Grimoire

by: Moorehen

A man clad in a dark hood and a lengthy black cloak rubbed his eyes with the balls of his palms. He knew he had work to do, but it was very difficult when you had... admirers following you around, trying to pull your hood down and stare into your supposedly beautiful violet eyes. He needed a break.

He continued walking down the halls of the large home, fidgeting uncomfortably and rolling his shoulders. Sure, it had been years since that witch had cast that damned curse on him, but his skin still felt... wrong. Like it was someone else's. It felt like someone had slipped a glove on his hand that was two sizes two small, but the fingers were two sizes too large. The man rolled his neck, scrunching his eyes shut as the vertebrae cracked. He glanced quickly round his shoulder, then lowered the hood when he was certain nobody was around.

His dark hair gleamed almost blue in the dull sunlight that shone through the windows, making bars of light and dark color across the floor and walls. His skin wasn't pale necessarily, but it was fair and smooth, like an unused sheet of paper. His lips were thin and drawn into a perpetual tiny scowl, even if it wasn't noticeable at times. His sharp eyes were constantly darting around with a quiet observance, mostly to keep a look out for any "stalkers" following him in hopes of catching him with his hood off and his guard down.

Paragon, the man thought, I should go speak to Paragon. I've got little to do and she helps me take my mind off things. He turned down a hallway to the right, making for a room on the left. He knocked on the door, which creaked open slightly.

"Paragon?" He asked, "Are you in there?"

A voice resonated from within, "Yes, Grimoire, come in! I'm assuming it's Grimoire?"

Grimoire smiled and shook his head, "Yes, it's me." He stepped into the room, his boots thudding against the hardwood floors. The room had high windows and a few cozy chairs here and there, with an unmade bed in the corner. Paragon, the woman he'd been seeking, sat at a desk with several papers strewn about. Some had made their way onto the floor and Grimoire bent to pick them up. Paragon looked up at him and smiled in thanks. Her face was paler than his, like fresh milk, and her long hair was a dark black similar to his, but with a more green tinge.

Paragon shuffled her papers into order and twisted in her seat to face Grimoire."You rarely ever come to see me for fun, what's on your mind?"

Grimoire sat down in one of the chairs before replying. "The usual. Women scampering head over heel to look at my eyes. It's terribly distracting and it's become obnoxious." He began fidgeting with his hand. It still felt wrong.

Paragon nodded, "I'm not surprised, you're a rather attractive figure. Maybe you should put yourself out there more?"

Grimoire knew she teased but he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Gods, no! Why would I ever do that? I'm perfectly content here with... Lucien and the others." Grimoire forcibly stopped himself for saying "with you." Although he did love Paragon, he couldn't exactly ask for her hand. Lucien, the devil, stole her heart the second he arrived. In Grimoire's opinion, he was a plague that had stolen his chance at love. However, he tolerated him. He made Paragon happy, and he was an admirable swordsman.

Paragon continued as if she hadn't noticed Grimoire's lapse in speech, "But why not?" Now Grimoire knew she was teasing him. "You're ever so pretty. Maybe we should throw flowers in your hair and toss you out into a crowd of women while I dangle your hood over a balcony to see if you can catch it." Paragon laughed, her eyes narrowed and smile lines drawn over her face.

In response, Grimoire glowered at her and picked at his hood. "No. If you ever did that, I believe we would become enemies again." Despite his words, Grimoire's scowl cracked a little and a small smile slipped through.

At that moment, another knock sounded from the door, followed by the sound of boots entering the room and a voice, "Lady Paragon, how are you to-" The voice stopped abruptly as it likely noticed Grimoire in the chair.

Paragon jumped up and ran to the speaker. "Lucien! Good morning, you." She embraced the tall, red-headed man and kissed him on the cheek. Grimoire made eye contact with Lucien over Paragon's shoulder, and the man glowered at Grimoire with the slightest shake of his head, telling him simultaneously to leave the room, and that Paragon would never be his.

by: Finian

You could never trust the three of them to be on time, Grimoire mulled, claws scratching at the ice below them. He'd been there for close to half of an hour before he finally spotted the trio on the horizon, speeding towards him like a set of arrows. The ice was thick, the snow was falling, and Paragon had promised she would come skating with him. Granted, he hadn't intended for her to bring her mate and self-appointed bodyguard, but he really should have expected it. She hardly went anywhere without her entourage these days, and while it was tense between Lucien and his brother, Radric, the moments he could catch Paragon happy and alone were worth it. He rushed forwards on the ice to meet them as they touched down.

by: Fletcher

[PART ONE -- Paragon]
[PART TWO -- Radric]
[PART THREE -- Grimoire]
[PART FOUR -- Lucien]

It would have been a lovely day, Grimoire thought later. He had found a perfectly solitary place to hide, and it even gave him a view of a neighboring clan’s magicians as they tested multiplying spells on some of their plant food. Grimoire settled down with his head resting on his paws to observe as they shook their heads over the oddly-colored copies.

He very nearly gave himself away when a familiar female voice surprised him from behind.

“What are you doing, Grimoire?”

Grimoire jumped, then growled and looked back. Paragon’s ears flicked back and flattened at the look he gave her, and he almost felt bad then. But, he coiled around and paced towards her, backing her up against a thicket of trees.

“I was trying to learn a little magic,” he said, stopping short of touching her.

She swallowed and grinned. “What sort of magic?” she asked.

“Love enchantments,” Grimoire lied quickly, and relished the odd little look of confusion that crossed over Paragon’s face.

She did a funny hop to the side in order to get out of his path, and he sat back on his haunches to listen to her as she spoke then. They were planning a celebration for Lucien’s birthday tomorrow, and would he please, pretty please come? Grimoire ducked his head, letting his hood cover his eyes, and heaved a sigh.

“If I must,” he said. “If it will make you happy.”

“Of course it will!” said Paragon, utterly missing his tone of voice. “You need to spend more time with friends, and I bet Lucien will be happy to see you!”

Grimoire snorted, but when he looked up to retort, she had already disappeared. He hated the ache it left in his chest.

by: HeyImHylian

Resentment of a reflection
Others find so enamoring
Searching for a normal connection
When he just leaves most stammering
And lusting after him

Hiding is the last resort
Of a dragon so desperate and tired
His dying wish to contort
Back to the body of a fae he once acquired
Before his life was changed on a whim

by: TwinDragons0268

The wind whistled as four single leaves rode the breeze, flying by a single Imperial that watched them intently. After another minute of competitive leaf-staring, Paragon sighed. That was her life at the moment, wasn't it? She mused silently as the leaves continued swirling invisible patterns in the winter sky, oblivious to the inner conflict said Imperial was currently undergoing.
This moment at all was a rare occurrence: Paragon finally had some time to herself, without the three absolutely bothersome males constantly vying for her attention. After all, Radric was practically her shado-
A crinkling of leaves was all that announced the other dragon's entrance onto the scene, and Paragon inwardly sighed. Speak of the devil. Or rather, the dragon.
“Paragon! Where on earth have you been?!”
His tone was scolding, and the entirety of his tone simply annoyed her. It was the exact same tone that he had used when they first met, and from whence their friendship started. However, to this day, it never failed to annoy the dung out of her, and she couldn’t put a talon on why. Perhaps it was because of the nature of her personality, or maybe it was just because he was treating her as a hatchling; the inferior dragon of the two.
Okay, so when she thought about it the latter was obviously the correct choice, but reasons aside, it bugged her and he knew it.
A quiet cough alerted her that she had, in fact, been zoning out. It seemed that she did that a lot nowadays, but she supposed nothing could be done. Radric, however, thought otherwise. The worried look in his eyes said so, and Paragon inwardly winced at the lecture that was undoubtedly sure to come. Her savior, however, seemed to come at just the right time, as someone else stepped out of the wood and drew Radric’s attention away from the future scolding. His eyes lit with something that could only be called hope and a slight amount of smugness as he turned away from the intruder and back to her.
“Grimoire? Come here. I need your backing on a particular subject that has come to my attention as of late…” Paragon shrunk back as the two males closed in: one curious, and the other looking as if he was ready to give some dragon a stern talking to. It seemed as though some dragon was her.
Not good!
Her eyes glanced around wildly, looking for an escape route to avoid the oncoming emotional onslaught.
No escape.
Notgoodnotgoodnotgoodnotgood
Just as Radric’s mouth opened up to speak, and…?
Nothing. Nothing but pure, exhilarating wind on her scales. No speech, no probing of things better left unsaid and to herself. Just… clouds. And sky.
And Lucien.
Wait- what?!
Furiously glaring up at her savior, Paragon wished sorely that she was back with her other two friends.
Or maybe not. And what infuriated her the most about this particular situation was that Lucien knew this, and was taking every advantage of it that he could.
B*****d.
Cold, red, horrible, horribly handsome b*****d.
True, he wasn’t the breathtaking handsome that Grimoire possessed, but he was without a doubt good looking. Any dragoness with eyes and active hormones could say so, and she checked off both of those boxes quite well. Too well for her personal liking, as she suddenly realized the position they were currently in, and the scales around her face discolored ever-so slightly. Her breath came out in a growl, or at least that’s what she tried to make it seem like. To Lucien, it was probably more of a gasp, and this peeved her to no end: how he could make her feel the way she did. Damn him, this smug, cold-hearted, good-looking b*****d.
“PUT. ME. DOWN.”
“You know you don’t want me to do that.” His words were more of a purr then a growl, and it sent a shiver up her spine.
But…he was right. She didn’t want to be put down, and she inwardly cursed her body and mind for being so subservient to this callous demon. However, she would be lying to herself if she didn’t enjoy being in his embrace, or simply being around him at all. He filled some empty part of her made exclusively for him, and she wanted it no other way.
So, saying nothing more than an incoherent grumble, Paragon adjusted her wings and made herself comfortable in his grasp.
She could practically feel the smug grin on his dark features, yet she couldn’t stop a similar grin spreading across her own.
Somehow, she didn’t mind.

Elsewhere~

Radric’s expression was one of dark fury as he simmered on the overhang of that same cliff. He had been ditched by her, and taken by him. That no good, two-hearted, ***-sniffing-
“Radric.”
Said dragon blinked.
“What?”
“You were saying your thoughts aloud again.”
“Oh.”
He didn’t particularly care that Grimoire heard him- he already knew that he loathed his brother like no other. He had started off in a not-so-good mood as soon as Paragon started acting off again, but when that good-for-nothing abducted her, well, let’s just say that his day got a heck of a lot worse.
First he shows up, and then he takes his charge. Sometimes Radric just wanted to kill the older dragon, but he (grudgingly) admitted that the senior wyrm would whip his behind any day, and there would be nothing left but shadows. That was what you got when dealing with someone hand-trained by his father, after all. Stupid brother. Didn’t know what he had before it was gone.
During all this, Grimoire remained somewhat impassive, though a part of him was disappointed when Paragon left. He honestly loved the dragoness, and he always ached when she was away. But…there was something there-between her and Lucien. Something that she, the one who was renowned as the most oblivious dragon in the clan, felt. She herself felt it, and that counted for a lot. He knew his chances with her were slim, but he would persevere. For what it was worth, he would fight. The same could most definitely be said for Radric, but somehow Grimoire knew that if Paragon did in fact chose Lucien, which was the most likely occurrence, Radric would in no way take it lying down. Even now, he was in a sort of denial; blatantly ignoring all the signs that indicated that Paragon felt for Lucien. Grimoire had a feeling, a deep, gut-wrenching hunch that would never fail to pester his thoughts whenever he saw the other three together. He knew that this feud between brothers could and most likely would turn deadly, but he only hoped that Paragon would be left out of it. However, seeing the look in Radric’s eyes as Lucien quite literally swept her off her feet, he knew that she could quite possibly be at the very heart.

by: Cognitive

The winter had been particularly harsh. Paragon would know better than most as she had worked nearly all season long in efforts to provide and care for those of her clan. Days were growing longer, though, and when Paragon awoke she woke to the sight of sunshine filtering into her bedroom. It was a welcomed sight, and she eagerly looked through the nearby window to find most of the snow had melted away leaving patches of grass waiting to soak in the morning light. Paragon felt the same urge. The same desire to be out in the sunlight, and take in its warmth.

She turned in her bed to the sleeping form beside her. A poke was given to his side, and was met with a groan. Another, firmer, poke was given, and Lucien’s eyes opened to stare at her. “Let’s go,” she demanded.

Lucien groaned again, but sat up in the bed. “Where?” He also looked through the same window she had, but he didn’t seem too impressed with the melted snow or the welcoming sunlight. Paragon pushed him slightly, playfully, before rolling out of the bed.

“Outside.” She made it seem as if it was the obvious conclusion to draw. As she began dressing herself for the day, Lucien pulled the blanket over his head. She ignored him, continuing to pull on clothing, and with a frustrated sigh Lucien pushed the blanket away.

“Fine!” Even without her having to say anything, she knew she would get her way. Not much needed to be said for them to understand one another, and Lucien was well aware of just how hard she had worked through the past season. He joined her in getting dressed, and the two soon exited the room arm in arm.

As they made their way outdoors, Paragon caught sight of two more familiar figures. Radric and Grimoire sat at a table talking with one another. Their discussion petered out when Paragon headed in their direction, taking along a reluctant Lucien with her.
“You two should come outside with us,” she said.

“Why?” Both men asked. They shared a look with one another, eyes narrowed as if annoyed at having asked the same thing at the same time.

“I will join you, Paragon,” Radric added, pointedly ignoring his brother. He smoothly stood, and Lucien gave a grin that held more malice than mirth.

“Don’t trust me to look after her?” He asked. It was a comment that Radric also ignored, though a scowl broke across his features. He moved to Paragon’s other side, and Grimoire stood as well.

“The more the merrier,” he said. He took up the tail end of their little quartet, and Paragon led the way outdoors.

The sun hit upon them immediately upon stepping across the threshold of the door, and Paragon lifted her head slightly to welcome it. They walked in what Paragon perceived to be a comfortable silence, whereas the men walked in a tense silence in doing their best not to look at one another, but only at Paragon. After a few moments, though, even they could not deny that the sunlight felt good.

Paragon led them to a cluster of trees, where a few of them were showing signs of life. Small leaves, barely bigger than a fingernail, decorated their branches. She plucked four of the leaves from one of the lower hanging branches, and then turned to the trio with her.

The first leaf was presented to Lucien. He would always be first for her. He looked confused upon receiving the leaf, but bowed his head to her. “Thank you.”

The second leaf was given to Radric. He hesitated before accepting it, and, though he said nothing, his fingers closed almost reverentially around the green growth.

Finally, the third leaf was given to Grimoire. He took it with an easy going smile. “Thank you, my lady.” The words as easy going as his smile was.

Paragon nodded her head, and held her leaf upwards to catch the sun’s light. “To spring,” she said. Lucien and Grimoire held their leaves up as well, while Radric continued to clutch his, and the men repeated the words to complete the toast. Paragon was certain the troubles of winter were now well behind them.