| Home will always be where you left it, even if it is technically not there. -On Tantalus Hideout wall Part 82 A silver dragon hatchling hopped through the brush and turned to squeak at something hidden in the darkness beyond. � Find her, Lixani?� A human from before appeared and stopped cold, then rushed over and knelt by me, stroking my neck and running his other hand along my broken leg. � Mother . . . Your leg . . .� he said in a near whisper. I felt inexplicably upset that he was upset. [Don�t worry. It doesn�t hurt.] � Of course not. Now that all the nerves have been severed, you wouldn�t feel it if somebody cut it off,� he spat. Lixani came over and nudged his elbow. [Should I go back and bring the others?] � That�s a good idea, but no. There are too many things that would snap you out of the sky and have you for lunch.� [But I�m bigger now.] � Not big enough. Lix, you�re only three feet tall. To most of the monsters here, you�re just the right size to eat whole. Please stay.� She sighed and flopped to the ground. [Okay.] He smiled and pet her. � Thank you, Lix. I promise I�ll take you out later and we�ll fly as long as you want to.� [But you don�t know how to fly,] she pointed out. [You told me yourself.] He frowned. � You�re right. Ugh.� [I can teach you,] I said quickly, without thinking. � You would?� [Of course. It�s not that hard, really.] Oh boy. What had I gotten myself into this time? Surprisingly enough, he was a sharp study and picked it up fairly quickly. The three of us happily darted back and forth in a game of tag for about an hour. Then a strangely familiar ironite dropped from higher up and snagged Lixani from the sky, falling into the trees in the Forest. The human chased after her as I did. I was the first to catch up to the ironite and attack. I brought it down, but it thrashed and threw me into a huge rock. My head cracked against it and I saw stars momentarily. � Mother?!� [I�m all right, Ajuk,] I assured him. He paused in surprise. � You remember me?� [Of course I do!] � You have your memory back!� [When did I lose it?] � Days ago!� He swung Lixani around in a circle, holding her only by her front paws. � You didn�t remember me or Zidane or Tiovex. You didn�t know anyone!� [Ack! I think I�m gonna puke!] [Well, I�m glad I do remember now.] Two forms exploded from the brush and I snarled for a moment before realizing it was Tiovex and a dragonized Zidane, who carried Garnet on his back. [Oh. Pardon me.] � She�s back!� Kuja informed them, swinging Lixani around in another circle. The silver dragon hatchling made a strained noise. [. . .] Tiovex hopped over and nuzzled me. [Kitiane . . .] Zidane trotted over and nudged my head. [Mother!] Garnet even hugged me. Our happiness was short-lived however, because it suddenly got dark. � . . . Uh oh . . .� Even Garnet bowed to the Dragon King. [Well, that�s new. Having my own Master bow to me.] [What�re you doing here?] Zidane asked companionably. [Who are you?] [Me? I�m one of the �human-type dragons� you so dislike.] Bahamut rolled his eyes. [I can�t talk to Sarah or Kitiane without you being around, can I?] Zidane saluted clumsily (on purpose, of course). [No sir, I�m everywhere.] [Pity.] [I know, I know. I disappoint everybody.] Kuja stepped right up to Bahamut and patted his face. � Hi, old boy!� [�Old boy�?! Kitiane, why is it that all of your children have no manners?!] [They have no respect for authority, Sire.] [And why don�t you do anything about that?] [Laziness, Sire?] He laughed. [Kitiane, your humor is so refreshing!] [So says everybody but me.] [Oh, come now.] He picked me up under my arms and swung me carefully back and forth. [Lighten up. The humorist never finds themself funny.] I looked down at Kuja. [See? Now you�ve gotten me in trouble too.] Kuja waved his hand dismissively. � Pshaw.� [Why are you acting like that?] He held up a handful of bright green berries. � Lix gave them to me. Try a few?� I snorted. [Those are unripened giggle berries, moron! They�ll make you into an inane jackass if you eat enough of them!] � How much?� [Five quarts worth.] � I�ve had about seven, I think.� [Damn hybrids,] Bahamut muttered. Kuja, true to the berries� name, began to giggle. � Oh, you�re too much!� [Tiovex, slap him for me please!] I begged, thoroughly annoyed. Tiovex snapped his tail, leaving a pink mark on Kuja�s face. Kuja looked stunned, then shook his head and glanced around, then down at his hand. � Oh my. She did it again.� His eyes darkened and he snarled over his shoulder, � Lixani!� [Oops . . . Uh . . . Bye!] She took off and Kuja gave chase. He was much faster than her and quickly caught her, then pounded her head lightly. Bahamut set me down and shook his head. [Children . . .] <--Part 81 Part 83--> |