The night.. beckons while you dream,
A life never lives in peace,
As you stand upon the edge,
Woven by a single thread,
And fate may fall down upon you,
While the devil is knocking...

Right at your door.

Green eyes flew open, strength coming to limbs that had been weak, their arms shifting upwards, keratin plates shifting and solidifying before he brought them out in an outward strike, over and over again until their chrysalis shattered.

They staggered and fell out of the remains of their chrysalis, eyes clenched shut against the sudden input. Ears flicked forward and they stepped forward, chest heaving, snorting like a bull about to charge. Chaos-Two's eyes opened and they saw.

They stood up tall for the first time, their spine unhindered, hips carrying their weight, their eyes big and wide, taking in hues of purple, of black, of shadow and light. They saw.

"Khavur," they said suddenly, steps shaky as they stepped forward, before they snorted once again and ran, taking to all fours as they followed the scent of their sibling, skidding to a halt once they'd been found.

"Khavur!", they said, "Bringer of Chaos, holder of butterflies... I've found myself."

Perhaps it said something that they'd go to Khavur first, to witness the colors that adorned their siblings skin, colors and features they'd never seen before, to see their loved ones for the first time.

@Vargas @Khavur

It had lost the battle many cycles ago, and immediately after had intended to report to Master Vargas. But the night before, it slept... and it hadn't woken up. Four cycles it had taken to finally rise again, out of ashes.

And now, the lost soul was wandering about the sickly black world of Draco, adorned in an acid yellow hue. When they came back into sight at long last, his flesh suddenly burned a glimmering gold. The blurred swath of life unraveled into crystalline clarity.

"M... My Eyes."

They had returned to him. And he... to them. Bringer of Chaos, holder of butterflies. That was indeed him, but... "...Who are you now?" It had been forever. They ought to reintroduce themselves. The confusion wasn't gone, but like an instant remedy, they had made it better. Placebo effect, perhaps, or maybe there was something sincerely magical in a beloved reunion.

@V-Chaos-Two

V-Chaos-Two looked up at Khavur, looking at golden skin, at two heads with eyes and ears and horns. Things they'd never been able to see before.

"... I'm Max," they sniffed, "Maximus. I have to earn my name but..."

They walked up to Khavur, on their hind legs, standing tall, their stance unshakable, and hugged them like they had in Pegasus, overwhelmed with emotions, "I no longer see through emeralds... my butterfly eyes are clear now."

They would hide their name, but they'd keep it in mind. They'd earn their name and they'd be great.

Maximum effort.

"I've missed you," they mumbled, "And I've found the word, too. If you wish to find it on your own, though, that's okay. You've been asleep for a long time."

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

The crack of the chrysalis brought him, and the calling voice shortly thereafter. He came in on long strides, bursting into the conversation like a very large, pink-purple wrecking ball. "CHAOS-TWO!" he boomed, and his tone was pleased. And a nod to Khavur; this one had also slept, he thought. "Ahh, here you are, as well." Not as booming, though also as warm as Vargas ever was.

His strides took him to circle Chaos-Two, inspecting it closely. "And-?" he asked, as if by way of greeting. "How do you feel?"

Did it work, then? he wondered.

@V-Chaos-Two

Max. Max. "Max..." At last Khavur felt it form in his voice. "Beautiful." And then, his Eyes, his greatest ally... walked. On their own two feet. Not a single stumble. Khavur's heart hammered like a drum for them, cheered inside his chest with all the fervor and exuberance of a parade. Then they... these Eyes of his, Maximus, hugged him. Khavur balanced on four arms as two reached out to return the dear embrace. The beast had only ever been this gentle with flowers and butterflies. Maximus had grown so tall, and so much...

The emeralds had faded from their butterfly eyes, freeing their wings from tethers and bonds. In so many ways, they had freed themself. There was an eruption deep in Khavur's gut of a sadness they'd never known before. Loss... but Maximus was right here? Maximus was not lost. Khavur was. And so too was time...

Maximus had missed Khavur... and had found the word. A quiet gasp escaped him. In all his time asleep, he might've dreamed that word and to no avail, for he remembered nothing now. "I missed you too." Despite it being the first time Khavur had ever grasped such a concept, he felt like he understood it fully. Before he could answer the question of sharing the revelation, in came Master Vargas.

The Master barreled in, booming a name that was not Maximus's, and hardly addressing Khavur at all. The attention was right back on Maximus, which Khavur was fine with, but now his heart ached in two different directions. It was starting to hurt.

Khavur loosened his gentle embrace, allowed Maximus to escape it if they so wished, and proceeded to keep two heads trained on either being. Now he was akin to a silent sentinel; a bust of Janus.

Chaos-Two met Khavur's eyes for the first time and smiled, a dopey thing that wrinkled their eyes and made them look ridiculous. Their tail shook and they had to pull away, standing tall and finally meeting Vargas' eyes.

"I feel good," they said, "Like I could run across the caves without stopping, like I could see endlessly."

They wanted to run, to dash and dance, to peer at the butterflies and to see everything until they were sore and aching. They wanted to race out into Pegasus and jump and make a fool out of themselves.

"I don't hurt anymore," they said, and the realization made them have to sit down.

Honestly it made them want to cry.

"What now?", they asked Vargas looking up at him, eyes just the slightest bit wet.

@Vargas @Khavur

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas listened, silently attentive, gaze shifting to Khavur briefly but back to Chaos-Two. He was studying the pelvis, the arms, the eyes. It all looked good; it looked healthy. "Good," he said, at last. "Are you pleased?"

He paced briefly the other way. "What now. You requested time to adjust, and so you have that. When you think you are ready, you will finish your training with Garnet-Delta and then with myself--stealth and combat. Then, I am sure, we will have new spawn to raise."

Vargas glanced at Khavur. "And you, Reaver-? Have you slept? Perhaps we all ought to train together, once Chaos-Two is ready."

@V-Chaos-Two

Khavur returned a small, dopey smile of his own from his small-horned head, the one fixated on Maximus. This little lamb was so endearing, meant so much to Khavur... did he really want to just learn the word for them, from them, with no effort put into it? Would it even be the word Khavur felt most for them? Perhaps... he ought to get readjusted to life first. To see if Master Vargas would set him free to train and learn, so that he could try to find it on his own. Maybe he'd find himself too while he was at it. Then they would be even.

Chaos-Two- Maximus said they didn't hurt anymore. Didn't hurt... at all? Khavur reached out with magic, desperate to know if it was true. He had no memories of his little sibling that didn't somehow include their pain... their need for assistance... to think they could now live without such a burden was enough to make Khavur's own Eyes watery. The magic came back with something beautiful and ghastly in its jaws. It was true, Khavur managed to grasp. It was true and it was wonderful.

So what now?

His Eyes, Maximus, was apparently to rest and then continue training with Garnet-Delta and then Master Vargas in... stealth and combat? Then to raise spawn? Khavur had missed so much, too much truly. And then, Master Vargas addressed him; had he slept and should they train all train... together. Khavur wanted nothing more in this moment.

"I have slept, yes. It was not my intention to be gone for so long. I sparred Orthoclase-Alpha and lost, but that was not the cause of my slumber. I had intended to report to you the next day... how long has it been exactly? Should I fight Orthoclase-Alpha again, to... to make up for lost time?" His words came from the large-horned's mouth, the one trained on Master Vargas. He wished to return to life in full again, but he had never really proved that he was ready for life to begin with. He wanted not a second chance, but his first to be restored.

@V-Chaos-Two

Chaos-Two peered at the keratin plates on their arms and smacked them a few times, pleased to note that there was no pain and they provided ample protection. Perfect if Vedette ever tried to bite again, or to block the Sentinel's spear.

"Perfect," they said, "I'm pleased, thank you, Master Vargas."

They bowed their head and poked Khavur's side, looking up at Vargas, "May we go out into Pegasus? I'd like to push myself now that my limits have been expanded."

In fact, they felt like they had none, but it would be absolutely fantastic to run through the fields with Khavur rather than on top of them. They could pick up where they'd left off before, and they could tell the other the word they'd found.

@Vargas @Khavur

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas studied Khavur briefly. "Overseer Orthoclase-Alpha is not with us right now," and his correction was the sort of calm authoritative tone that a parent might use: firm, but not unkind. "In fact, I would ask you both a question: do either of you know it well? Emotionally, or the like. It was... unhappy, and that is a situation I do not know how to solve. I have tried to speak with it, but it does not know itself or does not wish to share, and so for the time being I have given it leave to seek its own peace of mind, but if either of you have input that may aid in this, then share it." Vargas simply could not comprehend the concept of a creature in good health and social standing being miserable to the point of starving itself: he had zero reference point for such a problem, though it troubled him nonetheless.

"As for making up for lost time, try not to simply fall asleep again. We will train, you and I, once you are rested from your long sleep--yes, that sounds strange, but you may find yourself stiff, sore, for now. That goes for you, as well, Chaos-Two."

Vargas glanced, with uncharacteristic humor, at the addax-like creation. "'Push yourself?' Or see Pegasus properly for the first time-? It is not an unpleasant place to look at, if you enjoy flowers and fields," he added, in half-amused mock disgust at the latter bit. "Come, then; you may stretch your limbs--Khavur, come with us if you wish but it is unneeded if you do not. I will guard the two of you in case you are attacked in this state."

His intention was to keep an eye on them, though once their conversation was through, he did not mind simply observing while they hunted or fought or... stared at plants or whatever it was they might wish to do.

@Khavur