Chapter 15: "Another Dragon?"

I was sitting outside watching as Vash walked up the street towards the house with groceries. Dragon instincts started fighting with everything and tried to take control. I fought but failed and ran at Vash.

Sliding across the dirt I stopped right I front of Vash and shoved my head in a bag, grabbing a hold of something in it with fangs that easily tore it apart. Vash shoved at my head. "No! That's dinner."

Matt grabbed a bag that I knocked out of Vash's hands and dragged it off a few feet then started eating everything out of it.

Vash sighed. "Well… it was dinner."

After I got a hold of something I regained control. /Sorry…/

"Forget it just get your mother."

I walked over and my tail wrapped itself around Matt, lifting her off the ground. She had at least two pounds of extra weight. /Jeez…/ I walked over to Vash. /Okay./

He picked up the remaining groceries and looked at me. "Oh. And you mother needs to get a bath. Drop her in a lake or whatever you have to do just get her wet and cleaned."

I nodded. Matt hated bathes as a sable. It drove everyone crazy. My tail lowered Matt to me and loosened it's grip. I grabbed Matt in my front claw and took off flying. I flew to a lake I knew about and flew lower so I saw my reflection on the surface. I was about twelve feet long counting my tail and my wing span I guessed was over twenty feet in size. I flew up higher.

"Hiei! What're you doing?"

/Giving you a bath./

"You're gonna drop me!" And that's exactly what I did.

Matt hit the water with a small splash and I didn't even think about it. I let instinct take over as I folded my wings to my sides and twisted my body so I was diving towards the water head first. But before I hit the water I threw my back talons forward and flared my wings. I grabbed Matt from the water and pulled up before I fell into the lake completely. Matt was clinging to my back leg and shaking as I started laughing. It came out an amused purring sound.

/That was cool! Can I try that again/

"NO!" Matt dug claws into my leg but it really didn't bother me.

/I was just kidding./ I flew down low to the surface again and saw something move under us. I pulled up quickly and studied the lake for a moment.

Nothing.

I turned back around ready to fly home when the sound of something breaking the surface of the lake made me look.

An ocean blue colored dragon flew up from the surface of the lake and landed on the beach.

/Another dragon/ At first I was in control, ready to just go home but then curiosity and my new dragon instincts over powered me. I suddenly felt… lost… Like I didn't know who I actually was anymore as I sat in indecisiveness. Do I leave her territory or stay? Would she try to attack or did she want me to stay?

My demon self was lost inside of all these new instincts. It was all dragon now and I couldn't find myself. I was lost. One of the only things I was always sure of… myself… was gone.

The dragon made a musical call that my dragon half recognized as an invitation and instead of leaving I suddenly realized I was flying to the beach to meet the new dragon.

Matt was shaking really badly now. The dragon half didn't care but my demon self fought. I felt to small compared to the power just these instincts had over me and my demon self wouldn't be able to regain control… eventually it stopped fighting and waited.

/Why did you drop the fluffy one in my lake/ the dragon asked.

/My father told me to give her a bath./ I replied.

/I see. You are a MeAni, am I correct little one/

/Yes Elder, I believe I am./ Why in Makai was I being so respectful? My demon self fought against the dragon half again but it wouldn't make a difference.

/You 'believe' you are? Do you not know about your bloodlines/

/No, I don't…/

/I see./

Matt hid under me and the part of me that didn't relay on anything but me told her silently to stay there. I didn't know what was going to happen. I wasn't in control of myself anymore. At least… the me that I knew wasn't.

/Why do you carry the fluffy one around/

/She's my mother./

/I see. Allow me to take us to a place where we may talk in peace. Let me see your mother./

I fought. If my dragon self wanted to eat Matt then other dragons would too. I wouldn't hand her over. I felt relive when my body hesitated. I was still in control. /You're not going to eat her, are you/ I asked, realizing that younger dragons had to be respectful to older dragons. It was instincts and I often trusted mine but these were new. I found I trusted this dragon for no real reason except for the fact that dragons kept their words and I didn't know how I knew that.

/I would never. Now come young one./

/Alright./ I used my claw to move Matt towards the dragon. Matt looked at me, her crimson eyes that were just like mine were wide with fear. /It's alright./ I assured her.

The dragon picked Matt up by the scruff then tossed he head back and swallowed her.

I flared my wings out so they were out at my sides and tilted towards the ground making me look bigger, while I growled softly. I was back in control.

/Peace young one. You do not understand things a dragon must know. You may look fledged but you know nothing more then a newly hatched kit, do you? Peace./

I calmed down a little. /You didn't eat her did you/

/I will explain as soon as we reach my cave. Can you hold your breath long/

/Yeah, I can Elder./ I trusted how long I could. It was something else I worked on in Makai after a demon tried to drown me in a river. I could hold it long over a minute. I guessed I could hold it for maybe… four minutes if I didn't move but if I was struggling it would be anywhere between a minute and a half to two and a half minutes.

/Can you swim/ I nodded. I could do that too. I learned to swim when I was six and I was thrown into a lake. It was either swim or drown so I learned to swim then. /Then come along./

I folded my wings tightly against me and followed the dragon into the water. She swam better then anything I had ever seen and I struggled to keep up. She swam under a rock that appeared to be sticking out from a cliff and I followed. She swam straight up and we came to an under water cave. I took a big breath of air and swam to a small rock. I scrambled up on the rock, claws giving me a good grip. Once I was up on the rock did the dragon climb out after me.

She opened her mouth and lowered her head so it was level with the ground and Matt climbed out, shaking.

/You said you had to give the Fluffy One a bath, correct/

/Yes, Elder./

/This may help./ She picked Matt up and dropped her in a shallow pool. She made a small whirlpool with a fin on her tail and I saw what honestly looked like mermaids come up and start playing with Matt.

I looked at the dragon. /I'm Hiei./

/My name's Dlexus, one of the Rue. You may know the Rue best as the Loch./ She looked at Matt and then back at me. /Now, is there things you wish to know, Young One/

/Yeah. Can you tell me about the MeAni/

/Now much is known about them… But I can try./ She kept quiet for a moment. I studied Dlexus for a moment and realized she was maybe three to four times bigger then me. /The MeAni, long ago, were the highest class of dragon. Despite the name Darkness, they were not evil. Until something happened./ I remained silent, listening carefully. /When the time of dragon slaying came, the MeAni were the only ones to fight back. The other dragons were kept at peace. The MeAni who foresaw the war backed out. The others… were all slain. To this day, only six MeAni exist./

I kept quite for a moment. /Wow… So, the MeAni are rare/

/Yes, some of the rarest. To survive they live in the North./

/The North/

/The North is where a lot of dragons live. But those dragon tend to be… darker than we are. A kit like you would not last very long there./

/Can you teach me how to fight as a dragon/ I asked.

She looked at one of the mermaids and made a growl-purring sound and the mermaids started washing Matt. /I'm afraid I cannot. Only the MeAni know their abilities. Might I ask why you know so little/

My dragon half became slightly stronger the longer we were here but I still could control it. It was as if my demon self and dragon half found some sort of truce for the moment. /I became a dragon only a few days ago./

/You were not that of a dragon before/

/No. I was… am a fire demon. I became a dragon a few days ago to save my sister./

/I see. It is strange but you are a dragon and that is for sure./

I kept quite.

/I will teach you what I can, Young One. But for fighting you must learn from the MeAni. Now ask questions Young One./

/Why can my mother, Matt, survive in our stomachs and why do I eat so much/

/A dragon's stomach is made differently then most creatures. The Rue have two. One is called a chamber, and that is used for holding things. The other is for food. Meanwhile, MeAni like yourself have one chamber that is used for both. If something is in your chamber you will not be hungry for a while. It was originally a method to raise young. And about you eating a lot, most young do while they are growing. It's only natural./

/How come I get sick when Matt's in there./ I asked, still not broken from using Matt's first name.

/It is not uncommon for young to have sensitive chambers. I can help you with this. Go to the bottom of my lake and eat some of the sea grass down there. You will be fine after that./

/Okay./ I flared my wings and flew up a few feet above the surface then folded them tightly, diving into the water. I swam down to the bottom, finding the sea grass and I quickly grabbed a mouthful and ate it. I grabbed a second one just for safe measures and swam back to the cave.

I took a breath of air and climbed back to the rock I was on.

/Better/

/I'm not sure./

/Then let's try it./ She picked Matt up and tossed her to me. I caught her gently in my mouth and swallowed.

"Hiei!"

/It's alright./

"….It really is comfy in here."

/Thank you, Elder. I should go home now./ I paused. /May I come back/

/Come back anytime. You're welcome here. And one more thing. Keep your mother hidden if you take her flying. Dragons may try to… take her from you./

/I understand. Bye./ I jumped back into the water and swam to the beach. I shook the water off and flared my wings, shaking them of too. I took to the air and started home.

"So what did she say?" Matt asked me.

/Nothing much. I'll tell you later./

It didn't take long for us to fly home.