The Walk back was quiet. There was a tension in the air between the two males, and Asa could feel it. Almost like a married couple that just got done fighting with words and wits. Despite their wounds, old and new, the three kept their pace rather well, and within a few hours, they made it back to Fiore. As the guards take over the escort, Asa claimed to have some business to attend to. After that, she would reward her heroes. As they accepted the excuse, she left them to have their private conversation. "..." Zhai stared off directly away from Tong. "Little Red... I-" "You Left Me!" Zhai hissed, still not looking at him. He took a breath and turned around with fire in his eyes. "What the hell were you thinking?" "I-" "Let me finish." "But you just asked me-" Tong again was interrupted. But regardless of the words he was about to hear, he remained passive and calm. He knew he did wrong on Zhai's part, and was prepared to hear his feelings toward it. Another glance away with a heavy breath. "You left me alone to attempt to switch sides? With all the money?" "You and I both know this ain't about the money-" "Maybe not, but you abandoned me! With only the words 'Trust me, Lil' Red' to rely on!" His impression of Tong was actually quite Amusing. "I've known you for six days! What the hell was that supposed to mean!? Unlike you, I haven't read an entire book on your life!" "But I-" "-Can't read, I know! It's a Metaphorical Book!" Zhai shielded his eyes from him, and took a few breaths. "My point is..." he didn't finish. Tong gave a heavy sigh "...You don't know me that well. And what you saw in there was...-" "Not like You. Not the You I seen before. That look in your eyes when you tell me to trust you, it was unlike any other time. I know I'm a messed up immortal, but you..." He snorted still not looking at him "What's going to happen when that wrath points to one of-" "It won't." There was a long silence. "Red, my Ma taught me everything I know. And I know that alot of it may seem all n' good, but at times you need to get your hands dirty." "This was a bit more than just 'dirty' Tong." Again with the silence. "...Red-" "I'm tired. Let’s go back to our room." Without even a confirmation, Zhai limped back into town. Tong's face was cross, but he followed Zhai without another word. The question did lie though: (Why exactly was he so upset?)
Zhai woke up surrounded by warmth. Actually... it was a bit more than warmth. Almost Heat. The same heat that was in that rooftop with the assassin. It was like, the entire town was on fire. Even the dirt he was laying in was warm... (Wait, Dirt?) As he opened his eyes and looked down, he was in the middle of what used to be a busy road. There was carriages that have been wrecked and aflame throughout the streets. The buildings were on fire, Fiore was on fire. Fiore was on Fire!? Zhai got up and started bolting down the city, desperately looking for the house he was staying in with Tong. None of these buildings looked familiar. Actually... not even the right structures... They were all built differently. Looking closer, he could swear that the fire was moving in slow motion. Although it gave off warmth, it gave off no sound. This... wasn't Fiore. "Where is this?" "Don't Recognize it?" A familiar voice said behind Zhai. He spun around only to be near face to face with Khol, his lost mate. "TEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Bring Me The Horizon - Sleepwalking
Zhai jumped nearly 8 feet in the air and screeched. Khol couldn't help but laugh. So hard, he fell to the ground. "Don't Do That!" Zhai hissed at the much more mature dragon. "...Khol...?" Khol caught his breath and sat back up smiling. "Hello, my love." Without a second thought, Zhai dived into Khol's face and licked it about twenty times. Making the larger Silver one chuckle. "I've missed you too. I'm guessing you've missed me?" "Endlessly..." Zhaiothe hadn't smiled this big for a long time, but it soon faded. "But, why...?" "Let's answer one thing at a time." Khol smiled brightly at him. "You know this place, don't you?" "Doesn't look familiar. But these structures... You used to be fascinated by them." "Yes. I found it so brilliant how they could construct such a thing. They may be children, but sometimes they can really impress you with their craft." "That still doesn't..." "Perhaps you didn't stay in it for too long. Talhvassent?" "Tal-what?" Khol chucked again. "I forgot, you always named these cities differently. You always had a hard time learning the names humans made. What did you used to call it...?" He looked around, far out into the sky to the east, and pointed at a large mountain. The city was nearly built at the base of it. "Vilbyment'tide?" "Village by the mountain side, yes.“ Khol smiled again, remembering the first time Zhai told him of his crazy name for the towns. "You had such a strange language of your own. It could always make me smile." For a moment, it made Zhai smile. He missed the way Khol used to so. "But why is it on fire?" "You don't remember?" There was a bit of sadness in Khol's eyes when he asked that. "Think back." "...I remember your..." "Pyring, yes." Pyring being a dragon's cremation... Khol's... "And..." Zhai took a sharp, painful breath. Let it out slowly, ashamed of the answer. "Vilby was your first victim after..." Zhai lowered his head in shame. Khol did what he could to make Zhai a better person, but after he was gone... It seemed like alot of that effort was held up by Khol himself. "Now, why would you be seeing this? The first victim of your rage and sorrow after my death?" "Don't say that..." Zhai was having a very hard time to hold himself together. "...I see. 500 years still wasn't long enough for you to get over it, was it?" Khol said softly, and he embraced the little dragon with his large body. "Shh... go ahead. You'll feel better afterword." And so Zhai did what he was commanded...
Amaranthe - Burn With Me
After about an hour of tears, and listening to the sound of Khol's heart once again, Zhaiothe put himself back together again. When he was ready, Khol started again. "Why are you remembering this place?" "I think... It was Tong." "Oh?" Khol tilted his head a bit. "What he did back there, that unraging conviction he had for these things. It was the same kind when he did Good. It's like he knew it was the answer, and that was it." "And what does that have to do with...?" With an opened hand, he gestures the two dragon's surroundings. "...Tong's wrath..." Zhai stared off into the distance. "It reminds you of when you did... This?" "This was only the beginning though." Zhai lowered his head with a frown, and leaned into Khol's bicep once again. "There were... others." "Others?" Khol's voice thickened. He swore, if it was a southern accent... "Zhaiothe, you set your entire country on fire. You nearly set the water on fire." "That's how much it hurt to lose you." "So much that you ended up destroying your entire world? You burned it all to the ground? Everything that would remind you of us? Everything that reminded you of..." "...You." Zhai confessed. "I... I tried, Khol. I tried so hard to just move on and get over it all. I threw all the treasures away, I got rid of that greed of mine-" "You only think you did." Khol's words were a bit harsh. "You just replaced it with something else. Like you did the rest of your life." "...What do you want me to say, Khol...?" Khol took a deep breath. "...You're right." He squeezed Zhai between his muzzle and his bicep until Zhai gave out a little squeak. "I'm sorry." With a bit of a smile, Zhai returned the nuzzle, but then it disappeared. "Khol. Why am I seeing you? 500 years later?" "We'll get to that. I promise." And Khol licked Zhai's face a few times, as if he was Khol's own little hatchling. After a bit, Zhai felt a breeze. Like one that afternoon. Zhai again looked around at the changed landscape, surprised.
"How is this...?" "Do you remember here?" Khol sat down beside Zhai, as he studied the place. "This one isn't hard." Zhaiothe looked around, and found himself looking at... Himself. Arguing with Tong, just yesterday afternoon at the southern gate of Fiore. "This was.... Yesterday? Why is this important?" "Listen." Khol paid attention to the conversation.
"Little Red... I-" "You Left Me!" Zhai hissed, still not looking at him. He took a breath and turned around with fire in his eyes. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"Right there." Khol pointed out. As soon as he did, it was like the entire conversation paused. Zhai studied the two for a moment, and then looked back at Khol puzzled. "What about it?" "Why did you care so much?" Khol said, barely keeping his eyes off of the frozen two. "About what? Him leaving me?" "Yes." He looked directly into the moving Zhai's eyes with his soft ones. "I don't like being abandoned!" Zhai's neck curled into an S, as if the answer was obvious. "No child likes being abandoned." Khol plainly stated. Zhai growled at him. "See?" "I'm not a wyrmling." Zhai sat hard, and pouted his snout to the air. "Exactly. Now again: why did this bother you so much? If you and Tong both know that you can handle yourself, despite your more fragile body, why is it that you cared? What made you so upset with this?" "He had all the coins!" Zhai snapped. "So, because of Greed?" Zhai's growl grew louder, falling into Khol's trap. "But it isn't really about that, is it? It was never about the money, you even had a little bit on you. The small pouch you stole from the pickpocketing rogue." Zhai gave out a defeated sigh. "I don't know then..." "And that's why I'm here. That's why you're here." Khol gave a bit of a sleepish smile. Zhai couldn't help but stare at the ground his paws were under. "So, what next?" And with a blink of an eye, the scene changed.
Bullet for my Valentine - P.O.W. (Prisoner of War)
They were back on the rooftop on the first day into Fiore. The Introduction Ceremony was just about to start, and he noticed the shimmer of a large Crossbow Bolt peering out of the window. The past version of Zhai on the roof, slightly climbed down and blew a bit of fire in the window, then climbed inside. With both the dragons still on the roof looking down at the streets, Khol began. "This here puzzles me." "What does?" Zhai looked at his older mate. "The fact that I enjoyed tormenting the children from time to time?" "But it wasn't that, was it? Zhaiothe, ever since I've known you, you've never interfered with the politics of the children. Be it their elections, assassinations, anything. Why do it now? Why do it here?" His voice was sincere. "..." Zhai had no answer. "I don't know. Maybe I wanted to be involved? Perhaps... "You were looking for a Deed?" Zhai shrugged and nodded. "But that isn't the real answer." Khol didn't meet Zhai's rather surprised gaze. "Zhai, you're not desperate for this. And you know that involving yourself in such politics will never give you a good deed." "He was going to kill her." Zhai honestly couldn't believe what was coming out of Khol's mouth. "And just letting it happen is any better?" "No, but it's not any worse. It's their cities and their countries now. You can't meddle in the affairs of their worlds anymore. And by doing so, you're just..." Khol was finding it difficult to explain this. "All life is equality relevant . The children often think that one should lead and everyone else should follow. They also believe that these political games work like a Hive mind. They don't, and to think that one person is more important than the other..." "Cheapens life." Zhai frowned. "It's like Blood for Blood... It's an endless cycle of death and despair. All dragons know the outcome for such things, and I know you do too." Zhai remained quiet. "Let’s move on." And the scene changed once again.
The next morning, when Zhai felt a bit uneasy after being poisoned. The streets were moving in slow motion, and so where Tong and the past Zhai, while the Present Khol and Zhai were watching them. "I can't remember what we were talking about here." Zhai stated to Khol. "That isn't what I'm looking for." Khol tend to look closely into the face of the Past Zhai. "I was wondering what you were thinking here." "Probably what was causing all this." "No." Khol said rather bluntly. His tone was rather harsh. "We both know what feeling like this reminded you of..."
Five Finger Death Punch - The Bleeding
The Scene changed to one that was back in their old home. The cave they used to live inside. Past Khol was laying down, and reading a book. It was really late, and he was getting worried. The Present Zhai lowered his head "Please Khol..." His ears went flat "Stop... Don't do this... Not this one..." But the preset Khol didn't listen. He sat up straight, with a stern look on his face, knowing what was to come. A loud slam was heard outside the cave, and immediately got the past Khol's attention. He marked his place in it, closed the book and began to meet with his returning mate, only to find out... "Zhai? Where have you been? I've been worried." The larger form of Zhai studied him for a bit. "Why do you care?" With a harsh tone. "Why do...?" Past Khol's neck curled to an S. "Zhai, what is that stench?" "Shut up, trophy." And he stumbled past him, nearly shoving him out of the way Past Khol snorted. "Trophy? What the hell does that mean?" "It means exactly what it sounds like!" Past Zhai chuckled. "Y'know what I just realized? You've never told me anything about your past. Tell me, how hard was it to get a mate back home with you looking like a female? And how hard was it to get a male? Clearly, I'm sure you just got tired of being whore'd around." Past Khol hissed, while the present one sighed angrily. "I think you would've had it made. You could pleasure the females all you wanted, and do whatever you'd like to for the males. Hell, you did me just for a place to stay, why didn't you think of that back home?" Past Khol gave him a swipe to the face, claw marks barely visible. "You even hit like a female..." Past Khol snarled. "Khol..." Present Zhai begged him. But no response came from the larger, spectating dragon. "Honestly, what do you do around here besides pleasure me? I hunt, I guard the country. What exactly do you do? Pretend to befriend the spoiled children? Talk to me about respecting other species, as well as the weak and helpless? Do 'Good' Instead of whatever the Taath I want? When most of that shit is pointless anyway. They all throw their lives away so fast that nothing ever sinks in." Past Khol Snarled at Past Zhai once again. "How does it feel to know that the one thing that you believe in, the one thing that 'Makes you a better person' will never be remembered by the folly of the ones you try to teach it to? How does feel to know that your meaningless teachings get forgotten as soon as they're heard. They won't change the world, they can't! They're just foolish dreams you have that can never make a difference in a dominating world like mine." At this point, Past Khol hissed at him and spoke in a series of Draconic threats and arguments. The two bickered and bickered, while Present Zhai laid down and covered his ears with his paws. The two fought and fought for hours, whaling on each other, until Past Khol attempted to leave. After Past Zhai wrestled him down and nearly began to rape him, Khol fought back. But only to be seduced by it. The sex was horrible. One of the worst times in their lives, and even Present Khol had to turn away from it. A series of biting, clawing, Raking, bleeding, lashing, swearing... It was enough to make Present Zhai feel sick once again. Morning came, and the two past dragons decided to take a few days away from each other. After the last night's session of intercourse, alot of the negative energy was already drained. As much as Zhai and Khol hated it, they could both agree after witnessing it once again: It was the only thing that saved their relationship. Present Zhai swallowed hard. "Khol..." "I can't remember why I stayed with you that night. I often wondered what would've happened if I left. Who I was, how I would've lived. And how I would've..." Zhai was quiet for a while. "You... You told me you never wanted me to drink again." "And you never did." A little smile came back to his face. Khol always looked better with it... "I was... Proud of you for that." "But..." Zhai sighed, knowing what the next one was going to be.
Bring Me The Horizon - Seen It All Before
The next scene was inside a different cave. It was colder, much colder and dark. The snoring of a large dragon was heard... but only one. Present Zhai lightly clawed at the ground. Stone, and very smooth. Present Khol looked at the wyrmling with a straight face. "What is this." He wasn't asking... he was demanding. "This... This was my first home after... You." Khol looked at the larger version of Zhai. Sleeping, knocked out cold, and surrounded by barrels. There must've been nearly forty kegs in this cave, and nothing else for possessions, besides a few scraps here and there. Again, with another demand "Where did the kegs come from." "...I..." Zhai remembered well. He just knew the answer wasn't pleasing. "I stole them. Killing the merchant, horses... Even the travelers and guards around it." "Why would you do this? Even after I told you what would happen if you did?" "Because-!" Zhai choked. "Because I couldn't get you out of my head. Everything reminded me of you! Every movement, every bird's song, Everything!" "And You decided that drowning yourself is the way to relief the pain and guilt!?" Khol hissed, then his expression became surprised when he studied the barrels. He gave a heavy sigh, and struck the Present Zhai out of anger. Sending the wyrmling across the room Zhai didn't get up. But there was nothing he could say to Khol at this point. He just laid there, trying to hold the whimper in this throat. "You..." There was only one other time Khol has been this angry at him. "You never thought about anything else did you? After I was gone, it was just you. How to stop Your pain, how to make sure You survived. How to make sure You were satisfied? Is that what this is? You threw away your life into the pit of decadence in order to try to forget me!?" With a shaky breath, Zhai replied "No..." Khol's neck curled to an S, then the moment of clarity came to his face, followed by shock. "This... You were..." he took a sharp breath. "You were trying to kill yourself?" Zhai didn't even breathe. "You were trying to end you, in the most painless way possible... No, that's not right. You were trying to die the most painful way possible. You were trying to punish yourself, punish your body for what you did to me. As well as escape any sort of conscience I had given you. As long as it was paralyzed, you couldn't feel guilty about this action!" Just then, the Past Zhai suddenly stopped breathing, and Khol froze, staring at him. Then glanced back at the wyrmling.
"...I succeeded." Zhai slowly got up, unable to face Khol. "I died for several hours. But had so much alcohol in me, that I never completely froze. The morning light warmed me up enough to revive me... It was only dumb luck that I passed out in the morning's line of sight..." This time Khol was silent for a bit. "After this, I couldn't hold any alcohol anymore. Even the strong whiff of it would nearly pass me out... My drinking ended here." "So... You... Stopped?" The anger in his voice dissipated "After I couldn't drink..." Another shaky breath "I began cutting myself. Trying to bleed myself out over the years, but I just..." Khol released a heavy breath and shook his head. He walked toward the wyrmling, and embraced it without facing it. A few tears rolled down Khol's face. "...I couldn't do it. The minor ones hurt, but felt good after a while. The release of my own lifeblood... My essence. But the deeper, more fatal..." "You're a coward..." Khol whispered. But hugged him tightly. "Even after everything I taught you, you still followed Blood for Blood. Except that the one that took what you had away was yourself! ...Why...?" "...I was lonely." And the room went completely dark.
Amaranthe - Amaranthine
The two were quiet for a long time, just listening to each other's breathing. When Khol was about to speak, he was interrupted by Zhai "I did that for nearly centuries. Constantly getting the high of losing my material self." "Zhaiothe... You don-" "It was the only thing I could do. I couldn't just jump off and fall, I'm honestly afraid of drowning... I couldn't think of any other way. So for years I carved scars on myself, usually on my inner thighs." "Zhai-" "But one time it got infected. Badly. I became very sick, and no one was willing to help. I can't say I blame them. Even though people were starting to forget about my country and what I did to it, no one was willing to help a sick beast." Zhai was unusually composed. Khol squeezed him just a little bit tighter, and let him finish. Just watching as the scene changed from one still-frame to another. "But... I was taken by I think a hunter or a wizard. I wasn't rescued... They healed me, cured the infection, but when I was well enough..." Zhai took a deep breath. "They locked me in the dungeon of their building. They put a strange collar on me, and fed me for I think eight sundowns. After that, they didn't bother, yet I never got hungry or thirsty. But I always felt tired." Zhai gave a heavy sigh. "They... drained me. Nearly to death at times. They pried out my fangs, broke pieces of my claws. They took samples of my fire glands, and even my seed a few times. I was awake through all of it..." Khol let out a shaky sigh and rubbed his face against the wyrmling. "...I-I can't even imagine how long I was down there. Eventually they blocked out my only window. The only thing I could do was just think about you. What I had done to you. And see our lives over and over. Everything that I threw away." "Zhai... That's enough." Zhai was silent for a bit, but he wasn't finished. "They must've replaced my chains several times, seeing as I kept getting smaller and smaller. They probably discovered who I really was from that, but that collar... it never seemed to loosen." Khol's breathing began to get a bit choppy. "One day, there was alot of commotion throughout the building. It got attacked by someone, I think one lone person. I'm not sure what they were searching for, but whatever it was, they were brought to my door. After searching through the place, they noticed that I was still alive. If... If I was able to speak with that blasted muzzle on, I probably would've begged them to kill me." Khol began to lose control. "They instead loosened my chains, got my hands free to be able to free myself with enough time for them to get away, claiming what they came for. They said 'You are free, beast. Be thankful for my kindness.' ...Be thankful for their kindness... And the memories of you flooded back to me once again." "Zhai..." "You... You were the definition of this world's kindness. You were the one who gave birth to such a thing. The very thing I mocked when I first heard of it. The very thing I attempted to destroy that night I came home drunk. All it ever did was save me. And what did I do? I..." Zhai lost himself. "Shhh..." Khol could barely hold himself together for long. The sobs in his throat were slowly creeping out, despite his attempts to hold them back. "Even after I was once again free, everything came back to you. What I lost, what I'd done, what I destroyed. Even after a second chance to attempt to get back to your level of ascendancy, I..." Zhai lost it. He couldn't continue and just let himself go, while Khol wasn't far behind. As the two laid once again in darkness, they tried their best to comfort one another. They let the sorrow once again drain from their bodies until they were able to speak words once again, even if it was just a few. "I-I'm sorry... Khol..." Zhai then pried himself out of Khol's hold, walked a few steps, then flopped down on the floor.
I Gave Up...
Nightwish - Rest Calm
"Zhai..." With his eyes still wet with tears, Khol was regaining his strength once again "I can't do it anymore, Khol. I... Just can't. Not alone." Zhai did his best to hide his face from Khol. "..." Khol was silent for a bit. He sighed with a deep frown, and got up. He walked toward Zhai and just sat beside him. "...Why were you so angry with Tong." Another demand "...I don't know." "You Do!" Snapped at him. "Don't run away from that answer. Think..." Zhai gave it alot of thought. "I can't..." "..." Khol sighed, then snorted angrily. It got Zhai's attention, so much that he thought Khol was about to hit him again. "Y'know, ever since we started this... You haven't asked me one thing about the afterlife... About Lothranis [Dragon's Heaven]." Zhai went silent, and once again just laid his head on the floor, facing away from Khol. "You're afraid to know, aren't you? To be excluded from it..." "...When I died there, for several hours... I seen nothing. There was just... Eternal Nothingness. There was no pain, there was no pleasure, there was no memories to soothe or haunt me. Just... Nothing." A deep sigh came from Zhai. "If it all amounts to nothing, why must I work so hard to achieve it? Why must I torment myself, slave myself to such a devoted subject like Kindness when there will be no reward at the end of it?" "But there is one! You just haven't seen it." Zhai was quiet. "Zhai... Lothranis is a place where you relive your most happiest of moments. When I was in there, all I seen was you. And all I could think about was you... As well as you being... Here." Khol took a breath. "I can only imagine that Momaganon [Dragon's Hell] is the opposite. What you've been living in now... Don't collapse this house of wolves you built." "...So there's no difference between here and Momaganon." Khol snarled at him. "If what I've been doing was nothing more than preparing for my ultimate end, why change!? What difference would it all make?" "You would be with me, you idiot!" Khol tried really hard not to hit him. "That's..." A hesitant breath came from Zhai "That's not something that I deserve." "That Is Not Your Decision To Make!!" the silver dragon roared. "...Again: it's all about you..." Khol put a hand on Zhai and pressed hard. He held back, but it took nearly everything he had. After a bit, he laid right on top of the wyrmling, pinning him and making him squeak. "That's why you've been having such a hard time to understand this." Khol whispered in Zhai's ear, forcing him to listen. "You think it's all about you... But it's not! It's about US." Zhai's eyes started to widen. "Yes, I lived through our memories of US being together, but it's not the same without you. I gave you this curse so you could live long enough to make good of your errors! I gave you this curse to motivate you to be more like me. To UNDERSTAND WHY I am this way! Now Answer me: Why were you so mad at Tong!" "Because-!" A sharp pain flowed through Zhai's body. "Say it!" "Because I can't do this Alone! Because he was the only one in Five Hundred Years To Show Me True Kindness! Because He Doesn't Have The Lifespan That I Need In Order To Get Back To You! And He Never Will! I Need Him, Because You Live Through Him!" Zhai began to cough. "You need him because you can't learn from his ways. You never could, not without guidance!" More deeper, harder coughs came from Zhai, and a dark, mossy green ooze started coming out of his muzzle. He had a hard time to breathe. "It's all about You, Zhai. Inside that egotistical mind of yours. You're over eleven hundred years old, and you still think it's all about you!" More coughs, and chunks of the ooze came up. "But I know you! I've taught you how to read their languages. I've taught you how to write their languages. I've taught you how to respect them! Treat them more than just ants under your feet! But you just need to do one thing, Zhai!" Zhai gagged as his throat became swollen. "TRY!" And Khol slammed hard on the Wyrmling, the ooze chunk came flying out of his muzzle. He coughed a bit more, getting out the remainder of it. When he was able to breathe again, Zhai looked over at the ooze, which seemed to form into something... An image of Zhaiothe himself. Khol gave a sigh of relief. "Wha-What... Is That?" Zhai asked. "That... Is your selfishness..." Khol said calmly. As he took a deep breath, and breathed frost all over the ooze clone, the thing screeched loudly in pain. Khol then got off of Zhai, walked around the frozen creature, spun around for momentum, then slammed his tail hard into the creature, shattering it into pieces. Khol took a long sigh of relief. Zhai was completely quiet. "...Y'know, I'd be pissing myself right now if I wasn't so massively turned on." Khol gave a little smile, which then grew into a bellowing laughter. Soon Zhai joined into it. The Darkness faded into a meadowing scene at night. Tall flowers still bloomed and were dancing from the warm breeze. "I know this place..." Zhai had to stand up to actually see over the grass. "Yes, it was once our meadow. Some of our best memories were here." Khol, still smiling, walked back toward Zhai, and laid down beside him. "...It was beautiful. The moonlight, the flowers that seem to illuminate the fields..." Zhai leaned against his mate. "All, just to compliment you..." He smiled, as if all that pain stripped out of his body. "This, Zhaiothe... Is Lothranis." Khol said softly. "This is what you can have, as well as all of me." Zhai sighed in peace. He never smiled so much in over so many years. He just leaned against his mate, and rested calmly. Admiring him. "...It's..." A deep relaxing sigh came from him, while Khol looked at him, waiting for him to finish. "...Worth it..." And Khol's smile became brighter. As the two laid in the grass for a while, they began reminiscing on good moments of their lives, but only reliving the one.
Macklemore & Lewis - Starting Over
As dawn was coming in the paradise both dragons shared, they laid with each other. Both spent physically and mentally. As Khol licked at Zhai to see if he was awake or not, Zhai let out a small moan. The two smiled at each other, but Zhai's faded after a bit. Khol looked at him puzzled, as if to ask what was wrong. "Khol... Don't leave me. Not again..." Khol let out a heavy sigh. "I'll change, I promise. I won't try to rely on you, but... Just don't leave." Khol was quiet for a bit, then rested his head on the wyrmling's body. "I... Can't promise you anything. There's not very much I can do here, and I'm quite vulnerable when I'm back in that world. If I don't have an anchor to it..." "Anchor?" "Like a connection. A rope from one side to the other. If that rope isn't tided to the other side, then..." "You can't get over..." Zhai somewhat understood. But the two had no possessions. Khol's entire body was burned 500 years ago, and there was nothing really left for him to hold onto... Except... "What if... I was the anchor?" "Hmm?" "Me. My body. Or even my love for you. Could those work?" "I'm... Not sure. It's possible, but unlikely." Khol gave a slight frown. "But it's worth a try. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do, but..." His smile returned "I'll try." "So will I." Zhai said, although he was talking about something very different, they both smiled, and enjoyed the last few moments together. To Zhai, everything started to become shaky. Cracks in the scenery began to show and split everything. "I love you, Kholryik. I always have." "I love you too, Zhaiothe." And with a few tears, they embraced each other hard, only to be ripped away.
Nightwish - Turn Loose The Mermaids
Zhai woke up, curled beside Tong. His shoulder still felt numb from the poison, but he felt... cleansed. It was strange, he swore it was all a dream, but...? The morning light started to enter the room, and Zhai jumped off the bed. He moved to the window and opened it. sitting the best he could on the window sill. "So you are plannin' on leavin' then?" Tong's voice startled Zhai. "Well, I can't say I'mma stop you, Cuz I can't. You and dem wings and all-" "I'm... Not leaving." Zhai took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Tong." "I'm sorry too." "I mean..." Zhai sighed. "I've been taking you for granted. You and your Kindness. Everyone's... Kindness." "Well, that's what it's there for-" "But, I haven't... Learned from it. Not like I should have. Tong, can you teach me how to be...?" "I can definitely try, but your probably gonna seem alot more like my pet that way. If you're oka-" "I am." Without a second thought, he answered. "I'll do anything to get back to Khol..." "Who now?" "Khol... He was my husband. My Mate." "Mhmm. I thought as much." "Wait, that wasn't surprising?" Zhai spun around, nearly falling outside the window. "Remember back when you were bein' held by dem soldier boys, and they mentioned you and I be partners? More like love partners?" "Y-yeahhhhh?" "And your only objection to it was not actually my gender, but my species." Zhai gave a defeated sigh, while Tong gave a little chuckle. "You're a bit easier to read than you think you are, Little Red." "I can't say that's a completely bad thing then." Zhai gave a little smile while looking back out the window. "Can... we talk?" "I think that's what we're doing right now, isn't it?" "I mean... You've only heard rumors of half my story... I would..." A heavy sigh. "I would like you to know the full thing. My side to it all." "I would enjoy listening to it." "Grab a box of tissues though." "That bad, huh?" "Let’s just say, there are much better tales out there... Much happier ones." Zhai looked at the sky, the rising sun became very visible over the town of Fiore, and basking in its warmth, Zhaiothe smiled once again.
Okay, I want to start off by saying this one important thing: Any information that you need for the story itself will be said within the story. As stated before: this started off as a campaign character background, and well... We had a session with it. More or less (before I actually decided that I would write this as a story) this was a response to the events that happened within the session I had with the Dungeon Master. So when you start reading this, it may seem like you've missed something.
"But Bartan! Why don't you just write out what happened in the session to make this less complicated?"
Honestly... I forgotten about 60% of the lore that was used in the session itself, and things got a little messy towards the end. Not to mention that it has been about six months. I may have a good memory, but not THAT good.
With that being said, you'll need to pay attention to the words and details a bit more. I'll let you know now: this will be the most complex chapter in the entire story, so don't worry about this mess happening again.
On with it. With Rest Calm, I tried a little something different with the style of writing (all it an experiment). Instead of just placing dividers as chapters, I've actually given out songs in place of those dividers. These songs Set the mood and tone for the chapter with the tone of the music (and sometimes lyrics. But try not to go by them). The main song is from Nightwish (Imaginaerum), but there are several other artists being used. (list is in the Keywords) These songs, of course, belong to these artists, I was just inspired by their work.
This turned out to be a rather emotional piece, for being so short. If you want the full experience of the piece, I suggest you read it alone, and let down your emotional walls. Otherwise, you're probably not going to enjoy it.
