The Forgotten Zodiac

Boko turned and lifted his prize away, towards the entrance, proud of himself. He barely made it three feet, though, before a large Drakeling paw landed on him. The tan scales of the huge Drakeling that stood before them now were obvious; (FORGOTTHENAMELIGWNILWEG) stood before them, his growl almost sounding like a purr.

"Hello there, Boko. You've become of age now, you have...time to come home." He smirked.

Zephyr lunged back onto his hind legs, throwing his head back in shock. "No!" he hissed, lashing out with his tail and bowling Du'uru over. He snaked forward and took the brunt of the large drakling's claws, curling protectively over Boko. "I've claimed this one, wholly and completely," he spat, backing up with Boko under him. "You can't take what we've claimed, Du'uru. Drakeling he may be, but he lives now as a dragon, with other dragons that love him. I won't let you take him." He snarled, letting Vaira take Boko. She grabbed him up and help him tightly in her paws, tears already forming in her eyes.

((-roll roll roll- I don't like the drakelings, other than Boko. ;3; ))

"But he is needed by our tribe. Or perhaps...you have forgotten about our little deal. A year and a half ago. You can keep that," He eyed Boko distainfully. "But I want something in return. Something...special." He licked his lips, grinning cruelly. "I want you to give me something."

Zephyr lowered his head, then quietly said "I've not forgotten, Du'uru. But I can sense that your only desire is one of hatred and anger. You don't care for the lives of my people, who are your brother tribe. You don't care to hear and understand Boko's story; why he is ours." He glared at Du'uru, tilting his head just enough to look intimidating. "State what you want, but I warn you," he said. "I am the king of the dragons now, and I will do what is best for my people. And MY son."

"Might I remind you that Boko here is a vital part of our heritage and history, Second King." Du'uru sniffed pointedly. "He is not easily replaceable. The secrets of our tribe, some even unknown to myself, are all locked within his mind. I'm not unreasonable. You read intentions incorrectly, clearly. I can see that Boko would do nothing but struggle if I were to attempt to take him from you."

"I will!" Boko whimpered, slipping behind Vaira once they were close enough.

"Indeed...I don't want to go to such trouble." Du'uru shook his head with a snort. "So you see...if you don't comply with my demands, then we will want Boko back. And we will fight to get him back. You know how that will go." He stretched a claw forward and picked at a claw on Zephyr's head, picking it off in a single movement. Zephyr felt nothing but a gentle prick, but the point was clear. Drakelings were the only creatures who could effectively kill a dragon on their own. "So it really does benefit you and your people to listen and comply.

"You see, I need Boko back. For one day. I will remove the lexicon of knowledge from his mind; this will be simple. But...I cannot put it back into a Drakeling young. We have no one left from the proper lineage or of the proper age. All of our young are too old or too young, and we cannot wait more than a month longer, lest the lexicon be locked into Boko's mind. Therefore...

"I demand to have a young one from your tribe. There is one child who is the proper age for the transfer, one single young. I know this as fact. I want that child. You will have Boko back, we will have our secrets. We will go along on our seperate paths and that will be that." Du'uru smiled.

Zephyr stared at Du'uru for a long, hard moment, then slowly closed his eyes, exhaling softly. "...I understand," he said quietly. "Give me a day to convince Salana that Lutrez must be given up. It...will not be easy." He glanced back at Vaira and she lowered her head sadly, quickly scooping up Boko and arching off towards the Sacred Plains. Zephyr watched her go, then said "What you ask of me is not an easy decision. It will lose me much faith from my subjects, and it will be hard for me to get it back. But...this 'trade' is equal. I will get Lutrez and I will allow you to take him and Boko, but I will come with you when you take Boko for the day. I refuse to allow him to go alone, and that's final." He snorted heavily, releasing a huge breath of smoke.

"Come or stay, this does not matter to me. I prize honesty above all else. Boko will be returned to you, alive and well. He will be exhausted, and feel a bit empty inside, but these are unavoidable. I only wish that you are aware that he will be physically and mentally unharmed, if all goes well. If the ritual is interrupted, however... there will be grave concequences." Du'uru's eyes flashed dangerously, as though warning Zephyr of something. "You have one day. Do not forget, Zephyr...I am not trusting of you. You have lied to me before. If anything goes wrong, it will be your doing and you will pay for it. You...and all of your people." With that, he flapped his great double-sets of wings and took off, flying back in the direction of the desert. Left behind was a smaller Drakeling.

"I am here to ensure you aren't preparing an attack." The little one said at once, flicking his tail nervously. His dark brown scales glinted in the light from the sunset. "If I don't return at noon tomorrow, Du'uru will assume you've killed me..." He said quietly, looking scared and ashamed at the same time. As though he had done something wrong, and this dangerous situation was his punishment.

((-hinthintnudgenudge- Interrupting the ceremony won't kill Boko, but it will all but destroy the Lexicon and make Du'uru mad enough to attack. -coughcough-

Alsoalso, the ceremony is where Cyprus will come in. He's been hiding out with the Drakelings since Obelisk remade his body. o3o))

((-roll roll roll roll roll- I don't waaaaaaaaaant toooooooooo, because it won't be Zephyr's faaaaault, yet he'll still paaaaaaay for iiiiit.

I want to kill Duuu'uuuruuu.))

Zephyr snorted and lowered his head, muttering "Lied to you, have I? When all I said was for you to not bother my mate and her baby. I never said it was a dragon baby." He snarled quietly, then sighed and let it go. He shook his head, then looked down at the little drakeling and gave a small smile. "Don't worry, little one," he said kindly. "I'll make certain that you are returned to your home. Here, come back to the Plains with me. We have more than enough food to go around, if you're hungry. And if you don't trust that, I can show you a place to hunt your own." His ears were held back at a soothing level, showing that he was quite mellow.

((Well, I was planning on having him dead. xD He'll be replaced by a kinder one. Not entirely kind, but one who doesn't hate Dragons quite so much.))

The Drakeling scratched at the ground for a minute, then nodded once. "Yes, I'll...I'll gladly take some food, thank you." He said quietly, sticking low to the ground in submission. His own ears were down entirely, showing that he was obviously intimidated. "My name is Vuker..."

((YAY. Because I feel like dragons are getting a bad rep under old Du. Because Zephyr is perfectly willing to be kind back, as you see here.))

Zephyr lowered his head to the ground, saying "Hey, hey. You don't have to be so scared. We're not horrible monsters that are going to murder you at the first chance we get. Come on, we'll see about that food, eh?" He gently picked Vuker up, arching off towards the Sacred Plains. When they landed, Zephyr set Vuker down, calling "Mithor!"

The great brown dragon walked forward, blinking his eyes slowly. "Another one, my lord?" he said with a playful hint to his voice. "You're becoming partial to drakelings."

"No, this isn't another child for me," Zephyr answered, rolling his eyes. "I'll...explain it to you in private." He turned his head down at Vuker, saying "The food pile is over there. Please, help yourself."

((Haha, yesyes.))

Vulker murmured something almost silently. Just a quiet 'thank you'. He was quick to snatch up a bit of food, gulping it down quickly. He didn't take too much, and he kept one eye on Zephyr.

"Mommy, what are we gonna do?" Boko asked, whimpering slightly. One of his wings had been broken from Du'uru's initial stepping-on-him. He remained curled up in Vaira's pouch, still able to fit well. He was clearly unhappy, though; he knew what would happen. Du'uru wanted someone else's child. Would Zephyr give it to that jerk of a Drakeling leader? Or would Zephyr give him back?

Vaira licked him gently, then said "We'll have to do what Du'uru wants. We have a drakeling baby, and one of the most important ones, at that. If we don't do this, then Du'uru will attack us and kill many other dragons, children included. We can't let him kill so many. It would be hard to fight back without losing many lives." She sighed heavily, already licking Boko's wing to heal it.

Zephyr was talking quietly with Mithor, telling him of what had happened. Mithor looked shocked, but the wizened old dragon knew how much pressure Zephyr was under. "Even I can see that this is for the best," he said quietly. "We cannot risk a war with the drakelings. They will not stop with only winning a battle, like we would. They would slaugter us."

"Poor Salana...and poor Lutrez!" Boko whimpered, pressing his nose up against Vaira's belly for his own comfort. He felt as though all this was his fault. That this all was happening because he wanted to stay with the dragons. He felt selfish.

"I think the hardest part is telling the mother," Vulker said quietly, having returned to eavesdrop. He quickly clamped his mouth shut, realizing that he had just given himself away. But then, he was supposed to watch them. To make sure they wouldn't retaliate.

Mithor growled at him, but Zephyr quickly stepped in the way, his head held back regally. "Don't," he said simply. "I won't see injustice done to a mere messenger. He's right, however." He sighed heavily, looking quite sad. "...This will not be easy," he said softly. He glanced over at Boko, his son. The only child he and Vaira would ever be able to have.

"I will speak with Salana now," he said. "Vaira, come with me. Boko, stay with Mithor, okay?" Mithor laid down, making it possible for Boko to curl up to his warm stomach scales.

Boko whimpered, but complied. He pressed up to Mithor, knowing that he was perfectly safe with the dragon that was larger than his father.

They found Salana curling up in her nest, Lutrez wiggling about in her pouch as he got comfortable for the evening. Both of them had already eaten. Salana was a beautiful dragoness. Lutrez was absolutely adorable; he had his mother's light blue scales, and keen black eyes; he looked like a miniature her, in a way. Next to Salana was, not a mate, but an egg. White, with muddy green spots on it. It hadn't hatched yet; the baby inside wasn't anywhere near ready yet. Salana had to care for it alone, however; her mate had recently fallen to humans. It had taken a lot of convincing from Zephyr for her to not go on a rampage and destroy things.

Salana looked up as Zephyr and Vaira entered the cave. She dipped her head, sitting up again. "What can I do for you?" She asked, knowing they wouldn't be in here for just a chat. She was still recovering.

"Zehpyr, Vaira!" Lutrez cooed, making a noise like a purr.

Zephyr sighed heavily, closing his eyes, then looked up, infinite heartbreak in his eyes. "Salana..." he started, but Vaira pushed past him and nudged him out of the way, saying "Salana, the drakelings have made a demand of us. They want Lutrez."

Silence.

"If we don't give them a child in return, they'll attack us and kill us all," she said, standing bravely before the other female. "And not just the warriors. Every female, child and egg will fall to them. Lutrez is still young; he will adapt to a new figure. I'm so sorry to tell you this, Salana." It was breaking Vaira's heart to tell her friend this; Salana had been there for a long time, and the two had become friends. "The drakelings won't wait for a new egg," Vaira continued. "Or even a newborn. They need one that's old enough to adapt. I still don't know how, but they already knew about Lutrez, and the king demanded him."

Salana stared at them for a long time, then smiled. "That's a terrible joke..." She murmured, but managed a small chortle for their sake. Lutrez giggled, slipping out of his mother's pouch.

"You silly," He purred, flicking his tail around. They didn't realize that the royal pair were telling the truth. That this wasn't some stupid joke.

But Salana...how on earth would she cope with losing her mate and then her child?

Vaira bent her head forward and nuzzled Salana gently, tears forming in her eyes. "It's not a joke," she whispered, keeping her muzzle right against the other female's. "All of the dragons will perish if we don't do this. I'm so sorry, Salana... I wish will all of my heart that it was a joke. That I could walk away and let you stay here. But I can't... This isn't just for my own son. This is for the safety of everyone."

Zephyr stepped forward, saying "If we say no, they'll kill Lutrez and your other egg both. Drakelings are the only thing strong enough to pierce dragon scales. I won't allow the dragons and the drakelings to go to war."

Salana was silent for a long moment, shifting her weight around. "How...why...why do they want my son? MY son?" She curled herself around him. "Why..." And then it clicked. Drakelings. "You...you would make me give up my child...so that you can keep one that you didn't even hatch?! So that you can keep your orphaned freak, you would make me give up my precious Lutrez...? You..." She trembled with anger. Hot tears slid down her face. "Why don't you give that thing back to them?! How could you be so selfish?!"

"Because it is not species that makes a family, Salana!" Zephyr thundered, rage seeping into his every movement. "I will not give up the only child that I will ever be able to have! He was orphaned and we took him in. I will NOT give him away. Call me selfish if you want, but I-"

"I don't wish my plight on you, Salana."

Vaira spoke now. "I would never wish infertility upon you," she murmured sadly. "It is a sad, sad thing when a dragoness cannot give her mate a family." She looked up at Zephyr and slowly touched his nose with her muzzle. "Boko was, and still is, my only hope for a family. When I first found him, if I had not been infertile, then I would've have seen him in the light I did. But I did and he's mine now. At least you can actually bear children..." The bitterness in her voice made Zephyr flinch. "At least you can have as many little ones that you want," she snapped, glaring at the ground. "I can never bear my own young..."