| I sat on the bed, propped against the headboard. Zidane was tucked against my side and had his head resting on my chest. I had my arm around his shoulder to provide comfort and to keep him on the bed if he tried to roll off. My tail was clutched tightly in his hands, as if I were going to sneak away while he slept (it didn�t hurt that much, luckily). He began to whimper. I could do nothing but hold him until he either woke or hit me in a blind swing. After a bit, he tried to roll away. My arm prevented it, but he still did not wake. He trembled, cowered, let out a weak cry, and convulsed once before going frighteningly limp. � Ziaden?� He stirred weakly, then opened his eyes and looked up at me. � Am I alive?� � Last I was aware,� I answered lightly, getting rewarded with the slight smile I�d been hoping for. � What happened?� � A shadow . . . killed everyone . . . I heard that laugh again and . . . then the shadow killed me too.� I brushed at his blond hair and twined it around my finger. His slightly dragonic eyes watched my actions with sharp calculation, as if he were about to attack my hand. However, he did nothing more than give a small smile and close his eyes to nap. I could sense his continuing unease, though. � Ziaden.� He opened his eyes and looked at me, but didn�t move otherwise. � I have something for you.� A pile of white shapes appeared in my hand. Curious, Zidane picked one up and inspected it closely. � It�s a tooth. A very sharp tooth.� He looked at me again. � Yours?� � They�re my milk teeth.� � Aw,� he said with a sarcastic smirk. � How cute.� I proceeded to wrap a thin, pliable, metal wire around each of the largest teeth (there were about five)--linking them together--then attached the whole thing to a strip of leather. I tied the finished product around Zidane�s neck. As soon as I was done, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Then, abruptly, tears welled in his eyes and he began to cry. He turned his face into my shirt and kept crying. � H . . . How could you . . . stand it?� he asked in a shaky voice. � It must�ve been . . . so lonely.� I pet him. � Dragons are very solitary creatures. The only time they are together is when they are hatchlings with their clutchmates, ganging up to kill something, or searching for a mate.� That particular thought brought another. � Ziaden, do you have an actual interest in any girl or is it just a passing fetish?� � There is one . . .� � Garnet.� He lifted his head. � How did you know?� � The way you act, think, speak around her. Your body language and facial expressions. I can read you like a book, Ziaden.� This seemed to catch his interest. � Body language? What do I do?� � You stand squarely and are much more alert than usual. Because you want to protect her, right?� He nodded. � What else?� � You say the stupidest things half the time and ingenious things the rest of the time. You act mature and immature within the same span of time. Your thoughts always seem to be turned toward her comfort no matter what you all happen to be doing.� � Can you warn me next time you catch me doing that?� I lifted an eyebrow. � I suppose.� � Thanks.� His hand reached up and he thoughtlessly played with my milk teeth. When he stabbed himself with one, he blinked. � Oh yeah. Why did you give me these?� � Because they are mine, I am still linked with them through my mind. You may speak with me mentally as long as you have these. No matter how far apart we are, I will always hear you and respond. No one can listen in on us as long as they don�t have something of mine or yours.� He allowed a genuine smile. � Thanks. I need something like that.� I pried his fingers off my tail. � Now you have it.� *~~* Antlion was, of course, quite ugly. It wasn�t too difficult to hurt, but the thing just wouldn�t die. The fact that it had such little defense made me overconfident and I got too close. It grabbed me and flung me into the cliff wall behind it. I hit hard and dropped to the sand, inches from the quicksand pit Antlion inhabited. From across the pit, there was a human/dragon scream. I lifted my head and watched Zidane go into Trance. His tail thrashed as he tossed his head and snarled, giving me a very clear view of his mouth, which was full of sharp fangs. Blazing iridescent angel-type wings burst from his shoulders and spread wide. He leapt into the air and attacked Antlion--doing extensive damage--and then came to me. � Are you okay?� he asked, settling carefully into the sand nearby. � I�m fine.� I pushed myself to my feet. � I have an idea.� Without warning, he caught my waist and rose into the sky easily. He glided over to Antlion and dropped me on its head. Well, at least the teeth are working. I crawled along Antlion�s neck, picking out handfuls of sand from its mane of soft spikes. I reached its head and tossed the sand in its eyes. It shrieked and threw itself from side to side, trying to clear its sight. I went flying, but flipped and bounced off another cliff wall and landed safely on solid sand. Zidane attacked Antlion while it was so distracted, dealing the killing blow with sickening precision. He leapt back out of the way and I plucked a feather from the closest wing as Trance faded. � Ow!� I winced. � Sorry.� I stared at the shimmering feather in my hand for a while and then began to stroke it. It was soft, as a feather should be, and smooth. Beside me, Zidane moaned and dropped his chin on my forearm. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. � Oh, that feels really good. Keep doing it.� I watched him, extremely intrigued by this turn of events. Petting the feather again, I observed his shudder of pleasure and then, taking pity on him, put it in zero space. � You know, I think I�ll keep this for another use at another time.� His eyes immediately refocused and he glared death at me. � If you give it to Dagger I swear I�ll throttle you!� � You�ll have to catch me first.� <--Part 10 Part 12--> |
| There is a place in our dreams where all our loved ones are together. It is the one place we wish to go when we die. ~Dragon's Teachings, pg. 39 Part 11 |