The Assembly - Part II
"Greetings to you, Naga and Wavern," the dragon began. His voice was low and commanding, which immediately silenced the chatter in the room.
Wavern bowed low and stood silently behind his brother.
Naga lowered his muzzle until his nostrils brushed the stone. "You have granted us a great honor, Sire Dharak."
"I know it." His tone suddenly became harsher. "And I hope you'll be worthy of it. Not all of my subjects are happy to have Elementless in our territories. "
Wavern swallowed a lump that seemed sand. She looked at her brother. He held his head high again in front of the obscurial lord. A tremor ran through his wings to the tips, but his voice did not waver. "They will change their minds, do not doubt."
Dharak's muzzle split in a defiant grin, exposing the yellowish fangs. "Hexedra will judge you."
He moved under the huge bas-relief.
Naga glanced quickly at her sister. "Wait for me there in the corner. And don't talk to anyone. "
She just nodded. Her throat felt too dry to speak.
She reached the rock face and leaned against it. It was warm and smooth as if it had been sculpted. The other bakugans shot her furtive, curious glances, but kept their distance. All attention was focused on Naga.
Its waxen scales, veined with a sickly purple on the wings, stood out very much in the midst of the mass of obscurials that surrounded it. Their eyes, brilliant as gems, aimed at him as if he had been their prey.
The white dragon cleared his throat. "All hail, children of Exedra and thank you for coming up to here, to listen to a foreigner".
He adjusted his wings on his back. He tried to hide the tremors.
Wavern clawed the ground with her claws. He had managed to get there, he couldn't give up now!
"A stranger and a White One" Naga resumed "What is worse?"
Someone giggled at the joke.
"An obscurial!"
For a moment the whole assembly was silent. Wavern stopped breathing. What was he doing?
"A fallen race of Bakugan, relegated to the margins of Vestalia to live on hardship!".
Someone began to growl. But Naga did not waver; his red eyes had a strange sparkle.
"But I remember. Oh yes I remember what you once were! The undisputed rulers of the Six Lands. The strongest race of the Bakugan. And I see what you have become now. Weak. Hungry. Macilent. At the mercy of your enemies. Taunted by creatures who in the past would not have dared to look you in the eye!"
A murmur ran through the assembly. Dharak observed everything with a composed air, ticking with his claw on the rock.
"The other races never liked you," Naga went on. His voice was full of anger. "But they have always feared you. Until the death of Hades. And when they stopped fearing you, they also stopped respecting you. Especially the Pyrrians. "
The angry cries of the bakugan thundered like thunder in the cave.
"Yes, the Pyrrians and their fire. They ravaged your land without remorse. How many younglings have died of starvation since then? How many of you can still call yourself parents? And while you, for fifty years, have suffered for your families, they strut around as champions of order and peace! So proud to have sentenced you to misery. Is this what you want for yourself and your little ones? "
"No!" they all roared.
Wavern felt a kind of energy vibrating in the air. A destructive fervor that animated the eyes of the obscurials.
Naga smiled and took on a more humble tone. "As I thought. As a White One, I can only envy the fighting spirit of your species. But there is something I can offer you. Something to help you right all the wrongs you have suffered. "
A few moments of silence. But now he had hooked them.
"My sister and I, we can offer you the power of the Two Cores."
There was a chorus of surprised exclamations, but the white dragon remained calm. The serrated teeth were bared in a victorious smile.
He waited for calm to return and then spoke again. "No elementary bakugan can absorb the power of Infinity or Silence. But a White One is not tied to any attribute. No energy that prevents him from absorbing the one of one Core. Or of both. "
Excited murmurs spread throughout the assembly. Wavern tried to listen.
Some were wary. But many others were intrigued by Naga's words, by the possibility of making the Pyrrians pay and seize the power of the Cores.
It was working!
"If she were my sister I wouldn't leave her alone like this," someone murmured in the dim light. There was something slimy in his voice. And it was only a few steps away from her.
Wavern froze. She must not turn around. It was enough to ignore them and sooner or later they would get tired.
A mournful, subdued laugh. "Right. There are certain bad bakugans around ... "
The scales froze to the skin. Should she go out and walk away? Alone? What if they followed her?
A great shadow fell over her. Three warm
breaths, with an acrid smell, tickled her neck. A wave of terror ran through her spine to her horns, making her feathers stand up.
She began to tremble like a cold youngling.
The other two bakugans giggled even more. "Someone beat us on time!"
The air behind Wavern vibrated in a chorus of throaty growls. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the three heads open its jaws to two dragons in the middle of the crowd.
"Fine!" blew one with a horn on the tip of his muzzle "She's all yours."
He turned to his companion and stopped looking at the dragon.
Naga spoke again. But Wavern could only hear the hammering pulse of her heart.
"Your muzzle is dirty".
The three baritone voices startled her. "W ... What?" whispered. She couldn't get air into her lungs. The breaths had become small and rapid.
"The blue mushroom spores" whispered the three heads "You have them on your face."
Wavern wiped herself quickly with a paw. "T-thanks." She could hardly hear her own voice.
"Nothing. My name is Ydrano. "
Then it was a single being.
"Wavern," she murmured. "Oh, sorry, you already knew it ..."
Ydrano made a purr-like sound. "It's a beautiful name, in my opinion."
The dragoness just turned her head towards him. The three heads had a calm expression, despite the conical teeth protruding from the jaws. Their golden eyes looked at her as if waiting to hear her speak again.
"Thank you". He gave a slight smile. "You've been kind. Even before…"
"It was nothing. I am sorry that my fellows have not been hospitable to you. "
"It doesn't matter".
Wavern noticed that he had extended a wing over her back, but without daring to touch her. Ydrano just took a step forward, moving to her side.
The dragoness's heart accelerated, the hydra was at least twice as large as her. Still, he kept a certain distance, as if he just wanted to shield her from the gazes of other bakugans. Its scales were of a black so intense and shiny that they had violet reflections.
"Do I ... Do I bother you?".
"No, no," Wavern swallowed. "It's just… I'm not used to being this close to anyone other than my brother."
She shouldn't even have talked to him. She had disobeyed Naga.
Guilt clawed at her heart violently. The whole muzzle became heated. What could she say to justify herself?
Ydrano blocked the torrent of her thoughts. "Maybe things will change. Your brother spoke very well in the Assembly and I believe that Sire Dharak will allow you to stay in Obscuria. "
"You think?"
The three heads nodded. "It could become your new home."
Home… Wavern had always dreamed of a place she could call that. A warm and safe nest to always return to. Could she really have found it?
Author's note: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay, but yesterday I wasn't feeling very well so I couldn't finish the new chapter!
Seems like Wavern had stolen the heart of someone who is not her dragoruny. What do you think will happen?
And Naga? Did you catch the references in his speech?
Let me know in the reviews and save this story as a favourite if you don't want to miss any updates.
See you next Friday!
