The Forgotten Zodiac

The hawk nodded, saying "That would be good indeed." The bushes nearby suddenly squeaked softly, and Tygan stood, walking over to them. He parted them to find a small, shaking female dragon, with red scales and golden swirls. "Hello little one," the hawk said gently.

Shiya squeaked and ducked her head lower. She had hidden, ashamed of not being able to help Boko earlier. She buried her head in her claws, large tears leaking from her eyes.

"There now," Tygan said, stroking her skull. "Come now. Let's go back to your friends, okay? Come along." He tugged gently at her ears, finally getting her to stand up and walk. She dragged her feet all the way over to the others, wher Flanis had his jaws fastened around the dead deer's neck, quietly sucking the blood from its body.

Vaira bent her head down at once, gently twining her tongue around the little dragoness' leg. She was nicked and cut in a few more spots, and still looked ashamed of herself. She had been the one that was going to fall in the hole, after all, and Boko had pushed her out of the way. He had gotten hurt because of her.

She pressed her nose against his neck scales, crying softly.

Shiya sniffled and stared up at him with her big blue eyes, then buried her head against his neck, crying harder than ever.

Vaira crooned and nuzzled them both, saying "She's stressed out, Boko. You both should rest. Do you mind if Shiya takes the pouch and I carry you? She hasn't had a pouch to sleep in for...well, quite a while, see..."

Shiya's mother had died of a terrible sickness. She was left with only her father, who was getting old.

Shiya sniffled and pressed closer to Boko, shaking. "Just...never d-die for m-me, o-okay?" she stammered. "P-please...I don't w-want you t-to die..."

"Yes, that's fine." Boko nodded, nudging Shiya until she climbed into his mother's pouch, feeling a bit sorry for the dragoness. He had known about her mother, of course, and it made him very unhappy. Everyone should have a pouch to lie in when they were upset...

Boko paused for a moment at Shiya's words. Then he shook his head. "I can't make a promise that I'm willing to break, Shiya. If that's what it took to keep you safe, then...I'd gladly give myself up." He touched his nose to hers for a moment before pushing her head down into Vaira's pouch. "Now settle down and calm yourself down. No one's dying right now. 'Specially not me." He then flapped his wings for a moment, expecting to be able to lift himself up to Vaira's back. He even hopped a couple times, twisting around to look at his wings. It was torn beyond repair; Vaira's saliva had healed over the wound, but on both of his right wings, he had none of the leathery covering that normally caught the air and allowed flight.

Boko huffed a bit, but he didn't make a fuss of it. No point now. He used his claws again, climbing up Vaira's scales carefully in order to reach her back. He curled up around her horns like he normally did, though he was definitely getting heavier.

Vaira hummed a soft note and closed her eyes, wishing Boko could remain her little baby boy forever, but knowing that he was growing up, ever so slowly. She turned away, pausing to look back at Tygan and Flanis. "You are welcome to join us," the queen murmured. "I insist. You may come at your leisure. Vuker will show you the way after you've finished eating."

"That sounds lovely, your majesty," Tygan said politely, smiling. "I think we'll do that."

"Why?!" Flanis snapped, and the hawk hit him over the head, pushing his snout back into the mess of deer he was eating, saying "Stuff your face more, I insist."

Vuker laughed a bit, watching as Lutrez moved to follow Vaira. "See you when you get back!" He called to his friend, smiling.

"Yep!" Vuker said cheerily, flicking his tail back and forth as he watched the two smaller beings.

"Mommy, how old are you?" Boko asked all of the sudden, tightening his grip around her horns. He twisted around and lowered his head so that she could see his upside-down face, covered with curiosity. "And how old is daddy? And how old..." He hesitated, then whispered. "How old is Shiya?"

"We are both young, by dragon standards," Vaira said. "Zephyr's about a thousand years old, give or take some, and I'm just a bit under that. Shiya is younger than you by about twenty years. Actually, I think her birthday is coming up. She'll be old enough to participate in the mating rituals." At Boko's silence, Vaira explained. "Not to actually mate yet, of course. But it's basically a chance for her to find someone that may be in her future, as her eventual mate. It's like a contest to create a bond with the eligible females. Zephyr and I were born outside of the plains, so we never had a bond such as that. But we didn't need it. It's just a tradition, and it occasionally doesn't work out. But since dragons live for such long, long, long periods of time, we enjoy finding our 'mates' at a young age, so we'll have that knowledge that we're...not alone, I guess." She shook her neck, saying "Shiya is very shy, however. I'm not sure how well she would take to most of the males. Most of the eighty-yearlings have gotten pretty big already."

((Boko is around 30. xD))

Boko puffed out his bony chest scales, trying to make himself look bigger. He could never match up to their size...but if Shiya didn't want those large, brawny males, perhaps... "Mommy, am I allowed to participate in the rituals?" He questioned. He honestly wasn't too sure. He wasn't a dragon, and Drakeling rituals for such a thing were much different... "I want to. I don't want Shiya to feel like she's alone..."

((Really? Oh. I'll change Shiya's age around a bit, then. But really, 100 would still be considered really young.))

Vaira blinked at him, then said "I...I don't know. I suppose you're old enough, and it IS more like a coming-of-age ritual than anything else... I'll talk to Mithor about it. He knows more than I do about these things, especially since he's seen more rituals than I have." She gave a light snort, then smiled at her son. "You have a good heart, Boko," she murmured.

((20 years older would be more correct.))

"Yes, my heart is good. I don't think I'll be having heart attacks anytime soon. I'm not like Lutrez," He giggled. Salana was extremely overprotective of her son for a reason; he had a weaker heart than most. It worked just fine, but he probably wouldn't live as long as the others, and if he got too scared, he'd have to lie down for awhile to calm down his pulse. They couldn't do anything for it while he was growing, but when he got older, Zephyr had promised to see what he could do for the dragonling.

Still, Boko was mainly focused on what he could do at the ritual. What was it going to be like? Would he have to fight people, sing, dance? He actually had no idea. But he knew that he'd do it for Shiya...

"Don't giggle at the health of others, Boko," Vaira chided gently. "Lutrez's health is a serious thing. It's good that he plays with you, Shiya and Vuker, and not the other children. They're not as gentle as you are." She paused when she heard Shiya still crying softly in her pouch, then sighed and kept walking. She tilted her head back to study Lutrez, who was trucking along loyally behind them, and said "Here, Lutrez. You can ride." She paused for a moment and offered her tail, lifting him up to her back before continuing to move.

Lutrez smiled and gratefully nuzzled up near Boko. The Drakeling slid his tail around his friend, as well. "It's okay, lady Vaira, I don't mind him laughing...He means well. I know that. He's smart. He's helped me calm down a couple times, even. He even bit one of the older boys because they were scaring me..."

"No, no, I didn't bite!" Boko said quickly. He didn't want mother mad at him, after all... "Boko...snapped at them. With voice. Told them to leave. I didn't bite." He gave Lutrez a look that told the smaller dragon to be quiet about it. "They were just...calling him names, anyway. No need to fight with teeth, just words..."

"But...Boko, I'm happy you did it..." Lutrez murmured.

"Mommy isn't!" Boko hissed at him.

"We-well...either way, it's all okay, lady Vaira." Lutrez shrugged a bit, smiling slightly at Boko. "Um...if you want, Boko, you can take my place at the ceremony. I'm of age, but I'm still too small to participate properly. I'm still growing. Mom said I might be able to do it next year." Lutrez' small size (smaller than even Shiya, who was already small) was due to his condition, as well. He wasn't completely helpless, though; he was a strong flier and a good gatherer. He found berry bushes and fruits for ill dragonlings that were too small to eat meat, but too old for milk alone. Lutrez liked his job very much.

Vaira tilted her head back at Lutrez, smiling slightly. "Boko is a good prince," she said. "And perhaps someday, he'll be a good king." She exhaled softly, continuing to pad along on her nimble legs, her magenta scales glimmering.

When they got back to the Sacred Plains, she lowered her head and let Boko and Lutrez climb off. She glanced up and saw a heavy-laden female dragon approaching, her snout tilted rather elegantly. Kelora was a very young mother, and Lutrez's aunt, with golden scales fit with blue swirls. She was due for her egg-laying any day now; Vaira could see that the scales on her lower belly had started the process of shifting to make room for the teats the infants (she was carrying twins) would drink their milk from.

"Good morning, lady Vaira," Kelora greeted, her belly-scales taunt with her inner burden. She sat down with a small grunt, panting from the walk.

"Kelora!" Vaira said, nudging the young dragoness gently. "You shouldn't be walking around. You're almost at laying-time."

"I know," the golden dragoness said with a small smile. "I was just looking for my sweet little nephew." She spotted him, then stood back up with a wheeze and the very faint clinking of eggs brushing against each other, saying "Lutrie!" She bent her head and nuzzled along his back, grooming her tongue over his scales and humming happily.

"Auntie Kelora," Lutrez purred and licked the dragoness' chin. "Guess what, guess what? Boko is going to participate in the ritual tomorrow. Are you gonna watch?"

"Lutrez, there you are, my child," Salana's nose rubbed up against the much smaller dragon. He squealed and jumped on his mother's snout at once, rubbing himself all over her.

"Mommy, can Boko take my place in the ceremony? You said I'd have to wait anyway..." Lutrez questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"It's fine with me, if Mithor and Vaira both agree," Salana blew a hot breath out at her son. "Thank you for helping me look, Kelora. You really didn't have to. Do you need help getting back to your nest?"

"Oh, honestly!" Kelora said, flicking her ears back and turning her snout up. "I can still walk around! You don't have to baby me, sis!" She licked Lutrez, turned to flounce back towards her nest, and paused, smiling over her shoulder. "Just come back soon, okay? I get so booored waiting by myself." She headed off and Vaira smiled softly. "I hope her delivery goes okay," she said. "She's younger than I am, with twins, on her first birth. It's risky, but I'm sure she'll be fine." She licked Salana's snout, then said "I'm going to go speak with Mithor about Boko's entering the ceremony now. Come by whenever you both like, hear me? You're welcome at any time."

"Alright. Thank you very much for keeping an eye on Lutrez for me. I appreciate it greatly, and--" Salana paused as Lutrez squeaked.

"Mom, can I go with Vaira and Boko to talk to Mithor? Just so Mithor knows that it's okay with me if Boko takes my place?" He asked, flicking his tail.

"Well...yes, I suppose..." Salana nodded. "But then you must come straight back here, okay? I worry about you, you know..."

"Yes, mom, I know." Lutrez smiled slightly, licking her brow before hopping off and looking up at Vaira happily. "Oh...should we get Shiya to her dad first?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No," Boko shook his head. "Mommy's pouch is the best pouch. Shiya will be okay with us." He nodded firmly.

Salana smiled slightly. "You're quite popular with the young ones, Vaira...sometimes I forget that Boko isn't a dragon." She chuckled. "He blends in so well." Boko puffed himself up proudly, smiling happily. "Hurry home, Lutrez," Salana said over her shoulder as she moved to follow Kelora.

Vaira smiled after the other female, then dipped her head and nuzzled the two boys before heading off towards Mithor's cave. The old, scarred brown dragon was snoring away in the entrance, settled in a patch of sunlight. Being the second-oldest dragon in the Sacred Plains was no laughing matter. Both kings had looked to him for a lot of guidance, and he had readily given it.

Vaira approached the sleeping General with a smile on her face, feeling Shiya shifted slightly inside her pouch, exhausted from crying and now just resting.