What I've Become, New Genesis
#3 of What I've Become
Okay, it has been a while since I have really touched this story line. I apologize for taking so long with it. Anyway, this one must be credited in part to beasty101111 on FA. It was him that initiated a role play and I asked if I could adapt it to this story line. He said yes and now here is the result, What I've Become, New Genesis. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. There will be more to come soon.
Auryn Runeseer © beasty101111 on Fur Affinity
I felt the presence; it was human but I could feel immense power flowing from this individual, rivaling a dragon. Instead of doing what I wanted to do, that being to spend time with my family, I had to check out the new presence nearing our home. After all that transpired a few weeks ago, I wasn't going to take any chances; I turned and walked into the entrance chamber.
There was a single human sitting in the middle of the chamber obviously male judging by his smell and appearance. I watched him for a few minutes as he tried to wring the water out of some strange looking robe that covered normal jeans and a tee-shirt while he uttered small complaints here and there. It was quite comical to watch, but then he got up and began walking towards me and the chamber where my mate and eggs resided. In an instant, I delved into my power and made my eyes glow, the shadows keeping my entire body in a dark shroud. Upon seeing my eyes, the human's own eyes went wide and I pushed my powers further, checking the status of his body. I could feel his heart rate skyrocketing as his adrenaline did its job. Then, I spoke.
"Stop, human." I said in a deep, booming voice. He jumped back, trembling noticeably in fear. "I have a mate. Come no closer, or I shall kill you."
Even though he was obviously frightened, he still managed to keep his voice level and confident. What caught me completely off guard was that he replied to me in perfect draconic, a great feat for a human at that time. "Honorable dragon, I mean no harm to you or your mate. I just need shelter from the storm." As if to punctuate his point, a bolt of lightning struck just outside of the cave, sending a loud, powerful crack of thunder through my home in that same instant. Because his fight or flight instinct was running rampant in his body, he jumped. I checked his mind and found that his reasons seemed to be true.
I stepped out from the shadows as my eyes stopped glowing, allowing what little light there was to illuminate my crimson scales. I let out a light territorial growl as another flash of lightning highlighted my toned, muscular body. "Fine," I said reluctantly. "You may stay for one night. But I want you gone by morning. And if you go near my nesting cavern, I will not hesitate to attack you. Am I understood?"
"Yes, quite." The human said. I could tell that he was hiding something. What it was, I wasn't sure because that portion of his mind was blocked off from me. Also, I noticed that he didn't have a Slavic accent, it was an American one; weird, considering that we were in Siberia.
Unable to trust him out of my sight, I laid on my belly, my head between my forepaws. I watched as he lay down as well. Once I was sure he was sleeping, I allowed myself to drift off into the void of peaceful slumber as well.
My sleep would have been great had I not been roused an hour later by the sound of screaming, audible even over the sound of the storm still raging outside. The wretched, irritating noise was very disturbing. I would have ignored the human's interruption of my rest had I not heard my mate roar, yelling "Leave!" as the human screamed.
I immediately rushed into the cavern that held the nest to find the human pinned under the green scaled forepaws of Moonfire, my mate. Her face was twisted into a snarl, showing off all of her pointed teeth to the young man as she let loose a growl. Her golden spikes were standing erect from her blue furred back, a sign that said she was, dare I say it, very pissed indeed. Suddenly, I got the feeling that killing this man wasn't such a good idea. As she moved her maw close to the man's head, I intervened.
"Moonfire! Stop, please!" I said. Moonfire stopped the movement of her head and her soprano voice sounded within my skull as she spoke with her mind.
Vrelvel, I got up to get a drink. Her voice was frantic. When I came back, he was near the eggs! We should just kill him and be rid of him!
No, my love, no. I said calmly, We need not make the relationship between their kind and ours any worse than it is already. Now, please, let the poor man up.
My mate reluctantly did as I asked. I knew that her maternal instincts were strong, but she still had to know of the potential consequences that could arise had she gone through with her instinctual intent. The man stared at me after he finished dusting himself off, his features were drained of any color save for a ghastly white.
"Did I not tell you, human," I said, anger tainting my voice ever so slightly. "to stay away from my nesting cavern?"
"You... you did." The human stuttered.
"Then explain yourself!" I roared. My own instincts were starting to get the better of me, every fiber of my being wanted to bathe this ignorant little creature in flames. But I was able to stay my anger, however barely, and I patiently waited as he tried to organize his jumbled thoughts.
"There was a draft." The human said. "I got chilled. I could feel heat coming from this direction and found that lava pool." He pointed to the pool of magma that perpetually supplied the nesting cavern with heat. I had created it so that my future family and I could have a nice, temperate climate to sleep in. Although his answer seemed sound, I looked into his mind before he could form any form of defense and found that his thoughts contradicted his words. The trembling of his body and over-dilation of his eyes didn't help his cause much either; the human was lying.
"I know you are lying to me, human." I said, anger starting to permeate my voice once more. "Now tell me, what are you are doing here!?"
"I am an alchemist!" The human screamed in sudden fear. "For the past month, I have been trying to create a special potion to cure a defect of mine." The human began crying, "This defect is a curse that has plagued me ever since I came into this world! This cave looked like a good candidate to find something called a fae gem while I got out of the storm, but I-"
"Get out of my sight before I do something I'll regret!" I growled a warning to him. He made no immediate motion to remove himself and my temperament almost won over me. "NOW!" I yelled, my deep, booming voice sent a small tremor throughout the cave system that was my den. Hearing my rage fill his ears, the small creature ran down the short, rocky passageway as I loosed the loudest roar that I could muster after him.
Once he was out of sight, I stopped my threatening behavior and turned to my mate. "Do you trust my decision?" I asked her.
"Vrelvel, my love," She said sweetly, her beautiful jade green eyes glimmering. "I'll always trust you. Just be sure to keep that filthy human away from our children."
I let off a playful huff, "I used to be one of those 'filthy humans' and my sister is one." I grinned at her.
She laughed at that, "I know, but your sister isn't ignorant."
My small smile faded, "But am I taking too much of a risk?" I asked. "It wasn't right of me to allow the human to stay without checking with you first." I lowered my head slightly in shame.
"You are my mate, Vrelvel." Moonfire said. "Whatever your decision, I will stand by you with it."
"You will?" I asked. "Welunix, are you sure?"
"Absolutely" My mate said.
"But now, I am beginning to doubt my abilities to make decisions. Not just for you, but also for our future children."
"If I didn't trust you with that responsibility, I wouldn't have let you take me as your mate." She said with a smile. "Why do you think I wanted to live with you?"
"But we knew each other for less than a year, "I replied, "and I wouldn't exactly call the few days before we mated 'courting.'"
She nuzzled her head into the thick crimson plates on my chest. "Silly drake," She purred, "I knew when I met you that you were the right dragon." She looked up into my eyes, "Did you not feel a pull on your heart after we made love?"
"I did, and I still do." I said.
"And what do you suppose that means?" She asked.
"Well, I assume that it meant that we were to be together for the rest of time." I answered. "But I don't know how I could know what it truly means."
"But you are correct, my love." She congratulated me. "That pull only happens when dragons find love that is true and that their mate is a viable life partner. If you would have failed to meet either of those requirements, we wouldn't have these eggs and we wouldn't still be together."
My mind crept to the thought of Rakk and his mate not being able to produce eggs. "But what about Rakk and Amethyst?" I asked, concerned. "Does that mean that they are not meant for each other?"
"Sometimes, a dragoness can go through many false heats before she is ready to bear a clutch." My mate explained, "When she is truly in season, they will surely make eggs.
I moved my muzzle closer to hers, "Could you allow me this affirmation of our love, then?" I moved in and locked her scaly lips with mine. Our long tongues twisted around each other. Unfortunately, an explosion interrupted our lovely little moment. It wasn't the crack of thunder; it was a much louder and sharper noise.
Now what is the human up to?_I asked with my mind as I pulled back from my mate's maw. _I will be back, my love.
I shall be here waiting for your return. She said sweetly with her mind as she laid down and curled back around the eggs.
I walked back into the entrance cavern. There waiting for me was not a human, but a dark blue ice dragon instead. He was unconscious. I noticed that he had a badly broken leg. Even with the aid of magic, neither I nor my mate would be able to repair it. We didn't even possess the conventional human means to mend it properly.
However, I was able to use magic to move the ice dragon's limp form to a spare cavern. I would need to talk to this dragon when he woke up.
"What is it, my love?" My mate asked as I returned to the nesting cavern.
I laid down on the opposite of the eggs from Moonfire and placed my scaly head next to hers. "The human is gone." I said, "But we have a new guest. A blue ice dragon."
"Rakk?" My mate asked. Her long green ears perked up.
"No, it is not." I replied grimly. "This one's scales are a different shade."
My mate's ears drooped back along the top of her skull. "Oh, okay."
I nuzzled Moonfire, "Don't worry, Welunix." I used her draconic name, something I did to show intimacy to my lover. "I've known Rakk all of my life, I know that he is fine." A few weeks ago, my best friend, Rakk, and his mate, Amethyst, had held off a group of humans that had attacked my family and I. They had bought us time to escape. Since then, neither I nor my mate had heard from those two frosted-blue scaled ice dragons. My thoughts on the matter quickly turned grim, so I purged the subject from my mind so that I could sleep. My mate raised her head and planted a small kiss on my forehead before she herself went back to sleep. I followed suit soon after.
I was plagued by horrid dreams of what could have happened to my friend. I envisioned many things, one of which was his head on a stake with his mutilated body nearby. His mate didn't get any better treatment. Her body was riddled with large holes and was laying dead next to a large clutch of eggs; except, the eggs were smashed to pieces, their contents oozing all over the ground. On the ground, written in my dead friend's blood were three words: You are next.
I woke up immediately, checking to see if my mate and our eggs were still with me. My heart was racing, going nearly twice as fast as it should. I was shaking ever so slightly as the adrenaline coursed through my veins, readying my body for action.
Though there was no threat I could sense, something still felt, well, off; and I had a feeling that it had something to do with that human and the ice dragon that I had found passed out at the entrance of my den. It was one of those gut feelings that you get, the kind you get that are impossible to ignore. Double checking to see that my family was safe, I moved to the chamber being occupied by that mysterious ice dragon that I had found unconscious in the entrance cavern the previous night.
Once I reached the cavern, I beheld one of the most amazing sights that I had ever seen. I remember it so clearly. Since you seem so interested in my tale, I shall recount it for you, so pay close attention:
What I saw was the dragon, yet it wasn't the dragon. Or at least, not completely, it was changing shape. The shift started at the head and worked its way down the dragon's body, ending at the rapidly disappearing tail. The bone white claws shrank into normal human nails as the hands and feet took on human characteristics and proportions. As the spikes along his back retreated into his body, he was engulfed in a brilliant white light. The light was so intense that I could hardly block out its radiance with my finely scaled eye lids. I expected heat to accompany the light, but it never came. Instead, the light seemed to be colder. As the light faded, a human was lying in the dragon's stead, the same human that had intruded my home. The human still wore his strange robe, covering up the jeans and tee underneath. I hid in the shadows and awaited the creature to wake, the coming conversation was going to be very interesting indeed...
When the dragon in human form finally did regain consciousness, it was well into the afternoon. My red ear fins perked up a little when I heard his movements as he groaned. I made sure to stay within the shadows, silently observing him. He got up to walk but only succeeded in making his broken leg worse. I heard a sickening snapping noise was followed by a scream of pain. Only then did I reveal myself. What was that, my love? Moonfire inquired from within my skull.
The ice dragon and that human are the same person. I replied. I turned my attention back to the injured pseudo human, "It seems as though you forgot to tell me something." I told him.
"What do you mean?" The human asked, clenching his teeth in pain.
"You are a dragon." I answered with a tone of certainty, "Why do you hide it, even from other dragons?"
The human lowered his head, as if he was ashamed, "My draconity carries my curse."
"That is preposterous!" I exclaimed, "How can being a dragon be a curse? I only discovered my draconian self about four years ago, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
The dragon in human form turned away from me, "You would not understand." I heard him try to hold back tears. "This curse isn't my draconity. Rather, it just affects it."
"Please expound?" I asked. I wanted to know what this "curse" of his could be.
"I will not." He said as tears dripped down his face. "You will kill me if I tell you."
"I will kill you for being honest with me?" I was shocked, what could possibly be so horrible that he refused to tell me for fear of death? "You are wrong about your assumption. I will not kill you for being truthful. I promise."
He took a deep breath, trying to find the best words to voice his thoughts with. "I am vampiric."
Nothing in my head quite clicked with that statement. "What?"
"I am a vampire!" He tensed up and started to sob uncontrollably, as if waiting for me to strike him down and end his life. The blow never came for him; I wasn't going to harm something just because of what it was. It stemmed from something that my father had taught me. I had never given it any thought though. But now that I had access to my true form, I understood what my father was saying to me when I was just seven years old...
"Alex, my son, I want to tell you something." My father said, "It's very important that you listen."
"What is it Daddy?" I asked.
_ My father kneeled down to my eye level and took a deep breath. He spoke in a way I had never heard before, a deep, powerful voice. "In a few years, some things may change for you. They are good things, something that everyone in your situation goes through. But with these changes you must promise me something special."_
_ "What is it?" I was getting excited. Something was special about me._
"Always make sure that someone or something is your enemy before you decide to harm it. Can you do that for me?" he asked.
"I promise, daddy." I said with a smile.
"I promise." I said quietly to myself as I came back to reality from my reverie. I turned my attention back to the dragon in disguise. "I will not harm you." I restated, "You are no enemy of mine."
"Go on do- wait what?" The individual seemed baffled.
"You are not my enemy." I said again. "I will not harm you simply because of what you are. You are not trying to attack me nor my family. I shall spare your life."
"Thank you...kind one." He said as he held out his hand, "My name is Auryn Runeseer."
I shifted into my own human form and shook Auryn's hand. "Talon." I replied. "But in this form, I am called 'Alex' by humans." I helped him up and let him put his weight on me. "Something must be done about that leg of yours so that it may heal properly."
"You can...heal this?" He asked through gritted teeth as he accidently put weight on his injured leg.
"No," I replied to him, "but I know someone who can. I must check on my mate and then we shall be off." I helped him sit down on the floor of the entrance cavern and strode back into the nesting chamber while reverting back to my feral dragon form.
My mate raised her head to look at me. "I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to be able to see you today." She smiled at me and my heart just melted at seeing her do that. It gave me a warmth in my breast that only love could give. But I had something to take care of that couldn't wait.
"My love," I began, "Auryn has a broken leg."
"Auryn? Who is that?" Moonfire asked.
"Auryn is the dragon that I originally thought was human." I answered.
"Oh, well, can you repair his injury?" My lover asked.
I gave her a solemn look, "Sadly, no." I lowered my head to her's and gave her a light nuzzling. "I must take him to Shadow, he can fix it." Shadow was my friend Jason. A blood transfusion using dragon's blood from my own body had caused him to change into an anthropomorphic dragon with pitch black scales. Before he changed, he was a leading weapons and technological specialist for the United States Marine Corps. He was also watching over my sister. "Will you and the eggs be fine without me for a few days?" I asked.
"Do not worry, Vrelvel." Moonfire said. "I should be fine while you are gone. Tell your sister 'hello' for me."
"I will." I said. I nuzzled and licked her before giving her a farewell kiss. As my tongue wound around her own, I opened up a mental link to her mind. My love, keep this link open while I am gone. If something happens, you tell me as soon as it does and I will come to your aid as quickly as possible.
Our mouths parted and I already felt an aching in my heart; caused by simply knowing that I was going to be separated from my mate. "I love you, my handsome drake." She said in her sweet voice. "May your wings carry you swiftly."
I tried hard to hold back the tears that were forming as I replied back, "I love you too, my beautiful dragoness. I will not be long, I promise" I exited the nest, not wanting to prolong the heartache any more than I had to.
As I went back to the entrance, Auryn was already in his dragon form, his broken back leg raised off of the ground. "Are we going?" He asked. His face looked as if he was valiantly trying to hold back the pain, but it was a futile attempt.
"Yes, we are." I said calmly. Despite my instincts urging me to stay there with my mate, I led him out of the cave and launched into the air. Auryn didn't jump due to his injury and instead used only his wings to get airborne, something that most dragons would try to avoid if they could. He quickly caught up to me a few seconds later.
"Where are we going?" Auryn asked. I began to think; I never did ask Shadow or my sister where they were going when we parted from Arohk's home. I had to rely on my magical senses to find them.
"Let time answer that question." I replied to him. I used my magic and concentrated on a thought of my sister. Soon, I began to feel a 'tug' of some sort. It was maybe just a few millimeters of adjustment from my current direction, so I shifted course and followed it.
Auryn gave out a loud sigh, "Do you know where you are going at all?"
I looked back at him and growled lightly before speaking to him, "Yes, I do. Now, unless you have something pertinent to say, be quiet, please." Despite what I said, I had meant it in the nicest way possible. Doubt me if you must, but I must not digress any further from the subject.
The rest of the flight across the Pacific Ocean was pretty quiet. Quiet enough so that I could easily let my mind wonder back to my family as my instincts homed in on the pull that I was following. I decided to check up on my mate and smiled to myself. Because I was using a mental link, I was able to see into her mind. She was dreaming, dreaming about the day that our eggs would hatch and thinking of what to name our children. One of the names caught my attention, a name she wanted to give to one of our hatchlings if it was a girl. It was her mother's name, Késëdrian. I thought it a suiting name for a dragoness from our first brood.
I was driven out of my mate's dream by the pull that was guiding me to my sister, I was much closer now. By now, you are probably wondering what this pull is like. Think of an invisible force grabbing and pulling at your skull. This pull got stronger; I was closer, almost right on top of the location. Auryn and I were many miles inland from the ocean. The location was in a naturally formed canyon with many caves and the like dotting its walls. The pull led me to one cave in particular. With an opening of about six feet across and eight feet tall, it had the perfect dimensions for Shadow's 7 foot tall hybrid form.
Auryn and I landed on the large ledge outside of the cave. Because my feral body was over three times the height of the opening, I just stuck my head in and called out to my friend, "Shadow, are you in there?"
A 12 year old human female with long sandy blond hair came running out from the darkness of the cave. "Alex!" She screamed elatedly as she hugged one of my huge front legs. "I've missed you so much!" This human wasn't a stranger to me, it was the same girl that caused me to change into my true form for the first time. It was my sister, Alyssa.
"I've missed you too," I said as I brought my other forepaw around her. "Just four months, and my, how you've grown!" I let go of her and changed into my hybrid form before proceeding to give her a proper hug.
My sister returned the hug with a huge smile on her face. "How's Moonfire, is she still with you?" She asked.
I allowed myself to blush slightly through my scales, "She is still with me, and you're going to be an aunt in about eight months."
"Really?" The elation in her voice was almost infectious. "How many?"
"Triplets." I answered, only to get my sister to squeal with delight.
"Oh my god! That is so awesome!" Her smile broadened.
I felt my mate stir through my mental link. Is that your sister that I am hearing in your ears? She asked.
Yes it is. I said back.
Remember to tell her that I said 'hi.'
I will. I said back before addressing my sibling, "Moonfire says 'hi,' by the way."
Alyssa giggled, "Maybe I can visit you two sometime?"
"Of course." I assured her. "You can visit any time.
My sister looked over and saw Auryn, "Who's your friend?"
"That's Auryn." I said. I moved my muzzle closer to my sister's ear and whispered, "He's the reason I need to see Shadow."
She held out her hand to my companion, "It's very nice to meet you, Auryn."
Auryn changed into his human form and instantly leaned on me so as not to put pressure on his broken leg. "It's...nice to meet you...as well." He said through teeth that were gritted in pain. Alyssa noticed his injury and spoke up.
"That looks pretty bad. One second, and I'll go get Jason for you." She turned around and rushed back into the cave. When she returned, a seven foot tall two-legged form with scales as black as pitch was with her.
The black bi-pedal dragon stood at the mouth of the cave staring at me in disbelief. This was Shadow, my blood had given him the form he now had; black scales and a nice muscular system as well. Not that his previous body wasn't how you say 'ripped' but now it was amplified in his black, seven foot tall, scaly body.
"Talon? Alex?" He asked, unsure if he should refer to me by my dragon name or my human name. "Is that really you?"
I was in my human/dragon hybrid form and allowed myself to smile at him before speaking. "Yes," I replied with my deep voice, "it is me. You have been taking care of my sister very well, as I can see."
He laughed, and then noticed Auryn, "So who is this human and why is he here?"
"Well," I began, "This is Auryn. He's not human, he is a dragon; however, he busted up his leg pretty bad. Think you can fix it?"
Shadow took a look at the wound for a second, "I can't see it very well in this light. Bring him inside and I'll see what I can do." I nodded and helped Auryn hobble into the cave.
After a few minutes of walking, we came to a stop at what looked like the back wall of the cave. Any human would think that it was indeed just the back wall of the cave. But with my dragon sight, I could see in the dim light that a door was set into the stone. Shadow stepped up to the door and unlatched it. He looked at me and spoke, "As you will see, I've been busy." He pulled the door open and we were all greeted by bright lights from the opposite side of the door.
Once through the door frame, it was as if we were no longer in a cave, but rather some kind of science lab's clean room. "Oh yes, very busy indeed." I said quietly. The walls were not the naturally formed walls of the cave. No, they were structural walls that one would find in a human home. And just like the aforementioned clean room, the walls were pure white.
Shadow's black scales stood out in perfect contrast to the white wall. "Relax, this is just a breezeway. The real spectacle is farther in." He walked over and hit a button on the far wall, causing a keypad to pop out of the wall. After he input some sort of combination, the wall in front of us seemed to disintegrate into thin air. Beyond it was a short hallway that led to a large set of elevator doors. These walls were also white. "Please step through." Shadow motioned us through the hole vacated by the strange disappearing wall.
Once we were all into the hallway, the wall reappeared. I tried to stick my arm through it, thinking it was some sort of illusion, but instead found that the surface was there and quite solid. "What was...how did..." I was completely baffled by that wall.
Shadow put a hand on the red scales of my shoulder and chuckled, "I'll tell you later, Talon. But for now, let's keep going." My friend led us to the elevator doors which parted as we neared them. Shadow looked at my sister, "Ladies first." My sister nodded and stepped inside. Auryn and I entered next, followed by Shadow. The walls in the elevator were white as well, but there was something unusual about them. I also noticed that there were only two buttons for controlling the elevator; one with an up arrow and another with a down arrow. Shadow pressed the down arrow and the elevator smoothly began its descent into the earth.
After a minute or two, what I thought were the walls of the elevator ceased to encase us and I found myself looking at a vast under ground chamber. It then dawned on me as to why the walls of the elevator looked strange; the real walls of the elevator were transparent while the elevator shaft was white.
"How...how is this possible?" Auryn said. His voice sounded shaky so I accessed my magic to check on his condition. The pain was getting worse for him. In a way, I felt responsible for his pain. My stomach felt as if I had swallowed a cinder block.
"All in due time...I'm sorry, I'm sometimes bad with names. What's your name again?" Shadow asked.
"My name is Auryn." My companion replied.
"Ah, yes, thank you Auryn. As I was saying, I will explain later. But for now, let's worry about that leg of yours." Shadow said to him as the elevator entered another shaft before coming to a stop. The doors opened and we stepped out and into a hall way similar to the one that we had been in prior to boarding the elevator. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Complex." He said triumphantly.
My sister tapped Shadow's arm, "Jason?"
"Yes, Alyssa?" Shadow inquired, "What is it you need?"
"I'm a bit tired." My sister yawned, causing me to involuntarily yawn in sympathy.
"Alright," he said. "Have a good night." My sister nodded and started to make her way down another hallway. But she forgot to do one thing. Something that she had not been able to do for four months.
"Hey, sis, you forgot something!" I motioned for her to come closer to me. She did so and I wrapped the arm that wasn't supporting Auryn's weight around her. "Good night."
She returned the partial hug. "Good night, bro. Will you be here in the morning?"
"Yeah, I will." I replied. "Go get some sleep."
We released each other and she turned and walked down the hallway. She turned to the right and walked out of sight. "This way." Shadow said. I followed him closely while Auryn used me as a living crutch. Shadow led us to a room filled with hospital equipment. "Here's the infirmary. Let's get him off your shoulder and onto the bed."
"I can do it myself." Auryn said. He managed to get on the bad quite fast. "I'm not some stupid vegetable."
"I'll need to knock you out for a while, Auryn." Shadow said calmly. Auryn only nodded and looked straight up at the ceiling. Shadow picked up a syringe and stuck it into Auryn's arm. He fell asleep soon after. We quickly got to work mending Auryn's broken leg. We reset the bone and used some strange machine to fuse the two pieces of bone together. Auryn was lucky that his shin broke cleanly.
"Hey, Alex." Shadow used my human name.
I decided to humor him and use his as well. "Yeah, Jason.
"I never did properly thank you." He said.
"Thank me?" I asked. "For what?"
"For what I am now." Jason answered. "And also for saving my life. If you didn't do what you did, I wouldn't be here. I'd be rotting six feet under."
"You don't have to thank me, my friend." I said with a smile. "I did what I had to."
"But I am still grateful for it, regardless if you want the thanks or not." Shadow led me out of the medical room and into the hallway. He turned left and I followed him through a set of doors that opened up to the large cavern. He climbed up a ladder and onto a ledge. He stood there and surveyed the area before spreading his wings and jumping off. Because he lacked enough muscles on his sternum, I expected him to only glide. However, I felt the presence of magic as he started to flap his wings. He took to the air in the gigantic cavern and I was forced to follow him. I shifted into my feral form and took flight as well. This cavern was easily large enough for me to fly. It was hundreds of feet tall and at least one thousand feet wide. Make no mistake; I am not exaggerating the proportions. I had as much space as I would ever need to move around. I followed my friend to a ledge that was a bit small for me to land on while in my feral form. So as I neared the ledge, I returned to my hybrid form.
"How did you create this place in just four months?" I finally asked after taking a moment to take in the sight of the cavern.
Shadow looked at me and smiled. "It's another reason why I am grateful for your actions. I can use magic and I'm really good with manipulating the earth with it." He motioned to the building that sat in the center of the cavern floor. The same one we had exited just a few moments ago. "I just had to think about it and then it was here. The only thing I wasn't responsible for was the cave entrance."
I began to get curious. "So you can control the ground?" I asked.
"Yeah." Shadow replied. "It's pretty cool, actually."
"But how?" I asked. "How can you possess such powers?"
Shadow smirked, "Well, I remember you being able to use magic. And with me being at least part dragon, I decided that I might as well try. So one day, I concentrated on moving just a small rock. I succeeded and quickly found that I could do more with earthy objects. I got creative and eventually, this happened. But none of these buildings where here. Every structure you see down here in my home was synthesized with magic. Every wall, ceiling, floor tile, and piece of equipment was made with magic.
"You did this all on your own?" I asked. "No instructions or anything for using magic?"
"Nope, none at all." Shadow replied.
I looked at my friend in awe. The sheer amount of things going through my head at that time was phenomenal. Here was this friend of mine, that wasn't a human but not quite a dragon, learning and using magic all on his own. But amidst the muddle of thoughts was one question, on single question that I needed to ask to put my mind at ease. I opened my maw. "You haven't harmed anyone with this magic, have you?"
Shadow gave me a hurt expression, "Now, Talon, I thought you knew me better than that! How long have you known me?" He asked.
"Since third grade." I replied. "Sorry, but I just had to check." I didn't pursue the subject any more than that. I felt that I had struck a nerve with him. Even though I knew he was a good hearted person, I wanted to make sure that that power of his didn't go to his head and corrupt him. The silence between us was long and frankly, gave me a chill, even though the temperature was normal for a human house. The silence began to make my stomach churn and I thought I was about to vomit when Jason finally spoke to me again.
"We should probably go check on Auryn." Shadow said. He got up and jumped off of the ledge before spreading his wings and just gliding to the so-called 'Complex'. I followed in my own hybrid form and we landed in front of the door. Folding our wings tight to our backs, we entered the building and made our way to the infirmary. Auryn was already awake when we arrived and sat up.
"Hey guys," he said.
"Auryn, how are you feeling?" I asked.
He rubbed his eyes a little, "A little groggy, but I feel great otherwise."
"He recovered faster than I thought he would." Shadow said. "I'll be right back with some food." He left the room and Auryn looked at me.
"Whatever he brings back, I won't be able to eat it thanks to my condition." He said. His stomach growled and his face looked worried. "I will need to feed soon. I need to get away from all of you before my hunger takes control of me."
"How long do you think you have before that happens?" I asked.
"Not long, maybe a day or two if I'm lucky." He said as his stomach growled yet again. I heard Shadow's returning footfalls and went out to confront him.
"He can't eat that." I said.
"Why? He doesn't think he'll like my cooking?" Shadow sounded offended.
No it's not that. It's because," I moved closer to him and made my voice a low whisper, "he's a vampire. He can't ingest solids, only blood."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on." Shadow said. "He's a what?"
"A vampire." I restated. "He needs to drink blood in order to survive."
"And this little tidbit of information didn't raise a red flag for you?" Shadow growled. I could feel a strong surge of magical energy coming from him. I began to counteract it with my own before starting to formulate my own true defense. "I'm no genius on the subject, but aren't vampires a bit dangerous?"
"They can be very dangerous." I replied. "Which is why we need to let him outside to go find something before he turns on us."
Shadow began to return to wherever he got the food from. "Okay, go let him out. But please stay the night, the weather isn't too kind after midnight." I nodded and headed back into the infirmary. I felt the threatening magical energies dissipate.
"Follow me, Auryn." I said. He looked at me for a second and then tried to get to his feet. Once he succeeded, we started to make our way to the elevator. As soon as he left the medical room, Auryn ran right into Shadow. Shadow apologized immediately but Auryn hissed in slight pain from the poke of a syringe that I didn't see.
"Sorry," he said, "clumsy me."
"It's no problem, really." Auryn reassured him as he held his arm. We continued on to the elevator that lead up to the surface.
Once on the elevator, I noticed Auryn rubbing his arm where he had covered it with his hand after running into Shadow. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said.
I decided leave the subject alone in order to check up on my mate through our mental link. She was starting to stir from her slumber. I felt her yawn cavernously and blink and rub the dried rheum from her eyes. Good morning, my love. I said to her. I felt her go fully awake the instant my thoughts touched her mind.
Good morning, my handsome drake. She said. I know it has only been hardly a day, but I am really starting to miss you. I also feel like something bad is going to happen. Are you going to return soon?
Sadly, not yet. I replied glumly. We are going to stay the night with Shadow. Tomorrow, we will hopefully begin our journey back.
Okay, she said,please don't stay longer than you have to. I need you here. I could feel her longing for me. I hated to be separated from Moonfire; I couldn't even focus as well as I usually could without her.
Just stay with the eggs. I said. I shall return as soon as I can. Something had her on edge, and it was starting to make me worried. I began to have second thoughts about leaving her alone, even if it was to help another.
"Are you alright, Talon?" Auryn asked. I found his face to be giving me a questioning look. I must've let the worry for my mate show on my face.
"It's nothing, I'm fine." I said. "C'mon, let's go hunting for your food."
We hadn't even reached the entrance to the cave when I heard a growl come from his direction and turned around to face it when Auryn pounced on me. He pinned me, snarling. I noticed that his eyes had changed; the whites of his eyes had turned red and his pupils looked unfocused. I saw his vampiric fangs and tried to wrench free of the drake's grasp. I couldn't budge, so I brought the sharp spade at the end of my tail to bear on my attacker. I swung my tail and it sliced though some of his scales. With a howl of pain, he loosened his hold on me and I wriggled free. Back on my feet again, I tackled him and held him there, looking directly into his eyes. Before too long, he fell asleep, my magic acting like a tranquilizer. I searched out Shadow's mind and found it. Shadow, I need some help. Auryn lost control of his vampiric impulses.
Shadow came up the elevator a few minutes later. "I guess I was right to plan ahead." He said. "Is he unconscious?"
"Yes, he is." I said. "What do you mean 'plan ahead'?"
Shadow smiled. "I quickly took a sample of Auryn's blood when I bumped into him. I ran a test and I think I can create a serum that will make his symptoms subside, if not cure them."
"Do it." I said. "I don't know how long my magic knocked him out for."
***
It had been a few hours since Shadow injected Auryn with a supposed cure to his Vampirism. He was finally showing signs of waking up from the magic induced slumber that I gave him. For safety purposes, he was strapped down on the medical bed he was occupying. These straps were reinforced with the strongest spell that I could muster at the time. Before we were even able to get him on the bed, I had to break into the vampire's mind and force him to change into human form. When his eyes finally opened, they were normal eyes that spoke nothing of the events a few hours prior. The machines in the room all blinked green, telling of Auryn's stable condition in both mind and body.
"Auryn," I said, "how are you feeling?"
"Ugh," Auryn groaned, "I feel fine, yet different."
"I've given you something to at least curb your need for blood if not cure it completely." Shadow said.
A small smile permeated Auryn's features. "Really? You've fixed my affliction!? How?"
"I drew a sample of your blood when I bumped into you." Shadow said calmly. "Then I identified the problem and created a magic aided serum with the help of Talon."
Auryn was silent for a few minutes, as if he was trying to process the information but at a very slow rate; like an old computer. "I...I don't know how to thank you enough."
"Not trying to bite us would be enough." Shadow said flatly. "That, and a simple 'thank you' are all that are needed."
The worried sensation that I was getting from my mate grew stronger; to the point that I didn't want to be around anyone. "I need to go outside for some fresh air." I said as I turned to go out of the infirmary. "I will return shortly." With that, I walked out and entered the elevator to go up to the surface.
***
I had spent half an hour trying to contact my mate, but she wouldn't respond. Frustrated, I sent one powerful surge of thought through our mental link Moonfire! My mate responded, but she was crying.
Talon, there's something in our home! I hid the eggs and put up a barrier, but if this thing get's through to the nest chamber, I fear it will kill our children! Just then, I heard through her ears the sound of something trying to break through a magic barrier. Then I heard the barrier fail and my mate screaming at whatever it was that was trying to get in. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY CHILDREN!! En guard, intruder!" Everything across our link went silent for a few moments. But the silence was not to last. Across our link, I heard a scream; my mate's cry. A wail that was so filled with pain that it put me into action.
Without even thinking, I changed into my true form and looked at the wall of the cave for a few seconds. A portal formed shortly after and I leaped inside to find myself standing in the nest cavern of my home. The lava pool had somehow cooled and the absence of its light made me uncomfortable. I used my magic so that I could see in the darkness. Slumped in a corner, was my mate. A huge gash had been cut into her side and she was covered in blood. One sniff told me that it was mostly her blood but some of it was foreign and definitely not from a dragon. She wasn't moving and I felt her pulse that was slowly waning. That information I could just feel through our bond. But I needed to do more than just feel her with my mind. I rushed over to her and pressed my heard up under hers.
"I'm here, my love." I said with tears streaming down the scales around my eyes. But there was no response "Welunix! Please! Get up!" I felt her stir and try to use a little magic to sustain herself a little longer.
Her eyes opened just a little and her voice was quiet and raspy. "Protect our children, my love. Don't let my death be in vain." With that, her body fell completely limp and the excess air in her lungs escaped. My mate was no longer with me.
"NO! Welunix! I need you! Please don't be gone!" I began to cry until there was just no more air left within me; and for one whole minute after, my heart stopped, my blood ran cold, and my lungs refused to work. But in the silence caused by my unwillingness to live without my mate, I heard something move behind me. With an inward snarl, I turned my attention in the direction of the sound. There, was the intruder. It was this strange looking beast that I can't even explain because at that moment, I just wanted it dead. Upon seeing the killer of my mate, my heart began beating at twice its rate, my blood began to boil, my vision became tinted with red, and air rushed into my lungs and back out to create a roar of pure hatred for the creature. I hated it, it had taken away from me the one thing that had given me the utmost joy. This creature, this monster, killed my mate. In the state of rage I was in, I called upon my magic and set it to work, aiding the adrenaline coursing through me.
In an instant, I pounced on the creature and pinned it. But before I could close my jaws around its head, it knocked me off. I was sent flying and landed on my back. Before I could right myself, the horrible beast was upon me and I felt something slice through my right shoulder. I managed to kick the creature off of me and got up. But before I could actually move in to attack, I collapsed. My wound was sapping my strength away. The dark cavern started to get even darker as my magic and strength were forcefully stripped from my being. It suddenly became difficult to breath and I could see my enemy close in on me again. Then, with a suddenness that was all too quick, I realized why my wound was affecting me so. There was only one chemical that throughout time, all dragons had learned to fear: Dragon's Bane. Arohk had taught it to me briefly. It was a poison created to cause a dragon to die a slow and agonizing death. Now that it had entered my system, it would start to slowly shut down my organs one by one while making it impossible for me to use magic. I thought it was over; I had failed everyone, my father, my mate, my children. My father and my mate had died because of me, and the eggs that held my children would be smashed to pieces. My whole family line was going to end because I had failed. I'm sorry. I thought as my mind began to whither. I've failed you all. But just before my vision went black, there was a bright, shinning light that filled the cavern followed by the sounds of fighting and the wail of the creature that had won over me. But in the wake of its swan song, my vision failed me and I drifted into the black void...
***
I awoke some hours later to light within the nest cavern. I got up and inspected myself to find that my wounds were gone and my access to magic had returned. I looked around before laying my eyes on my mate curled up in the corner that I could have sworn I watched her die in. She was breathing and I saw nothing unusual about her, except for a mark on her side that looked like a rose bloom. Immediately, I rushed to be reunited with her. "Welunix! My love! You're alive!" She hardly had time to pick up her head before I was nuzzling with her.
My mate giggled a little bit and Pulled her head away from mine in order to give her time to speak. "Okay, okay. Yes, I am alive. But how? Did you kill it"
My happiness instantly drained and I felt shame throughout my body. "No, it defeated me..." I looked around and saw the dead creature, I knew what it was. It was called a leviathan. The only thing that stood a chance at beating a dragon on its own. They fed on dragon eggs and they were rare. It was another of Arohk's lessons. But atop its head was a small metallic ring; a control device. This thing was being controlled, but the good thing was that it was dead. And on that note, I tried to look for who, or what, had killed the leviathan. It did not take me long to find the limp body. I approached it with caution and found that it was a dragon, it was Auryn! His blue scales had faded to gray, a sign that he had died by the rare overuse of magic. But yet, it still felt like he was there. Then, something in my mind clicked.
My lover had retrieved our eggs and I approached the small clutch of three. Using my magic, I check each of them. The first one was a female and very much stable. The second was a male and his condition was the same. But when I got to the last egg, the life force from within was extremely strong; however, there was no trace of a mind. There was very little chance that it would survive long enough for it to hatch. It was almost as if it was an empty shell. And that thought caused me to act without even thinking about consequences, my body acting on its own. I stood between Auryn's body and the egg. My eyes closed and I murmured something from between my scaly lips. A glowing beam of alternating red and blue light stretched between Auryn's faded body and the egg. There was a large flash and then it was gone. I had no idea what I did at the time, but I would find out soon enough. But for the time being, I curled up with my mate and put a protective wing over her. "I promise, I will never fail you again." I said to her before falling asleep.
***
"Vrelvel, it's time!" Moonfire said excitedly. "The eggs are hatching!" Hearing that, I left my post guarding the entrance to our home and followed her inside the cave.
I stood smiling beside my mate in my true form as we both watched the eggs shake and shift slightly before us; the little dragonlings inside trying to escape from their hard, opaque prisons. There was a cracking sound followed by the appearance of a hole in one of the eggs. The next sound made my ear fins perk up and flare as blood flowed into them. That sound was the squeaking of the first of my children to hatch. Out of the hole came a green scaled arm that began clawing at the outside of the eggshell. A few more squeaks, squeals, and light thumps later, and another green limb popped out through another newly formed hole in the egg. Another knock, and a large crack formed from one end of the egg to the other. Within the next minute, the egg split open and I beheld the first child of my brood.
Moonfire brought her head down to our first hatchling and started to lick the remains of the egg off. After she was finished cleaning our first little one, I began to inspect it. The hatchling before me was female. I don't know how I knew that this one was female, I just did. A name floated into my mind. It was from my lover, her suggestion for naming our daughter: Késëdrian. In acceptance of the name, I repeated it aloud and continued my inspection of my daughter. She had green scales like her mother, but lacked the blue fur and blue-feathered wings. She also had little stripes of red scales here and there. She was barely larger than my forepaw and within her head were two sky blue eyes. My new daughter looked right into my eyes, yawned, then curled up and fell fast asleep.
One of the other eggs caught my attention as it too started to break open piece by piece. There was another set of squeaks and squeals and the egg fell open, reveiling the second of my brood to hatch. It was a male and covered in scales that matched my crimson ones. My mate repeated her ritual of cleaning with our new son. A name appeared in my head; not from my mate, but from the deep recesses of my mind. The name was Raeze, I checked with my mate through our mental link and received a confirming reply. We both repeated our son's name as he yawned and curled up next to his sister, falling fast asleep as well.
The third and final egg gave no signs of life. My heart sank and Moonfire began to weep uncontrollably. I wrapped one of my large, red wings around her and tucked her head under my chin.
"Shhhhh," I tried to comfort my mate, "it's okay, we still have two beautiful children to raise."
"But I carried them inside me as they grew for four months! And then watched over them for eight more!" She continued to cry. "Why did we have to lose one from our small clutch? What did I do to deserve this!?"
"You have done nothing wrong, my love." I said. "Sometimes, it just happens." As her tears began to soak into the thick plates of my underside, I felt a strong energy radiate from the unhatched egg. The energy surged and the egg burst open. Where the egg was just moments before was a blue hatchling sleeping in its place. Moonfire instantly moved to clean it. It was Auryn, and he was a hatchling now; a hatchling from my brood.
My mate curled tightly around our children and moved a feathery wing over them, like a living blanket. I in turn curled around her, spooning her, and covered her with my own leathery wing. I had become a father, and I would do anything to protect my family, even if that meant that I had to lose my life; and should it come to that, I would not fail again...