Later, I wake up, and I see Father and Mother are not here, and I see Uncle Kaidën and Valthorn
The cave was still warm from the bodies that had been curled there hours ago. I shifted, scales scraping stone, and realized the ledge by the entrance was empty. Father and Mother weren't there.
Two other dragons stood in their place, silhouettes outlined by the pale light outside. One had scales dulled by age and scar, wings folded tight like he'd been ready to move for a while. The other was younger, with a crest that caught the wind and held it.
They didn't speak right away. The older one just studied me, head tilted, like he was weighing whether I'd make a fuss. The younger one broke first.
"They went out before dawn," he said. "Didn't want to wake the clutch."
"Where?" I asked.
"Ridge line," the older one answered. "Something tripped the old markers up there. They said they'd handle it."
A pause. The wind outside dragged a low whistle through the cave mouth.
The younger dragon set something down near my claws, a small bundle, wrapped in leather and tied with cord.
"They left this for you," he said. "Said not to open it until you'd eaten." I looked from the bundle to them. "And if I open it now?"
The older dragon snorted. "Then you'll be hungry and disobedient. Pick one."
Outside, the sky was clear. Whatever was on the ridge would wait. For now, the cave was quiet, and the next move was mine.
The older dragon's tail flicked once against the stone, a quiet warning to stop stalling.
I nudged the bundle with a claw. The leather was worn smooth, edges darkened from old oil and handling. It smelled faintly of salt and iron, like it had been kept near the coast.
"Eat first," the younger one said again, but there was less edge in it now. More like he was repeating an instruction he'd been told to repeat.
I glanced past them toward the cave mouth. The light had shifted since I'd woken. High sun, no clouds. If Father and Mother had gone to the ridge, they'd be past the first pass by now. "Do you know what it is?" I asked, nodding at the bundle.
The older dragon shook his head. "Not my place. But if it's from them, it's not useless." The younger one shifted his weight, crest catching the light. "They said you'd know what to do with it when the time came. Until then, keep it close."
A sound echoed from deeper in the cave, Lyriath rolling over, claws scrabbling against stone as he muttered something incoherent. Neither of the visitors reacted.
The older dragon stepped back toward the entrance, wings half-lifting. "We'll be outside if you need us. Don't wander past the lower falls alone." Then they were gone, moving into the light without another word.
I looked down at the bundle again. The cord was tied in a knot I recognized, Father's knot. The kind he used when he didn't want something coming undone by accident. Behind me, the cave breathed quiet. Whatever was coming, it started with this.
I ask, "Where are our parents?" and Valthorn explain "Well your father went on. Let's say he ended up overeating himself again, and your mother is taking care of him, and they won't be back for a long while!" The air in the cave felt heavier now.
I looked between them, waiting. Kaidën's jaw tightened before he spoke. "They left at first light. Something on the ridge needed them."
Valthorn shifted, glancing toward the entrance. "Mother's with him. They won't be back before nightfall."
Neither of them said more. The silence that followed was answer enough. I sighed and curled my body in a bit distress.
I let out a low breath and pulled my wings in closer, claws dragging slow lines through the dust as Kaidën's words settled over me. "You've got that look," he said, voice rough but steady. "The one your father gets before he does something reckless."
Valthorn shifted by the entrance, his crest catching the light as he added quietly, "They'll be back. Both of them. They wouldn't have left if it wasn't important."
I glanced down at the bundle near my claws, Father's knot tight and deliberate, and stayed quiet. The cave felt heavier now, and waiting didn't get any easier.
I look at Lyriath and my younger siblings, and they are just playing, and I am just here a bit distressed
Pov Aetherius
I glanced over at Lyriath and the younger ones, and they were just playing like nothing had changed. Navy and blood red tangled with dark bronze as Lyriath wrestled Vyraxys, both of them hissing and laughing at the same time. Nyxoria and Lyrixa darted around them, amethyst and rose gold flashing as they dodged and chased, while Kaidorix tried to break it up and got knocked over by Kieraxys' copper blur. Niamon sat off to the side, lavender scales bright, clapping like it was the best thing she'd seen all day.
I stayed where I was, wings pulled in tight, and the sound of them filled the cave. For a moment it almost drowned out the empty space where Father and Mother should be.
Kaidën's voice cut through it. "You're going to wear a hole in the stone if you keep staring," he said.
I didn't look at him. "They don't know," I said quietly. "And they shouldn't have to." The ground beneath me was warm and soft with trampled grass, and it wasn't helping. I lay on my side in the hollow below the ridge, my albino scales catching the late afternoon light in a way that felt too bright for how sluggish I felt. Every breath pulled against my ribs like I'd swallowed the entire carcass whole, and I probably had.
Thyriatrix was curled around me, light green scales pressed close, her tail resting across my foreleg like an anchor. She hadn't said much since we'd gotten here, just kept her eyes on the ridge line and let out a low rumble every few minutes that I knew meant she was still listening for trouble. "You overdid it," she said finally, her voice dry but not unkind. I shifted, scales scraping dirt, and muttered, "It wasn't going to eat itself."
She snorted, and the sound rumbled through the hollow. "No. But it would have waited until you could move after."
I closed my eyes for a moment, the weight in my gut making it hard to argue. Somewhere far off, I thought I could hear the echo of the clutch's voices, but it was faint, carried on the wind and distorted by distance. They were safe. They had Kaidën and Valthorn with them.
Thyriatrix's tail tightened slightly. "Rest," she said. "We'll move when you can stand without looking like you're about to topple over."
I didn't answer. Arguing would just make the cramp worse.
I look at Thyriatrix and say, "I'm just more worried about Tharros. We all know he gets distressed when I am not around, and I just hope Kaidën and Valthorn cheer him up when I get back"
The hollow was quiet except for the low scrape of my scales against the dirt as I tried to breathe through the weight in my gut. Mistake after mistake, and this one had me pinned to the ground like a hatchling.
Thyriatrix hadn't moved. Her light green flank rose and fell slow and steady next to me, eyes fixed on the ridge line like she could see through stone if she stared hard enough. She hadn't spoken since the wind shifted an hour ago, and that told me more than any words would.
I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the heat of the afternoon settle over me. Somewhere far off, the ridge held the clutch, and I wasn't there. The thought dragged at me worse than the overfull ache in my side.
Thyriatrix shifted then, her tail brushing against my leg with a deliberate, grounding press. "Stop counting seconds," she said, voice low and even. "You're not helping them by tearing yourself apart here."
I didn't answer right away. Arguing felt like moving too much, and moving felt impossible. So I just let the quiet settle between us again, and waited for the sickness in my gut to pass enough that I could stand.
Thyriatrix didn't answer right away. She just shifted closer, her light green scales brushing against mine, and let the quiet stretch between us until the wind died down in the hollow.
When she finally spoke, her voice was low, meant only for me. "They'll hold," she said. "Kaidën won't let Tharros spiral, and Valthorn's got enough bite to keep the younger ones in line." Her tail pressed against my side, steady and grounding. "You taught them both better than to let the clutch fall apart while we're gone."
I exhaled, the movement slow and careful against the ache in my gut. The ridge felt far even though I could still hear the faint echo of it on the wind.
Thyriatrix's eyes didn't leave mine. "Rest now," she said. "You can't go back to them if you can't stand."
I didn't argue. Arguing meant moving, and moving meant admitting how badly I'd misjudged the meal. So I let my head fall back against the dirt, and waited for the weight to ease enough that I could follow her advice.
Later, it is night, and Aetherius is still not recovered enough to get stand up and he to say in worry "Yep Tharros is definitely worried and so distressed right now! We all know that Tharros won't go to sleep without me being there to calm him down!"
The hollow had gone dark and still, the kind of quiet that made every small ache in my gut feel louder. I lay where I'd been for hours, scales cold against the damp earth, unable to push myself up without the weight in my belly turning my legs to water.
Thyriatrix hadn't moved from her spot beside me. Her light green outline was barely visible against the night, but I could feel her presence, steady and watchful, her gaze fixed toward the ridge.
I let out a slow breath and muttered, "It's Tharros." She didn't reply right away. She just shifted, the faint scrape of scales against dirt the only sound besides the wind.
"He won't settle without me," I said, lower this time. The others would be fine. Kaidën and Valthorn had handled worse. But Tharros… he'd be lying awake, staring at the cave mouth, waiting for a sound that wasn't coming.
Thyriatrix's tail brushed my leg, firm and deliberate. "Then we leave the moment you can stand," she said. "No waiting." I closed my eyes. First light couldn't come fast enough.
I hope that I get to get up in time before Tharros became more distressed the longest time when he wasn't there was like 4 days and Tharros sleeping and energy was so mess up and it took time to recover from me not being there. The weight in my gut hadn't eased, but the dread in my chest was sharper now.
Thyriatrix hadn't moved. Her eyes stayed on me, tracking every shift, every failed attempt to get my legs under me. She didn't speak right away. When she did, her voice was low and even, cutting through the dark. "You've been through this before," she said. "You know what it does to him."
I closed my eyes. I did know. I remembered the way he'd been the last time I was gone too long, how he wouldn't eat, how his sleep turned restless, how it took days to settle him again even after I was back. "Then I can't waste time lying here," I muttered.
I braced against the dirt and tried again, forcing my muscles to move despite the protest from my stomach. It wasn't enough to stand, but it was more than I'd managed an hour ago. Thyriatrix shifted closer, bracing her flank against mine without a word. She wasn't helping me up. She was making sure I didn't collapse. "First light," she said. "We move then."
Later when we arrived all we need to do is go to the mountains cave and get in and me lay next to Tharros but it would be easy if I can fly and the only way I get there is my climb step by step
Dawn broke over the ridge with a pale, cold light, and by then, I could finally stand without the world tipping sideways. It wasn't pretty, and every step sent a dull ache through my gut, but Thyriatrix stayed at my shoulder the whole way.
The mountain cave wasn't far once we reached the base, but "not far" didn't mean easy. I couldn't get airborne, not with my wings feeling like dead weight. So we took it slow, clawed over rock, step by step up the slope.
Thyriatrix didn't say much. She didn't need to. Every time I faltered, her shoulder was there, bracing me until I found my footing again.
When the entrance came into view, I felt it before I saw it, Tharros. Restless, raw, waiting.
I exhaled through my nose and pushed forward. "Just get me inside," I muttered. "I can handle the rest." I made it and got in, and Tharros saw me and his wolf-fox like ears perked up again, and I got closer and lay down and unfolded my wings and wrapped it around Tharros and Tharros calm down and sleep.
Kaidën walked up to me with a bit of shock expression and say "Damn you weren't kidding! Look at the size of your belly!"
The stone floor was cold against my side, but it didn't matter once Tharros settled against me. His breathing slowed, the tension in his frame eased, and after a few minutes, his eyes closed fully. I kept my wing wrapped around him, listening to the quiet return to the cave.
Movement at the entrance made my ears flick back. Kaidën stood there, watching, and when his gaze dropped to me, he let out a low breath. "Alright," he said quietly. "I see why you were in a hurry to get back."
The cave was quiet now. Tharros had gone still against me, his breathing deep and even. I kept my wing around him, not moving, just letting him know I was there. The ache in my gut was still there, but it didn't matter.
Kaidën stayed near the entrance, watching. After a moment, he shifted his weight and spoke low enough not to wake Tharros. "He's out," he said. "Finally."
I smiled "Yeah he couldn't stay a sleep without my wings to fully calm him down, he get scared when I was not around, so I did what I could to calm him down." I kept my gaze on Tharros, watching his chest rise and fall slow and steady now. The tension that had been locked in my shoulders eased a fraction.
When I spoke, it was quiet, just enough for Kaidën to hear. "He won't rest if I'm not here. Nothing else works." I shifted slightly, making sure my wing still covered him. "So I did what I had to. He's safe now."
Did you use it and change it? That is not what I meant. i mean, continue, like if I send you send a different one because we are working together, not your work
Look what I send is keep it the same and don't touch it and you send what happened what I send and continue the story I don't mean use my text and fix it and change it! I mean, continue, like what happened after mine, not what going to change it.
Time passed slow in the cave. Tharros stayed asleep, breathing even, and the weight against my side finally felt right again.
Kaidën moved closer, but kept his steps light. He didn't speak. He just settled near the wall, watching both of us, his own posture loosening now that the worst of it was over, Outside, the first real light of morning started to cut through the entrance.
Valthorn said, "I guess this is where me and Kaidën leave so goodbye then" Valthorn's words hung in the air for a moment before he turned toward the entrance. Kaidën followed a step behind, glancing back once at Tharros and me before they moved out into the early light, The sound of their claws on stone faded quickly.
Inside, it was quiet again. I didn't move. Tharros was still asleep against me, and nothing about this felt like it needed breaking.
I gave Tharros a little nudge of affection. The nudge was small, barely a shift against him, but his ear twitched in response. He didn't wake, just settled deeper into the curve of my wing, a low, content rumble working up from his chest, The cave stayed quiet around us.
I smiled and rested next to him, I let my head lower to the stone beside him, wing still curved around his frame. The ache in my gut was dull now, distant, drowned out by the steady rhythm of his breathing.
Outside, the mountain caught the full light of morning. Inside, nothing moved except the rise and fall of us both, For the first time in days, it felt like the world could wait.