Chapter 21

I was shocked awake by a bellowing roar that shook the ground. Xyon scrambled trying not to fall over when I stood abruptly, facing the north. That was my father! "Wo-ah…! Zavi!"

"That was my father!" My talons unsheathed and dug into the icy snow. That was his battle-roar! I flared my wings, preparing to take off.

"Hey--wait! Take me with you!" He ran in front of me and waved his arms. "Let me help!" I hesitated, not sure it was a good idea to bring a human-beastkin hybrid into a dragon battle. But then again, that was the whole point we were training for. I grabbed him and shoved off, forcing him to have to climb onto my back as I flew. Once he had gotten situated, I sped up tremendously, the wind whistling over my scales. He pressed himself down to reduce drag and prevent wind buffeting his face, helping me go a bit faster. Even at this speed it'll take close to half an hour to get there...it's so far away! My eyes started tearing up, but the sheer force of my passage ripped them away. Mother…! Father…! What's going on?! Just wait for me, I'm coming to help! I came upon my home like a lightning bolt, whipping around the towering glaciers and pulling up short when I saw something that chilled my very soul. No...no, no, no...this isn't happening! My father had finally lost it completely and was attacking my mother with the intent to kill. I'll lose them both! "Zavi, over there!" I pulled my eyes away from my parents and followed Xyon's finger to see an approaching group of three dragons. What is this?! "Hide!" Panic fueling me, I found the energy to listen and ducked into a crack in the glaciers. So much danger! I could only watch as the dragons descended on my parents silently.

Giving up, I shouted, "Mother! Watch out!" She rolled out from underneath the onslaught of dragons, managing to dodge them in time. I saved her! Her head was turning to-and-fro, searching for me as she danced away from the developing brawl.

"Zavi! Where are you?!" I jumped back out into the open, hurrying closer. "Don't! I want you to leave!" The other dragons were all blue, so it was fairly clear what tribe they belonged to. A smaller dragoness was a blue so dark it bordered on black, the largest was a green-tinted sky blue...the last one shocked me. It was a tourmaline opal...just like me and my father. "Leave…!" I was too surprised to move, not even hearing those around me. The tourmaline isn't fighting, but watching, stalking my mother.

"You! You're the one who stole my brother!" The tourmaline dragoness bared her fangs and dived, aiming her curved talons at my mother. "Look what you've done to him!" The two dragonesses clashed, tumbling over the edge. Her brother? Is she talking about my father?

"Zavi, she told you to leave!" Finally, I started hearing Xyon when he began hitting my neck. "You should do as she said!" I glanced back at him to see he was crying, hurt by the scene just as much as I was. Xyon…

"No." I shook my head, making up my mind. "She trained us for this. We can't just turn away when she needs us." The clouded look my father had in his eyes before was gone, his sanity ever-so-slowly returning in the fight. He pinned the two down, winning his battle. My mother, on the other hand, was beginning to lose. The dragoness snarled and snapped at my mother, going at her with full force. She needs help! "I'm going in, are you helping?" He stared at me uncertainly, then nodded.

"I'm with you, Zavi." I hissed through my fangs and rose higher to get a better angle. Xyon used his dark magic to strap himself down so he wouldn't fall off, preparing for my attack. I won't let this dragoness take my family...I won't lose them again! I furled my wings, slipping into a dive that made my eyes sting. I'm not going to give up and let others control my life, not anymore! I didn't even bother slowing down for the impact, understanding that the victor could be decided in an instant, with any hesitation. If I want to win, I'll have to fight like I mean it. I slammed into her with a boom, the force sending both of us flying into the side of another glacier. The tourmaline's sapphire eyes registered pain and confusion. I must look like someone on her side, being an opal.

With flames hissing at the back of my throat, I growled, "Leave my mother alone! If you want to fight, then fight me!" I think I snapped a few of her ribs a minute ago, judging by the blood around her mouth...she'll have a hard time moving. I met her eyes, refusing to look away. Unexpectedly, her hind paws shoved me off her, raking my side and freeing her from the glacier. I flared my wings, knowing full-well that I can't fall with Xyon on my back. It hurts, but she didn't get through my scales. She zipped all over the place, trying to confuse me.

"Who are you?! I didn't know there were other opals!" If my father is her brother, then she's my aunt...a pretty young one, being not much older than I am. "This has nothing to do with you! Leave before you become my enemy!" I glared, charging at her again. She's ignoring me!

"You already are!" I shoved my horns into her underbelly, stabbing fairly deep. This is a fight...she shouldn't have taken her eyes off me. "I'm strong enough now! This time, I can fight too!" She scrabbled at my head, somehow pulling herself off of my curved horns. I can't believe I have to fight my own aunt to protect my parents...it's insane.

She coughed violently, whirling on me. "How dare you! I tried to spare you, insolent hatchling! Now that you've insisted on being my opponent, you won't escape alive!"

"Try me!" I blasted the fire I'd held back in her face, startling her, increasing the temperature as I went on. At some point, she got free and I stopped, keeping my eyes trained on her.

"How?! You're of the water tribe!" Is that what it looks like? Guess I break rules by existing.

"Don't make assumptions!" Xyon lashed out with long trails of dark magic, wrapping them around her waist.

"What's this?!" She struggled, making his magic waver.

"Xyon, don't let her go! Keep her down!" I have to avoid using my trump-card...something similar should work just fine. I inhaled and blasted shards of ice at her wings, but she furled them close to her body to prevent damage. She's not allowed to do that, it's cheating! Well, all's fair in war. I gasped when she bit down on a vine of dark magic, yanking us closer with it. Adjusting quickly, I turned her deadly swipe into a grapple. I bit down on her neck when she lifted it back to attack me with breath, choking her. She dug her talons into my paws and smacked me with her tail. It hurts! I released her for a brief moment to take a deep enough breath in all this pain, but she returned my attack, locking her jaws around the middle of my throat. Ouch! I can't breathe! I could turn enough to see her reaction to finding Xyon there. He stood on my back and climbed up my neck to kick at her eyes. Fire licked around her bared fangs in response, but she couldn't attack him without releasing me, so he was able to continue for quite a while. Where's my mother? She was fending off the large green-tinted sky blue dragon. Did he get away from my father? This dragoness has it out for us though, so I absolutely have to keep her here. I forced words through my crushed windpipe, spitting, "Xyon! I'm...flame coat!" won't make sense to anyone who doesn't know me, but he understood, tying his magic around a single spike and hopping off, hanging like a cat toy on a string. Now that he wasn't touching me, I released my own magic.

My scales became as hot as my mother's lava attack, glowing from the heat. "Agh!" She let go, the scent of burning flesh carrying to my nostrils. Ha, I burned her! "You...that one on your back...it's unprecedented! You're spitting on your honor!"

"Friendship is more important than honor." My voice was quiet, still hurting from her tight grip. I heard my father bellow in pain and looked at him, seeing the tiny dragoness latching onto his back and biting at his wings and neck. "Father!" I started for him, but the tourmaline raced in front of me, blocking my path. 

Her eyes blazed. "Father…? You're the spawn of that fire dragon?!" She needs to pay more attention...I'd already called her my mother. "That dragoness...defiled my brother…?! I'll kill you, you abomination!" Seeing as she was my aunt, it stung to hear her say that. Are we only being found by the water tribe because of how dangerous the north is for the fire tribe? My mother can't even fight at full strength here. She launched into the attack, but her movements were dulled by emotions. Nevertheless, she had me on the defensive, forcing me to back away with every strike. This fight is hard! I never knew how much it took to fight another dragon, especially one that wanted to kill you! Her ferocity terrified me, driving me into a corner. She went for a fatal strike, but something bumped into me, taking the brunt of the attack in my place. When I refocused my eyes, I recognized the cloudy-blue opal scales in front of me. Father…! He just saved me! But at what cost? His body slumped and I grabbed him, trying to keep him from falling. The dragoness screeched in panic and regret. "Brother! No, no, no...brother!" She helped me support his weight, lowering him slowly. "Why?! Why would you protect this fledgling?!" I shook my head and quickly closed off my heart. My mother is still fighting...Xyon fell off over there when I changed direction too suddenly. Where did he go? I spotted him hiding himself away, trying to avoid getting attacked. I'll leave him there. No need to risk his wellbeing for a problem within my family. I sped skyward, intercepting the tiny female with a snarl. She yelped, dodging my swipe. Not much smaller than me, but definitely older. Maybe my size is due to my father?

"Zavi! Stop, I told you to leave!" She hissed at me, but I refused to abandon her. With the flare of my wings, I caught up to the dragoness effortlessly, stabbing my talons into the membrane of her wings.  I'm going to do my best to survive this. With her pained scream, the last one broke free from my mother and dove at me, ripping me off her. Ouch! I tumbled through the air, struggling to regain balance. My mother appeared out of nowhere, blasting fire in their faces. "I want you gone, now! Don't make me fight you myself!" She clobbered me with her tail, sending me to the ground. "You have…" She paused to bite one of them. "...more to do! You were going to help Xyon! Have you already forgotten?!" Her words stung. She's...right. My promise was to Xyon--to help him. It's time for me to leave. I got to my feet, grabbed Xyon--who had run up to me when I fell--and took off. My soul wailed but I kept going. "Don't worry about me! I'll see you again, Zavi! I can't wait to see how much you grow by then!" I found myself crying, barely able to hold onto Xyon in my cupped paws. I'm so tired...I've lost so much in my first life and now in this new one. Do the gods hate me that much?! To the point they give me hope with a perfect family and friendship, only to rip it all away like removing a bandaid?! Why me?! After this, I could be an orphan again...the only one I'll have will be Xyon. How much more will be taken before they're satisfied?!

"Zavi…" I glance down at him to see his own tears dripping freely down his face. "You're not alone. Not everything has been taken yet." We were technically talking in dragonish since the beginning of the fight, but we'd taught him the language since he had chosen to live with us. That means he heard everything. "There's no guarantee your mother will die. Same goes for your father. You have a violent aunt, but at least she seems to care about your father, so she won't let him die. We can't help...you aren't strong enough yet. I'm not either. We have to grow stronger, just like your mother said." I pulled him in closer, holding him carefully against the base of my neck, above my chest. That way, he could wrap his arms around my neck like he always does. I would've never seen that without his help. I'm only a burden to my family during this fight...there's no way I could fight at the height of my strength because I can't fight with the intent to kill--the polar opposite of my enemy. With heavy hearts, we fled.