At the same time, his husband had also taken on his dragon form. He knew where exactly his reverse scale was. Thus, he raised his claw, grabbed onto the scale, and then slowly slid it out, angling it in a way so that it slowly came undone. Finally, he turned back into his human form and then turned to the last room, stepping inside only to see his husband already waiting there.
He raised his brows in surprise. Zhen Zhu had been quite fast in getting out his heart feather. He really hadn’t expected that. He went over with a smile, only to freeze in shock when he saw his husband’s watery eyes. Not knowing how to react for a moment, he finally cleared his throat and reached out, cupping his cheek with his hand and gently rubbing his skin with his thumb. "What’s the matter? Does it hurt?" Just when he asked the question, it dawned on him what had actually happened. Most likely, this little phoenix had just gone ahead and pulled out his heart feather with raw force. Naturally, it would hurt.
The heart feather of a phoenix was one that extended deeper into their skin than the others did. Legend had it that in some cases, it might literally reach their heart. In any case, it sure came close to that. Pulling it out would naturally hurt.
On the other hand, the reverse scale of the dragons was different. Who knew how it had come to be but this was a scale that had grown the wrong way around. So contrary to the other scales that were deeply embedded into their skin and worked like an almost unbreakable armor, this scale was only wedged against the other scales but not against the skin, making it much easier to take out than the others and also into a dragon’s weak spot. That was why nobody was supposed to see them transform while they took out the scale because it would leave others with the opportunity to injure them gravely afterward. After all, no other scale could be grown there. Even if something regenerated, it would just be another reverse scale but never a normal one.
Zhen Zhu nodded with teary eyes. "It hurts." Actually saying so, he immediately teared up again.
Zhu Hong couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He didn’t know how much exactly the phoenixes knew from the memories of their clan. Usually, he would’ve thought that this kind of thing was contained in there but probably, it had only been the fact that they were supposed to take out the heart feather, but not the way how it was done. In any case, even if he was careful, it probably wouldn’t be easy to get out.
He stepped forward and gently pulled him into his arms, rubbing his back to soothe him. "It’s no wonder. Well, let’s just stand here for a while. It’ll stop hurting soon. Just give it a bit of time."
Zhen Zhu raised his hands and clung to Zhu Hong’s robe. Looking at the feather in his fingers, he was a bit upset. Finally, he raised it and waved it in front of Zhu Hong’s eyes. "Do you want it?"
Zhu Hong smiled, finding the situation a little funny. Usually, this should probably be a very solemn situation since they were giving each other their greatest weaknesses and their greatest strength. But now, Zhen Zhu just seemed to want to get rid of this feather.
"It’s a gift from my newly-wedded husband. Of course, I want to have it." He rubbed his cheek again and then took the feather from Zhen Zhu. He carefully put it away before he offered his reverse scale with both his hands. "This is my reverse scale. You probably know this from the memories of your clan but this is a special scale from my body, marking the place that is my only weakness. I’m giving it to you for safekeeping."
Zhen Zhu took the scale, fingering it for a moment. "It’s bright red."
Zhu Hong nodded. "All my scales are."
Zhen Zhu looked up, smiling faintly. "Just like your hair and your eyes." He really liked this part of his husband. It made him look a little wild. It made him wonder just what kind of adventures were lying in front of them.
Zhu Hong raised his brows when he was greeted by such a gaze and then reached up, gently rubbing Zhen Zhu’s head. "How do you feel now?"
Zhen Zhu rubbed his chest, his white brows still furrowing together tightly. "Not that good. It still hurts a bit."
Zhu Hong nodded. "Well, the wedding ceremony is already over with this. We can just excuse ourselves and go home. I have some medicine that I can give you to dull the pain and heal the wound. How about it?"
Zhen Zhu nodded and held the scale in one hand while taking Zhu Hong’s hand with the other. "What do we do with the scale now?"
Zhu Hong raised the hand that Zhen Zhu had just grabbed his with and motioned at the ring that he was wearing. He had known that they would have to do this, so naturally, one of the rings that he had prepared could be used to store a few things inside. "You can store it in there for now. Later, we should find a place where we put the feather and scale to make sure that nothing happens to them." In fact, this was more important for the feather than it was for the scale. The scale was pretty much useless now that it had come undone. While being on the dragon’s body, it at least looked like a scale so it wouldn’t immediately draw attention to itself. On the other hand, the heart feather of a phoenix did actually store some of their strength. So this kind of thing could not be found by others. That would really make trouble for the phoenix in question.
"Oh, then we’ll do it that way." Zhen Zhu opened the ring and put the scale inside, conscientiously closing it up afterward. Then, he inched closer to Zhu Hong and followed him outside.
The two of them went back to the hall, nodded at the Grandelders, and then went to the door. They stepped out of the temple together and were immediately encircled by a group of dragons and phoenixes that were holding small baskets in their hands. Zhen Zhu’s eyes widened while Zhu Hong just smiled wryly and then, there was already a rain of petals falling down on them.
Zhen Zhu reached out a hand, catching a pair of petals, his eyes turning even wider. They were a white and a red one, exactly like them. He couldn’t help but think that this really was a beautiful custom. He kept the petals and put them into the ring just like the scale before, and then happily grabbed Zhu Hong’s arm.
His husband smiled at what he did but didn’t say anything. In any case, as long as Zhen Zhu was happy, it was good. He owed his little phoenix too much already. He definitely wouldn’t question any of his choices.
He slowly led him through the crowd, smiling at the other dragons and their partners, and then went toward his house with him. The others followed them for a bit but stopped a respectful distance away from the door, just continuing to throw the petals until the two of them had reached the doorstep and turned around. Zhu Hong inclined his head to them and Zhen Zhu followed suit. The others went away laughing, yelling at them to have fun.
Zhu Hong chuckled at their antics. Previously, he had also made fun of the other dragons that married their spouses like this. He never would have thought to ever be in this kind of situation. When he was young, there just hadn’t been too many thoughts spared on that. And if he thought of his future with somebody living at his side, he had only just imagined the beautiful lives they would have in their own home, not necessarily what others would think of it.
"Well, welcome home." He opened the door and motioned for Zhen Zhu to step inside.
The little phoenix crossed over the doorstep first and Zhu Hong followed behind him, closing the door.
He reached out and pulled Zhen Zhu back into his arms, a faint smile on his lips. Even though he was not in love with him like other dragons were with their spouses, he still believed that the two of them would have a blissful future. He was sure that he could make it work.
Comments (0)
See all