Welcome to chapter four. As you can see, I'm running out of things to say.







Dragons of a Modern Age

chapter four



That next couple days, to Tanis, went by foggily. Nothing really registered on his mind. Or rather, it did register, but did nothing to impact him, did nothing to snap him out of his daze.


Laurana would have asked Taliya about it, but she, too, seemed preoccupied. Perhaps not as much as her brother was, but Laurana was still loathe to disturb her train of thought.


Gilthanas had less reservations on the subject though, and approached Tanis directly.


"Tanthalas. Exactly what is wrong with you?"


"What? Why would anything be wrong?" Tanis looked up at him, but Gilthanas could tell he wasn't out of his stupor yet. "Nothing at all," he whispered to himself, as if trying to make himself believe it.


"I ask you again, Tanthalas. What is wrong with you?" Tanis started to protest again, but Gilthanas cut him off. "Don't deny it. It's easy to tell."


Tanis turned away. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."


"Try me."


" . . . "


Gilthanas was fast losing his patience. "Fine, don't tell me," he snapped. "But you're upsetting Laurana, and that I won't stand for." Turning on his heel, he marched right out of the room.


The rest of his friends were worried about him too, but nothing they did seemed to help. Tas even went to visit his house and told him nonstop stories about his "Uncle Trapspringer," only to end up sorely disappointed at the lack of a response.


Raistlin, however, only expressed passing annoyance at Tanis's behavior. This was mostly due to the fact that his Test of sorcery was approaching. It could also have been because of his slight preoccupation with another one of their classmates, Crysania.


The only one unruffled by any of these happenings was Kitiara. In fact, she took advantage of Tanis's distraction.


Pulling him aside into an empty classroom where she was sure Laurana would pass by soon, she leaned close to him and whispered, "So, let's see what that snooty little elfmaiden will do when she sees this." Pulling him even closer, she kissed him full on the lips, right when Laurana herself passed by.


Tanis's eyes widened, stunned, and he tried to push Kitiara away, but to no avail. She clung on, like the barnacles on the bottom of a ship.


Laurana's books dropped to the floor, her hands numb with shock. Her large green eyes filled with tears of betrayal as Tanis was finally able to push Kitiara off of him.


Tanis finally noticed Laurana. Abruptly, his spirits sank, sank even lower than they already were. "Laurana . . . It's . . . It's not what you think . . . "


Dashing away her tears, Laurana glared at him malevolently. "What do you know of what I think?" she said coldly.


"Seriously, it's not what it looks like . . . "


"Don't come near me, Tanthalas! Stay with your new girlfriend, see what I care!" Quickly picking up her books, she stormed out of the building.


"Wait! Laurana!" He chasd after her, leaving Kitiara all alone in the empty classroom. She smirked, knowing their relationship was ruined.


"That's what you get for taking him," she said, laughing.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Tanis's chase was completely fruitless, he couldn't even find a trace of her. He could only assume that she went home. Angrily, he cursed Kitiara, and, thinking of Laurana's face when she saw, felt like banging his head against a wall, banging it until blood ran down his face. But he didn't, as Mr. Bakayarou came out and yelled at him to get going.


Dejectedly, he trudged home, found that his grandfather wasn't home, and flopped over on the kitchen table. On sudden impulse, he picked up the knife his sister left out from that very morning, a morning that seemed ages ago now.


Holding that knife, and wallowing in a deep pit of self-pity, he watched the light glint of the sharp edge. Regardless of Elven morals or not, he wanted to kill . . . kill . . . he couldn't decide, whether Kitiara or himself deserved death more.


'Why did Kitiara choose this time to do this?' Tanis cursed her again for selecting that day to do it. He was already down from the incident with Kith-Kanan's sword, and this added much, too much, to his misery and problems.


It was his own fault, he decided. His own fault for not paying attention. If he were wary from the start, Kitiara would never have been able to pull him aside. His own stupid fault . . .


The door crashed open and Taliya charged in, somehow sensing what he was thinking. "What in the name of blessed E'li are you doing?!" she cried, snatching the knife out of his hands. "I don't know what happened, but it isn't any reason to kill yourself!"


"Leave me alone! It's all my fault anyways . . . "


Furious, Taliya slapped him hard across the cheek. The pain clearing his mind, he glowered at her.


"Taking your own life isn't a solution! It's just saying you're too much of a coward to face life and life's obstacles!"


Angry, he shouted back. "So what if I am?! Does it — "


Taliya raised her hand again, and Tanis flinched, expecting another blow. It never came. She gripped his chin, forcing him to look up at her face. "At least you can admit it," she said. "That takes courage." To this, he had no retort. "If you're alive, you have a chance to fix everything. Come."


She led him to the living room and sat him down on the couch. "Wait right there and don't move." She then returned to the kitchen and quickly made a sandwich for her brother. "Now, tell me what happened."


Haltingly, he relayed the whole story to her. Taliya's countenance clouded with rage. "Why, that little, conniving — " Here Taliya swore such foul words that Tanis was, for a second, convinced his pointed ears would fall off.


"Whoa, Taliya! My old ears can't take all that!" their grandfather exclaimed, having just come back. "What happened here?" he asked, noticing the atmosphere of the room.


Taliya quickly repeated Tanis's story to him, and he agreed with her. "Maybe you should have payed more attention, but that still wouldn't have prevented this."


"Yes it would have," Tanis said glumly.


"Maybe, maybe not. All mortals, like us, can be easily caught in such traps."


"Grandpa?" Taliya stared at him, amazed he could make sense after all. "Are you sick or something?" she asked, feeling his forehead.


"I'm perfectly fine!"


At this, Tanis managed a small, weak smile.


"Anyhow," Taliya said, turning back to him. "Normally, I don't think something like that would throw you into such a deep depression. There has to be something else along with it."


"Like, say, what happened with Wyrmslayer?"


Tanis didn't answer.


Taliya frowned. "Tanis, you know we'll listen to anything you have to say."


"You won't believe me."


"Maybe we will, maybe we won't. I can't guarantee it, but we'll listen." She glared at their grandfather, who was sneaking off to fetch the sword. "We will, won't we?" she asked menacingly.


"Yes ma'am!" Taliya threw a cushion at his head.


" . . . "


"Well? Go on."


Tanis's will finally broke down in the face of such understanding and encouragement. "You're right, it is partly about Wyrmslayer." taking a deep breath, he continued. "You asked about the memories before. When I said I didn't know – I'm sorry, but I lied – they were the memories of . . . "







Yep, it's a cliffhanger. Why, because I think it's a good place to end the chapter. Don't worry, the next one should be up in a day or two (or three?).

And, I would like to add this one note. This goes for everyone: Please do not make the 'Japanese names don't fit here' comment in a review again. I am well aware that I did say any comments are welcome and that may be true, but I will not change it. I just have an easier time with Japanese names than English ones. Still, thank you for your reviews.

Ja!