A/N: Hey everyone! First off, I'd just like to apologize for the late update. I had planned to post this tuesday night, but it didn't end up happening. I think I say this every chapter, but this one gave me some trouble. There were a couple different ways I could take it, so I ended up rewriting it a couple of times. Anyway, here it is. Chapter seven. Hope you enjoy!

A/N2: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I don't own power rangers. This fic is based off of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' Hawksong.

Wind and Thunder ch.7

He was dreaming again.

Like the last time, he was flying. Demi-wings spread wide as he let himself be carried higher by the thermals.

Slowly he changed. His form gracefully shifting from skin to scale, body lengthening into a serpentine shape, demi-wings retracting, nails turning to claws.

Bliss.

Freedom.

He was soaring.

There was no bond, no worry, only the sensation of the wind rushing past him as he flew.

That was when the pain set in.

It started at the tip of his tail and quickly spread throughout his entire body. The burning sensation grew, overwhelming his senses. Causing him to lose control.

He was falling.

He tried to regain control. Tried to command his body to fly once more, but was met with a resistant body. He was shifting back to his human form.

As he fell, the fire within him rose, enveloping his senses. He could no longer see the sky as he plummeted to the earth. Flames engulfed his vision; fiery images flitted across his line of sight. Vanishing before he could name them.

He was no longer falling; instead he was lying face down on a rough stone table, chained at the wrists and ankles. The sickly aroma of smoldering herbs filled his nose, making him nauseous. Hooded men circled around him, faces obscured by smoke. Their chanting joined with the roar of the fire, deafening in his ears.

Pain, like a hot iron, blazed across his back as they continued to chant. Their voices grew in volume as the pressure and heat on his back increased.

'The bond.' They were binding him. 'No!' He wanted to tell them to stop. To yell, scream, do anything. Just make them stop.

He couldn't scream as the pain skyrocketed, pushing him past his limits

'

"Cam! Come on Cam, wake up!"

Cam's head shot off the pillow. He fought to calm his wildly beating heart as he stared into Hunter's worried face.

"Cam, are you alright? You were muttering in your sleep again, only this time you started screaming."

"Again?" Had he been talking in his sleep the past few nights? It had been a week since the union ceremony. They had slept in the same bed every night. It was an unspoken sign of trust between them. Cam wouldn't admit it, but it was comforting to have Hunter's warmth next him at night. The jaguar's presence relaxed him when he slept. He hadn't had the nightmare since that time in the Lion's Den. If he really had been talking in his sleep, he was surprised that Hunter hadn't mentioned it before now.

"Yeah. You've been muttering in your sleep for the past few days. I didn't tell you because the other times it had only lasted a few minutes. And you've never screamed." Hunter paused as if thinking, an unreadable expression on his face. "Cam what's a blood bond?"

The dragon's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious." Hunter feigned innocence.

Cam got out of bed and started to dress. "It's nothing. We need to get ready if we're going to travel the Den today." Hunter followed the dragon out of bed. Grabbing Cam's shoulder.

"Seriously. You said something about a blood bond before you started screaming. Whatever this is, it's affecting you. I need to know what it is. I might be able to help you."

"Trust me. You can't help."

Hunter stared into Cam's eyes. "Try me."

Cam sighed. He knew Hunter well enough to know that the jaguar would hound him until he gave the truth. The dragon shrugged the hand off his shoulder and removed the shirt he had just put on.

Stepping back from Hunter, Cam turned. Displaying his back. "This."

Hunter's face scrunched in confusion. "Huh?"

"This is a blood bond." The jaguar moved closer, running his finger over the flowing script that ran on either side of the dragon on Cam's back. Causing the dark haired man to shiver slightly. A tingle ran down his own spine. He would finally learn about the strange tattoo. "Why do you have it?"

Cam's eyes went out of focus. Remembering. Only seeing that day.

"I was there when she died." He said, then clarified before Hunter could ask. "My mom. I was in the fields when it happened. I was young and didn't fully understand the danger." He paused for a second. When he spoke again, it was with a carefully even voice. "I followed her. When I reached the field, I couldn't find her. I searched all over, and when I finally found her? It was just in time to see her be killed. Before she died, she gave me this…" He turned around and held up the amulet that Hunter remembered seeing him wear every day. The jaguar had wondered why Cam wore it. "and told my father that she didn't want me to live that kind of life. When we returned to the Nest, he had me bonded so I wouldn't be able to shift or go fight in the fields when I grew older. They bound my dragon spirit. The tattoo on my back is the seal for the bond." Before Hunter could say anything, Cam pulled his shirt back on and headed for the door, saying. "You better get ready. We are supposed to leave for the Lion's Den in half an hour." With that he left, pulling the door closed behind him.

Hunter stared at the door for a few seconds before starting to dress. Mulling over all that the dragon had said. The bond explained Cam's lack of dragon abilities, but Hunter couldn't understand why a father would take his son's birthright. Even if it were to protect him.

He sighed and headed for the courtyard where he was supposed to meet Blake, Cam, and the three wind rangers with nothing resolved. Maybe he would ask one of the dragon rangers about the former dragon king. The earth dragon…'Dustin, I think.' …. seemed friendlier and more open than the other two. Maybe he would answer Hunter's questions.

"Okay, what did you say to him?"

Hunter looked up in surprise, forced out of his contemplation. He hadn't expected to be attacked by an annoyed wind dragon when he walked through the door into the courtyard. "What did I say to whom?"

"Cam. He won't say anything about it, but we know something's wrong."

Dustin decided to enter the conversation. "Yeah dude, Cam was quieter than usual when he came out here." Blake was also listening to the conversation, but chose to remain silent for the time being.

"Is there something wrong with my son?" All four turned to see Kanoi Watanabe standing behind them.

Hunter wasn't about to be polite to the former dragon king. He wasn't about to hold back his questions just because they might be personal. "Why did you bind him? How could you do that to your own son?"

The former dragon king's face remained passive. The only sign of the dragon's anger was the hostility in his voice. "You have no right to question my decisions concerning my son."

"You had no right to do that to him!"

"What do you know of the situation? You were not there. You have no right to judge someone for something you know nothing about."

Hunter persisted. "Cam said it was a promise you made to his mother. How could she want that for her son?" Immediately, Hunter knew he had crossed a line questioning Cam's mother. It was evident in the dragon's face. The elder Watanabe was no longer trying to conceal his emotions.

In a deadly quiet voice, he said. "You will not speak of my wife that way. I promised to keep Cameron safe. I promised to not subject him to the horrors of the fields. I did what I felt was necessary to keep that promise."

To everyone's surprise Shane spoke up. "A promise you made when Cam was little? That's why you bonded him and wouldn't let him train?" Shane, Tori, and Dustin had known about the blood bond, but none of them knew the circumstances for why he had it, or why Cam had not been allowed to enroll in the ninja studies that all dragons went through.

"Does one of you have something to say about my decision?"

Dustin spoke up. "No offence sire, but that's a little weak. To bind someone just because you want to keep them safe."

Kanoi's eyebrows rose slightly. "Your honesty is duly noted Dustin." He looked each of the four young men in the eye, even the offensive jaguar. "None of you have been a parent before. The situation is more complex than you realize."

Blake finally decided to enter the conversation. "It sounds to me like you just need to trust your son."

Shane nodded his head in agreement. "He trained on his own and everyone knows he's been going to the fields. Cam can take care of himself."

Grudgingly, Kanoi admitted to himself that maybe he did over protect Cam. "I will contemplate what you have said. Now though, I believe your escort is here." They turned around to see an angry looking Alana walking through the gate followed by Cam and Tori, both were blushing slightly.

Kanoi bid his son and the wind rangers farewell and watched as the group departed. He then headed for his favorite meditation spot. He needed time to think over all that had been said.

Maybe they had a point.

He would meditate on it. Hopefully he would come to a conclusion by the time Cameron returned from the Lion's Den.

The Lion's Den.

Kanoi Watanabe was loathe to let his only son go to that place. He could remember the last time dragons had gone to the Den.

He was young. He had just finished his study of the ninja arts and he and Miko would soon be wed.

/Flashback/

The two brothers were on patrol when they met the thunder ninjas…

"Kiya! Stay quiet!" The wind dragon glared at his brother, the words coming out as a harsh whisper. The other simply scoffed.

"Oh please, there's nothing out here. We're only three miles from the Nest. There's no way that the cats would come this clo—"

"Kiya, what's wrong?"

The dragon just continued to look a spot over his brother's shoulder, easily falling into a fighting stance.

Kanoi spun around to see a large tiger and two lions coming out of the foliage. Both dragons shifted into their demi-forms, preparing for an attack.

But none came.

Instead, the tiger merely shifted into his human form and opened a pouch at his belt. Drawing out a scroll, the thunder shifter tossed it on the ground at the dragons' feet. Having done that, he shifted back into his feline form and all three thunder shifters quickly disappeared.

The brothers cautiously let down their stances and, staying in demi-form, stepped towards the scroll.

Kanoi carefully picked it up, checking the whole time for a sign of danger. He undid the clasp and unrolled it.

Kiya looked over his brother's shoulder. "What is it?"

It had been an invitation. An invitation to send a delegation to the Lion's Den to discuss a peace treaty. His brother had gone with the group.

Kiya had been the only one to return. Bringing with him tales of betrayal and slaughter at the hands of the thunder shifters. Kanoi sighed. He and his brother had never been on great terms, but Kiya had changed after returning. He had even changed his name.

The last time had only been met with death and pain.

As he settled in his spot and began to meditate, Kanoi could only hope that his son and the three rangers knew what they were doing.

It had been decided the day after the union ceremony that the new couple would travel between the two kingdoms. Spending a week in one, then traveling to the other to spend the next week in that one. This way neither kingdom would be without their ruler for too long.

He had protested at first, but he was no longer king. In the end it had been Cam and Hunter's decision. He could only wait and see if they came back.

'Cameron will be fine. He has Miko's spirit. I must trust in my son.'

He trusted his son…just not the felines.

When Cam entered the courtyard, Shane, Dustin, and Tori could instantly tell that something was wrong. The dragon didn't even acknowledge them, just walked past them and out the gate.

Tori shared a worried look with Shane and Dustin before following Cam outside.

She found him sitting by the waterfall that was outside the entrance to the Nest. Tori walked over and placed herself next to Cam on the ground.

"Cam, what happened? And before you say nothing, don't bother, I can tell. So spill, what happened?"

Cam sighed reluctantly, but he decided to be honest with Tori. Tori was the first real friend that Cam had growing up. She was always the one that he could talk to if something was bothering him. He knew he could trust Tori. She was his soul friend after all. "Hunter asked about the blood bond."

Tori frowned. She didn't know the specifics on why Cam had been sealed, but she did know that painful memories were brought to the surface when it was mentioned. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him it was nothing." He saw Tori's smile of amusement. "Yeah, he didn't really buy that. I ended up telling the truth."

"You told him about how you got it?"

"Yeah. I don't know why I did, but I told him about the promise my dad made. About why I had it." Seeing her slightly hurt expression, he decided that it was time that she knew the truth as well. He told her the same story that he had told to Hunter.

"A promise your dad made when you were a little kid? That's why you were sealed?"

Cam nodded his head.

"You should talk to him. Maybe he can have the seal removed." Cam shook his head in negation.

"Once a blood bond is placed, it can't be removed. It would have to be broken, but that would take a tremendous energy source."

"Well, you should still talk to him. He's a reasonable person. If you do, I think you'll be surprised."

"Tori, he didn't even trust in my decision enough to honor the union ceremony. He doesn't think that the peace will last, and he doesn't believe that the marriage will work." He released a sigh. "I'm still wondering how this is going to work. I hate not being sure. I need his support in this, but I don't think it will come any time soon."

Tori wasn't sure what to do for her friend. She wanted to say something to reassure him, but nothing appropriate came to mind. So she did the only thing she could. The water dragon wrapped her arms around Cam.

At first he was stiff in her arms. Tori was about to let go when he finally reacted. Tentatively, Cam returned the embrace. They stood there for a few moments, simply embracing. One comforting the other.

Unfortunately, it was in this position that Alana found them.

Cam saw her first and quickly disengaged the embrace. Tori twirled around in confusion. Her face turning bright red upon catching sight of the leopard.

Alana merely raised an eyebrow before walking towards the gate. Saying, "If you two are done, then I would like to get King Hunter and Prince Blake and leave. I want to spend as little time as possible in this place." With that she moved through the gate. Cam and Tori following quickly behind.

"So uncle, who exactly is this guy you sent after the rangers?"

"Oh, just an old acquaintance of mine. Helped me out years ago to cause a peace delegation to disappear."

"Is this Madtropolis guy really powerful enough to stop the rangers?"

The dark dragon smirked. "Let's just say that they're going to feel a little drained after dealing with him.

TBC

A/N: It's a transitional, I know. Don't worry. More will happen in the next one. Anyway, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Please review!