ORIGIN - Meetings Under Starlight

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Oh, this cave was beautiful! The very ceiling sparkled with light. Cadenza was almost tempted to step out from where they were hiding behind their dad to look around some more, but they refrained.

...Not that they were hiding very well, being a nearly twenty foot dragon with large antlers on their head, but the thought of being behind their dad gave them comfort.

Cadenza's nervousness was back in full force, having been growing since they had gotten to Polaris. Anxieties gnawed at their mind.

By now, they were tired even if they had not started the traveling as such. After all, they had only just reawoken not all too long ago.

They were tempted to call out for Pride, for their other newly learned of dad. But they worried. "...What now?" They asked their dad, their musical voice very quiet considering their size.

@Dread

Dread--who had paused to look around Orion, for a moment--glanced back at Cadenza's question. "THIS WAY," he answered easily, and pushed off and up to fly again.

He was wholly unaware of his child's nervousness. He himself had little to no concept of anxiety. Not that he was fearless--he knew fear; his own hatching (though he never thought of it, now) had found him hunted by a far larger predator, burned and snagged in serpentine coils, helpless. He'd nearly died. But social anxieties, or the day-to-day fears regarding interacting with other Gembound?

Dread was perhaps too simple, blunt, or straightforward to be worried. He just shouted his thoughts and that was that. Had Cadenza mentioned their nervousness, he might have thought it over--whether he wound up puzzled or understanding, to some extent. But for now it didn't even occur to them that meeting a parent for the first time might be an uncertain scenario.

So he winged his way toward the Throne, calling out as he went. "PRIDE! -PRIDE? ARE YOU HERE?"

The stag--his diamond armor gleaming across his white fur--stepped out from where he'd been resting near the Throne.

He peered upward, brow a little furrowed--is that Dread? He hadn't seen the dragon in a couple cycles. He'd wondered, at times, whether the gemstone he'd given life had 'taken'--whether a child had come of it, after all. But he'd never sought Dread out to ask. He'd been mostly busy here, looking after other family, so the call now brought the question back to the forefront of his mind.

There he was--a black silhouette winging his way toward the Throne. Pride sent his magic out, beams of bright, blue-and-white light crisscrossing to sweep up into the sky, like spotlights, to guide the dragon in.

"Here," Pride called up, voice melodic and not nearly as loud as the dragon's. But then, Dread knew where to find him--and a moment later, Pride was striding out to meet the dragon as Dread touched down, landing in a puff of dust before him.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Cadenza

Tired, anxious, but nevertheless determined, Cadenza took flight after their dad. A white silhouette flying across the cave, a stark contrast to the darker dragon that was Dread. They appeared perfectly draconic from the air. But as they finally landed nearby their dad, drawn to the show of lights, their own antlered head was clearly visible.

And then their other dad was in view. Immediately, Cadenza knew this must be him. Every piece of them they had not gotten from Dread was visible in Pride. They shuffled a little closer, curiosity winning out against anxieties for the moment.

They glanced towards their dad, towards Dread, then back to staring at Pride, their other dad. What did one say to the parent they had never met? For a long moment, it escaped them. Then, suddenly, they knew. It was so simple, beginning. "Hello," Their own musical voice spoke the word. One always started with a greeting, after all.

Greetings and introductions.

"I am Cadenza," There was an uncertain lilt to their otherwise pretty tone, as they considered where to go from here. It did not occur to them to outright state their parentage, certain as they were that it was obvious. "I hatched... A while ago. Shortly after hatching, I then fell asleep, and I did not wake up until very recently. I did not know about you until I woke up again. I can fly and swim and I made the air cooler once."

It was a summary, much like the kind their dad did in their experience. Their dragon dad, that is. Which brought forth another thought.

"What should I call you...? Dread is dad, but you are also," Cadenza questioned, and then their mind was full of questions. "Dad said you are a warrior that uses magic? And that you protect," They added. They were tempted to speak more, but then they wondered if they had spoken too much, and they fell quiet.

@Dread

He hadn't really needed the lights to guide him in; they were, if anything, a little blinding.

They made him sneeze as he landed, a shake of his head--doglike--clattering his neck-spines. He eyed Pride, and opened his jaws to speak.

To his surprise, Cadenza--landing behind him--spoke first. Not that he minded. He stepped aside, craning his neck around to peer at them. When they'd finished speaking, he grunted his acknowledgment, as if to somehow agree. He scooted backward a little, looking around halfheartedly in the hopes that there'd magically be something to eat here, but saw nothing. Pride didn't usually have food, here.

Oh--but he did have gemstones, pretty often.

"DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING SHINY?" he asked abruptly, gaze snapping back to Pride.

Other than that, he provided exactly nothing to this conversation, for now.

For a fraction of a second, Pride thought that the white dragon sweeping in would be Bone, Dread's other child. But this one was--smaller, lighter, and had-

Antlers..?

Despite having just wondered about this very child, it took a moment for the stag's mind to snap the puzzle pieces into place. Silver eyes widened as he took them in, watching them approach. It was good that Cadenza spoke first--because for a moment Pride was shocked into silence, feeling like the world had stopped. His mind struggled to catch up, to keep up.

Cadenza. Hatched, slept... hatched again. Can... fly, and swim...

His heart melted, a little, as they listed their abilities, and then asked what they should call him. The quiet realization that this was his child settled into him, and he smiled (stag lips lifting) with a sort of wonder. "Cadenza," he repeated back, softly--and dipped his head in polite, respectful greeting. He was about to continue when Dread blurted his request--and Pride blinked at him, sentence cut off before he could begin.

Pride cleared his throat gently, and dipped his head down, trying to summon something up for Dread--something 'shiny,' yes. The dragon preferred gold, so perhaps a chunk of citrine would do.

"...Just a moment," he murmured, and nudged at the ground. A point of translucent, golden gemstone sprouted from the rock, albeit smaller than he'd meant; and Pride lifted it in his teeth, carrying it to Dread. He set it down a few yards from the dragon, and went back to Cadenza. It wasn't that he minded Dread, exactly; it was just that the dragon sometimes struck him as a giant child, and leaving him with something to distract him... well, he didn't mind.

He turned his full attention back to the antlered dragon, instead. "I welcome you to Orion," he began. "You may call me Pride or... Dad, if you wish. I'd be happy to get to know you." Guilt, briefly, pricked at him. Dread had mentioned maybe bringing the child back, some day, but Pride really should've tried to reach out sooner. The thing was... he'd not really thought of the stone he'd granted life to as a child. It had been an exchange. A trade, to revive the stone of a dead friend, in turn. Does Cadenza know that-? His gaze slipped to Dread. Did the black dragon even remember-?

Hm. He looked back to Cadenza, his gaze softening into something genuinely warm, though his posture remained dignified and composed. "You're welcome here whenever you wish, of course. If you made the air cooler," he added, thinking this over, "you share my magic, I think. I can teach you some of it, if you like-? As for me, I do not know that I'd call myself a warrior," and here Pride looked thoughtfully at Dread, who was busy nudging the citrine stone. Is that how he thinks of me-? A magical warrior-guardian? It was almost... flattering, somehow. He looked to Cadenza, and smiled again. "I do, however, try to protect others, yes. I am one of the Kingdom of the Seven; there aren't actually all that many of us, but when we are awake rather than sleeping in our stones, we do try to offer protection to any who might need it."

Like trying to stand up against the Masters, for one thing, when they came to demand their children. But maybe that would not be the best thing to mention, just now.

It occurred to Pride, a bit belatedly, that he didn't really know the purpose of this visit. Was it just that--a visit?--or was it that Dread wanted to leave Cadenza with him? He assumed the dragon would've mentioned as much, but to clear it up, Pride peered between the two. "Is this just a social visit? If so, I could try to find something for you to eat, or drink, and we can talk, some?" he suggested, polite.

He looked at Cadenza, then, quiet. Imagine that. A dragon, with my antlers. And--my gemstone, too, he realized. Not really his stone, but its placement: a ring of protrusions, like a necklace, around their neck. It was almost surreal, meeting them for the first time.

He wondered, briefly, if he might be dreaming.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Cadenza

Pride repeated Cadenza's name, and he dipped his head towards them. It was barely anything, and yet... It was everything, somehow. They searched for the reason why, and then they realized. It was acknowledgement. The anxious part of them found itself settling, and they felt... Warm. It was not a physical warmth, but it was a coziness that reminded them of the easy comfort that being in their first known dad's presence had always brought.

-And then that dad spoke up, and Cadenza swung an antlered head towards the older dragon, startled out of the moment briefly. It had been an abrupt and random outburst, which was not unusual per say when it came to their dad. But, they had not quite realized others were not as abrupt until just now, when there had been peace and quiet and a sense of wonder.

They were not mad at their dad, of course, he was being who he was. But, while they had gained many traits from him, they suddenly were curious how much of their nature had come from their other dad. They could see visually many traits they had in common, but... It felt like there was more shared than that.

Soon enough dragon-dad was distracted by the offered citrine which was, admittedly, rather intriguing even to Cadenza's gaze. But more intriguing, always, was family. And the deer was their dad, had offered the title up to them to use. "You are my dad, and I would be happy to get to know you as well," They declared, tone musical with an undertone of steely certainty.

Their deer-dad seemed to think over his words before he spoke them. But when he spoke, he remained welcoming and warm and though he was very different than their dragon-dad, he was undoubtedly their dad.

He did not think himself a warrior, but he confirmed that he was a protector. And also, magic! "I would like to learn magic from you," Cadenza agreed first, for that was important. Practicing magic was important, like their dragon-dad had said. "Is summoning lights and gems part of my magic too?" That did not feel quite right to Cadenza, but they did not know much of magic, and if they had the same magic as their deer-dad, then maybe those were also things they could do?

But other than questions and answers, they were curious to hear their deer-dad's view of their views. "I do not much like the idea of fighting, myself," They confessed. "But I think protecting others is a worthy cause to fight for, if I had to fight."

They were slightly puzzled at the phrasing of the question, but they did their best to answer. "I wanted to meet you, but I did not want to meet you alone. ...I was worried," They admitted. "But you are nice. You are family."

"We went through the beach to the Snow Cave to Polaris to get here. ...I am tired, but I want to talk. I could also eat or drink. But I do not know if I could make the journey back before resting," They explained further.

Oh, but also- "I do not want to head back yet, either. I want to get to know you," Cadenza spoke, repeating an earlier sentiment in addition to the new one.

They spared an unsure look at their dragon-dad. "Is it okay if we stay long enough to speak and rest?"

@Dread

Dread listened, curling up on the rock to rest as he did so. He kept the citrine close beneath his chest, and for his part, he did not interrupt. He seemed content merely to be, to wait here for however long was needed. There was not a trace of impatience in him, either to leave entirely or merely to hunt or the like.

Cadenza's question brought his gaze to them, blinking. "OF COURSE!" he answered, surprised that they would ask. He paused, hesitated, and then explained. "I DID NOT THINK YOU WOULD WANT TO COME AND SAY HELLO AND THEN FLY AWAY AGAIN. THAT WOULD BE STRANGE."

The idea struck him, then, that his child might want to stay here. And while that tugged at him, a little--made him sad, the idea of possibly losing touch with Cadenza so soon after truly meeting them--he certainly wouldn't try to force anything. "WE CAN STAY HOWEVER LONG YOU WANT OR YOU CAN STAY OR WHATEVER," was what he went with, in the end.

With his piece said, he curled back up, resting his head atop the tip of his tail.

A social visit, then. And Dread, at least, seemed uninterested in his offers of food, so Pride gently shrugged that thought away. Cadenza, though, said that they could eat (or drink). Pride had been about to suggest that they hunt (he was no stranger to doing so) when he realized that they, like him, might not need to. "What is it that you eat?" he asked, tilting his head to study them.

He dipped his head down again, this time summoning something other than a gem; he already planned to form a gem for Cadenza (perhaps a little statue of them; that was something he often created as a gift to others) but for now, a snack might do. Nothing came, and he shook his head a little.

"Ahh--as far as my magic goes... no. My magic--yours, perhaps--is magic of the mind. And it doesn't always work; I did just try to create some food for you!" It should be noted, here, that Pride's knowledge of the cave's magic was--despite his experience--not entirely correct. He did not realize that elements were strictly divided, that spells belonged to one or another; he was skilled in both energy and arcane, and thus conflated the two entirely. "Moving things with our minds, or--with but a thought, and a little focus--changing the reality of things. Turning a stone into fire, or water into steam, or hot into cold, cold into hot. Lifting everything around us, or floating away, with only our minds," he went on. "I will gladly teach you what I know. Lights, gemstones--those are other things I've learned. I don't think we're limited, bar by our imaginations; I have quite a few magics at my disposal." It was said matter-of-factly, rather than in any sort of bragging manner, and his steady gaze on Cadenza suggested that this information was as much a lesson in general magic as personal information. "That takes a great deal of learning and practice, though. I find that most Gembound have a single type of magic that they are most comfortable with, and that they stick to," and his gaze flicked to Dread, thoughtful. The dragon was most certainly fire, and almost entirely fire; it's why he'd asked him to revive Fireheart's gemstone. The wolf had been so flame-oriented that it'd felt entirely wrong for Pride to grant it the 'wrong' element, and Dread had the strongest fire magic he knew of. But Cadenza-?

"It's very possible yours will wind up as versatile as mine," he ventured; a guess, but one based in experience.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Cadenza

"I feel like I can eat most food. If I can, then I think I would like to eat plants," They considered. While they could understand the necessity of hunting for some, if it was unnecessary for them they liked the path of minimal harm.

Their dragon-dad had always been very direct, so long as they had known him. Which, over all, was not very long compared to the experiences of many. But, throughout all the time Cadenza had been awake, their dragon-dad had been there nearly always. So, to them, his directness was a constant in their life.

He had a way of making things make sense. So, briefly, they were reassured that they had been able to stay for a while. Apparently, they could both stay for as long as Cadenza wanted and that was good until the sentence finished.

Distress set in. Was their dragon-dad really okay with them staying here without him? Because Cadenza was very much not. They listened to the explanation of magic half-heartedly. When their deer-dad finished speaking, they gave him an apologetic look. "One moment," They repeated their deer-dad's earlier words without thinking about it, and they turned to their dragon-dad.

"Dad, I said I would come back to you, even once I started exploring. You are home," They told their dragon-dad as firm as they could in their melodic voice. "We are here together. We will leave together, too, eventually." They declared.

"After this I will explore, and I at times I may be here, and other times I will be back with you. Both of you are home. ...Unless either of you do not want me around," The last bit was softer, but it was still clear in their lyrical tones. They glanced between their dads, anxiety setting in towards the end. While mostly directed at their dragon-dad, there was clearly room for their deer-dad to speak up as well.

@Dread

Pages: 1 2 3 4