.

"Problem is, that in this room, I rule, and I'm not interested in what you want, the only thing that matters to me is what you need" he smashed a bow onto the cabinet, pouring a dose of mixed herbs from the recently found bag "Whether you like it or not, you will receive treatment, it's up to you if you want me to beat you up before that or not, because the only thing certain is that you're not leaving through those door over there until that wound is patched up. Either sit on the pillows willingly or I will choke you with them if I have to, no matter the outcome, I swear that head is getting bandaged"

"You protest, but you are so much like my mother"

"Not even close" Ignus scoffed, yet his mouth stretched into a thin smile when he heard the muffled, soft noise of a butt landing on silk.

"Amela is as strict as you are in her offices. She won't let you go until you're well, even if it takes stabbing you with a tranquilizer to do so. Try this approach for future patients, it is way better at concealing the necessary countermeasures you had to take than leaving one with more bruises than he came here with. Now when I think on it, it's no wonder she built such reputation for herself, the old cat is clever"

He was speechless, the practiced paw that worked on the ointment froze despite his many mental lessons to avoid being distracted when it came to applying treatment. He couldn't help himself however, unable to contain the surprise that made his cheek blush, a surprise of these sorts where he couldn't decide what shocked him more. Was it either the fact that the usual cold heart spoke with such warmth about a mother she misspelled the race and name of, or was it the sound of her accented voice that was unfathomably charming when joking so carefree?

He didn't know, he wasn't sure if he was meant to know, nevertheless he was certain it was the first time he heard her speak without any shackles squeezing her soul. For a second there he wondered if that head injury required treatment at all, she seemed so much more calmer with it.

And then he heard a splotch of blood dropping, reminding him that as calm as her also look dragons on their death beds.

He finished the mixture, equipped with it he sat in front of her, only noticing from so close just how many rough edges had the other half of the broken mask, many of those were already digging scratches deep enough that red lines started to appear.

"I'll remove the rest of the mask" he raised his paws, holding them back defensively "I'm not going to touch the wound so don't wiggle. Only the mask, okay?"

Iris didn't reply, her eyes were aimed at him in total silence.

The burn that invaded his cheeks traveled through his entire body, feeling as if the melting ice under her was trapping him into a sinkhole, preparing to lock him in a cage with a two faced female, as deadly as she was beautiful.

Despite the quiver in his toes he managed to pry off the mask easily, too easy for his liking, as if it was waiting all this time to get out of the way and uncover the treasure it was hiding underneath.

And he had to admit that it was a treasure worth sacrificing more than one world for.

He never believed that there can be any other creature more stunning than his sister, he wasn't the only one who believed that Nature was showing off when she applied all of those alluring traits to form a creature of such beauty that Athron was.

It turned out however that Nature didn't show all of her cards.

The girl in front of him was divine, her body already betrayed that she inherited all the necessary curves that made her desirable for any male in the world, and since that was taken from Athron, the face shouldn't be too far away as well.

He couldn't be more wrong.

Her snout was a gem, he could spend days describing how ideal her features are, how every bone how every scale mashed together to form a silhouette that would rival sculptures created by the most talented artists. All of this was unimportant in the face of the diamond eye looking back at him, he would never believe that white would fit so nicely with blue, but there it was, a combination no one believed to be possible and yet being the most perfect union in existence.

The eye despite its natural cold tone had so much warmth and soul in it that he didn't even mind the itching sensation of it piercing his own spirit, stealing and wrapping every desire as its own. An unreal sinking feeling he never wanted to end, believing with all of his heart that this is where he belongs.

Belonging just as his toes gently caressing the cheek right underneath the diamond orb.

What?

He blinked, unbelievably heavy eyelids made a flap and when they opened again a chill of terror brought the ice underneath back into place. The paw withdrew, jumping back with a spasm of shock, followed by a choking gasp it flipped the held ointment between the toes before slapping it against the bleeding head with the same amount of force a builder spills well prepared clay on bricks.

White eyes that so seductively wrapped their receiver in a cocoon of intimidation widened so much that slices of scales on the forehead cracked. Diamond orbs rippled by waves of tears were more restless than a stormy sea, spilling from the banks of the eyelids the moment a shriek of pure agony blasted from the opened mouth.

"Go away!" Iris didn't need to even use her muscles, the strength of the wafting scream alone was enough to shove her body against the far wall.

"I'm so sorry!" Ignus pushed through the rain of floating everywhere pillows.

"Fucking shit! My head!" her whole body was burning so much that even the hectically waving forelegs snatching several shards of ice from the cracked wall and eventually slapping against the wound didn't help to cool her off.

"No! Don't touch it! You're only going to make it worse!" he tried to reach out to her, his legs even stretched out, but the moment eyes noticed the paws they froze in place, paralyzed by a souls sucking feeling he couldn't describe better than growing feeling of anxiety when stumbling around a pitch dark room.

All he knew was that he couldn't trust them in the slightest.

Iris didn't have such hesitations.

"You always bring so much pain you fucking cocksucker!" white claws landed on the head, scratching deeply they split the vulnerable, red flesh into well cut slices of meat.

"I didn't mean to hurt you" Ignus choked on his own heart, the gory scene unfolding before him for some reason seemed as interesting and mundane as watching paint dry.

Red paws were not the only thing in this room that he couldn't trust.

"You MURDERED ME! TO SAY HURT IS TO CALL YOU BY NAME!" wet sound of breaking tissue followed, the wound pulsed pushing out streams of blood through the broken ointment, painting the snout in crimson, clenched into a cradle paws scooped the flow into their embrace.

"You didn't wash it off, but drowned me in it" scarlet like a shy waterfall dripped onto the draconic hands, pilling up into a thick puddle. Mouths of familiar monsters screamed from the depths, bursting a bloody blister after bloody blister.

"I have what I wanted. Why am I still bleeding?" the bubbles starting popping quicker, rising whispers and murmurs into the air. She cocked her head, the wounded side tilting lower, spilling more blood into the paws.

A tone of inviting allure. A trick very known to her, one she couldn't resist, one she was born with. A curse.

Speak to me.

She plunged her nose into the scarlet pond.

"E-Enough!" Ignus yelped, stomach turning so hard that his wavering teeth almost sliced the tongue off.

As a predator, one that is way too familiar with nutritional values of a corpse, he was no stranger to gore and blood, both are necessary companions in a war torn land where there is never enough food to go by. To eat one's enemy is not something to be proud of, it was a necessity and nothing besides that, a gruesome task that needs to be done, nature gave dragons fangs and strong jaws, it is only fit to use them.

Yet there is still a rather thick line, Ignus frowned, catching himself on the fact just how many times when Iris is involved he thinks about borders, that separates necessity from degeneration. It was very important to maintain some manner of social standards even in a task seen by some as barbaric, doing it quickly and without thinking relying solely on instinct was the sane approach to things like this.

What she was doing had nothing to do with instinct, let alone sanity.

He couldn't watch it any longer.

He sprang to the table again, snatching from the counter the previous mixture combined with serious painkillers that in greater quantities are a sadistic tool during torture where you toy with a prisoner's mind by showing him his own cut off limbs.

"Enough Iris!" he used strength again, this time though he had control over it however. He pulled her by the horns, crimson lines splattered all over his body before he pressed his paw covered with medical paste to the molested head, heating it up a little to stop the bleeding that, if she wouldn't be a clearly distressed dragoness, would already drop her on the ground.

"It will pass soon Iris. Hold on!" he roared through her screams, surprised about his own resilience to her blows, her claws left cuts on his body deeper than any sword did in a while and yet he held, held as firm as his determined sister did when reaching for the throne.

And despite the fact that he won't receive any praise for it, hell, the two of them will be the only ones ever knowing something like that happened, it still for some reason felt more important than any stuff bards make legends of.

In between the streams of his flowing freely blood he could see slices of his own scales floating down with a grace of a petal. Seeing his foreleg being torn apart wasn't as painful as one might have imagined it to be, it did not compare at all to the ache twisting his heart when he observed the canals of blood squeezing their way through the pressed ointment still. Marking crimson lines of responsibility on the blue face, meticulously painting them with the resolve of self-inflicted lashes of a way too eager whip, layered with the cracks of only one question.

What did you do?

Claws latched onto his leg, sinking so deep that he could feel a tip or two rubbing against the bone. He felt her body weakening, she was clearly putting all her effort to maintain balance on his extended foreleg. She was calming down, like any overpowered soldier would do in fit of anger.

It turned out however that Iris' talent to provoke with her body far exceed the limits of physical allure she was so well versed in.

White snout lashed out before he even noticed what happened, easily breaking through his confident and expecting nothing special grip, sharp teeth sank into the side of his neck, finding an opening with ease. He roared, not only in pain, but true shock when in between the crunching teeth he felt the touch of a warm tongue, licking its path of voluptuous attention in between the feral, murderous desire.

"OFF! NOW!" Ignus' body flared up, tail making a tap, sending a fiery shockwave, force of which shattered their bloody chain, sprinkling the chilly room with ornaments of crimson gore.

"Calm down! I'm not fighting with you!" he exclaimed in between rough hisses, surrounded by a shield of hot flames paw pressing against the torn wound, stench of cauterized flesh made even the ice melt.

Iris dropped on the floor, shards of frost trickled on the ground all around, chilly tears from the hurt wall trickling faster than the blood from her freshly treated wound. If she cared she would hear a supporting shout coming from the red throat, telling her that the ointment is already working. The swirling mess that was her world was not interested in such trifles however. Monsters of Silence were on rampage, muttering and whispering countless slurs and projecting uncountable laughter.

And there could be only one responsible for all this noise.

She snarled, bloodied mouth stretching into a mask of vile carnage where all the additional, foreign strands of tissue sticking to her covered in gore mouth looked like extra tongues. She panted heavily, diamond eyes full of chilly shade burned holes into the silhouette of an old dragon. His blurry, red, disgusting scales taunted her with its presence. Despite age cracking the familiar wings the holes there weren't devoid of life, each of them was a round mouth, constantly flapping their lips the tormenting mouth voiced their mocking opinions. Ranging from her mother's nose, just to skim through black and purple only to land at the end of all the random of existence one could think of, all of them were voicing their meaningless opinion.

And leading them all was the rotten creature responsible for all the monsters haunting her head.

Say hello to the monster you made uncle.

"Iris stop!" Ignus yelped, jumping away to the side, flexing the muscles to prepare for what is coming, each stretch his body made however as if his soul was being torn apart.

But then with a furious roar the bloodied claws slashed thin air, striking at a spot where they wouldn't touch their target even if he remained in place. That was quite the miss, nevertheless knowing just how blinded by anger she is he was expecting that she will renew her attack in a moment and this time it will be accurate.

Only the first half of his theory was right.

Iris made all the snarls and growls a fight locked dragon would make, even her moves and attacks were being controlled, it was not some blind, random swinging, but real strikes she would commit to when desiring to make her enemy fall.

In better circumstances he would admire just how morbidly perfect her body looked in battle, even when fighting her silhouette carried all the carnal aspects that made it hard to keep eyes away from her figure. It would be a spectacle if not for that one, greatly disturbing detail.

She was fighting with empty air.

Even knowing that he didn't have the courage to speak up, seeing her putting so much effort into this fight weirdly twisted his mind into believing that there was actually something there. The harder he concentrated the faster his heart pounded to the point that each slash of wind clashing against him felt like the touch of a true draconic blade leaving a cut on his soul.

The spot she was attacking might be empty, her effort to punish it unsettling, but for some reason he couldn't blame her. It was insane, and if anyone would be capable of reading his thoughts he would already sentence him to a fate of a drooling lunatic.

He wouldn't be wrong, some part of him screamed with the same conclusion. He couldn't help himself however, in his heart he knew that the one she is ripping to pieces had it coming. That he deserves it, no matter the phantom wounds being marked on his body with each of her strikes.

He knew he had to stop this insanity, but he also was aware that there is no word or action he can commit to that will allow this situation to deescalate without putting either of them at risk. He observed in silence, waiting for her to fatigue herself, at least that's what the suggested approach whispered by his mind.

The soul though, the soul believed that there is nothing to look forward to when the foundations are corrupted already.

Iris kept on going and despite her serious wound he managed to lock herself in an imagined battle for a respectable while. However even the most desperate and furious of fighters yield in the face of an enemy that overpowers all.

One's own body.

A heavy exhale pulled the tongue out from the mouth, the panting dragoness lost most of her vigor and all of her dexterous expertise. Her paws were still making strikes, albeit they would lose a duel against a turtle, the claws were eager to leave marks nevertheless.

One, two, three and finally, instead of making the fourth scratch the risen in the air paw dropped on the ground with the power of a ready to crack the floor hammer. Entire body jerked by a stumble, head pushed towards the ground by the long tongue, the drops of blood that managed to break through the ointment accompanied invited by the call of gravity beads of sweat.

Ignus rubbed his wounded neck, unable to contain the rising heat of his body when through the disastrous sight broke the sound of a deep, accented, feminine panting.

"I-" the sight of her heaving, glistening with sweat body punched him in the gut harder than any fist ever did. He really had to strain his neck to force the head to look away, but even that determination threatened to snap his neck against the stubborn will of his wanting to remain in place eyes.

"I think you got him"

"No" she let out a guttural rasp, the rough moan lifted her head, piercing white eyes aimed themselves at the red dragon.

Ignus' tail pulled at his hind paws, all the pain he felt earlier started to lose their phantom aspect when facing the strong stare of squinted eyes well prepared to cut his scales with pupils alone.

Drawing in blood a way too familiar for his liking question, one that he already heard too many times.

What did you do?

"For whatever it is worth, I'm sorry Iris. I'm sorry for everything you had to go through"

She snorted, dropping her shaking head.

The sight of her not believing him hurt more than the most serious of wounds he ever received.

"Whoever made you go through all this pain is not your family, he is not your uncle, she is not your mother. Family doesn't do that, only monsters torment their own blood"

"And those that bring ruin to everything they care about, how are those called?"

A simple question, yet something told him that in it laid the entire essence of her existence.

"Accidents"

She heaved, the breath she let out differed from the rest, mixed with a tone that could represent a sob or a gasp of shock.

"Look Iris, believe me or not, but I had my share of unlucky events and some things are just beyond your control. Now seeing that is the hard part in all of it actually, made all that more difficult by whispers of voices we believe to trust. Even when we are aware of it, in a moment of disaster we become blind to suggestion to those around us, those who take advantage of our weakness, it all makes sense but to us but in the end turns us into wrecks. I had my share of working in the shadows, I saw it happen too many times, even to those that I thought were strong to resist it, maybe even I will fall to it one day despite everything. I don't know, I know though that accidents do happen and we gotta accept that instead of clinging to desperation, that latter can be easily used against us"

Iris chuckled, the little sound of hearing her laugh made him jump up, it was like hearing a thunderstorm on a cloudless day.

"You didn't lecture me like that for a very long time uncle"

"I'm not your uncle Iris" his heart raced and in between beats he could swear that he heard another one pounding in the background "And I know you know that"

An invisible string pulled at the blue back, feathers rising in anticipation, preparing themselves for the incoming gust.

"Yes" Iris exhaled, feathers beating, lifting her body into a shy jump.

"And I want you to also to know that Athron isn't your mother. One day, maybe, she'll become the dragoness you remember, but the today's Athron doesn't know what it means to love. Even if there is some spark of it in her, and maybe there is since you're alive, don't be naïve to believe it has control over her. My sister is cold and ruthless, a seductress who treats everyone as her toy, the task she sent you on, what was it? Why did you return all bloodied?"

"Monsters. You said you believe in monsters"

Ignus swallowed, he dealt with his share of lunatics, during prolonged sessions of torture some of the poor sods do lose their mind and start mumbling incoherently. In this case however, even if the question was far from topic, or sense in general, somehow he still believed it to be one of the most logical ones he had the chance to hear.

Not to mention that the dying fire all around his body also proved that it was one of the saddest ones.

"I do"

"They sit in caves, darkest corners, roaring and laughing, always talking. Silence is their domain, I found their secret place, I know where they like to stay. Do you want to know the secret? Do you want to know where I found all the monsters?"

He nodded, not because he really wanted to, but because he felt obliged to.

"Here they hide" a claw rose, tapping at the temple of a blue scaled head.

He felt his blood freezing and even though he didn't hear them, he knew that at least one of those beasts speaks with his tongue.

"I built a wall, big one to keep them away. Looking to bind them there forever. Mother was my glue, I betrayed Spyro as she wished but the wall broke, they are screaming at me. Why? Why when I got what I wanted? I got my world back after seeing it crashing down after my mother's death, but they just don't SHUT UP!" she screamed, her body bursting with a freezing painful mist when icicles of ice grew from her scales curiously, they shot soon after, ejecting from her body like needles of a porcupine. They hit everything around, filling the room with a loud noise of shattering ice.

"I'll give you something to calm down" Ignus unfurled his wing, glancing at his natural shield with several icy projectiles protruding from it, there were plenty of them, but he had a feeling that it was still not enough to paint just how many wounds Iris carriers on her soul. Wounds he didn't want to meet and yet despite their unknown origin, he felt a certain familiarity to them "Someone once told me that conscience can be irritating" he reached to his mouth, running a claw around his lips he still felt bruises left by sharp barbs there "I have something here that can silence it"

"No" she shook her head "Silence is worse" she stared at the broken, icy fragments scattered all around the floor, with ease imagining them forming her own heart when put together.

"I must go to mother"

"Iris, I told you that Athron is not who you think she is"

She didn't respond, lifting herself on shaky legs she directed herself towards the exist.

Ignus grabbed her by the wing.

"Let me clean the blood from your snout first" a deep sigh left his throat "She won't be pleased if she sees you this way. Consider my words Iris, maybe take a little break here with me to catch up? Are you even okay enough to walk?"

"I'm not okay Ignus" claws clicked over the broken shards as she sat down, white pupils following their clanking around as they rolled away in every direction, remaining in constant ruin.

"And I never will be"