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The Savior and the Escort

"Cynder...how's your back? Is it hurt?"

"Not really now, but it might need a little rest so I won't gonna fly for a moment."

"You should be more careful. You're lucky you only fall from the pad and hit the bushes. If you fell to the bottom I don't know if I can help you."

"Help me? Your wind is trying to kill me!"

"I mean to fly catching you. I'm training to use my wind so I can control it, knowing that now it's as sharp as razor."

"Yeah, and cutting the rocks in our room? I don't think so."

Avila was trying to control her now sharp cutting wind, seeing them more of a nuisance than helping since she never used wind for combat. Although she managed to control it a little, she couldn't hide the fact that she made deep permanent cut to the room where she and her parallel shared their rooms. She could wish Seraphor was there, mending the rocks in her room, and the next moment she realized she knew she couldn't meet him soon enough.

Her tails lashed side to side, sometimes hitting each other since she couldn't control them both well enough, being accustomed to only one tail in her life up to that point. The black dragoness walked down the dim corridor while watching the ancient stairs somehow made by the humans many, many years ago. She was walking into the mess hall where she could eat some meal and took guard. It was sunset by now and it was time for her shift with Cynder.

She took her dinner, a nice half-body of a boar, sharing it with Cynder, and walked to the side where they were out of view. Ever since Avila got her current appearances many dragons started to reject them from their groups, especially when Avila accidentally touched Avrisa and caused her to writhe in pain, only because Avila still couldn't control her fear power. Javoux started to fear her, knowing that the vampire dragon feared death more than any dragons. While Varkast was at first surprised by her transformation, the white dragon knew that she had become a full death dragon.

Avila ate faster than Cynder, but she got a problem with her snake-like fangs protruding from her mouth, which hooked the meat and needed her to pull them out again. After washing at a nearby water basin, she walked to the pedestal and saw Poio and Pio watching the sunset.

The two-headed dragon at first just chatted with themselves, then Poio saw Avila and said, "Hey, little raven. Got loose feathers?"

"Poio, stop that. You're making her angry," said his brother with an undertone, seeming not sure if Avila was angry. He then said, "You two want to change shift, right? Well, I really need a sleep...but I don't know with..."

"It's alright, brother, I'm still okay. Just go to sleep."

With that, both brothers laid on the stone, while Pio's head slowly reached to the floor and slowly went to sleep, snoring loudly. Poio watched him for a moment before saying, "He's really exhausted after having a whole day shift, seeing that Jekizira suddenly got attacked late at night and somehow fucked."

"Oh...gross," said Cynder while giving her tongue out, while Avila knew a lot what dragon did that.

"He's like a slut when we found him, really disoriented and full of lust fluid. Yuck..."

"Yeah, and don't talk like that too much. Say, no problem for sometimes?"

"No. It's too silent and I really don't like it. Those Lights are really tricky, but there weren't any invasion after an incident."

"Incident?" asked Avila.

"Apparently two months ago, at the time you came to this world, Avrisa found a half-cut red dragon's head lying near the cave entrance. It was like being cleanly cut by a razor and judging from the blunt damage, it's flying pretty far. Without anything to investigate, we just throw the head to the lake, hoping it will rot by time."

Avila was a little uneasy. That head Poio described was indeed Avila's first kill on the realm. The uneasiness suddenly increased when a devilish voice whispered to her, "Your feat is remarkable for the first time..."

Fending the voice off, Avila returned to Poio.

"Then," said Avila. "Can you tell me why there's no wind around here?"

"No wind? Oh...that's because dragons here fly with our own winds."

"Wait, you want to say you all wind dragons?"

"Yeah, though not into your extend or Cynder's. All dark dragons residing in Dark Realm could use their own winds to fly, knowing very well the darkness protecting the area around Dark Realm prevented moving air, but still giving us enough air to sustain life because of the trees all around, if not for the humans trying to cut them down."

"I heard that from the Fuzandres and Yrelka too," thought Avila. "Maybe they need a little lesson to stop the tree cutting."

"I'm feeling bad on the inhabitants of the forests, especially those being protected by the strong superstition."

"What the...what do you mean?!"

"I have a feeling there's something being protected inside the forest."

"Oh, so you can think too, huh?" commented Cynder.

"Shut up.... You think I'm just a no-brain warrior?"

While the two dragons made a comment, Avila felt uneasy even more. Somehow Poio's comment about 'those being protected by the strong superstition' made the location of the Fuzandres somehow known by the dragon. Did he really know about those bat-people?

"Hmm, so he tried to remember," said the voice that was clearly Yrelka. "I can't blame him. They went into the forest and got lost, wandering into the Fuzandre's village by accident. After helping them getting out, they didn't know anything about them."

"Whoa!"

Avila was surprised by that and slapped both of her tails by accident, hitting Yrelka, that was hiding in the darkness. Her yelp was heard by those other dragons there because her power was disturbed.

"That voice...," said Cynder, recognizing the yelp.

"Hey, Cynder, what's wrong? Is that a dragon hit by Avila's tail...tails...yeah, right, you've got two tails now."

"It's nothing! Avila hit a rock when she backed!"

"Really? I don't remember seeing any rocks there."

"It's fine! I thought that was a dragon behind me!" exclaimed Avila while lying to Poio. "I...I think you're exhausted. We've kept you long enough."

Poio eyed both Avila and the darkness with serious expression, but after a moment or so, he yawned and said, "Yeah, guess I can't keep you from guard duty. Good night."

Seeing just one head waking up felt awkward in Avila's vision, but then she sighed when the two-headed dragon was out of sight when he turned his body in a dark tunnel, lighted by black-patches in what seemed to be torch lights in Avila's vision. She then watched around, and could only see Cynder and Yrelka in the shadows. Both of them were glaring at the demon dragon.

"You're stalking us in the dark, you goddamn stalker!" exclaimed Cynder.

"What in ancestors are you trying to do talking to me in the dark?! You gave me a sudden heart attack there and I almost make Poio see you, goddamn it!" Avila was breathing heavily when she talked. After a while, she said, "Why are you here?"

"I have a feeling you want to have company aside from her, so I go here while trying to stick with the shadows. I guess I shocked the hell out of you."

"Don't ever do that again..."

"Yeah...sorry."

After all sighed, they walked to the balcony. The Realm became very dark except for some dim lights down at the city below the mountain. In her inversed contrast vision, she saw an eerie-looking tower at the middle of the city, and she felt something unpleasant there.

When she asked that to Cynder, she said, "Uhmm...I'm not sure, but...that tower is the part of a castle..."

"Castle Lohire," interrupted Yrelka. "It's one of the most ancient castles around this Realm. I saw it in its golden age when I was still 100 years old. Now, I guess it's crumbling."

"It's around 400 years old?"

"No...Not really that new. It's older than me."

Avila turned her head to the demon dragon, "How old are you?"

"I can't really remember...I'm not an old dragon, yet, Sannourah is still younger than me. Both me and Yorloka had saw a Blood Moon for five times."

"So...," said Cynder trying to remember something. "From what Jon told me, Blood Moon is an event when the moon became as red as blood...but it happened a century once. So, you're...older than 500 years old?"

"Guess you're right. I don't remember my age now."

"That's a natural thing, actually, if you had been living too long," said Avila. "I knew this dragon in my world that had been in this world for almost ten centuries...and he forgot. Yeah, I mean, he literally lost count after he was 600 years old. He said he's okay, though. Dragons are immortal, after all."

"No, it's virtually immortal. We aged, but there's a time in our life where we'll die. We just don't know when," said Yrelka. "But, if you concerned us demon dragons, we're real mortal."

"What?!"

"You don't know? I think if you think more with that smart brain of yours, you might get the answer on why I'm the fifth generation of my job."

Avila thought for a moment, then she said, "So...you'll die...by the time it happens to you?"

At first Yrelka was silent, but then she gave a draconic smile to the small dragoness (something really rare coming out from her), embraced the smaller dragon with her wind and said, "Don't worry. I'll live long for you to remember me."

"I'll be fine..."

She was interrupted by a darkness aura, and suddenly from her eyes she saw a shadow falling from the highest tower and landed on the stone pedestal. The shadow was a human, and she saw her vision before she died. After the vision, she shook her head, taking a headache, and panting heavily.

"What happened, Avila? It's like you've seen a ghost," said Yrelka. Suddenly, in panic, Avila opened her crow wings and flew away. Her speed was only matched by Cynder, that used her own wind to fly faster.

"What the hell are you doing?! You scare the hell..."

"If I don't do this there will be a goddamn ghost coming out from a small human falling from the tower! Hurry!"

Cynder didn't understand what she meant, but then she realized that Avila was true. A human, clearly standing on the balcony railing, was losing her grip and fell. She was screaming in terror of going to die because of a mere accident. Suddenly Cynder felt a pain in her back, and she couldn't move her wings. She instead fell with the human too.

"Stop flying, Cynder! You're still recovering from that fall!" exclaimed Avila while dashing down to help both Cynder and the human using her wind. The wind almost hit the human and Avila realized her grave mistake, only it was undone by Cynder's own wind. She managed to use her teeth to bite a little garment from the human, and one of her claws was deep inside the rock structure. She let herself fall, and the height itself wasn't all that painful when she used her opened wings to glide, despite of the not smooth landing.

After Avila landed beside the grunting Cynder, she asked, "Those wings are still intact?"

"Y...yeah...shit, that's really something, Avila. You saved a human...though barely killing her with that cutter wind of yours...."

"I can't risk taking you back now. I'll find Jekizira. Don't move any inch, okay?"

Avila then turned to the small human, who was crying scared. She was small, like a child, with black eyes and obsidian hair. Her white pale skin proved Avila that she was a vampire, much like the old supplier and Varkast his dragon. She was wearing a black gothic-style dress.

"I won't gonna hurt you, little human," said Avila with the most soothing voice she could say. "Are you fine?"

"I...I think I...sprain my hand..."

"It's alright...you're not dead yet. What's your name?"

"My mom told me not to speak to strange dragons or strangers...," said the girl between her sniffles.

"Damn, I'm really that weird," thought Avila. She then said, "I'm not going to hurt you, alright? Now, where's your parents?"

"Princess Laura! Princess...praise the almighty she's fine!"

A guard ran to her while embracing her, then he eyed Avila seriously. He said, "You...are you the one saving her?"

"I can't say I'm the one saving her. That dragoness beside you is the savior," said Avila while Cynder made a nod while her back was still on the ground. "She sprained her wrist."

"Oh...I'll help her immediately. I'm grateful there's a dragon good enough like you, despite of being...umm...crow-like. I'm sorry I doubted you dragons."

"That's fine...we're always doubted, after all."

When the guard bid her farewell, she opened her wings and flapped away, back to the base where she luckily found the one still awake: Sikha. The spike-horned dragon was still awake watching the moon when he felt Avila coming to him. He then turned his head and said, "Oh, hi...though you might say hello in this lovely night."

"Sikha...can you do me a favor?"

"What is it? You want sleeping herbs?"

"No...no, what I mean is..."

Avila then whispered to Sikha, and suddenly he said, "Cynder got her back..."

"Yeah, and she's embarrassing now."

"I can't blame her, though. She should've heeded my warning about her current condition. Ah, Xakis (damn)..."

"So, can you help her?"

"I wish I can, if my leg is not like this..."

Avila turned her head to Sikha's leg, and gasped. There was a very deep gash which made way to his bone, cutting through the muscles. Seeing the sight almost made the death dragon vomit, as it meant that Sikha wouldn't be walking for a moment.

"Your...back leg. What the hell happened to it?"

"Just getting a cut from a thorn..."

"Don't lie to me, Sikha, I know this is a direct cleaving attack from the claw of a bigger dragon or any creatures having big sharp claws."

Sikha got silent for a moment, then he said, "Xakis, Avila, you're smart. But, this is a dragon's claw."

"Is it still bleeding?"

"No...but if I force by back leg to launch myself when I'm flying, I'm afraid my muscles will be permanently damaged and I won't be able to walk normally."

"That's one nasty thing you got."

"Yeah..."

"We'll talk about this later, after taking care of Cynder's back. How's Mikha?"

"Mikha?" The dragon shifted for a moment, then Avila could clearly see tears swelling on his eyes. He wanted to turn his head from Avila when the dragoness said, "What happened to him?"

"He...he's sleeping there...on the straw bed," replied the dragon while closing his eyes, tears started to drip from his draconic eyes. Avila turned her head to the place and saw the twin of Sikha sleeping there, but then Avila saw what made Sikha cried.

Mikha wasn't breathing.

"Oh ancestors...he's...he's.... I'm sorry, Sikha."

"It's okay...he's the best brother I've ever had. Just died an hour ago."

"Then...may he rest under the eternal guidance of the angel of the death and to live on the dragon afterlife peacefully."

Avila wanted to leave, didn't want to be drawn into the sadness of death in front of her, but Sikha then pulled her front paw with his finger-like front claws, saying, "Wait."

"Hmm?"

"That prayer of yours...are you a death dragon?"

"Not really that much, but yeah."

"Oh...then...can you ensure his soul to leave peacefully?"

"I'll...see through it."

"Thank you. Here are the herbs to reduce her back pain, but you still need a bigger dragon to take her back here," said Sikha while tying up the herb around Avila's tail. "Remember, use the ropes provided to close her jaws."

"Why?"

"Because the side effect of the herb can induce vomiting."

"Okay, I'll keep in mind on that. Rest well, Sikha."

"I will."

Avila left the medical wing, leaving the dragon behind with the body of his brother behind. Whatever behind the death of Mikha, must had a big grudge to make a very big gash all around his body and leaving a very deep cut on his throat, leaving him to be tortured to death by blood loss. She wanted to avenge the poor young dragon, but knew she mustn't take other's affairs on her claws, lest she would be the avenger, and she didn't want to return to her past, ever again.