Chapter 28

Blur

Blur rushed around the large building he was in. It was hard being the owner and director of the Dragonbite Viper facility. He was currently trying to reach the antivenom room where the antivenom to Green Dragonbite Viper venom was. While moving his male in with the female she got testy and decided to bite him. Luckily the male was already in so eggs should be created soon.

He reached the dry room filled with cooling chambers full of the antivenoms. He opened one labeled 'Green' and pulled a vile out. He uncovered it and slipped the needle in between two scales.. The Greens Vipers venom was slow moving so the antivenom would clear it up before any real damage was done.

He gave a sigh and turned back around. He needed to move at least three more snakes before he could take a break. He turned around the corner and saw the jewel of the collection. The rarest Viper of all. A hybrid between the Death Dragonbite Viper and the Sand Dragonbite Viper. Both easily causing excruciating pain, and most certainly, death. Luckily he had captured it in its infancy so it has a special bond with him.

As he walked closer to the enclosure it looked up from its spot and gazed at him. It's tongue flicked in and out in curiosity. Blur wasn't quite sure if it was Male or Female. He was afraid to try and see, if he held it too long it could bite him and kill him. He had messed with death so many times but this was different. The hybrid's eyes were like a dark black abyss filled with nothing but the souls of its victims.

He gave it a soft smile and it lay its head back down onto its body. He could guess the gender but if he ever wanted to breed it he'd have to be careful. He jerked his head up. His mind reeled with ideas as he ran around to find a blank scroll and some charcoal.

He scribbled down on the scroll. He was going to focus all his time on the hybrid. After getting the others snakes in with their partners of course. If he could figure out what made the hybrid so deadly, maybe he could construct an antivenom for the Death Dragonbite Viper. It would need to be fast acting though.

"If the venom is counteracted by the PH levels in the blood then," Blur ran about the lab looking under microscopes. "What if we destabilized the PH levels?"

He took a small syringe filled with a clear yellow liquid. Into a small dish he dropped one drop of the liquid into some blood. The blood instantly turned black and burned up into ash. He watched as the blood became nothing.

He grabbed the scroll again. "If it reacts with blood in 2.7 seconds then to get to the heart it would take… 15.2 seconds. How would something stop the venom that fast?"

He sat back and growled to himself. "What can destabilize PH levels in 15 seconds?"

"Maybe you should start with what can destabilize PH levels first. Then move on to the time." A familiar voice said from the other side of the room.

He turned around to see a dragon. His scales were a grey brown color with brown spots all over. "I can't do that. You know I can't do that."

"Oh come on. You can at least try, yeah?" he persisted. He handed Blur a bag. The bag smelled of cooked meat and spices.

"Thanks, Nox, but I'm not hungry." Blur set the bag down.

"What? You'r not going to take the grilled melon and giant scorpion?" Nox said in a teasing tone.

"Giant scorpion?" Blur turned towards the bag. "Fine."

He pulled out the food and placed it on a clean table. Nox sat across from him doing the same thing. "So what are you working on now?"

"Death Dragonbite Viper venom." Blur said simply.

"You do know no one has ever lived after being bitten, right?" Nox said skeptically.

"How do you know? Have you been to the far reaches of the world? I think not." Blur challenged and bit down on one of the scorpion's pincers.

"No I haven't. But don't you think we'd have heard of it if someone did. Not even animus magic can stop it. There's nothing we can do to stop it." Nox rested a talon on his.

"But Nox. Think about all the good we could do. We could literally save all the dragons out in the desert alone with no homes. Death Vipers are out there. I found a nest close by. Mother was dead as usual but there were eggs." Blur gripped Nox's talon.

"What did you do with them?" Nox asked.

"What I could. I brought them here. Same as the mother. Put them in an incubator to see if they'll even hatch." he looked away from Nox knowing what was coming.

"You brought them here? Into our sanctuary?" Nox bolted upright. "Why would you do that? They are the reason dragon kind lives in fear. Those Vipers are everywhere. Like a weed that will never stop. We need to get rid of them."

"No." Blur stood up. "We can't. If we do then we'll have no chance to study them. Just like we study every other species."

"This isn't like every other species, Blur. This is a cold blooded monster. Those snakes are the death of us." Nox pointed out towards the desert.

"They are not monsters." Blur stomped. "They are acting upon instinct like any other creature would. They see us and think 'monster'."

"I don't want you to keep them and risk your life for this." Nox walked over to Blur, trying to hold his talon.

Blur pulled away. "If I don't do this, more of us will die."

Blur stormed away to his dormitory without another word. His talons were shaky as if he was bitten by the Dwarf Viper. But it was his nerves. Nox didn't trust him anymore. Why would he? He'd been by his side since day one, always asking if this was the right thing to do. He'd been second guessing Blur this entire time, hadn't he?

Blur slammed his fist into a wall. The wall remained intact. He punched it again. Nothing. Over and over and over he punched it. The wall remained strong and unmoving. His fist bruised and bloody. He was never good at letting his feelings out. His father never taught him that. Something else his father wasn't good at.

He walked past the hybrid's enclosure. It was upright watching him with an almost sad look on its face. He turned towards it. He put his head up against the glass and sighed.

"If I could make an antivenom, the whole of us would be gifted life. Why can't he see that?" he sighed.

The hybrid moved its way over to the glass slowly and rested its head on the glass where he was. Its eyes no longer seemed like an abyss. Now they seemed. Lonely. And sad.

He watched it watch him for a while. It just sat there staring at him as he stared at it. Soon it got tired of sitting there and started climbing its tree. The small arrow spots along its back rippled as it moved up the tree. Its black and red eyes glinted in the light as it made its way higher.

Blur let out a sigh and moved away towards his room. It was close to the hybrid, as this was the one snake he would never let anything happen to. As he entered his room he could see how bare and empty it was. A lone night stand stood at the side of his bed with scrolls scrawled over it. A single shelf stood across the room with a few small trinkets on it. Next to the shelf was an empty desk.

He slid onto his bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling. He hummed lightly as he lay there. The only thing on his mind now was how angry Nox was. Nox was never usually this upset with Blur. Yeah sure, Blur did some stupid stuff involving these snakes but this was his life. This was what he was meant to do.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw some movement at his door. He had left it open forgetting to close it. It was Nox. He was standing in the doorway watching him. Blur got up and walked over.

"I'm sorry." He said to Nox. "If you want me to, I'll get rid of the eggs."

Nox put a talon on Blurs cheek. "No. I'm sorry." he gave a sad sigh. "I know this is you. I should have known that then. Keep them. Maybe we can find some cure for their venom."

Blur smiled and hugged Nox. Nox hugged him back. They stood there for a while, just being there for eachother. This was what Blur needed. All his worries melted away, like ice in the spring valleys near the Whitewing border.

After a bit of just talking Blur decided to walk around the building. He still needed to check on the snakes that were in breeding and feed the ones who were eating around this time. Nox had come with him. Nox wasn't the greatest with snakes but he helped wherever he could, and being there with Blur was all Blur needed.

The feeding was easy enough. He'd let loose a rat, mouse or two into the enclosure and stay around to make sure the snake eats. Then he'd move to the next enclosure and feed whoever needed to be fed next. After that he had to go to the breeding side of the building. There all the snakes that he intended to breed would be.

This was his third year breeding Bragonbite Vipers. He knew enough to organize it himself. He was only breeding two pairs so far. A pair of Green Dragonbite Vipers and a pair of Red Dwarf Dragonbite Vipers. He wanted to get more of the red from the both of them as it was a rather rare gene from the Dwarf Vipers.

He checked on them quickly, only glancing at them both for a second. He knew he didn't have to worry a whole lot about them. He moved on to whatever he needed done now. He didn't know what he needed done. Everything was in order and in place. Nothing was needed.

He and Nox walked back to his room. He was tired after running about throughout the whole facility. It was a rather large building. Bigger than you'd think it would be. There was another part of the building reserved as sleeping quarters for those who worked there. So far he and Nox were the only ones. It is plenty big enough for all the snakes though. He could keep several out on display in the front room and main entrance while also having some in the back rooms for breeding and research.

Blur gave a yawn and stretched out a talon towards his bed. It was already dark by now and Blur could see the three moons that were climbing higher above the horizon through his window. He lay down on his bed and breathed deeply.

Nox lay next to him, his breathing rhythmic and calm. Blur smiled at him and closed his eyes. Sleep over took him within moments, wrapping his mind in dreams and memories.

Blur turned in bed and went to move his talon to Nox. He was met with the bed. "Nox?"

He opened his eyes to see the other half of the bed empty. He got up slowly and looked around the room. Nox was nowhere to be seen. Blur got out of bed and wrapped his cloak around his front arms. He walked out of his room looking for Nox. There, with the front doors open, was Nox. He was talking with someone.

"I'm sorry but we're closed for the night." he said in an annoyed voice.

"Please. We are just looking for someone. He can help us." someone said.

Blur walked up to Nox and looked out the door. It was a large group of dragons, all different colors. At the head of the group was a dragon he recognized. " Calcite? I thought you headed back to the Crystal Kingdom."

Nox tilted his head in confusion. "You know him?"

"Yes we met last year while you were away. He needed some 16B antivenom." Blur nodded.

"I did go back but my friends need some help. We need a place to lay low for a little while. Just for a few days." Calcite replied.

Blur looked to Nox. Nox looked unsure but Blur gave him a reassuring look. "Of course. I'll take you to the workers quarters. You can stay there for now."

"Thank you." Calcite bowed his head in respect.

"I'm Blur and this is Nox." Blur pointed to them each.

Blur and Nox led the way through the facility. "So what exactly do you do here?" one of the strange dragons asked.

"We house and research the different species of Dragonbite Vipers." Blur said in a tired voice.

They walked past the hybrid. It was coiled around a tree branch and was staring at them as they passed. Its forked tongue slipped in and out.

"How many species do you have so far?' the Stonewing asked.

"We have 8 of the 10 species. We are still waiting for the Jungle Dragonbite Vipers to be delivered from the Jungle of Secrets." Blur answered.

"I thought there were only five species." the brown mahogany dragon yelped.

"I guess they've discovered more than I remember." the stonewing looked around.

Blur and Nox led the way through the long hallway that led to the workers quarters, which were empty.

"You can stay here. There are twenty rooms. Each room fits about seven dragons. It may be a bit dusty. We've never had anyone stay in this part of the facility in several years." Blur gestured to the rooms.

"Thank you Blur. We will see you in the morning, yes?" Calcite asked.

"Yes." Blur nodded.

Blur and Nox turned around to walk back to their room. Blurs eyes drooped down as he gave a yawn. Nox wrapped a wing around him. "Don't do that or I'll start." he smiled jokingly.

"Hmf." Blur gave a quiet laugh.