'Adopting one child won't change the world: but for that one child, the world will change.'

~Unknown


Erik was a joy to be around, no doubt about it. There was a certain amount of awe in my gaze as I watched him and Hydra hiss back and forth for nearly ten minutes. There was a look of glee on both of their faces as Cubellios, as Erik had introduced his little pet snake, joined in on their short conversation was priceless.

Less priceless, however, was the look that Hydra got when Cubellios hissed something clearly important.

"Vega?" She questioned, looking over at me with concern in her eyes. "Has your father taught you how to reverse transformation curses yet?"

My eyes narrowed as I looked back and forth between her and the snake for a few seconds before they widened in shock and understanding. "Unfortunately not." I reluctantly replied. "That was supposed to come up in our lessons soon, but this entire fiasco of a mission came up before he could."

Erik looked at both of us in confusion before he glanced down at the little serpent coiled around his wrist. "What's wrong with Cubellios?" He asked as he clutched the snake to his chest.

"Nothing is wrong with her per to say," I started off slowly, trying to figure out how to explain it. "She's just, not in the shape she's supposed to be."

"Your little friend here was actually human at one point." Hydra gently offered. "Her parents got on the bad side of a particularly nasty dark guild a few years ago, and they decided to hurt them in retaliation. Kinana, that's her real name, was cursed into the form of a Havati Serpent. Her parents, on the other hand, were killed in the battle that came afterward." Erik looked down at the little snake in his hands, and she looked back up at him soul full green eyes.

"Is there any way to turn her back?" He begged, looking at them with his one violet eye as Kinana curled up around his shoulders to try and comfort him.

"Several," I assured a smile on my face. "The first of which would be to talk to my father. He's very powerful, and he and my mother have taught me everything I know about magic." Erik's face split into a bright smile as Kinana let out a hiss of celebration.

"When do we leave? Can we leave now?" He begged as he practically bounced around us in his excitement.

I let out a startled laugh as he latched onto one of my hands and started tugging me forward. "Easy there, hatchling." I soothed as I gently took my hand back and stopped him. "We still have a few things we need to take care of, and then we can leave."

He slumped just slightly, before perking up again when he realized we were leaving as soon as possible.

"So, what do you need to do sis?" I stopped short as his question registered in my mind, then dismissed the fact that he called me sis since my inner dragon was crowing in joy about it.

"Well, first of all, you are getting a bloodline test to see if you have any living family left," I started to list, before noting that his face fell in disappointment. "Don't worry, hatchling," I assured as he grabbed my hand again. "I'm taking you with me regardless of what they find. Your magic is too dangerous for you to use without any training, and I doubt that your parents would be able to handle that." He nodded in understanding as I continued listing what we needed to do. "Other than that, I need to register a few things with the Magic Council and the Rune Knights, see about getting the Black Keys reinstated and moved to active status, set an appointment for a power ranking test, and get in contact with mom and dad." I tilted my head slightly. "I hope they have a scrying mirror big enough."

"...And that about sums up the entire situation." I dutifully reported to the giant glowing mirror in front of me. To the wonder of the men and women standing around me, dad stared back, his ruby eyes glazed over in thought as he considered and deliberated every consequence and reward that my situation afforded us.

"And the tests?" He inquired, his eyes refocusing and looking over Erik and me. "He has no kin besides yourself?"

"He was born in the tower." I snarled, slipping into Dovah as my anger got the best of me. "As a slave to those things that dared to call themselves human." I pulled Erik closer until he was tucked into my side, instinctively shielding him from the curious looks of the other humans as they edged a bit closer. "I refuse to leave him with more humans after everything he's been through at their hands."

Dad snorted slightly before letting out a loud rumbling laugh. "Well said, daughter mine." He stated, this time in the common tongue for the sake of the humans around us. "Very well, bring the hatchling with you when you return."

Dad looked over Erik, his blood-red eyes meeting Erik's single violet orb for a few moments before dad let out another laugh and spoke in Dovah again. "You are going to be a credit to the name Cosmitella." He proclaimed, making Erik's single eye widen in realization of what was going on. "Your training will begin the moment I lay my real eyes on you. Those that favor poison over all other elements must learn control as quickly as possible, lest they harm the ones around them."

"I understand," Erik replied, slipping into a hissing dialect of Dovah to my delight.

Dad huffed before he slashed a single claw over the water, breaking the spell and ending our conversation.

I turned around and nearly let out a laugh at the gobsmacked looks on the faces of the crowd. Gildarts, who was standing not too far behind me, put a hand on my shoulder. "You never told me that your father was a dragon." He muttered, the faint shaking in his voice spurring the laugh to escape my throat.

"You never asked." I chuckled before I turned back to Erik. "Well, kid? Ready to go?"

Erik nodded eagerly as Kinana curled tighter around his shoulders.

"Hold on a sec-" I fixed a dead-eyed glare on the rune knight that tried to get in our way, stopping him in his tracks. His face looked like he was trying to swallow his tongue. "We cannot allow the two of you to return to a beast like that."

"Captain," I answered shortly, my annoyance leaking out in my voice as my magic rose to the surface of my skin in a golden aura. "That, so-called, beast," I snarled the word like a curse. "Has raised me as one of his own with the help of his mate since I was five." I made sure to meet his eyes, allowing my inner dragon to surge up just enough to change my purple eyes to turn a deep burning gold as the pupils retracted into reptile slits. "I have been taught and trained by the two of them to become a Dragon Slayer for nearly a decade." My already abnormally long canine teeth lengthened into full-fledged fangs, and my fingernails culled into hooked claws. "So I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't insult the two beings I consider my parents. I would also appreciate it if you removed yourself from my path. The last thing I want to do is unleash a new hatchling in the city. The last thing you want to see is an enraged Dragon Slayer ripping apart another laboratory."

The rune knight swallowed nervously a few times, before he gingerly stepped to the side. "Thank you." I acknowledged as my aura petered off to be-incredibly-wary instead of piss-your-pants terrifying to normal humans and wizards

hatchling." I called as I motioned for Erik to follow me. "While we travel I'll start walking you through how to separate your poisonous venom from the acidic venom."

Erik's bright and eager grin matched my own as we scampered out the door before we could be stopped again.


I shook myself out of another giddy high as Erik watched with an impressed gaze. Kinana turned her soulful green eyes up to me in a puppy pout, and I sighed as I looked over the two of them. "Speed of application and system integration was greatly improved," I praised as I pulled myself up from the bed of leaves and ferns that served as my bed in our little makeshift camp. "But," Their prideful looks fell as I leveled a stern glare at them. "You compromised yourselves and the potency of your venom. If I were anyone else, that would have killed me in seconds. You two are lucky that this is only practice. If this was a real ambush or battle, the Rune Knights would be on your asses for murder as soon as they could catch up."

Erik and Kinana hung their heads in shame. "We'll try to cut the toxicity next time, sis," Erik muttered as he shuffled nervously.

I huffed in acceptance. "That's all I can ask squirt." I ruffled his hair, and the two of us started to break down our campsite. A quick flick of my wrist drew a bubble of water from the nearby stream and doused the ashes of our small fire. Erik looked on in awe as he and Kinana gathered up the ferns and leaves we used to make our beds and started scattering them around.

"How many different elements can you control?" Erik asked as we started on the road again.

"All of them," I answered promptly, laughing slightly at the stunned expression on his face. "Celestial Dragon Magic is the root of all other Dragon Magic, all other types branch off from its use."

"Even poison?" Erik questioned, his head tilting to the side as I ducked under a fallen tree.

"Even poison," I confirmed as I grabbed his hand and lead him under it, taking care to avoid the branches. "If I remember my lessons correctly, the first Poison Dragon was known as Polybotes, the Son of Aurora, and Pontus. When he had his magic activated, the poison would just slosh right off his scales and destroy everything it touched." I straightened up as Erik started walking again next to me. "His bloodline was somewhat tempered thanks to his mating with the Air Dragoness Amaunet. Their combined power helped their offspring gain control of the toxicity of their poison as they aged."

Erik nodded in understanding. "It's not an instant thing." He simplified. "I have to learn to control it."

"Exactly." I agreed as we started into a small meadow. "The best way to do that is trial and error, though, which I why I couldn't leave you with the normal humans."

"I could have hurt one of them by accident." Erik realized, looking up at me with wide, fearful eyes as the consequences of doing that dawned on him. "And then I'd be right back where you found me, strapped to a table in a lab."

I nodded solemnly and stopped for a moment so I could look him in the eyes. "Erik." I started, getting his attention. "Whatever happens to us, no matter what you do, I swear I will always stand beside you, and you will never have to go back there."

Tears sprang into his eyes, and he lunged forward to hug me as hard as he could.

"Thank you." He whispered against my neck.

"Anytime, kid," I whispered back, before straightening up again. "Let's get back on the road. I wanna get as close as we can tonight, so we have a full day free for training tomorrow."


I breathed in deeply as I strode out of the forest along the well-worn path. Erik trailed slightly behind me, shaking nervously as Kinana tried to comfort him.

Celestiana and Draco were laying out in the grassy meadow, soaking in the sunshine of the early morning and letting all their scales shimmer like gemstones under the light. The two mighty dragons' eyes snapped open as I deliberately stepped on a twig, alerting them to our presence.

Bright gold and brilliant crimson red zeroed in on us, and Erik let out a near-silent squeak of nervousness as Mom climbed to her feet and shook herself out. She slowly strode forwards, keeping her eyes on us and telegraphing her movements so that she wouldn't startle Erik. "Hello, Erik." She whispered as she got within touching range. "Vega has told us a lot about you."

"Hi," Erik whispered back, his eyes wide and shining in awe.

"My name is Celestiana." Mom continued as she sat down and curled her long tail around herself. "I may not be training you as extensively as Draco will, but we will both do our best to help you with any problems if you ask."

"I, I understand, ma'am." Erik stuttered momentarily as he gained a bit of confidence. "I will do my best."

Mom's lips curled up into a smile, carefully controlled, so she didn't show any teeth, as she nodded. After a second, she stepped aside, allowing Dad to step forward and take her place. He looked Erik up and down with his blood-red eyes, judging him as best he could. "You'll do." The large male voiced shortly before he reached down, gently picked him up by the back of his shirt and carried him off towards the training grove.

I let out a cackle at Erik's squawk of surprise as Mom nudged me up onto her back and swiftly followed after them.

Dad set Erik down next to my usual thinking rock and directed him to look out over the meadow. "Now fledgling, show me what you've worked out so far..."

I smiled as Dad started to put Erik through his paces, mirroring my first days of training quite nicely.

For a brief moment, I considered talking to mom about my dreams of the blond boy. After a second, however, I shook my head, banishing the thought.

I wanted to keep those to myself for just a bit longer.