The night was exceptionally beautiful. The sky was a brilliant obsidian tapestry and the stars were it’s diamonds. The wonders of the universe expanded out along the skyline in every conceivable direction, awing the meek and unworthy creatures of the planet with the glories of the never-ending sky. All who took the time to gaze at the miraculous sight were left with a feeling of peace and quiet wonder that added to the overall magic of the evening’s events.
Despite Magika urging, Kieoxa never looked up.
Truth to be told, the girl from a ravaged future Earth was terrified of the proceedings. There were too many people talking, too many people laughing, too many people drinking, and too many people moving. The worst part for her was that not all of them were people. As Melody, she’d been acquainted with and even friends with several Devovled, but the sight of a very tall entirely blue man was enough to send Kieoxa scurrying to Magika. She wrapped her arms around Magika and wished this entire hatching thing over as quickly as possible.
"Hey!" Magika was a little surprised by the assault, but over the last month she’d been getting more and more accustomed to having a shadow. Only one person had made the mistake of saying Kieoxa hung off Magika like Mystic hung off Aaron. That person had been properly beaten to within an inch of his life and returned to the healer with no apology. Magika wouldn’t tolerate anyone poking fun at the poor girl, and no one could tolerate Magika’s temper. "What’s up?"
Kieoxa didn’t answer, simply buried her head in Magika’s back, a few frightened tears running into the Weyrwoman’s hair.
Magika wrapped her arms around Kieoxa and moved the girl in front of her. She was also getting used to the fact that she was never dry or clean anymore. Taking care of Kieoxa was turning out to be a full time job. Hyth?
Shard scared her. The golden dragon had become very good at reading Kieoxa, although it was still uncomfortable for her. She hadn’t been bred to bespeak the world, the talent had been forced into her by Magika’s lifestyle.
On purpose? Magika turned her attention to the large blue man. He was smiling and chatting with Baeris.
Hyth wasn’t really amused by the attempt at humour. Yes Magika, on purpose. He decided it’d be fun to scare Kieoxa enough to make her jump off the edge of the shardin’ platform. Seeing that Magika couldn’t figure out what Shard could have done by accident to scare the girl, the golden dragon kindly informed Magika. By the first egg you are blind!! He’s blue rider-mine!!
Magika glared upwards, as her lifemate wasn’t within view. Oh. She refocused her attention on her charge. "There’s really no need to be scared of Shard. He may be blue and big but he’d never think of hurting you. He can’t be scarier than the dragons."
Kieoxa noted the sense that made, but purposefully ignored it. She didn’t like this hatching and, once again, wished it over as quickly as possible. She disentangled herself from Magika and moved to stand by herself at the back of the platform. Thirty seconds later she was attached to Magika again.
With a grunt as the air left her lungs, Magika turned to see what had startled the girl this time. By the blue light that was quickly forming into two human shaped things, Magika assumed Mystic was magicking herself here. She glared at her quickly appearing friend, letting the mage know that this behaviour was not appreciated.
Mystic never saw the glare, or even could have guessed the reason for her friend’s annoyance. The moment Mystic fully appeared on the platform, all anger and annoyance was wiped off Magika’s face, replaced with disbelief, amazement, and finally, utter pleasure.
As soon as the Weyrwoman started laughing, Kieoxa retreated to the shadows of the platform again, near one of the electronic spotlights. The others found it odd that she jumped at Mystic’s magic, but not at the futuristic light. They didn’t know that she actually found the hum of the electricity comfortingly familiar. She decided to remain huddled near the light as Magika was obviously in no condition to protect her and quite likely to become the target of a vicious spell from her less than amused friend.
Kieoxa didn’t find Mystic or Aaron’s outfits hilarious at all. The doctors and scientists on her planet had worn skin-tight protective suits while performing the tests that ranked all the people. Mystic’s apparent change from sorcerer to scientist was disturbing for her and she purposefully directed her attention to the sands.
As the first of the oddly mutated hatchlings burst from it’s shell, Kieoxa was relieved of the pressure of the platform’s inhabitant’s odd looks and the noise of the crowd. There wasn’t complete silence, such a thing is utterly impossible with any large group of sentient or non-sentient beings, but there was definitely a stillness and an air of anticipation that greatly helped Kieoxa’s shredded nerves. For a few moments at least, she was alone, safe and had something to focus her attention on, other than the memory of the ashes.
The astonishing hatchings were easily the centre of everyone’s attention. Even Magika had finally pried her eyes from her friends’ unusual fashion statement and her fit of laughter had faded to a giggle every now and then. Mystic glared at Magika, but realized a quiet giggle wasn’t disturbing anyone and decided it would be better for the safety and well-being of everyone on the platform if she didn’t draw Magika’s attention back to her clothes.
Kieoxa almost smiled as Mystic shook her head and sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do but put up with her friend. Melody would have liked these two women, both amazingly strong leaders and at the same time pathetically weak. She almost enjoyed watching the tiny power-struggles that were waged everyday without the awareness of either of the two combatants. They were strong as individuals, made weak by their emotions, yet at the same time strengthened by their friendship. Melody would have been quite at home among the two... Melody would have become their friends... Melody would have been their equal...
But Melody was dead.
Kieoxa sighed, the moment of peace leaving her wasted and empty. Even the miracle of the newly born dragons couldn’t rekindle the joy she’d almost grasped.
"Kieoxa?" Magika had gone all of five minutes without being grappled by the girl, that was a sure sign something was wrong. She turned her attention away from the hatching, and even stopped herself from sneaking a glance at that Warren’s leaders. Turning, she saw the girl huddled on the ground beside the spotlight, knees pulled up to her chin. With a soft sigh, the Weyrwoman left her seat and approached her charge. She knelt down beside the girl and laid a hand tentatively on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Kieoxa nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Magika’s eyebrow’s lifted for a second in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure. "Oh." There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. "Good." Magika looked from the girl to her chair as if wondering whether or not to invite Kieoxa to sit at the front with her or stay back here.
Kieoxa attempted a smile. "I’m just.....just.....tired." It hit Kieoxa that these were the first words she’d spoken in a long time, which was probably the cause of Magika’s surprise.
Magika smiled at her, obviously pleased over the entire sentence. "After the hatching, I’ll take you back to the Warren so you can get to bed. I don’t think the party’ll be worth it anyways." With a reassuring squeeze, the Weyrwoman returned to her seat.
Kieoxa knew that Magika was dying to go to the party and was going to skip it for her. It only added to her misery. After that friendly chat, Magika seemed inclined to leave Kieoxa to her thoughts, a small blessing the girl was grateful for. She knew it was very hypocritical of her to cling to Magika one moment, and then demand her privacy the next, but she figured insane people were allowed to be hypocritical.
You’re not insane. The voice was annoying familiar, as was it’s message.
You’re dead. Kieoxa closed her eyes, lost in her own world. Dead. Burnt. Gone.
No I’m not. A vision of Melody appeared in Kieoxa’s vision. I’m not dead yet. But I’m being slowly suffocated.
Good!! Kieoxa felt a tear run down her cheek. Good!!! You deserve it!! Heartless, friendless, uncaring bitch!
Melody seemed only slightly peeved at the mental assault. Look who’s talking.
You let them die!
I let them die?
You never cared about anything but your stupid rebellion! You ruined my life!
Melody’s confident appearance wavered. The vision appeared to be dispelling.
Kieoxa was crying silently to herself. Over the sounds of the crowd and the sounds of the sands, no one heard her. It’s all your fault....
Melody slowly became one of the burnt corpses. One of the nameless hundreds that had been killed in the cleansing while she sane. Hypocrite.
Kieoxa laid her head against the railing and rested her hand on the burning hot side of the spotlight. The flesh of her palm was seared. I know.
Kieoxa stood, staring at the rather bad burn on her palm. "Ow." She looked up quickly to make sure no one heard her, but the near unbearable cacophony of the crowd had recommenced and her words were drowned out. The hatching was drawing to a close and people were thinking of leaving.
To Kieoxa’s surprise, there was a look of sadness on everyone’s faces, like they had just been awakened from a beautiful dream to face the wretchedness of reality again. "There was bound to be a least one dud. It was an experimental clutch." Many people nodded as the woman Kieoxa had seen talking to Shard attempted to alleviate the sadness.
Kieoxa’s attention was immediately drawn to the lone egg, left amid the shards of it’s companions. It was small, almost awkwardly so, and was perfectly round. The tiny, unliving egg seemed to catch the light of the stars and reflect it back as a soft silvery glow, that Kieoxa alone might know their hopeful beauty without searching for them in the dark night. The others assembled were mourning for the unborn dragon, but Kieoxa couldn’t find it within herself to want the mesmerising orb to break, it’s flawless surface to become cracked. For a moment, the crowd sat in anticipation, waiting for someone to do something with it. Don’t. Kieoxa wasn’t sure to whom she spoke. Leave it to it’s perfection.
The crowd got to it’s feet, forcing the depression of the dead egg to the back of their minds. This was, after all, a time of great joy. A time to celebrate the new dragons and the new riders. And what better way to do that, then a party?
"Where do you think you’re going?" Mystic’s commanding voice startled everyone on the platform, except Aaron, who knew what was coming, Magika, who’d guessed what was coming and Kieoxa, who really didn’t give a damn. "We’ve got a Rave to attend!" Kieoxa’s attention was finally pried from the egg as the roar from the crowd prompted her to cover her ears and duck back down beside the spot light. Some infernal noise that was obviously trying to masquerade itself as music pumped through the night air. Kieoxa kept her hands to her ears and her eyes upon the egg. She saw Mystic begin her incantation, and wished the mage and her friends gone as quickly as possible. Couldn’t they see they were wrecking the night? Couldn’t they see they stars?
In a flash of blinding light, the entire population of the platform was gone, and Kieoxa wondered briefly what god had seen it fit to answer her prayer, when her mind rationally informed her that that had been what Mystic was dancing about. Be careful what you wish for... Alone now on the platform, alone now on the sands, Kieoxa wished for nothing more than Magika, but the Weyrwoman had been teleported away with all the others.
"Gone..." The visions Kieoxa had been striving to repress flooded through her mind as she realized she was alone, again. She clenched her burnt hand, barely acknowledging the pain it caused her. "They’re all gone..."
At the same moment that she realized she was alone, she realised she was a good deal higher than it had appeared with Magika around and she couldn’t see the way down. Bitting her lip to keep herself from crying out, she walked hesitantly to the railing. Her eyes searched the hatching grounds for someone, anyone. She desperately wanted Magika, Mystic, Melody, Meali, Hiana, Jerak, hell she would have settled for Triaxen, but there wasn’t another living sole that the girl could see. Her vision became clouded by tears and she was forced to blink. As her vision cleared, the round egg caught her attention again. It was dead. She knew it was dead. Everyone knew it was dead. But Kieoxa needed someone, and a dead egg was better than nothing.
As she left the platform, she didn’t feel herself becoming hypnotized by the orb. It was quickly becoming all she could think about, all that mattered. The sand burning her feet seemed to reflect the throbbing in her hand, it could easily be endured if that’s what it would take to get to the egg. Shards of broken shell sliced her bare feet open, but she paid them no more heed then she would have feathers. She ignored the bloody trail she was leaving behind her. Hope, also forgotten by the magic, and know completely ignored by the single-minded girl, followed her. The draca had no idea what she could do, but she wasn’t going to leave the girl to kill herself. If things turned really bad, she could fetch Mystic.
Slowly the night around her faded, replaced by the landscape of the ruined city, but for the first time, Kieoxa wasn’t alone. In the ashes of the street lay a shining pearl, Melody standing protectively over it.
You’re dead. Kieoxa knelt beside the egg, curling herself into a ball at Melody’s feet.
Melody smiled. So are you.
Really? Kieoxa already knew the answer to that question, she’d been dead for a long time.
Melody chuckled softly. Guess in the end neither of us could face it very gracefully huh?
No... Kieoxa heard a soft humming sound. It was so wonderfully familiar and comfortable. As Kieoxa opened her mouth to comment on the beautiful music, it stopped. She realised she had been the one who was humming.
I remember that... Melody knelt beside Kieoxa, looking at the markings on her arm. Don’t stop.
Kieoxa continued singing her old lullaby, the words she could never consciously recall returning to her in her confusion. She remembered huddling in the darkness with her mother, desperately trying to avoid the testing. She remembered the men catching them, demanding to know her name. She remembered her mother lying to try and keep her safe. She remembered her mother telling her to never let them know her real self, to never let them chain her completely. To know a name, was to have power. If we’re dead, who is this body?
Melody seemed genuinely disturbed. She couldn’t remember who she really was. She was on the stage in front of the masters again. She was singing her beautiful music and she wasn’t running away. She could ignore the cries in the street, they weren’t really human after all. I don’t know... She was singing, but she could still see Kieoxa and the egg.
Kieoxa was back in the cell on Earth, in the dark with her insanity. She couldn’t remember who she really was. I don’t know... She was confused, but she could still see Melody and the egg.
They both heard chirping and cracking, but both ignored it. They knew it couldn’t be true. They knew the egg was dead. They walked forwards, towards each other, each motion in perfect harmony although neither knew who was leading. It was completely simultaneous action on both of their parts and it was impossible. How could Melody ever understand Kieoxa’s pain? How could she understand the fear, the loneliness, the helplessness of being a slave? How could Kieoxa ever understand Melody’s pain? How could she understand the fear, the loneliness, the helplessness of being the master?
With a shock, it was all entirely possible. They both knew, they both understood. They weren’t looking at each other, they were looking at a mirror, a perfect reflection. There was never two separate entities. There was never one strong, one weak, one free, one slave. She was, who she was and who she’d always be and who she’d always been.
Her breath caught as she turned from her reflection to find the egg. To the girl’s despair, it was shattered, broken and gone. She let a tear slide down her cheek and opened her eyes for the first time since she’d arrived on the sands.
Again her breath caught in her throat as she felt the pressure of a living being in her lap. The memory of snagons came back quickly and she searched for a weapon, but as she glanced down she realized she wouldn’t need one. Gazing back at her, with complete love and understanding was an exquisitely small dragonet. It’s eyes were a deep blue, only a shade or two lighter than the girl’s.
The hatchling’s scales glittered with a mixture of white and trapped fire. Reds, yellows, pinks, even blues sparkled on her wet scales as she shifted in the light. A tip of her wing could be seen, revealing a dazzling display of yellow and red fire. The hatchling tilted her head to the side, sending sparks of blue dancing across her nose. She shone like a gem, like an opal!
Quickly, the girl began to remove the remnants of hard pearly shell that had almost become this dragonet’s tomb. Blinking happily, the opal female pulled herself entirely into her rider’s lap.
"Chronocrus." The voice was her’s, even if it was forced and small. I know you.
Chronocrus nudged the girl with her nose, chirping happily. Kyosia. It was the only word the dragonet knew, but it spoke volumes.
The girl wiped her eyes, and held her new lifemate close to her. Just as the lullaby had returned, so had her name. Her mother’s lies to keep her daughter from being branded. Her mother’s lies to keep Kyosia free. "Yes...." She felt tears in her eyes once more, but she oddly didn’t feel like crying.
Kyosia. Chronocrus was content.
The tears finally stopped. The visions finally stopped. The music finally stopped. The ashes finally stopped. Kieoxa finally stopped. Melody finally stopped.
"By the first egg!" Magika ran into view. Kyosia turned her attention to the woman, aware that she looked horrible. She felt awful for temporarily misplacing her ward. After her dance with Shard, a truly memorable experience, she realized her mistake and headed back here at a dead run, cursing Mystic, magic and herself al the way. She was struck silent by the sight of the hatchling. "Oh..." Magika trailed off, unsure whether to finish her sentence with a thankful prayer or a violent oath.
Kyosia looked up, painfully aware of her pitiful condition. She felt slightly empty without her personnas, but she didn’t miss them, and she didn’t wish them back. "Chronocrus." There was always power in a name. "Kyosia and Chronocrus..."
Magika smiled, miraculously understanding. She reached down and helped the new rider to her feet, as Kyosia was not going to put her lifemate down. "Meilizana ben Ammar bet Ishala Kalinae." The Weyrwoman smirked and winked. "But don’t go spreading that around."
Chronocrus grows...
* * *
Kyosia impressed Chronocrus at The Warren.
I hate myself for admitting this, but I have no idea where I got this background from. I found it saved on an old disk and thought it was appropriate. *hangs head in shame* If anyone does know where I got it, feel free to yell at me.
