Decided to stop procrastinating. Here's the monthly.
The blue, scaly figure sat in front of
the koi pond, eyes closed in meditation. Ever since his “episode” when fighting Dr. Macbeth, he’d been trying to get in touch with Feral State, to figure out why it was so angry and hateful. So far his attempts had failed.
His ears suddenly twitched, picking up a droning, low-pitched sound. He froze and listened, making sure he was hearing right before he jumped to his feet and took to the air, heading for town as fast as he could. There was real trouble if someone used the Horn.
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He scanned the buildings below and spotted Iroh, waving his hands in the air to get the halfbreed’s attention. He folded his wings in a dive before leveling out to land in front of the old man.
“What’s wrong Iroh?” he demanded, looking him over. He wasn’t injured himself, but judging by his countenance…
“It’s back,” Iroh answered, seemingly out of breath. “Drake caught it. He’s in the hospital.” Dracustos remained silent, but his eyes revealed a raging conflict of emotions.
It’s back…
He gave the old man a nod before sprinting down the street, and he suddenly vanished from view. He appeared in front of the Twin Snakes Hospital lobby and swiftly walked inside. Others were already there, huddled around a crying woman, trying to comfort her. As Dracustos approached they parted, allowing him room to join them. The red-haired woman looked up at him, green eyes swelled with tears.
“Rachel… I’m so sorry.” She stared at him for a moment, and the halfbreed almost expected her to lash out angrily in some way out of sorrow. But instead she stepped forward, tucking her head into his chest as she continued to weep. Dracustos remained still for a second before hesitantly wrapping his arms around her in an attempt at a comforting hug.
“I’ll find a way to fix this,” he said, his grip tightening. “I’ll find a way to cure him.” Rachel raised her head, wiping away tears.
“H-how? We couldn’t before- your mother-”
“I know someone who might be able to help.”
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“Well? What do you make of it?” Dracustos inquired as MacBeth leaned back from his equipment. The man scratched the back of his head.
“To be honest… I’ve never seen anything like this.” He swiveled the chair around and stood, collecting a few screening images and putting them up on the viewing board. “There’s no signs of any viruses or other foreign contaminates in his blood. But I did find something strange in his X-ray.” He pointed to very small, arrow-headed figures that spotted the lungs. “At first I didn’t know what to make of these, until the kid happened to cough one up.”
“And?”
“You tell me,” Macbeth answered, gesturing to his microscope. As Dracustos made his way to the desk, he continued, “I thought it might be dragon-related, given their appearance, but I can’t do much about them until-” He stopped when a growl came from his comrade and shifted uneasily. “Is… something wrong?” At first there was silence as the Draconian backed away from the desk.
“Yes. Very wrong.”
“You know what those are?”
“
Ichneumon. They’re parasites. Dragon parasites, to be specific.”
“If it’s a dragon parasite, then why is it inside a human boy?” The halfbreed sat down, rubbing his chin in thought.
“They typically live in the mud of freshwaters and swamps… Maybe… they somehow found their way into the water supply.” The doctor made his way back into his chair.
“Alright,” he said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together, “so how do we get rid of them?”
“Can’t say,” Dracustos answered with a shake of his head. “You saw how armored those things are. They’re not like those worms and whatnot you humans typically get. They’re very resilient. If there is some sort of treatment, our best option is to question a Water Dragon. Their species is more susceptible to
Ichneumon given they live in similar habitats. But that’s easier said than done.”
“Why is that?”
“Water Dragons can be very elusive.”
“Well then,” MacBeth stood, “we’d best not waste any time. Any way I can help, other than keeping Drake stable?”
“Actually, there is,” Dracustos answered, also moving to his feet. “While I look for a dragon, you can get someone to check any and all water pipes going into Rejection, fix any damages that might let those things in. That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“I’ll get someone on that ASAP. Oh, before you leave-” Macbeth sprung up and exited the room, soon returning with a small device in his hand. “I suggest you take this with you.”
“An earpiece?” the halfbreed questioned, plucking it up in his claws.
“You may be able to speak to people over long distances, but I will be unable to respond. I can also keep you posted on the boy’s condition.”
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The halfbreed nearly crashed into a tree in his hurry to land outside the mouth of a cave. He shook himself with an annoyed snort, scolding himself for being so clumsy.
Something shifted inside the darkness of the rock, and he raised his head. A slithering sound, accompanied by large footsteps. A warm-colored, horned head appeared, attached to a long, spined neck. At first glance the two beings hardly seemed related.
“Dracustos... This is quite a surprize… as was that landing. That was about as graceful as an Earth-dweller.”
“Nice to see you too, Dad,” the halfbreed greeted with a sigh.
“So, what do you need?”
“Mmh?”
“You don’t usually come here unannounced unless you need something. In fact… you don’t come here at all unless you need something.” Dracustos guiltily scratched the back of his head.
“Yeah… sorry. Either I don’t have time or I just want to be alone, you know?” His father gave a sigh that sounded more like a hiss, then lay down. “Anyways… you remember when Mom got sick?”
“It’s hard to forget.”
“Well it’s back, and it turns out it wasn’t- isn’t a sickness. It’s
Ichneumon.” The great beast stiffened in shock.
“That accursed parasite?! How?”
“I think they got into the water supply through a damaged pipeline. I have someone on that, but I need your help in finding a Water Dragon. If there’s a cure, they’re my best shot.”
“The Water-dwellers are typically good-natured. If there was a way to rid our kind of the creatures, they would have shared it with others. I do not think-”
“Dad, just-” He sighed, realizing he had raised his voice, and pinched the bridge of his snout. “I need to know. I don’t want a repeat of that moment. I don’t want anyone else to experience it. I can’t let Rachel just sit by, unable to do anything but watch her son slowly be killed by those... things. He’s all she has left.” Caesitus lowered his head in thought.
“I don’t know of any Water-dwellers… but I thought I sensed something at the mouth of the river that feeds the lake. If there is a dragon there, you’ll need a faster way of finding it.” He stood and vanished inside the cave, swiftly returning with something in his clawed hand. He offered the object: a carved, rounded diamond with a gold and silver dragon curled around it, a loop on the neck connected to a chain.
“You will need this talisman, and you will need to chant an incantation nine times.”
“Magic?” Dracustos raised a brow. “I don’t even know if I can do magic; I’ve never tried.”
“You don’t need to. The talisman will do it for you.”
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He gazed out over the blue waters that the river emptied into before standing near the water’s edge. He held the talisman by its chain, and after a sigh, began to chant the spell.
“
Nine times nine lives hath lived the cat
And ninety nights are nine by ten,
Nine ounces from nine pounds of fat,
Nine times hath pecked the Dorking hen,
So nine times nine I’ll call to thee,
Ninth of those nine, come thou to me.”
He repeated this eight more times, thinking all the while the verses were strange for their purpose. After saying the chant the final time he waited, scanning the waves for any sign of activity. He became distracted by the necklace’s gem as it started to glow, small flecks of color fading and flashing within the crystalline surface. This went on for a few seconds before it stopped, and soon after Dracustos felt the presence of a large creature. A few bubbles broke the surface, then a tall frill. The water hissed as it flowed away from the massive serpentine form, held up by six legs. The halfbreed was somewhat surprised to actually be in the presence of kin; he had never been around another fullblooded dragon.
He bowed, offering the talisman to the creature. It took the item and looked over it before turning its attention to Draco.
“Foss de hio laan, heffsoski?” Dracustos straightened up.
“
Zu hind wa lan do dah Ichneumon.”
The beast hissed at the name.
“Ichneumon…
numa nuz dilosk.”
“
Lo tilak u vahraansi? U vokr?”
For a moment the serpentine dragon remained silent, tilting his elongated head. Draco sighed.
“Look, I’m short on time. Is there anything I can do to get rid of them?” After looking over the Draconian once more, the beast began retreating into the water.
“Sara hiet,” he answered, then turned and slithered back under the waves. A few minutes later he returned, holding what looked like a piece of coral in one of his many paws.
“You must turn the creatures’ nature against them. Poison the flesh they so love to devour.” Dracustos slowly took the offered item, somewhat stunned the serpent was speaking English. He looked down at what he held. It was, in fact, a piece of coral made to contain whatever was inside.
“Dracustos, I’d hate to rush you, but I suggest you hurry up with whatever you’re doing,” Macbeth’s voice crackled into the earpiece. A claw was placed on it.
“Roger that.” He gave a bow to the Water Dragon. “
Noxta hio.”
“Wait… before you leave…” Another item was offered; the talisman.
“Take this.”
“But… you’re supposed to become its keeper,” the halfbreed protested. He received a shake of the head.
“You need it more than I do.”
“Alright,” Dracustos sighed, “but could you hold on to it for a while? I
really need to get going.” A nod was given, and after another quick bow, Draco turned and took to the sky, and the serpent returned to the depths underneath the waves.
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“Turns out you were partially right about a damaged pipe,” Macbeth voiced into the scaly being’s ear.
“Partially?”
“It was easily found, but only because the dirt was freshly disturbed. I was told the damage seemed intentional.”
“Intentional…? So, the line wasn’t near a swamp or groundwater?”
“No.” Dracustos was silent for a moment. Who would mess with the water supply, and why? “So, what did the dragon give you?” He looked over the dragon-made container, then opened it. It was half-filled with a translucent green liquid with a faint, sour scent.
“It… seems to be some sort of elixir.”
“Elixir… Do you know the contents?”
“Hard to tell. He said something about poisoning the flesh-” Something bolted up from the treeline and struck the halfbreed’s leg with a sharp pain. He was suddenly yanked back, the force messing up his flight pattern and pulling him down. He crashed through the trees and slammed onto the ground, an audible snap sounding as he landed on his wing.
“Agh, mother-” Dracustos growled in annoyance as he picked himself up, letting the damaged limb hang limp. A wave of pain shot up his leg as he shifted. Something was still pulling on it.
He looked down to find an arrow piercing his calf, a rope attached to its end. With a single swipe he cut the line with his talons, then broke the arrow and pulled it from his leg.
OK, who and why? he asked himself. He suddenly realized his hands were empty.
Shit, where’s the-
“Looking for this?” asked a familiar, devious voice. Dracustos whipped around to find the tattooed man holding the coral, a sinister grin spread across his thin face. He looked the same now as he did six years ago; a thin muscular build covered by a green sleeveless top and camo military pants, complete with the boots and pocket belt. “What were the odds, meeting you here? Looks like I was in the right place at the right time.” An aggressive hiss found its way up the halfbreed’s throat.
“Adder. Aren’t you supposed to be in prison?”
“Yes, well, the guards came down with a sudden case of death and I just couldn’t help myself.”
“Just give me the damn coral. We can finish this later.”
“This is for that parasite, right?” Dracustos opened his mouth for some remark, then paused.
“What are you talking about?” Adder chuckled.
“I know about those creatures. Raptor discovered them some time ago, before we took over your town. He figured we could put them to good use.”
“Good use?” the Draconian questioned, furrowing his brows and tilting his head.
“Well, you see, there was a certain someone who would have never allowed us to gain control of Rejection. She kept the place strong… I guess you could’ve call her the heart of the town. So we… removed her from the picture, and took over while everyone’s moral was low. I was trying to do the same to you, but it seems someone else got the bug.” The man dropped to the ground, avoiding the stream of fire that came at him. He was quick to get back up when it passed. “My my, what a temper!” Dracustos spread his wings with an angry, fierce roar.
“
Fu il’a hiot tozei! Hio kuuz ehk nolk zy!”
Dracustos bellowed. The man frowned at the language with a look that said ‘speak English’.
“Do you have any idea who that was?!” he shouted. This received a shrug accompanied by a careless “Enlighten me.” The Draconian became even more furious, smoke rising from his nostrils and seeping between his teeth as he snarled. But then he suddenly found himself trying to hold back tears, the flame of fury dying out and leaving a hole of sorrow. A weakness set into his knees, and he couldn’t help but sink to the ground.
“That was my mother,” he said quietly. At first there was silence. Then a chuckle, and Adder threw his head back in laughter.
“What, do you expect me to feel bad for you?” Dracustos remained silent as he picked himself up, and the glare he sent Adder made the man unsettled. The gang member glanced at the stolen item in his ha
