Drakavar's Pet (1/2)
For several minutes, Dakka is resting on his knees, looking down at his dead grandfather in shock.
Once the old dragon has bled out completely, a small black bead falls out of the severed stump where his arm used to be.
As if attracted by some powerful force, the drop of black blood flows towards Dakka and lands on one of his many cuts – sinking into his skin and filling his veins with… something more. The feeling is so subtle that he can't quite tell what changed.
'What are you going to do with him?' Dakka suddenly hears a voice ask in his mind.
The voice is deeper than a woman's, yet it carries a distinct feminine feeling to it. Dakka can't mistake the voice's gender, even if he tried.
Honestly, listening to this voice is a little disorienting for Dakka. Her voice has a powerful sharpness to it that demands obedience and promises violence… yet her voice is also soft, deep, and soothing.
"Is that you, Lady Drakavar?" Dakka asks aloud. Out of impulse, he looks up at the white, infinite mana stone looming past all the galaxies.
'It is. Now answer my question. What are you going to do with him? Hmm?'
Her tone and abrupt way of speaking almost made Dakka's heart lurch in fear. 'Is she mad at me? Is she getting impatient?' he thinks while suppressing a shudder.
Talking with her often feels more like an interrogation – especially because of the subtly threatening Aura she always has imbued in her voice.
Dakka hastily looks back down at Fheldin, and he says, "…I know how proud Grandfather was to be Halnith-Kin. I'd like to bury him on Tali's moon."
'Very good,' Drakavar concedes. 'I don't like to be heartless to my Bloodchosen, so you will take little Fheldin's skull with you. You can bury it in your world, or keep it as a memento.'
"If I may ask…," Dakka asks humbly. "You're a 7-Horned dragon, yes? Are you… able to bring Grandfather back to life?"
'His fire has dimmed, and his soul has left his bones. He's lost to the Death gods now. Don't worry. He may have lost my gift to you, but he's still an Elder Dragon. He'll be just fine in the Death Realm.'
"Is there anything else you'd like your servant to do?" Dakka asks with a bowed head.
'Hmm…'
Instead of giving a straight answer, the planet Dakka and Fheldin are on suddenly lurches up towards the white mana stone.
Within a mere moment, the planet is hurled across countless light-years. Just before it crashes into the white mana stone, the planet suddenly stops.
Despite the absurd acceleration, neither the planet, nor anything on it, is harmed at all.
Still, Dakka feels dizzy and sick, and he tumbles off the planet's surface and falls flat on the crystalline plane directly below him.
The instant his injured body lands on the giant mana stone, the powerful mana inside pours into his wounds – healing him up completely – even regrowing all the bits of himself he'd lost during the fight – including the tip of his tail.
Still, it all happened so fast that Dakka didn't even realize it happened.
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-Dakka's POV
"Uuuuuuuggghhh….," Dakka groans painfully. He's so dizzy that he can't even see anything around him.
Before Dakka is even aware of himself, two bone-white fingers pinches the tip of his tail and lifts him up high into the air.
"Ew. You're not cute when you look like that," Dakka hears that magnetic voice say. "Turn into a dragon..." There's a long pause, and her face twists into a grotesque smile. "Pleasssssssssse…?"
That last "please" was said in a long, drawn out hiss. Her eyes remained placid and cold, yet her cheeks were stiffly curled up in a smile – baring her fangs at him.
'Eeee!' Dakka squeals inwardly. 'She's threatening to kill me! What did I do to displease her!!??'
"Right!" Dakka nods his head vigorously. "I'm on it!!"
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-Drakavar POV-
'Aw…,' the dragon Goddess thought to herself as she looked at the helpless little boy dangling from her finger tips. 'He fought very well. His last farewell with his grandfather was so touching as well.'
'Yup!' she inwardly nods. 'He's of my blood now, which means he's basically my child. I should try to be nice to him…'
Looking at the little runt, Drakavar suddenly says, "Ew. You're not cute when you look like that. Turn into a dragon."
'It's because you're my little baby now! Your dragon form is so chubby and adorable! Be proud of it!!!!!!' she thinks.
In the split second after she said this, she realized how rude she sounded. She remembers hearing from Din that people say "please" when they're being polite, so she suddenly puts on a kind, motherly smile and adds, "…Pleassssssse…?"
"R-right!" the little child squeaks like a little mouse. "I'm on it!"
'I knew it,' Drakavar can't help but smile. 'Everyone obeys me faster when I ask nicely.'
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-Dakka's POV-
Dakka hastily turns back into his dragon form…
He was expecting to suddenly blow up in size, yet instead, he shrinks down to the size of a small puppy, and he remains in the air – dangling by his tail like a caught mouse.
'H-how?!'
He barely gets to think this before Drakavar starts walking away with him – carelessly swinging him back and forth and threatening to rip his tail off again.
Then, the Goddess sits down on a rock and sets Dakka on her lap. One of her hands is clasped tightly over his wings – clamping them together, while her other hand is gripping his neck. ---------------------
-Drakavar's POV-
'Good. He's lying still,' Drakavar thinks with approval. 'I'm his Goddess, so getting the chance to rest on my lap must be making him cry tears of joy!'
Of course, she completely neglected to notice the dragon's furious, sporadic heartbeat, and his muscles twitching in terror. Like a cornered animal, this little dragon has chosen to freeze in place rather than run.
She looks down and sees the little dragon's eyes curled up on his head and looking at her. "What are you looking at?" she asks suddenly.
"Y-your beautiful eyes, of course!"
Drakavar smiles – this time genuinely, and she says, "Of course. Power is beautiful. That makes me the most beautiful."
Despite the hideous scars on her face, she's always arrogantly thought this.
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-Dakka's POV-
"What are you looking at?" the scary Goddess said with a threatening tinge to her tone.
'Crap. Did she notice that I was looking towards the teleport portal up there?' Dakka thinks in a panic. 'I want to go home!'
'Nevermind that. I have to lie somehow.'
"Y-your beautiful eyes of course!" Dakka spits out.
Seeing the Goddess smile down at him, Dakka relaxes a little. 'It seems it was the right answer. I'll get to keep my life. I'd hate to die after getting an awesome wife.'
Feeling satisfied, Drakavar looks off into the distance and says nothing. Dakka doesn't dare speak up before her, so they sit there in silence for a while.
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-Still Dakka's POV-
After several minutes, Drakavar suddenly forces Dakka's wings open in one hand, and she starts stroking her other hand down along his back – much the same way one would pet a small puppy.
As she stroked her lethal claws down his back, Dakka's bones were threatening to break, and he felt such a horrifying power be brushed past his heart…
The only reason his scales and flesh aren't rent from his skeleton is because the ambient mana down here is healing him too fast for Drakavar to notice the damage she's doing to him.
*Stroke* 'AAAAAaaaaaah!' Dakka nearly screams. This is a kind of existential pain that he's never felt before! Why does the Goddess insist on torturing him so!?
Still, Dakka doesn't dare make a word of complaint. That would only displease the Goddess more.
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-Drakavar's POV-
'Hmm… What an obedient little child. I wish all the Halnith-Kae were like this,' Drakavar thinks. 'They usually complain and whine when I try to hold them.'
Seeing the little dragon accept her affection so readily, she just wants to hold him longer… since he likes it so much.
'I know!' she suddenly has an impulsive thought. 'Don't little pets need to be fed?'
Without even thinking, she scrapes a few white pebbles off of the mana-stone boulder she's sitting on, and she crushes it up into smaller pieces with one hand.
She then pries open Dakka's mouth and stuffs her hand inside – dropping the mana stone in his mouth.
Of course, she didn't notice that she knocked one of her pet's teeth out when she did this. She also didn't notice the painful whimper that escaped the little dragon when she slammed his mouth shut again.
To be fair, she really thought she was being gentle.
Seeing the dragon sitting on her lap – not having any visible change after she just fed him, Drakavar suddenly gets a little anxious.
'Did I do something bad? He just became part of the family, and he already hates me?'
So, Drakavar leans down and looks Dakka in the eyes. "So…," she asks politely, like a gracious host, "Is the mana stone good? Should I get you more?"