The Druun swirled and writhed, flowing across the field around the final remaining dragons, searching for a way past the small ring of water surrounding the group. The other dragons stood strewn around, turned to stone in their last stand against the Druun. The dragons had done well, but in the end, conventional battle was futile. The famed fangs and talons of the dragons, strong enough to defend against the deadliest of animals, were useless. Any contact, any touch, and the Druun would transform you to stone. Even magic could only do so much. The dragons had been defeated. All except one last family.

Pengu, Jagan, Pranee, Amba and Sisu stood in a rough circle, looking outwards. The Druun were momentarily thwarted by the ring of water around them, one of the only things the dragons had found that truly halted them, but they knew that it wasn't a permanent solution. The Druun weren't damaged by water, they simply didn't like it. It was unpleasant, but not enough to truly stop them.

I turned to face my siblings. Looking around at them, it was difficult to imagine what I knew we had to do. Both Pengu and Pranee knew as well, and Amba was probably on our tails. Sisu didn't need to know, only do, but I trusted her. It was just going to be difficult, possibly never seeing them again. Who knew what it was like to be stone? Looking around, though, I saw my siblings in higher clarity; I might not see them for hundreds of years, or ever, and I wanted to get one last good look at all of them.

Pengu was stoic, as always. His eyes betrayed no emotions of fear or uncertainty, because he was not afraid or uncertain. He knew what needed to be done, and he would do it. His green fur waved in the wind, caught high in the breeze, the muscles underneath his skin rippling as he stood before us like a king, or possibly, a brother.

Amba's coat shone, sleek and combed and tailored to perfection, even amid the midst of battle. Her face was scared, but her set jaw showed determination. She wasn't about to let the Druun win, not without putting up a fight.

Sisu's vibrant turquoise sheen was blinding in the darkness, yet her face relayed no knowledge of what the rest of us planned. She seemed out of place, and I wished she didn't have to do what we needed her to. It was, truly, the most important task.

And Pranee.. was.. astounding. Breathtaking in her grandeur. Her skin glistened in the purple glow, glimmering with power and beauty. Tall she stood, and proud, nearly as tall as Pengu, and yet she seemed almost to tower over him. Her gaze, the eyes of pitch-perfect amethyst were glowing in the haze, their depth and volume like oceans in the dusk-light of the sun, contrasting deep purple hues and black outlines, and in that moment, I locked eyes with my sister, and I loved her as one does not love family or friend. In that moment images flowed through me that one did not imagine of their sister, yet they flowed through me all the same. A furious blush spread over my cheeks as I tried desperately to rid my mind of these pervasive thoughts, to clear my head of the images that burned behind my shut eyes. Pranee's brows angled in slightly, intrigued or disturbed by my altered disposition. Then, suddenly, Pranee's face flushed, a red hint creeping out onto her smooth purple skin, and she lifted a hand to her chest, almost as if to steady herself, against imbalance, or the imagined hand of a lover upon her.

Thankfully, our siblings remained oblivious to both of our theatrics as Pengu stood up on his back legs and pushed his hands forward, coalescing the essence of his magic into a dragon-gem. Pranee stood next composing herself, and it was difficult not to spring suddenly upon her as she displayed so clearly her unrivalled form, perfect from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. She transferred her magic to the gem locking eyes with me, and I saw her eyes widen, the look on my face clearly betraying my desired intentions, and she licked her lips, giving me a coy smile. She was followed by Amba, who continued to empower the orb before finishing. I stood, focusing my magic and sending it forward to the gem. I stood back then, turning to face Sisu, who was then handed the gem by Pengu. She seemed confused for a moment, then a look of understanding spread over her features. The last thing I saw then, for over 500 years, was her lifting up the gem, and then all went black.

I awoke, coughing and gasping. Being stone was awful. Covered in leaves all the time, dry beyond measure. It was heavenly when it rained, which was nice, but still. Anyhow, this was reassuring. He was alive again, and moving. They all were, actually, and the Druun seemed to be gone too. Not a single one in sight, and dragon magic seemed to linger on the air. It seems the gem had been used again, successfully this time. I looked around at the rest of my family, and beyond at my friends. They seemed just as confused as I was, but Pengu was looking steadily past the direction of the Heart capital, towards the Humans Fang settlement. He turned to us then, and waved his hand, beckoning, before running off into the clouds on his dragon magic. Quickly, the rest of us followed, chasing after him. I turned my head, searching for a certain dragon amid the masses. There! Pranee, her purple coat unmistakable. I angled towards her until I was within talking distance, and she turned towards me, eyes amethyst eyes widening in surprise.

"Jagan! It's.. wonderful to see you again. To see everyone again. How are you?"

I was listening to her words, I knew that. I also knew that I was watching her lips move, and her facial expressions , and her black outlined eyes on mine, and wishing we were alone. Wishing I could do all the things I wanted to. Instead, I swallowed, blinked a few times, and composed my raging mind.

"I'm doing a lot better than I was yesterday. I suppose Sisu was successful, since there's no Druun, but unsuccessful too, since we were still stone up until now. I wonder what happened, though I assume Pengu is leading us to that answer now. Which he is. We emerge from the clouds, and I see a Human settlement below us, but I also sense something. Sisu! She's injured, possibly dead. That's fine though. When every dragon works together, there's little we can't do. Looking at Pranee, I nod, communicating that we would continue this conversation later. For now, we have things to do

I walk into a large stone room, complex engravings lining the walls and murals sitting the floor. My sibling, too, stand here, as well as.. Raya, and her father. Apparently, we've missed a lot. 500 years! Who could've imagined? Higher functions weren't really available while stone, and time had seemed to stand still. Certainly not 500 years of time had passed, for me at least. But Raya was quite important. She and Sisu had been instrumental in our return. I was very proud, of both of them.

Pengu was talking to Benja, who seemed to be the leader of Heart, and a good one too. Us dragons had always felt a connection to the people of Heart, and their leader was no different. I'm sure Pengu would appreciate conversation with such an idyllic figure.

Sisu and Amba were both engaged in conversation with Raya and a dubious figure named Namaari. Recounting their tales of adventure, Amba was listening eagerly, always at ears for a story.

Pranee was.. looking out a window. Heart's palace had quite a view, sat atop a queerly shaped rock formation, it towered above the village far below. You could see all the way to Tail from up here in one direction, and all the way to Fang in the other. Walking up to her, I spoke.

"Pranee. I, uh, can we go somewhere more private? To talk, obviously," I coughed, "not that, uhm, we would do anything other than talk. Heh." I was stumbling over my words as I had not since I first began to speak, and blushing like a young fool in love. Pranee, thankfully, seemed just as embarrassed as I was.

"I'd love too speak to you, Jagan. Let's go to the dragon shrine. It's secluded, and has a good atmosphere."

That sounded like a good idea. Stepping through the window, I began to run around the side of the mountain, and I saw Pranee following. Looking down, I saw humans and dragons far below celebrating, and realized that me and Pranee must look like a couple, running through the sky together like this. I swallowed, the idea somehow appealing. I drew my mind to other matters. The dragon shrine was in a cave on the eastern side of the mountain, and we had just come to the eastern side. The rock here was dotted with small caves, but the correct one was unmistakable, turning in, I stepped onto the rock, and heard Pranee do the same beside me. Suddenly, it occurred to me that we were alone, my sister and I. This thought sent my into a frenzy, and I felt the clarity of my vision increase, heard my blood pumping. I turned to see Pranee watching me with an almost.. expectant look on her face.

"Listen Pranee," my voice was husky, and I realized that my lust must be obvious even in the way I spoke. Pranee lifted her gaze up to me eyes, catching me in them.

"Yes." She spoke, clearly and concisely.

"Yes?"

"Yes," She said again, stepping closer, "to all of the questions you're about to ask."

I stood still, and in that moment, time seemed to come to a halt. The world at large seemed to stand still, silent and unmoving, and I realized that I too was silent, unmoving, stood like the stone that I recently was.

And just as suddenly, I sprang into action, pushing Pranee against the stone wall of the cave and capturing her mouth with my own, my tongue pushing past her lips and swirling inside her mouth. I moved against her, fitting her form like a puzzle piece as we kissed, our passion as unquenchable as a fire. "Jagan." She spoke, and her words were fuel to my fire as I drew my hands across her chest, pinching her breasts. "Jagan." She said, and I lifted her up against the wall, breaking our kiss, to look into her eyes, now full of lust and want. "Jagan." She breathed, and all the world came to a halt again as we looked into each others eyes. "Take me." And like lightning, I pushed her down upon the floor, and I met her eyes, and I pushed myself against her, into her. She moaned as I sheathed myself upon her, felt her walls envelop me, and her breathing come quicker, as she spoke. "I want you, Jagan. Take me. Haveme." And at her words, the last remaining shards of my self-control broke, and I speared myself into her, and I drew moans and cries from her mouth as I thrust myself against her. "Jagan!" She cried, wrapping her arms around my neck for support and looking into my eyes as I pistoned in and out of her. I met her gaze, and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her towards me as I thrust myself into her. I could hear her, breathing hard, and saw her give me a coy smile. Suddenly, I heard her breath hitch, and felt her body tense, before it grasped mine, clenching around me as she came upon me. This action, her body reacting to mine, the pleasure and lust in her eyes, the look on her face, sent me a final burst of energy, and I pushed myself as far into her as I could, and I kept looking into her eyes, meeting her gaze with unrivalled intensity, as I emptied my essence deep within her. She smiled again then, before we both stood up gingerly, looking at each other. She spoke, then.
"That was.. amazing, Jagan. I don't care if it was wrong, I don't care what repercussions this may have, but I love you. As so much more than just family."

I looked at her, and I spoke. "I agree, Pranee. With everything. Now, let's get back before anyone notices we're gone. If we're going to tell them, we can do it.. another night."

She smiled, and I smiled back. This was going to be good.