Rados blinks, forcing himself awake as he senses a unusual amount of energy near him. He opens his eyes to find that his mother and father are curled into a ball in their nest. He snorts and turns his attention to the only human in their cave, the one that is his rider.

I see you are awake, Rados snorts as his eyes meet with Roylzen's.

I am, the young rider sighs, her arms wrapped around her chest protectively.

What is on your mind? Rados asks as he drags himself closer to his rider.

Many things. My mother's reaction to Neptune's death. The fact that the Guardian Mirage has gone missing. My mother's withdraw from all of us following my father's death and much more, Roylzen explains, her eyes distant, surprisingly enough.

Rados snorts, his snout brushing past his rider's simple brown shirt.

Your mother did take hard to the death of the Ricata that was her husband, that much my parents have told me, and yet my words may offer no help in your case, the white dragon sighs as his head lowers and rests on his rider's arms.

Roylzen raises a hand from its position and gently pushes Rados' snout off her arm, her head turning away from her dragon's gaze as her hand falls back down to grip the sides her chest again. The white dragon snorts, drawing his head back to a normal position.

Did I do something wrong? Rados asks.

Roylzen says nothing, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest. Rados leans his head forward, only to be met by his rider's right hand which pushes his head away once again. The white dragon blinks. Why is his rider so unwilling to speak? Did he say something wrong?

Roylzen? Rados asks, his voice shaking despite his need to stay calm.

The young female removes her hands from where they grip at the sides of her chest, her eyes remaining focused on the dirt in front of her view.

You spoke much like you are not as old as you appear to be, the young female rider says softly, her voice echoing through Rados' mind.

Rados blinks, his head drawing back like he has been stung. His rider believes that he is not suited to be her dragon? She believes that he is far younger then his body is?

You believe that I am younger then I am? I am the one that bonded with you, do not forget that! Rados hisses, trying to quickly simmer his quickly growing rage.

For months, he has kept his emotions under control but now it may just come to a breaking point.

Your emotions rule over you. I found that out when your mind touched mine during the short seconds our bond was being formed, Roylzen comments, her body unmoving despite Rados' quickly growing anger that threatens to spiral out of control.

Rados clenches his jaws. Keep control, his instincts scream at him, keep control! Roylzen sighs as she feels the temperature of her dragon's body increase, a warning sign that his anger is quickly consuming all other emotions. So long has he held this fury, this hate for the killer of his sisters. Rados growls through his clenched jaws, his body beginning to tremble. Too much hate has risen from where he thought he buried it deeper within himself after the death of Szara and Silver by Mhetra and Meta. He squeezes his eyes shut, his heartbeat the loudest sound in the cave by his thoughts. No wonder his mother and father has such a hard time getting along to even mate with each other.

Control your pain my son, Tamli's smoothing voice echoes from across the cave, Finca and his eyes having opened at feeling the cave's temperature increase in only a matter of seconds.

Your rage is not who you are, his mother's voice echoes after Tamli's has died away.

Why do they wish to help? This pain is his own so why can he not bear it in peace? Roylzen gently turns her head back around and places a hand on Rados' burning hot side, her cooling touch quickly forgotten as Rados struggles against the fury he knows is soon to surface. What if his anger spirals out of control? Does his rider have to suffer because of his own past?

Your hate is true and just but it isn't all that you are, Finca mutters as Rados turns his head, the final moments of his sisters' lives rushing back to haunt him.

He could have helped. He could have been the one to fight and give his sisters a chance to live but he didn't. He stood there as his sisters were killed right before his eyes. Rados twists his head, the pain that he's held for so long wishing to escape. A deep growl ripples from his throat, either subconsciously or simply a way to try and express his overpowering emotions.

Let go of the pain my son, Tamli insists, his words harsher then usual.

If it was as simple to let go of the pain as his father wishes, his rider could be dead due to the fact that she is the closest one to him at the moment. Roylzen removes her hand and places it again on her dragon's blazing scaled chest, only to have the same effect as before except for the fact that she quickly pulls her hand back.

"His temperature is much too hot for even the strongest fire dragons to survive," she says to Tamli and Finca vocally as Rados' body trembles more violently then before.

He forces his eyes open as he realizes the fact that his body temperature is over twice the amount that fire dragons have, including the fact that their temperature is about twenty degrees higher then any other dragon type. That amount of heat inside his body should have killed him by now so why is he feeling it now when he should have sensed it minutes ago. His vision, although normally altered to the point that yellows and purples are more enhanced then any other color, shifts to everything being red, no doubt a sign of his anger.

I felt this shift in temperature merely seconds ago and what you say is true, Finca replies to Roylzen's statement with a nod of her head.

Rados closes his eyes again, his body feeling like it is an inferno on the inside. This shouldn't be happening, not to him. A new surge of pain fills his thoughts and Rados growls, his eyes squeezing closed as far as he can get them. The pain is too much. The burning is too much. His temperature shouldn't be this high, he shouldn't even be alive is what he thinks is true. Tamli growls, the male's breath sounding farther away then it should. Rados silently snarls, no doubt about what is going on now. If only he can tell his rider and parents before he . . .

Rados! Roylzen shrieks as the white male's head slips to the ground, his scaled skin burning even hotter then it had been during the last few moments.