FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

He took a deep breath, clicking his tongue, no matter how much water he drank he couldn't get rid of the taste of fermented wine from the roof of his mouth. Not to mention the damnable thirst after every alcoholic trip, journeys he ventured on more and more often as years flew by. He hated hangovers, he had been in this state so many times that he should get used to it by now.

Of course nothing like that happened, after the loss of his horn nothing was easy ever again.

He didn't know if he was too sensitive, or the dragon race in general wasn't meant to willingly poison itself, especially when a draconic biological system is all about regeneration. Regeneration which ironically wasn't able to heal the discomfort of alcohol overdose as if purposely trying to teach a lesson here about restraint.

It goes without saying that he never listened.

He couldn't listen, not after everything, all those thoughts were unbearable and they always returned no matter how hard he tried to wall himself away from them. Regret couldn't be stopped, not after all he had done.

He kept repeating to himself that all of this will be worth it, this journey through time itself was a clear signal of that, finally the life he dreamed of. He wasn't naïve however, he was certain that if they could find a way, those that decimated their kind will find a way too, all of this is far from over, this is merely a moment of respite, he was too old to allow it to become his blindfold.

This is why he drinks, alcohol prevents from indulging the mind into moments of deep thought, it makes things tolerable. No regret, no remorse, hardly any care, nothing and this was wonderful. He wore armor nearly all his life, physical and metaphorical one, it was relaxing to shed that burden.

Now only if there wouldn't be any hangovers the next day, he would never stop drinking.

This irritating aftereffect had one single perk however, as much as it makes you curse your stupidity and pity yourself, it allows you to appreciate every aspect of life, even traits that you never knew were important, or you simply lost interest in a long time ago.

Like fresh air for example.

Ignus took another deep breath, the inhale puffing out his chest like a fully distended vocal sac of a frog.

He was at the base of the mountain he spends most of his time on, just several flaps away from Warfang's walls. Surrounded by trees, tall rocks and walls of a bustling city should really impair the sensation of freshness, the most pristine touch of nature. Air usually is far more impactful and refreshing the higher you are.

Yet, strangely it was here, in this valley where he felt the air is the most clean.

It might be the hangover speaking, water usually had no taste for him and was basically a last resort of killing thirst, he felt as if it would be making him rusty like some hinges on an old door. Yet now, as he lapped with his tongue at the water running across this valley in the shape of a lazy stream, he couldn't imagine a more refreshing drink than this.

This is the sensitivity and appreciation hangover stirs in people.

Licking his wet lips with an even more moist tongue he trailed the wall of the mountain with his ruby eyes, tilting his head back so far that nearly his horns pierced the back of his neck.

The atmosphere up there was so much different than here, so high, so close to the sun, basically open sky as your roof and yet it was like he was slowly suffocating up there as if he got locked inside a room from which he sucked the last drops of fresh air.

He was always a hard worker, as life showed, even an overambitious one at that, he never faltered when something had to be done, he always completed one task and immediately moved onto the next one. Always returning to work the next day, taking breaks, but always aware that he will return, always taking his duties seriously.

Right now however, perhaps this could also be blamed on the hangover, he was glad as a child after finishing its day at school that he is no longer up there.

It had something to do with the aura up there, it was thick like in a recently burned house where you could still smell the ashes of destruction. He was sure it was that smug, black bastard to blame, he was too smart for his own good and the general way how he bares himself, with no regard for dignity, is simply infuriating.

Not to mention that it is also very, very unnerving.

He felt like his brain would be under constant pressure as if a metallic hand would be squeezing his head, burrowing its fingers deeper and deeper with each passing second to the point that blood trickled from his earholes like juices of a crushed melon.

Danox has a specific charm that makes it hard to ignore him, he never met any black dragon before, but by merely spending time with that boy he understood already why people are so reserved towards his kind. And that is only Danox, a complete stranger from another time, he only wondered if the stories he heard about Cynder give credit to her personality.

From the scraps he saw she was a polar opposite of Danox.

He really needs to get to know her better, the Legend also, he felt as if up there, on that mountain, he is wasting his life.

In a far more literal sense than he would like to believe.

Ignus snarled, all this thinking made him want to get a drink again, what infuriated him the most was the fact that he couldn't give in, he has a job to do. He threw his head back down towards the water, he felt as if everything was moving in slow motion, it was like his vision arrived first at the destination, only after a delay followed by the physical movement of the head.

This disproportion made him dizzy and noxious.

He opened his mouth, but instead of preparing himself to drink the water he sharply jerked his maw to the side and threw up viciously. Aiming at the nearby bush he retched, chest heaving unevenly as if he would be having the strongest, feminine orgasm of his life.

Gagging he spat stream after stream of the wine he recently swallowed onto the ground.

"Fuck" he rasped, his hoarse voice sounding like a chalk ran across a board

He coughed and spat alternately, cleaning his mouth and wiping his lips, getting rid of whatever speck of vomit that wanted to cling to his maw.

This ordeal reminded him of another ugly disadvantage of an hangover.

He thrust his snout into the pristine stream of water, with gulp after gulp satisfying his thirst and putting his throat through the most needed oral enema.

He withdrew his maw from the stream with a sharp jerk, he gasped, water dripped from his snout like tears from the eyes of a crying baby. Tongue rolled out of his mouth, bouncing with each sharp, big breath he took, tasting the air.

He swiped with his paw, scooping the water and splashing it on his snout, rubbing his moist paw left and right, shaking himself back into consciousness after this uncomfortable dizziness.

Gods curse hangover.

He looked up again, first at the mountain and then at the Warfang's walls, during this moment of indifference and despondence he tried to remind himself that he has still a lot of work to do, bring himself back to his natural type of mentality.

It was easier when he remembered that his next step was Warfang, what prevented him from spreading his wings right here and now was the thought about his duties there.

He will have to give a report to Terrador.

He would have to talk about Danox.

This perspective alone made him want to throw up again and bite his wings off.

He was wasting his life.

*

He rubbed his winced forehead with a constant, quiet rumbling of the throat, the sensitivity of a hangover was getting to him more in here than it could ever do outside these walls. Bustling cities are the worst, they are especially irritating when you find yourself in one of the more busier of spots.

The City Hall was one such place right now.

It was going through some modest renovation, scaffolds and ladders filled the place, people of every size and specie conversed and worked. The noises of striking hammers, moved boards, laughter and who knows what other irritating sound, were buzzed inside his head as if a flock of insects would sprout a hive inside his earholes.

Of course it had to be right now when he wasn't in his top shape that all these people decided it would be a perfect moment to pin a new painting, or scrub some pillar clean. Right now when he couldn't stand the sight of people just as much as he couldn't tolerate his own thoughts.

And to top it all he was again thirsty for the love of gods!

He growled, his lips wavering with barely contained fury. His tail was making wide swings, the burning scythe of a tip spitting out sparks of fiery irritation, he couldn't think of anything else but how wonderful it would be to torch this place down.

He would finally get a piece of a well deserved silence.

Fucking headache!

The door he was standing near finally swung open, the creak they made was like a thunder, he groaned wanting to do nothing else but to drop on the floor and pull at his horns. Perhaps he would pluck his brain out, that would be a welcoming change.

"I apologize Ignus" Terrador's low, baritone voice echoed from opened entrance, far earlier than his snout actually appeared

It was like he actually spoken earlier but only now the sound managed to form hearable words.

He put up a hard smile, trying to look as if nothing has happened while in truth his mind was insulting the Guardian and his mother in all possible, nasty ways.

"I hope the noise didn't bother you too much while you waited. I thought everything will be done by the time you arrive, sadly it was not the case"

"I'm fine Terrador, thank you for the concern" he replied with a smile

The thumping in his head was threatening to crack his skull.

"I roughly cleaned up my quarters, paperwork can make so much mess sometimes. I-"

"You don't have to explain yourself. You lead here" he interjected, sounding as pleasant as he could

Deep down he was praying that the Guardian will finally move or he swears he'll start to bleed not only from his earholes but also his ass.

Terrador smiled gratefully, following with a respectful nod.

"Sometimes I forget with who I am speaking with. You are familiar with leadership as much as I am"

His smile grew wider, teeth gritted tightly that sparks started to flicker from underneath his clenched fangs.

"Precisely. We don't need to waste time on pleasantries"

His tongue made circles inside his mouth, scraping against the inside of his clenched teeth, it was strained like a crossbow bolt, ready to be unleashed. He wished it would make a hole in the green dragon's forehead and crack his brain so he would finally shut up.

"Yes, yes" Terrador shook his head, scratching his sideburns with a nervous chuckle "I'm not used to having things so unorganized, it makes me lose myself. I have so much on my mind lately that-" he sighed deeply, maroon eyes rose up to greet their observer once more, radiating nothing but kindness

"Never mind, please come in, follow me"

He bowed politely and followed the dragon, keeping stoic calm even if his tongue bounced off his gritted teeth to the rhythm of his thumping headache, almost drilling through the surface of his fangs like a worm through an apple.

While he remained silent, his soul didn't. It screamed one word over and over again.

Finally!

Finally!

Finally!

They arrived in Terrador's office after several uneventful minutes, right now he couldn't care less what was around him, all he wanted to do was to get away from that damn noise.

The Guardian closed the door behind him, gently, yet for him the click they made was like a blow of a war drum, making him shiver and forcing his tail to stand up in attention.

"Make yourself comfortable" the green dragon encouraged, making his way behind the desk that in shape resembled nothing else but a big table

The only thing he cared about was the floor, or more specifically the carpet stretching through the whole room. It was an extremely soft, brown fur decorated with patterns he couldn't care less about, what was important for him was the fact that it perfectly muffled the noise of clicking claws.

He finally was in heaven.

Terrador took a seat behind his desk, pushing the piles of papers farther into the corners he grabbed the nearby bottle and one glass. He uncorked it and tilted it over the glassy container, looking up at his guest expectantly.

"Wine?"

His eyes widened when his gaze landed on the swirling red liquid just at the edge of the neck of the bottle. Cold sweat covered his body and a bitter gulp ran down his throat which seemed to hook his stomach like a wiggling worm provokes a fish and drag it up. He felt it jumping right up into his throat.

He burped quietly, at the brink of throwing up.

His paw shot up in the air defensively while he averted his gaze, he couldn't bare the sight of wine right now. It was like staring into the holes of a dismembered corpse that was already being devoured by worms.

"Thank you, but I'm not feeling well" he whispered, pressing a fist to his mouth to quench another burp

"Should I call a healer?" Terrador asked worriedly, hastily putting the wine bottle away "Dragons rarely get sick, but when they do its not nice. Our illnesses have the strength of small epidemics"

He shook his head sternly.

"It won't be necessary, I appreciate the offer however"

"Just to be clear Ignus, you don't have to overwork yourself, you don't owe us anything"

"We do" he replied without hesitation, making sure the determination is visible in his eyes as he aimed them at the Guardian "If you don't feel it now, which is impossibly generous of you, Iris sooner or later will remind you that we do. You will realize then that what I do now is nothing. No matter, I will work twice that hard just to ensure that Iris will have a roof over her head that's not some damp ceiling of a cave covered in bat droppings"

Terrador straightened up, nodding in clear approval and tapping a gentle melody supporting that move on the desk with his scaly fist.

"You are a wonderful parent, I can only imagine what terrible fate had befallen on your niece to make her so spiteful, but I'm sure one day she will appreciate all of those things you did for her"

Something exploded loudly within his skull, the pulse of a headache was so strong that it made him wince and blurred his vision. Paw immediately shot up to rub at the painful spot, through his squinted eyes he spotted the bottle of wine.

In this current moment he craved nothing else but to gorge the wine, glass included if need be and then throw up like a cat.

Forgetting about everything.

"She will not" he growled in annoyance, throwing the Guardian a vicious look "I am here to discuss a different matter, my personal life is of no importance"

Terrador licked his lips anxiously, the years of war taught him one important thing.

Caution.

It was thanks to caution that he grew old, it was always there stopping him in the right moment, a moment that if ignored would make him lose his head on more than one occasion and if not the head than at least one of the limbs.

If he wouldn't gain respect for caution after all these years he wouldn't be where he is now. One false move meant putting yourself in the way of all those magical and sharp cannons. No matter how strong one can be, a direct barrage always meant death.

Caution was always there though, in the right moment ordering him to back off, telling him that the consequences are not worth the risk.

Currently Ignus was all the right signals that nudged him to a slow retreat, it was far too obvious that whatever suffering is poisoning that family is only for them to cope with.

At least that was what Ignus was projecting.

He respected his companion to value that stance, even if he disagreed with it. He grew up among three close friends that became like brothers to him. They all landed in politics, claiming the highest seats of leadership and while their political views differed from one another, more than once causing grief, in the end it always went down to sharing the troubles with someone else besides your side of conflict.

It always goes down to family, you need that third voice at least to settle up the dispute. If you don't have it, you need to find it, it is difficult to bury the axe of strife between two constantly bickering forces without anyone else finally slamming his fist and demanding the end of it.

Authority is so easily lost among the same blood.

"Very well" he gestured at the spot in front of the desk.

The method of decorating desks that would serve dragons most of the time was always the same. To chairs at the side of the desk, more if there is space and a big empty area in between, a sitting spot for a dragon of any size to occupy if need be.

Ignus sat down with a nod, he felt as if he would have heavy, metal balls tied around his waist, the thud of his rump sitting down made him dizzy.

"I'm sorry that I'm so snarky, today is not one of my best days" he mumbled with sincere regret in his voice

Terrador smiled kindly.

"I understand that perfectly. We are pushed into moments like those especially when we have to deal with a lot of stress, something you are undoubtedly put through a daily basis. With your temperamental niece on one side and especially our peculiar black scaled guest on the other. I can imagine the tension"

He smiled, truthfully, it felt good to do so, the headache seemed to ease on its annoying pressure a little.

"I'll take this kind of stress over the tension of a battlefield anytime"

The Guardian chuckled.

"I can relate to that" he took a deep breath "So Ignus, it's time for business unfortunately. Do you have anything to report?"

"You will be disappointed Terrador, but I don't have anything to say, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Danox is behaving entirely different than the pictured black dragon I've heard stories about. I don't know your history, but for me all this attention, pardon me for saying it, is simple bias"

The Guardian huffed loudly, single claw returning to scratch the sideburn on the right side of his green snout.

"Really? There's nothing at all?"

His brow raised automatically in surprise, the Guardian sounded unusually hopeful.

"Nothing that would raise suspicion and worry"

"What about Brill's people? Is there someone constantly visiting him? Did the boy from earlier showed up again?

He shook his head.

"No, our friend doesn't get many visitors, even those that were there earlier don't show up anymore. There is mostly just the two of us up there, not counting the bats that sleep in the cave Danox took for his home"

Terrador dropped his gaze onto the desk, his mouth moved, silently voicing some words, invisible letters his eyes seemed to read from the surface of the desk.

He perfectly understood that look, he had been in similar place many times before.

"This was not what you wanted to hear" he stated determinedly, he felt as if he would be speaking to his reflection in a mirror

He balked, jerking his body up so fiercely that bones in his wings snapped. He opened his mouth, to voice out something, but he couldn't find anything to say.

Nor confirmation, nor decline.

"I don't know" the Guardian finally mumbled, his voice no louder than a whisper

This response put him off guard, he saw the reflection in the mirror he imagined laughing merrily. Ignorance and uncertainty, both he didn't feel for a long time, both he regretted losing. The reflection spoke of better times, laughing as it did so.

He didn't do that for a long time.

Headache returned, pounding harder than ever since he got here.

He growled, smacking paw against the pulsing with pain forehead.

Bullshit.

There was no turning back, every memory is just like this reflection, able to be changed if one is persistent enough and discarded if need be. It was the future that mattered and that no mirror can show.

"What's going on Terrador?" he asked curiously

Mirrors might have no influence on the future, but questions and enigmas surely do.

Maroon eyes shifted, hungrily eyeing the bottle of wine in the corner, he knew the look, even if he himself already forgot how it felt like. It was hesitation, it was the silent plea for support, in those moments alcohol serves as the perfect morale and courage booster.

Years ago he took the path Terrador was thinking about now, he poured himself a glass and never stopped drinking after all. Years later hesitation morphed into a parasitic beast called remorse and the only way to kill it was to poison it alcohol.

Lots and lots of alcohol.

Only when that beast was battered and unable to get up, only then he remembered what's at stake and that sacrifices have to be made if you want to reach your goal.

Maroon eyes narrowed, scorning the bottle before they moved away. Terrador made a decision, if he needed the help of a bottle to make an action, perhaps that action was wrong.

Sometimes he wished he made the same call.

"I believe I'm overthinking certain matters too much" the Guardian replied, his mouth twitching ever so slightly

Modesty and politeness fighting off the brave display of a triumphant grin.

"This tends to force me into ignorance, makes me forget about values. This is not how you rule, am I right Ignus? If we want to make this world a better place, we cannot climb to the top on corpses"

Headache versus Agony started another game of Melt Brain, freckles of bright red and yellow started to dance at the edges of his vision. Blurring it like direct stare at the sun blurs vision.

He felt as if there was a small explosion in some corner of his skull.

Never before he dreamt of being decapitated.

"Noble cause" he rasped, paw immediately shot to his snout, rubbing at the right eye that suddenly started to twitch on its own as if it would be electrocuted

"Tell me about Danox Ignus. What is he like?"

He looked at the Guardian with narrowed in surprise eyes, his right orb peeking through the toes and claws of the pressed to it paw. He didn't expect such a blunt question, he wasn't really used to be talking heart to heart with males about other dudes.

Still he knew Terrador was serious, there was not even a pinch of fascination in his voice, it was more as if he would be a bounty hunter gathering information than love sick puppy.

"He's an enigma really, a creepy one at that too, he seems to be enjoying pain a bit too much, especially self inflicted. We all have our kinks and fetishes, but I'll be damned if I wouldn't find that boy's whims disturbing. Besides the obvious it's hard to tell anything else, he isn't particularly open and acts as if his fate is just some sort of a game and everything and everyone toys to be played with. He realizes his situation and is taking advantage of it infuriating everyone around. Very, very annoying dragon"

A deep frown wrinkled the Guardian's green snout.

"That's it?"

He shrugged.

"He's not making things easy, it's hard to read through that carefree act. Besides being infuriating and creepy he also seems to be a crybaby, he constantly whines about food and just how hungry he is. I think he is purposely adding another layer to the already boiling pot of annoyance"

A quenched rumble rattled inside the Guardian's throat, like a growl of a dreaming dog. His maroon eyes were aimed directly at him, in the distance he saw the silhouette of his tail tip bouncing up and down slowly in contemplative, soft jerks.

He couldn't decide if the Guardian was scrutinizing him with a glare of suspicion or disbelief.

This time there was no mistake, this time he really didn't expect such an answer.

"You seem disappointed" Ignus stated

Terrador blinked, he wasn't sure what he felt exactly, it was difficult to name the emotional state he was thrown into in these last seconds with a single word. For all he knew disappointment might be a part of it too.

It wasn't important right now, what was important is that all the thoughts and ideas he recently organized inside his head collapsed like a house of cards, one unexpected blow was enough.

The most worrisome thing was not that the house toppled down, it was the hesitancy of putting it up again in fear of wasting more crucial time.

It made no sense.

Everything made no sense.

Including his own reaction most likely.

Brill's words about the danger that Danox might be never left his mind and constantly kept him awake. If it would be any other dragon he most likely would already give up and forget about it. Wielding the mantle of a Guardian however didn't allow him to discard obvious facts, one such fact was that black dragons turned out to be trouble.

More than they bargained for.

Cynder made sure to claw that truth on the souls of many of people.

If Brill's fanatical determination would be aimed on anyone else, even Cynder, he wouldn't be bothered about it that much, that hate would be justified to some degree. His determination was however aimed at a different dragon, a dragon that's not even of this world!

Could it be bias for black scale?

Perhaps.

Providing a sacrificial lamb to support the divine claim would be really beneficial to Brill and his faithful followers. It was far more believable and valuable when the wool of the slaughtered animal could be black.

Brill wasn't stupid, Warfang stands as a proof of that, he might have come up with a perfect backup plan. He might have realized that Cynder is out of reach with Spyro having such an important role, so he sought out a different scapegoat.

Zealotry can be maddening as Cyril uses to say and he would be a fool to ignore the opinion of his friend no matter how biased it might seem.

Bias as Ignus said is certainly a valid excuse for all of this.

As well as is the option that Brill speaks truth.

This was the main ingredient that added greatly to the confusion, the other was Ignus' and Cynder's description of Danox.

The girl described the dragon in great detail as if she would be talking about a long time acquaintance of hers, even though she spent merely a couple of hours with him. Feminine intuition might play a role in the unconscious report she had given, enriching the description that wasn't positive in general at all.

Intuition that might be as helpful as it may be harmful, when hearing opinions about others from lips that aren't your own one must be wary of jumping to unjust conclusions.

One thing was certain, Cynder was speaking from her heart, whether the description was accurate or not didn't hinder his opinion about the young girl. No matter her crimes and the further repercussions of her actions, so prominent in people's dislike towards her, she didn't seek any payback by using delusion and lies.

It wasn't perfect, but he would base his opinion about Danox on her insight alone, but he decided to look for confirmation in Ignus. Ignus that would help him decide whether to trust Brill or not.

And Ignus said basically nothing.

This was something he didn't understand, being around someone for days should counter no matter how accurate view of a feminine intuition. And yet there was nothing.

He didn't like it one bit.

At this rate he will surely develop paranoia.

"I'm not disappointed" he uttered with absolutely no emotion in his voice "I'm surprised"

"Surprised?" his red scaled companion tilted his head slightly "Why?"

"I'm surprised that a dragon as old as me doesn't know what to do" he rubbed his head with a tired sigh "False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance"

*

He was so glad he got away from there, Terrador seemed to be very distressed about something and he really didn't have the head to deal with something like that today. Even if their conversation after a while took a completely different turn, even far away from business, the tone of their meeting adopted a more chilled tone.

Or it was the alcohol finally venting from his body and he was just imagining things.

No matter, his head hurt too much to worry about stuff like that.

And yet his paw was scratching the winglike bony extensions on the back of his head, body unaware that all this time he practically limped.

A thud of a hammer suddenly exploded, the noise was so loud that he felt his heart jumping up to his throat. Bright colors filled the corners of his vision, pain once more cracking his skull, pulse after pulse playing an agonizing melody that stretched and crushed his brain.

Familiar agonizing melody, thumping a tune that made him furious and depressed at the same time.

What did you do?

What did you do?

What did you do?

"Nice job boys!"

He balked, reality returned to him with a splashing, crushing rumble of water after a dive. The distorted vision returned to normal, only the edges carrying the bright dashes of his uncomfortable endeavor, the beating headache began to caper, bouncing from one temple to the next, bashing like a prisoner with weak, calloused hands against the cold walls of his cell.

More people joined the renovating team, the work intensified as well as did the conversations.

"Did you guys see that chick outside? Malefor be damned she's hot!"

Winced ruby eyes moved to the corner, to the trio of cheetahs talking as they were examining plans spread over a table.

Something crashed on the ground.

"Shit!"

A scream.

He groaned, he felt as if a blazing dagger just ran clean through his skull.

"What chick?"

"That blue dragon gal, boy now I understand why Hunter is so fascinated with them" the excited cat's whistled mischievously, raising both his hands and clenching his hands as if he would be roughly groping invisible breasts "That ass! I've seen some pretty dragon girls but that chick is not from this world!"

"You're right about that" another feline said, he seemed to be more bent over the papers than the other two, he shuffled the plans, absolutely not sharing his colleague's excitement "She's one of the Drifters"

"For real?"

"And did you ever see a dragon with feathery wings before?"

Of course, he should have suspected it, they were talking about Iris. Everyone always talk about Iris. Everyone always wants Iris.

More hammer strikes.

More shouts.

Another melody.

The scariest one.

Where was a bottle when you needed one?

This is what you did!

This is what you did!

This is what you did!

The aroused cheetah grinned, raising one his eyebrows lustfully.

"Then I should really go there somewhere, or ask her to take me there. It's no secret that girls are more comfortable in their own bed. The things I would do to her!" he growled menacingly, the increased libido bristling his fur "I would make a true Drifter from her, I would romp her so hard she would no longer be able to spell world in the first place"

The headache was suddenly replaced by sheer, raw fury, no matter how things have changed Iris was still his blood. Even if the feeling of unison between them rotted away he still loved his niece in a complicated way and when circumstances won't force themselves on them he will do whatever he can to spare her the unnecessary humiliation and pain.

He might as well start from feeding this cat his own balls that he so badly wants to smack against his niece's crotch.

"Why don't you tell her that?" the third cheetah grumbled, eyeing his companion with an annoyed look, arms locked on his chest, giving him a more challenging aura

"Why won't you?"

Every single one of the cheetah's gasp, their eyes shooting up and legs momentarily forcing them to take a few steps back. Their feline gazes landing on the angry snout of a red dragon towering above them, ruby eyes burning holes in the one that so boldly announced his horny dreams.

"I'm sorry dude" the cheetah licked his lips, feeling as if he was being buried alive under the weight of that vicious, draconic stare, yet not letting anyone know of his anxiousness "But this is a private conversation"

"It's no longer private when you fuck my niece with your words"

His companions gasped nervously, the stared down cheetah's eyes widened in fear.

"I propose you shut up or we will talk differently. Understood?" he growled, brandishing fangs coated in fresh, hungry saliva

The feline was about to cower himself, but then his eyes unexpectedly dashed around the room, the room full of people. That sight aroused his bravery.

"No" the cheetah narrowed his gaze, he grinned arrogantly, he was missing two first lower teeth "And what are you going to do about it big boy?"

"Shut up already!" the feline that was leaning over the papers the longest snapped ferociously

He ruby eyes scanned the room, he too took all those people into acknowledgment and found them irrelevant, all he needed to do to confirm this idea with real, bloody evidence was too let go off the threads he gripped so tightly.

Sometimes he wished he could do just that and adopt Iris' decadent approach to life, everything would be so much easier and quicker then.

If not for the small detail that if he would give in, all that he worked for would go to ruin.

He needs to remember that future is at stake here.

His burning gaze returned to the feline, he wished he had the power that would combust the guts with a single glance.

It was such a waste of time otherwise.

"You don't want to find out" he rasped, breathing a sneering puff of air at the cat through his nostrils before turning away and making his way out of this little hellhole

The feline snickered, he stepped forward, rising one arm in the air to wave after the dragon.

"Invite your niece inside old man!" he exclaimed with a derisive laugh before making rude, obscene gesture of mating, thrusting his hips back and forth and pumping his arms "I'll show her my cat's claw!"

Another laughter, shorter this time, ended prematurely by a hollow slap, the cheetah's head jerked forward, one hand momentarily shooting to the struck spot.

The most serious of the trio was standing behind the yelling feline, arm bend in the elbow, outstretched and burning after striking his companion over that empty melon of hiss.

"Shut up finally you moron"

The hollow slap was extremely satisfying to hear, it was a clear indication that there was not much inside that thick skull. Not that he found it surprising in any way, he didn't really understand why, but a big portion of laborers seem to lose their intelligence the longer they work. Instead of becoming smarter with the gained years, they all seem to be deteriorating into a mindset of a child.

The most tragic thing was that they found it funny.

He opened the door and was finally free from the toxic atmosphere of the City Hall, atmosphere that was mostly poisoned by the overwhelming noise, but also recently by the people inside. The gust of fresh air was intoxicating, he took a deep breath and nearly choked on it when his eyes caught up with the excitement.

He was greeted by a beautiful sight.

It was not the weather.

It weren't the families enjoying their free time.

It wasn't the blinding decorations and cleaned statues.

It was Iris.

She was here, sitting on a small, marble pedestal, turned towards the entrance, but her head was lowered, gaze focused on the colorful fish swimming in the pond below her. The pristine water was creating dancing, flowing patterns on her body, smoothly emphasizing her perfect figure like the softest of silks. The water glistened on her slightly opened wings, flushing out the neatly groomed feathers, making them bigger, more awe inspiring.

She was the living, angelic aspect of a draconic heritage.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

He could see his own, pretty sister in every strand of the blue and white scale, even if Athron was a blue dragoness and possessed no visible discoloration on her scales, the white hue of Iris' scales he still acknowledged as a part of his sister. It didn't matter that the wings and overall white of her body was a trait of her father she inherited.

For him Iris entirely looked like a younger, resurrected version of his striking sister, with angelic wings to par.

The years on spending on raising her and ordering Fate around made him blind to this.

Only after some time apart and only with the peculiar afterglow of last night's alcoholic journeys he could see that.

Like right now for example.

It made him want to cry.

He sensed his upper lip twitching, spasm with pity and regret for Iris, for Athron, for Ignus, pity and regret that always found a way to strike back at him, no matter how hard he kept them away.

He shook his head, a single drop of tear splashed on the frame of the opened door, he collected himself swiftly before things escalated beyond control, before he made himself look like a fool.

Iris was drawing attention of nearly everyone around, no matter if male or female, she stirred interest, people admired her, people wanted her to see them. People craved her and hungered for her attention, even as fleeting as a glance.

He couldn't blame them.

He understood them.

And finally he felt sorry for them.

They didn't realize that the girl they see is only a shell, an exterior. A mantis camouflaging herself as a pretty flower, luring people that are no more than insects to her into her belly.

What did you do?

This is what you did!

What did you do?

This is what you did!

He groaned, nearly burying his claws into his brain, the fucking headache was killing him.

And then his eyes widened, suddenly everything became irrelevant and silent, this was the moment of total emptiness, the one a soldier feels when stepping onto a trap.

She heard him.

She was watching him.

The predator smelled his weakness.

He looked up, meeting the cold, piercing, full of suffering and hate gaze of the girl he calls sometimes his niece, knowing all too well that she is a doppelganger. He could see through her camouflage, instead of the pretty flower, he saw her true predatory shape, her gaping, slippery mouth with rows and rows of sharp, rugged teeth stretching all the way to the gullet.

He could swear that on some of those spikes he saw his engraved name.

With unnaturally tense step he made his way towards her, Iris' sight was drilling into his soul. After each step he felt as if a sharp pin embedded itself in his heart, every tap of paw against the ground causing more and more of those pins getting thrust into his heart.

Iris was watching all this time, one claw moving up to some wicked rhythm only she could hear. Whenever it went down, he felt another stinging pain shooting through his heart, claw putting pressure on an invisible pin spitting pipe.

All this time she was watching as she tortured him.

Observing with the same cold satisfaction as life is being slowly drained from his eyes.

"Iris" he groaned out her name, gasping sharply for breath, one call was enough to get rid of all these crushing sensations.

Speaking pushed his mind away from constant thinking.

"W-what are you doing here?" his lips trembled as if he was cold, freezing shiver sending his body through a spasm

Her cold, dominant aura had always this effect on him after a prolonged period of separation.

"Waiting for you uncle"

At first he felt a stab of parental affection, he never had children of his own, this was the moment when he sincerely envied all those lucky bastards who didn't falter to life and where there to raise their offspring.

Fuck social rules and dogmas.

It was sad that only after so long he realized that Athron was right about abolishing that stupid doctrine of fathers being nothing else but walking sperm banks.

He could only imagine the joy, to come home and see your daughter uttering the same words, a daughter expecting the return of her role model and the male of her life, at least for a couple of short years.

All of it eluded him.

The warmth evaporated from his body as quickly as serenity from a boy's brain when dating the girl of his dreams.

He felt as if he was freezing, it was her voice that turned his nerves into icicles. It was Athron's stupid whim to teach her daughter that weird language of hers she picked up and developed after being basically obsessed with this foreign tongue she considered to be a legacy of dragonkind.

Always supporting her idea with one claim, a princess has to distinguish herself from the rest of the populace and be much more wiser. He didn't know when his sister's accent changed, nor did he really understand her persistence in learning that specific tongue.

Maybe that's why she led their race instead of him.

He remembered very well however Iris' first words in that tongue, while Athron spoke crudely and hardly elegant, Iris was a natural, lessons started so early that she basically hatched with the familiarity of two languages. The accent added so much depth to her voice, added a layer of grace and an exotic touch to her already very exclusive way of carrying herself.

That girl was a charmer way before her body adopted the shape of a true, alluring goddess.

That girl was an angel way before her wings grew those graceful feathers.

He remembered the praises Athron received about her daughter's look and wit.

He probably never felt more proud in his life than he did back then.

Now he couldn't stand that damned accent, it was like a searing whip of a sadistic torturer smacking him over and over again. Every accented syllable reminding him of his fallen sister, every note and tone coming from Athron's throat.

Hearing him.

Watching him.

All those years and she still didn't stop tormenting him.

"Me?" he was genuinely surprised, it was very rare for Iris to seek him out, let alone show any interest in him beyond the levels of obvious threat to their lives

"What is it about?"

"Ame akte besakaralibesi dijo Ignus"

His head started thudding again, he winced crunching the brink of his nose with his claws.

"Iris, please, I have a headache. I don't have the strength for your stupid games"

"Var skamwe teli " she continued, the bold tone of her voice clearly showing that she didn't care about his problems at all

"Iris" he growled, trying to keep his already boiling temper in check, fury however started to already gnaw at his exposed nerves

He absolutely despised when she talked in that weird tongue of hers. Firstly because he couldn't understand a word. Secondly because he didn't know if she isn't making a fool out of him by saying some made up gibberish and making him unconsciously torment himself by thinking about the meaning. Thirdly because whenever she used that speech she seemed far more sterner and perceptive, straightforwardly honest, talking her thoughts out behind his back so to speak, here however she was looking straight at him and that was pissing him off beyond imagination.

"Der aktet besziam" she poked again, twisting the dagger of irritation so much more fiercely

Her tone of speech, arrogant and cruel was insufferable, even more so was the fact that she was exactly aware of the effect it was having on him. If she would be capable of smiling, she would definitely flash out a triumphant, evil grin.

They both came from a royal family, she knew how insubordination is irritating, especially for him, no respectable adult dragon of royal bloodline would allow to be talked down by some rude brat like her.

Times have changed however, both of them were aware of that. They were also aware that no matter how complicated their relationship is, they both needed each other, for personal reasons, sometimes he doubted that they even know what those reasons are.

One could say it were only family matters.

He knew that it was more tragic then that, it escalated beyond mere family matters, the worst borderline for those is the desire to punch your loved one, sibling, child or whatever right in the nose.

Their relationship was far worse, all those ugly years twisted the feeling they knew as love to unimaginable levels. One such level was the desire to snap that blue impudent neck and be done with it once and for all.

He would do it because Iris is his niece.

He can't do it because Iris is his niece.

Fucking threads.

If only they were alone he would show her what it means to show respect and just how much he loves her.

But they weren't alone.

And she knew precisely what that meant.

Little bitch.

He stormed forward however, like a giant striding toward a village with the intention to crush it, if he couldn't show her how angry she made him with physical therapy then at least he will make it clear with body language.

Iris remained indifferent to his charge.

One of his paws dived into the pond, sharp claws caught a small fish and crushed it under the strength of the grasp. Blood started to trickle from between his toes, pushed to the surface by the pressure.

He unconsciously imagined this is exactly how warm Iris' blood would feel.

He smacked his lips hungrily.

"Wag that impudent tongue however long you want, I won't stand here listening to your taunts, I don't care what you want any longer. You came here to me, you want something, you will speak normally or I'm leaving"

Iris didn't falter, his crude display of authority not affecting her at all.

Something was different about her, he couldn't say what exactly, it was like the dislike she felt towards him when she grew up a little all those years ago was waking up within her, mixed with the now typical for her loathe for the whole world of course, but hate didn't matter. She hated him from the very beginning this whole mess started, but never disliked him.

Not after this whole mess started.

"You are weak Ignus"

Her voice, her beautiful in cruelty voice was burning his flesh harder than a hot iron, words striking him like a precise arrow of a sharpshooter piercing the heart. The pain seemed to traverse high up, towards the brain, squashing it under its weight. Everything spun around, dread gripped his spine, he felt as if he was about to throw up.

She learned.

She learned.

She finally learned.

"Don't lecture me girl" he tried to sound stern and confident, yet even he heard the slur in his voice caused by that overwhelming dizziness "First you need to be higher than my leg to understand the weight I have to carry"

"I don't need high to drop on the ground, in fact it's better that I'm smaller, I don't need to bend too far to reach below all this shit to grope your level. Yes, you are less worthy than crap to me, remember this reminder this time"

He hated it when she brought up the social standing, it didn't matter much in this world, true, but this was their own rivalry and in that struggle she will always be higher born no matter how hard he tries to change that.

And he tried many things.

It only brought temporary satisfaction.

And many more things that only pushed him closer to the bottle.

His head was thudding like crazy and he had a feeling she perfectly knew what he was going through, she had to know. Iris is a smart girl even if she is the coldest and craziest bitch he ever had the displeasure to deal with.

And she was using that wit to torment him.

What made this unbearable was not the pain, but the realization that she was right, he was weak, the headache made it impossible to deal with her right now. He was on the ground, she found him in a bad moment and now is scraping the scales off his fallen body.

Kicking occasionally to irritate the wounds further.

What made this nearly life exhausting was that Iris perhaps only meant physical weakness caused by his condition, however Athron within her reached deeper than just physical discomfort.

She was crushing his paws that held the threads of Fate, not forcing them to release their grip, but instead directing the threads towards his throat to force him to choke on them.

The nauseating sensation returned, for a second he wanted to slit his own throat, finally facing justice.

"Get lost you damn, ungrateful brat" he hissed, swinging his paw as if he would be scaring of a fly

Iris didn't budge, her white eyes would burn holes in his skull if they could.

"You have no command over me worm. You are a laughable joke of an authority"

He felt as if his eyes were about to start bleeding, the pressure on his skull was too much. He didn't get out from that damn City Hall to have to deal with this type of agonizing clench all over again.

"Screw you Iris, I don't have to deal with this" he spun around, aiming the part of his body in the crevice of which he held her right now

"Run away, this is one of the things you know how to do, pathetic loser of no value. Incapable fool"

He growled in fury, it made him mad that Iris knew which strings to play, it made him mad that she knew he didn't like to be called a coward.

Not after everything he had done.

Or perhaps precisely because of that.

He made another spin, with strides cutting distance to the still dragoness who watched him with bored, spiteful and uninterested expression. His paw automatically shot forward, claws curled like talons, ready to rip her throat and pluck out her eyes, not necessarily in that order.

He regained his senses when he sensed her cold aura on his scales.

This was not the time nor the place.

This was still Iris.

With a spiteful snarl he slammed the extended paw into the slab she was sitting on, right next to her paw.

She didn't even twitch.

This lack of respect wasn't helping in containing his boiling wrath.

He leaned close to her, teeth clenched, a growl constantly emanating from within his throat. Burying his gaze into hers he started to pant slowly, his warm breath intertwining with her freezing one.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of little whore" he hissed through clenched teeth, he could see the sparks of tension jumping between their eyes

"You are capable of treachery"

She responded, the sentence was like a slap to the snout for him, he kept his resolve however, she couldn't have know.

Not in this place.

Not in this time.

He pulled his head back, he couldn't stand the stench of her breath.

"What treachery? Everything I've done, I've done for you. Even if you don't appreciate it"

"You forbade Flare from seeing me"

His eyes widened in complete, honest shock, mouth dropped open as a whizz of a left his mouth.

Did he heard what he just heard?

He wanted to laugh, laugh like he never laughed before.

The headache faded away, it was like some invisible hand grabbed it and tossed it away from his skull.

She never learned.

She never learned.

She never learned.

"All of this" he snickered, with great difficulty containing the explosion of mocking laughter "Because of a BOY?" he sneered triumphantly

For the first time during this meeting of theirs Iris showed emotion, she shivered and a spark of defiance glistened in her eyes.

He loved that sight.

It meant that he triumphed.

"I don't give a shit about that motherfucker" Iris growled, staring all the time at him, but the impudence was gone from her stance "I'm no longer ten, it's about you interfering in my life all the fucking time"

The amusement disappeared from his expression, triumphant or not Iris was still his niece and that one never learned.

Nothing has changed.

"I was always in your life you silly girl, you would be dead if not for me. I don't see any treachery here, or maybe your dream from the beginning was to be a rotting corpse?"

Iris snarled, the familiar defiance wrinkling every part of her angered snout.

"You don't know me"

"You don't know yourself and honestly" his claw jumped between himself and her, pointing at the chests alternately "Between the two of us, I know more about you"

"Bullshit"

"You don't realize it Iris, but you are very sick, all this show is about the boy, its about your weakness, no matter how hard you try you won't change the fact that you are broken"

There they were, the first veins of cold, blue fury stretching through the whites of her eyes and from underneath her paws.

"Fuck you. You are not my father, you are a nobody and a nobody won't judge someone like me. Your opinion is worthless, you are nothing"

He leaned closer, he was extremely pleased to see his niece backing her head a little.

"Whatever you might think about me" looking into her pretty eyes he ran the blunt side of his claw affectionately across her cheek

She whimpered softly, her whole snout contracting in disgust.

"I still love you, you stupid girl"

"T-This isn't love" her voice cracked

"It's a complicated love, but it is still love and it will never change"

"Even if I tell you that I killed a child?"

His eyes widened, the determination and care he felt for his niece vanished with the surprised blink he made soon after.

The threads were slipping from his grasp and the oil that makes it slippery was made of Iris' breath.

She killed a child.

"Y-Yes"

She shoved away the caressing her cheek claw with a snarl of hate

"Lies" she growled in pain

Whatever he might think of Iris, whatever monster she had become, how much of her soul she has lost, nothing of that changed the fact he absolutely despised hearing or seeing her in pain.

It was rather ironic because sometimes she understood nothing else, but when a punch was needed to bring her back to her senses he didn't hold back. Sometimes it was needed, he hated it, but she is a lost cause, sometimes there was simply no other way to hold her floating on the board of reality.

It hurt nevertheless, even much so when he caused the pain unintentionally.

He shook his head pleadingly.

"No Iris, I really love you. I-"

A familiar laugh reached his earholes, it made his tail tip burst with fresh flames. He swiftly looked behind his shoulder, towards the door to the City Hall.

He spotted a laughing cheetah there, there was an unnatural hole in his mouth.

He was missing two front, lower teeth.

He trailed the cheetah with his eyes, the stinky cat was heading towards one of the smaller exits from the Plaza.

"I'm going to prove it to you. Come" without hesitation he made his way after the cheetah

Caught off guard by his sudden determination and swift move, Iris didn't even knew when she jumped off the pedestal and followed her uncle.

"How?" she asked impatiently, tail swinging in anxious anticipation

"By giving you the only reason that will make you want to live"