Here we have another chapter of our favorite blue dragon and his major life problems lol.

Enjoy!

NOTE: if you leave a comment, I will post these faster. If you favorite it, I will post these faster. I usually wait to post the next chapter until about 70 hits on it, but if you comment I will definitely see that as a need to post chapters more frequently.

MINE. PAWS AND CLAWS OFF! ALL MINE!!

~Angel~

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Rayne hopped off of Magnus' shoulders even before he had settled up onto the level ground, going into a state of urgency to get what she needed before Dracen's arrival. She didn't know exactly what she was planning on doing when he arrived but she knew she had to try to do something.

“Rayne,” Magnus called after her as she sought storage for some of the musty furs, something to set Dracen upon. Rayne turned to Magnus rapidly when his shaking steps grew close behind her. She pointed towards their lair rooms before he could open his mouth to start trying to say something apparently calming.

“Go see to Ryre,” She ordered her mate, the tone enough for Magnus to simply exhale slowly and turn towards their shared lair section. Aurorianna landed on grasping back claws as she came into the cavern, carrying Dracen against her as much as she could without crushing him. By the time she came fully within the room, Rayne had found the furs she was seeking and beckoned the Tundra dragoness to follow her with a mere jerk of her head.

Rayne reached Dracen's usual cavern and began to layer the furs atop one another to provide some cushioning for the blue dragon's battered body. Rayne didn't care if dragons normally slept on rocks or treasure, Dracen needed something besides cold stone in order to heal.

“Bring him here,” Rayne said a little breathlessly, motioning with her arms to the furs as she moved to let Rori set him down. The dragoness still seemed on edge, hesitating for too long a moment for Rayne not to notice.

“What are you going to do with him?” Rori questioned but moved for the furs none the less. “He has no wing to mend in this form, and I do not think you can tend to his wing in his true form.”

“When I have looked his wounds over, I will ask my friend Kara—”

“No witches,” Dracen growled. There was no real punch to it but it was clearly a protest. Rori pulled Dracen back to her chest, the word witch setting her back into an untrustworthy state as if the witch would pop out of the cave cracks. Rayne closed her eyes and took a moment to pray he would see reason.

“Kara healed your father's wing—”

“No witches, Rayne,” Dracen interrupted, making his point clear even if it was a stubborn dragon stereotype. Rayne rubbed her temples, letting out an aggravated sigh.

“I don't know anyone else who might be able to fix your wing,” Rayne admitted, ignoring the look of disbelief the Tundra dragoness was giving her. “Do you want to—”

“I am well aware of the consequences I am facing,” Dracen snapped. Rayne knew he was still in a great amount of pain and on edge because of it but she still felt the anger boiling under her skin.

“Fine, have HER set you down so I can take the band back,” Rayne snapped back, purposefully treating the white dragoness like she couldn't understand common tongues. She wasn't listening anyway so why treat her like she was? “Then I'll leave you to brood in your stubborn misery.”

“That's all I ask,” Dracen groaned. For the first time he used his limbs to sit up in the ice dragoness' claw and slipped free from it carefully. He walked on unsteady limbs to the middle of the room, stumbling as he made it a fair enough distance away from both parties present. He found his footing and twisted the band along his finger, letting his blue fur erupt into blue scaled bulk and broken winged. Dracen's jowls lifted as his real pain seemed to return to him, Rayne swallowing her concern and simply opened her paw for the now much larger band. Dracen couldn't reach that far and set the band down close to Rayne's feet, collapsing on his side and holding in the grunt of pain that followed. In a huff and ignoring her stinging worry still crawling around in the pit of her stomach, Rayne picked up the band and hooked her arm through it, storming off from her guests and making sure to stomp the majority of the way.

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Dracen, though feeling like he'd been pummeled into a crumpled piece of parchment, could not help but smile through the aches and pains at the sheer bewilderment on Rori's face. It was some sort of cross between clear shock and and mild awe over the small, swearing and stomping mortal exiting the cavern.

“Does she not know that we could merely step on her?” Rori asked, though Dracen noticed when Rayne was well out of ear shot.

“I would never try to do it,” Dracen said in honestly as he tried to move casually but reminded himself that even moving casually was moving too much, “N—! S—she may break something valuable in her fitful rage before her own demise, like a toe or an ear drum.”

Dracen, this time far more slowly, put his head down on the furs Rayne had left, deciding this was a fine spot to just keep from moving for the rest of his life, short or long. He was well aware that his wing was not going to heal fast if at all but he was not going to let a witch work untold magic on his body and make him into some sort of complacent minion. He had seen his brother seem to fall under a spell of civil tongues with Rayne's witch and Dracen was not going to be sucked into any more trouble than he had gotten himself into because of family.

He had closed his eyes while his mind rambled, opening them back up when he felt the breath and muzzle of Rori along his mane and ear.

“You are in pain,” she murmured with far more reverence than he'd come to expect from the female, her eyes reading far too much worry.

“I will be fine,” Dracen tried to say to reassure her, “Just not be flying any time soon.” He tried to turn it into a little joke by chuckling but she was not having any of it, in fact she frowned in disapproval at him.

“That is not funny, Dracen,” she griped at him, “Do not hide behind your misery with humor, not with me.”

“And why not?!” he growled at her, the statement made his anger coil and strike outright at the dragoness. “Who are you to me then? Do not speak as if we are claimed to each other because I do not know—”

His broken wing erupted with spasm, cutting his pain fueled rant off quickly, forcing him to realize that at this point he may need her to simply survive the next few weeks. His brother was a lost cause and at this point so was Rayne's usual sympathy. He kept his mouth closed to keep the grunt of pain from coming any farther than it had from his throat.

Aurorianna stood in front of him, catching his attention by the far more hard and dominant movements, towering over his reclined head and standing rather proudly.

“You are mine,” she announced in confidence. Dracen's eyes bulged open as a new wave of her possessiveness over him made his blood boil with molten heat. “That is my claim over you.”

“How would you know that?” Dracen questioned in confusion but also a pounding sense of instinctual bliss.

“Because when I took down that fire breather, I did it to save you. I did not do it to fulfill the debt between us...” She paused as the words seemed to even surprise her, “-There was no thought in my mind other than to defend you. I wanted to keep you alive—for me,” Aurorianna responded. “Therefore, you are mine.”

Dracen's whole body grew tense at once, straining to rise from his injured state but Rori simply shook her head and pinned him with her stare. How those eyes always pinned him, he could not fathom.

“No,” she ordered him calmly, “You will stay here. I will hunt.”

Her sense of confidence and calm made everything inside him flow hotter, even as she turned and left he yearned to follow. She seemed to find purpose and clarity in her newly vocalized understanding, a weight gone from between them and an acceptance making room for them to be what their instincts new all along.

She was his, and he was hers.

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It was a first for her to be using her instincts so often of her own accord. Rori was used to following commands from the head of the tribe or hunting group—now that she pondered it since she was labeled a runt she was always being ordered around or dismissed out of claw. She was growing used to the gut feelings she was getting now, confusion becoming far clearer with the natural intuition's help rather than fighting against her own hide. Ignoring her gut did nothing but make things far more difficult and she was beginning to grow tired of everything being a problem.

Though now that she had announced her intentions to Dracen—they were more like orders than intentions...That definitely created different problems than solving any prior ones. Would she be able to stand the summers in the south? Would he come with her to the north to find a lair? Could she return home after the last months of her exile were up? To tell her family she wasn't going to be a part of a fighting ceremony? To take her bloodline elsewhere? And what of Dracen? His mind had clearly echoed her words with the stare of possession and acknowledgment in his eyes, but would he ever be able to fly again? Would she be his care-giver for the rest of their lives? Or would his wing heal with time and rest?

Would he be able to sire her eggs?

Would he even want to be a sire?

Nightfall grew quickly though she freezing air nor the darkness bothered her. She brought back several sheep in her maw after having fill of her own, holding the wooly creatures by back limbs to make sure she had enough to feed him.

He had not moved an inch since she left, slumbering with his head still upon the furs while he pulled his injured wing in tightly. She set down the sheep a mere foot from his nostrils, wanting him to wake from his own hunger and keep from startling him. His blue nostrils flared and sniffed heavily, one sleepy eye peeling open and the sliver of a pupil focusing on the meat before him. Rori sat back on her haunches and waited patiently as he leaned his head up to observe the pile more thoroughly. He coughed somewhat, a fire ball hitting the sheep dead on and filling the cavern with the scent of burning wool. He started to tear flesh from bone and skin, his appetite a good sign that he was recovering from his injuries. She stood poised as he accepted her offering, a new sensation of fulfillment cascading through her as she felt pleased to help him, to sustain him when he needed it most.

After he seemed to fill his hungry belly with a few sheep, his focus turned to her, chomping down half another sheep before he seemed perplexed then bewildered with his wanton behavior. He used his muzzle to push at the left over charred carcasses, trying to nudge them towards her feet. He wanted to share the feeding with her, the action much the same as when they hunted together only a few days prior. She didn't want to tell him that she did not care for cooked meat so instead she pushed the pile back with her claw, bowing her head and raising her brows to show him she had gotten it all for him.

They seemed to communicate far better without words than with them, Dracen bowing his head low and letting out a gentle rumbling of thanks and gratitude. He ate slower as he finished off the meal, Rori lying at an angle in front of him to keep calm watch and make sure he had peace while he rested.

No such luck when Rori picked up the distinct four-legged pitter-patter of small animal feet, too small to be Rayne and too large to be a cave dwelling rodent. Rori stood when she heard the familiar growling gibberish bounding its way towards the cave way, Dracen picking upon it as well and sighing heavily. The small cub appeared around the rock face, pouncing at seemingly his own tail before beginning to make his way into their current sanctuary. Rori stomped forward with her glare fixated on the cub, the call of Dracen's warning falling on deaf ears. The small tiger cub stopped and stared at her in question, his rump planted firmly on the ground and his head tilted.

She growled the growl she saved to warn her siblings' offspring to back off or not to do something naughty. The cub rose to all four paws again and then mimicked her growling—even trying to copy her sneer. Rori snapped her jaws next, growling louder, which made the small cub snap at the air and growl louder himself! Rori took in a deep breath through her nostrils before full on roaring in the little cub's face! Watching him slide backwards out of the cavern and warning him to stay out. Only to watch the cub bound back in and roar—somewhat—in Rori's face with the same duration Rori had.

“I don't think he understands I can use him as a tooth pick,” Rori grumbled as she heard the deep chuckling of Dracen behind her.

“Oh he understands far too much,” Dracen snorted, “He just chooses to ignore anything that doesn't fit his plan.”

The small tiger-cross bounded up to Rori's claw and began to chew on the hard surface like he were chewing on a large bone, making Rori see far more of the hatchling in him than in the few moments with him prior.

“What do we do with him?” Rori asked as she wiggled her digit for the small creature to play with, letting him hop up onto her paw to get a better grip. She suddenly had a small twinge of home-sickness, of all the little ones she used to help care for and play with just by simply wiggling a claw, an ear or her tail.

“Eh, someone will be along shortly after your roar I'm sure,” Dracen answered nonchalantly. “It most likely won't be the angry Lady Morsel however.”

Rori tilted her head around to look at him and murmured in question,

“...Who?”

“The hatchling's mother,” Dracen answered, seeming to grow uncomfortable with talk of the tiny, angry mortal female.

“You two are—seem...Close,” Rori stated through unsure tones. She did not know if she was unsure about their apparent closeness or if was unsure she liked him being close to someone unrelated by blood since obviously her being a tiny mortal wasn't a problem for his much larger brother.

“She is my sister-by-mating,” Dracen answered her non-existent question, “And she doesn't like it when I'm beaten mercilessly by my family—most of the time so her and I are usually on good terms.”

Something still bothered Rori about the mortal female, aside from the little twinge of territorial jealousy she was trying to hold in check.

“I do not know how else to put this,” Rori began as she tried to organize the more pertinent problem she had with this whole situation.

“I hadn't realized you were being tactful thus far with me,” Dracen said in his amused voice.

“You said witch when I brought you back here. She is associated with them,” Rori continued ignoring his small joke completely.

“A witch,” Dracen corrected her as if that ONE witch wasn't as much of a problem, “She is—an acquaintance with A witch—doesn't that hurt?”

“What?” Rori looked a little confused before she realized she was tuning the harsh nibbling on her toe out completely. She wiggled her toe and let the half-dragon cub pounce more efficiently on her claw. “Oh, no. I'm used to it. And don't try to change the subject.”

“The witch isn't here, nor is she nearby so I do not see the problem here.”

“She is on a first name basis with a WITCH,” Rori emphasized, “And you are injured. It is not safe for you here—”

“Wait, wait a moment,” Dracen interrupted, raising his claw to cut her off mid-lecture, “Let us just stop there. I am not worried about the witch, so let us just leave the witch out of this.”

“No dragon in the history of our kind has ever said that,” Rori murmured.

“I know. We of Arjun's brood are a very forward thinking bunch. We mate with mortals, consort with ice breathers and ignore the possible presence of a single witch.”

“This is not funny, Dracen.”

“I wasn't aware I was being amusing, I thought I was stating the facts.”

“You are completely obnoxious.”

“Yes, yes I am—and I know who and what we are dealing with while we are here. I told Rayne no witches and she will listen to me, no matter how wrong she thinks I am for that request,” Rori couldn't help the snort of disbelief if she tried, but Dracen didn't look offended, only amused. “Amazing, isn't it? How many females think they know what's best for me?”

“I'm not trying to be controlling—”

“Then protect me here. Protect me now. We will figure out what is next when I do not have to deal with—” His eyes traveled to his mangled wing, “-all of this.”

Rori's head drooped low, feeling suddenly like an imbecile for thinking they should attempt leaving. He still had healing to do, and the last thing she should have been pushing was getting distance from their available safe haven.

She was about to ask who the red male was that attacked Dracen but felt the weight of some dragon shift the ground under her claws. She turned towards the door with the cub riding her claw all the way round to hold her defensive position at the door.

“It is Magnus coming to fetch his spawn, I'm sure,” Dracen said in a relieved fashion behind her. Why was he relieved when the cub seemed perfectly content attacking her? He had barely given Dracen a glance since his arrival and appeared to be entertained immensely with Rori's wiggling claw. She doubted the cub would release her at any point even if she roared at him to.

“Do you mind them?” She asked in a gentler voice to Dracen, catching his attention as it seemed to have drifted off elsewhere.

“Mind who?” Dracen questioned back with a heavier breath.

“Little ones.”

“If they're related to me, yes,” He answered truthfully. Aurorianna looked back down at the cub, carefully turning around to hide the look of dashed hopefulness. His own would definitely be related to him.

Her spine fur erupted with the sudden prickling of heat building in the hallway, more instinctual flags going off than she could handle or interpret. The unease must have triggered fear in her as her feet started to back away from the entrance hole slowly and quietly.

“Rori?” Dracen mumbled in question. Rori's eyes grew huge as she felt far more impact under her paws with each step closer. She had gone so far back she bumped into the back wall behind Dracen, unable to stop herself from pressing her whole body against it as if the brown and grey rocks would camouflage her. The shadow started small, bobbing along the right side of the floor as harmless as any seen before it.

“Aurorianna!” Dracen tried louder, growing desperate to get her attention and calm her down. She could only fixate on the shadow as it grew to first absorb the exit's floor and wall outside the haven, then the edge of the cavern's open frame. Her heart was pounding in her head, growing faster as the impacts grew heavier and closer still. Dracen's worried words were being drowned out by the loud pulsing sound flowing through her ears. She wanted to acknowledge him, to share with him the dark fact this was not Magnus approaching.

The white clawed foot appeared and for an odd moment, Rori relaxed with the possibility it was merely Magnus putting on a show but when the muzzle of lustrous red, molten guards scales moved into view with piercing silver eyes, her senses shot straight back into panic. Four black horns revealed a bull, as if there was any question from the sheer size of the beast before them, scars littering his body like war trophies. He ducked to enter, though only his front end came within the tighter confines and his gaze spread through out the room like a warning.

Dracen turned in time as the bull took in Rori's measure, his head tilting lower as the silver iris' stared at her in feral warning. The intake of breath made Rori flinch harshly, knowing she was going to be nothing more than a charred version of white fur and flesh in a matter of seconds!

The roar released from the bull was almost enough to shake the cavern in on all of them, perhaps that was the male's intention but the walls stood strong and steady. Rori dared to peel open an eye and then gawked, as if she hadn't been doing enough of that since her arrival in the south.

The half-breed cub let out a roar, far less deafening at the larger white bull, tail swishing back and forth in an attempt at intimidation as he stood the ground between Dracen and the stranger.

“No, no, no,” the white bull sat back on his haunches, managed to hit the ceiling with the back of his skull, re-thought his stance and simply sat like a dog instead and patted his stomach. “From yeh'r belly, like this.”

Then another deafening roar shook their cavern to test its limits of cave in.

“Would you PLEASE!” Dracen growl-shouted after the shuddering of the lair stopped. The white bull looked through the mess of black mane he had atop his head, eying Dracen with an unimpressed stare. “STOP. THAT.”

“Oi,” the white bull rumbled like thunder as his eyes peeled over Dracen again and let the half-breed cub up into his mane. “Yeh look all messed up.”

“How very astute of you...” Dracen grumbled in a lower tone. Obviously the pair knew each other, before Rori began to observe the familiar traits between both males. The eyes, the eyes were the same.

“Are they both in there?” A low but female dragon said from beyond Aurorianna's sight. The white bull turned his head a bit before eying Rori in a more predatory manner.

“Aye. Yeh'r not gonna like what yeh see,” the bull announced in an honest voice, looking back over to Dracen. Rori's initial trembling started to stall, giving her enough courage to move closer to Dracen but still could not move in front of him. The white bull suddenly smiled, yellow teeth upon teeth showing how old he really was. “S'not exactly what yeh pictured.”

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“Shouldn't we...?”

“No.”

“But that last one nearly shook the ceiling on us.”

“I'm sure everything is fine.”

“He is within his rights to deny—”

“I'm well aware of that.”

“I am all for trying to torture my brother—”

“Ryre is fine with Arjun, Magnus.”

Magnus deflated into the fluff padded mattress, lying next to his mate as she scribbled fast and ferociously in one of her new journals. His mate was set on her feelings of keeping away from his idiot and injured brother. He didn't mind that, or the fact his mother and sire had come to seek Dracen out but he did mind his son getting in the middle of everything. The still raging Rayne's opinion seemed to be clouded from the real danger of his family's volatile form of discussion.

“I could just—”

“Ryre will be fine, Magnus.”

It was amazing how in certain circumstances, Rayne was a very protective mother and in the more dangerous circumstances she seemed to barely care about their offspring's well being.

“I should get him.”

“Do you really want to be present when your mother encounters Dracen with a broken wing and his ice chomper lover?” Rayne pointed out.

“More the reason to fetch the hatchling...” Ice chomper lover? She was definitely irritated with the female dragoness as well.

“He's protected, you will not be from your mother.”

This was true, and he rumbled in aggravated agreement. Best just to wait for his father to bring back the cub in one piece after wards. After what exactly? Magnus was glad he didn't have to find out.