Requiem - Chapter 9

Soren slowly opened his crimson eyes, blinking wearily in the dawn sunlight. He sighed, resting his head on the soft pillow under him. He didn't want to get up today. I don't want to work right now, he thought. Another day of Shinon being a jerk, Boyd being utterly retarded, blah blah, the same stupid stuff again. Though I suppose it'll be nice to speak with Ike. But I do wish for once that they would organize their own books. That gets tedious…

Then he remembered what had happened to him and how he had lost it all.

He jerked his head upright on his long black neck, gasping for air. He shook his head, slowly raising one front arm to rub his face. The bed under him was soft, but it felt hard to his thick scales and to the wave of trepidation that had just hit him.

"You're awake," a calm voice nearby said.

Soren immediately whipped his head around to face the voice, already working up a snarl in the back of his throat.

Nasir sat quietly in a chair near the bed, reading his way through a large book.

The dragon mage blinked his crimson eyes at the white dragon laguz sitting across from him, then found his voice and spoke.

"Where…am I?" he asked, breathing in the scent of the room.

"Gallia. My quarters," Nasir said.

Soren narrowed his eyes, then said "And how did I come to be here?"

"One of our border patrols found you and brought you here," was the explanation.

The black dragon remembered what had happened and snorted, saying "They also attacked me and, last I remember, injured me."

"All of your wounds were taken care of when you arrived here," Nasir answered. "Granted, you had to be put under a sleep spell in order for the healers to tend to you, but that's in the past. I removed the spell hours ago, but you slept for the entire night. It's morning now."

The Branded moved a hand-like paw up and rubbed his face, brushing his clawed fingers over his Branded mark. The red-set scales were a blaring reminder of how he had gotten into this mess.

He sighed, then gritted his sharp teeth slightly and said "Well, thank you for your assistance. I'll take my leave now."

"I think not," the laguz said. "You're still exhausted and you look like you could use a good meal. I insist you stay and recover."

Soren looked down and thought it over, then lifted his head and was about to reply. Until he heard Nasir's next words.

"We sent a runner to your friends in Crimea and they should be arriving today, if everything worked out well," he said. "Honestly, I'm surprised they weren't here. Isn't Commander Ike usually with-"

"Are you insane?!"

Nasir blinked at Soren's angry tone.

"Why would you send for them?!" the dragon mage shouted. "I've been trying to go away from them this whole time and you go and tell them to come here? What is wrong with you?!"

"Calm yourself, mage," Nasir ordered, his tone curt and quick. "Perhaps you can explain things to me so I might understand?"

Soren looked down, breathing heavily, then shook his head. "No. No, I have to leave before they get here and you wouldn't understand even if I did explain."

Nasir kinked an eyebrow up over his forehead and said "And why not? I'm a perfectly understanding person. What have you got to lose?"

"The last bit of my dignity! Or my life!" Soren shouted, pushing himself up in order to bring his head forward and growl in Nasir's face. "You might be a dragon, but you are nothing like me. I…" He trailed off, then turned his head away angrily.

There was silence for a moment, then Soren jumped off of the bed and headed towards a huge, gaping hole in the wall. It was used for if Nasir wanted to take dragon form and jump out or fly in while still a huge dragon. Soren, being much smaller, could easily jump out. One thing stood in his way however.

Nasir crossed his arms, sliding easily into Soren's path. "Branded," he said, making the small black dragon flinch. "Don't you understand how critical it is that you rest? Even I can sense how much pain your body is in. You're new to this form. You don't understand what all it needs. I'm asking you, as a fellow dragon…please, rest."

Soren said nothing for a moment, then snarled "Fellow dragon? Pah! You're no fellow dragon to me. Get out of my way, Nasir, or I'll make you move." A stream of fire trailed out of his mouth, an obvious threat.

Nasir's frown was sad, but he slowly moved aside.

Soren glared at him, then moved to walk forward to the exit. He flared his wings, wondering if perhaps he could fly out, or…

Nasir's hand flashed out, trying to connect with the dragon's forehead.

Soren screeched and pitched to the side, just barely avoiding the white dragon laguz's hand. He threw his tail around and bowled Nasir over, ignoring his gasp. He lunged for him in an instant and pinned the laguz to the ground, panting. "You…you tried to knock me out!" he said, incredulous.

"It was a sleep spell and nothing more," Nasir said, keeping his voice even as he panted. "You don't understand how grave this entire situation is. Do you know what would happen if you were found by other dragons of Goldoa? They would kill you on the spot! If Daein found you? You'd be taken hostage and used to start another war, if they also didn't kill you on spot. There are hundreds upon thousands of people out there who would use you for their own crooked advantages and I'm just trying to protect you from them!"

"Why?!" Soren snapped, digging his claws into Nasir's chest. "I hate you! What could you possibly gain by helping me?"

Nasir panted for a moment, then slowly forced out his next words. "Because…I feel as if you've suffered enough in your life. I just wanted to show you kindness. Is that really so evil of me?"

Soren stared at him for a moment, then roared angrily and reared up onto his back legs, shouting "I don't want your help! The only one that I cared for stopped caring BACK!" He threw his weight forward, intent on crushing Nasir beneath his claws.

The laguz took dragon form in mere seconds and knocked Soren backwards, snorting out a deep breath of smoke. "That's enough, youngling," he snapped, pinning Soren to the ground with one paw. "Stop this insane behavior at once."

Soren gaped at him for a long moment, then snarled and sank his teeth as deeply as he could into Nasir's foreleg, feeling blood spurt around his jaws.

Nasir jerked and yelped hard, then accidentally reacted instinctively. He jerked his paw back and hit Soren with it, slamming the smaller black dragon into the wall. The tip of one claw hit Soren's head with enough force to break bone, which was dulled by the fact that he was a dragon with thick scales. But Soren was a small dragon and Nasir was much bigger, so it still hurt him pretty bad.

Soren cried out in pain as he crumpled into a heap on the ground, panting raggedly. His vision was flickering in and out and he could feel blood running down the side of his head. He blinked and his sight cleared somewhat, but it was still blurry in places. He staggered up, shooting Nasir a snarl.

The white dragon had taken beorc form again, holding his bleeding hand in shock. "I…I didn't mean…" he stammered, wanting to apologize. He really hadn't meant to hurt Soren. Instinct was hard to overcome when it sprang up.

"Shut up," Soren growled, moving towards the exit. "Just…shut up…" He made it to the edge and peered over, seeing how dreadfully far it was to the ground. He swallowed softly, then opened his wings and leapt out without another thought. He shrieked and nearly fell, but discovered that he could glide as long as he didn't move his wings at all. It was the flapping that ruined his flight, after all. He didn't know how to ride the currents, so he couldn't go any higher, but at least he was able to glide far from the castle, out where he could start moving again.

Nasir watched him go, then sighed heavily through his nose. "Sorry, little dragon Branded," he said, shaking his head. "I wish you would've just let me help you."

Then he sat down on his bed and set to tending his wrist, wondering what the Mercenaries would do when they arrived to find their tactician no longer here.