Authors: Carmella Jones
“Precisely there,” Rasenth replied, and gave Syrenth a kiss. “Now, though I’m loathe to let you go, you have to get back home quickly and hide the eggs before it’s too late. Okay?” Rasenth said. He took no pleasure in rushing Syrenth out of his chambers, but time was of the essence.
Syrenth returned the kiss and gave Rasenth one last squeeze before getting up to leave. This wasn’t the most ideal circumstances to be reunited with the dragon he loved, but at least he would be able to be with Rasenth again.
“Thank you. I’ll see you in a few weeks,” Syrenth spoke softly, then took his leave to fly back to his village. He didn’t want to fly back in that wind so soon after flying through it before, but he had to do it to get back home. So, he turned into his dragon form and headed off, being as quick as he could so he could hide his eggs before Tazour found them.
Chapter 8
Weeks passed until the night of the full moon, upon which Rasenth was returning to wait for Syrenth to come the next day. He found a cave that was well protected, what with it being behind a waterfall in a nice, warm place. He wouldn’t be at full strength in a warm location, granted, but all the tribes around the area were significantly weaker than he was, so protection wouldn’t be too big of a concern. Not to mention, there was food aplenty, and it was a beautiful location no less. So, Rasenth was excited to take his young lover there, where they could just be at peace and enjoy themselves while they raised the hatchlings--such was his dream, anyways.
As the sun set, Tazour got ready to leave. He wished his son goodbye as he walked out the door then headed out of the house. Normally, he would have just took off from outside the house, but something had caught the older dragons eye. He could see numerous twigs and branches gathered in a pile from behind his house. That was a little strange. It seemed as if a tree had fallen down or something, but there was no other evidence for it.
So, Tazour went to investigate. He walked around the back of the house to see a patch of uneven grass, dirt and half buried branches. This hadn’t always been here. Tazour brought his nose down to sniff at the ground, see if something was amiss, because nothing about this seemed right. Something must have been buried here.
Without any further hesitation, Tazour began digging up the ground, removing the dead leaves, branches, twigs and soil until he finally reached something. Something hard. The older dragon brushed away the soil to find the top of a large purple egg. He brushed away more sand, and there was another.
“This can’t be,” Tazour muttered, as all egg laying was to be reported so that the new hatchlings could be properly taken care of and accounted for. The Inferno leader brought his muzzle down to the eggs, inhaling their scent to find out who they belonged to, and he couldn’t believe his nose when he caught the scent of his own son. These were Syrenth’s. There was no mistake. Tazour was furious.
“Syrenth!” Tazour called at the top of his lungs. The entire village could probably hear it, but none would dare disturb a family quarrel. Hearing Tazour scream like that was the last thing Syrenth was wanting or expecting. He had been hoping his father had left by now, but it seemed that wasn’t the case and his nightmares were coming back to haunt him. Syrenth had a pretty good guess of what was wrong, but there was no way he could back out now.
Slowly, the young dragon left the house, keeping his head down as he approached his father cautiously. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he could feel his legs shaking with fear.
“Yes, father?” He asked cautiously, the terror embedded into his voice.
“What are these?” Tazour snapped, taking a step towards his son and gesturing the eggs with his tail. Syrenth didn’t answer. Not immediately. He just lowered his head further and looked to the floor.
“Answer me!” Tazour growled, advancing again towards his son, almost ready to hit his son for his act of disobedience.
“They’re eggs,” Syrenth spoke eventually, backing off to the side a little and trying to get over the eggs, but Tazour wouldn’t let them. Not until he was finished with his interrogation.
“Whose eggs?” Tazour asked, but once again, Syrenth didn’t answer. He could barely even look at his father. He wished Rasenth was here to tell him what to do, or what to say. He didn’t know.
“Tell me who these damned eggs belong to or i’ll crush them,” Tazour snapped, but there was still no answer from the younger dragon. Now, his patience had ran thin. The older dragon went back over to the hole in the ground and was ready to obliterate the eggs, raising his claws to smack down hard on them.
“They’re mine!” Syrenth screamed, just before his father went through with his plan. For now they were alright, but Syrenth didn’t know how much longer he would be able to keep them safe with his father acting this way.
“Who is the other parent?” Tazour asked, keeping close to the eggs as a threat to his son for him to keep talking, and it seemed to work.
“Someone outside the herd. That’s why I hid them,”
“Who was it?”
“Just an outsider. No one important. It was a mistake!”
“Tell me there name, where they are from. Now, Syrenth,” Tazour demanded, and Syrenth had to give in. He didn’t want his eggs being crushed. He had no choice now.
“They’re Rasenth’s,” Syrenth spoke, his voice almost a whisper but Tazour heard it clear as day. He couldn’t believe it. His son had betrayed the Infernos by sleeping with an ice dragon? Their family honour had now been tainted by such a stupid act, and Tazour was just filled with rage.
“Tell me this wasn’t consented. Tell me this was against your will,” Tazour growled, as he wanted the chance to at least try and redeem his son’s actions before things spiralled out of control. However, Syrenth didn’t answer and he just stared at the ground. His silence was enough to confirm everything though.
“You will get inside the house and you will not move from there. Do understand me?” Tazour ordered and waited until Syrenth retreated back into the house before going anywhere. The older dragon was absolutely furious. He was seeing red right now, and he wasn’t going to stop until he had confronted Rasenth and ended this horrific nightmare that his son had caused.
In the sycamore grove, Rasenth was getting anxious, and he was clawing nervously on trees while he waited for his lover to arrive with the eggs. He knew that he advised Rasenth not to take the eggs until the evening after his father left for reasons of security, but until he saw Syrenth coming with their unhatched babies, he wouldn’t be able to relax. He was far too anxious to do anything but pace and claw at whatever unlucky tree might be around him.
It was Tazour’s intentions to head straight to the mountains to find Rasenth, as he expected the ice elder to be there. However, as Tazour flew overhead, he managed to spot the ice dragon in the forest. Rasenth stuck out like a sore thumb in Inferno territory, and now Tazour was going to make the most of that.
The Inferno dragon landed in the forest, letting out an ear piercing roar as he approached Rasenth. There was smoke pouring out of his nostrils as his eyes were glowing red with rage.
“How dare you infect my son with your wretched dna. You will pay for dishonouring him,” Tazour snapped, ready to pounce and kill Rasenth as soon as possible.
Tazour certainly wasn’t the fire dragon that Rasenth had been expecting, and he wasn’t happy to have to defend himself now from his lover’s father. Even though Rasenth was an older and more experienced dragon than Tazour, Tazour held the distinct advantage of being a fire wyrm, and therefore being able to use his element to weaken Rasenth. Given that, the battle certainly wouldn’t be easy for either of them.
“Blow smoke all you want Tazour,” Rasenth replied, flicking his tail in annoyance. “What’s done is done. Just try to calm down and think about the situation. If you kill me here, then those eggs will hatch, and your grandchildren will never know their father. Is that what you want?” he asked, trying to talk Tazour out of fighting first, if it would be a possibility.
“If they are ice dragons, they’ll be dead the moment they come out of their shell,” Tazour hissed. He wasn’t feeling any affection for the hatchlings. As far as Tazour was concerned, his son had betrayed him and those eggs were just the result of his sin. He’d exterminate them if they weren’t his own kind, then no one had to know they even existed.
“I won’t let you touch them, you swine,” Rasenth hissed, his wings spreading menacingly. He would protect his young, if he had to die in the process of defending them. A part of him was saddened that it had to come to a battle between the two of them, considering they were both very powerful dragons, and so one of them would die and the other likely be severely maimed. However, he would fight to the death to protect the hatchlings.
Considering that there wasn’t much room left for negotiation, Rasenth began flapping his icy wings, creating a flurry of snow to help create a more suitable terrain for fighting.
Tazour was definitely up for a fight. As the snow crept in, Tazour raised his head and blew out a blaze of blue fire to warm up the atmosphere. After that, he patted the ground, scratching at the earth before charging forward towards Rasenth, teeth snapping as he raced towards him.
When Tazour charged, Rasenth attempted to use the crescent scythes on each side of his mouth to cut his foe near the mouth, so that he would be crippled from using his powerful jaws for a while, or at least to intercept the attack. Tazour was cut, blood dripping from his mouth, but it didn’t stop him as he sliced his claws through Rasenth’s abdomen.
The ice dragon roared in pain, but he didn’t hesitate for long. With a swish flick of his tail, he whacked Tazour’s legs, forcing him off balance before shooting his head foreward to floor the Inferno dragon. Tazour was startled for a moment, and sent out another blast of blue flames towards the ice dragon, but it missed. The Inferno dragon may have been stronger, but Rasenth’s experience was giving him favour in this battle.
As Tazour tried to get back to his feet, Rasenth got onto his hind legs, using his wings to shoot more ice and snow towards his enemy, blinding Tazour momentarily before Rasenth moved in and sunk his sharp, white teeth into the younger male’s neck. A screech of pain blurted from Tazour’s mouth as he hit Rasenth with his claws, using his wings to push the other dragon away and gain a bit of distance. He was now losing quite a bit of blood. The inferno dragon felt dizzy and unsteady, and Rasenth was quick to use this to his advantage. He charged towards the other dragon, his wings close to his body as he made his fatal pounce, forcing Tazour onto his back as he raised his claws to deliver the final blow.
“Rasenth, wait!” Syrenth shouted, panic enveloping his voice as he ran towards the two older dragons. In his claws were the three eggs, safe and sound, and almost ready to hatch. Syrenth didn’t want to stay here much longer, but he certainly didn’t want his father killed. He couldn’t allow Rasenth to kill him. Not if they could just escape. Syrenth didn’t want to feel responsible for the death of his parent after all.
“Please, don’t. Don’t kill him!”
When Rasenth heard his lover’s plea, he lowered his claw. He wasn’t about to kill Tazour if Syrenth was against it, even if he thought that Tazour would be nothing but trouble should he choose to try and track the two of them down and rekindle this conflict.
“Let’s go,” Rasenth said, leaving Tazour on the ground, and waiting for Syrenth to take flight. Rasenth planned on following Syrenth, just to keep a close eye on him, and look out for him. He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to his mate on his watch, after all.
Syrenth was happy to go, but there was something he had to do first. He went over to his father, who was struggling to get back to his feet. It was awful. Rasenth really had done a number on him, but Syrenth understood why.
“I’m sorry father,” He spoke softly, and nuzzled him gently, but didn’t stay long. He didn’t want to risk further confrontation. Before Tazour was even able to speak, Syrenth handed an egg to Rasenth to hold, as it was difficult for him to keep three in his claws. He was terrified to drop them, but once he knew all three eggs were secure, he took flight, ready to be lead to his new home.
Rasenth wasted no time in getting Syrenth to their new nest, and getting everything settled as best he could. During the time that he was waiting for the full moon, he had made a nest for the eggs of soft moss he found in the forest, and he got the eggs nicely situated there. That done, he went over to Syrenth and nuzzled him affectionately.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there for you when you actually had the eggs. I was thinking about that the other day. It must have been really hard for you. This whole ordeal probably hasn’t been the best, what with you leaving your home and all. But, I promise from here on out, I will be there for you, Sy,” Rasenth said softly.
Syrenth was glad to have the affection. It was so nice to feel loved again. Over the past number of months, the young dragon had missed his lover. Sure they had only been together a short time, but that had meant the world to him. It was just nice to feel like someone in the world actually cared for him, and loved him in a way that no one else could. He had missed that. It was hard to believe he had that back.
As Rasenth nuzzled into him, Syrenth smiled and just held his lover closer, snuggling into him and closing his eyes as he savoured the moment. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he was sure they would cope.
“It was really scary. I didn’t know what was happening when they came out. It hurt… but… I’m sure it will be worth it. It means we can have a family together and that we don’t have to hide anymore. I would like to start over with you again, and have a proper relationship with you now,” Syrenth said softly, looking up at the older dragon with such an innocent glint in his eyes. He wanted to have a big happy family with Rasenth. Anything to keep his lover close by and interested. This would be his first proper relationship, and he hoped it would stand the test of time.
“I would like that. I’ve wanted a family for a very long time, but being the elder in a clan means you have to put the good of the clan before your own wants and desires. Now, I no longer have to worry about that, and I can just focus on what I really want to focus on, which is you, and our babies,” Rasenth replied, giving Syrenth a short kiss before he went over to their bed and patted on it for Syrenth to join him. It had been a rather long flight, and Rasenth was tired after coming all this way after the fierce battle.