Chapter 81-Fighting Instinctual Losses

Nuri wasn't sure which he hated more: Arxa in her weakened state or the dark entity his mother had claimed was her father.

In the hours following the departure of Narssia and Zagnoth, he tried to make the spirit comfortable as her temperature changed from raging fever levels to so low he was scared she wouldn't wake up if she drifted off to sleep. Her temperament also was wildly unstable as one moment she would be cloaked in shadows and threatening to rip his head off while the next she would be huddled up shivering in fear of some unknown thing. The variance between the highs and lows was enough to make him beyond frustrated but he kept reminding himself that she would get better just as soon as the old deity's ancient memory could locate where exactly he had put her former body.

Resting on his underbelly as he cast a weary glance at Arxa to see she was asleep for the moment, he sighed and reached out with his mind to find the one dragon he thought would believe him if he told what all Narssia had revealed to him. Settling his choices on Sitedal as he knew his elder brother had seen some odd things during his life, he hoped the fear-users trust in their mother was enough to convince him that they were related to a god.

"This is highly unexpected," Sitedal growled softly as Nuri finished informing him of what he had learned. "Mother and Arxa really are sisters then. Do you need any help with keeping an eye on her?"

"Zagnoth told me that only I should watch her but I was thinking we could celebrate the old life she had after this is over and she is back to being healthy again," Nuri muttered as he flicked the end of his tail and felt his jaws ache, a sign he had to feed shortly.

"I hate to be the voice of reason here but why would anyone think she did any good? She killed Raxmon, had a hand in the death of Jormundur, and stripped Ladetis of his wings . . . Do I need to name anything else?"

Nuri quietly sighed, having temporarily forgotten the grievances Sitedal had against Arxa. Bits of dust sprinkled down onto the stone floor as he contemplated in silence for a few minutes. He still thought the idea was worthy of their involvement and he tried again to convince his brother to go along with it.

"I don't completely disagree with you, but who would even show up? We would need another reason to gather together the dragons of the Compound, Nurus." There was little point in denying Sitedal was right and Nuri realized the older dragon did speak truthfully.

"The Compound needs a new leader, doesn't it? We could have that be the reason everyone gathers," he replied, the youthfulness of his age clashing with the more mature tone he normally held.

There was a pause from Sitedal and Nuri thought his brother was analyzing the possible idea. "That actually could work. Now to figure out who we would get to lead now with Dhran's abrupt death making all the humans uneasy about taking the position . . ."

"I have an idea of someone we could choose. Before you decide to end our talk, could I get you to come up here and meet me? My jaws are aching and-"

Nuri realized a little too late he had never told Sitedal what Zagnoth had originally said to him about him being a blood element dragon and he snarled softly in bitterness towards himself as he ground some pebbles into tiny bits under his left foreleg. He glanced at Arxa as he heard a low whimper rise from her direction and he saw she was now awake, shaking severely as the dark gray spots on her horns and claws spread further. Any semblance she had of wings was quickly fading as more jagged tears spread across the fragile membranes, something he knew she would have raged about had she been in her right mind.

"Nuri, I'll come up there to give you time to hunt but I won't be able to stay for long. When I return to the Compound, I'll see if I can start gathering dragons to join us in selecting the newest leader. We shall list it under those circumstances and only a select few will know our other reason for inviting the multitude of scale-fliers to join us."

"Very well, I'll wait for you then," Nuri muttered sadly, lowering his head to his forepaws as he withdrew from the mental communication and returned to watching the dragoness he viewed differently from most.

His claws landed roughly on the rock outcropping leading to the isolated cave that lay nearly two miles away from the Compound as he pushed aside the thoughts in his mind that warned him to turn away while he still had the chance. Coming at the request of his younger sibling had not been what Sitedal had originally wanted but he realized how important it was to Nuri that he come and distract Arxa while the hatchling went to hunt. Walking inside the small interior, he sniffed the air and detected the lingering scent of burned flesh that caused him to shudder briefly before approaching the resting black dragons and nudging his brother awake.

It had been several hours since Nuri had first alerted him but he had been busy at the time and was only able to go after promising Verdra he wouldn't be long. She was started to come into heat again but he wasn't willing to risk endangering her life if the conflict Arxa had helped to aid was not fully over. Noticing his brother lay beside the damaged dragoness with a wing over her body sent a warm feeling through him, causing him to try and repress his instincts as he nudged the young blood scale-flier with the tip of his snout.

When Nuri did not stir after the light push, Sitedal shoved harder and growled darkly, "Get up, brother. Let's make this hunting trip of yours quick so I can get back to Verdra."

Red irises slid open gradually as Nuri awoke, licking his jaws before realizing the close proximity to Arxa that had occurred while he was waiting for Sitedal to arrive. Pulling his wing back quickly, he growled and moved over a few inches as the older dragon watched and tried not to chuckle at his brother's expense. If he had to guess, he assumed that his sibling was seeking more than just friendship with their mother's sister.

"What took you so long?" Nuri growled as he reluctantly got to his feet and sheepishly avoided looking at Arxa as the brothers walked over to stand against one of the walls.

"I was overseeing a meeting of environmentally concerned earth dragons when you first contacted me," Sitedal replied as he noticed the scales on Nuri's snout looked moist. Not wanting to ask the hatchling for a reason as to why that might be, he continued, "Verdra flagged me down after I managed to escape that boring chatter and well . . . we sort of went back to our chamber and started to mate. I say started to because I stopped things before we went too far but I promised her that this wouldn't take long and that I would return shortly."

Nuri's attitude seemed to darken as he snorted, "How considerate of you to put off her advances and rush to my aid. Verdra is your mate so go make her happy. I will find time to hunt later."

"I made my choice to come," he growled as he flared out a wing to silence Nuri before the dragon tried to say anything in argument. "Verdra knows I put my family above everything else . . ."

"She's your mate, Sitedal!"

"And you want to mate with our aunt!" Sitedal roared before realizing exactly what he had just said in the heat of the moment.

The blood dragon lowered his head in shame as Sitedal retreated a step, trying to figure out how to fix what he had admitted. Verdra wasn't the only one feeling on edge, he decided after a moment of silence between them. A light whimper from Arxa broke the two from their separate thoughts and they turned their heads to see her open her eyes and glanced around nervously before swatting in front of her at nothing.

"Memory loss and blindness, anything else?" Sitedal inquired as a gust of wind sent a strong scent towards them that dimly registered in his mind as coming from Arxa.

"Well, she has violent mood swings," Nuri admitted as the dragoness shuddered and curled up to find warmth.

Noticing her horns and claws were covered in gray patches and her scales no longer had the normal luster of a healthy dragon, Sitedal figured there was something else going on that Nuri refused to tell him. Glancing her over as he held himself in check, he saw the tattered remains of her wings briefly flutter uselessly before folding back against brittle covering overlaying tender skin. Her irises were dim and she struggled to keep her eyes open as a raspy cough escaped her, leaving her wheezing as she spat out a few droplets of blood onto the granite floor.

"Is there something you're not telling me? She looks like she's about to die, Nuri!"

The hatchling sighed softly, scratching at the floor under his claws. "That's because she is dying. Mother left with our grandfather to find a way to save her. He left me in charge before they went looking several hours ago."

"Let me get this straight, she's dying and you find it perfectly acceptable to mate with her. Do you not understand that she is our aunt? We are blood related to her, Nurus."

"I didn't mate with her," Nuri growled softly, almost protectively. "She had a nightmare and I was comforting her. That is all that you saw when you entered. It's lonely for her with no memory and being blind. I'm the closest thing to a friend she has during this trying time."

Nodding his head in understanding, Sitedal snorted in relief. "Sorry I overreacted. I guess both Verdra and I are on edge. We are hopeful that this attempt turns out better than our last clutch did. Losing the two as they were just about to hatch really hurt us but we're moving past it as best we can."

"I'm glad for that. Now go make her night one that she'll never forget, brother! I think I can control myself for a few more hours."

Sitedal growled warmly in thankfulness before spreading his wings and flying out, eager to return to Verdra as his wrongful accusation of Nuri lingered in his mind. He had been quick to judge his younger brother for wanting to mate with their aunt and he was deeply sorry for the error in thinking he had made when he has first arrived.