When Kyrin arrived back at “his chamber,” Akoris was already there waiting for him. The Ridgeback was sitting quietly in the mostly-empty cave that served as a room, her tail tucked neatly around her talons. She hadn’t noticed he’d arrived yet.
Ace reminded Kyrin to behave himself in a low voice before turning away, leaving Kyrin to face Akoris alone. He took a moment to take a deep breath before entering the room, letting out a low hum in greeting to announce his presence.
The Ridgeback’s brown eyes lit up when she saw him, taking Kyrin by surprise. She got to her talons, giving him a cheerful grin.
“You’re here! I was wondering how long I’d have to sit here alone before you showed up,” Akoris mused, clearly happy to see him. It was almost surreal to find someone so friendly upbeat in a place like this. It was especially strange since this was the same dragon that had been covered in blood not long ago. Kyrin blinked, trying to forget the image.
“Are you alright? Am I too loud? Sorry, I guess I’m just a little excited,” Akoris began apologizing, ducking her head.
“N-no, it’s fine, I’m just not really sure what I’m supposed to be doing,” Kyrin admitted. He was used to travelling on his own, and wasn’t too experienced with interacting with other dragons. Especially a dragon he was supposed to have hatchlings with. Never had Kyrin ever thought about having kids, and now suddenly it was constantly in the back of his mind.
“I guess we’re supposed to get to know each other a bit,” Akoris pointed out. “So how about we play a bit of a game? We take turns asking each other questions, and we have to answer honestly,” she suggested, sitting back down. “You can go first,” she prompted.
“Oh! Um, okay...” Kyrin sat down as well. At first he wasn’t sure he could think of any questions to ask, but suddenly he realized he had so many questions he didn’t know which one to ask
first.
“So… How long have you been here?” Kyrin asked. “The Shattered Labyrinth, not this room,” he added.
“A few months or so. I’m one of the newest members actually,” Akoris explained. “This place takes a little while to get used to, but it’s not as bad as it seems at first glance.” A thoughtful expression crossed her face as she looked at Kyrin. “Anyway, my turn to ask a question: Where did you live before coming here?”
Before being held here against my will, you mean, Kyrin’s mind muttered, but he was surprised to find he didn’t believe in it as much as he had yesterday. Now that he thought about it, there hadn’t been any guards posted outside the cave this time, and Ace had left. But escape hadn’t been on his mind at all until now.
“I never really had a home, I was always travelling. I’ve stayed in some clans for a few nights before, but for the most part I lived wherever I happened to be at the time,” Kyrin answered. Even though part of him screamed that now was his chance to escape, another part of him seemed very drawn to Akoris, and he didn’t want to leave her. Kyrin was starting to feel dizzy from the choatic confliction in his mind.
“...You have to ask a question now, Ky,” Akoris told him. He tilted his head at her.
“Ky?” Kyrin questioned, a little confused.
“A nickname! Nicknames are fun, right?” Akoris chirped cheerfully. “I guess that was your question, so my turn again! Why do you wear that hood all the time?”
“Oh…” Kyrin hesitated, pulling the hood down over his face a bit more. “I wear it because I don’t want dragons to know what flight I’m from…”
“A tactical move; no one can know your elemental weakness if they don’t know what-”
“That’s not why,” Kyrin interrupted. Akoris tilted her head at him. She began to ask a question, but Kyrin spoke up again.
“My turn. Why did you participate in the battle earlier? Did you enter it voluntarily, or…?” Kyrin trailed off. He was really hoping her answer had nothing to do with the prophecy he had been hearing too much about.
“Actually… I wasn’t entered in it originally. I signed up last minute,” she answered slowly, suddenly looking embarrassed. “This might sound strange, but after I accidentally bumped into you, I just kinda had a weird feeling. I mean, I knew who you were; there’s been a lot of talk about the prophecy finally beginning, but… I’m not sure. I just wanted to see you again, I guess, even if nothing happened in that few moments. And I knew I’d never see you again, unless I happened to be your partner, so I pulled a few strings to get myself into the fight. I’m friends with a lot of the dragons that keep the arena running, so it wasn’t that hard- Ah, sorry, I’m rambling.” Akoris shifted her position, looking around nervously.
“Erm, anyway!” The Ridgeback turned her attention back to him. “If it’s not for tactical reasons, why don’t you want others to know what flight you’re from? Bad stereotypes or something?” Akoris pondered, watching him curiously.
The silence that followed lasted only a few moments, but it felt a lot longer. Even though it was just a game to help them get to know each other better, with no way to tell if either of them was actually lying, there wouldn’t be any repercussions for not answering truthfully. However Kyrin was never one for lies, which was actually the reason he hid his face in the first place, as ironic as that was.
Kyrin raised a talon and pushed the hood off of his head, revealing his ocean-blue eyes.
“The Water flight is mostly known for two things; their missing deity, and their ability to see into the future. Of course, they claim their powers disappeared along with their deity, but I don’t believe they ever had any in the first place. The future isn’t something that can be predicted. The Water flight is just a flight of lies to make themselves seem superior to everyone else. I don’t want to be associated with them. My egg was from there, sure, but I’ve never been there myself. I avoid the Sea of a Thousand Currents during my travels, and wear this hood to hide my eyes.”
More silence came after his response, making Kyrin feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. He stared at the ground, unsure of what to do or say next.
“I’ve never thought about that,” Akoris said eventually. “But have you ever met an oracle or such before the Tidelord’s disappearance? I haven’t; I’m not that old, and I don’t think you’re that old either. How can we know if prophecies came true or not back then? I guess we’ll find out soon enough though…”
“What do you mean by that?” Kyrin asked, looking back up. Their eyes met, and Akoris continued.
“Well the prophecy Ace has no doubt told you all about was created before the Tidelord’s disappearance. So if it comes true, then maybe prophecies were a real thing. But if it ends up not happening, then it’s probably safe to say seeing the future isn’t a real thing,” Akoris explained.
“...I guess you’re right. Alright, we’ll just have to wait and see then,” Kyrin agreed. Akoris moved to sit beside him, twining her tail with his.
“Your heritage isn’t something you can choose or change, so there’s no reason to feel ashamed of it,” she said suddenly. “You’re the first dragon I’ve met that thinks the Water flight is lying about having prophetic powers. No one is going to think differently of you whether you’re Waterborn, Fireborn, Windborn, or any of the others. I certainly don’t.”
Kyrin felt an odd sensation in his chest, something he couldn’t remember ever feeling before. He had never really had anyone in his life other than himself, and to suddenly have someone who, despite the strange circumstances, actually seemed to care about him… it felt nice.
For the first time since arriving in the Shattered Labyrinth, Kyrin felt himself smile softly.
A soft breeze danced through the bamboo, causing the reeds to sway gently. Kyrin watched as Akoris paced quietly back and forth restlessly. She kept glancing at the nest of soft grass and reeds anxiously, where three pale green eggs were nestled together.
“Kori, pacing isn’t going to make them hatch any faster,” Kyring called softly to his partner. She let out a sigh, settling down beside him.
“I know, I know… I’m just nervous,” Akoris said quietly, her tail rustling the grass and small reeds as it swayed back and forth. Kyrin nuzzled Akoris in an attempt to calm her down a bit.
“It’ll be fine. They’re due to hatch today, but it’s not uncommon for eggs to hatch a day or two later than when they’re supposed to. If they don’t hatch today, then that’s completely normal, and there’s nothing to be worried a-”
Kyrin was interrupted by a sharp
CRACK, startling both of the waiting parents. Akoris moved quickly to the nest, followed by Kyrin. One of the eggs had a large starburst pattern of cracks in it, and was shaking back and forth. Up until this point, Kyrin had been calm, but now his heart pounded in anticipation of seeing his first hatchling emerge from its egg.
More cracks appeared on the egg, and soon, the other two eggs began moving around as well.
“Do we… help them?” Akoris asked nervously.
“No,” Kyrin answered. “They need to get out of the eggs themselves in order to get their blood flowing, otherwise they’ll die. Just let them do their thing, their instincts will guide them out,” he assured her. The first egg split open suddenly, as the hatchling inside made a squeak that was probably the baby version of a battle cry. The hatchling came tumbling out between the egg shells.
Akoris picked up the hatchling gingerly, who made little noises of protest. The tiny Guardian looked strikingly similar to Kyrin.
“First one is male, and look how fiesty he is,” Akoris mused, a happy smile on her face as she put the hatchling back down. He immediately tried bounding around, tripping over his own talons as he did so.
The next egg drew their attention as a darker head pushed its way through the cracks. The hatchling clawed its way out of the rest of the egg shell, only to be immediately tackled by the other hatchling. Kyrin quickly scooped up the child.
“This one is female,” Kyrin announced, looking at the bright eyes of his daughter. She stared up at him in wonder, a lot calmer than her brother already. He put her back down, and just as he did, the last egg split open, revealing their final child.
Akoris moved to pick up the third child, but just as she did the hatchling hopped to the side to dodge, managing to tumble into the other two hatchlings in the process. Kyrin chuckled as his partner tried to grab the slippery hatchling a few more times, until finally she got a hold of the hatchling.
“Another male,” Akoris informed Kyrin, setting the spotted Guardian back down. The three hatchlings immediately began pouncing on each other and running around. Kyrin moved carefully around the hatchlings to sit beside Akoris. She was watching her young with a bright smile.
“Aren’t they all wonderful?” Akoris murmured. Kyrin wrapped one of his wings around her.
“They are,” he agreed. But he wasn’t smiling.
He knew only one of them would survive. Only time would tell which one it was…
Kinda 2 updates in one, since I didn’t finish the first one before the eggs were due to hatch, so yay? maybe? :)
Pinglist: @Dragonfruiteen @ShadowWolf17
