Lio Fotia (
carrythetorch) wrote in
formmusebox2020-04-28 08:40 pm
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[For Sam] Healer & Dragon
It had all gone wrong this time. In retrospect, Lio thinks maybe he'd been going too hard. He was on the brink of exhaustion, and his latest raid on livestock had been met with more resistance than it should have, almost as if someone had known he was coming.
He'd gotten away, thankfully, but not before he'd taken a number of blows -- arrows shot from crossbows with enough power that they'd pierced even through his scales. He'd ripped them out in flight and set the better part of a fallow field on fire before he'd flapped high enough to disappear into the cloud cover. That had been what saved him. It wasn't long before he couldn't keep himself aloft any longer, too much pain, too much blood lost.
Even maintaining his full draconic form is too much, and as he plunges to the Earth and tries to slow his descent with his wings, he fizzles back into his human shape, a lithe, slender man. His clothes are dark enough that the blood soaking them isn't obvious from a distance. He lands in a crumpled pile not far from a road through the woods, just off the trail in the underbrush. And that's the last thing he knows.
...
When he opens his eyes next, he's warmer than he expects to be. There's soft blankets beneath him and over him. He can smell something clean and earthy, herbal maybe, and light spills in setting the whole room in a comforting brightness and-- wait. He's in a room. The last thing he remembers is falling, and, oh.
He sits up all at once, hissing at the way his body protests the movement. Where is he? Has he been captured? Except no, if he'd been captured he'd be bound. Or dead. Maybe staked through to the ground. Not wrapped in soft blankets and tended to. "Where am I?" He asks the question mostly to himself as he blinks against his bleary vision willing it to clear, willing his eyes to focus.
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"I'll keep you safe. All of you. No matter what it takes." This is his family now too, and Lio will incinerate anyone who thinks they can bring them harm.
"Rest. You did a lot today." And Lio, well, Lio will rest too. He reaches out to brush his fingertips along the closest of the eggs. This is the first time he's ever considered having a future, really. That's the last thought before he drifts off to sleep.
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He is very large and wrapped around the eggs and Lio himself. The sunlight shines on his sunset colored scales. The tip of his tail is over Lio like a blanket. A plume of pale smoke rises from his nostrils as he opens his eyes and peers down at Lio. He smiles and dips his head, brushing the edge of it against him.
“Morning.” He pauses and raises his head. The branches at the entrance whisper about a pair of dragons circling the forest. He nods. “There’s a pair of dragons circling the forest. Should I let them in?”
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He sits up, stretching before looking back at Galo. Pair of dragons. "Meis and Gueira. Let them in. I want you to meet them."
He reaches over to brush his fingertips along the eggs. Morning, babies. With that he climbs to his feet, ready to be the Dragon Lord and explain what's going on.
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At first nothing happens then the area before the entrance darkens and a large black dragon edged in a dark pink lands before the gap. His wide wings spread out as he shouts, “Lord!” Right before he sees what is behind them.
His eyes go wide and his jaw drops. Galo grins a little. “Forest bids you welcome. Come in so your pal can come in too.” The dragon slowly ambles in as his form shrinks and he becomes a tall man with flame red hair. His eyes haven’t left the eggs. “How?”
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His attention shifts to the door as Gueira appears. "Gueira," he greets, glancing back. "A lot has happened. We'll explain everything."
Another shadow drops from the sky, the sleek black and teal form quickly melting down to another tall, thin man who steps in behind Gueira and freezes for the exact same reason. He looks from the eggs to Lio and then the other man. "We saw the flames from the village yesterday. Everyone felt..." something. And clearly something happened.
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He taps the dragon of flame’s tattoo on his chest. Like the whorls of wind and curves of water it is clearly- Gueira looks at Lio. “A pact?”
He doesn’t know what to say. He feels like words aren’t enough for the magnitude of what that means. A healer paid the due respect to dragons they should have. “...that doesn’t explain...” he stares at the eggs in wonder again. Eggs. Precious future dragons right here.
He swallows and Galo says softly, “The Judgment was on Kray. Turns out he was a dragon. Older than all of you and determined to open a way to some new place he could be a god.” He snarls and smoke rises from the edges of his mouth. He takes a breath in an attempt to tame it.
His fury is still there burning inside him. Kray has murdered so many to achieve his goals. He still hasn’t dealt with the fact Kray killed his parents for not following along with him.
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Lio looks at the healer-turned-dragon now with a dangerously fond expression, unguarded for a moment before he realizes it and schools his expression back to its usual Dragon Lord calm.
"The Judgment stripped Kray's magic. He's no longer a dragon. And it gave us Galo. And..." his gaze shifts to the eggs. "A future. Born out of my old flames and Galo's new ones."
Meis looks from the eggs to Galo to Lio and to Gueira. "Kray isn't a threat anymore." They'll have a lot of rebuilding to do, but if Kray is no longer capturing and murdering their kind, then they can do it.
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One that they don't have to leave. All of the tension drains out of him and he leans against Meis. "We don't have to hide anymore." He breathes and Galo nods. "A lot of people saw the Judgment. They know what dragons really are and I'll keep spreading the word." Without a word, he lays his own hand over Lio's.
Gueira doesn't put together the fact that the eggs are Lio's just yet. But he will.
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The more the merrier, especially if it's someone who helped eliminate Kray.
Lio nods in agreement. "We'll all keep spreading the truth. And mm... we can make a home again. For everyone." And they'll be safe to live their lives. Lio looks over at Galo as that hand settles atop his own, a flicker of a smile making its way over his lips.
It's Meis who asks. "But the eggs. Whose are they?" Please explain the eggs.
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Then he pauses and looks to Lio. "Ah, like Lio said. Those eggs were made by the Earth mixing my new fire and Lio's together." Gueira chokes on air. "That means-!"
Galo nods again and a different sort of pride enters his eyes. It's fierce and protective, the shadow of the dragon he is within his eyes. "Yeah. They're our hatchlings. Anyone tries to hurt these eggs has to get through us," The branches at the edge of the cave rustle and shift, whispering and hissing. "And the Forest. It likes being the place for new life and the new place for dragons to train as healers if they want to." He hadn't mentioned that to Lio but it makes sense and he doubts he'll say no.
They need more than just him.
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The entire clan will fight to protect new young. It's so rare, these days, as hunted as they've been. "Healers, huh?" They could use healers.
Lio is having a little trouble containing his pride -- and a shyer, softer feeling that he's trying not to think about too much -- as Galo says our hatchlings. "That's right. We won't let any harm come to them."
A breath, like he's finally remembering how to breathe again. "Careful. You'll be overrun at this rate." But this place, well, it is a place of new beginnings. He straightens up now, every bit the lord of the Dragons that he is. "We're reclaiming our place in this world, as part of the balance, as the beings of the fire that both creates and destroys."
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He squeezes Lio’s hand but doesn’t add what he wants to. Not yet. They have guests and private matters are private. Gueira notices the subtle air between his Firelord and this healer Galo. It’s hard to see but both seem to be leaning into each other as if they need the other.
Something happened. Something other than a judgment and eggs. He puffs up too, “yeah! We’ll be back where we belong and rebalancing the world!” He is a smart enough second to look to Meis and say, “we should go spread the word. Everyone needs to know what’s changed.” And of the new dragons that need defending.
Galo nods, “Forest will let you back in if you ask. Anyone that needs healing it will direct directly to me. Lio and I can get anyone back on their claws!”
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Gueira distracts him from his thoughts and brings him back to present. He casts him a grateful look, nodding. "They do. There may still be danger, but we can make sure everyone stays safe until we undo the damage Kray has done."
And they will. He looks back at Galo with another smile. "That's true, isn't it"
Meis nods, catching Gueira's intention. "We'll come back after we've spoken to the others, let you know how things are going."
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Once both Gueira and Meis are gone, Galo relaxes a bit. Lio’s hand is warm and he resists the urge to thread their fingers together. He isn’t ready to deal with that. They have so much to do first. “Guess we can expect some company. I got to do more reshaping to really make it comfortable for the eggs. Leaving them out in the open like this is temporary. I need to get the bedroom shaped big enough for us and them.”
He adds a little shyly, “If you...want to share the bedroom. I can make separate adjoining rooms if that’s easier.”
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This new dragon is by far the cutest thing he's ever seen in his life. He's sweet and-- oh.
Oh that's what this is. He's gone and caught feelings for this headstrong healer who stood with him against Kray, who helped him save his people. Well, they're apparently having children, so maybe that's for the best. Now the question becomes, is it just him?
"For us and them. I think sharing is better, don't you?" He steps in closer then, looking up at Galo. "We're going to be a family, after all."
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"I like sharing with you. Feels right. Why do you think I crashed in the main room while you were recovering?" The bedroom is a lot of woven mats and blankets, with the heat of the hot springs running under the stone. A thick mat of dry grasses and feathers serves as his bed. Galo studies it for a moment and nods to himself.
"Okay, first thing's first. Bed preferences? Other than it being warm. Got that covered."
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"Warm is definitely good. Big enough for all of us. Not too big though." Better to be close, he thinks, to Galo. And the eggs.
What Galo said before is still kicking around in his head. "I like sharing with you, too." It does feel right. So, so very right.
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It's just deep enough to provide a bit of a buffer while allowing them to be slightly separated from the rest of the room. A chamber opens up in the wall, the forest dropping thick grass and branches in it from above. Feathers and soft shed fur line the nest woven by Healer and his forest.
He breathes in and the wind carries the eggs one by one, gently slipping them into the new nest. When the last egg is safely settled Galo leans into Lio with a soft huff. "Man, I'm still a bit tired. Not used to how my magic works now. It's so..."
He gestures with his hand. "Stronger. Like..." He searches for the words and rests his chin on Lio's shoulder, his arms going around him automatically. "I dunno the comparison feels like I'm an ocean now when before I was just a lantern flame asking for help from everything else."
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Then Galo is leaning into him, and he's warm and solid enough that there's no way to pretend this is anything but real. His arms move to wrap around the other dragon just as automatically, quietly musing over how right and comfortable it feels.
"You're an elemental now. It's not just borrowed magic from your forest." Galo isn't wrong. He was a lantern flame, and now he's his own inferno.
Lio unwraps one arm from Galo, to reach toward the eggs, flames flickering from his fingertips and making their way to wreath around and in between the eggs in their nest, burning nothing, but making certain they're warm, bathed in his own fire.
Without really thinking about it in any conscious way, he turns to nuzzle right into Galo's cheek where the other is rested against his shoulder. Something deep and instinctual is singing that his mate is here and safe and warm.
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His hand falls back to his side as he presses most of his weight into Lio. “Kinda want to go to bed now or at least nap a bit. You seem a little tired too.”
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The eggs. The dragons. Everyone.
As Galo leans into him, he nods. "Yeah. You should rest. I wouldn't mind sleeping for a while either." Or well, he wouldn't mind curling up in this nest with Galo and their surprise family. "Come on." He ducks back enough so that he can take his hands and urge him back towards the bed.
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"Yeah, let's. Yeah." There's so much he wants to say. It's visible on his face as he slowly lays back. "...glad you're staying and okay with all of this. I dunno how I'd have handled it without you."
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He reaches a hand out to trace the mark that their pact left on Galo's chest. "We were already bound together, Galo Thymos. And now we're a family."
Something he never really thought he'd have, never dared to be hopeful enough that he could. But here he is, and the eggs still cozied in the nest, wreathed in the lingering flame, are a future.
And Galo... Lio wonders if Galo could ever look at him as a mate.
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“I like you here like this. Feel balanced when you’re in reach. It’s...” He visibly searches for the words, pressing his lips together and brow furrowed. He says slowly, choosing his words instead of his usual charging forward. “Even if we didn’t have the eggs, I’d have wanted to be like this with you.”
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He chose to share his bed, to settle in close. He chose to this, and he wouldn't change his mind. Not a chance. Everything about this feels right. And it sounds like Galo feels the same. "I like being here. It feels right. I--"
Even without the eggs? Lio blinks at him, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. "You would? With me?" He leans closer, gaze searching Galo's face for the answer even before he speaks it. Everything about this man has been too good to be true from the beginning, but it keeps being true again and again and again.
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