Day 78
Chapter 20
I remember this being read to young children so, small warning for harsh language.
The morning was broken by a shrill wailing that sent what animals dared brave the torrential downpour outside scattering. As Noelani had predicted, the rain, while the storm was over, had not stopped falling. Lapping water skipped over now-marshy soil as the river steadily rose higher over its banks, flooding the valley and washing away anything that wasn't secure.
Only torn fibres of Ilmatar's net remained, barely noticeable as they wavered a little above where they'd been tied down. The only thing the net had been good for, as expected, was catching debris. A paper bag flopped around, wrapped in one of the few remaining rungs, unable to peel itself off as the current forced it against the rope.
Perched on the lip of the overhang above the cave's mouth was a long, dark-scaled figure, coiled tightly against himself, chin laying flat on the rock, hands pulling at his horns with his eyes tightly shut. Guilt. Guilt guilt guilt. It needed to be done so why did he feel so guilty? He could hear claws scrabbling around inside, Matar's voice, tight with anguish, calling for her little Makani. He couldn't bare it. Couldn't. Why?
More voices. The other group members trying to console the crazed Coatl, attempting against better judgement to explain what had happened, that Makani had been dead for a week, that she needed to let go. Another wail of despair echoed against the stone walls, reverberating out like a banshee's cry.
A few moments passed, quiet save for soft voices and tearful sobbing. Then another wail and the other dragons decided now was the time to leave. Noelani was first, hands clutched tightly over her ears as she dashed from the opening into the downpour, following the river towards the ever-more treacherous slope. Whisper was next. A lot calmer but droning a rather depressing sound in his throat the Imperial took the same route as his mate, presumably back to their tree.
Next was Isaura, almost in tears herself. She'd been the one begging Ilmatar to please understand. We don't know where he's gone but you need this. You need to see. Yet, if anything had gotten through Matar had refused to show it. The Guardian didn't go far, though she did go the opposite way to the Lightborne; seeking out an indentation in the cliff just big enough for her to squeeze inside where she flopped, head in her paws as she tried to steady her own emotions.
Finally Vunguza waddled his way out, slowly, slowly, constantly checking his feet. Only to back up again as the water ran over his paws. He heaved a sigh and the sound of scale on rock suggested he'd sat himself down against the wall. Vin risked a caution peek over the edge to regard the Snapper, seeing the torn expression. He so desperately wanted to leave but the fear of the rain and potentially causing something bad to happen weighed him down.
“Vunguza,” the Spiral found himself saying without really thinking, causing the orange Waterborne to look up at him, “why - if you don't mind me asking of course - why don't you... bend the rain around you or something? N-not that I kn-know how Water magic works it's just a thought since you're supposed to be able to control water and... and all...”
Vunguza sighed heavily. “I were ne'er good at that kind o' thing. My place were divinin' prophecies and such like. An' since they've stopped happenin'... well. Ah'm kind of useless here on.”
“B-but you were able to use your magic to help wash up after the run in with the serthis. Can't you-”
“An' that's as far as I e'er got wit it!” The Snapper shouted, a pent up anger letting loose as he got back to his feet, glaring with narrowed eyes at the offender. “Ah'm useless wit magic, useless without my visions. Useless I tell ye. Good fer nothing lump o' shite. Gotta wonder which feckin' Deity thought t'were hilarious tae send me on this feckin' journey.”
“I-I-I-I'm s-sure there's s-something you can-”
“Like wit, eh? Washin' yer clothes, entertainin' the wee barras? Ah'm a garden hose, a water pistol. Ain't nowt good aboot me. 'less you consider me a feckin' denwife.”
“W-w-w-well I-I-I-”
“Ah'm afeart o' me own element fer feck's sake! I cannae even escape this flappin' wench cos o' it!” he waved a paw at the cave, referring to the pain-racked Coatl inside. “Who e'en thought this were a good feckin' idea? Takin' Maki like that? All it's done is make things worse!”
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Anvinder snaked back up onto the outcropping and tied himself in a tight, shaking ball. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. The word rattled in his skull with every heartbeat. Shouldn't have done that. Should not have done that. Why. Why did he do that? He slapped his hands over his long ears, squeezing his eyes shut and rocking back and forth in hopes of getting the voice to stop.
“Wit? Were it you, Vin? Did you do this?”
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
“Without tellin' a'body? Come on now, spill!”
About ready to crack under the pressure Vin launched himself from his perch to land hard on the ground in front of the Snapper. Just he parted his jaws to admit everything a rustle of wings and the thudding of heavy paws interrupted him, both males twisting around to see a very concerned Isaura puffing and panting.
“Come... come qui... quick! There's... there's an... egg! An egg! Stuck in the net!” She pointed so hard with one arm that she almost toppled over from the exertion of running over so fast. “Come on!” A large, yellow-streaked blue wing was extended like an umbrella as she gestured manically for Vunguza to come with.
After a moment's hesitation, he did.
The three of them set a quick a pace as they dared over the slippery mud, Guz doing his best to avoid every puddle possible, until they reached the edge of the river. It must have doubled in size since they'd arrived. Half the campsite was underwater already. A good thing they'd had the foresight to gather everything of interest to them beforehand.
“There, see it?” Sora pointed at an ovular green object covered in darker green swirls – the markings of a Wind-blessed egg, gone unnoticed as it had been smothered by the wayward paper bag.
“Can't you jump in and get it?” Vin asked, assessing the situation by doing a quick fly-by. The egg was too big and likely too slippery for the Spiral to attempt to grab it, made worse by the sodden bag stuck to the shell.
“The water's too fast!” Sora called to him. Indeed, the river was more like a rapid at this point as more and more water rushed by from the mountains further up. “Even I'd get washed away if I tried.”
The rope was too far out for the Guardian to grab and she dared not wade into even the shallows in case of a misstep. Vin dug his claws into the soggy rope and pulled, but the strength of the flow was too much. “Guz, you're going to have to use your magic to bring it in!” the snakelike dragon shouted over the din. “You said you can do that much, right?”
Fear gripped the stocky Snapper at the thought. “A-ah'd need to get a mite closer.” he managed, toeing the furious river's surface tentatively. To get closer he'd have to get in the water. “Ah cannae... Ah cannae do nowt.”
“You can do it.” Isaura's voice now came from behind rather than beside him. The Snapper looked back to see she'd thrown her wings forward to protect him and had her forelegs either side of his tail. “I'm right here.” she said encouragingly. “If you slip I'll grab you. I promise.”
A lump formed in Guz's thick throat, one he could not swallow. Unable to speak and breathing becoming a chore he set his jaw, closed his eyes and nodded, slowly reaching a paw out into the water. Then wrenched it back out as the rapids pushed against him. After a shaky breath he tried again, setting his flat paw down against the muddy bottom and waiting. Content he wasn't about to lose his footing the Snapper moved the other one in, waited. So far so good, but he was shaking hard.
“You can do it.” Sora repeated, giving his wide tail a gentle squeeze to show she was ready.
Feeling his heart race in his chest Vunguza moved forward again. Slowly. One step at a time. Right down, make sure you won't slip. Soon enough all four feet were submerged. He looked out at the egg. So close. Was he close enough? He reached forward again, but could not seem to find purchase this time. Panicking he pulled back, starting to move backwards. It was too much.
Isaura moved fast, standing behind the Snapper to stop him from going too far. “We're so close! You're doing great! I believe in you!” But Vunguza was having none of it, shoving his hindquarters hard against the Guardian's chest.
“Naw! Ah cannae do it! Ah cannae do it!”
Desperation overcame Anvindr. Someone, somewhere had lost an egg to the flood. The least they could do was try and save it. So, gripping tightly with his hind legs, the Spiral inched along the rope until he was level with the egg. As he reached out to touch it, he noticed something devastating. “It's cracked!” he choked out, trying to peer inside, see if there was a hatchling, how much water was leaking into it. It would sink. It would sink and the hatchling would drown. “Please Guz, you have to try again!”
Some poor dragon family somewhere was about to lose their child. Vunguza pressed against Isaura's legs, half-sat in the water like a cat who did not want to get wet. And it would be all his fault because of this damnable phobia. He furrowed his brow in fury at himself. No. He would not sit by and let it die. At the same time... he didn't think he could dare make it any deeper than he already was.
He focused. Focused on the water rippling around his legs. Focused on the direction the water was flowing in, how strong, how fast. Focused on what was in the water, feeling the rope, the rock it was tied to, the egg stuck in it. He willed the water to curve towards him. It resisted, too strong. He growled and tried again. A flicker of movement. Again, mentally grabbing hold of the rope and dragging it towards the shore. He stood, leaned forward. Closer, closer. He grabbed the rope in his strong jaws, pulled it back. Behind him Isaura reached over and plucked the egg from liquid death and he let go, and with the rope went a weight he hadn't realised he'd been carrying. Relief washed over his mind. He
could do something.
Didn't mean he was any happier for being in the water, however. As soon as the Guardian had moved away the Snapper retreated as quickly as the mud would let him, spinning around and all but leaping onto firmer land.
Anvindr wound his way over to the two of them, laying his hands on Vunguza's head supportively. “Is it... will it be okay?” he asked Isaura as the female peeled the bag off and turned the egg over to allow the water to drain from the crack.
“I... think so?”
Giving the Snapper a comforting pat Vin slipped down and scuttled over to inspect the damage. It didn't look like a crack caused by hitting something. He thought back to when Makani had hatched, or what of it he had managed to glimpse from being locked outside. “It was starting to hatch.” he breathed, uncertainty welling up inside.
“Do you think... Did we get it in time?” Isaura began picking at the gap in the shell, worming a claw in to nudge the baby within.
Something shifted, but it was only slight. A tiny, turquoise paw could be seen touching the shell next to the opening, only to fall weakly as the tiny life coughed. Then coughed again. And kept coughing.
“Okay I'm getting it out.” Isaura declared, already prying at the delicate prison. No one stopped her as she pulled chunks of shell off, making the hole bigger until the hatchling could tumble out.
“Lovely weather fer a wee bairn tae join the world.” Guz said drily, pushing himself to his feet and wobbling over to get a closer look. “Blimey, that's a wee Ridgeback.”
Isaura had rolled the tiny dragon onto its side, gently rubbing its chest. The coughing subsided, though a fair amount of liquid had been brought up. “It would have drowned.” She beamed gratefully at the Snapper.
“But... now what?” Vin asked neither of them in particular, tapping a long finger against his chin. “Someone will bound to be looking for it. And even if we take it in, how is Matar going to react to a new hatchling?”
“Wit any luck she'll adopt it and shut up at last.”
“I've got an idea!” Without explaining any further the crimson Guardian shot inside the cave, eliciting a squawk of surprise from Ilmatar in the process, then shot back out carrying something in one forepaw. She then bounded over to the river, snatched up the bag and galloped back to the cave. Dropping the supplies on the floor she blew out a stream of hot air against the bag to dry it out, careful not to accidentally burn or set it on fire. Draping it over a protrusion in the wall to finish off she then grabbed something from the pile of stuff.
A lot of miscellaneous objects had been found within the objects looted from the serthis camp. Items they may have found useful, interesting or else simply got lumped together with the other paraphernalia. In this case a sheet of paper, some sticking tape and some coloured crayons.
Guz and Vin, having dazedly followed the excitable Guardian, watched in stunned silence as Sora got to work tearing the paper into a wave-like shape with pointy bits, not dissimilar to a Fae's crest. Then, after giving it a shake to test it, took the paper bag and flattened it on the ground as she lined up one piece of torn paper, using the tape to keep it in place. The bag was then flipped and the same done on the other side. Sora picked the project up, sticking her paw inside to open it up and examine her work. The fins weren't completely aligned but it would do.
Satisfied, the bag was placed on the ground again as the Guardian set upon it with the crayons. Going through a lot of (and breaking a few more) crayons she coloured the entirety of the bag in green and the fins in yellow. Finally she took a darker green crayon to mark in two large, walnut-shaped eyes, a nose and a happy mouth and filled the eyes with red, making sure to smudge it so the green mixed in. Lastly she used a sharp claw to poke holes in the eyes.
“Ta-dah!” she exclaimed triumphantly, now holding up what appeared to be a crude yet somehow charming mask of a Fae's head. Coloured, Vin then realised, to look like Makani.
His heart sank all the way down to his tail as his already large eyes widened further. “...you're not. Please tell me you're not.”
“What else can we do?” Sora pleaded, waving her paper mask at the shadowy cave. “She won't stop!”
Vunguza tilted his head as he observed the handiwork. “Honestly ah dinnae ken wit ye mean tae do wit that.” His blue eyes flicked up at Sora, then back at the mask searching for some connection. “Gonna finish it somehow? Turn it intae a puppet?”
Sora shook her head and arched her long neck down to look at the new hatchling.
“No! No, no, no no no no!” Vin screeched, zipping between the Guardian and the Ridgeback. “Don't, don't, don't! It won't work!”
“Wit won't work?”
The Spiral took in a very long, deep breath followed by an equally long exhale. “Sora means to put the mask on the baby and trick Ilmatar into thinking it's Makani.”
The Snapper just stared at Isaura, mouth agape.
“What else can we do?” Sora whined pathetically, paper mask rustling in her grip as she gesticulated wildly. “The baby needs a home, Ilmatar needs her child, we need Ilmatar to stop crying and come to her senses...” She fixed Vin with an orange-eyed stare, heavy jaw set.
Vin slumped on the hard ground, wrapping his arrow-headed tail around himself as he tugged at his curved horns again. This did not sit well with him. Not at all. Not helped that he needed to explain to everyone else what he'd done, where the real Makani was buried.
“You know that's a wee lassie, aye?” Vunguza mumbled doubtfully. “Maki were a boy aye?”
“And she's a Ridgeback.” Vin chimed in desperately. “She'll be able to understand her. She'll know something's not right!”
Sora scooped up the weak Ridgeback and stood at her full height. “Well I'm doing it.” she stated matter-of-factly. “I can't stand seeing her like this any more. And maybe it'll stop Guzy and Lani and Whisper from wanting to leave.”
“But Noelani and Whisper don't-” Vin started, but the Guardian had already made her move.
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
“Matar!” Sora called into the cave as she strode in. “Matar, we found Maki!”
No we didn't. No we didn't!
Almost instantaneously the Coatl was with them, Sora almost tripping over the sudden Coatl in her path. “Where? Where is he? Is he okay?”
With a nod the Guardian held out the tiny Ridgeback, now sporting the crude mask. Weakly she looked out at the red-plumed dragon with her pale green eyes, coughed again, then lay her head back against Sora's arm. “Sh- ah,
he was trying to check the net you two cast out together yesterday!” Isaura blurted, mind racing for a good cover-up. “But he got pulled in the water because... the net broke!” She all but pushed the baby into Ilmatar's waiting arms as she said that. “Um, h-he got washed a little way down the river. That's why we couldn't find him at first. He'll be okay though, he just needs rest!”
As Matar collected up the little bundle it was clear to see the uncertainty, a slight pause when she picked her child up. Something glinted in her eyes, other than the fresh tear that rolled down her cheek. Then she smiled and took the hatchling. “My Maki, my precious Maki.” She turned, taking the baby to the blanket pile. “I'll look after you better this time, I promise.”
Tail wagging, Sora trotted back to the boys with a huge grin on her face. “See? Told you it would work!”
“Yeah...” Vin gulped. “Yeah, it... did.” He flicked a glance up at Vunguza, who wore a similar expression. “You saw it too, didn't you?”
The Snapper nodded. “We'll just have to see how it plays out, lad.”
This seemed to deflate the proud Guardian somewhat and she flopped down next to them. “It wasn't right, was it?”
Vin sighed as all three of them watched Matar tuck the young Ridgeback into the blankets. “We should at least give her a proper name. Just in case. It wouldn't be right calling her Makani all the time. Especially... especially if we need to talk about the... the real Makani.”
“Aboot that.” Vunguza said gruffly, giving the Spiral a nudge.
Anvindr gulped.
Next Chapter
To catch everyone up, before I stopped I'd hatched a Wind egg and had the most beautiful little fae girl fall out. After some amazing scries from you guys I decided to turn her into a ridgeback with plans for lionfish/noxtide/capsule. Here she is as a hatchling since she's, well, not so little any more, heh.