Lightning and Thunder
Author name: Illuminati Lullaby
Category: Angst, Romance, Dark
Rating: R
Summary: A merchild is born named Clepsyyde, Her and her dragon hatch mate, Kytt'n, share 23rds of a soul. But who possesses the other third? Harry and Draco are forced to become friends to help her.
Author notes: I suck at writing. This is my first fic so go easy. If you wish to see the other versions of this story, or wish to see some of the pictures that go along with it, visit: Two ~ The Story of a Child and her Dragon.
Clepsyyde woke with a start, but calmed slightly at the feel of her hatch mate curled up against her back. Not knowing what her dream had meant, or who the people in it were, she felt no sense of wonder at her vision. Clepsyyde was only four ice-overs old. She thought back over the strange child that she had seen. Not so strange to her because of her coloring, but strange because she shared an uncanny resemblance to herself. Not quite the same, almost as though the child in the dream had been a sister, or cousin, but close enough to make her do a double-take. The main differences that she could remember had been that that child's hair had been a shade darker than hers and where the child had thick waves, she had corkscrews. They both shared the same almond storm-grey eyes and nose tilt. The same pouty deceiving mouths that cold be twisted at the slightest notice up into a smirk or sneer, and the same blue-green spots upon their cheek bones. They both carried a surprisingly strong aristocratic air about them for children so small. But where Clepsyyde had soft charcoal colored plates that ran down her belly and part way down her tail covered in tiny pinky-nail sized aqua and sliver scales, the dream child had a smooth pink stomach and legs. Something that only history books and horror stories told tales of. Only the Surface-born had legs.
The Surface-born were said to be ruthless, blood thirsty, closed minded murderers. And on top of it all, they breathed air. Anything that breathed air had to be an evil creature. Air suffocate the Mermish and burned them from the inside out. The worst fate imaginable it was said was to be stranded or washed up and beached on an island somewhere and die of lack of water. Air was the worst sort of poison to their kind. The little merchild shuddered and burred her self deeper under her cushions and kelp, pushing up against her hatch mate. She thought of running to her parents room, but quickly scratched that thought from her mind. She remembered the last time she had done that. Her father had awaken to her quiet whimpering and thrown her against the wall, telling her that the Mernikksea did not feel fear. Fear was weakness, and the Mernikksea were not weak. Go back to bed, worm child. He had thrown her from their room, her mother pretending to sleep through the whole ordeal. She had gone back to bed after that, and curled up around her hatch mate, Kytt'n. The small water dragon had purred quietly at the added warmth.
No, after that Clepsyyde had never trusted her father again, or her mother, at that, for not intervening. Her only true friend had been Kytt'n. If a child and a drakkling were born on the same sun, they were bound through their soul. It was told that when a merchild was born, one soul was sent down from the stars for it to receive, but in the rare case that a drakkling was born on the same sun, the soul was split between the to newly borns.
On the rare occasion that a girl merchild and a boy merchild were born on the same night it was also said to be split between the two, binding them in this life and the next. On the instance that a drakkling, and a boy merchild as well as a girl merchild were born on the same night, it was said to be Tri-bind, and none of those born would completely happy until they found each other and completed their thrice divided soul.
This had never happened before, or at least anywhere that had been written down or remember, and even the occasions of drakkes and merchildren being born together were becoming less and less frequent.
But Kytt'n was Clepsyyde's hatch mate. Both born on the coldest and longest night of ice-over, 14 years ago, Dexemikksea, Twenty and One.
The only friend she had; the only one that had ever truly loved her. And she didn't mind one bit.
* ~ : ~ *
Ten Years Later
* ~ : ~ *
I inwardly sighed. I was chained to my throne' again, although over the past few years I had come to think of it more as a prison than a throne.' My father, after a brutal whipping, had chained my tail and wrists to it for trying to get away, again, for the seventh time in the past five suns. Neptune, I hated him. I had felt the strongest pull I had ever know in my life to get to the surface. It was like a chain attached to my gut that seemed to wrench me upward, and I couldn't seem to fight it. To top it off, Kytt'n felt it too. We had shared dreams of the Surface-born, and frankly, they didn't seem any more malicious or hateful than us, if not less so. Loving, playful, and caring as well as spiteful and mean. The same range of emotions that we ourselves shared.
But those had not been the only dreams I had been having lately. Visions of a girl, sometimes a baby, sometimes a woman, someone who looked a whole lot like me, only... Not. Like looking in a warped or bent mirror. It was weird. But the strangest part had been that she was a two-legged. One of the Surface-borns. No tail to speak of, and she breathed air! From the flickering bits of my dreams that I could remember, she lived in a small village by the sea, that was full of the two-leggeds. Everything looked rather primitive, although, for as much as I know about the Surface-born, maybe that's how they live.
I leaned against the giant stone armrest that was chipped with old symbols and inscriptions, bordered by small engravings of the Mermish and rippling waves (Although, never having broken the surface I had no clue what a wave looked like, except from the oldest of books.)
Resting my head on my arm, I closed my eyes and searched for my hatch mate. Pushing my mind out of my body and towards hers, finding her locked in my room, exhausted from trying to get to me.
Kyttshkabannan I whispered, settling my mind into hers. She opened her eyes and I saw my room for the first time that day, through a dragon's eyes that showed it so much differently than mine did. Her mind wrapped around mine, hugging me as music and color swelled around me, enclosing me; greeting me in the way that only she could.
Klepsa! I have missed you! Your all mighty father, she spat the word like a foul curse, had me locked in her, once again, to keep me away from you. Klepsa was the pet name she called me, and I, in turn, called her Kitten, after fabled surface dwelling creatures that were said to have eyes like our sea dragons, and were pets to the two-legged.
Kitten, you silly, we're only ever a mind's reach away. I smiled. Nothing could keep me unhappy for long when I was in my hatch mates mind. The swirling colors and musical nature was to overwhelming to dwell in unhappy emotions for long periods of time.
I know Klepsa, but... the pull is stronger than ever, and I fear for us both if we do not find what pulls us so strongly.
Do not worry-
I was pulled back by a ripping sense as though a hook had penetrated the back of my mind and forcefully pulled me from my Kytt'n's mind; straining me through a screen on the way. I sat up to not only a throbbing of my whole head, but a painful stinging on my cheek. Biting my lip to hold in a yelp of surprise, I glanced up into the eyes of my father.
How dare you sleep! Do you wish to be punished?!?! he screamed in my face. I cringed back slightly, and he noticed the gesture. Grabbing my hair he forced my head back so that my throat was exposed and pressed one of my own hand crafted blades against it.
he whisper, dangerously soft this time, if you do not stop your impudence, he pressed it against my throat harder, and I felt the skin give slightly and blood well up and color the water in front of me, I shall have to replace you. There are other heirs. He turned it up on its point and slid it down my throat, carving a tiny trail down over my collarbone and down between my breasts, stopping just short of slicing the thin material I had on. You do realize that there is a reason we live all the way at the bottom of this ocean, don't you? The Surface-born would kill us the first chance they received, taking us and stuffing us and putting us in a museum or some other contraption. Keep us in tanks and poke at us, trying to figure out how we worked, and then kill us anyway. Do you not see the idiocy of trying to reach these beasts? It would be suicide, and Mernikksea do not tolerate suicide. I felt the poison I had carefully placed on the blade seep into my blood as he spoke, dulling his words and making my lungs burn.
They are not beasts father. I rebelled, They are living, breathing creatures just like us, and they have the same feelings as us, the same speech and thought, they are just like us. I could feel his anger burn as he barely reined it, which I knew would not last long.
Who fills your mind with such ludicrous ideas, that these Surface-filth are anywhere near to being like us?! He had reached the end of his tether and pushed the knife further downward, slicing through my top like butter, leaving a searing line through the flesh below. He pushed the knife further still, cutting my stomach open a half an inch deep. he reached the line where my tale started, and lifted the knife off my skin. I held a whimper, but was not quite able to stop the twitch of my muscles at the mistreatment. I knew showing my pain would just encourage him. I knew what was coming next and couldn't help griping the chains that held my wrists. I felt my dragon push against my mind, trying to get in and I slammed my mental gates up, keeping her out. I didn't want her to see this or feel me weak.
My father reached down and almost tenderly lifted the one of my soft jet colored belly plates that cover my entrance. Pulling me out of the throne so that my hands were held behind my back and tale fin held back by it's metal cuff, he slammed into me. I gasped, and let tears that would go unnoticed in the water slip from my tightly shut eyes. My gills fluttered and I could not breath properly. He smash in to me repeatedly, pounding so hard I thought I would split open along nonexistent seams. I groaned, and he mistaked it for a sound of pleasure, which only excited him more. He whipped my knife around to my back; his hand slid up my spine slowly and settled on my neck. Fingering the scales that formed at my nape he slid my knife under one and excruciatingly slowly cut off, as he had done each time, taking his trophy and leaving me with another pink scar. My world reddened and then began to tip...
Mernixxa turned to her husband, with hair the color of raven wings, and eyes the color of fire light and sun rays, he had to be the most handsome creature ever known to man. He was sleeping soundly beside her, an arm wrapped gently, but possessively around her waist. She smiled slightly, struggling to sit up, for she was 8, almost 9 moons pregnant with, as far as the village witch doctor could tell, twins. She knew that he had no real magikk, but he was still a good doctor, and had been very good to her and her husband, and as far as she could feel, his assessment had been correct.
Zaid stirred at her attempt to sit, and instantly sat up to help her.
No, no, Nix, just stay her. Please don't get up, what do you need? I'll get it for you. He called her Nix, which meant snow flake, after her pail hair. She loved this man so much.
She managed to get out before he captured her lips tenderly. He laughed lightly against her ear, nuzzling lightly lightly.
How could I have guessed. He rolled his eyes affectionately and laid his hand on her belly. It was very swollen, her twins would be born any day now.
Standing, he fetched some dried berries to hold her over until he could cook breakfast. She took them gratefully, she felt as though I could eat a whole deer. She heard the sounds of the fire being built back up again and the warmth spread over the cold ground and slid up and seemed to wrap around her...
I woke in my room, the most familiar warmth of my Kitten curled around me, her soft stomach pressed against me, chin tucked over my head. I pushed closer to her, willing the coldness of memories to seep from me as the previous nights happenings flooded back, erasing the sense of phantom comfort and warmth that the dream had left me with. Once I had held my drakkling, now she had grown and she was the one to hold me. I did not mind, I needed a protector in this frigid place.
Her luminous eyes that were normally a fiery plum, were muzzy with sleep now, making them a soft periwinkle, she lifted her head to blearily look down at me. Thrumming deep in her throat, purring softly, causing a soothing vibration to run down my back. Her belly plates, which were the same ebon as mine, rubbed against my spine. She wrapped arm cover with fine glossy scales of the whitest color of sea foam around me and pulled me close.
Morning Klepsa, how are you doing this morning? Feeling any better? she asked silently, a mixture between rage towards my father and concern for me shading her eyes a dark midnight purple-blue. I felt my throat gingerly which was still soar glancing down, and seeing no more that a pinkish scar that ran from the base of my throat to the bottom of my stomach, I replied,
I'm fine Kit. Thanks for healing me.
I cannot believe that bastard that dares to call himself your father! I could see another rant coming on and settled in against Kytt'n, not having the strength to calm her. He cut you with your own knife! A poisoned one at that! He could have killed you! If one of the servants had found you a few minutes later you would have died chained to that throne' of yours! We are leaving as soon as you get your strength back. And this time, instead of going strait to the surface, we're going to swim as far away as we can until we are sure we are safe. My eyes began to droop again at the well known rant. The warmth of Kytt'n curled around me possessively, fin like wings wrapped tent like around both of us was causing the deep weariness that seemed to inhabit my bones lately come back in full force. Noticing that I was falling back asleep, she had stopped ranting and began to thrum a soft tune, an ancient lullaby only remembered by Dragons.
On the first day of creation, the land and sea and sky
Became the home of creatures that could run and swim and fly;
And at the end of daylight, when the stars came out to play,
They heard the dreamy verses of The First Lullaby.
My mind lost it's grip and I drifted in and out of the mind of Kytt'n, colors and music complaining the soft tune.
And all the sleeping creatures were at peace beneath the sky,
As night fell and the rivers sang to breezes blowing by;
And if you listen carefully, when twilight's at its end,
You'll hear the gentle verses of The First Lullaby.
My father would never hurt me or my dragon again. I swore it on Mother Diana herself.
All things that bud and blossom and all those who sleep and dream
Began to listen quietly to the river and the stream,
That played a simple melody to bring them gentle sleep,
And all the newborn creatures rested in that peaceful scene.
I hummed lightly along with the soft melody, smiling slightly at the thought of killing my father.
And all the sleeping creatures were at peace beneath the sky,
As night fell and the rivers sang to breezes blowing by;
And if you listen carefully, when twilight's at its end,
You'll hear the gentle verses of The First Lullaby.
My eyes drooped... Once again I found my self curled asleep against Kytt'n.
And then the wind began to blow so softly through the trees,
And leaves and needles played their song upon the evening breeze;
And wind and streams in symphony broadcast their lullaby
To all the earth, to land and lakes, and dark and peaceful seas.
And all the sleeping creatures were at peace beneath the sky,
As night fell and the rivers sang to breezes blowing by;
And if you listen carefully, when twilight's at its end,
You'll hear the gentle verses of The First Lullaby.
And all the sleeping creatures were at peace beneath the sky,
As night fell and the rivers sang to breezes blowing by;
And if you listen carefully, when twilight's at its end,
You'll hear the gentle verses of The First Lullaby.