Music for today:
Rok Nardin & Schepetkov - Inside Your Mind (feat. Madalen Duke)
https://youtu.be/g-gkJBqmoeU
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Chapter 491: Roots
Mid Morning - Mid Summer : Year 39 : Posideon, Draconic Continent
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The rest of the night passed like a leaf drifting in the wind. With Hera's contemplation washing us with silence, we laid beneath the stars in the comfort of each others embrace—drifting our thoughts into the breeze as if hoping they'd somehow reach an answer we knew was well out of reach.
But truthfully, we didn't mind it.
To lay there knowing things would turn out alright—that no matter how much time passed, no matter what struggles or hardship were to fall on us, we would still have each other—we had the reassurance we needed to simply slow down...
...To lay there, refusing to let the stars pass over in the blink they always would.. and rest...
But in the end, it was still bound to pass.
With the cusp of a glow beginning to rise over the horizon, the world began waking up. The wind grew more turbulent, the birds began tweeting, and as if the fight never happened, Mother and Father took to the sky looking like two cuddly newlyweds.
Or well.. at least one of them did...
Waking with a stretch, refreshed, but so comfortable she didn't want to move, Hera leaned further into me before looking out at them and cracking a smile. "Looks like they had a long night."
She was being smug, but it wasn't like I didn't know why.
Seeing Father looking completely exhausted while Mother cuddled up to him with an overwhelming affection, I had to hold back my laugh as well. "Father looks like he could use a nap."
"Hmhm, I bet he could." Rolling onto her side with a lighthearted chuckle, lifting her snout to nudge my cheek, the look in her eyes grew more alluring.
Though, she never said what she wanted to.
Seeing Mother and Father turn towards us from the sunrise, she slowly straightened herself before getting up with a cat-like stretch and walking out to the edge of our little plateau.
"Looks like you had a good time, Zachari." Getting silhouetted by the warm glow of the sun.. she looked especially beautiful for a moment.
And Mother wasn't much different. "Like you wouldn't believe~." *Woosh* Dropping off of Father—catching herself in a glide—her feathers almost appeared to sparkle in the light. "I really hope you'll be able to experience it one day."
Hera's tail instantly curled with a pleased whip. "It's only matter of time."
And as if she were a mirror, Mother's grin widened as well. "Hoho~, how pleasant to hear." Turning to me, the look in her eyes began shifting with a mix of pride and excitement. "I'll look forward to the good news, then."
Almost immediately, Father and Hera turned to me as well—Hera licking her lips as if she had finally been granted the permission she was looking for, while Father simply gave me a look that said, 'Good luck, son.'
Not that I thought I was the one who needed it.
While I got up with a bit of an awkward look, I didn't feel any need to shy away from Hera's look like I normally would. "I'm sure Hera will keep you updated."
Finally landing with a feathery flutter, Mother gave her a soft, almost sorrowful look before using magic to try and whisper solely to her...
...Not exactly realizing just how deeply our auras were intertwined. "He may look totally different, but he's got my blood in his veins. You might want to be a little careful with—"
Tensing, knowing I shouldn't be listening, I ripped my aura away with a jolt.
But the tension rippling down Hera's tail didn't seem to stop until Father finally landed, and helped them shift gears.
"Ahem," By the looks, he had plenty of experience doing it. "In any case, we hope you two rested well. We apologize if our 'fight' got in the way of anything."
Hera shifted gears in a blink. "Please don't apologize. It was quite a spectacle. It reminded me of my youth."
"Hoho, is that so?" Coving her mouth with the tip of her wing, Mother shifted gears a little more slowly. "Think we could hold our own against the dragons of the Golden Age?"
Hera was quick to give a firm nod, barely containing her laugh. "For how truly elegant you look, your techniques would have made quite the stir, you know."
Mother's wings flared slightly as she lifted her snout with a youthful pride. "I made them myself."
"Hoho~, thats quite impressive."
Mother's posture continued to lighten with every compliment.
But eventually, with the help of Father, things winded down. With the passage of a few hours, the sun rose, the air warmed, and our conversation steadily took on a more and more serious tone.
Going over some of Mother's questions, from the massive ice caps to the south, to what happened to me when I disappeared, the conversation gradually moved toward more and more current topics.
And eventually, we reached the attacks, explaining how she was one of the lucky few to survive before going to talk about how Bahamut had collapsed, world climate shifted, and draconic society devolved.
Having been mentioning Krystallo throughout the stories and explinations, Mother wasn't terribly worried despite knowing she had been quite injured from the attacks—brushing off Hera's guilt from not being able to save her like it was nothing to apologize over.
But in the end, I was still a little nervous how she would take actually seeing the extent of it...
"You said she's resting down the mountain?"
Quickly nodding, I tried to continue with both haste and caution, "I needed her help to bring you back, so she spent a number of years with me in the void, and in the end, accidentally triggered her dragon sleep." Using my aura to motion her west, my wings settled into my side. "She's in the room you were being held in, in an old military base, but before we go, let me preface that.. the damage she took from the attack isn't as minimal as you seem to be thinking..."
But she just passed it off with a scoff. "With how Hera talked about all the things she did after the attack, I'm certain its not something shallow, but in the end, its a fight she's already won, is it not?"
Suddenly looking toward Father, I found his gaze slowly easing as if a burden were lifting.
A burden that was akin to a mountain... "It took some time, but through the hardship, she's indeed found herself."
Mother's expression instantly began glistening with pride.
And in response, the air eased.
"Would you like to go down and see her?" Certain it was finally time, Father moved forward to lead the way.
And without delay, we made our descent. *Woosh*
Not speaking a word as we glided down the mountainside, I expected the air to thicken—tighten—but as we landed and made our way inside, following the turbulent suction of mana, the air around us was oddly.. peaceful...
As if we were isolated in a bubble—even as the air grew so cold that ice was forming across the floor, walls, and ceiling—beside Mother, it felt.. warm...
So warm that.. as we walked into the room.. the frost began retreating from her paws.
*Woom* Stopping just a few steps from Krystallo's body, Mother sat down, and as if noticing, the flow of mana within the room began shifting in response.
Krystallo was unconscious.. deep in her dragon sleep.. but even then, her soul responded.
And Mother saw it.
Looking over Krystallo's still body, her expression simply melted with pride. "You really have grown a lot." She spoke softly, but warmly, rocking her head to glance toward the prosthetic by the door, before sinking it into Father, Hera, and I. "I'm sure it was difficult, but.. that's why you don't fight alone, right..?"
Relaxing her posture entirely, Mother's glittering, mana-blue eyes shifted to a gentle orange, and as if it were the glow of a blaze, the frost began retreating even further.. and parted for her steps.
Steps that stopped the moment before they touched.
Remaining silent for a moment, Mother watched intently as the frost on Krystallo's paws stood stubborn, refusing to retreat in the warmth of her presence.. before... "Why are you refusing it..?" She whispered.
Pausing again, the air shifted, winding.. writhing before Mother turned back to me.
"Her injuries may be permanent to anyone else, but I'm certain this isn't beyond you..." Pausing, she looked into my eyes as if looking for something other than words.
An answer to a question she was yet to even ask.
Though, nonetheless, one I already knew. "She refused my help." Lowering my snout with a nod, confirming what she already suspected, I took a breath of pause before continuing. "She's.. gone through so much to escape my shadow.. to carve herself her own path forward, that.. she wants to handle this fight alone..."
Not pulling her eyes off me, Mother's voice settled. "You must be confident it's a fight she'll win..."
I nodded without hesitation. "She's gotten a lot stronger while you were away."
Seeing my expression warm, hers followed, "Haha, I can tell!" Looking back over Krystallo, her eyes danced across the frost with a brightening gleam. "She's gotten so strong that even subconsciously, she's trying to swat away my paw."
Cracking a smile, Father's posture washed with relief as well. "She wants to fight her own battles."
"Hah," But Mother just scoffed... "She just doesn't want Vasilias to win them for her."
"H..huh..?" Raising my snout, my eyes widened to watch as the orange glow within her eyes spread through her body, rippling beneath her scales.
*Woom* With every passing moment, the chill in the air was crushed by an overwhelming heat—the frost retreating from even the most distant corners of the room before the frost on Krystallo's paw began wavering.
"Vasilias," Her tone was gentle, but firm—like a mentor wishing correct, but not reprimand. "When Krystallo refused, she wasn't asking you to let her fight alone."
Watching the frost on Krystallo's scales continue to fight the heat, I looked up.. confused...
"If we only ever fought alone, none of us would still be here..." Father and Hera both turned to me almost instantly, "Krystallo is no different... If she's left alone, it's only a matter of time before something happens.. and she doesn't make it..." Lifting her paw, she moved it over Krystallo—the heat sending ripples through the frost. "When she told you not to help, she wasn't asking you to leave her. She was asking you to not give her the answer."
With a wash of realization, my breathing hitched.
And without another word, Mother's paw fell onto Krystallo's side. *tap...*
*Woom*
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