Bakbuk
Howdy!
(This scene is SO PERFECT. Excellent job.)[Part 14]
The Aerattl soldiers nearest to the shoreline shouted to Monarche Storm and the dragons up the beach urgently.
All heads turned to see a long, webbed spine peek up on a crest of water making its way towards the shore, the waves swirling as the large creature swam with fishlike movements.
As it neared the shore, Flint tensed and placed a talon on his sword hesitantly.
“Flint..” His Master stilled him with one word. They would wait to see what would happen.
Suddenly- a dragon burst out of the water, filthy ocean water spraying forwards.
She had dark turquoise splashed down her back, and a pale sandy color down her belly and wings. Her horns were long, grey, and slightly curved and she had dark purplish eyes.
The beauty of her scales didn’t reflect on her demeanor though. The dragon looked starved, and had bloodshot eyes that glanced around hungrily as her claws grasped the sand. Slowly, she looked around and hissed, water leaking from her gills. Apollyon straightened, brandishing his enormous spear which glinted in the sun, and stepped in front of her.
“Well, what is this?” He asked to nobody in particular.
The Aquation completely ignored the blood red dragon’s comment. “So this is what the Monarches are doing..” She said slowly in a raspy voice, as if the saltwater had corroded her lungs somehow. “Do you think I wouldn’t have felt the signal? I only came ashore because I heard Monarche Fireface or whatever signal us..” She trailed off, hissing. Clearly unstable, she took a shaky step forward.
“It is me. Monarche Current.”
“You are not well.” Apollyon remarked after a long moment of shocked silence. “I’m.. fine.” Current coughed hoarsely. “Now who in Draconat are you?” She said, casting her crazed eyes over Apollyon.
Tide crouched deeper into the bushes, her eyes wide. An Aquation! A real, live Aquation! She was shocked at how terrible Monarche Current looked.
“I am the uniter of Draconat, and the healer of the waters.” Apollyon said in a loud, controlling voice. “Flint.” He called, motioning for the black dragon to bring his barrel over. The Enfernae took the lid off the barrel and scooped a very large pitcherful of a clear, slightly shimmering liquid. He tried to hand it to Current. “Sit down and have a drink.” He said as politely as he could muster.
Current laughed, long and ugly sounding. “Uniter of Draconat! Hah ha haa! That’s funny-” She erupted in a fit of coughing, eyeing the pitcher suspiciously. “Nah,” She said flatly. “Poison, obviously.”
Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground, dropping her head into her talons and shaking it back and forth spasmodically. “My egg where’s my egg..” She rambled insanely. “You!” Her head shot up, looking at Apollyon. “Your- having my egg! It’s mine! You stole it! Treason! Ssssrraggh! Give me-” Her eyes reddened dangerously and she lunged at the nearest dragon, Storm, and attacked blindly with curved claws barred.
The Aerattl monarche leapt straight up into the air expertly to dodge the attack and used her strong wing breath to keep the Aquation down. Current was pinned flat under the weight of the strong wind. She rolled to the side, and immediately jumped back up and blasted a jetstream of water at Storm, knocking her out of the sky. The silvery grey dragon fell with a hard thud into the wet sand, soaked.
Current instantly whipped around and lunged at the Solosis behind her.
Basalt had been watching the situation unfold before him in shock. He had known Current all his life! She never, never acted like this. Taken wholly aback when she attacked him, he lunged to the side, losing the little wyrm in his grasp. “Ace!” He roared as he whipped his head around to look back, his talons sending up a spray of sand as he skidded.
Current now stood spread-legged before Ace. Her red eyes dimmed. “You’re-” She stammered, looking Ace over. “You’re- you’re- not. Not my fault wyrm!” She roared terribly at the little dragon’s startled face.
Basalt lunged over and scooped up Ace, pulling him away from the crazed Aquation. “Where is it-” She spun and locked on her next target; Vixen. Current jumped toward the Enfernae, claws barred and teeth snapping. “Who are you?” She asked angrily. “Your not Ember! Are you an imposter?” She asked, cackling crazily afterwards. Vixen lept back. “I’m Ember's daughter! I've become monarche now!” She cried to Current, ready to defend herself. Current growled for a long moment, studying her up and down. “You- are.” She mumbled. Her eyes seemed to glaze over red again, and she snarled. “Where is my egg worm! You know?” “No, your Honor. I didn’t know you had a wyrm!” Vixen said, waving her talons up and down. She had perked up slightly, now motivated by the new problem in front of her. “Please, sit. You are not well!” She insisted.
“Current.” Apollyon rumbled in a frustrated tone, grabbing the monarche’s shoulder and turning her towards him. “Current, LISTEN. You are not right in the head. You need to sit down and rest. Take a drink.”
“Get off me.” Current rasped. “Big, fancy, fat BEAST.” She snarled. “Let me guess, you stalk around in the shadows trying to be ‘mysterious’ and make your cronies call you ‘master’ and ‘sir’.” She hissed. “This doesn’t conversation concern you.” With a growl, Current attemped to throw herself on Apollyon, but not before Storm finally broke in again, blowing her back down with a strong gust of wind. Basalt took the moment to summon a few roots up from the sand from his far-away Life Tree to bind Current to the ground, his talons dug into the ground in concentration. Finally, the crazed Aquation was restrained. Current hissed maniacally. Her arms were pinned to the sand. She tried to snap her teeth at the red dragon, but was just inches away from biting his tail. “Get off me!” She roared furiously, her eyes were red and her limbs strained powerfully.
Finally, her body went still.
Tide watched the scene unfold before her. She heard Monarche Current roaring something about a lost egg- was Ace her wyrm, or someone else? She snuck foward more until she could see the faces of the dragons, and Current bound to the sand. Her eyes widened in shock. Current’s scales looked- oddly like hers..
Ace crept closer, blinking with wide eyes at the Aquation’s barred teeth and squeezed-shut eyes. “Don't.” Basalt said, placing a talon in his way as he relaxed his powers slightly. “She’s still dangerous.” He looked up at the other two Monarches, ignoring Apollyon pointedly. “Storm, Vixen, what do we want to do with her?”
Current was muttering under her breath, eyes calmer- but now darting back and forth as if trying desperately to remember something. She acted as though the dragons on the beach suddenly weren’t there as she rambled on and on about an ‘egg’ and ‘wyrm’.
“Current, listen. I can find your wyrm.” Apollyon said, standing over her head. “I can make you better. I can cure the waters from this black, vile disease and restore the realm of Aquation. I can bring your family, your friends, your people, your LIFE back together. But you're going to have to trust me. I evidently don’t seem trustworthy to you simple-minded dragons, But I KEEP my word.”
Apollyon strode over to the ocean waters, taking a silver dagger from Azira and sliding the blade cleanly across his wrist. Blood immediately welled up and began dripping into the foamy brackish ocean waters.
“Let the monarches and dragons on this beach bear witness to what I am about to do today.” Apolyon said solemnly, watching the blood flow. Vixen narrowed her eyes, confused and upset. She’d never liked the sight of blood, and something didn’t seem to add up. “Blood? Blood is the cure?” She questioned incredulously. “The cure is IN my blood.” Apolyon said with a slight note of triumph riding his voice. The water near the blood slowly began blooming outwards, the area steadily becoming clearer.
Tide watched the water clear up- shocked. That was it? The Apollyon dragon could fix it all? Her attention was drawn to the black dragon standing next to Apollyon. The one he’d called Flint. Something was oddly familiar about him.. She racked her mind. As he glanced around at the shocked faces of the dragons around him- it clicked. But who could she tell? Tide remembered seeing Monarche Vixen in the forest when she was just a wyrm, she had saved a young orphan Enfernae in the hotsprings. She was probably her best bet.
Current watched the waters grow clearer all along the shoreline with an unimpressed and passive look on her face. “But it won’t cure dragons.” She rasped. “All of mine dragons in the water still have the virus in their blood. It would take months for it to get out of their systems, just as it took months for the virus to take hold of their actions.” She struggled against the roots in the sand, dirty clumps of wet sand sticking to her scales.
“It has taken hold of your actions as well, but this..” Apollyon pointed to the full pitcher hooked on the edge of the barrel. “This can help you. Drink.” He took a sip himself. “Not poison.” He remarked as he handed it to Current. But the Aquation Monarche was thrashing in the sand again, not hearing anyone as she struggled to rip the roots out of the ground. Apollyon sighed. He’d have to knock her out to treat her, and he really, really didn't want to do that.
Basalt tightened the roots in the ground with the clench of a talon. “Current!” He roared in her face, and the blue dragon froze, gills flaring. “Get ahold of yourself! Can’t you see the water? Don’t you know you can live in your home now? I don’t trust this dragon any more than you do,” he said, his tone softening slightly. “But it’s not poison, so you should at least try it.” He snatched the pitcher from Apollyon and held it to her mouth.
Current listened to Basalt. She did remember him. She remembered being close with the Solosis Monarche. And deep in the back of her mind, knew that she could trust him.
She drank the liquid.
A sudden shudder ran down the whole lengh of Current’s body. Her claws clenched and unclenched as she clawed at the sand mindlessly. Her head snapped back and forth, and after a moment of spasms..
Monarche Current went limp.
