The Assembly - Part I
Wavern felt her heart pound faster inside the chest. Around her, in the almost absolute darkness of Obscuria, amorphous silhouette were drawn, deformed faces that seemed to be inspecting her and her brother, two bakugan too white for that land.
A damp, lichen smell came to her. A little further on, the path entered a forest of bare, shrunken trees. Their pale bark was encrusted with little roses, which cast a soft blue light
Wavern stopped for a moment, amazed. She reached a claw at one of those strange lichens. She touched it and it sprayed out a bright powder.
She jumped back with an exclamation. The blue dust floated for a few moments in the air, and then dissolved.
"Wavern!" roared Naga "They're waiting for us, move!"
"Yes, Naga. Sorry, "she murmured, eyes downcast.
She quickened her pace. Even without looking at him, she knew he was looking at her with disappointment.
She was wasting his time. She was so stupid. So stupid.
"Stay close to me," he ordered.
"Yes, Naga".
They started walking again, in silence.
Wavern saw her brother's muscles tense under the pale scales. At irregular intervals, a shiver ran through his ripped wings.
It had to be for the speech at the Assembly.
Would the obscurials have listened to him? Would they ever agree to join him against the other elementals? Against the Pyrrians?
A knot tightened around Wavern's throat.
The day before she had miraculously escaped one of them. A warrior of Pyrria and his knight who had not even used the power of their element.
The muscles in her wings heated up, as if she were ready to run away again.
Should she have talked to Naga about it?
Her paw bumped against an outcropping root, hard as stone. She yelped in pain and swerved against her brother's side.
Naga turned with a snarl at her. The pointed muzzle was contracted into an angry expression.
Instinctively, Wavern crouched, with her tail between his paws.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"Get a grip on yourself and make sure you don't make me look foolish. You understood?"
"Yes, Naga," he whispered, very softly.
"You understood?" he barked at her.
Wavern squeezed even more to the ground. "Y… Yes! Yes!"
Naga snorted and walked back up the path at a brisk pace. The dragoness followed him, looking at the ground between her paws. The lump in my throat tightened even more.
Why did she have to make him angry even in important moments?
Something rough and wet touched her face.
Instinctively she drew back, ready to apologize, but Naga's wing enveloped her.
"I'm sorry I screamed," he told her.
He rubbed his angular muzzle against hers, stroking it with his wing.
All of Wavern's anxiety came out in a trembling breath and she let herself go to the embrace. The scar on her brother's nose tickled her scales.
"It 'does not matter. I must be more careful. "
Naga gave her another lick on the forehead. "I only did it because I care about this gathering. If it goes well, together we can build a new world. A world where those like us are not left in the middle of nowhere to die. You understand, don't you? "
"Sure, Naga. I know you will make it, as always. " She patted him with her muzzle, smiling.
The white dragon nodded and they resumed their walk side by side.
The petrified forest opened into a clearing on the slopes of a dark, smooth rock face. Between the folds and the furrows flew luminescent torrents.
Wavern walked over, still looking up. Why didn't she hear the sound of water?
A gust of wind came down from the cliff. It smelled strange, like wild herbs and sulfur… Mushrooms, that's it!
It took the dragoness a few more moments to recognize the flat caps embedded in the spaces between the rocks, wrapped in an ephemeral cloud of luminous spores.
It was so beautiful ...
She wanted to stop and watch, but Naga was in a hurry. She trotted beside him to the slopes of the hill.
Suddenly, the stone seemed to come alive. From the darkness emerged an imposing three-headed silhouette with two wide open bat wings and a long tail ending in a hayforc.
"Naga and Wavern, I guess," said the three heads.
Wavern felt her stomach freeze. They spoke in unison, with a cavernous voice.
She stood still and silent, letting Naga speak. "Do you know others Without Element, by any chance? Take us to the Assembly, they will be waiting for us. "
The hydra emitted a rumbling warning. Frozen chills crept under Wavern's scales.
Six pairs of golden eyes fixed on her. She swallowed and stepped back, her tail between his paws again.
"You'll have to show more respect if you want to speak in the Assembly, white one," said the three heads.
Wavern clenched her jaws.
"Follow me."
At regular intervals, the corridor inside the cave was lit by pairs of braziers. From the smooth ceiling hung whitish stalactites, like the teeth of an enormous animal.
Wavern kept her eyes down, focusing on the cold floor beneath her paws. She just had to be silent, Naga would do the rest.
The Assembly Hall was packed with Bakugan. Black as pitch, save for a few purplish shades, they mingled in the half-light in a shapeless mass of bodies, scales, antennae and claws. Wavern could only see their eyes, mostly red. They aimed at her and Nagas full of morbid curiosity.
A sour taste rose up her throat.
No trace of humans. There were no knights in Obscuria.
"They have arrived."
"The white ones!"
"What pale scales! I heard that boiling them in a decoction makes the armor harder! "
Someone giggled. Jaws snapped. Wavern heard the paws of a centipede tick a few feet away from her.
The feathers on her neck stood up in terror.
"I prefer the feathers of the female. She's so cute!"
They finally got to the bottom. A brazier larger than the others illuminated a sculpted wall: an eight-headed snake, with gemstones as eyes, on whose chest opened a gigantic mouth adorned with long curved fangs.
Below him proudly sat a dragon. The head was crowned with a pair of horns curled at the tip, followed by two rows of bony spikes that reunite in the tail. Greenish shades ran through the scales and membranes of the wings.
When he saw the group escorted by the hydra he stood up, staring at them with his ruby eyes.
Author's note: hello everyone! As I promised, here we have Naga and Wavern! They're a little different from the original anime but I hope you like them anyway.
I will update the story next week on Friday. Meanwhile if you enjoyed the story so far please leave a review. It's very important for me.
See you next chapter!
