FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 62

"No more bothers for today, get on the streets and weight the atmosphere. Do not come back with trifles" Athron waved her paw, with just a gust of winding bending the armored head of a powerfully built Peacekeeper, covered in ice floor whined under the pressure of his retreating, stomping paws.

The door slammed shut.

A deep sigh stretched out her chest, the exhale that left her mouth moments later flicked both ears as if there was an invisible finger poking them constantly. Finally arrived the expected last breadth of air, it numbed her limbs, bending them and forcing the body into a roll, splaying her back against the cold floor into a pose more suited for a carefree child than a respectful, cold-hearted queen.

She yanked at her mane, dropping the foreleg between in between the closed eyes, hugging the only limb in the whole universe she knew had no intentions to raise against her. Breath returned with a calm pace, welcoming with its soft voice a companion who, with each passing year, she appreciated more and more.

Sweet, adoring Silence.

She felt like a knot was unfurling inside her head, freeing the squeezed brain like some sort of a mushy spring. As it bounced against the walls of her skull, plan and memory were fading into oblivion, leaving her with nothing but the most basic desires of thirst and hunger.

Moments like those felt more divine than any irrational belief in all manners of gods who left them alone in this tormented world all those years ago.

To imagine that such basic functionality wasn't merely a dream, everything that separates her from it was a single step through a specific portal and a new world would welcome her. Literally. A desire worth pursuing, knowing that there would be stress in the beginning wasn't even that discouraging, because the future, the future my sweet paw would be written with words that no longer wield our name.

To fade into the embrace of mundanity and unknown, to disappear and become one with Silence. That was a mate worth fighting for.

Another sigh left her throat, painting the pressing leg with a single tear. It all had to wait though, patience was a sound advisor all these years and there was no reason to betray its trust now. Even when, after all this time, she still couldn't taste the true Strength of silence.

"I advise you to reconsider" a way too familiar echo of a voice bounced off the cold walls of the back corridors, gluing itself to her forehead it began to drag the eyebrows down into a painful frown.

She pressed the leg once more against her snout, this time however wet spots of tears were replaced by bite marks. Responsible teeth more than aware of how fleeting the moment of total oblivion was, to think that once she believed that progress and advancement in her standing would calm things down finally.

"Mother"

Marks turned into bloody wounds.

"Darling!" paw dropped flatly onto the cold floor "You're back so soon" smile stretched the white lips, loving picture following very well drawn sketch lines of a form that was so popular that nobody could see the struggle hiding underneath "You look so well, I knew Ignus would take good care of you, I just hope you didn't cause him much trouble"

"I did my best Mother"

"Oh darling, I know, I know! Unfortunately I'm also familiar with our blood and how...charismatic it might be at times. I worry about you, it's just better if you allow Ignus to take his time and assist you properly. We wouldn't want to miss any vulnerable spot, yes?"

"There is nothing more that I can do"

The smiling head turned in his direction, something that for many would be just a mundane display of attention, to Ignus, who knows the threads of reality running in this family a bit better, was something else entirely. Of course he too saw a smile plastered to a pretty face, that one detail was so perfect that no matter the shades which one sees the word with, it remained a steady focus point no matter what.

Yet he grew old enough to develop an adequate resistance to naïve stupidity.

That allowed him to see the smile for what it really is, where many have seen neatly curled lips, he was rows of crisscrossed fangs, each teeth sharp as a prepared for skinning hook. Every single one of them was aimed at him, the cold flickers dancing in the familiar eyes adding their soulless touch to the deadly surface of the fangs where besides saliva glistened also reflection of his torn neck.

They might have grown older and more distant, but nothing will change the fact that blood is still blood and the same one runs in both their veins. Their rivalry reached different highs, places where there is no wiggle room for jokes and pleasure, places where only seriousness dominated. Still, he kept pushing around with his shoulders like he always did even here and while he is far, far away from triumph in the real world, the notion of brotherly success was something he adored nevertheless.

Even though, the reasons for this decision never tasted the flavor of playfulness.

"Are you certain?" like a guillotine clicked Athron's lips "Brother?"

"I was never so certain of anything else in my life" nodded the fiery head, moving freely even though he knew the payback for this disobedience will maim his ego once more. He could play along if course and allow his sister a moment's respite, but then again what was the point anyway? Someone or something was bound to disturb Athron anyway and whatever that would be he would pay the price for this transgression either way, there was a reason for his tendency to spend his life locked in cellars and his home after all. Besides, Iris wanted to go back and he knew that he had no strength to stop her, in the end he will be the one winning this taunting battle, as short lived as this victory will be, it will give him the much needed break from Iris.

The more time he spends with her the more his heart bleeds and he didn't put so much in line for the past few years to let it ruin everything. Something that it was more than capable of doing, considering that the mere thought of abandoning her squeezed more tears than the perspective of withstanding her broken spirit.

Fucking responsibility tormented him either way. He must return back to the shadows, just for a little bit, enough to silence the forsaken whining at least for a single night. A night where his mind is no longer filled with images of blue, pretty feathers.

Because he had a feeling that soon there will be no end to this crying.

"Come to me then my child" Athron extended her leg, the bones creaking like some sort of nightmarish scythe, illuminated by the burning, cold flames radiating from the eyes.

Iris stepped into the embrace without hesitation, claws locked themselves against her shoulder and head, having no objections of latching themselves to the bandage and irritating the fresh wound underneath.

"Go away now Ignus and cram yourself in some hole like you always do. You will know when I'll be needing you again, believe me"

"Naturally sister" Ignus bowed elegantly "Do enjoy yourself, this family reunion might be worth more than you think"

"Out. Now" like whips lashed the flames in the blue eyes.

The soulless, cold glow followed the red steps, tapping a claw against the floor each time a hind leg rose. A greenish, bleak pulse reached across the ground like a tree branch, yanking with its finger each of the back legs, stabbing them with their never sated touch. Ignus flinched, but kept pushing forwards and Athron enjoyed the sight greatly, fully aware that he will behave like that, fully aware that there will come a day when he will fall, finally ending his entire lust for power he so desperately thinks was stolen unjustly from him.

Siblings. Such a tailache they are.

"Never become a mother dear, they tend to be so irritating in their shortsighted view of happiness. What's so special about children? Especially more than one? Nothing but annoying trouble in my opinion"

She received no words in response, but a tight clutch of claws against her underbelly and rub of scales against her own as if the girl in her embrace wanted to drill herself into her insides.

"Iris, stop being a-" the building up snarl ended abruptly when she laid eyes on the head lying on her stomach, claws kneading her flesh like it was a pillow kept her attention locked on the young figure, especially the revealed head.

Heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Where is your mask?" she reached for the jaw, forcing the uncovered snout to look at her.

Dilemma and questions about motherhood disappeared when it obeyed her wish. This world spun around the notion of creating copies of bodies on top of more copies of bodies in never-ending pursuit to satisfy this universe's vile craving for blood. Skyward, being the main supplier, was fully aware just how mundane were the bodies walking its streets, she would know, many of those were her own creation.

Even though they carried differences, big enough so they won't notice similarities, to her they were like sculptures, their uneven details nothing else but a whim, so dependent on the direction from which wind of passions blew on the day they were created. Among them, there wasn't a single one worth noticing, to her they were only drones, same faces, same behaviors, same worthless fate. Work so ugly that it deprived her of all care, stripping even ambition, taking away even something she never believed she possessed.

Until she looked at this pretty snout.

As a female kid growing up in the Upper City she learned quickly that her only advantage against the populace of highborn males were her looks. Time she spent looking herself in the mirror, perfecting every smile and bend of muscle reached numbers way above the possibility of her brain power to calculate. Moments spent on comparing herself to others were the bread of her life, looks alone wouldn't get her far if she wouldn't put some effort in the ability of projecting it. In time she reached levels of fluidity that even surprised herself, becoming so natural that even sitting and lying became a sort of art. Now, as an adult, she was certain that there exists nothing better than her learned habit of charm.

She was wrong.

Perfection can be found in birth after all.

If there were any doubts about the girl being her blood and bone still stuck somewhere in the back of her head, after looking at Iris' uncovered face they definitely all vanished away. She was her reflection, she was even carrying the same ridges on her cheeks as she did. Now, without the mask taking the prime focus she noticed her slender neckline, long and smooth as her own. Yet for all those similarities, it wasn't them that squeezed the breath in her throat however.

It started with the eyes.

The mask stole their true allure, even though she noticed their peculiar appeal the first time they met, it was still nothing compared to how they look now. She couldn't care less what soul they hid, what mattered was their shape. Pristine white like precious diamonds shone confidently at her, creating with blue of the scales a match worthy of being called divine. Skyward was already moaning when facing the sight of her blue orbs, what would the city do if it laid its attention on this pair remained a mystery.

What she knew though was that the idea of falling for a male, even a feathery one, wasn't as idiotic anymore if he had such eyes, especially when they fit so perfectly with the slender blue of her body.

She was beautiful, a girl capable of influencing wars, whether to start or end them didn't matter as the fact that there was no denying someone like her leaves a mark on world. Becoming a queen, especially when forcing herself through hardships unknown to most stuffed up royals made her rather sensitive when it came to competition. There were enough obstacles on her path that having more thrown her way was never a good sign.

The difference here however was that she actually wanted to welcome this additional weight if the consequence of baring it would bring such marking spoils. Undeniable was the progeny of the father, feathery wings weren't her favorite, she had to admit that they formed a rather peculiar match with ice, yet it was the stripes that stole the attention.

Especially the pristine shading around the already hard to resist diamonds behind. Not to mention that her limbs carried the unmistakable touch of a male gene, thickening the muscles that were perfectly slender on her own frame. She was so used to using the appeal of flesh that she couldn't help herself but to admit that this emphasizing curves mixture would put a hard wedge between her and populace if both of them would struggle for the throne.

Yes, surrounded only by the silence of her own thoughts she could announce that birth possesses magical properties. In that same place of solitude she could also note, that even though affection was the last thing on her list to pursue, she no longer believed it to be a total waste of time.

Guess even main actors role playing destruction need some room from constant warfare. Perhaps she stuffed that damn cabinet into a cellar a little too soon.

Paw moved away from the chin on its own, circling around the pretty face it rested at the back of the head, guiding it tenderly back into her underbelly. Iris rubbed her scales into the bluish flesh, forcing the ears to sink against the skull pressing the head they belonged to back onto the floor. Another gentle graze stirred the toes on the Queen's forepaw, they began scratching the body in their grasp.

Each slide of claws against the scales, without even a single notion demanding sinking into it, lifted the eyelids of the lying head higher and higher. The reflection up above did not share her enthusiasm, gazing down with wrathful green eyes it made no secret of its disappointment.

Having something feel sorry for her wasn't anything new, Athron wouldn't even notice it if not for the fact that the rest of the green touched body didn't even bother to flex. She knew that look all too well, as a leader of this city she was familiar with the horrors of routine, doing something just for the sake of doing it, with no perspective for change and successes.

It was a look of complete and total boredom.

"You cannot stay here" despite the words blue foreleg moved on its own, giving the young head a scratch behind the horn.

"Mother" Athron completely ignored the faint sounds of her breaking under the pressure of bloodthirsty clench scales. This were the only wounds in a very long time she didn't mind bleeding from.

"I cannot give you what you want" blue flames danced in her eyes, yet even those were unable to break through the mundane green at the top "Not today when I don't deserve you"

"You are perfect Mother" Iris burrowed her cheeks into the droplets of blood unbothered that one got into her eye and tinted it red.

"A moment ago I thought so as well" Athron observed the ever flowing reflection of green, its entirety filling up every crack and hole between the scales. Sealing with its ever needy hunger all the possible entrances an unwanted emotion could take towards the heart "Perfection however doesn't require glue to be able to function. There is not enough room in me for you Iris. I am not what you wish for. In that regard you should trust your uncle"

"It is enough for the daughter I am today. Beauty Mother, at times fools even the one carrying it. I am too not what you wish for, the daughter you see is nothing but a husk now"

"This place doesn't tolerate feathers, I am hindered by its desire to remain so. It takes all of my time, I hardly find space to breathe for myself, let alone for someone else's. Walk this path if you will daughter, but be aware that it will be riddled with regret"

"It's okay" white toes splayed themselves over the blue chest, rubbing it like a djinn's lamp "Regret became my air and reflection since the day I lost you. I yearn to feel it from something else than my own head" tongue left the blue lips, pressing itself against the smeared up pool it began its fervent service. Wiping each droplet clean, making the already well polished scales shine even more "I'll do anything to not make you bleed again"

A shaking breath whizzed through Athron's seemingly sealed mouth, mind began its trained traverse across the green fields of callous magic above. It welcomed it with the same acceptance like times before, reminding with its binding touch about the price of leadership, cost of the crown knows no bonds, bravely leading across the path of stability it painted a future of hardships that only the strongest will overcome.

Perhaps at the end of it, lay yet undiscovered plains of silence and freedom, perhaps there exists an empty cabin, patiently awaiting for the one who decorates it as he pleases. Safe, peaceful heaven.

It was all a matter of dreams however, numbing reality climbed her muscles currently, slowing to a halt scratching behind the horns blue toes.

Imprinting awareness that, when it comes to bleeding prevention, she was incapable of making such promise.

*

"I just loooove hard work" Cellsa stretched on top of an icy perch overlooking the warehouse "I could watch it the whole day!"

On the bottom floor, among ice touched crates of different sizes, Orbis was pushing boxes around.

"We are wasting time Dawn, we must find Spyro" he gave the block of ice a solid kick, despite his muscles it was still quite a feat to bring the cube to its rightful place "I've backtracked Iris' steps, I think-"

"Oh for fuck's sake!" a pair of electrical orbs cracked like eggshells on top of feminine with thumbs "Stop drooling already! I didn't come here to listen to your whining, if Athron didn't tell me to find you I would be already taking a bath in the most luxurious pool I could find here. I would finally get a taste of what was always destined for me. Away from boredom and it's reflections, away from tasks, chores and you"

"Watchers exist for a reason, nobility doesn't act without notion for their own gain, you know this as well as I do"

"Hell yeah we do! Screw commoners, these guys have no idea how hard it is to be noticed around here! And don't get me even started about all sorts of plots, folks here are killing each other for gain!"

"There is no I in that we you speak about. No matter how hard one can color reality, nobody is becoming a royal in the Upper City, especially when coming from the lower levels. Don't forget that you're also a gi-"

"Enough!" electricity cracked from the slapped eyes, pain announcing its presence with a single tear in the pinkish eyes "You had your time to blabber, I won't be hearing it again. Get back to work!"

Orbis sighed, thanking himself for his loyalty to his inherited element, without it, his cracking with Binding energy artificial eye would already embark on a very mischievous journey. Especially when provoked by the natural, sibling rivalry. He was glad that the loss of sight ironically opened up his eyes, or one of them to be precise, to the aggression fueled world of Skyward.

Love for his sister also helped, no matter how hard Dawn tries to maim it, yet he had to admit that with each new excess, he was having harder and harder times of keeping it together.

He obeyed the order, latching onto the next crate he began another muscular slide, happy for the discomfort, it at least siphoned away the thoughts about smashing his sister's skull in.

"Do you even know why you were ordered to boss me around in here? Do you know what is in these crates? Do you know for what they are for?" Orbis squeezed another box between previously adopted rows, following no guidelines but his own sense of taste.

"It's obvious you dumb brick! It's a test!" Cellsa pulled herself up, puffing out her chest like a bird preparing to sing "As a well deserved royal I must hone my skills, learn how to boss folks around. I'm great, bud sadly I don't have Athron's ass so I gotta make due with what I've got. After I put you in your place no one will even dare to breathe in my vicinity without my say so!"

"I'm a nobody to the highborn. I listen because I'm your brother"

"Bullshit! You OBEY cause you know the tables have turned and you can't stomp on me anymore!"

"What is this Dawn?" Orbis slammed the pushed crate back into the corner, despite standing higher than his horns the box skid across the floor like it was just a hollow toy. Not only lifting dust in the air, but also Cellsa's supposedly relaxed neck "From where do these insinuations come from? You were hostile towards me since we reunited, now you pushed that aggression even further by following orders of someone who barely knows you. What happened to you Dawn?"

"No fucking way!" flexible body lifted itself on the waves of crackling everywhere electricity. Crisscrossed bolts forming another pair of wings in between their original reflection "You're doing it again! Putting everything on me! Not this time bro! I won't let throw me off this table ever again!"

"What?"

"Stop acting stupid!" Cellsa released a bolt towards the muscular body, smashing it on the ground between his forelegs "I've finally seen through your tricks so you can shove that condescending tone up your ass!"

The one healthy eye bowed its eyelid under the touch of rubbing it green paw. Nothing changed when it opened once more, the perched dragoness still looked like a sibling. No wonder, since the change lied in a spot unseen by mere looks alone. As siblings growing in a hostile, based on rivalry environment it was rather foretold that their relationship will be a bumpy one. To think about it, Orbis could probably name more moments where they argued than actually cooperated, yet counting those times together when they showed affection to each other, however it might have looked like, were outmatching any bad situation. After all, no matter their differences, they cared for each other, in their personal way naturally, but it still counted in the grand scale of things, especially here on the bottom level of society where emotions seemed to fade away more and more each year. Dawn was difficult, getting increasingly more problematic as years went by, yet she, aware of it or not, never even approached the border where they relationship could truly be wounded.

Until now.

This was different than her typical rebellion, he was used to her screams, they usually lasted as long as her attention span on the current thing she found fancy. Suffice to say it was as hectic as the element she wields. Right now however this aggression was something more than a mere whim, he could only compare it, based on the world they grew in, to motivation of a loyal soldier who follows orders blindly.

And blindly following orders put this world on a path of a never-ending bloodbath.

"This is part of a plan. I believe Athron wants you to keep an eye on me, picking me from the crowd couldn't have happened out of sheer roll of luck. Royals conspire, they need to in order to survive, that doesn't mean however we must sacrifice everything we are to satisfy their whims. We're siblings and despite our skirmishes, this bond is more vital and secure than any future they could offer us. We are just bodies to them, remember? There is a reason why Athron needs mine, what is it Dawn?"

"Dammit" Cellsa yanked at her hair "Next time I'm taking someone with me, strangers always shut you up. If you need to talk, use single sentences only, you're more tolerable that way"

"Why she needs to control me? Is she afraid I will find Spyro and hinder her plans? If so, then why keep me alive then?"

"The Queen is so right!" she chirped mockingly "You manipulative sons of bitches are worth every hate you get! Not even when you're outmatched you stop thinking of your delusional stature. Fuck you bro!" covered in electrical sparks claw rose to pinpoint its frustration against the green of scales below "You are an impractical dummy and that's it, now, for the last time, stop talking or I'm going to whip you" twitching, zigzagged lines arched their structures swiftly "Or don't, I think I prefer that. I'm kinda itching to hit you anyway"

There was no point.

Dawn was high again and as crazy it may sound, he wished that it would be the damn drugs. When looking at her he could feel his healthy eye bleeding bile from the inside, sinking its natural colors into the pit of callous despair his artificial one belonged to. Seeing the surrounding world with nothing but colors of his sole presence, wondering that perhaps, it would be best for everyone if she stayed dead. Orbis blinked, jerking his head he forced the eyeball within to rattle, beating against the insides of the skull like a stirred hornets nest, stings and bites reminding him that he still had nerves in there.

And whether he liked it or not, one of those nerves had her name carved on its features, a nerve he was responsible for in equal measure as she was. Even more so perhaps, since he was the one that took the first step all those years ago to break the shackles that ordained the world's unequal treatment of its sons and daughters.

A nerve that he, despite possessing every overgrown muscle known to the universe, had no strength to break apart. In a world where there is no peace and affection, this fickle delusion of one was all they could ever dream of and as much as parts of him wished to be rid of this curse, he won't be able to do it himself.

Dawn was the only sister he had.

It was a pity that throughout the years she hadn't learned to cope with reality on its, wicked terms. Little sister was being beaten down by the weight of the world, hatched as a weak female she bordered on starvation more times than a soldier spending days on a battlefield. Not having the frame to stand against the indifference, not possessing any particular talent she sunk into a pit of depression that would suck the life out of her if not for the damn nuts. Gone was the tormented girl, replaced by a version with as flexible morality as her own muscles, set on enjoying life for what it is instead of sulking herself to death. Once he believed it to be a most welcoming change.

Until they both learned that addiction paints reality with colors so strong that everything else looks like pale depression in comparison.

Dawn can't live without her drugs anymore, not only they fuel her body but also everything that's going on inside her mind. Purpose and determination, things that normally belong to the heart had no entrance to her palace of life, there was nothing there anyway besides a shriveled organ focused on pumping enough blood to keep limbs alive. Everything that created a dragon for what he truly is rattled together with thoughts, so vivid and hectic they were that her personality depended greatly on the influence of the drug's current hold. One of its shades kept reminding her of the unjust potential for one such herself, world known to trample weaklings chose her to be elevated, fueling an unsated passion for well deserved greatness.

Today she had found a drug to satisfy that particular craving.

No matter how hard he will try there was no turning her back from this indulgence, another step on the staircase of addiction was built and there was no crushing it, not with his fists at least. He had no idea where all of this is leading, yet when he pressed another crate to the wall, revealing a little too obvious bit of scales and feathers crammed inside, he had a feeling that the unspoken plans floating around didn't have their best interest in mind.

Nobody stores trophies of their victims for satisfaction alone.