| To those with the strength, your journey will be noted. For those without the strength, stay home. -Dragon�s Teachings, pg. 9 Part 4 Someone was hugging me. Small bits of warm wetness ran over my scaly skin. They were crying. But I couldn�t get up. Couldn�t open my eyes. � Mother . . .� a young voice moaned mournfully. � Mother . . .� � Zidane, we have to leave before he wakes up.� � I�m not going anywhere. When that dragon wakes up, I�m going to kill him with my own two hands.� What?! Is he crazy?! Rrrr . . . I can�t move! But I have to get up! � Zidane! You can�t fight him and live!� Thank you, but that�s not good enough for him. � You just watch me.� You�re going to have to--- � If you challenge him, that dragon is going rip open your stomach and laugh as you watch your guts fall onto the ground! Then he�ll pull your heart right from your chest and make you watch it beat one last time before eating it! And as you finish up dying, he�ll tear your face open, crush your skull, and eat your brains right out of your head!� What a nice description. Maybe that�ll work. � . . . I don�t care.� Well at least it made him think. There was a hiss from nearby. � Pathetic humans! You will all die just like that empress!� I was gently laid on the ground. � I don�t know what your problem is, but you have no right to just burst into territory that�s not yours and attack a dragon who�s never killed another dragon in her life!� � I saw it!� � It�s not her fault that your mother bred with a peasant dragon and got him killed for molesting a noble! It�s just too easy to blame someone else, isn�t it?� There was a snarl. � Die, boy!� I heard ripping cloth and flesh. Scales were popped off forcefully. Bones were broken and joints dislocated. There was a cry of pain and then a long silence. A snort. � So easy to kill.� A jolt of electricity ran through me and I leapt to my feet, dashing toward the dragon who was arched to give the killing blow. I zipped in and out, letting the emperor eat dirt and get his snout stuck in the ground. Setting my precious child gently in the cover of a thicket, I returned my full attention to the other dragon. [How dare you try to kill my son! Just because you have no family doesn�t mean that others shouldn�t have one either!] The dragon scoffed. [A human? Your son? Don�t make me laugh. Humans have no respect for us.] I snarled. [Silence, you! I will accept no more nonsense!] He dove in for a slash across my neck. I dodged and snapped, tearing the soft flesh behind his jaw. He staggered back, bright orange blood streaming down his plated neck and chest. [H . . . How? You . . . You are inferior . . .] I snorted. [As I said before, I�ll see you in Hell, Tiovex.] I went back to the thicket as he flew away and nosed Garnet and Vivi out so I could get in. � Ziaden, wake up . . . Ziaden.� He took a deep breath and stirred, opening his eyes one at a time. � M . . . Mother?� � Yes, I�m right here.� � But---� � No, I�m still alive. Come on, hold still so I can get you out.� I drug him out of the thicket and carefully set him on my back. � Hang on tight, Ziaden.� I trotted to the spring in my little grove and put him in it. He winced at the chill water, but did nothing more. � I need to get some things. I�ll be right back. I won�t go far.� He nodded and slumped a bit farther into the water, letting his head rest on the bank. I looked at the others briefly, then ran down the path to a dead end. There I began to dig, uncovering potions and hi-potions and antidotes and remedies and other such things. Poking farther, I grabbed some phoenix down and hi-potion and headed back. As I�d expected, he was comatose from the extensiveness of the injuries. I put the phoenix down on his shoulder and let that work as I opened the hi-potion. When he came around I had him drink the hi-potion. � Don�t get up right away, you�re still hurt.� � What is it?� � Your shoulder and wrist are dislocated.� He rolled to his right, surpressing a cry as the shoulder popped back into its socket. Then he pushed his left hand back, returning it to the socket. After that, he closed his eyes and napped. I scooped up a wingful of water and carefully poured it over his hair, loosening any blood that dried in it. I repeated the motion and then lifted him from the stream to keep him from freezing overnight. When I laid him down, he immediately curled up to preserve warmth. I laid down and curled around him, once again using my wing as a blanket. He shivered violently, but I could do nothing more. *~~* � This is embarrassing.� � Maybe you should�ve thought of that before you ran off to let that emperor nearly kill you.� He plucked disgustedly at the shirt and jeans, though they were clean. � This is so gross. Where are my clothes?� � On my tail drying.� � Yeah, in the Ice Cavern. Right. Why�d you put me in the spring anyway?� � It has healing properties.� � But did you have to put me in there with my clothes on?� � Well, I thought you�d rather have your clothes get wet than have me strip you naked and then put you in.� He paused. � You�re right. Sorry.� I sighed and continued on, snarling at fangs and wyerds that got too close. We came out into an area where snow blasted full-force at us. Vivi wandered off a ledge and Steiner followed. Both laid at the bottom of the small area, unmoving. Garnet sank to the snow next. Zidane frowned as he wavered. � Something�s very wrong here.� <--Part 3 Part 5--> |