Soft morning light filtered through the medical ward's crystal windows. The room smelled of healing herbs and that cleanness that only existed in places dedicated to mending broken bodies. Null lay on one of the oversized beds, cosmic scales dulled from exhaustion but already healing. Across from him, Sierra stretched like a cat, her white scales catching the light.
"You know," Sierra said, examining a particularly deep scratch on her foreleg, "for someone who just discovered they can break reality, you're awfully quiet."
Null didn't open his eyes. "What would you like me to say?"
"I don't know. Maybe 'wow, Sierra, wasn't that incredible?' or 'thanks for helping me awaken my element' or even just 'ow.'"
"Ow," Null said flatly.
Sierra laughed, the sound bright in the quiet room. "You're impossible. Most dragons would be bouncing off the walls after awakening their element."
"The walls are already damaged enough."
Before Sierra could respond, the air changed. It suddenly tasted metallic, like copper and steel, and the temperature seemed to drop slightly. Chalybs entered in his humanoid form—a tall, imposing figure with steel-grey hair and eyes like polished chrome. His very presence made the room feel heavier.
"Speaking of damaged walls," Chalybs said, his voice carrying the ring of struck metal. "Would either of you care to explain why the training grounds look like a war zone?"
Sierra sat up straighter but kept her playful smile. "We were training?"
"Training," Chalybs repeated the word like it tasted bad. "Training doesn't typically require reconstructing half the castle's eastern grounds. Training doesn't usually wake every elder in the kingdom. Training, young dragons, has discipline."
Null finally opened his eyes, meeting Chalybs' gaze with calm indifference. His expression remained neutral, almost bored,
"They're children, Chalybs."
Aurora's voice preceded her into the room. She moved past the metal elder without acknowledgment, going straight to Null's bedside. Her hand touched his head gently, golden warmth flowing through the contact. The deeper wounds began closing faster.
"Children who destroyed a training ground," Chalybs insisted. "For fun."
Aurora turned to face him, and despite her smaller humanoid form, she seemed to tower. "Yes. Fun. Remember that concept? Or did you forget what it was like to be young and powerful?"
"I remember discipline. I remember control. I remember—"
"Being insufferable, apparently." Aurora's tone was light, but her eyes were hard. "They awakened their elements through combat. Do you know how rare that is? Most dragons need years of meditation and careful guidance. They did it through pure instinct."
Chalybs' jaw tightened. "That doesn't excuse—"
"It excuses everything." Aurora's voice carried royal finality. "They're my students. My son. I'll handle their upbringing, thank you."
The metal elder turned to Null, his expression stern. "Prince Kaelthuun, you should understand the weight of your position. Your actions reflect on the entire kingdom."
Aurora rolled her eyes so dramatically that even Sierra tried to hide a giggle. "He's not even a year old, Chalybs. Save the royal responsibility speeches for when he can at least take human form."
Null maintained his calm exterior, but internally, he catalogued everything. Chalybs is traditionalist, values order over progress, and is a potential obstacle to freedom. Sierra is amused by conflict and unintimidated by authority.
"Now that your elements have awakened," Aurora continued, addressing both young dragons, "you'll need proper education. Not just combat training but understanding of what you can do, how to control it, and yes—" she glanced at Chalybs, "—when to use it responsibly."
She turned to Null specifically. "Library. First thing tomorrow morning. We have much to discuss about spatial manipulation. It's been three centuries since a dragon manifested that element."
Chalybs made a sound between a huff and a growl. "This conversation isn't over."
"Yes, it is," Aurora said pleasantly. "Unless you'd like to discuss it with me privately? I'm sure we could find a training ground that needs more… redecorating."
The threat was veiled but clear. Chalybs straightened, gave a formal bow that conveyed displeasure, and left. The metallic taste in the air faded with him.
Aurora lingered a moment longer, checking both their injuries with practiced efficiency. "Rest today. Tomorrow, real training begins. And try not to destroy anything else for at least a week?"
She left with a warm smile that didn't quite hide her pride.
Silence filled the medical ward. Null could hear Sierra trying not to laugh.
"At least we had fun," he said finally.
Sierra lost it, laughing so hard her wings shook. "Did you see his face? Like we'd personally offended his ancestors."
"We probably did."
"Worth it." She stretched again, then fixed him with those ice-blue eyes. "We should fight again."
"We don't have a training ground anymore."
Sierra blinked. "That's… that's my fault, isn't it?"
"Your ice is still melting in several craters, so yes."
She flopped back dramatically on her bed. "Details. Minor details." She turned her head to look at him. "You're taking this all very calmly. The awakening, the lecture, everything."
Null considered his response. "Would panic help?"
"No, but… I don't know. You're just so…" She sat up, studying him. "Controlled. Even when we were fighting and your element exploded out of you, you never lost that calm. It's kind of…"
She trailed off, and Null noticed the faintest color change in her white scales.
"I should go," he said, standing despite his body's protests. "Aurora will want reports on what I felt during awakening."
"Null?"
He paused at the door.
"Tomorrow night. After your library session and my ice training. Want to explore what else we can do?"
There was a challenge in her voice, but something else too. Something playful and warm that reminded him she was more than just a sparring partner.
"If we can find somewhere that won't anger Chalybs."
Oh, I'm going to anger Chalybs," Sierra said cheerfully. "It's basically a hobby now."
Null left without responding, but Sierra caught the slight upturn of his mouth—almost a smile.
After he was gone, Sierra lay back on the medical bed, giggling quietly. The mysterious prince with galaxy eyes and reality-breaking powers, who fought like chaos incarnate but spoke like still water. Who took elder dragons' lectures without flinching and treated awakening an impossible element like it was expected.
"Definitely cute," she murmured, then laughed at her thoughts. "Mother would have a field day if she knew."
She closed her eyes, already planning tomorrow night's activities. Maybe they'd find another training ground to destroy. Maybe they'd explore what spatial manipulation and ice could do together.
Maybe she'd finally get him to smile properly.
The thought made her grin as she drifted off to sleep, ice crystals still occasionally manifesting around her claws with each dream.