"You thought you could just slip by me, didn't you?"

Apex cringed, his paw recoiling from the door. With his heart in his throat, Apex turned around slowly. His father was standing there, towering over him. Dolus was imposing in height, his sleek form both fast and strong. The elder wind dragon stepped forwards, causing Apex to shrink back. "Did you honestly think you could just leave to visit your freakish friend?"

"But Null's tutoring me. I-I wouldn't be passing in school without him," Apex protested.

"Do you think I care?" Dolus snarled. The larger wind dragon took another step forwards, forcing Apex to back against the wall. "I'd rather have you flunk and try again than associate our family with filth like that."

"But Null-," Apex tried again.

Smack!

Dolus snarled and raised his paw again, bringing it down to slap Apex a second time.

Smack!

"Do not talk back to me, boy." Dolus slapped Apex a third time. Grimacing in disgust, Dolus stepped back. "Fine. Go do whatever you want."

In every instance before this, Apex would lay on the ground in tears. There was nothing he could do to fight his father. It was hopeless.

But this time Apex launched forwards. His legs elongated, his claws grew longer, and his body grew stronger. White scales turned to stormy grey, and blue eyes turned to luminous white. Letting out a roar, the transformed young dragon slashed at the image of his father.

The world broke apart, dissipating into wisps of smoke. Apex stood there, panting as his eyes dimmed back to their normal cerulean blue. The stormy grey flowed out of his scales, dropping to the ground like smoke. The cloud of smoky darkness flowed and billowed, floating above the ground to a spot a short way away from Apex, becoming a dark doppelganger of the wind dragon.

"Do you dream of this sequence often?"

Apex's eyes rolled up to look at his clone. After catching his breath, the wind dragon spoke. "You tell me. I can't remember."

The shadow dragon tilted its head. "It's not just a dream, is it? You experienced this. Repeatedly. Not quite the same way, but you remember your father beating you for trying to leave to visit Null."

"More often than I can count," Apex muttered, taking a deep breath and raising his head to look his copy in the eye.

"Why did you let it happen?" The shadow creature seemed genuinely confused. "Why not fight back?"

"Because I couldn't fight him," Apex answered softly.

"You can now," The shadow said confidently. "We could destroy that wretched old dragon. Show him that his abusive treatment of you isn't without punishment."

"No."

The shadow raised an eyeridge. "No? Why not? He deserves it for what he's done to Null and us."

"Because then I'd be as bad as he is," Apex replied. He took a deep breath, then continued. "I'd be worse. I'd be using my strength to get a revenge that proves his point. He wants me to strike him back. Every time. He wants to be validated." Apex shook his head. "Sometimes it's just better to let it go."

"…" The shadow was silent for a few minutes. "If he strikes us again, I will make him regret it."

"And I'll do what it takes to keep it within reason," Apex said.

"Then we have an agreement. I'll see you next time you sleep."

O-O

Waking up with a roof over his head was initially a comforting sight. A roof meant a home. A home meant safety.

But only seconds passed before his thoughts turned to panic. What if he was waking up in the cave again? What if the past day was nothing more than a dream, an illusion? What would he do then?

Wait, no, it was a roof. An actual roof, and not just a dirt ceiling. The scar on his belly was tight but not painful, and though he was sore it wasn't unbearable. He was laying on something soft – moss, upon closer inspection. That certainly helped his aches a bit. The Beetles were nice people, and Ch'tara had made his bed particularly soft after seeing his scar.

Apex liked the Beetles, even though his initial reaction had been one of fear. They made good food, even if the only ingredient in the stew was mushroom. They were sociable, too, always chatting with one another about practically anything. He'd overhead many of them talking about how strange they found Apex and Null, but he could hardly fault them when he found the Beetles to be just as odd.

Young dragon, I apologize for intruding, but I could not help but notice that you suffer from uneasy dreams. Is everything well?

The Mycego. Right. The only real reason he could understand the Beetles at all. It was kind enough, and he only rarely felt its magic touch his consciousness. It had told him that it had no desire to intrude on his privacy, and as far as Apex could tell it had kept its word.

Still, it must have noticed his nightmares anyways. Apex kept his voice quiet, remembering that Null was sleeping just across the room. "I'm fine. Just nightmares."

Very well. Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance.

And with that, the Mycego's presence lessened to a faint touch at the back of Apex's mind, all that was needed to translate the Beetle language.

Apex closed his eyes again, thinking. The voice in his head always said what Apex was thinking, always wanting to act on the dark thoughts in the back of his mind. It was his dark side. Yet it never said anything he hadn't himself thought at some point. It was mostly wrong, though. There was always a better option than the darkest, most aggressive path.

Apex resolved to never let himself take that option. No matter how painful it may be.

"You know, I keep telling you that you can't lie to me. I understand that you were talking to yourself, but it's really not hard to overhear you when I'm right here."

Apex jumped, scrambling to his paws. "Null! I didn't realize you were awake."

Null blinked, a mild expression on his face. "I've been watching you writhe in your sleep for ten minutes."

"Well, as I said. Just a nightmare." Apex stretched, wincing as he pulled the scar on his belly just a bit too far. "I'm fine."

"Right." Null didn't seem to buy it, but he didn't press the issue. "Well, I smell breakfast. Three guesses what it is."

"Mushroom stew?" Apex asked, perking up.

"Yup." Null stood up, sighing. "My favorite."

"What? It's good." Apex frowned.

"You probably didn't even notice the taste. You downed it in a minute flat." Null looked up at Apex, brow furrowing. "And you're taller than yesterday. Understandable that you didn't notice that it tastes like dirt when you're growing like crazy."

Apex looked down at himself. He hadn't even noticed that he was taller, but the change was notable when it was pointed out at him. "That's… weird."

"You th-," Null cut himself off before he could finish the sentence. His usual dry remark was interrupted by the dark green drake staring at the ground in thought for a moment before commenting, "Yeah. It is. Huh."

"Null?"

"Just thinking. Sorry." Null shrugged. "Let's go get breakfast and head out."

Apex stretched again, looking down at his feet and flexing his paws. His talons had gotten sharper, he noticed, with hooks at the end. How… odd.

Deciding he'd think about it later, Apex followed Null out of the room they had spent the night in. Now that they stepped into the main room of the building, Apex could smell the soup. It smelled appetizing to him, but Null wrinkled his snout at the scent. Whatever. Null had always had strange tastes.

Ch'tara was at the table, her lower set of arms carving a statuette out of wood. She glanced up at Apex and Null as they entered, pausing her work for a moment. Ch'tara chittered, and a moment later the noises assembled themselves into words in Apex's mind. "Good early-day, young-drakes. Arck'than has nearly completed this early-day's meal."

"Thank you Ch'tara." Apex nodded, padding over to the table and turning towards Null "Breakfast is almost ready."

Null sniffed the air, walking up to the table and sitting next to Apex. "I can tell."

At that moment, the brightly-colored male Beetle entered the main room from adjoining doorway. He had a many-handled stone pot filled with steaming liquid in his hands – all four of them – and was quickly tottering across the room to place the pot into a hollow in the center of the table. Arck'than returned to the kitchen room for a brief moment before returning with a small stack of bowls and four wooden spoons. With quick, deft movements the Beetle served out four full bowls of the mushroom stew and deposited a spoon in each. The meal ready, a bowl was placed in front of each individual at the table. With that, Arck'than bowed his head, chittering. "I have hope that the young-drakes enjoy this meal."

"Thank you Arck'than." Apex nodded.

"I am always happy to please guest-friends." Arck'than sat down on a mushroom, picking up his spoon. "Please, eat."

Null picked up his spoon and looked down at the stew with a completely blank expression. Apex could easily tell that he was hiding his disgust. Mentally shrugging, Apex looked down at his own stew. He should probably eat slower to-

Nah, who was he kidding? Apex was starving, and eschewing the spoon to just guzzle down the stew was the fastest way to fill his gurgling stomach. So he did just that.

As soon as he finished the stew, Apex set the bowl back down and licked his chops. There was the quiet scrape of wood on wood, and Apex looked over to see Null passing his bowl over. Apex raised an eyeridge, only for Null to just shrug. "I'm not that hungry."

"If you're sure…" Apex took the bowl, pausing for a moment to give Null a chance to take his breakfast back. When the dark green dragon didn't, instead heading back to their sleeping room muttering about his bag, Apex drank what was left of Null's breakfast as well.

"Would you like more mushroom stew, young-drake?" Arck'than asked, tilting his head.

"Yes please, if it's not too much trouble," Apex said, pushing his bowl forwards.

"We have plenty food, it is no trouble." The iridescent Beetle took Apex's bowl and scooped out another bowlful of stew, returning it to Apex. "Growing younglings need much nutrient, yes chief-mate?"

Ch'tara grunted in response, not looking up from her carving. Her stew was untouched. "We have many years left, Arck'than. Time enough to produce offspring."

"Chaos comes quickly, chief-mate. Ice-beasts and world-walkers rising." Arck'than shook his head, mandibles clicking. "Fate is unsure."

Apex kept quiet, feeling like he was intruding on someone else's life while the two Beetles bickered. It didn't last long, thankfully, since Null returned a moment later with his sidebag. Seeing Null with his sidebag made Apex realize that his own harness was missing, and his eyes widened.

"Right, your stuff." Null spoke as though he had read Apex's mind. "The Boread destroyed your harness, so I put everything you had in my bags. Except the spirit gems, I, uh, couldn't grab those."

"Null," Apex let out a sigh of relief. "I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably be fine. You're strong and fast, so you'd be able to hunt for yourself, and you do know how to find north so you'd be able to find Warfang without me." Null shrugged, turning towards the Beetles. "So, I need to know where exactly the Hydra is, and where we should go to avoid it." The dark green dragon rummaged through his bag, producing a map and a stick of charcoal, handing the charcoal to Ch'tara. "Could you outline the part of the river that the Hydra calls home? And any other hazards too, of course."

Ch'tara lifted her carving up, examining it closely. It looked like a dragon, sitting on its haunches with its tail wrapped around its paws. She placed it on the table and stood up, towering over everyone else. The Beetle chief took the charcoal and leaned over the map, circling areas of the Ancient Grove and explaining the dangers in each area.

As she did so, Apex translated. "So the one directly north, in the river, is the Hydra's lair. It doesn't leave the river, but it can swim miles up or downriver at any given time, so there's a wide range where it's dangerous. It purifies the waters, which makes it safer to cross, but it's practically everywhere along that stretch of the river thanks to how big it is. Further west is the gorgon, which we might pass through the domain of since that's where we're headed. We'll be able to tell when we're near because of the warning signs, since the gorgon puts them up herself. We can't cross in the gorgon's area because that stretch of the river has some of the worst fumes. Then, at the very end of the river, there's the Skavengers. They should be the least dangerous, since they're only near the coast rarely, but we should try to be stealthy anyways."

Null listened intently throughout, eyes flickering to each new area as he absorbed the information. When Ch'tara was finished, he took the charcoal back and circled a spot on the southern half of the Grove, writing 'beetles' inside. "To make sure we don't forget." Was his only explanation.

"Well, I think that's everything," Null said, rolling up the map and putting it back in his bag. He looked up at Ch'tara and Arck'than. "Thank you for your hospitality, but we really need to get going."

Both Beetles balled their upper hands into fists and placed them together, bowing their heads. Ch'tara spoke. "Safe-travel, young-drakes. We hope that guest-friends will join us in later-years." She lifted her head and grabbed the carved dragon, holding it out to Apex. "Please, take this luck-talisman. Mycego has said you are in great turmoil, and luck-talisman will help you keep safe."

Apex reached out and took the carving, examining it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was him, carved in perfect likeness in the pale wood. Finned tail, oversized wings, and – most interesting to him – hooked talons. He had only noticed those himself just this morning, but Ch'tara's eye for detail was flawless. Apex clutched the figurine close to his chest. "Thank you."

"Luck-talismans are very powerful. It will prevent more scars," Arck'than added, "Do not lose touch of it, wind-drake. No other can use it. It is you, and only you."

"I won't lose it." Apex nodded.

Null cleared his throat. "Well, we need to get going. We have time constraints, and we really need to get to Warfang."

"Safe-travel." Arck'than bowed his head again.

"Safe-travel." Ch'tara echoed both the words and the action.

"Come on Apex," Null nudged him, "We have to go."

Null picked up his harness, slipping it on, and Apex nodded. He followed Null outside, and the two of them set off into the forest. Apex looked back to see the two Beetles, both standing with their fists together. It was a farewell, a greeting, and a sign of respect all in one, Apex realized. He gave a wave of his tail to say goodbye, and soon enough he and Null were far enough away that all he could see was faint specks.

"So, what's up with the statue?" Null asked.

"Oh, right. I forgot you couldn't understand them." Apex chuckled sheepishly. "Um, it's a talisman, apparently. Arck'than said that it would help me avoid getting hurt, but only if I'm always holding onto it."

"Hmm…" Null stopped, sitting down and slipping his harness off. "Given their skill in nature magic, I don't doubt that there's some degree of truth to that…"

Apex slowed to a halt, turning around with a quizzical expression. What was Null trying to do?

The smaller dragon rummaged through his side bag for a few moments, furrowing his brow for a moment before finding what he was looking for. Null produced a coil of rope, then gestured for Apex to come closer. When the wind dragon got within Null's reach, Null loosely wrapped the end of the rope around Apex's neck. Once he had an amount he wanted, the dark green dragon sliced the length of rope from the coil with his tailblade, then extended one paw. "Could you hand me the figurine for a moment?"

Apex placed the wooden talisman in Null's far more dexterous paw. Claws and digits manipulated the ends of the rope for a few brief moments before Null stepped back, a satisfied look on his face. "There we go. Just don't get sliced up any more and we should be able to keep hold of it."

"Thank you, Null." The rope was fairly coarse, so it was less than ideal, but absolutely anything was better than having to hold it in his paw the whole time. "I didn't even think of that."

"Well, thinking of things other people don't is one of my strong suits," Null said smugly. He slipped his harness back on before standing up. "Now let's get going. For real this time."

As Null walked away, Apex grabbed the figurine hanging from his neck and looked down at it. He smiled softly, feeling his cheeks heat up. Null had given him jewelry, of a sort. Apex knew that Null didn't mean anything more than keeping Apex safer, but…

I wish there was more.

Shaking his head and pushing the darkness to the back of his mind, Apex set off after Null. He'd already tried, and failed, to push his relationship further. That… hadn't gone well.

So Apex followed his close friend into the toxic Grove, occasionally letting his mind wander into places he'd told himself he'd never go again.