Ryuu Arashi (Dragon Storm)
Chapter Two: Azure Skies
It took a few moments but Kagome finally got her bearings. She stood on shaky legs, it took a bit of energy to control the darkness like that but the words seemed to work. She had managed to get it to do what she wanted before Sesshomaru had forced it away.
She looked up at Sesshomaru with curious eyes and could not help but ask, “What is a Dragonian?”
Sesshomaru gazed at her in silence for the longest time, as if he could not comprehend how she could ask that question. “If you do not know then you cannot know until your partner tells you,” he finally answered.
“Oh,” Kagome trailed off as she looked away, feeling stupid. “Then, um, could you teach me more about the Austerian part of spell casting?” she asked, more nervous then she had ever been in her life. Stealing the egg had been easier.
“It's simple,” he answered almost instantly. “You used it before when you called on the darkness. It’s just a description of what you want the power to do. The more syllables in the words the more power and if you just repeat the same word over again it won’t work well. The more elaborate the more powerful. Simple,” he explained.
Kagome thought over what he said. It made a bit more sense now why they used such literary descriptions now. She was glad that she had decided to copy their speaking patterns earlier instead of just commanding it stupidly.
“Stand,” he commanded suddenly. “I want you to counteract.” Sesshomaru didn’t wait for her to move. He called out his magic calmly and with dangerous accuracy, “Iteru! Jagged daggers slice.”
“Wah,” Kagome cried as she clamored to her feet. Hundreds of tiny shards of ice slit her cheek and hands before she could react. “Are you trying to kill me,” she growled, tempest eyes darkening.
“To slow woman, even a child could counteract that move,” he snapped. “Iteru! Cleave, slice, sever,” his magic was just as swift the shards of ice coming at her instantly.
The first strike had stung, hitting only shallow areas that left her skin buzzing. The second shards were larger and she did not wish to experience the same pain. “Aduro! Burn away,” Kagome cried out at the last second and her inner black fire hissed as it lapped up the icy shards, but her pause had allowed one lose shard to strike across her cheek. It stung worse then before and left her blood dripping down her neck and into her clothes.
Sesshomaru’s already cold face hardened more as he clenched his jaw. “Use your brain, burn away could do anything, we are in a forest, now heal yourself your bleeding all over the place,” he order flicking his wrist like it was the easiest thing in the world to heal with magic.
“How, Arike didn’t tell me that word,” Kagome cried holding her arms out in challenge.
“What did she teach you?” he questioned and though his voice barely fluctuated Kagome felt that Sesshomaru was exasperated.
“Dark, water, wind, fire, and earth,” she listed off, “Oh and light.”
Sesshomaru starred at her for a moment, his eyes seeming to go straight through her. “Then use light, it works best for healing magic,” he answered.
“Light, but I’m darkness wouldn’t that make it difficult,” Kagome asked, scrunching up her brow in curiosity. Sesshomaru did not answer only starred at her with a look that seemed to say, ‘who is the magic user here?’ With a sigh Kagome placed her right hand over a cut on her left arm and closed her eyes. She searched for her magic and drew it up from her center to her fingertips. “Kashoku! Stitch together these wounds with threads of healing warmth,” she ordered. When Kagome opened her eyes she was surprised to see thousands of little threads of black light seeping into her arm and up to her face. It took a moment but surely the wounds were pulled together and closed.
“Very well done Kagome, it takes quite a bit of practice to use healing magic. Sesshomaru was being mean to ask you to,” a voice in her mind called with a pleasing bright blue.
“Arike,” Kagome called back as she lifted her head to the sky and squinted through the sunlight as Ekìra came down upon their little hideaway. The sleek silver had Arike on his back as well as a large Cho bird. He landed smoothly and Arike jumped off and glided over to her. Kagome scooped up her dragon with a smile, nuzzling against her warm scales.
Ekìra smirked to himself as he pulled the bird off of his back and placed it in front of the two. “I believe you needed some feathers,” he commented nosing the yellow bird.
“Yes, perfect. Thank you so much,” Kagome smiled and tried to send a happy yellow flash to the dragon. He didn’t say anything in response, but she felt he got the message.
Nervous under so many eyes, Kagome kneeled next to the bird and started to pluck the largest feathers from its neck and hind corners. It was a mixture cho bird with mainly yellow feathers but red tips. The vein running through the middle of each feather was thick and sturdy. She plucked the bird almost completely bare separating the feathers into usable for arrows and usable for bedding piles before taking out her knife. Like most poultry no real skinning was involved but she hacked off the head and the lower legs. The bone took a moment to cut through and crunched under her blade.
Next she dislodged the hip bone and yanked off the large muscular thigh. Around the bone and in-between two muscle connections ran thick sinew called silver skin. It was a type of fat that was almost impossible to break down and was inedible. She shaved the silver skin off carefully before cutting the middle into a thick long stripe. With care she rolled the stringy material into a long, slick cord. Taking up her yew bow, she stretched the string taunt and tied a small loop at both ends. She slipped one end over the top, pushing it down as far as it would go, before stretching the other end down to the bottom and slipping it own.
All of this took a bit of time, but not once did she look up. If she would have seen Ekìra, Sesshomaru, and Akira sitting around a fire one of them had conjured up. Neither of them said a word out loud, but various contemplative faces seemed to belie that they were conversing mentally.
Finally she looked up with an exhausted smile and held out the bow along with a few arrows she had completed with feathered ends. “Now I have a bow so Arike and I can hunt together,” she said with a bright smile at Sesshomaru. Ekìra snorted softly so that the blast of hot air ruffled Arike’s scales as he starred at her teasingly. Arike struck back with a small paw. Kagome decided the two were pretty good friends because only best friends tease each other so much. She chuckled as she watched her little hatchling latch onto the powerful silver dragon’s nose and head butt him.
Amber eyes as smoldering and unreadable as the sun starred at Kagome for the longest time, before Sesshomaru stood. His lean form seemed to unfold forever as he slid to his full height-despite being a dog demon he had the grace of a deadly feline. “Come Ekìra,” his mental voice was as stern as his real voice.
Ekìra looked up before just as gracefully pulling himself to his legs. “Sesshomaru” he called curiously. His head was tilted to the side so his scales glinted silver.
If it had been anyone else, Kagome guessed that Sesshomaru would never have answered the question, but coming from his life partner it was hard for anyone to be bluntly rude. ‘It is time to return to the city. We have night duty,’ he answered as he walked over to the dragon and with a very slight bow of the head in respect, swiftly leapt onto his back. Ekìra starred at the little black dragon before glancing at Kagome. He bowed his head before taking to the sky.
It was the most amazing thing Kagome had ever seen. His powerful muscles bunched under silky scales before stretching taunt and pushing the large body up into the sky before his wings caught against the wind. The tightly packed feather’s flared in the wind before he began pumping his wings and shooting off into the sky. The take off took only seconds before he was completely out of site.
“Such a show off, but I suppose it’s to be expected. He is the greatest flyer of all Dragonia,” Akira huffed as she padded over to Kagome’s side.
The young human looked down at her partner curiously before asking what had been on her mind for some time, “What is Dragonia or a Dragonian. I mean you commanded one of the greatest dragon knights of all time with a word.”
Akira laughed softly, her mind flashing brilliant yellows and blues. “Yes that arrogant boy will not listen to much. You should first know that centuries before humans ever came to Auster that the demon’s had no more power over the dragons than the humans due now. They could only defend against the fall with their minuet magic. A group of demons finally got fed up with their never ending struggle and went in search of the legend of Dragonia. There were rumors going around of a castle miles up into the sky surrounded by violent storms and powerful magic. This castle was rumored to contain creatures of extraordinary power that could defeat the thread with ease.
So the group of demons, knowing they could not fly that high alone, forced a small pack of dragons into flying them up there. The group was easily slaughtered for their harsh treatment of the dragons, but two demons were smart and kindly requested a ride. The two dragons they asked took to the Castle of Dragonia and there they met thousands of dragons, larger and more powerful then any dragons they had ever seen on land. The mighty king of Dragonia saw to the demons and heard their plea, but he denied their request.
Sadly the pair returned to the ground with the help of the dragons and separated soon after hitting the ground. It was many years later that they met again. The demon pair had mated and though they had had a large litter the thread had fallen not days after their birth. The mother and father used every ounce of their strength to ward of the thread, but it fall in massive clumps and it was not long before the pair and six of their small pups all perished. One small pup survived. He was the smallest of them all but some how he had managed to pull a fading shield around him. No female dragon could ignore such a sight and she and her mate burn the thread to ash to protect him. He was still in his true demon form so it was easy for the dragons to carry him off to safety.
They raised him as best as they could and he grew strongly but when he finally changed into his humanoid form they could not communicate as easily. The dragon couple, who could produce no hatchlings of their own, broke the greatest of the Dragonian laws and merged minds with the demon.
Thankfully everything worked out fine and the trio lived happily until the demon found a mate. He wished to have a family of his own and when his mate finally had pups they were all happy. Well until the thread fell again. It fell as strong and powerful as ever and while the dragons were away hunting. The demon defended his pack viciously, but by the time the dragons returned all the pups had been eaten away and their adopted son was close to following after them. The dragon pair could not watch such a thing and in a fit of rage the two once more destroyed the fall and curled up beside their son. He was heavily wounded and close to death and together the pair made the ultimate sacrifice for their child. In a blast of magic that could be felt all the way in Dragonian the dragon partners gave their life energy to their son, reviving him and healing his wounds. It was true that only one had to die, but the pair did everything together and they gave their lives together like true soul mates.
The magic shock wave made the very Kind of Dragons himself fly down from Dragonia for the first time in millennia to see what had happened. He was shocked and saddened to see the dragon skulls surrounding the demon for the pair had been his only children. Dragon magic poured off the boy and as the dragon king opened his mighty jaws to shall the demon he was surprised to find his neck bared as the boy spoke in perfect Dragonian, “I have disgraced and killed my parents please devour my rotten soul.”
The king, who had been mad in grief, paused and realized that his children had died to give this boy life. ‘I can not kill my own grandchild,’ the king finally said, surprising the demon. The two talked for a long time. Learning many things about each culture and how they had lived. Finally the king came to a decision. He left his powerful brother to the demon and his brother’s mate partnered with the demon female. Amazingly enough the female demon had gotten some of the resounding power and her belly once more swelled with a pup. Soon dragons were sent all over the world to partner with the purest of the demon race. No one ever learned who it was that made the pact with the dragons but they all learned the rules.
Never harm a dragon.
Always respect a dragon.
Honor the magic.
These rules where written in stone and placed into the center of the first demon settlement. The fourth, unspoken rule, was, “When a Dragonia seeks help, that help must be given.” For the dragons sent out were all from Auster except for the king’s brother. The Dragonians had magic that would burn away the core of any demon and only the demon that had been reborn in dragon magic could control the power his partner shared with him.“ Arike finished her story solemnly, her colors made a vivid rainbow rollercoaster of feelings that were nearly impossible to sort through.
“Wow,” Was all Kagome could manage to say, even though she felt there was a bit more to this story.
Arike looked up with sad red eyes before they narrowed and a cackle of pure magic surged around her. “Do you understand now why he listened so well?”
Kagome nodded her head slowly. It made sense now why Sesshomaru, who she suspected never agreed to anything he didn’t want to do, had said yes to Arike’s pushy demand. If the dragons were responsibly for the demon’s cushy life then the demons owed the Dragonians everything. The story was odd though, something about it struck a cord in her heart, perhaps it was only Arike’s feelings transferring to her, but they were strong and hard to ignore. “Thank you for telling me Arike I understand thing better now,” Kagome added as she scratched the sensitive area behind Arike’s ear holes.
Arike nuzzled against the pleasant fingers as a gently voice whispered across her mind. “Love, are you alright?” the whisper asked.
Arike recognized the voice instantly and let her whole body relax as the voice sent gentle waves of blue through her mind. Only Ekìra could reach her mind from so far away. ”I’m fine I was just telling Kagome about the Dragonians,” he answered with a nuzzle of light blue back.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you to tell the tale, but Sesshomaru and I are guarding the village,” he responded with the addition of chirping birds to his mental scene.
Arike felt her entire body fall into relaxation until she closed her eyes and curled up against Kagome’s hand. She managed to get out one more sentence before she fell into a comfortable dreamless sleep. “It’s okay it’s only natural that a mother mourns the loss of her son.”