On Violet Wings: 02

Stunned silence greeted her words, but the woman ignored it, instead looking right at Skylar. "And from what I gathered from the mood here and what little your father told me, you did not consent to the... encounter." Deadly venom entered Nanase's voice, her kind face slowly morphing into a barely-contained scowl.

After a brief moment of staring - still in shock - at her aunt, Skylar merely nodded, drawing her legs in closer to her chest. Nanase hissed in anger, then held up a hand as Candace leaned in, a question on her lips. "I'm sure you have many questions, neesan, and I'd be happy to answer them all in time, but I left some duties in Japan to come here and am on something of a tight schedule, so you'll excuse me if I give you the short version." She waited until Candace nodded before continuing. "Davis told me that the dragon - Amtheryn, was it? - said that Skylar has dragon blood in her, passed down from you. This is true. She, you, and our mother are all what is called Dragon-Touched. As am I, though unlike you and Skylar, both of my parents were Dragon-Touched, and my blood has been Awakened for, oh, twenty years now. No, mother didn't know, though my father planned on telling her... but that was before she became ill.

"Regardless, I'm getting off track. As Deborah noted, I was in Japan until a few hours ago - I teleported to an apartment I keep in town and drove here early this morning." Nanase paused, smiling at the return of everyone's shocked expressions. "No, I am not a wizard, nor a witch, warlock, mage, or anything like that, though the various nuances and differences between all those terms is more than we have time for right now. Suffice to say, dragons aren't the only fantastical things that exist. As for how I knew to come here today..." she smiled sheepishly. "Shortly after my blood was Awakened and I began to learn how to use magic, I placed minor divination charms on the three of you," she explained, indicating Candace, Davis, and Skylar. "They only told me if you were exposed to anything magical or if your blood became Awakened. Which, normally, would be a thing worthy of celebration."

Nanase sighed sadly, looking over at Skylar. "But what happened yesterday is not something to be celebrated. If you can bear to, I would like to hear it from you, mei," she said, her voice soft as she addressed her niece.

Skylar looked down for a moment, then took a deep breath, nodded, and described the past two days. She glossed over the rape, haltingly explaining the bite and 'mating venom' before moving on to her talk with Amtheryn after. As she spoke, Nanase's expression became darker and filled with venom.

When Skylar fell silent, Nanase stood and went to the window, glaring out at the woods beyond. The other four shared glances, but kept quiet, waiting for the seething woman to speak. Finally, after several minutes, she turned and looked at her niece. "Can you imagine his lair? Clearly, as though it was a picture?"

Skylar blinked in surprise, thought for a moment, then hesitantly nodded. "I think so. I didn't see the cave, but the little lake and island were very scenic and memorable. Why?"

"I'm going to speak with him and pass my own judgment on him, and teleporting would be the swiftest way to get there. The only problem is that I, or someone I'm teleporting with, need to know the destination in great detail. I hate to ask, but..."

Skylar shook her head, interrupting her aunt. "No, it's all right. I... I actually want to see him again. To talk..." She trailed off, blushing as everyone looked at her with confusion and concern.

Nanase frowned at the girl, but nodded. "Very well, then let's..."

She was interrupted again as Deborah spoke up. "Actually, as long as Skylar is going, I'd like to come along too. I came to an agreement with the dragon that I'd sort of be his 'parole officer,' so to speak, and it couldn't hurt for me to show up a bit early."

Nanase stifled a laugh, giving her friend a look of disbelief. Seeing that the policewoman was serious, she shook her head in amazement. "Alright then, you can come too. Though I have to wonder, just how were you going to 'show up' before I arrived to teleport us there?"

"He gave me rough directions on how far and in what direction his lair was from here and from town," Deborah explained.

With a glance to each other, Candace and Davis both sat forward, about to speak, but Nanase held up a hand to forestall them. "No. I'm sorry, but there's no reason for you two to come as well. Skylar has to come because I need a guide to get to the lair, at least this first time; you have my word that she'll be the first one back if things become dangerous. She's also the one most affected by all this, and she has the right to be there. Dee is a police officer, and has a deal with the dragon already, crazy as it is. But you two would only be there as moral support, and if things did become dangerous, it would be two more people for me to try and teleport back here, which could use up precious seconds. So please, leave this to me, and trust that I will keep my niece safe." When the two gave her mutinous looks, she sighed. "Neesan, Davis, I don't think that things will be dangerous, but if they do, you'll just get in the way. Of all of us here, Skylar is probably in the least danger - as far as mortal danger to life and limb is concerned - followed by myself, since I can use magic. With just the three of us, if the dragon acts up, I can easily teleport us back. With five, that's not so sure, and the chances of someone being left behind in a hurry is high. So please, stay here. I promise I won't let anything happen to Skylar."

The two still weren't happy, but nodded their assent. Satisfied, Nanase motioned Skylar and Deborah to stand and join her. Everyone stood, Candace and Davis standing by, holding each other in concern while their daughter and friend joined Candace's half-sister. "You all be safe," Candace said, her voice stern.

The three gave them small smiles of reassurance, and then Nanase walked her niece through what she needed. "Picture the lair in your mind. It doesn't have to be perfect, in fact, you don't even need to picture the whole thing. Just recall what you can, what you saw while there. Hold the memories in your mind. When you think you have it, squeeze my hand." Then she took Skylar and Deborah's hands in her own while the girl closed her eyes, concentrating. After a few moments, she squeezed her aunt's hand. The three felt a prickling sensation, then a feeling as though every atom in their body was being pulled in a different direction.

And suddenly, they were standing outside, in a forested area. Around them, the earth rose up nearly a dozen feet, creating a bowl. Water lapped nearby, forming a small lake, or a deep pond, in the middle of which was a small island with a solitary tree. Nearby, a buck looked up from its grazing, watching the three newcomers warily. Also nearby was a large hole in the ground.

Deborah and Nanase looked at Skylar, who swallowed and nodded. Nanase glanced around, her eyes narrowing, before she focused on the hole, the entrance to a cave. "He's in the cave. Sleeping, I think."

Skylar and Deborah started forward, but Nanse held them back. She pulled a small notebook and a pen out of thin air, then concentrated for a moment before scribbling something down and tearing out the sheet, casually tossing the notebook and pen into the air, where they vanished. She held the paper to Deborah. "These are the coordinates here - much better than using cardinal directions and distances, wouldn't you say?"

The police officer's eyes widened as she looked at the GPS coordinates, then back at Nanase. "How..." she began, but cut herself off, shaking her head and smiling with a slight chuckle. "Magic?"

Nanase flashed a quick grin. "Magic," she confirmed, before focusing back on the cave. "Stay close," she instructed the other two. "From what you've told me, I don't think he'll attack us, but if he does, you need to be able to touch me at a moment's notice so I can teleport us to safety." Only once her companions murmured their understanding did she start forward, generating a small ball of light as they entered the dark cave.

They walked for almost a minute, the cave sloping down and curving to the right, before they entered a larger, almost egg-shaped cavern. Laying curled up to one side was the dragon, Amtheryn. He didn't stir. In fact...

"He's... he's not breathing!" Deborah gasped.

Nanase frowned, walking forward briskly, but slowed when, with a deep rushing sound, the dragon started to inhale, his chest rising. After over a dozen seconds, he exhaled, then stilled after a dozen more.

Slowly, Nanase laid a hand on the dragon's side, her eyes closed as she concentrated. "He's sleeping," she said. "Almost like a True Sleep, but..." she withdrew her hand and shook her head, eyes opening as she stared at the sleeping dragon in consternation.

"True Sleep?" Skylar asked, keeping her distance from Amtheryn.

Nanase looked over at her niece. "Dragons basically have two different modes: 'awake,' where they stay awake for long stretches of time and sometimes sleep for any amount of time between hours and days, and sleeping - what's called 'True Sleep' to differentiate from the shorter naps they take when awake. True Sleep lasts for months, potentially years, and several occur between key points in their lives. The first happens a decade after hatching..." she trailed off, frowning at the dragon once again.

"Amtheryn is nine years old. Maybe he started early?" Skylar suggested.

But Nanase shook her head. "Maybe he did, but this isn't a True Sleep. For a True Sleep, a dragon first gluts itself with prey for almost a week beforehand, then seals the entrance - or entrances - to its lair, to keep from being discovered while they sleep. These are instinctual things, much like the few 'mandatory' True Sleeps, and are never not done. And while sleeping, the dragon breathes slowly and deeply, usually one constant breath over the course of a minute or two." The dragon took another 30-second breath, and Nanase shook her head again. "Not these short, shallow breaths - well, short and shallow by dragon standards."

"Then what is he doing?" Deborah asked. "Could he just be taking a 'nap,' as you put it?"

Nanase's frown deepened. "Possibly, but I doubt it. Dragons retain a good bit of their perceptions and awareness of the world while they nap - he would know we were here, and likely would have awakened to confront us, especially with Skylar being here."

"Maybe he's hiding from us?" Skylar asked. "Like when a kid throws a temper tantrum and pretends to be asleep, ignoring others?"

"Possibly, but again, I don't think so." Nanase sighed in frustration, holding her chin and beginning to pace as she thought. "This feels like a True Sleep, just all wrong. It's almost as though..." she trailed off again, coming to a halt and slowly raising her head to stare at the sleeping dragon. "No," she breathed out in disbelief. "Would he really... could that..."

"What?" Skylar asked, the worry in her voice surprising everyone, herself included. "What is it?"

Nanase turned to her niece, her lips slightly parted in surprise at her own revelation. "He's entered a True Sleep, yes, but not a mandatory one, nor a normal one," she said, her voice slow and grim. "He's entered the Final Sleep. He's dying."