Black-Winged Angels Chapter 19: Reunited
#19 of Black-Winged Angels: A Dragon's Pride Story
Avila couldn't believe what she saw in front of her eyes. For her, the zombie-like sea dragon that was clinging to life looked like he was dying, but in truth, he was still alive and well, though not for long.
Somehow, she could sense darkness seeping out from him. It was similar to the dragon her father banished into the dark dimension (all the while mocking him while he was slowly dragged into it), and without its source, it was failing. The dragon, only kept alive by the darkness, would surely die when it left them.
She wanted to approach the dragon, but she knew that he had precious friends, like Seraphor, and somehow, the resurrected Raithorakh. Seeing how everyone she knew returned to her after thinking that they were dead made her unable to be surprised or nostalgic anymore.
"Ragunost...I'm in your debt," said the sea dragon.
"Kranos...I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough...," replied Raithorakh. Somehow he used 'Ragunost' as his name.
The sea dragon then slowly tried to turn towards Seraphor, but then his gaze locked on Avila's gaze. From the look of it, he was looking to her as if she was an angel coming to take his soul to his ancestors. She didn't want to deny his delusions, so she stepped forwards slowly, trying to act neutral, despite of Seraphor being surprised by her appearance.
He talked to Seraphor for a moment, where they exchanged solemn conversation about ending a generation and starting a new one. The old wise sea dragon was slowly dying, and she knew that he would not be able to hold on to life much longer. Seeing his eyes, however, made Avila knew that he was content.
"I must say...," said the sea dragon slowly. "I'm glad to have meet legendary dragons from the West before I died. You lots are great dragons, you know. I've met the silver red dragon, the Thunder Angel, and now...as my life comes to an end...the Angel of Death. Maybe you cannot see her, but she's standing right in front of me. I think...it is time. Goodbye, my friends. Have a... long life."
Avila could see the soul of the dragon leaving the lifeless body, and he touched him as he closed his eyes. Within her head, she communicated with the recently passed dragon.
"You know, now that we're talking privately like this, you're too young to be an angel. Are you one of those Argoons they have been talking about?"
"So what if I am?" replied Avila with a smile.
"Someday, when you have become one, I might want to see you again. You're an interesting fellow, to love Seraphor. Come on, lass, cheer up! He's waiting to see you, Avila."
Surprised by how the dragon knew her name, she wanted to ask him, but he merely winked and flew upwards towards the heavens, where she saw a glimpse of his ancestors staring down towards her and vanished.
"What a sight," she thought. But then, her problem now lies with Seraphor trying to identify her. She didn't want to leave the 'Death Angel' persona just yet, so she just added something simple, which turned out to be the best sentence she had ever made, however morbid it was.
"He won't need a burial."
Seraphor suddenly jumped towards her, surprising her, but she knew it was a warm embrace from a dragon she wanted to meet for so long. He shed a tear of joy, with Avila smiling beside him.
"Ancestors," he said, "You've returned me my love...."
"I don't get what you're saying, Seraphor," said Raithorakh behind him. "That black dragon is as silent as death. Are you sure you're not dying yourself?"
Despite of the 'death glare' Avila made to Raithorakh, Seraphor assured him that she was indeed Avila. Raithorakh took a while to scan her, to which he confirmed himself that it was indeed Avila.
"He's right, Ray," said Avila. "Everything has returned. By the way, there's someone who'd like to meet you." She gestured towards Richard, who saw Raithorakh and dropped his dragon treasure. He was clearly overwhelmed with joy and disbelief, but the moment Raithorakh turned at him and looked at him with the same look many years ago, his disbelief dissipated and he jumped towards the dragon he once knew and loved. He was glad that Raithorakh had resurrected in that cryptic message Engrak left him and Raithorakh.
"So that wasn't a dream," said Raithorakh as Richard climbed on his back. "You really are a draconian, Richard. Good for you."
"And you're still the same cyborg I know and love," said Richard with a smile. This, however, turned awkward when his friends went in and saw Raithorakh. They quickly brandished their weapons while Richard flew down in front of Raithorakh and said, "Whoa, whoa, slow down! He's friendly!"
"Dude, he's a fucking Terminator!"
"No, he's not! He's my friend, Ray!"
"Are you sure he's not going to kill every last one of us with those weapons?!" exclaimed Juagar.
"Well, I know him!"
Raithorakh just chuckled behind him and said, "My, my. It seems that you've made quite a few friends while I was gone."
"Yeah, well...they don't really like being face to face with a cyborg. Not after that movie about a killer draconian cyborg from the future chasing the main character relentlessly."
"You know that's bullshit, right?"
"You're the biggest bullshit in this room!"
Both Richard and Raithorakh laughed their heart's content. The draconians had no choice but to follow them, albeit reluctantly.
The Argoons were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of draconic prisoners that came out from the facility. They had heard rumors about the facility, but they had no idea on how big it was. They were even more surprised that the civil war of the Parusans and the Cerbesans turned into something far worse than they could imagine. Many Cerbesans were drugged and was made mindless by countless tortures they had endured, and the Parusans were the wardens in that prison. Of course, with the Cerbesans finally free, they wanted to exact revenge, many dragons, especially Seraphor, discouraged them on the basis that it was nothing more than a small vengeance, and that it would restart the whole cycle again. Somehow, they were convinced, partially because of Seraphor's role as their beacon of hope.
They quickly abandoned the dragon prison after taking whatever they could from the deserted prison, with some prisoners in tow. Avila flew beside Seraphor and talked all the time about their separate adventures. Xiciro looked at them and smiled when he heard what Avila was talking about with Seraphor, trying her best not to feel regret for not appearing in front of him sooner in her current state.
Seraphor didn't care about Avila's appearance, and that strengthened Avila's belief that Seraphor was genuinely in love with her. In the end, they confirmed their feelings one night when Seraphor was talking about their future.
One night, Seraphor woke up with Avila beside him. She had been having a hard time sleeping at night, thinking about Seraphor's well-being. When the silver red noticed her sitting beside him, he said, "You're not tired?"
Avila wanted to say that she had trouble sleeping, but she didn't want her mate to force himself after an exhausting and torturous ordeal inside the prison. All she said was, "Since my transformation, I prefer waking up at night."
She knew that was the worst reply she could ever give to Seraphor. Other than that, she didn't care less. Seraphor didn't care either, and only asked whether she would leave him or not. She reassured him about it. No matter what happened, she would always be with Seraphor together. She owed her life to the silver red, and Seraphor to her.
Then Seraphor started to talk about something serious.
"But...since, you know, Xiciro's your father, right? Won't he like...put me in a dark void just because I, uh...mated you?"
Avila smiled and laughed mildly, then said, "He'd have done it a long time ago, Sera. I'm just kidding. You should talk to him about our relationship. He may drop down a cold stare on you, but he knows that I chose you."
"But, uh...I don't feel like talking to him."
"Don't worry. I'll help you with that," said Avila putting her wings behind Seraphor. "Besides, it's quite rare for dragons to talk with their father-in-law, right?"
Both laughed and started to talk about their experiences apart. Avila tried to make it as lively as possible because of a possible psychological trauma Seraphor had after a month in an unforgiving prison, even for a dragon. They ended that night with a kiss, but what mattered the most was Seraphor's remark towards Avila, which made her think of the possibility.
"I... just want everything to end. I want to settle down. I want a family..."