A Day Off Part One
Chapter 14: A day off
Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. I'm a big anime fan and I just got into Ryuusei no Rockman. Been trying to catch up on the episodes.
Nephilla Tzura
Species: Dragon
Element: Water
Special Ability: Her eyes are much more powerful than the average dragon's. She can see into the entire electromagnetic spectrum at will as well as see mana fields even with her eyes closed or blindfolded.
Strongest Spell: Poseidon's Trident (Requires a large body of water. Creates multiple spears of water that fly towards a target and spear them many times over.)
Birthday: April 10, 1990
A shy girl who is still coming to grips with the fact that she was never human to begin with. The only person she really trusts is Lacyus. She is still trying to sort out her feelings for Rykuu and figure out if she should trust him.
Mira Akival
Species: Dragon
Element: Matter Manipulation
Special Ability: Absolute Chameleon Scales (able to turn 95% invisible)
Strongest Spell: Molecular Cutting Blade (Turns any object, no matter how blunt into an unstoppable blade that will cut into anything)
Birthday: January 19, 1984
A tomboy dragoness who's not afraid to split a bad mate's skull. She's very good friends with her brother Lacyus. She is currently single having never really gotten over her break-up with Skyve.
***
(Lacyus)
Unfortunately, I'd trained myself too well. At 5:30 am I woke up by myself whether I liked it or not. Sitting up, I noticed that I had rolled off of Sunset during the night. She was still sleeping very peacefully, a smile on her face.
There was a scratching at the desk and I looked up to see Mira writing something. She turned and smiled.
"So you're up?"
"Yeah." I yawned and stretched. "What are you doing?"
"I was gonna leave you a note reminding you that we have a corporate demo tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory."
"Yeah, okay. I'm gonna get some breakfast."
Mira frowned. "Sleep in. This is your first day off in two weeks. Get some rest so you'll do good on the test."
She left the room. I swung my legs off the bed to get up when something tugged on my arm. Sunset was barely awake, eyes still closed.
"Lacyus.... Go back to bed.... It's a lot warmer with you...."
I sighed. I never wanted to disappoint Sunset so I laid back down. She snuggled up to me, tucking her snout under my neck. She murmured something about me being like a blanket. Smiling I wrapped my arms and wings around her in a protective cocoon and both her and I drifted back off to sleep together.
***
(Sunset)
Waking up was never fun for me. I always loved to sleep in as long as I could. But this time was different.
Lacyus was still sound asleep, embracing me. I gently slid my snout out from the crook of his neck and licked him a couple of times on his face. He twitched a little before opening his eyes and smiling.
"Sleep well Sunset?"
I nuzzled him. "Very good, thanks to you."
This is why I loved Lacyus so much. He could actually spend time with me just talking or cuddling. With most other dragons his age, they usually left as fast as they could in the morning. Lacyus stayed put, sometimes even dozing off again.
"I'm going out with Ennica today."
"Just be careful." Lacyus knew I could easily defend myself but that's not what he was talking about.
"I'll keep a look out for this Ethis guy."
"I talked to Ennica. Ethis is only his code name. His real name is Rayfall."
"Rayfall? Has she ever met him?"
"No. They're supposedly both from the Blitzkrieg Division though. Might know what a Heavendragon looks like."
"Point taken."
Closing my eyes, I cleared my mind. Instantly I began to shrink. My scales dissolved into normal skin, then sprouted a nice, thick coat of snow white fur. My muzzle began to shorten and I grew tufts of fur on the side. Long golden blonde hair rolled down the back of my head. Finally, my thick dragon tail was replaced by a bushy fox tail.
Lacyus smiled. "You make a really cute Arctic fox vixen."
I blushed. "You really think?"
"Of course." Lacyus nuzzled me. "You still have these." He gave my breasts a couple of light squeezes.
I blushed even more and checked the time. 8:30. "We should get dressed."
Lacyus sighed in disappointment and sat up. "Aww crap. The open book exam is today and I didn't write notes on the Theory of Amalgam."
"Well I did give you the chance to write notes instead of mating."
"Oh well..." He stood up and got dressed. "Sorry I have to leave so quickly."
I sat up too and went over to my second dresser. The reason is I had two dressers was one was for clothes that fit my draconic body, the other for smaller forms. I put on a set of PJs, since I was probably gonna take a bath later. Lacyus had a pair of slacks and a t-shirt with a collared shirt over it like a jacket.
"Love you Sunset." He grabbed his books, kissed me and was out the door in a flash.
I finished dressing and walked into the hall. Mira's house was very big, but still felt like a home. The carpets were a really nice plush texture and were pale green. The house was mainly dominated by a giant Great Room that was open to all three floors. The bedrooms were on the second floor. The top floor was mainly storage, but it also had a really nice bathroom with a big tub and shower. The bottom had a beautiful indoor garden that Lacyus liked to spend it down time in. The kitchen was large, which perfectly suited Nephilla and I, as we cooked a lot of the meals as our share of the work. Rykuu proved to be, surprisingly, a very good gardener. Mira did the cleaning. My parents had moved out of Mira's house to buy their own, a condo in downtown Cobalus. They had returned to their old town to retrieve their old belongings meanwhile.
Ennica was sleeping on the couch in a rather undignified position. She was half on the couch, half falling off with a fleece blanket draped over her. Clutched in her right arm was a wolf plushie she apparently received as a gift from her draconic mother. She was wearing just her underwear, which was very revealing. Suddenly I noticed this horrible scar around the thigh of her left leg. The fur was even missing. I shook her gently.
"Ennica." I whispered gently. "Psst. Ennica."
She groaned a bit before her eyes suddenly snapped open, startling me. In an amazing display of reflexes, she grabbed my wrist, catapulted me into the air, and thrust me onto the couch. She then jumped on top of me and pressed a knife to my neck. She blinked blankly a couple of times before getting off of me.
"Sorry. Used to being woken up by horny males."
"No problem. You wanna take a bath together?"
"Ummmm, together?"
"It'll save hot water for Rykuu and Nephilla later. Mira's getting a bigger hot water tank."
"Oh. Okay."
We gathered up some clothes for laters and headed up to the bathroom. Like other bathrooms, it was mostly white with orange-beige walls that, ironically, looked like my old scale colors. The room was dominated by the giant spa tub. I filled the tub with water and both Ennica and I undressed. It was then that I got a glimpse of more of her body. Her belly was lashed with discolored grey fur streaks indicating minor scarring.
As we stepped into the water, I couldn't hold it anymore.
"What's with all the scars Ennica?"
"Oh." She seemed to shy away from the topic and drooped her head. "It's a long story."
"If it hurts that much, you don't have to tel-"
"No, someone else other than me should know my own story." She took a deep breath. "I already told you that I was born into an incredibly wealthy family. I could just ring a bell and five or six servants would be on me with the best toys and books and everything I wanted. However, I wasn't really close to any of my parents. I never saw my father at all. He was always off on some business deal or trip. With my mom, it was worse. She seemed to absolutely hate me. When we were together it was one minute of mother-daughter bonding and the rest was her yelling and screaming and me cowering in a corner. Eventually I snapped and tried to kill her but she was much larger and nearly shredded me with her claws." Ennica pointed to the scars on her belly. "Slightly after my first birthday, my shadow magic eventually began to emerge. My mother got worse. She repeatedly locked me in my room, calling me a bitch and whore and an impurity to the family. After figuring out how to turn into liquid shadows, I eavesdropped on my parents. They planned to get rid of me and dump me on the side of the road. I prepared myself for this. I built up a fortress in my room and made traps using my toys. However, my parents got through the barricades. I never knew their complete plan until then. My father clubbed me over the head with a bat. I was dazed and unable to defend myself. My mom then tried to hack off my leg with a machete." She pointed at the scar around her left leg. "All of this was done to make sure I couldn't follow them back. They shoved me into a sack and took me to a particularly secluded part of the woods. There, they dumped me and left me for dead. I cried and cried in both pain and distress." Ennica's voice cracked a little bit but she quickly recovered.
I was simply in shock. "They did that all to you? And you aren't even upset about it now?"
Rage filled Ennica's eyes. "I made a vow to never look back to that day and to never contact or be contacted by my biological parents. I will not break it." She hissed fiercely. She took another deep breath and continued. "After dragging myself towards the smell of smoke I found a small fortress. I didn't care who they were. So long as I could get my leg healed and I could take revenge on my parents. However, I was badly malnourished and had a bad fever from an infection in my leg. The last thing I remember before passing out was a column of soldiers marching past."
"Order of the Realms soldiers I assume."
"Bingo. When I came to, I was in a hospital bed inside of the fortress. My leg was reattached and I was being administered antibiotics through an IV. Next to my bed was the current Helldragon, Lady Akival."
"She was an Akival too!?!"
"Yeah. About Mira's age at the time. But yeah. At the time, she looked like the best damned person in the world. I was too weak to even move my arms, but Lady Akival helped feed me. Then, after hearing my story, she offered to adopt me as her daughter. I hated the idea of having another mom. I just assumed she would treat me like my biological mother did, so I refused. But even though I said that, she came back everyday to talk, play games and to help feed me until I was strong enough to feed myself. And even after that she still came to play games. Eventually it began to grow on me and I felt happier and happier when I was with her. We became closer than I was with my biological mother. After a month in hospital, I was well enough to continue on my own, but I let Lady Akival adopt me. The ironic thing was it was second birthday that day. Mom mustered up as much festivities as she could but we ended up celebrating it in private at her private suite. I got my first birthday present, my wolf plushie and as for a cake, all I got was a cupcake, but it was the best day of my life. That night she warned me that she wanted that tomorrow she'd see if I was worth her time. So she gave me my own bed with blankets and a set of PJs and all I could do was just cry out of happiness. When I woke up the next morning, I was no longer in my bed. I was in the middle of nowhere with a set of clothes and a note beside me. I can't remember what the note said exactly, but it basically said 'You are in difficult mountain terrain 50 kilometers from home. I have given you no tools or food. Just these clothes. You have seven days to find your way back. I will attack you every day at noon to make sure you are fit. If you do not make it back home in seven days or if I have to rescue you, I will nurse you back to health if needed and I will make sure I never see you again.'"
"Wow, that's harsh."
"I was confident I could survive and get back. However, after every attack, I became more and more injured. At the end of the seven days, I absolutely loathed mom. And I hadn't made it back home. I was battered, sick and malnourished again. When she confronted me about my failure she revealed her true purpose. My task was not to make it back home but to survive the week without breaking down or giving up. I had passed with flying colors. Unfortunately I was so weak that I passed out. When I woke up, I was in my bed at home and mom was putting blankets on top of me. She nursed me back to health and bought me anything I wanted that she could afford. However, she had a second family and she left frequently to go back to them. While she was gone, the soldiers were like family to me. They taught me self defense, how to shoot a rifle, proper magic use, but mostly the value of a family. However, mom disappeared when I was twelve. I haven't seen her since."
"Wow." I whispered. "You're amazing. To go through all of that and still come out with your mind intact.
"I understand you went through something similar?"
"Nothing near to you though."
"So did she describe her family?"
"A bit. One she said I had a sister. Eight years old at the time. She called my sister a bit of a tomboy. My brother was described as very quiet, but very friendly and kind. Mom also mentioned this girl my brother found a couple of days before. She was emotionally a wreck, according to her. Apparently had lost her parents and sister in a raid on her house." Ennica yawned and stretched. "It's been a while since I actually had a bath. Mostly, I've just rinsed myself in rivers to keep from smelling."
I laughed. "Your fur reflects it."
She looked herself and smiled. "So it does. My mother really didn't know how to properly brush out fur. Can you teach me?"
"Sure. Just wash your fur out first though."
We both washed up and I showed Ennica how to properly lather up fur to have mats brushed out. Then came the hard part.
"Ow.....Ooowwww.... OOOOOOOWWWWW!!" Ennica snarled. "CAREFUL!"
"It's not my fault you didn't take care of your own fur!" I growled back, ripping through another mat on her arm.
Ennica snorted angrily. "Just be a little more gentl-OOOOOWWWW!"
When the pain was all over, I could see the ornate patterns of spots on Ennica's body. She also had a diamond shaped patch of slightly darker black fur on her belly that started on a point between her breasts and ended with another point on her navel. The other two points were on her hips. Her red hair was no longer frizzy. She had brushed it straight and it had a beautiful shine. She looked at in the mirror and ran her extended claws through it.
"Way too long." She muttered.
"Wanna get our hair done?" I offered.
She shrugged. "I always cut it myself but that sounds good."
***
(Ennica)
Sunset and I got dressed. My poor skin was still sore after she ripped all of my mats out.
"So," Sunset asked. "Do you know the extent of Lacyus' new powers?"
"Not exactly. Try asking him."
Sunset close her eyes for a moment. I knew she was communicating telepathically with Lacyus. Suddenly she winced, sank down onto her knees and groaned, clutching her head.
I gave her a worried frown. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah."
"What's wrong?"
"Lacyus is just frustrated. I broke his concentration."
"What'd he say?"
"Nothing mean. It's just.... Well it's hard to explain. We're still getting used to our Synchronous Parallel link. On it, frustration is like a really screechy white noise. Lacyus doesn't mean to hurt me, but he can't control it much."
"I see."
"J-just give me a minute and it'll fade away..."
Sunset took several more deep breaths before she stood up and shook her head. "That's better. He's calmed down. So do you at least have an idea?"
"Wellll..... I do have a rough idea. Foremost is an expanded ability of Soul Reaping. With him, it's now Soul Harvesting."
"Soul Harvesting?"
"Your average Shadowdragon can posses and drain about three Souls at a time. Lacyus, on the other hand can do the same to every Soul within a one kilometer radius with no limit to the numbers. His second foremost ability is drain other Xenomorph's powers and copy them to his genetic code."
"Can he do that with me?" Sunset asked eagerly. "I would like to see him with-"
"Not possible. Your purity energy is too high for him to absorb just like that."
"Oh. I see."
"The last ability is somewhat of a curse."
"A curse?"
"Legends say that two centuries ago, Lord Kavsi, the Helldragon at the time took the entire Order into battle against a rogue Shadowdragon named Jarresk Mysuii. Just before Jarresk died, he put a curse on Lord Kavsi. Every fourth New Moon, the current Helldragon will turn into a Nightmare Dragon.
"WHAT!?!?! I thought they were only a myth!?!?"
Nightmare Dragons are essentially vampiric dragons. They sucked blood for food and could not be exposed to sunlight. Light from a fire would be okay.
"Don't worry. The Helldragon still retains all of their emotions and memories and personality. He's only changed once but even then he just babbled on and on about how much you'd hate him like that."
Sunset sighed. "I wouldn't hate him. I already overcame my fear of him being a Shadowdragon. Him being a Nightmare Dragon shouldn't be any different. I'll still love him."
"Well, just to let you know, his next Nightmare cycle should be in a month, so you two have plenty of time to prepare."