Private Tales Of Sand & Dragonfire

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
It was so strange to have to be taken into the Well. To be in it and not feel it. Seteta slipped her hand into Rheinhard's and gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled wanly at Ferenzi.

"I probably shouldn't stay long, but I need to speak with Nestor," she said, grimacing as she glanced at the arena's entrance. Her gaze narrowed on Tianau when he came out. "What do you mean, you think mit broke him? What happened? All I know is that mit didn't sleep in his room last night. He asked one of his cousin's wives to stay with mut. He wouldn't do that unless something was wrong."

She scowled as Ferenzi continued to flip through the notebook, and plucked it out of his hands.

"You're just egging him on like this," she muttered, but gnawed the corner of her mouth worriedly, glancing back at the arena.

She knew Nestor had been... off kilter with her father. But this seemed different than before.

A twinge of guilt made her wince, though. None of this would be happening if she hadn't... accessed the full breadth of her power too soon.


Dahn Prunella's estate was an ancient place, tucked up against the base of the mountains about halfway between Dahn Hedoni and Cassius' estates. Due to the nature of Dahn Prunella's vocation, the name of their dahn didn't shift with each new generation, and the inheritor of the dahn didn't build their own estate. The gardens--greenhouses, terraces up some of the mountain sides, and acres and acres of well-tended ecosystems within plots--couldn't be moved and featured a variety of medicinal plants and herbs and trees unlike anywhere else in the world. Many specimens were extremely rare, and some were even now extinct anywhere but Dahn Prunella's gardens, due to the passage of time and human encroachment in certain areas.

High in the mountains over the estate, there was a watchtower, and at the first sight of Chaceledon and Seikilos approaching, word was sent down to the estate.

By the time the pair of dragons reached the landing pavilion, Dahnesh Hawthorn was waiting to greet them, accompanied by the two potential heirs of the dahn: Hickory, the eldest son, and Hyssop, the eldest daughter. They all had similar features: long dark hair pulled back with silver pins, upturned eyes, and full lips. But while Hawthorn and Hickory had gray eyes, Hyssop's were a stunning teal like her mother's.

They all wore similar garb, significantly less gaudy than what many dragons wore for their day-to-day wear: gray and blue linen robes with red sashes tied around their waists, and red ribbons tied around their arms above their elbows to hold their long sleeves up out of the way. A pet stood nearby with three large white aprons draped over her arm. Clearly the three had come straight from medical work.

As Chaceledon and Seikilos landed, Hawthorn stepped forward to greet them. Hyssop wrinkled her nose, catching the scent of putrid flesh and her mouth tightened at the sight of Chaceledon's foot. It definitely needed lancing, and her mind started racing. She wanted to examine him. She wanted samples. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him and what he might mean for the dragons as a race since she'd met him at Cassius' dinner. He was an anomaly and she wanted to know how he compared to the physical conditions of the dragons currently.

"He's mine," Hyssop growled low under her breath to Hickory.

"Says who?" her brother growled back. "You know that's not how it works."

Turned her head toward Hickory and bared her teeth, then whipped her head back around and caught Chaceledon's eye. Pick me, she mouthed at him.

Hawthorn cleared his throat in warning, and they fell silent as their father bowed to the dahna, repeating his motion.

"Welcome to Dahn Prunella, Dahna Seikilos," Hawthorn said, his voice warm. "We were not expecting an additional guest, but I suspect you've brought us a patient."

Hawthorn straightened, and bowing just his head to the younger dragon, also eyeing Chaceledon's foot. They could all smell it. "Please choose who you'd like to treat you," Hawthorn invited, gesturing between his two children. "Otherwise they'll have to compete for the right. Still determining the future heir, you understand."

Hyssop lifted her head back up. Me, she mouthed at Chaceledon again. Pick me.
 
Ferenzi sighed when she pulled the notebook out of his hands, folding his arms across his chest and looking at the Arena. “Tianau wasn’t privy to it, but I was in the sunroom at the time. Nestor used the bond after dinner. We both knew he was in charge, and he’d wanted to see you and make sure you were alright. He’s protective of you. After dinner we went for a lie down in the garden, Nestor took some of Ausar’s magic to make an illusion spell without asking first. It’s not like it was with Oor, Ausar’s bound by the same rules you are.” Ferenzi explained.

Tianau smirked. “Nestor has been an ass the last few days. He’s so uptight and moody.”

Ferenzi waved at him to be quiet. “Ausar stormed in here, yanked him into the Sunroom where I was reading, and gave him the option of sleeping until he was needed, or…to put it delicately…being dominated in front of me.” He said finally. He looked a bit uncomfortable, looking at his feet. “Nestor and I have never really gotten along and seeing him like that…I may have gotten a bit carried away.” He admitted.

“Oh just say it. You fucked his throat, Ausar made him beg, and he broke him so he wouldn’t disobey again. Is it our fault he was a virgin before?” Tianau snorted. “He’s a shut in. Now he’s cracked under the pressure and Ausar’s cemented himself as his master. He won’t ever stand up to him again. It’s just domination.”

“It’s not as though sex hasn’t been used before as a punishment…” Ferenzi muttered embarrassedly. It seemed wrong to talk about it to Seteta this way. He did feel guilty. “…We haven’t gotten him to come out since it happened. He ran straight in there, looks like he’s jammed the entrance full of god knows what to keep us out.” He nodded to the Arena.

__________________________

Dahna Seikilos and Chaceledon flew over the compound. Chaceledon thought of Prunella as a bit of an odd duck. Well-regarded doctors for sure, but not splitting off into new Dahns was such a strange system. It meant the estate had to keep growing, like some sort of odd mishmash of buildings, terraces and towers. Thankfully, Seikilos knew where their landing pavilion was.

Be aware, they’re a bit…forward. Seikilos warned him.

Seikilos alighted carefully on the stone, with Chaceledon awkwardly setting down behind her. He winced as his swollen foot hit the ground. Seikilos bowed low, making an elegant leg and curling her neck toward her chest like a swan. She was deferring to Dahnesh Hawthorn in his own territory. She shifted neatly, and Chaceledon followed her example, bowing ever deeper toward the head and children of Dahn Prunella.

He blinked, taken aback. They were attending him before Seikilos?! He blushed, lifting his chin. He wouldn’t dare put his business before hers. Forward indeed!

“Plenty of time for that I’m sure, Dahnesh Hawthorn.” Seikilos said warmly. “I think we could all use a cup of chrysanthemum tea before we discuss our business.” She brushed away the offense, and steered Dahnesh Hawthorn gently toward the polite response. Chaceledon hadn’t really expected to be acknowledged for at least a few hours.

He looked between the pair of them. Gods, did Dahnesh Prunella not care about his appearance or that of his children? Their clothing was shocking!
 
Seteta paled. "Nestor did what?" she whispered in horror. Oh gods.

She listened as Ferenzi continued, but when Tianau interrupted, her face twisted into a scowl and she flung her hands up over her ears. "For the love of everything will you please stop telling me about my father's sex life. You can tell me what happened overall without going into detail!"

She glared at Tianau. "You're the worst about it. Please just... don't. Do whatever it is you like with my father, and speculate all you want but don't tell me please."

With a sigh, she looked over at the arena door. "Dealing with this would have been simple if I were still the steward," she murmured with a frown. "I guess... I just have to try and see if he'll talk to me."

She left the three then, and cautiously approached the arena entrance. "Nestor?" she called through the... brush. Vines. Whatever it was. "Will you let me in? Can we talk?"


"There's no reason we can't discuss our business while one of the children tends to his foot. It smells quite foul and that means it's going to burst on its soon if it isn't lanced," Hawthorn answered as he turned to accompany Seikilos. "Hana and Nettle are waiting inside for us. I believe my wife wanted to inquire about your two grandsons. They're not much older than our own twins."

Hickory and Hyssop fell into step side by side, a little behind Chaceledon. The air between the siblings fairly crackled with energy despite their lack of speech, both of them wanting to get a chance to treat the newest patient. Nettle was far too young and inexperienced to be in the running for heir to the dahn, even if she had any medical skill. It would be Hickory or Hyssop taking over in the next few thousand years, but they both had a long way to go yet to prove themselves.

"Please, pick which one you'd like to treat you," Hawthorn said, glancing back over his shoulder. "We don't neglect patients here, and your foot is rather urgent."

Hyssop's eyes practically drilled a hole through the back of Chaceledon's head, thoughts fierce in an attempt to get what she wanted. Me! she practically shouted in her mind, even though there was no chance of him hearing her. Pick me! Me!
 
“I didn’t think Inizae were such prudes. Krynians don’t even have bedrooms. We grow up listening to it.” Tianau shrugged. “And you did ask what happened. Ferenzi wasn’t giving enough detail.”

The pair watched her walk up to the bristling vines, and gently ask to be let in. Nestor looked up. He took a deep, shuddering breath and looked around his offices. He’d recreated his old laboratory at Witherhold, and with a wave of his hand broken glass repaired itself, sheaves of notes leapt back into their piles on his desk. Liquids and samples sucked up from the floorboards into their respective vials.

It was a repurposed aviary, no doubt left over from a previous owner of the estate. Oor had bought it from another mesial lord of the Autumn Court, and had refurbished it heavily with black granite. Small vestiges of the original estate, such as Chaceledon’s suite and this laboratory, had remained. The aviary was narrow and tall, and a set of cast iron spiral steps had been added to reach the higher areas of Nestor’s lab and add more shelving space. He had hundreds of books, samples, specimens preserved in alcohol, hand blown glassware constructed in massive yet delicate dedications to chemistry. He even had a chalkboard, smeared over with echoes of past academic problems. An old rug laid on the floor, a bit despondent about its banishment from the house and subsequent repurposing. There were no windows, but plenty of magelight.

Nestor even had a telescope in the higher reaches of the laboratory, pointed out toward the stars through a hastily patched hole in the ceiling. He was a scientist, not an architect. He leaned against the expensive construction of brass and mirror, and parted the vines just enough for her to enter. He didn’t, however, come down. He sat with his knees against his chest and his chin on his knees.

If she decided to come in, the vines would close sharply behind her. He wasn’t tolerating any other visitors.

__________________________

Smelled offensive?! Chaceledon went pale. He was embarassing Dahna Seikilos, and putting everyone off. He thought he’d put enough perfume on. Seikilos eyed him.

“I wouldn’t want to offend your delicate nose in your own home, nor make a hideous mess on your floors. Your estate is lovely.” Chaceledon hurried to correct the faux pas. He hesitated. Hickory was the polite choice; it was unseemly for him to be alone with a woman he wasn’t married to and who was eligible. Much less that his mother was desperately attempting to match Cassius to. On the other hand he knew her, and he may be able to get her to see Cassius again. Hyssop was staring at him like a tiger at a wood pigeon.

He’d already committed one error. He cleared his throat. “Hickory, I would be honored if you would take a look at my foot. If you’re so inclined, I can bathe and perfume it first so the smell doesn’t offend.” Chaceledon offered.

“That’s settled then.” Seikilos said lightly, and waved Chaceledon off. “Now then, where is Dahna Prunella? I’m very eager to talk to her about the twins. I’m so happy she’s able to see me today; she must be such a busy woman with so many eligible children! What a blessing to your house!”
 
Seteta rolled her eyes at Tianau. It was one thing to know your parents had sex. Another to be told all the sordid details. As if she hadn't grown up in a tent! Those walls did nothing to keep sounds out.

"When I asked what had happened, I meant what did Nestor do to make mit feel such lengths were necessary," she scowled over her shoulder at Tianau as she waited.

She shifted on her feet, clutching Nestor's notebook to her chest. It was taking long enough that she was... beginning to think he might not want to see her.

But the vines parted at last, and Seteta slipped inside, jumping when the opening closed so quickly it nearly caught the hem of her dress. She gawked for a moment at the tower she found herself in before her brow furrowed. Where was Nestor?

"Nestor?" she called out, looking around again, her gaze landing on the stairs. She sighed, and made her way toward them, giving a silent prayer of thanks that climbing stairs wouldn't be as exhausting in the Well as it would be out in the physical world.

Even so, her weariness was still evident when she finally made it to the top of the stairs and saw Nestor. He was... so childlike.

"Here," she said quietly, handing him the notebook as she sat down beside him. "Ferenzi had it when I came in. I thought you might want it back."

She took a breath and leaned back against the wall.

"Why did you do that?" she asked quietly. "Why would you use my father's magic without asking first? The fact that he felt it necessary to leave my mother in the middle of the night... he must have been hurting badly."


The corner of Hawthorn's mouth turned up slightly. He'd long ago mastered this game of dancing niceties, and figured out how to get patients to do what was best for themselves. He couldn't help but chuckle a moment later at Chaceledon's answer

Hyssop's jaw dropped, and an angry huff escaped her.

"Calm yourself, sister. You'll have to let me know all the thrilling news about Dahn Hedoni later," Hickory chortled as he gestured for Chaceledon to accompany him to the treatment wing. "Bathing and perfuming won't be necessary. The smell is coming from within your foot and the only way to get rid of it is to drain that abscess."

The pet with the aprons hurried after Hickory.

Hyssop scowled at him, then schooled her face and followed her father and Dahna Seikilos to the parlor, and grimaced when the Hedoni dahna mentioned the blessing of all their eligible children. She opened her mouth to draw the subject away, but her father waved his hand at her behind his back.

"She is busy," he confirmed, ignoring what most other dahnesh would consider a compliment. "More than I would like."

Hana was seated on a chaise near the window where the midday sun was shining through brightly. The dragoness was obviously frail, but her smile was bright as Seikilos entered. She was almost the opposite of her husband and two eldest children in appearance, with light hair and nearly translucent skin. It was clear where Hyssop had gotten her vivid teal eyes from, though.

"Oh, it's so wonderful to see you!" Hana clasped her hands together eagerly. There was a small table set for tea with no less than ten cups. It was clear she entertained often. She gestured to the side, and a young dragoness stepped forward. "You've met Nettle before, correct? She's our middle girl. Would you allow her the honor of serving your tea?"

Nettle smiled and bowed. "Welcome, Dahna Seikilos," she said demurely. She had her mother's fair hair, but Hawthorn's dark eyes. She was well past her nehmaji, but Hana wasn't putting her out for marriage offers yet. Not until at least one of the older two was married.

Hickory directed Seikilos to the seat nearest Hana, and then seated himself and Hyssop at the other side of the table. Hyssop restrained herself from pouting as she waited for the tea to be served. A pet stood quietly at the door, ready to signal the others when it was time to bring in the refreshments.
 
Nestor took the notebook gratefully, and held it to his chest. He was silent for a while, chewing his lip. “I didn’t know that paying the cost of one’s magic in pain was…for all of your people. I thought it was unique to you. I didn’t know.” He said quietly. “I just…relaxed. I wanted to look like myself and it’s a privilege we got occasionally under Oor. It was a nice evening, and I’m used to thinking of it as not a lot of energy.” He took a deep, shuddering breath.

“He was angry when he came in. He didn’t let me explain.” He hugged the book tightly. “How much of it did they see?” He asked in a small voice. “I’m sorry.”

Nestor buried his face against the book. “I don’t know what to do or how to feel, and I’m terrified of Ausar coming in here.” Terrified, and wanting all at once. The worst part about it was that if he looked at the fear for too long the two of them got tangled up, and the fear amplified the lust he felt. He looked over at her. “You shouldn’t stay too long. You’re still recovering.”

He worried a bit at the corner of his notebook, picking at a loose spot in the leather. “It works both ways, you know. Oor used to draw on us, on the power here, if he was exhausted or injured. Mostly to recover from over extending himself at parties. It makes us sick, but it’s possible. I expected Ausar to pull back on it, and take the magic back. It’s a bond between us, not a one way street. It’s…like an umbilical cord between mother and children.” He explained slowly, avoiding her eyes. “I can’t hide in here forever and I know that. But an important dynamic shifted. I’ve never been in the bottom before, hiding and scared like Huron. I don’t know what to do.”

There were a lot of things to be afraid of. He’d seen a side of Ferenzi he’d never seen before. Vengeful, and spiteful. They were all broken men but perhaps Ferenzi had just hidden it better than most. They’d always gotten into arguments before but it had felt more like sparring than anything else; a way to blow off steam. Either way, the tenuous friendship they had was destroyed. Nestor took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, laying them next to him on the floor.

“I want to speak to Aluid. I want to know how he coped with being Oor’s toy. We always made fun of him for it before but he never had a problem with this…”

_____________________

Chaceledon heard Hyssop’s angry huffing, and winced. He had a feeling he just struck a blow in a sibling rivalry. He cleared his throat and followed after Hickory, doing his best to disguise his limp. His foot was swollen and it hurt, and when he drew his robes back to look he blinked. His foot was red, and swollen, and transforming had antagonized it. A hard plug of pus had formed on the top, and he could feel a golf-ball sized abscess pushing at his toe bones. It hurt dearly to walk, and the abscess was clearly close to bursting.

“I’m terribly sorry about this…this must be so foul…” Chaceledon said apologetically. “I’m not an unclean person, really.” What must Hickory think of him? Disgusting and diseased? He looked at the pets. Surely they would lance it and clean it, and leave the cleaner duties to their master after it had been suitably flushed for him.

Seikilos looked utterly relieved at the sight of Hana. So delicate and beautiful, just like a Dahna should be. Ah, she was like something made of crystal. Seikilos bowed to her with a welcoming smile. “Dahna Prunella, it’s been far too long. Look at your hatchlings! Springing up like meadows all around you.” She praised. Any dragoness would be tickled pink at having this many children. “And Nettle! How could I forget? Such an elegant young woman, your mother must be fielding offers from every young man and woman of dragon kind!”

She took her seat with a smile. “I’ve even heard you’ve caught the eye of Cassius from Dahn Peridot, dear Hyssop. What a fortuitous match. I do hope that fertility of your mothers is genetic; what lovely children you’d make.” She chuckled. “All of mine have left the nest for estates of their own or I’d give serious thought to putting Peridot up to a fight for your hand, young lady.”
 
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"It's only the illusion magic," Seteta told him quietly. "We don't really talk of it to... those who are not Inizae, because it's such a harsh toll. We don't need everyone in the desert to know that if we don't pay in pain beforehand, we'll be debilitated afterward."

It was why, at dinner, she'd only spoken of her own toll for the illusion magic. Keket would be gathering the others now, and they would know what was required, and make plans

They hadn't been born with illusion magic. The oldest myths they had, the Inizae could only use earth magic, and that came to most of them as easily as breathing. It was just a matter of what their personal skills were with it. But the illusion magic... it had been gifted to them later.

Seteta shrugged when he asked about the book. "Ferenzi seemed to have been flipping through it for a while," she answered. "I would assume he saw quite a lot. I'm not sure if Tianau can even read."

She sighed and frowned again when Nestor continued, explaining what he'd thought would happen.

"Keep in mind that mit's only had the Well for a few days," Seteta pointed out gently. "Just because he's mastered some of the use of the Well's magic doesn't mean he knows how it all works yet. And it doesn't negate the fact that the illusion magic requires a specific toll. It's always pain. I don't know... how that will work within the Well's constraints.

"As for Aluid... I can't help you with that anymore. You'll have to ask mit to wake him. But... if it helps, Ferenzi admitted that he... got carried away."

Seteta scooted forward a little, and turned to face Nestor, settling a hand on his shoulder.

"Just ignore Tianau. He's teasing you because he can and you respond to it. Ferenzi... you should try and at least talk to him. You are all family here, and you're going to have to work together to end this curse when the time comes. You might as well start making those relationships now.

"You were alone for so long, Nestor," she said softly. "Don't continue to isolate yourself. I promise that my father does not see you as a toy. Please give him a chance to prove otherwise."

She reached down and took Nestor's hand.

"I came in to see you for something else, too," she continued. "You mentioned last night that you would help get my people ready for the Nameday, so we need to coordinate with Rheinhard to make a plan for those lessons. And I... I need help, with those mental exercises you talked about before, for helping merge Nailah's past life better with my own."


Hickory led Chaceledon through a couple of halls until they came to a room lined with tables. A small stove sat in one corner, covered in pots and kettles simmering with various scents--all medicinal--wafting through the air. Hickory gestured toward a chair with footstool, indicating for Chaceledon to sit, and frowning when he pulled the hem of his robe away.

Chaceledon said:
“I’m terribly sorry about this…this must be so foul…” Chaceledon said apologetically. “I’m not an unclean person, really.”
Click to expand...

Hickory looked up with a furrowed brow. "What kind of physician would I be if I couldn't handle something as simple as this?" he snorted. "Foot wounds are tricky, even with the best of care. They're on the ground and harder to keep clean, in addition to be a body part that has a lot of moving parts. While this infection is... rather severe, it would have been just as surprising if it didn't get infected at all."

He looked over Chaceledon's foot for a little longer, then barked out orders to the pets and they retrieved his supplies. A basin large enough for Chaceledon's foot to sit comfortably at the bottom. A sharp scalpel. Clean cloths and cloth strips for bandaging. A sterile saltwater solution for flushing the wound, and a salve for packing it with afterward.

"We'll need warm water and plain soap for afterward, too," Hickory told the pets, then turned back to Chaceledon. He set the basin on the floor, gently placed Chaceledon's foot in it, and moved the footstool to the side so he could kneel on the ground.

He took the scalpel and a clean cloth in hand, and glanced up at Chaceledon. "It might hurt a little, but likely not as much as the first wound that caused this," he said. "You should feel immediate relief from the pressure."

Hickory brought the folded cloth to Chaceledon's foot, ready to absorb the puss so it wouldn't spray out, then set the scalpel against the plug and made one swift cut. A pet was waiting to take the scalpel, and Hickory pressed the cloth against the abscess, starting to soak up the pus.

"How did you get this wound anyway?" he asked. "It looks like it went straight through your foot."


Nettle's cheeks colored prettily at Seikilos' praise. "Thank you, Dahna," she murmured, gesturing for the pets to bring hot water and refreshments. "I know there have been some offers of courtship, but mother is focusing mostly on Hickory and Hyssop's offers for the time being. Is there a particular tea you favor?"

The younger girl fell quiet, then, focusing more on the tea ceremony than conversing.

Hyssop forced a smile at Seikilos' comments. There was no chance of a marriage between her and Cassius--not with what she knew--but she wasn't going to throw him to the rats. "I am taking every step I can to ensure I will have plenty of healthy children when it is time," Hyssop answered, not commenting about Cassius. "The poor fertility and child mortality rates we suffer from have long been a special interest of mine. If you'd had a potential mate for me I would have enjoyed the competition."

"Hyssop, that's crude talk for tea," Hana scolded lightly with a shake of her head, then looked back to Seikilos. "Forgive her, please, she's blunt like her father. Hawthorn, Hickory, and Hyssop all spend too much time with their noses buried in books and herbs. While their work is important, they sometimes forget life outside of work exists."

Hawthorn's eyes flashed momentarily, but he made no verbal rebuttal. Hyssop, for her part, at least murmured a quiet apology, even if it wasn't heartfelt.

"Now, how are your grandsons?" Hana asked as Nettle finished the tea's first steep. "Nehmaji is very close now, isn't it?"
 
Nestor listened, quietly. He leaned into her hand on his shoulder. “It’s only been a few days and I already feel like I’m falling apart.” He muttered. “It’s mad. When he touches me it’s a fever dream until it’s all over. I know you don’t want to hear it but it’s not as though I have anyone else to talk to.” He shook his head. “He told me I was stupid. Is that true? Am I just as fucking dumb as the rest of these poor fools?” He swallowed the lump in his throat.

He took a deep, shaky breath when the subject shifted to her. “I’m not teaching Ausar a damn thing, the arrogant bastard can make an idiot of himself since he knows so much more.” He said sourly. “If I’m so damn stupid he doesn’t need my help then. I’ll help those willing to listen to me, so they don’t embarrass you. They’re going to have to bend a lot, and you’re going to have to prepare them for it.”

Nestor squeezed her hand a bit. “The lessons with you and I are going to be exhausting. Not so much physically but mentally and spiritually. When we take the Well there’s always some overlap. You start dreaming as someone else, or you remember someone’s wife or birthday you’d never known before. Rheinhard started fishing a lot. Just had the urge to, and he was good at it….just like Huron. When Oor worked with him and disentangled them a bit it stopped. Happened with me too. I think something similar is happening with you and Nailah. You’ve got to keep you, Seteta, but give her a bit of peace. Use her memories but don’t think of them as your own. There are things you can do before the lessons; whenever you feel it’s not quite right, tell yourself those are hers. Not yours. Hers, but still a part of you. It’ll help.”

He released her hand and cleaned his glasses on his shirt, rising from the floor. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to finish the poisons to put those two out there on their rear ends for the considerable future.” If they were dumb enough to come into the laboratory they were going to suffer the consequences. He had to restore balance to keep from feeling so…mad. “I’ll be alright, Seteta.” He said, sounding tired. “It’s just hard to adjust from a few thousand years of feeling like I wasn’t good for anything else but poisons.”

__________________________

Chaceledon’s stomach flipped at the sight of the knife, and he hesitantly put his foot in the basin. He arranged it just so; just because he was being treated didn’t mean it had to look like a slab of meat in a pan. He had quite shapely ankles, after all. He tensed when the blade was set against his hot, tight skin, but he felt the moment Hickory lanced through the pocket of infection. Gray-green pus poured out into the bowl, and gentle palpation of the underside of his foot would expel the dirt and infection that had gotten trapped in the abscess.

Chaceledon put a hand to his mouth and resisted the urge to gag. Oh gods! It smelled like rotten meat and old cheese! When he was sure he wasn’t about to vomit, he took his hand away from his mouth to answer Hickory.

“My son stabbed me in the foot.” He muttered. “I deserved it. It was a very clean cut but…I didn’t want blood on any of my good sandals.”

“Green tea, please.” Seikilos said lightly, with a smile to Nettle. She laughed at Hyssop’s dismissal of her compliments; the woman really was an odd duck. “Oh, dragons have always really had fertility problems. My late husband always joked that our bodies just wouldn’t tolerate any weak children. Your mother is the wonderful rare exception; from what I see she hits the mark every time.” Seikilos reassured Hyssop. “Men do get tangled up in such silly things don’t they? My Saltarello loved rare plants. I’ve still got greenhouses full of the blessed things I don’t have the heart to get rid of.”

Seikilos patted Hana’s knee. “You really should come over to a few musical performances. I’ve always got shows somewhere or another. Gets you away from doctor talk.” She smiled. “My boys are taking bids for nehmaji. I’ll have a formal ceremony in a week or so. You’re always welcome to come to the dinner to see them; you and your dahnesh are invited. And my goodness they’re pretty! You ought see their size books; I’ve never been so proud. I’ve had them on lemon water and rice for months and they’re going to look exquisite. Well, if they stop sneaking things from the pantry.”
 
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Mit had called him stupid? That was... unlike her father. He must have been very, very angry. "I don't know what the context was," Seteta frowned. "But... everyone has gaps in their knowledge. Just because he thought you did something stupid doesn't mean you're not intelligent."

She reached up and rubbed her forehead.

"Please, Nestor," she said quietly. "I need mit's help for the Nameday. That means he needs to not offend anyone there. I'm not asking you to give him special attention, just to teach him along with the rest of us."

She listened closely as he spoke of the overlap that happened between hosts of the Well, nodding. A lot of that she had experienced. Was still experiencing.

"It's difficult, here," Seteta muttered as Nestor cleaned his glasses and stood. "Nailah has... many memories here ar Dahn Hedoni. She and Saltarello were lovers."

Some changes had been made to the estate over the millennia, but... the bones of the place were the same. She often rounded a corner and had found herself immersed in a memory.

Seteta sighed and stood, then went and wrapped her arms around Nestor.

"I know it's hard and confusing right now," she said gently, "but I promise my father is not a brute. Please, give him a chance."


Hickory's nose flared at the stench of infection, but otherwise he didn't even flinch as he cleaned Chaceledon's foot, the puss oozing into the basin.

"Your son?" Hickory asked curiously. "I hadn't heard of any dragonlings you brought back with you."

He lifted Chaceledon's foot out of the filth and took the sterile saltwater, gently pouring it into the abscess to flush out any remaining infection. He did this several times until the solution ran clear.

"Bring a lamp, please," Hickory called to one of the pets, then carefully spread open the wound to examine it in the light and make sure the flesh was healthy and pink inside of it.

"You wouldn't have been able to get your foot inside a shoe or sandal if this was properly cleaned and bandaged," he said. "Did you even let anyone tend to it?"


Hyssop gave Seikilos a pinched smile. There was no way the dragons could have been this infertile in ages past. Their culture as it was now would not have existed. And her mother... this was more than their bodies rejecting incompatible eggs and hatchlings. Their bodies were rejecting egg-laying.

Thankfully, Nettle was ready to serve the tea then, and the topic of conversation turned to nehmaji.

"They're going to look like skeletons," Hyssop mumbled under her breath, looking down and picking at her sleeve cuff.

Hawthorn's eyes narrowed at Seikilos. "Lemon water and rice?" he said concernedly. "They won't have the stamina for nehmaji. Awakening their fire when they're physically weak could cause permanent issues."

Especially if one or both of the boys ended up matched with Hokkaido. The Peridot Dahnesh was... known to be cruel, at times.

"If you're so concerned, then bid on them yourself," Hana snipped. "Stop scolding our guest. Seikilos, dear, I would love to come and visit, though I am not up to flying much at the moment, so I'll have to come by carriage. Perhaps I can stay for a time after the nehmaji ceremony?"

Hana gestured to Nettle. "Start pouring the tea, darling."
 
Nestor sighed, and pulled her close when she embraced him. “Fine. I’ll teach your hulking brute of a father but they’re going to have to be ready. They’re going to need to learn to walk, learn basic polite phrasing, not pick at their clothing, and for the gods’ sakes not eat a thing.” He kissed the top of her head. “One thing I ask for in trade. I look like myself when I do it. Seikilos and Chaceledon can help ease the burden magically.” He fell silent for a moment, considering her plea. “I’ll try.” He promised, and took her hand to help her down the stairs.

He wouldn’t leave the laboratory, not until his trap had been sprung, but he did part the vines so she could leave properly. “Rest. And take the tincture I gave Ausar the recipe for. You’ll need it.” Nestor called after her.

______________________

Chaceledon blushed. “Adoptive son.” He corrected. He was relieved when Hickory took his foot out of the muck, his stomach twisting. That had been inside of his body? He looked away from it, hand delicately over his mouth and nose. He looked back as Hickory shone the light into pink, healthy flesh. Oh thank the gods. His foot was already looking better, still red but less puffy. The pressure was gone, and the pain felt so much better.

“Thank you.” He murmured. “And…things were so insane with Seteta I didn’t get the chance to have anyone look at it. The only person who could was…well…the man who stabbed me.”

He looked at his foot distastefully. “And I always had such shapely feet. At least he didn’t hit me in the ankles, that would have been a low blow.” He sniffed. If Hickory supported his leg, he could probably feel the chunk of calf that was missing, with hints of further scars all the way up.

Seikilos looked a bit taken aback by Hyssop and Hawthorn. “It’s nothing more than any other grandmother does before nehmaji.” She said defensively. “I want them to get bids, and to get bids they have to have small waists and delicate wrists. They are willful, though. I’m having to lock up the pantry…” she sighed, and smiled when Hana came to her defense. She could always count on a fellow Dahna couldn’t she?

“Of course, you’re welcome at my home whenever you please.” She reached over and patted Hana’s hand reassuringly. “Coming by carriage is more than suitable. Look at how delicate and pale you are; all the dahnesh will be black with envy. You’ll certainly show up Peridot. Perhaps her dahnesh will make a higher bid for the boys than he already has.” She chuckled.

Seikilos graciously took the tea offered to her, taking a sip. She settled her cup in her lap. “Really, I’m getting concerned. Dahn Peridot is the only one really showing interest, and…well…you know how Saltarello never really cared what anyone thought of us. And with that incident last year…you can see how I’d worry.”

Last year, one of the other dahns had submitted a young daughter to Dahnesh Hokkaido for nehmaji. The girl had never come home. Hokkaido brushed it off as weakness, but Seikilos remembered the girl’s mother as being upset, and Peridot averting her eyes. Death from failure in nehmaji wasn’t exactly common but it did happen. Not producing a body, however….

But like everything, it had been covered up in an elaborate funeral and bribes. Most dragons didn’t talk about it.
 
"My people are not uneducated brutes either," Seteta pointed out. "They will learn, and do so quickly. Trust me. Trust them."

She smiled softly as he kissed her head.

"I'll ask," Seteta told Nestor when they parted. "But mit will also have to be able to use illusion magic in preparation and at the Nameday. You might have to limit your time."

She waved farewell as she slipped out of the parted vines. She retrieved Rheinhard, and they left the Well, and she went to go find her father. They needed to talk about Nestor.


"An adoptive son who is not dragon?" Hickory murmured. "How odd."

Hickory lifted Chaceledon's foot completely out of the basin. One of the pets slid the puss-filled container away, and replaced it with the basin of warm water. Hickory let the pets clean the outside of Chaceledon's foot with soap and water to remove the stench of infection, cautioning them to keep the soap out of the wound.

"Seteta is your elven mate?" He asked, taking over again and filling the flushed abscess with a salve which, while not pleasant smelling, smelled much better than the infection had. He then bound Chaceledon's foot with a long strip of cloth, a folded square of gauze covering the incision. "I didn't get a chance to be introduced at Cassius' dinner. Hyssop was quite intrigued by her. And you."

Hickory tied the bandage off and handed a pet the small pot of salve. "Change the bandage morning and evening. We'll send bandages and the salve with you. You can apply the salve to the surface, but you need to make sure to keep dirt and any other ointments and lotion out of the wound. If a scab forms, pull it off so the wound can drain on its own. Once the flesh has knitted back together, you can let it scab over."

Hickory stood then, and went to clean his hands.

"Shall we rejoin the others now?"


Hana squeezed Seikilos hand gratefully. "It has been a long time since I had a trip away. I look forward to your hospitality."

Nettle began to pass around the tea cups. Hyssop bit her tongue as Seikilos mentioned the lack of bids and the... incident. Fortunately her father spoke up.

"If it all possible, you should avoid accepting Hokkaido's bid," he cautioned. "Even if it means a lesser companion for the twins. There have been too many strange happenings when Dahnesh Hokkaido is involved in a nehmaji recently."

He would never forget the last several times he'd been summoned by Dahn Peridot. A dead girl. A half-blinded boy. Other strange incidents... It wasn't worth the risk, in his opinion.
 
Rheinhard slowly withdrew from Seteta and wiped her face. He stood there for a moment, cradling her cheek. His eyes were soft, and his thumb brushed over one of the red marks on her skin where his teeth had settled. “You will be brilliant, no matter what those anorexic lizards think of you.” He told her gently.

He rose and took her hand. They did need to find her father, yes, but slowly. She didn’t need to over exhaust herself. Rheinhard knew the pace would frustrate her; there was so much to do and so little time to do it. Seteta was a woman of action, not one to order from a pulpit. He touched the bond, gingerly, to find out where Ausar was. He steered them in that direction, keeping the pace slow and deliberate.

________________________

Chaceledon watched the process with uncomfortable fascination. It was so strange to watch that evil little pocket that had been filled with pus now cleaned and neatly wrapped up. Change it twice daily. Right. He could handle that he supposed. He shifted uncomfortably, covering his foot again with the hem of his robe and sliding down from his seat. Oh. Putting weight on it felt even stranger, as the bones in his foot shifted back into place and covered the hole. He cleared his throat.

“Yes. Hyssop was eh…a bit aggressive. Could you speak with her for me? My mother really isn’t going to let up trying to find a match for my brother and she really does think Hyssop is the one for him. She’s not going to stop without a legitimate excuse.” He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “If it helps, it wouldn’t exactly be a bad match would it? My brother is handsome, rich and well connected. Bulky as a mountain but the right woman could overlook that. Why isn’t Hyssop interested?”

He tested his foot to make sure he could put weight on it, and waited expectantly. Surely Hickory would be a gentleman and offer him an arm so he didn’t look too silly walking…?

“I can’t very well refuse without a better offer on the table, you know that.” Seikilos said quietly, sipping her tea. “I’ve heard the rumors. But refusing my grandchildren to Dahnesh Hokkaido because of it…he could easily make my performance contracts dry up. Everyone has seen how he treats his Dahna. He does not like being told no.” She looked at them worriedly, then sighed and shook her head.

“I loved Saltarello with all my heart, but damn him for the social chaos he wreaked on my life. Hana, one day you’ll have to give me the secrets of being blessed with so many healthy children. I wanted to…perhaps propose something to do you. Nettle, you are a fine young woman, and my Fosse is sweet, kind and talented. Perhaps the two of you ought to meet. Provided, of course, he has a good nehmaji.”

She caught Hana’s eye. The implication was clear. Help Seikilos solve her problem, and she would help solve Hana’s.
 
"Thank you," Seteta murmured softly, pressing into Rheinhard's gentle touch for a moment. She leaned against him gratefully as he led her to Ausar. Her father was in his room, collapsed across the bed. Rehema was nowhere nearby, and Seteta left Rheinhard at the door.

"Mit will make sure I'm okay," she told him. "Tend to your own things for a while."


Hickory tipped his head back and laughed. "I meant she was intrigued as a physician," he clarified, offering an elbow to Chaceledon. "Take a few steps, please. Make sure there's no pain in the bones or traveling up your leg. The infection seems to have been contained to your foot but we want to make sure."

He began to lead Chaceledon back to the main part of the manor, watching the other dragon's steps carefully. "I have no idea if Hyssop is interested in your brother or not," Hickory said. "She's been holed up in her labratory ever since that night, and she doesn't talk to me about that type of thing anyway."

As they approached the parlor, Hickory asked, "Now, how is your foot and ankle feeling? Any pain still? If not," he gestured to the parlor doors, "let's join the others."



"Someone has to stand up to him," Hawthorn commented, taking his own tea from Nettle with a smile. "At this rate, he'll have every dahn under his thumb because they're afraid of him."

"Hawthorn!" Hana hissed. "Please, as worrisome as Hokkaido might be, that's no excuse to tell Seikilos how to deal with her own affairs."

Hana turned back to Seikilos, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I'll prod some of the other dahnas," she said. "It makes no sense that you've had so few bids for the twins. They're absolutely beautiful creatures."

Nettle fairly beamed at Seikilos suggestion, though Hyssop silently cringed at the age gap between the two. Large age gaps were not unheard of among their kind, but Nettle had been through nehmaji a few thousand years ago. It was... a significant gap. Hyssop sighed and leaned forward, artfully plucking two cream puffs off the refreshment platter and quickly tucking one away in her sleeve for later. Her mother had never caught on to her sneaking food away from tea, and she wouldn't today. Hana was far too distracted. She knew her father had seen many times and he’d never said anything.

“Nettle won’t be taking suitors until either Hickory or Hyssop are mated,” Hana said with a curt shake of her head. “Both of them are taking far too long to find a mate.” Hana’s eyes narrowed at Hyssop. “As if you don’t know that it would help solidify your claim on the dahn.”

Nettle frowned, but made no complaint. Hyssop almost choked on her cream puff.

“They’re all too sickly,” Hyssop grumped. Except Cassius. But he had a woman already, even if she was a secret, and Hyssop wasn’t about to be a third wheel. “I told you I was taking steps to insure I’d have plenty of healthy offspring, and being picky about the father is one of those steps.”
 
Rheinhard nodded, and butted his head affectionately against Seteta. “I will.” He came to sit next to Ausar, and laid his head on the man’s thigh. He looked every bit the loyal dog. He sighed and closed his eyes, resting a little while he waited for Ausar.
__________________

Chaceledon clicked his tongue. “My foot is fine, now at least. Just an odd feeling and pain where you cut.” He said. “Honestly what sort of woman of marrying age spends all her time in research? She should be working with her mother to get herself married, not fooling around with…whatever she’s fooling around with. She reminds me of my son-well, one of them. He was always in the laboratory, always cooking up gods know what.” He shook his head a bit, and took Hickory’s elbow.

Seikilos colored. “I assure you Dahn Peridot has no such iron grip on Hedoni, much as he’d like to think so.” She said archly, turning to Hana with relief in her eyes. However did her mate find her? She was intelligent and clearly balanced his pragmatism. She caught Hyssop’s eye, and smiled, leaning closer to Hana. “If sickly is her complaint, Dahna Peridot has been eager to wed Cassius as well. They’ve both been in the nest too long, and Cassius has none of his side’s cruelty. He’s well regarded as a warrior, and has many mines to support your daughter’s interests.” She suggested with a twinkle in her eye. “He’s very eligible, and he seemed to like your daughter.”

Chaceledon opened the doors, clearing his throat. “Thank you, Hickory, for seeing to my foot.” He thanked the dragon, and slowly limp-walked to Nettle for a cup of tea. He eyed the cream puffs but said nothing. Pastry?! How rude.
 
Hickory couldn't help a soft chuckle. "Am I not also of marrying age?" he commented. "Hyssop is a physician of equal caliber to myself, though we are both still under the supervision of our father. Why should she have to neglect her intellect simply because of her sex?"

While Hickory understood the role that all these niceties played in dragon society, there were some that downright baffled him. Like the dahna being the more prominent of a pairing... but an unwed female like Hyssop being considered obtuse if her priority wasn't finding a mate.

He followed Chaceledon into the parlor just in time to see Hyssop's nostrils flare as she reaches for a cream puff--nay, a handful of them!--her eyes annoyed. Hana reached out and grabbed Hyssop's wrist, knuckles white as she held her daughter's hand in place until Hyssop let go of the cream puffs. They exchanged no words, but it was clear that Hana had a fiery temper to match her daughter's when it was provoked.

"What's been happening?" Hickory whispered to Nettle, eyeing the... commotion cautiously.

"It's been insane," Nettle whispered back as she served Chaceledon's tea. "Poor Hyssop's been tossed onto the fire about her lack of suitors."

"Oh dear," Hickory grimaced.

"For the last time," Hyssop growled as she settled back in her seat with no more cream puffs, "Cassius sought my company in a professional capacity. While he's handsome enough and almost healthy enough to suit me, I won't accept anything less than a courtship and him personally asking for my hand, without negotiations beforehand."

There. An ultimatum at least. Cassius would never be courting her, so even if her mother took that to Dahna Peridot, she was safe.

Hana's delighted grin spread across her face and she clasped her hands together. "Wonderful! I'll let Peridot know."

Then she turned to Chaceledon, eyes sparkling. "Please, come sit! I believe we met once when you were still young, did we not? How pleased Peridot must be at your safe return! She was so worried all these years."
 
“Because you can’t lay eggs…” Chaceledon pointed out, taken aback. “It’s a price every Dahna must pay. Get married young, produce a few children, raise them, then the rest of her days are hers. She’s be the head of the Dahn anyway. You are a future dahnesh. Your role is to be worthy enough.” He chided. Gods, Dahn Prunella was such a strange family. He settled in alongside Seikilos, back straight and his robes carefully arranged to hide his foot. He hoped the smell didn’t cling to him; that would be the height of rudeness.

He practically sighed in relief when he saw Hyssop chastised for grabbing the puffs. Oh good! They were aesthetic. Well, they were charming weren’t they? Definitely not for eating. He sipped his tea delicately, and noticed Seikilos’ eyes demurely focused on her cup to spare Hyssop any embarrassment.

“Times are changing and we can’t just throw them together. Children these days have ideas about who they’re getting married to.” Seikilos chuckled. Chaceledon winced a bit. That just meant Peridot’s attention was going to turn to tearing down at that wall. Cassius didn’t have any reason to reject Hyssop. She was pretty, and intelligent. Peridot’s assault on Cassius would be never ending and brutal, if Hokkaido didn’t get involved.

Chaceledon hesitated. It would be a good match. He knew it would. It was only right Hyssop would have children and frankly shocking she didn’t have any already. But wasn’t that why he was here? To be an advocate for people marrying how they wanted, not just to further the race? He said a silent apology to his mother for the dreadful secret he was about to spill. Peridot had been trying, begging, blackmailing and pleading someone to waken Cassius’ fire for centuries.

“It’s just as well, Cassius hasn’t gone through nehmaji.” Chaceledon said casually.

Seikilos choked on her tea. “I beg your pardon?”

“He’s not gone through nehmaji. Technically, he’s more ineligible than sweet Hyssop. And yes, Mother did miss me. It’s only by Seteta’s hand that I’m here. My fiancé. She’s a lovely woman but she’s fallen ill and couldn’t make the journey.” Chaceledon smiled to Hana. “I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. Especially if you’re going to the Nameday of Dahnesh Harrier’s grandchild he’s been going on about.”

He looked over at Seikilos, quietly coughing into a napkin. He didn’t blame her. It was unheard of. Seventeen thousand years and no nehmaji? No dragon ever had gone that long. No dragon had breached a thousand without it. Hell, some Dahns had resorted to forcing the process out of panic. Peridot had taken the brunt of Hokkaido’s hatred for who knew how long to protect Cassius.

There was something else he worried about. He looked at Hana, fingering the rim of his cup. “Has anyone heard from Nica?” He asked quietly. “The last water dragon, from Dahn Abalone? The last I heard he was sick…all alone in Seaworth.”

“Dahn Abalone is dead. Whatever Nica does is no one’s concern.” Seikilos growled into her teacup. No doubt, feeling sour over advocating for Peridot.

“We can’t just let him starve out there-“

“And why not? He has a crumbling estate, he’s been consorting with Ragash, and likely draining his estate’s vast wine cellar by the sound of things. He really ought do everyone a favor and take out the trash; if he’s ill, so much the better. An embarrassment to dragonkind.”

Chaceledon looked down at his lap, and made a note to send food and water to Seaworth no matter how much it would embarrass Nica.
 
Hickory quirked his head. "A female can't lay eggs without a male dragon. If you follow that logic to its conclusion, then any male not out actively courting or breeding is depriving females of the ability to lay eggs," he pointed out under his breath as he sat next to Chaceledon. "There's more to it than just offspring and societal roles. Especially in this dahn, where we might very well be the pivotal factor in our kind's continued existence."

Hyssop felt a twinge of guilt. She felt sorry for Cassius and Baylock, but surely Cassius could figure out a way to stop his mother. When Chaceledon chimed in, though, Hyssop's jaw nearly dropped.

"No nehmaji?" she muttered into her teacup, ignoring the conversation, her thoughts suddenly whirling. It was... unheard of. If a dragon didn't go through nehmaji, it was usually because they died before they had the chance. For all her scientific knowledge, she knew that dragons were inherently magical. They couldn't survive without magic.

Could... Cassius' lack of nehmaji, having never awakened his inner fire, caused the struggle for life she'd seen in his child? If Cassius' hadn't passed on a sufficient amount of his own magic to that hatchling... there was no hope of it balancing out Baylock's magic enough for it to survive. Was nehmaji the answer?

Gods, she needed to get back to her laboratory. Or the library. She needed both.

She almost made to stand up, and then startled when she realized that she was in the parlor surrounded by dragons on all sides. Her mother wouldn't let her excuse herself abruptly after the... cream puff incident.

"Sweet Hyssop?" Nettle giggled incredulously. Hawthorn choked on his tea, and even Hana bit back a laugh. Hickory cast an amused glance at his physician sister.

Hyssop scowled, but frowned when she realized Chaceledon had said Seteta was ill. The elven woman had seemed at the peak of health at the dinner. What had happened?

"Hawthorn and I, and likely Nettle, will certainly be attending the Nameday," Hana smiled. "I don't recall whether it's Hickory or Hyssop's turn to stay on duty here for the event, so one or the other will be attending."

The dinner at Cassius' estate had been short enough and close enough that the three physicians could be spared their constant presence, but a Nameday was a far lengthier event, and even Hana understood the necessity of having a doctor present at the dahn's estate in case someone needed aid.

The room fell sour as Chaceledon asked about Nica, and Hana averted her eyes for a moment.

"Dahn Abalone only died out because the rest of us stood by and let it happen," Hawthorn said bluntly. "And for what it's worth, Nica has always been welcome here, and we've sent inquiries and food over the millennia. But he has never replied, and never shown up at our doorstep. I don't know why."

Hawthorn's gaze was harsh as his eyes cut back to Seikilos.

"In this house, please watch your tongue, Dahna," he said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Dragons are far too close to dying out entirely to wish death on any of our number."
 
Chaceledon blushed. Well, his definition of sweet might have been colored over the years considering his children. “I suppose I mean she’s always been kind to me even if she is a little brusque.” He said sheepishly. Perhaps he needed a little more time to heighten the bar from men like Klaus. “I certainly hope Seteta will be well enough by the Nameday. She’s submitting herself to Hokkaido’s challenge for my hand. I can’t recall ever being so nervous.”

He brushed his hair behind one ear, and looked down as Seikilos was chastised. “Nica is very proud. He won’t ever accept charity. He’d rather die in the house.” He said with a sigh. “I’d go, but I’m afraid he expected we’d resume our relationship after I returned. He was very angry when he found out about Seteta. He could…he could also be too sick to make the journey.” He looked up at Hawthorn.

“It’s the way things are.” Seikilos said stiffly.

Chaceledon frowned. “From what I understand after his parents died and he lost all political power everyone’s ignored him. Maybe that’s not the way things should be. Hawthorn is right; we don’t have many dragons left. We can’t just…let him die all alone.” He protested. He looked at Hana, and drew himself up a bit. “I’d like to formally request Hyssop join me to see if he’s alive and give him some medical assistance. If he’s a nightmare, we’ll put him out of his misery. I swear it.”

“Chaceledon.” Seikilos warned. “This isn’t why I brought you.”
 
"If she's accepted the challenge, then she'll have no choice but to tackle the challenge, whether she's well or not," Hana said soothingly. "I'm sure Hyssop would be more than happy to check her over before that, though.

"I look forward to meeting this elf as well. She must be quite the creature for the ripples she's made through dragon society so far."

"Elven physiology is not my strength," Hyssop pointed out, "but I have a passing knowledge of it because we treat our own pets here rather than relying on Persian's physicians for everything. But I would be more than happy to give another opinion on her health."

"Why is it the way things are?" Hawthorn challenged a little more gently. "Change has to start with someone. Saltarello understood that better than any of us."

Saltarello's death still haunted him. It hadn't made sense. He'd been old but... gods, it had been so sudden.

Hyssop boggled at Chaceledon, and sniffed delicately, turning her face away from him. He wouldn't let her tend his foot, but a flight excursion to check on his former lover was fine? She may bot have cared for dragon social customs, but she knew an insult when she heard one.

"You can't shift to fly with your foot for a few hours yet," Hickory interjected. "Give the salve time to start working."

Hana's eyebrows nearly flew off her forehead at Chaceledon's request.

"I'm afraid Hyssop is out of the question for a journey of that length, regardless of your foot," Hana said with a firm shake of her head. "It would be entirely inappropriate for the two of you to be gone together for that long."
 
“Change has to come from somewhere.” Chaceledon threw Hawthorn’s words back at him. Seikilos set her teacup down a little harder than she meant to at the mention of Saltarello, watching Chaceledon as he rose to his feet. Gods, he had changed. He was barely draconian anymore. He would play the game, but did he have patience for it anymore?

Chaceledon folded his hands in front of him. “I learned many things in my captivity, but chief among them was that change only needs one person’s voice to take hold. If we are to change, it starts here and now. If not, then when? Politeness has served us poorly in the last few thousand years. When someone may be dying, is it not your duty as doctors to see to that?” He knelt in front of Hana, and placed his palms in front of him, kneeling elegantly as a pet or supplicant would. “Dahna Hana, I know your misgivings, but there may be a man dying. I had to tend to my mate. She is most important in my life. But I have wronged Nica so deeply I fear his shadows will follow me into a happy marriage. Please, do me this one kindness, and I promise it shall be returned.”

Seikilos was frozen. It was…a surprisingly polite and earnest plea. She chewed her lip. Saltarello would have melted at the boy’s askance. Saltarello would have been the one leading the charge. Her dahnesh was a sweet creature who always thought of others. Would she be doing his memory a disservice sitting here in silence..? She cleared her throat. “Dahna Hana, I would volunteer as chaperone.” She said gently. “Your daughter is a skilled surgeon. If there is truly a medical emergency there…she could help.”
 
Hana shifted awkwardly as Chaceledon knelt before her, but heard him through without interruption. She arched a brow at Seikilos' turn of heart as the fellow dahna offered herself as a chaperone.

"I did not say no to start with," Hana pointed out. "I simply said Hyssop could not go. Please, don't kneel for me."

"I am not the best one for this anyway," Hyssop contributed with a shake of her head. "Any of us can help within an emergency, but my specialty is reproduction and fertility. Father or Hickory are far better suited to an excursion like this than I am."

As much as she wanted to go, wanted to pick Chaceledon's brain about his mate and the health of both of them--rumors of hatchlings crossed with mammals were just that: rumors. To get to witness such a thing, especially since she'd seen the hybrid child of Baylock and Cassius, would be the chance of a lifetime! But if Chaceledon's fears were correct, if Nica needed medical intervention... it would be best that one of the others went.

Hawthorn set his cup of tea down with a sigh. A decision wasn't going to get made anytime soon like this. "Hickory, what is the state of Chaceledon's foot, and what care do you recommend until it's fully healed?"

Hickory gave a brief rundown, censored for the delicate stomachs present, of Chaceledon's wound and that he thought it was best for Chaceledon to not shift for the next several hours, or even the next few days if it all possible.

Hawthorn nodded thoughtfully. "Since Chaceledon is your patient, then it is appropriate that you accompany him," Hawthorn stated. "Especially as he cannot fly on his own right now. It would be inappropriate for Hyssop or Seikilos to have to carry him."

He turned to Hyssop. "However, it would be unfair to deprive your sister of the chance to treat a special patient today, since you've had your turn. So if you desire to go, Hyssop, you may do so."

Hyssop gasped delightedly and straightened in her seat. "Oh yes, please!"

"Dahna Seikilos," Hawthorn said with a gracious nod, "you are welcome to go with them if you wish to."
 
Seikilos eyed them. The two siblings and Chaceledon. She shook her head slightly. “I’m an old woman not given to flights of fancy. If Hickory feels he can chaperone appropriately, and if Hyssop can do the same for her brother, then there is no need for me to go.” She said. “I would much rather spend time with you, Hana, I feel as though it’s been years since we’ve had the chance to truly talk. Especially without the rowdy children about.”

Chaceledon slowly got up. Slowly, more because actually getting off the floor was incredibly difficult when his foot ached. It protested with hot needles up his leg as he stood, though gods knew he refused to show it. He bowed to Hyssop and Hickory. “Thank you for accompanying me.” He said, relieved. “I know you probably need to get supplies. We need to be ready for anything. Nica…” he hesitated. The other dragon, if he were alive, would be black with fury if he said it. “…he used to hurt himself when we were together.”

Gods, Chaceledon was truly ashamed of the way he’d corrupted Nica. He’d taken a bright and impressionable young dragon fresh out of nehmaji, partied with him and used his abilities to source pearls, and twisted the knife in his heart. He’d known Nica was in love with him and he’d actually thought it ridiculous. This was his fault. Now he had time to make it right.

*******
​
Nica lay in the hotbed. Unlike the boiling pits of crystal that other dragons favored, Seaworth was equipped with a pool of water. Soft, exquisite sand cradled his withered body, and little currents of tropical seawater made his once-brilliant red mane blow limply with the tide. Nica’s head lay on a gentle swelling of sand, high enough so his body could stay submerged in five or six feet of water while his head and chest were pushed toward the surface so he could breathe.

Black streamed into the water, like squid ink, corrupting the seawater. The lush pads of eelgrass that helped a sea dragon shed and provided cushion had died off days ago. Rotting vegetable matter made the water stink.

Oor paced along the rim of the pool, waving away steam. Shadows and cold ruled the rest of the mansion, like a cave carved out of brilliant white marble. Nica watched the wraith pace from under the water. He was fouling the beautiful dichroic glass tiles with the touch of the dead.

It’ll be ready in but a few hours, and your suffering will be over. Oor said dismissively.

Nica winced as the shadows gathered from the waters, attacking a rift in the bone at his chest. There were things happening in his head; he suffered nightmares that were beginning to blur into reality. Shadows of his parents and siblings long gone, melted in with the scent of tea leaves and rich mahogany. The thick, lush scent of young tea plants and the muddled scent of drawers of herbs haunted him.

Something in his chest cracked, and he jerked, lifting his nose just far enough out of the water to cry out.

There. There it is…don’t fight, it makes it worse. Oor purred to him. The Well is a brilliant spell, Nica. I can make a man into a reliquary, storing souls in him. I’ve tested it for thousands of years, testing capacity, usefulness, how it changes its hosts. Now this place I’ve made in your skull is ready for me. And I’m coming to meet it.

Nica planted his paws under him. He had to move. He had to run! He slipped and collapsed back into the sands. He didn’t have the strength. Not even with the blessing of warm seawater around him. He heard a splash. Oor slithered toward him in the water, shadows and corruption. He touched the edges of the wound with tender hands, and without another word shoved himself inside.

Nica was on a beach. A warm, shining expanse of sand with turquoise waves blowing in. A sanctum of water and life from the dead desert behind them. His father knelt in front of him.

“Little Nica, precious Pearl, come see.” He pulled Nica’s attention from the waves. Nica tilted his head and watched the strange little animal crawling around desperately on his father’s palm.

“What is it?” He asked, lifting a finger to stroke the little crab.

“Hermit crab. A harmless little fellow. But see that soft body? We’ve got to help him. Do you see a shell, koiros?”

Nica looked around, and grabbed a small conch shell from the mussed sands where he’d been playing. He offered it to his father, who smiled.

“Perfect.” He laid the shell down on his palm, and the crab grasped it. Little eyestalks inspected it, then shuffled the soft rear end into the smooth chamber. “See without a home, a hermit crab will soon die…”

Nica landed in a cold, hard, featureless room. He wasn’t sick anymore. He looked at his arm. Gods, rich tan skin greeted him. He was dressed like he used to when he wanted to impress, in shades of tropical seawater with bangles made of pearls and sea glass. His hair was still short from mourning Chaceledon. He blinked, and looked up. Swirling shards of sea glass were swirling above him. Thousands. Millions.

He heard footsteps and scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. A pale dragon with black hair, so long it brushed his feet, approached him. He was dressed simply, in earthen colors, but his soft green eyes spoke of emerald pools deep in forgotten forests.

“I’ve got to thank you for my return, little Nica. Your body is young, and powerful. Sea dragons were made by the god to balance our rocky cousins. Dahn Oolong will be mine again, and through them…everything else.” The dragon quirked a smile at him. “What, you don’t recognize me?”

“Oor..?”

“I’d call myself Oolong, but that was from another time.” Oor chuckled. “I’ll finish carving out the rooms when we’ve both rested. I want a new estate here, somewhere worthy of me to rest at night.” He gestured impatiently to the blackness. “This smacks of a prison.”

“Where is here?” Nica demanded.

“You don’t recognize it, precious pearl?” Oor gave him a predatory smile that was all to reminiscent of the one he’d worn as a corpse. “We’re in your head.”
 
"I would be delighted to visit with you more." Hana smiled at Seikilos, patting the spot on the chaise next to her. "Nettle, darling, please have the pets clean up the tea, and then you may spend the rest of the afternoon as you please."

"Yes, mother," Nettle answered, then quietly brought the pets in as Chaceledon stood.

Hickory watched closely as Chaceledon rose, saw the way he tried to keep weight off his injured foot. It was understandably tender, but it shouldn't bother him for too much longer.

Hyssop, Hickory, and Hawthorn all frowned at Chaceledon's revelation, but Hawthorn stood first, gesturing for the others to follow him. There was no need to discuss these sensitive topics in front of the dahnas.

Hawthorn snagged one of the pets and quickly gave instructions for supplies to be gathered. Hyssop was close on his heels. Hickory paused to give Chaceledon his elbow again.

"It'll be close to dusk when you reach Dahn Abalone's estate," Hawthorn said once they were all in the hall outside the parlor. "You should take a pet with you as well, since you'll likely need to stay the night and return here in the morning."

"I have some correspondence I need to complete before we set out," Hyssop said. "And some instructions to leave my lab assistants. I'll excuse myself now and be back within a half an hour."

"And you?" Hawthorn turned to Hickory. "Any things to be completed before leaving?"

Hickory nodded. "Some patient notes and some tests."

"I will take Chaceledon off your hands for a bit then," Hawthorn offered, and turned to the copper-haired dragon, holding out a hand. "Please, accompany me to my study. I would like to discuss a few things with you."
 
Chaceledon looked at Seikilos nervously. She lifted her chin and looked away from him. She was embarrassed he had spoken like that in front of Hana, and had used her to get to Prunella. She had been willing to chaperone as a favor to Hana to protect Hyssop. Now she was perfectly willing to express her displeasure to Chaceledon and spend time with Hana.

“Now that that’s over with…” she sighed. “How have we not strangled men as a species and learned to hatch our own?”

Chaceledon took Hickory’s arm and tried his best not to limp as they went down the hallway. Yes, he’d pushed a bit hard, but this was important. Maybe he’d been around the Volkers for too long but Nica might not have weeks. He might not have months of wheedling and implications. The way Hawthorn dismissed the others and offered his hand made his stomach flip. Oh gods. Why did he get the same feeling he did when his father was about to shatter a vase over his head?

He took Hawthorn’s hand and followed him to his office, feeling like he’d swallowed a jug of live eels.
 
Hawthorn chuckled at Chaceledon's obvious nervousness. He tucked the younger dragon's hand into the crook of his elbow and gave it a reassuring pat.

"I'm not concerned about you being with my son or daughter for an extended amount of time," Hawthorn said as he led Chaceledon down the hall and around a corner before opening a large, carved wooden door into a room lined with shelves containing hundreds of books and medical specimens, as well as antique medical tools inside glass cases. "It is a foolishly brave thing you've done to bring an elven woman in as your intended bride, so your feelings for her must be very deep."

Spread through the room were several tables filled with various texts and more jars of specimens. At the far end there was a large desk, and Hawthorn brought Chaceledon to that and seated both of them.

He sighed and rested his clasped hands on the desk, his gaze somber.

"If your mate succeeds in this challenge, you will have a monumental task ahead of you," Hawthorn said. "You know our kind will not easily accept her, even if she wins this feat.

"Hokkaido will go to whatever lengths he must to discredit her, both before and after the challenge."

He watched Chaceledon closely as he spoke. He'd seen the way Seikilos had eyed Chaceledon at times, as if she were looking at a ghost. He'd been called to Saltarello's death bed in a desperate attempt to save him, and had been told things by the elder dragon that he'd done his best to forget.

Until now.

The question was how much Chaceledon knew.

"It would be in your mates best interest hand quite possibly your own--to forfeit this challenge and leave dragon kind behind altogether."
 
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