Disclaimer: DGM is rightfully owned by Hoshino Katsura. I only own my OCs and this story.
Lavi's eye was held shut as the rushing currents of wind hurtled around his body, crushing his gut and whipping his face at an excruciatingly fast pace. The roar of the wind pained his ears, and his head was beginning to feel as if it was merely a dead weight placed between his shoulders. His fingers slid down the sides of his coat, attempting to reach into the pocket where he kept his hammer. His heart fluttered when he couldn't find it, knowing perfectly where it would now reside; Pandora had knocked it from his hand.
Lavi had never understood what it meant to die. What it meant to be only a sword's breadth from material annihilation.
But here he was, falling from the French sky.
This was the end for Lavi, an apprentice of his craft, a mere child by bookman terms. He still had years left before he would complete his training, and years more before he could bear the title 'bookman'.
He would never live with that title, not even come close.
"Heavenly…Blessing…"
A voice resounded in Lavi's mind as he felt a tingle shiver through his spine. Regardless of the battering storm-like winds he forced his eye open. He was unsure if Eerios was speaking through the wind or if it was something entirely different. The voice returned, jamming his thought process.
"First Vision…"
The sensation returned – more powerful than the one before. The gap between him and the ground was becoming less and less by the second; he probably wouldn't find out what the voice was before he died. An image flashed in his head – striking serpent eyes gleaming in the darkness of his inner mind.
In a heartbeat Lavi watched the world around him fade into black. He knew he wasn't dead for he could still feel the wind racing past him. His heart raced – each beat audible above the air's vicious howls around him. Lavi quivered as two arms wrapped around his body as he continued to fall. His hands landed upon the large limbs, his fingers brushing across smooth scales. No sooner had he registered this, the wind direction changed and soon Lavi felt the sensation of flying once more.
"E-Eerios?" Lavi called out. Still unable to see his surroundings, Lavi became unsure as to who is saviour was. The more he listened to the sounds around him, the more certain he was of his rescuer not being Eerios.
Lavi felt a slight tremble as the chilling breeze ceased. Though he could not see, Lavi knew he was held in a cradling hold – the scaled arms tucking him in a close embrace. He felt warmth against the side of his body as he lay still; the rhythmic beats of a heart reaching his ear. His eye searched through the surrounding darkness, desperate to see the mysterious force which carried him. Despite the growing anxiety over his inability to see, Lavi didn't feel he was in danger. In fact, as strange as it was, he felt safe.
Extending his arm upwards Lavi felt a warm breath over his chilled body. Shuddering from the sensation the junior bookman became anxious. He soon found his hand caressing what felt to be scales. Suddenly, the fog of shadows lifted.
Focusing slightly, Lavi's emerald eye gazed upon a silhouetted beast – s-bent neck, crowning horns, serpent-like eyes. He found his hand resting upon the tip of the beast's snout; a calm and docile look cast over its face. He was now certain his saviour was not Eerios, but another dragon.
Locking gazes with the foreign dragon, it lowered him to the ground. Leaving the embrace of the black dragon's arms Lavi attempted to distance himself from it. Still under shock from the fall his legs gave way and the junior bookman soon found his face buried in the snow. The dragon walked around in front of him, lowering its head to examine the exorcist.
"Are you alright?" Attempting to push himself up off the snowy ground Lavi came to a standstill when the dragon's voice reached his ears. Warm, gentle and feminine; a voice he easily recognized though he dare not believe it to be true. His body tensed up – he felt like he was paralyzed.
With his eye wide with shock, the junior bookman trailed his look to the beast's serpent eyes. A shade of blue that too was familiar. The dragon drew her head back – scarlet mane flaring slightly as her ears flattened and eyes saddened in expression.
"T-Tell me you're not…her." The exorcist stammered. "Tell me you're not her!" Lavi's whisper soon became a shout. He was denying what his mind was saying; denying the identity of the dragon that stood before him.
"Who do you want me to be? I can be anyone you want me to be, you know that." The dragon questioned in a somewhat agitated and upset tone. Her hooked claws dug into the earth below the snow – her folded wings extending slightly. Lavi cringed; the more he heard the beast speak, the more he became sure of it.
"I want you to be someone else. Something else!" Lavi's head was a tangled mess of thoughts, memories and emotions. Emotions he shouldn't have felt as a bookman.
Lavi heard the beast laugh, he hung his head – he couldn't even look at her. "You can't be Kiyre…"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Lavi. You know I always hide behind my mask." The dragon sighed solemnly. When the red-head made no reaction, she lowered her head to try and look at him in the eye. Lavi made no hesitation to advert his gaze.
"This makes no sense. No fucking sense at all!" Taken aback by his language, the dragon recoiled slightly. Turning to look at the beast Lavi shot a cold glare. "What are you, really? A Noah? A dragon? Which one is it…?" He wasn't sure of her identity – this was the time to question everything else. Stepping back from the exorcist, she stared at him with an expression of growing sorrow.
"This is my fault for explaining it to you poorly in the first place." Kiyre muttered. Six green crystals began to emerge below the dragon's eyes – an ominous hum resonated as the glow intensified. Hypnotized by the shine of the crystals Lavi became unaware of what was about to happen.
Extending her right forelimb outward Kiyre pinned the red-head down with a single hand. Snapping from his daze Lavi raised his arms to try and push the dragon's hand from him, but to no avail. Her hand flexed as she sunk her talons into the dirt beneath the snow. Unarmed and trapped beneath the palm of Kiyre's hand, Lavi could do nothing but flounder, as if he was the dragon's prey.
Kiyre brought her head forward towards the exorcist – but not to bite him. Resting the tip of her snout against Lavi's forehead she shut her eyes; the green crystals shining brightly. The sensations he began to feel were comparable to Hevelaska's innocence examinations.
His hands instinctively pressed against the dragon's forehead in attempt to force her away. Images flooded into his mind – memories, emotions, senses – desires he never wanted to think of again. They where overwhelming, chains of Kiyre's thoughts flooded throughout his mind, sweeping it clean of conscious thought. He felt his body ebbing away. Not long after, the world was becoming silent.
Lavi opened his eye as the sound of crackling embers reached his ears. Smoke and cinders floated through the night air above him. Rising up off the uneven ground Lavi could smell the scent of burning flesh and wreckage. It looked as if there had just been a war. All he could see was burning debris and smoke clouds billowing high into the starless night sky. He was beginning to recall everything Kiyre had told him back at the Order.
Lavi whipped his head around as a strange whining noise echoed through the wreck. It didn't sound like anything he had ever heard before. The whining sounded again – louder than before. He became curious as to what was making such a peculiar noise.
Tumbling down a mound of rubble a small black creature emerged from the ashes. Gazing around with young, blue, serpent eyes the creature made its way past Lavi as if he weren't there. Seeing the black scales and tuffs of a red mane allowed Lavi to draw to the conclusion that it was Kiyre. Judging from the size of the dragon it appeared to be a baby.
Whining into the burning abyss once more the dragon stumbled through the wreckage, searching for something that was indeed not there. Lavi had seen things like this before under his previous aliases. Children survivors looking for their parents that were most likely killed in the chaos. It was a common sight for a bookman and he had almost no pity.
A series of chilling laughs brought the red-head from his thoughts. Both he and the dragon looked in the direction of the chuckles. Lavi felt a tingle run through his spine – he knew those voices.
Leaping from the smoke and landing on the ruins of an inn wall were two very familiar figures. With golden pistols pointed at one another head's the Noah twins grinned at each other moronically. Devit and Jasdero – the Bonds of Noah – had arrived. Whether they were savouring the destruction they had instigated or merely here to admire the smoldering remains of the unnamed village, it seemed inevitable they were going to encounter the baby dragon. Lavi watched the scene unfold.
Curious as to who the strange pair were, the baby dragon perked her ears as she stepped towards them. Jumping down from their position on the inn's remains, Devit and Jasdero crouched down by the dragon. Frightened by their action the hatchling lowered herself to the ground – the tiny hairs of her mane standing up.
"Hey, Dero, what do you think this thing is?" The darker haired twin questioned – nudging the baby dragon with the barrel of his pistol.
"Hee, I dunno, but whatever it is it's all by itself." Jasdero chimed; showing interest in the bizarre animal. Grunting slightly, Devit pointed his pistol at the baby dragon's head.
"Whatever it is I'll put it out of its misery." Before the Noah could even fire his weapon the dragon grabbed a hold of the barrel – chewing at the side of it with her small teeth. Lifting his gun Devit tried to shake the feisty hatchling off.
"Hee, hee! You made it angry!" Jasdero cackled – clearly amused by the whole situation. Finally throwing the dragon off his pistol Devit jumped to his feet ready to kill the animal.
"Right, now you've done it!" The dragon stared up at the Noah in complete unawareness of what the golden gun would do. Jumping out before his twin could fire, Jasdero picked up the black dragon hatchling and pulled it away from his aggravated brother.
"I've got a better idea, Devi!" The golden-haired twin announced. Devit held a deep frown on his face as he waited for his brother to continue. "Why don't we…keep it as a pet!" Devit had to hold back his laughter.
"A pet!?" Devit mocked. "There is no way the Earl would let us keep a pet!" Jasdero looked down at the hatchling in his arms. Gazing back up at him, the dragon made a whimper. He made his decision.
"No, no, Devi! If we train it we can make it a killing machine just like the Akuma!" Devit raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Think of it Devi." Staring at his twin as if he were insane – which he probably was – Devit briefly considered the idea. Noticing the dragon gaze at him with her blue eyes, Devit soon found it hard not to say yes. Reaching out to the black dragon hatching he ruffled the short red mane on her head.
The Noahs began to leave the smoldering ruins, laughing as they discussed the future plans for the young dragon. His gaze diverted from the Noahs – he had seen enough. Lavi now understood that Kiyre's fate had been prearranged since her birth. Kiyre was merely a child who was pushed into walking life's darkest pathway.
Lavi knew it was time to turn away, and speak to Kiyre face to face – there was still so many questions, ideas, thoughts… he needed to talk to the girl who he thought about so often who had occupied his dreams all those nights ago.
Turning away from the scene Lavi began to trudge through the debris in hope of escaping the memory. In an instant, the rising cinder-filled smoke swirled into the black dragon's form. Her leer paralyzed him as her towering bestial figure barred the way. From this gesture Lavi understood – she wasn't finished. Despite his desire to clear the enigma clouds that shrouded his friend he dared not oppose her at this moment.
Nodding her head up slightly she beckoned him to about-face once more. Obeying the dragon Lavi watched the village ruins vanish before his eyes. The landscape around him shattered like glass – rising up into the darkness above – replaced by a new scene.
Examining his new surroundings Lavi found himself to be in a dining room. The elongated table housed fourteen seats though only four people were seated. Lavi recognized each of the seated persons to be: Road, Tyki, Skin and Lulubell, all of which were waiting the arrival of Jasdevi and the Earl. Lavi quickly drew to the conclusion he was in the house of the Noah's.
Before long the twins entered through the curtained doorway at the end of the dining room – the longer-haired carrying the baby dragon. The seated Noah's didn't seem to notice their arrival until Devit stomped his foot on the table-top. All heads turned to face Devit.
"We have an announcement to make!" He shouted – a wide grin plastered across his face. There was a long silence as Devit waited for his family to make a smart-arse remark, however that never happened.
"Well?" Tyki prompted as he blew out smoke from his cigarette. Jasdevi lifted the baby dragon from the ground – placing her firmly on the table.
"Meet the newest member of the Noah family!" Jasdevi exclaimed – his intense level of joy clearly evident in his tone of voice. A majority of the Noah's were stunned, the look of shock-horror mirrored on all of their faces. Tyki even dropped his cigarette. Everyone but Lulubell appeared to be astounded by the twins' declaration.
"Are you crazy?" The Portuguese man finally found his words, though he was quickly interrupted by Road.
"Remember the last time you two had a pet?" She reminded as her shocked expression changed to a skeptical one. "Somehow I doubt after that saga the Earl will let you keep another one." The twins' stare moved from Noah to Noah as they each made a statement against their decision. Their debating soon turned to argument and before long the dining room was enveloped in chaos.
Still sitting on Jasdevi's side of the table, the hatchling murmured as it watched the quarrel escalated. Light from the curtained doorway poured into the dining room, abruptly ending the uproar. All Noah's sat back into their seats – Jasdero swiftly hiding the baby dragon on his lap under the table – as the Millennium Earl entered the room.
"Now, now my children, what's all the ruckus?" The Earl said as he headed to his place at the head of the table. Before he could even sit down the hatchling made a bellowing growl, gaining the attention of the Earl. His eyes gazed over to where the twins sat – Jasdero holding an uncomfortable expression as he tried hard to keep the dragon below the table.
Approaching the teens the Earl placed his hands on their shoulders. He knew all to well they were hiding something – that was obvious. "Now Jasdevi, what are you two hiding?" Road began to giggle as the twins tried to hold a straight face.
Bouncing free from the blonde-haired Noah's grip the dragon hatchling emerged from under the table, landing on the Earl's chest. Clinging to his coat with her small claws the dragon droned quietly; staring up with big serpent eyes. Gently pulling the hatchling from his coat the Earl held the dragon up to look at her.
"Jasdevi…" The twins cringed as the Earl addressed them both. "Where did you find this creature?" Unsure if their superior was angry at them or not Devit answered his question.
"We found it in that burning village! The one in Spain." He responded quickly.
"Hee, it was all by itself," Jasdero added in. "We thought we could train it to be a killing machine." The Millennium Earl merely replied with a hum. Examining the hatchling, the round man laughed.
"Do you two even know what this is?" He chuckled as he placed the animal on the ground. The twins looked at each other before looking at the Earl. "You don't come by dragons often and I'm glad you picked this one up. Dragon's are quite intelligent creatures – they're faithful and obedient if you train them well." The black hatchling looked up at the Earl – falling over onto her back as she did.
"…so…we can keep it?" Jasdero asked. The room went silent – the Noah's awaiting their leader's decision. The Earl laughed heartily as he began making his way back to the table's head.
"Well, have you thought of a suitable name for her?" All eyes were on the twins once more. Jumping onto Jasdero's lap, the dragon peered her head over the table. Stammering over their words it was clear they hadn't even decided on a name. "Any suggestions?" The Earl opened the discussion to the rest of the family.
"How about a Spanish name." Lulubell offered as she curled a strand of hair around her finger. "You found the dragon in Spain after all…" There was a series of 'uh's and 'um's that followed Lulubell's statement. Though her suggestion was a good one, there weren't many Spanish names that came to mind.
"I like the name, Kiyre." The twins said suddenly – the name popping into their minds at the same time. The family directed an estranged look towards them.
"That's not sweet enough." Skin grumbled as he chewed on his spoon. Whether he was talking about something he just ate or the name Jasdero had suggested, no one really knew.
"And it's not Spanish either." Road included as she crossed her arms.
"I don't think a name for something as fierce as a dragon should be sweet…" Tyki rested his head on his hand as he gave a somewhat bored expression – only now did he notice the cigarette he had dropped earlier had burnt into the table. Road's disapproving demeanor quickly changed as a name entered her mind.
"Oh, oh, I know," She called out, waving her arms wildly. "How about Fidelia Paloma?" Devit and Jasdero leered at the violet-haired Noah
"Hee, it's too girlie Road!" Jasdero jeered.
"Why should she even have a second name either?" Devit joined his twin.
"Ah, but Fidelia means faithful. Earl said dragon's were faithful, didn't you?" Road smiled as she looked over to her superior for support. Receiving a nod from the Earl, Road smirked at the twins.
"What the hell does Paloma mean, then?" Skin grunted. "Sounds like a dessert…"
"It can mean either dove or pigeon. A very clever choice of naming, Road." The Earl congratulated. "Fidelia Paloma. Faithful dove." The large man laughed in amusement to himself. "Welcome to the famil-"
The cold embrace of the snow returned to Lavi as he woke from the induced sleep – his hands still resting on Kiyre's snout. The dragon simply stared, and with one simple growl Lavi thought it best to remove his hands.
Lavi could hear the unmistakable sound of falling trees and gunfire, sounds he wished that he couldn't hear. Sitting up with a start, the black dragon too rose to her feet. A wave of snow crashed through the woods knocking down trees in its path.
He soon caught sight of Pandora as she glided over them, shrieking in a demonic muse of triumph. Soaring up into the sky, she and Amos were hidden in the clouds once more. Lavi's attention drew back to what had crashed into the ground. Though partially covered in snow and branches, Lavi could make out the olive scaled dragon with ease.
"Eerios, Kanda!" Rushing over to where the beast laid he soon saw Kanda was still onboard. Brushing the branches and snow from his comrade he helped the swordsman off the dragon and onto the ground. With his eyes coming into focus Kanda was amazed to see Lavi was still alive.
A deep moan escaped Eerios's throat as he pushed himself up onto his feet; shaking his thick mane free of the broken twigs and snow. He became stationary when his eyes fell upon the black dragon, and despite his injuries he appeared quite intimidating. Kanda too saw the other dragon and became apprehensive of its presence.
Before he met Eerios, he probably would've killed every dragon he saw on sight.
Eerios ruffled his deep brown mane – his ears pointing forward as his stature became one of intimidation. Unfolding his wings Eerios began to snarl and flare his fangs – the ivory glinting in the moonlight.
The black dragon was unsure of its place, and like a dog would back away from a threat – it simply stepped away and bent its legs in respect to the other. With her body low to the ground and ears flattened, Kiyre seemed nervous, frightened even, by the sight of another one of her kind.
Lavi quickly felt a knot form at the pit of his gut. He recalled the memories Kiyre had shown him. Assuming Kiyre had been in the care of the Noah family for most of her life, this was possibly the first time she had seen one of her own kind.
Author's Note: My lord this took way too long. First I wrote it, I got stuck and lost my train of thought. Then I decided I had to change a lot of it because it didn't flow – and then came the problem of re-motivating myself. And when you've put it off for more than two weeks, it gets hard to do that. After about two re-writes and three rounds of beta-ing by Jemgi – god bless you – chapter 25 is finally finished.
Now I might have to explain a few things. As for Kiyre's naming – now I've heard it's mary-sue to give character's a name that reflects their personality, etc. This one, funnily enough, was accidental. I chose the name thinking it was a lovely one – and after a lot of talking with Jemgi, I soon came to the realization about the connection with the Dove.
Now if you haven't read the book of Genesis then I'll enlighten you. During Noah's great flood, Noah sent out a Dove to look for land and after some time away, the Dove returned with an olive sprig. Hehe…that's where the faithful bit came in. The Dove acted faithfully and returned to Noah. If it wasn't it probably would've stayed at the land it had found.
Anyhow, her name Faithful Dove is to suggest she would be trained to be like that Dove who returned with the olive sprig. That she would become a faithful pet and return to them. This was purely coincidence. And a lot of coincidences are with this character too XD all accidental.
As for where Kiyre came from; well it was pure randosity by the twins.
Oh, and the dessert Skin was talking about was a Pavlova :D I love those, they're so yummy…*drools*
Anyway, I'm sorry I've kept you all waiting for this; I just have moments where I can't organize my thoughts.
I can't thank Jemgi enough this time. He really helped me fix up this chapter. You should go read his stories because quite honestly I'm taking his spotlight. Please take the time to read some of them – he deserves it after all the help he's given me on this.
Thanks to HibernatingBear, and Wolfpup026 as well for the support they've also given me.
Anyway, I'll probably post the next chapter after Christmas.
Hope you all have an enjoyable Christmas! :D and thanks again for all your support!
Kaytlyn*~