Life's Gifts
I am using latin in this story. :D
Septimus held the burning chunk of wood before him, head on his knees, too close to the fire itself to actually be safe. But he was. It's not every day you see a cross breed of a dragon. In this case, Septimus is something specific. He tossed the burning log back in the fire, and the pile of embers fell. Septimus was easily your average black pharaoh hound. He had that vinyl that was naturally born just in the corner of his eyes, he was somewhat built, he was jet black. Right now, he wore nothing. He didn't want to burn his clothes in the fire. There is a whole reason why he is right next to the flame that burns most. He is known as a hellhound. Unharmed by fire, able to command it. It does not burn him.
The embers began to die, and he stood up, making way to his clothes a good distance away. He was camping, as he didn't much do at all. He did it this time, only because of what he had been told. He loves dragons. It's his own dream to be accepted by dragons. But no one accepts a half breed.He can do everything they can. Easily. Just, not as well as them. Their fires burn vibrantly, they conjure theirs with ease. Him? Septimus uses a custom made spark glove. He snaps his fingers, and there, instant fire ball. but his doesn't burn as bright, hot, or powerfully as theirs. His is gentle, theirs, brash.
Septimus killed the flames with the swipe of his hand, and moved past the singed ground to his pack, setting it on his back. It was night fall, and he needed to get home soon, but a several hours journey ahead isn't going to cut it. A full ten, maybe fifteen minutes would be good enough.
Crouching down to all fours, Septimus took off at a run, jerking from no motion, to a high speed that rivaled most other species. A hell hound has feats that a normal canine doesn't. It also has feats a normal dragon doesn't. High speed is one of them. Last he had clocked in, his highest speed sprinting was 68 meters per second. His ears hurt after that. And when running, it's a smooth 45.
The trees flew past at near-blinding speeds, and the wide open clearings he passed were like quick moments of relief amongst the tree laden land. A few minutes later, he came up on same road he had veered off of, just as planned, then came to a slow halt, stopping a moment to catch his lost breath. Septimus stood, feeling a bit weak from the sprint he just made, and sat down, all stamina used up for the time being. But the night as getting even darker, and fire was not a viable light source when running.
It was but a few moments that Septimus had stopped. When he had enough of his breath back, he stood up, flung out his arms, loosening them up, took a few steps, then jumped back into that quadrupedal run, making it back to the dorms in mere moments. It was a weak trek once he came to a stop, having pushed himself a bit far this time. That was several kilometers he passed in minutes, and even an athlete would feel the burn after that, but he was no athlete.
He breathed heavily, weakly walking past the front gates, and catching his breath a few steps in. The wonders of self control allows the control of one's breath. He could be panting one moment, and not the next.
People were still active even at night. People got up for their classes at night a lot instead of the day, and the more nocturnal species all roamed at this hour, giving it that forever alive look. A trio of bats passed Septimus without a glance, two night mares sauntered about without a care, probably looking for someone to have fun with, and even a few dragons were still awake. Septimus didn't...no, Septimus very much minded the dragons. Every one of them, save for maybe one or two who might not be what they seem, are against Septimus on everything. It's like they put it as a priority to make his life harder, as well as any other dragon cross breeds. Didn't matter what you were either. They beat a poor panda dragon into the hospital, at her party, on her sweet sixteen. Only one went to jail.
There are regular people, people who don't like certain people, there are bullies. Then there are these psycho dragons. And they still get away with it. It's like higher level bullying, except it's been taken too far before.
A hand brought to his shoulder took him from his rage induced trance, and Septimus turned to the dolphin behind him. For a moment, he didn't react, then she smiled.
Brown short shorts, a small red shirt that didn't cover her belly, she was definitely well-gifted with a good body, but not a sexy one. No gropeable rear, no large breasts, just an average girl.
"Leave them alone. No one ever got anything done by panicking."
"Panicking. Not Pondering.", Septimus corrected.
"Same difference."
"What brings you to speak with a cross bred dragon like me? Feel sorry? Wanna find out what makes me tick? Or are you someone who doesn't know too much-"
she brought a finger to his lips, "You speak to much. I'm a crossbreed myself."
"Oh, well, welcome to hell."
"I don't get the same vibe you do. Unlike you, I never display that I'm half a dragon."
"So you've come to rub it in.", Septimus devised.
"No.", she shook her head, "I came to have a conversation with someone similar to me."
Septimus looked around, finding that no one was actually nearby, "Aren't you worried that you might be exposed?"
"While talking out in the open, yes, but you're a cross breed, so you know the pain that I don't. You will keep this a secret."
"And you know I will because of the pain I've suffered. Despite the fact that it's only been mental torture. Surprisingly enough, I've not been jumped yet."
"Because you didn't stand up to them. I learned that through Sapphire."
"The panda?"
"The panda."
"And you said you want to talk?"
"Along the spiritual side. Connect."
"I see what you mean, despite your crypticy."
"Good. Then you will know exactly what I mean. I need a partner. Someone to explore with. Right now, I've explored many different things, but I've never explored that which is closest to my physical being. My other half. Swimming is my strong suit, but fire is not."
"I see.", Septimus nodded.
"I have a specific little hideout. You will need coordinates, not directions."
Septimus sighed, "I just crossed about...a thousand kilometers getting back from my little camp out of the way. Hm. Never really thought of how far it was. Might check out the actual distance I cross."
"Must've been a long hike."
"Ten minute sprint."
"Ten minutes? How fast is that?"
"One feat a hell hound has that neither dragon nor canine does is a high speed sprint. On all fours. I matched about 68 m/s as my current record on track. Taking those turns slows you down."
"Thats actually impressive. Hold on, let me write this down, and you can meet me there tomorrow.", she pulled out a piece of small paper.
"Wait, what are we doing again?"
"Exploring our bodies.", she answered.
"So cryptic. Fine. Tomorrow, what time?"
She handed him the paper. "Just read what I wrote."
these coordinates at noon~ Kacie
Septimus looked at the coordinates, "Just about one hundred kilometers west of my camp."
"Thats good news."
"Thats exactly one hundred kilometers, exactly west, on the compass rose, from my camp. Thats perfection."
"Even better."
"Septimus.", he greeted himself.
Kacie smiled, "See you tomorrow, hell-boy."
"Aye.", he turned taking his leave. For a moment, he didn't actually know where he was going, or why he started walking, but as he turned back to glance at the dolphin, she had already begun her way to the east dorms. It was late, Septimus did feel tired, and he had a test in the morning. Septimus retired for the night.
Morning came normally. The same routine, the same day. The test was a normal difficulty. Wasn't hard, wasn't easy. Wasn't very easy. But by the time h got out a few minutes after, he was feeling confident. It took a whole three hours out of his day, and that noon scheduled event was coming up. He had about an hour to show up. Enough time to grab something to eat, then be on his way, or be on his way, then eat what he grabbed. He wasn't hungry at the moment, but still would be soon. He didn't eat breakfast.
Septimus passed by the cafeteria, grabbing a few burgers, and stuffing them in the insulated pocket of his backpack, closing it up, and throwing the pack over his back before leaving. And he saw that same group of three dragons standing by the gates. He had seen them a few times, at about the time he usually leaves to his own hideout, but they never followed. Again, they didn't follow. That he could see. A few minutes into the hike, he heard the wingbeat of heavy leather wings, and crouched down, removing his backpack as if he were adjusting something inside, and he threw it back on, leaping into that high speed sprint. He neither looked behind him, nor hesitated to veer into the thick woods beside him, despite how hard it was to sprint through this thick of vegetation.
A few minutes in, he came to a stop, breathing heavily, as usual, and removed his locator from it's place in his pocket. He then checked the coordinates of the paper Kacie had given him, which he stowed with hi locator, in the clip on it's back. Reangling himself accordingly, he stowed everything away, then took off again,arriving in moments at his destination.
It was even more so impressive than his own Camp site, which he had built a damn cabin on. Here sat a massive tree, easily three thousand years old and counting. The canopy swung outwards from the thick trunk like a massive umbrella, easily covering a large distance. The tree itself was perfect, though. The outspread of it's branches was directly proportional to it's trunk height, and that fat mass went up at least three or four stories. It could hold a small house in it's center.
"Hey!", Kacie sounded off from above.
Septimus spotted the dolphin on one of the massive tree branches, and wave back, even smiled. She tossed down a long rope ladder, unrolling itself all the way to the trunk's bottom. Taking the first step, Septimus began his way up, and in a few moments, climbed up right next to Kacie, who stood with the same outfit of red and brown, and her hands placed on her hips expectanly.
"So...What now?", Septimus asked.
"We explore. But I have no starting point.", she grabbed the loose rope beside Septimus' foot. Kacie quickly retracted the ladder, and set it aside in a heap, turning towards the center of the tree. Yes, indeed, you could fit a house up, and entire, one story, two bedroom, one bathroom, one kitchen, one living room house. It may be an open housing, and a tarp fits over it all, but thats exactly what Kacie has set up here.
"You've been as busy, if not, busier than I have at my own site."
"Seclusion is a wonderful ally. All the free time in the world. Ready to get started?"
"Started how?"
"Strip."
Septimus paused for a moment, looked away and went over what he just heard, then looked back at the dolphin. "I'm pretty sure the dating comes first. Unless I've somehow been left out of a devolution or something."
Kacie sighed, "Do you want to burn your clothes?"
"Tree.", he motioned o the thing they were standing on.
"Ancient Oak. There is a big difference between a tree and an ancient oak, Seven."
"Did you look that up?"
"No. I took latin one year. Love that language. Anyway, an Ancient Oak is magically indestructible. For instance. I sit out here for hours at a time, meditating enough to burn this forest down, yet this tree has no scorch marks."
Septimus furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"
Kacie sighed, and unbuttoning her pants and the back of her top. Both dropped effortlessly to the ground, and she was instantly bare in front of him. The dolphin picked up her clothes, and tossed them backwards, exploding into a gout of flames that engulfed her, changing her smooth skin into a glowing red scaled hide.
"...You like being a tease, don't you?"
"I'm only getting started. The best part is I get to try something I've never done before.", she said with half lidded eyes, hanging a bit of a lusty wisp amongst her lips.
"And you want me to do the same thing you're doing."
"Yup."
Septimus brought his gloves out out the pocket in the side of his back pack, put one on, and snapped his fingers, calling upon a single flame in his hand.
Kacie sighed, peeling the fire off of her skin, and she unsnapped Septimus' backpack's clips, letting it fall down, then grabbed his arm, throwing him into the center of the tree's trunk. Before he could react, she was laying on top of him, elbows propped up on his chest, and her long tail swishing back and forth behind her. She had a smile, but it wasn't mischievous.
"There is so much to start with. Sharing this stuff isn't easy without that first "trip", you know. I've got to open your spirit up to the magic, and since you have yourself convinced that you can't just conjure a single flame up without a striker, you've practically barricaded yourself from the truth, which is definitely a factor in the magical realm. First, I have to break that barrier, then I have to split your skull."
Septimus' clothes have been burned off completely by now. "I don't think I want to get surgery."
"Wrong kind of split."
Kacie put her hands on Septimus' chest, and pushed off, seemingly floating off of him. He was still bare, she still on fire and sporting a dragon hide, and he, pathetically fluffy. And bare.
As septimus rose, Kacie stood by without helping him, just watching.
"So, what now? Are you just going to look at me, or-"
"Contemplating how I have to get passed that barrier. Within this state, I can see everything your spirit holds. Love, hatred, I see it as a physical projection, and to me, it looks like a huge parasite has wrapped it's black tentacles around everything. You're absolutely covered."
Septimus shivered, "And you're going to help me get rid of that, right?"
"As best I can.", she sighed, her smile disappearing. She even let the flames that engulfed her die out. "I've never done this before. With anyone. This spiritual connection doesn't exist between anyone as far as I know. Dragons can hold a loving bond, but magic and spirit are exceptionally well-made within the both of us. Does that make sense?"
"Yes. So are we just going to stand around each other naked, or do something?"
The flames rekindled around her, and she sighed, calming herself before taking a battle-ready stance. "Flames might not hurt you, but this will. Prepare yourself, because the road to cleansing yourself of that parasite is experimental."
"Alright, I like where this is going. Bring it.", Septimus raised his hands, taking a battle-ready stance himself. Then he got punched.
He didn't see her move, didn't even get time to react, he never would be able to. Yet she hit him with a solid gut punch, and it was made ten times worse by her speed. He fell forward, coughing up blood already from the single blow, struggling to even breathe.
"Don't feed it your anger.", Kacie sighed. "The moment you took this as a chance to let off some steam, thats when it got bigger."
Septimus put one foot forward, resting on his knee a moment before rising, "I'm no out yet."
"I nearly ruptured your pancreas, and I don't even know where thats at."
"Intestines.", he spit out a glob of blood, wiping his mouth, "Come on, let's get as much done as we can."
"As I said, it's all experimental, exploring.", her flames returned. " Already, we're making progress. You feed that thing hatred, and it grows. Let go of anger, and you can get past it, you can start starving it."
"And what do you suppose my anger comes from?"
"Pride.", she disappeared.
This time, he received a swift quick to the side, but this time a lot less painful. Which still makes it feel like he got hit by a truck. He stumbled once, then rose again, receiving a blow to the shoulder akin to a heavy punch. She was definitely going easier and easier on him. No sooner than she had landed that blow, she hit him again, with successive blows, dealing pain like it were nothing. At least it all wasn't as hard as that first hit, but that was still the equivalence to getting jumped by a group of people.
Kacie grabbed his arm, and he didn't rebel, couldn't. At the moment, he was broken and shamed. Yet she didn't land another blow. Instead, she faced them both together, and rest her head on his chest.
"This isn't going to be easy, at all."
"You...", Septimus breathed, "You aren't the one taking it."
"Maybe not...", she closed her eyes, letting out a long, slow breath, "But the road to Discovery is paved with Exploration. And explore we shall." Kacie stood on he rtoes, reaching up to share a kiss with the beaten hound.
"Self discovery...Not paved at all.", he corrected.
"Whatever.", she smiled, sharing another with him.
They both would have toppled if it weren't for that questionable aura that gripped Kacie. They floated down as they fell backwards, and the landing was soft, punctuated with a plume of fire.
"One such path we could take is directly to the heart of a Demi.", she put her hands on his chest, still held up by her elbows. "The parasite feeds on anger, but makes way for love. It accepts it as a companion, too. It allows it, but not that easily. Open up, Seven."
There is no way that it could be explained how such a mental event would take place. But nonetheless, he listened, and results showed immediately. That same, fiery scaled aura that engulfed Kacie began to spread to Septimus, starting with his chest, where she was focusing, and she cooed softly, happy with her results.
"Ohhhh, you've got a thing for dolphins, don't you?"
"I'm specific..."
"Well, I'm your specifications, it seems.", she smiled, propping her chin in one hand as she traced his scales with her other. "There is a way through everything, and this is one way, but it's not solid. Do you know what this is?"
"Love."
"Precisely. But it's premature."
"Lust."
"Exactly.", she pushed off again, this time, picking Septimus up with her. At least half his body was coated in those scales by now. "But lets focus on love. Love is a fickle mistress, my friend. And by the day is over, I have a few selfish intentions of my own to share.", she announced.
"Are you trying to tease me, or get me to do something?"
"Ugh, focus on love, focus on love!", she commanded frustratingly. The dragon hide had dwindled on Septimus' form. "I stood you up, because lust will kill it. But I'm still trying to get what I want.", she confessed. "Now.", she took stance again, "You took a heavy beating, but I drew it all down. This time, see me as an ally, put those damn dragons out of your mind. Dicks will be dicks, but you can be the bigger dick.", she smirked.
Septimus chuckled, taking stance against her, "Hah."
"Now. Do you see me as an ally? This is me helping you, me trying to be a good friend."
The dragon hide spread over Septimus' form much quicker, traveling down his arms and legs, having long since engulfed head and torso. "Aye."
"Etiam.", she smiled.
His hide practically rolled over his form, and the flames that blew from under each scales burned a vibrant warmth. Encouraging.
Kacie giggled, "Invenire. Lets dance."
Kacie moved, and the speed at which she moved was quick and blurry, too quick for Septimus to fully react the first time, and he accepted a heavy blow to the side. The same kick as earlier, and with that same heavy damage as that very first hit. Septimus held his side, nearly cringing from the pain, but didn't falter, turning to throw his hand out and defend himself. He grabbed her fist, making a loud, audible thump that made the air burst with concussion. She smiled even wider, and turned, laying another blow to his side.
"Good. You're making progress, even if it's slow."
"Slow?", he grunted heavily.
"Well, I'm sure as hell not going to hit you full force. In this heightened state, it's like my punches could go as fast as mach nine. But I don't pull punches that hard, there is no reason."
"Then why hide that you're a half breed?"
"Because if I'm so much as touched by a dragon, my magic locks up. I can't hit them but maybe once."
"Thats bad."
"It's the elemental feud. My flaw."
"Keep that a secret.", Septimus rose, falling back onto his knee. "I'm not getting back up."
"You did well enough.", Kacie let her form go. Septimus' own died slowly, like fire to embers, embers to ash.
"I need to see a doctor, though. This kind of pain is bearable, but I wouldn't doubt if I have a few broken bones."
"You don't."
"And how do you know?", Septimus sat down, sprawling over the tree.
"Because dragon magic. It's not always about fire. I healed you with every blow I landed. Otherwise, you'r neck would have snapped on that first hit."
"Thats...scary."
"I know.", she made way to that first "bedroom", pulling open the oak dresser and removing a new shirt and pants. A red long sleeve shirt and skinny blue jean pants. She dressed leisurely.
"I don't have any extra clothes.", Septimus confessed.
"Really? you don't? You play with fire, and don't keep a few extra sets of clothes in your back pack?"
"Nope."
"Walk around naked, I don't mind."
"I do."
"Then don't. That parasite feeds off of your pride, how are you supposed to get rid of it if you can't let go of your own pride?"
That was a bit low...
"Listen.", she turned to him, crossing her arms, "You've got the biggest mess of a parasite wrapped around your being like a leech, feeding off of you, making you weak. You get rid of it, and you can live four hundred years longer. I'm not kidding. Your magic and spirit are so in tune, it's astonishing."
Septimus surveyed the living area, and sighed, wincing as a bit of pain pierced his side. "I'd rather relax right now. I don't want to argue."
"Then just listen and obey."
"My pride is-"
Kacie grabbed his snout, shushing him, "Just listen and obey."
After a moment, he gave up, and she let go of his snout knowingly.
"Yes, ma'am."
Oh mah giddy ant.
I spent, like, several hours writing this. It looks like it wouldn't be worth reading, to me, but I need feedback on that. It's an iffy state right now, and I would lvoe some feedback. It might help continue on something. Which I've never done before. FEEDBACK!!! IT'S ENCOURAGED!!!
Anyway. Life's Gifts is something I came up with just like I did every story that Iv'e written in the past, equaling over fifteen hundred unfinished attempts at writing something big. I've always wanted to write something long and entertaining. Multi-chapter.
Here, I began inspired by the webcomic, Learning Curves, which is a bonus to Las Lindas. From there, I got part of the idea to go backa dn reconnect with Twokinds, another webcomic. From there, I had begun to write, and research yet a third comic for character and story reference/inspiration, going back to a wodnerfully fucked up webcomic, Concession! Here, I'm using a dolphin, just liek Concession, but not entirely inspired by concession. She's still a teacher.
Septimus, though, as I've been writing lately, usually is a dragon. Septimus is the latin word for "Seventh", not Seven. Kacia calls Septimus Seven, because it works as a nickname. But, as I was saying, he's not a dragon .He's a half breed. I like the look of Black pharaoh hounds, and he's usually a dragon. Mixed the two.
As I began Writing, I pulled a lot of inspiration and ideas from Learning Curves, and went on from there.