By the time my chest stopped burning with the sensation of a literal fucking blade in my body, Ric had let go of my snout, but was still absently petting my face. My eyes were closed, and I was close to sleep. I still hadn’t said anything because one, I don’t think he was entirely aware of what he was still doing, and two, it felt nice. It was soothing and felt like what Katelynn used to do when I was little. A Dragon, no matter how small or young, is no good to anyone when they have a tantrum, so Katelynn got very good at calming me down quickly.

“Katelynn talks about you all the time,” Ric finally whispered.

‘Did he know I was awake?’

“She really likes talking about Dragons. She won’t stop once she’s started,” he continued. “I don’t think she meant to, but one time she also told me that you were a really pissy hatchling, so she would pet your face like this to calm you down. I really hope it worked. I think it did. You would fall asleep like this, and she would just sit there for hours, still holding you. Maybe it’s like, really creepy to know this stuff, but I think it just proves how much Katelynn loves you. She’s your sister; of course she’ll worry, but getting angry at you today wasn’t her trying to be mean. I think you know that… I hope you know that.”

‘I know that. I know that. And I love her too, but she’s still making a mistake, marrying you, even to gain power. She’s giving up too much for me now. Too much.’

I opened my eyes, and told him just that. “But she’s still marrying you… she’s doing too much. Giving up too much.”

Ric looked down at me in surprise, a faint pink-rose tint coloring his cheeks “I didn’t know you were awake. Was I too loud?”

“No, I never fell asleep. You’re kinda dumb, aren’t you? Didn’t even check if I was properly unconscious.”

“How would I check if you were asleep? Try and feel your pulse through your scales? Count your breaths? And I’m not marrying your sister.”

Uh. Wait. Hold on. Back the hell up. What? I’m not complaining, just confused now. Was this some sort of fucked-up joke? Because it’s not funny.

“You’re… not?” I asked hesitantly.

“No. We made a plan. You being in this tower is part of it, but it’ll keep everyone safe, and Katelynn gets the power she wants without having to give me herself. And I’ll be able to keep myself too!” He whispered excitedly.

“Really? Really really? That’s… that’s perfect! Was this the good news you promised? Does Lynn know already?”

“Yes and yes. Was this good enough to keep you from dying via Hunter poison?”

“Uhm, fuck yes!”

“Good!”

“One more question!”

“Yeah!”

“Why are we whispering?”

We both paused. It was a little weird, both of us just sitting there with my head on his legs and both of us whisper-shouting like maniacs.

“Because,” Ric said, still whispering.

I waited for him to continue. “Because…?”

“...”

We both started laughing, unable to hold in the chuckles of sheer stupidity. His laugh was deep and clear, while mine sounded more like raspy chuffing.

My emotions were going insane today. One moment I was ready to kill anyone who talked to me. Then I was in too much pain to be civil. Now I was laughing with a Human prince about the stupidest things ever. I probably would have gotten a nice warm and fuzzy feeling in my chest if it weren’t for the dull throbbing of the wound, and the fact that Katelynn was still mad at me. My laughter died off at the thought. Reluctantly, I lifted my head from Ric’s lap and tried standing. Though I was shaky, four legs gave me enough stability to slowly move myself over to the door.

“Can I find Lynn? Or do I have to stay in here?” I already knew what the answer was, but there was no harm in trying.

“Yeah… you’re going to want to stay in here kid,” Kalde replied instead. They had walked up behind me when they noticed me trying to stand.

“I’m not a kid. And that’s what I thought. Can someone help me find her? I need to, I need to apologize. To you guys as well. I was being a major dick. You were just trying to help. ’m sorry,” I said, looking down. It was embarrassing to apologize, especially since I knew that I was in the wrong, but it was better than just leaving it be and still being an ass.

“Are you… blushing?” Ric asked, peering down at my face. It was very hard to see any sort of coloring on my face because of the scales, but I could physically heat up.

“NO! Dragons don’t blush, moron. Lynn neglected to tell you that?”

“Eh, I think you are. I can literally feel the heat coming off of your face, which Katelynn said happens when Dragons get embarrassed,” Ric smirked, and tried to put his palm over my head again.

“Shut the fuck up, you asshole!”

“You really like swearing, don’t you?” Jillan asked, coming up to her lover.

“Cussing is just using a lower level of communication to express a higher form of emotion,” I said, decisively. I turned to Ric again. “Motherfu-”

“EVERYONE!” A gasp flew from my mouth instead of a swear.

We all turned to the door where it had banged into me, the force of the impact startling me, though it didn’t hurt. Then we saw who had thrown it open with such urgency. Katelynn.

“Everyone, we need to activate all locks on this tower! Now!” She was shouting, fear obvious in her voice.

“Wait, darlin’, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Jillan asked, Lynn’s fear inciting more panic in our group.

I didn’t hear what she said next because of a huge booming sound and some shouts from down the hall. 

Lynn rushed inside of the tower and started turning all the manual locks. I reached up and bolted the heaviest ones on the door. Kieran started activating the shielding runes. We didn’t know what we were locking down from, but if it scared Katelynn, then it scared us.

“What is it Lynn?!” I demanded, gently but shakily grabbing her with my front paws.

“Hunters.”

My chest wound throbbed and my heart dropped.

-----

FRIDAY EDIT: HOLY SHIT YALL WE JUST PASSED THE 25 SUBS MILESTONE ADSKHHFOIRWMX

(≧◡≦) ＼(≧▽≦)／Tapas STILL won't let me send private (or even public) thank you messages to the people who did subscribe, SO I'M DOIN' IT HERE.

THANK YOU ALL. SO. FUCKING. MUCH. idk if yalls noticed, but this is CRAZY exciting for me, and I should like to take a good moment to shower all yalls with sum ~ l o v e ~ and ~ a p p r e c i a t i o n ~

Please accept my eternal gratitude, and I'll be asking *cough*begging*cough* the universe to send the best vibes your way <3

♡〜٩( ╹▿╹ )۶〜♡

*have a fantastical week yalls*