I don't own Jane and the Dragon.
Don't really have much to say about my life. I got a summary up for this story. Tell me what you think. And see, I didn't kill Dragon or Jane!
Quote of the day:
"Panic, chaos, and disorder. My work here is done."- another awesome bleach gif that I can't remember the name of the creator for. Just search bleach avatars on photoshop, that's where I found it.
Chapter 28: Valley of the Dragons
"I don't get it! How long should it take to reach the center of the valley? Aren't dragons supposed to have large, open amounts of space?" Lightnose complained, much to the irritation of his fellow travelers. They had been walking through the snowy forest for hours, yet they had not seen a single living thing. Lightnose seemed to be let down by this, although he'd not exactly said it directly. The constant nagging was starting to really get to the other members of the party.
"Lightnose, for the last time, I don't know how long it will take; this valley could be the size of Kippernia for all we know! Now just cool down and enjoy the scenery or something!" Ahi finally snapped at the impatient dragon, who instantly stopped talking, but there was a noticeable stomp lingering in his step. Suddenly, a rustle from a nearby made them all stop in their tracks.
"Did you hear that?" Lightnose said into the silence.
Before any of them could react, their mysterious being decided to react for them. A dark shape jumped out of the bushes, startling the trio half out of their wits, before they realized it was just a squirrel.
"Okay, so there are other things here than just trees. Good to know." Ahi remarked into the stunned silence. Once they had gotten their pulses back under control, they journeyed on into the wintery woods. It was a ways in before they saw anything else that actually moved. They came right over a hill that overlooked a section of the valley, and were met with a promising sight. Below them were a collection of hot springs, large ones too. The threesome headed down for a chance to warm up, when they noticed some footprints near the larger springs.
"They look sort of like yours, Lightnose, but bigger."
"Yeah, guess this is a popular resting spot for the dragons here." Lightnose remarked as he tested his footprint against the ones in the snow. It was definitely bigger than him, that's for sure. But something was oddly familiar about this place, like he had been here before…Aww, who was he kidding? Lightnose shook of the nagging thought as he followed the others into the forest once more. Probably nothing… But, little did he know that one of the mysteries of his past was beginning to emerge.
Dragon looked out at the moon that hung in the sky, head tumbling with the events of the night. The different things that he had occurred were both ones to be glad about, and ones that deserved better description. Jakku and Bones seemed nice enough for guys that had the power of death itself locked within them. As for Ankoku and Itami, they were just about everything you'd expect in darkness incarnates. Something about Itami didn't sound too bad. When they were talking, there was an almost empty look in his eyes, a drag to his voice. It was like he was missing the ability to feel. Dragon was still slightly disbelieving on the fact that someone could make it seem like someone else's best friend was dead, and feel nothing. Not even the emotion Ankoku had shown: relish in what he was doing. No remorse or regret. Just enjoyment. It was sickening how much he did enjoy it. The very memory made him shudder. What it possible to enjoy making someone miserable that much? Dragon shook his head to force the thought out of his mind. No, never mind, scratch that. He didn't think he wanted to know.
"Ankoku? What do we do now? It's obvious he'll be on the lookout for us now."
"We don't need to worry about it."
"What?" Itami said, surprised. It was unlike Ankoku to let something like this go, especially when he had been so intent on this goal for weeks, maybe even months. "Aren't you the least bit disappointed that he will be harder to get than before? Or angry?"
"No, not at all. Now we have a dragon in the area that we have no more need of, and there are plenty of black-hearted souls in the village to use. All we must do is pick out a ripe one and save it until the time is right."
"You don't mean we're going to…?" Itami trailed off, not quite able to force out the answer.
"Yes, we eventually will. Why, is there a problem with it?"
"No." Itami replied, but in truth, he felt he had just been pulled into a painful dilemma. What they had done with the animals would be no different than what they were going to do with this dragon, but it felt different. It was cannibalism. There was no other way to put it. Even though Itami knew that Ankoku had sunk into a realm of darkness that was beyond all reason, he felt that he was the part that always would regret. It was uncanny. Now, even tonight, he had felt that nagging tug of his conscience pulling at his mind. No matter how much he tried to dull it, or pretend it wasn't, he soon found that a conscience was harder to get rid of than it looked. All he did was numb his emotions, because he thought it would help him escape. But, no matter where he went, no matter how long he tried, the tug was always there to remind him, along with the side-a-long flicker of regret or remorse.
One might ask why he was still friends with Ankoku, even after all he had put him through, and he would have to answer because he was a kid like any other once. Yes, hard as it was to believe, he had been a good friend, until Kurigari's darker sides caught up with the both of them. Because of the alarming rate at which they were losing Ankoku, the unspeakable truth became obvious: Itami and Ankoku would have to be separated by whatever means necessary. So, Itami was put in the Overworld, and Ankoku was kept in this one. Unfortunately, this only seemed to quicken the boy's descent into darkness. He became totally obsessed with power, and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. While Itami was lamenting over the loss of his friend in the Overworld, Ankoku was doing unspeakable things to achieve his ends. But, of course, his power would never be complete as a vessel of Kurigari without the dragon side of it, so he had to try to bring Itami back. He made friend with those other sealed, and had used them to get a portal that he could get through. They had let them pay the price. One had lost her arm, and one of the dragons sacrificed himself to save the other. He was later resurrected by the death sealed, along with the other two, but Itami would never forget the cries of his friend as they made off for the woods. They were the kinds that literally tore you up, and wretched out your heart.
Ankoku never treated Itami like he had before they were separated, either. If Itami failed in doing an order that Ankoku had given him, punishment was usually severe, and made sure he didn't mess up again. After a while he learned he'd have to just cope with the situation, and hope that maybe, just maybe, there would be some way to pull Ankoku out of the darkness.
Meanwhile, a little chipmunk ran through the undergrowth of a wintry forest. It turned into a warm cave and was about to head for a crack in the wall, when a large, brown, clawed paw made it dart in another direction. This paw belonged to a dragon named Nymr, and right now, he had more problems on his hands than a measly chipmunk. Food was becoming scarce in his section of the valley, and since he had not exactly been the nicest to his neighbors, they weren't eager to lend him a hand. He needed a new supply of food, and fast. He had smelled something, different on the air this morning as well: the scent of a young, male dragon. Nymr pulled back with a snort. Those males. Brought up by other dragons just to take him down.
Come to take his seat here, was he? Well, he'd just have to take him out, just like he had with the others who had come in the past. Nymr pulled back into the shadows of his cave. All he'd need to do is wait for the male to come to him, and then get rid of him.
"We're making good time." Haru called back, mostly to rejuvenate the duo behind him, who looked like they were going to drop right there. True, they had traveled through most of last night, stopping for only a couple hours. But that was on them, they had suggested it to get further ahead in less time. He didn't think they would get like this after walking for about two hours.
They just don't know their own limits yet. He told himself for the fiftieth time that morning. It was the logical answer, but it was the reason that was beginning to wind him down. Lightnose was too tired to complain about the wait to see other dragons. Ahi, meanwhile, was just barely keeping place with the rest of the group. Haru sighed at the pitiful sight before him, and said "How about we stop for a few hours?" This brought on quite a grateful air. The two instantly lay (mostly dropped) down next to a large, old oak, and, within minutes, were fast asleep. Haru sighed and moved to his usual spot over their heads and remained there to keep watch for the rest of the afternoon. He looked around as the serenity of the sun, leaves, and other wonders of nature cooked up a wonderful feast for eyes, ears, and nose.
Clank! Crash! Jane swung viciously at the attack dummy, striking it to the point where it was spinning like a top. She almost turned to the forge to see how Alken was doing, but soon remembered that the sealed suit of armor was gone. He had said the night before that he would probably leave soon; she just didn't think he would go so suddenly. There was still so much she wanted to know, about the old legends, about these two that Alken had mentioned, (Ankoku and Itami, was it?) and the way he had managed to come back to life. Another thing that was bugging her was Dragon. He was usually flying in by now, giving her all kinds of confusing advice on how to dodge and from which directions to attack. The only other time that he had done this was when he'd given her that scare. When he'd… Jane, now eager to get her practice over with as soon as possible, swung all the more forcefully. Her eyes focused on the small, leather strap that hung from the back of the dummy. Carefully giving the dummy a sharp thwack with her practice sword, she made the rear spin in a clockwise motion, allowing her to reach out and snag the strap with her free hand. "Leaving so soon, Jane?" Sir Theodore asked as he watched his apprentice saddle up a horse. Since Smithy had been up late doing an errand for Sir Ivon, Jane just didn't have the heart to disturb him. "I was just going to go…visit someone…" she finished lamely, but, thankfully, Sir Theodore had already caught on. "Very well. I shall see you later this afternoon for you archery lesson." He said as he walked back into the practice yard. Jane let out a sigh as she pulled herself up onto the horse. Once she was firmly in the saddle, she headed out the gate and into the pathway that she knew lead to Dragon's mountain. As the horse moved smoothly along, the two failed to notice that they were being watched by a curious Hannashi. He pulled himself up onto a tree limb so he could see better. Yep, definitely her. There was no mistaking that red hair. The was she was going was all the more strange. The cave on the mountain probably. Jakku had been kind enough to stop by on give some good details about his fight with Ankoku and what he had been after. Maybe its worth sticking around for… Hannashi thought as he stealthily slipped after the horse.
The shady old store, meanwhile, carried an almost unnatural air due to the arrival of its two newest visitors. For one, Kazi was now as mellow as a mountain stream, smiling like nothing had happened last night, and giving Alken occasional reprimands for not taking proper care of a particular piece of his armor as she straightened it out for him. Kai had become the unofficial director of household affairs. Julian was trying out a couple new techniques of molding on Alken's armor, and Dan, Tigre, and Jakku were all arguing about the other tenants of the afterlife and how they could hold onto a grudge. "Seriously, Jakku, has she finally moved on? I mean, it was resolved years ago! Give up on it already!" "Tell her that. Yvonne still thinks there might have been some mistake with the will, and now she won't let me hear the end of it!" "Did you tell her that the estate's gone anyway?" "I didn't even get to that. All she wanted to talk about was what was in that will. She made me recount every last detail!"
"By the way, Kai, when's Hannashi getting here?" Tigre asked, noticing that the half-blood in question had just entered the room.
"Look, I have no idea; he wasn't that specific. I'm sure he'll be here by the end of this week, though." "When Ahi and Lightnose come back, right?"
"Yep, when they come back."
"You sure this is a good idea? Sending a group of rookies in to find Shadow?" Dan asked, narrowing his eyes. Kai paused a moment before answering.
"I'm sure they will. Besides, Shadow will be on the lookout for them, and Kudos should be able to pick up on them right away."
All eyes were on Kai at the mention of the name 'Kudos'.
"What?"
"Weeellll…" Jakku stammered, not able to say exactly what was on his mind.
"He's sort of the skeptical type. How do you know he will actually go through with this?" Tigre finished.
"You know the old rule; every created sprite will recognize even so much as a trace of their maker. Since the two are vessels to Reki, Kudos won't be able to miss it. He won't pull anything, I'm sure of it." Kai replied as she turned and walked out.
"Are you sure that there are dragons here?" Lightnose said for the thirtieth time since they had started again. Ahi and Haru each concealed groans as they fought to not give an answer. Lightnose took the hint and remained quiet for the next couple feet.
"He does have a point." Ahi said out loud. Both turned to her, one exasperated, the other surprised. Ignoring their looks, Ahi continued.
"We haven't seen a single dragon since we got here. If this was really Dragon Valley, wouldn't we have at least gotten some signs of a dragon nearby?"
At the more explanative answer, Haru stopped and looked at their route thoughtfully.
"True.", He answered, "The thing we should probably be on the lookout for, especially at this time of year, would be older male dragons. Protecting their caves, and such." He added, catching their blank looks. When they still looked completely lost, he sighed, and said.
"A fight between males?"
Now they got it. Lightnose looked like he wanted to hightail it back home, and Ahi seemed to be stuck in a worried loop of thought over what might happen if they managed to get in the way of one of those fights by accident.
"Don't worry about it." Haru said, trying to calm them both down, "If we just avoid territories with those types in them, we should be fine. And besides, the faster we go, the faster we reach Shadow."
And with that, the threesome headed off deeper into the valley, unaware of the fact that they were heading into danger.
HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!! I got all of you with a foreshadowing! Now you have to wait until I give you the next chapter!! Hahahaha!
