| Once one is gone, they usually take a long time to return. -On Eidolon Wall in Madain Sari Part 81 I was ignored. The emperor beside me glanced up and down the canyon. [I have no idea. He could�ve been kicked anywhere, since zaghnols were involved.] I got up and took a step, only to fall almost on my face. My left front leg was broken and the bone stuck out through my scales in two places. Limping south, following the hoofprints left by the zaghnols, I came upon a sad scene. Both appeared dead and I thought so until the girl moved. She had several cuts on her face, but didn�t seem to notice. Instead, she shook the boy�s shoulder, attempting to wake him. I was sure she was wasting her time; his entire body was covered in dirt and he had several hoofprints that were bruising on his face and arms. His clothes were in shreds and blood covered every inch of him that wasn�t caked in dirt and even some that was. His tail was crushed and the fur was matted or missing and his wings were all but gone. Feathers lay all around and what was there wasn�t enough to be considered flight-worthy. I continued on. Once I could figure out where I was, I could get home. *~~* Contrary to what he�d thought previously, he was still alive. The pain was proof enough. � Zidane?� He opened his eyes slowly and let his head roll sideways. He tried to speak, but all that came out was an airless rasp. � Don�t try to talk. Somehow you swallowed a few rocks and they almost completely destroyed your voice box. As it stands now, you won�t be able to speak for a month.� He digested that, then noticed with dismay the cuts healing on her face. ~You�re hurt,~ he mouthed. She shook her head. � It�s nothing.� ~I failed.~ � No! You didn�t fail! I�m still alive!� ~Rusty won�t be happy.~ � So what? You saved my life! Even he couldn�t have done it without me getting a few scratches!� He let out a heavy sigh, knowing he�d never prove his point against her, and stared up at the ceiling. The door opened and she shook her head. When the visitor persisted, she snapped back. � Not right now!� � It�s important!� � He just woke up!� � He has a right to know!� � It can wait!� � It cannot! This is about Kitiane!� He sat upright. ~What? What happened?~ Tiovex entered the room and sat by the door. [When you went after the queen, she stopped and went back to get you. The zaghnols trampled her as well and when she woke she didn�t recognize Kuja or myself. And considering that she headed south through the canyon, but didn�t stop when she came upon you, she apparently doesn�t know you either.] ~Is she okay?~ [That�s what we don�t know.] ~What do you mean?~ [I gave her a once-over, but Lixani said that her front leg was badly broken.] ~Where�s Kuja?~ [Heading for the Evil Forest. I told him where she used to live, just in case she returned there. He said he already knew, but I told him anyway.] He started to get out of bed, but realized that he was almost totally naked. ~Where the hell are my clothes?!~ [Gone. The herd destroyed them. If you really must go out, I can turn you into a dragon for the time being.] ~Do it.~ Once it was done, he slid from the bed and looked at Dagger. ~Are you coming along?~ She snorted delicately. � If I didn�t, you�d get yourself into something you couldn�t get out of. You�re almost more trouble than you�re worth.� He dropped to all fours and let her climb on his back, then followed Tiovex out of Alexandria. He paused when the Swiftwing king jumped into one of the rivers that twisted through the city and looked back at Dagger. ~Mind getting wet?~ � I�ve been worse than wet before. Don�t ask such a silly question.� He faced forward again, grumbling in his head, �Just checking.� She gasped as he jumped into the river. � I heard you! In my head!� �Point being . . .?� � Zidane!� He sighed and rolled his eyes. � Look, a dragon�s wing style determines what type of dragon they are. At least in the case of swiftwing dragons. Mine happens to be Psychic.� � But yours are the same as Kiti�s.� �And Kuja�s and a bunch of others. It�s not specified to one dragon.� � But shouldn�t you and Kuja have different wings? Like what you had before?� �Not really. Since only our souls are dragons, our physical shape can be made into anything. Because we both had Kiti�s milk, our type became what she is, no matter what we were before. If we�d been hatched from eggs this time, we probably wouldn�t share the same style.� � How come?� �A dragon clutch almost always has an even number of eggs in it. An even number of eggs that have an actual hatchling inside, I mean. Wing style genes have no dominant over each other, so you end up with three choices for the wings: the mother�s, the father�s, or a combination. Most often it�s divided evenly between the three, that way there�s no shortage of a certain style, but sometimes it�s only half-and-half.� � I see.� <--Part 80 Part 82--> |