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Chapter 20

"They can't fly through the tunnels, and they can't have gotten far on foot so far.  So we search all the exits to the Nexus, until we find one with a fresh trail." Agera said, handing out radio units pulled from some spare suits.  The group had recruited Ronan's personal elite guard which included five different trackers, "Me, Ronan, and Vienzo are going to remain here and search the Nexus ourselves.  If anyone finds anything, we will join you within two minutes.  Understood?"

Her squadron saluted with wing, and Ronan's guard gave a short bow.  Fortunately, none of them had called her goddess, all of them having used the far more preferable "m'lady".

"I don't like staying here, Agera.  I should be out there, looking." Agera pushed Vienzo gently aside and moved into the crowds.

"You are looking, Enzo, just not with them.  She's still here." Ronan said, smiling.

"I'm not sure they're still here." He said grumpily.

"Enzo, honestly, the best place to hide is in plain sight." She walked up to a street vendor, "Excuse me?  I'm looking for a thunder dragonelle and her bonded void.  Have you seen anyone like that?"

The merchant chuckled, "Your going to have to be more specific."

"That's all I've got to go on I'm afraid." Agera said wryly.

"Sorry, I've seen at least a dozen couples like that today." Agera nodded.

"Well that was a waste." Vienzo said as soon as they walked away.

"No, that was proving my point.  We could go in any direction we want and get the same answer." Agera said.

"So why are you so confident we'll find them?" He asked.

"Because Venus will make sure of it." She reached up and pushed his head around to look at a sign post.  On it was carved a light "w".

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vienzo asked quietly, running a claw along the etching, "It's just a letter?"

"Enzo, Venus was raised by royalty.  Don't you think she planned for this entire event?" Agera said, shaking her head at him, "And it's not one letter, it's two.  It's a double 'v'."

"Venus and Vienzo." He said quietly.

"To someone else, the letters mean nothing.  But she knew you would understand it was meant for you.  Or at least someone would.  It was a plan she told me ages ago..."

Vienzo extended his neck as long as he could trying to spot the next mark.  He looked carefully, diligently and was rewarded for his efforts.  Another mark lay on a tent post about a dozen feet away.  Agera and Ronan followed as he moved down the street at a slow trot following the trail of obscure breadcrumbs.  As they went the streets got quieter and quieter, and eventually they entered an abandoned residential district.

Vienzo finally came to the last marker.  He knew it was the last because of how it was written.  At the tail end of the second V, the line curved off and then squiggled down the post.  Vienzo sniffed at the ground and smelled blood, dried for a few hours.  It was carved on the wooden doorway to an abandoned hovel.

The house had a broken, run down atmosphere.  Vienzo pushed on the front door and it opened inwards with a loud squeak.  No one was on the ground floor, but they could hear subtle creaking from upstairs.

"You know this is a trap?" Ronan whispered to Agera.

"Of course." Agera whispered back, then proceeded inside.  They crept upstairs slowly, trying to minimize the sound they made.  But it was no good.  Agera heard a loud squeak from under her paw as a floorboard protested to her weight, and the movement and quiet whispers ceased as the occupants of the room listened carefully.

"DOWN!" Ronan suddenly shouted, and Agera hit the deck, her element going berserk as shadow bolts flew overhead in super slow motion.  Agera herself time weaved the whole house, slithering as if in water around the hostile fire.  She grabbed one of the shadowy Voidwing ghosts by the horn and gently twisted.  But even a gentle nudge in a very short time span becomes a massive application of force.  Her foes head was wrenched from his body in a spray of blood.  She kicked the second attacker in the chest, and his rib cage caved inwards, turning his hearts, lungs, and muscles into a soggy mash.  He flew down to the end of the hallway and cracked the wall when she released her element.

The severed head was still clutched in her paws, it's body fell to the ground with a dull thud and twitched spasmodically for about twenty seconds and then became still, blood still oozing from the neck...

Agera dropped the head and vomited violently over the side of the corpse.

"Sad to see a warrior who can't even stomach her own work." Came a voice from the room at the end of the hall.  Agera looked up to find a shadow dragon standing in the room, with Venus bound by chains.  She had rubber gloves around her paws in case things got dicey and she could use her powers.  She was bruised and beaten in places.  A black eye was nearly swollen shut on her left side, and on her right was a large cut running down her cheek.  Blood leaked from her mouth from a tongue that had been bitten open by her own doing.  Her fins were disheveled where the foul creatures had grabbed a hold of her.

"Venus!" Vienzo stepped Into the room, followed closely by Agera and Ronan, "Venus, are you OK?"

"Enzo, I..." the shadow dragon laughed.  Agera could see still unwashed gray paint on his scales.

"Your mate.  Oh, Vienzo, I envy you, to have that body every night..." He said quietly, running a claw down her flank.  The female shivered and tried to pull away, but she was bound too tightly for that.

Vienzo was shaking uncontrollably now, he half turned his head to Agera, "May I?"

"Have him."

"Oh there'll be no having anybody anymore.  I've already had my fun." He said, looking Venus up and down, "And you've already had yours.  Only there's someone whose been missing out."

Agera heard movement to her right, and turned to find Avila's consort padding towards her on silent paws.  He was huge for a Rasa, standing head, neck, and shoulders over Ronan, who was already big himself.

"Agera, contact, two, six.  I got them." Ronan whispered behind her.

"Two more, nine." Vienzo added.

Two final Rasani ghosts emerged from the shadows in front of Agera.  She watched Vienzo prowl towards the shadow drake guarding his mate, his shoulders hunched in a half crouch, teeth bared in a feral snarl, growling quietly, muscles bunched.

"I don't even have the advantage of knowing your names." Agera said quietly.  The two flanking void only leered at her, but the consort nodded.

"Takan." He struck then, and Agera was only just able to ward off the claw strike at her throat, deflecting it upwards with her foreleg.  The tail strike to the head made it through though, and she took a nasty gash under her right eye.  Her horn warded off most of the blow, but it left her with a terrible ringing.  Agera only had time to block before he was out of melee range.

Two things were apparent to her.  The first was that she couldn't control time like normal.  Whenever she tried to use her powers, there was only a faint buzzing noise, and a vibration in her gut, like something was trying to get out.  The second was that THIS Rasani knew how to fight.

"I was under the impression that a golden drakian's powers couldn't be blocked." She said quietly.

"The skill can be taught..." Takan replied matter of factly.  It was like they were talking about the weather.  Agera backed off.  One of her versus three of them was a fair fight if she had her element.  If she didn't, then the odds were in their favor.  She had to do something, fast.

One of the flanking void lunged at her, and she jumped back, biting at his head, but only scoring some shallow ineffective marks on the male.  She jumped back directly into Ronan.

"Any ideas, sweetheart?" She shot back over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on her foes.

"It's your turn, dear."

"I got this guys." Vienzo growled.  Fire burned in his eyes, "They're so worried about Agera that they haven't blocked me."

"So what're you going to do?" Agera hissed back at him.

In response, Vienzo lifted a paw and racked the ground with his claws.  He repeated the motion over and over, slowly digging wider and deeper furrows into the wood.  Suddenly his tail slapped the ground, and the wooden boards that made up the abandoned home began to rattle and shake.  The void glanced at each other nervously.

Suddenly, a thousand different spikes of crystal shot out of the ground, lancing towards the different void at the speed of a bullet.  Only Takan managed to dodge the attack, and he still took several long gashes along his side.

The shadow dragon who had been holding Venus took the full force of the dozen or so spears that pierced his body.  Each one was at least six inches wide.  Agera could hear hemorrhaging organs as the rods passed through his body and emerged on the other side.  Vienzo twisted a paw, his teeth gleaming in a savage snarl and the weapons glowed.  The shadow dragon looked at him with wide eyes, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Have your fun with this." Vienzo spat at him, and the spikes burst into a million different shards.

Nothing was left of the black drake except chunks of meat.  Takan turned tail and fled, brute forcing himself through the wall and taking off, making a beeline for the nearest tunnel.

"By the Ancient." Agera said softly, treading on bits of splintered bone, "Enzo, remind me never to piss you off."

Vienzo had eyes only for his mate.  Oddly enough though, she seemed more scared than he was.

"Vienzo, love.  Are you OK?" She asked quietly as he approached and nosed over her, checking for more harm.  He pulled back and looked at her.

"I'm... tired." He said quietly, "I'm...   just tired."

Venus grabbed his horns with her wings and pulled him down to her, kissing him gently, sensually.  She caressed his jaw and chin and ran a paw down the back of his neck as he leaned over her.

Agera blushed.  It was the most she had ever seen Venus get affectionate with her mate.

As much as she had envied Italia, she envied Venus even more...

"Come on lovebirds.  We need to get you back to camp."

"Where's the egg?" Venus looked down at the floor, over near the wall.  A small elliptical sphere lay in the corner, broken into chunks. Vienzo let out a strangled cry.

"Honey, relax.  That's not our egg." Vienzo picked up a fragment and held it up in the light.  Agera could see a gray interior, "I had that fashioned just after I laid.  It was a hollow stone that he took from our tent."

"Wait, so where's the egg then?"

"So let me get this straight.  My former number two comes to you with her freshly laid egg." Agera said, looking at Italia and Diablo, "She tells you that something odd is going on, and she wants you to hold onto and care for the egg."

"Yes." Italia said quietly.

"And you were fine with this?"

"Of course." Italia said nodding, "She was part of our squadron.  She's family."

Agera was impressed.

"I'm impressed." She said, raising an eye ridge.

"Does this mean we don't have to clean the latrines?" Diablo asked nervously.  Agera grabbed his busted horn and he winced, but Agera only twisted his head playfully.

"You're not getting out of it that easily, bozo.  But you can join us for breakfast." She said turning from the couple back to Venus and Vienzo.  Venus was clutching her egg now tightly to her chest.  Spider webs of blue and white ran down it in jagged patterns, making the tiny sphere look like it was made of crystals.  It was tiny.

"Venus, I..." Agera started, but her sister cut her off.

"Thank-you for the help, Agera." She said quietly, and she turned from her best friend.

"Venus, wait!  After all that, are you still going to be mad at me?  I thought..."

"You thought?  You never think, you just do.  That entire trap was laid for you, you know.  They knew that to get to you, they'd have to get to me.  You nearly killed more of my family today Agera.  Think about that..." She went to walk off, but suddenly Vienzo stopped and turned, and looked at her.

"Enzo, what..."

"That is enough, dear." He said looking at Agera, "I think she's suffered enough, don't you?  I think you've suffered enough..."

Venus turned around and looked at them both, and then bowed her head, "I never wanted anyone to suffer.  I just wanted to be safe. Agera, you wanted to make a difference.  Me, I could care less.  I just want to be happy.  I want to live my life with my mate and my hatchling.  I wanted my child to meet their grand-sire and grand-dame."

Agera approached her sister, tears running down her face now, "I'm sorry, V.  I really, really am.  You're right.  I don't think things through.  I didn't think any of this through.  I honestly thought that if I tried hard enough, I could get all of us through without issues. Now with Jiza gone, and your mom and dad..."

"Agera..."

"I'm sorry..."

Venus and Agera talked that night like they rarely had before.  They talked about everything, from Janus' new favorite companions, Enya and Lajegha, a pair of hybrids who lived close by.  They were both extremely bubbly, extremely chatty and extremely pretty.  Agera agreed to let them join in for breakfast the next day.  They talked about Guin, and her secret lover with hushed voices.  Agera didn't mind telling Venus.  Sisters always kept secrets.  As they cracked open another round of beers, the talk turned to Sorrowsday and what everyone was doing for the celebrations.  Due to her injuries, Venus and Vienzo wouldn't be going, so they volunteered to watch Nero, whom Venus had fallen in love with the moment he had opened his mouth and called her "Auntie V".

Janus left for fifteen minutes at around four in the morning, as the celebrations were winding down, and returned with a full sixteen pack of Corona's.

"Janus, how did you manage to get those?" Agera asked as he passed out bottles.  He gave one to each of his girls as they snuck up under his wings.

"I swiped 'em, from alpha squadron.  They've been siphoning supplies all month." Agera laughed as he passed her a bottle.  She took it and looked around at her friends...

Her family...

"I propose a toast!" She said, holding up her freshly opened bottle.  Everyone looked at her, even Nero climbed onto her shoulder and looked up at her with big eyes.  Ten dragons stood before her, and pride swelled inside of her.

"It's been a long road.  We've lost loved ones, family, and we might lose more.  But that's not important.  No one lives forever.  What's important is what you do when you're alive, what you do right now.  Remember this moment.  Because at the end of your days, whether that's tomorrow or two thousand years from now, moments and family like this is all that matters.

It's been a long day, friends.  And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

Salud de la familia."

There was clinking glass, "Salud."

The next morning, Agera woke earlier than the others, groggily rising from next to Ronan with a groan.  Her scales clung to her with sweat and dirt, and she intended to do a deep cleaning before Sorrowsday began.

She also had a big hangover, and the cold shower did wonders to clear her head.  The water running gently down her horns, beneath her scales and across her sensitive skin, trickling across her chest and dripping down her flanks.  It all felt so soothing.

The water suddenly warmed.  It didn't burn or scald her, but it soothed her aches and pains away.  A paw ran down her powerful wing muscles to her chest, ran to her stomach and firmly grabbed a hind leg, pulling its silver owner in towards her to breath on the back of her head with lust.

"Ronan..." She moaned quietly.  His presence surrounded her, the water running off his strong body to trickle against her slim athletic build, carrying with it the scent of his arousal.

"Ronan." She said his name stronger this time, reluctantly opening her eyes and looking up at him, "Not now.  Not with everyone just outside."

He didn't seem to want to hear a word of it.  He growled at her, running his paw down her body again, going lower this time, and she shivered.

"You want this.  You've been aching for this." He said quietly into her horn.  She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, relishing his words, "You've been wanting this for much longer than you would care to admit.  Ever since you started taking those occasional private 'walks'. Ever since you walked in on Kiesah and Pyrrus on one of the many visits to their home to see Venus.  They never knew, but you never forgot, did you..."

How the fuck does he know about that?!?!

"You're jealous too.  You want what Venus and Italia have.  You want to know their passion and joy.  You want to relieve all that anxiety and stress.  You want to rid yourself of this aggravation and aggression.

I can do that.  And you know I can do that.  Do you want it though?"

He was so close to her now.  Closer than anyone or anything had ever been before.  She had never known anyone like him, and no one but him would ever know her the way he did.

"Agera, do you want this?"

"Fuck yes..." She grabbed behind his head with her wings and pulled him down to her as her breathing stopped.  Her hearts skittered and pattered in her chest as he stole them from her.  The water ran off the back of his head and down her nose, making them both glisten and shine...

Someone snored loudly in the other room...

She reluctantly broke the kiss, but smiled up at her man.

"That...   has been a long time coming my love." Agera said half lidding her eyes at him, flirting heavily.  He smiled goofily back at her.

"Love?  You sound like Venus now." He said.  She leaned into his chest and he hugged her close with his wings.  They stood there, and Agera didn't think she could possibly get any happier.

Description
Chapter 20

"They can't fly through the tunnels, and they can't have gotten far on foot so far.  So we search all the exits to the Nexus, until we find one with a fresh trail." Agera said, handing out radio units pulled from some spare suits.  The group had recruited Ronan's personal elite guard which included five different trackers, "Me, Ronan, and Vienzo are going to remain here and search the Nexus ourselves.  If anyone finds anything, we will join you within two minutes.  Understood?"

Her squadron saluted with wing, and Ronan's guard gave a short bow.  Fortunately, none of them had called her goddess, all of them having used the far more preferable "m'lady".

"I don't like staying here, Agera.  I should be out there, looking." Agera pushed Vienzo gently aside and moved into the crowds.

"You are looking, Enzo, just not with them.  She's still here." Ronan said, smiling.

"I'm not sure they're still here." He said grumpily.

"Enzo, honestly, the best place to hide is in plain sight." She walked up to a street vendor, "Excuse me?  I'm looking for a thunder dragonelle and her bonded void.  Have you seen anyone like that?"

The merchant chuckled, "Your going to have to be more specific."

"That's all I've got to go on I'm afraid." Agera said wryly.

"Sorry, I've seen at least a dozen couples like that today." Agera nodded.

"Well that was a waste." Vienzo said as soon as they walked away.

"No, that was proving my point.  We could go in any direction we want and get the same answer." Agera said.

"So why are you so confident we'll find them?" He asked.

"Because Venus will make sure of it." She reached up and pushed his head around to look at a sign post.  On it was carved a light "w".

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vienzo asked quietly, running a claw along the etching, "It's just a letter?"

"Enzo, Venus was raised by royalty.  Don't you think she planned for this entire event?" Agera said, shaking her head at him, "And it's not one letter, it's two.  It's a double 'v'."

"Venus and Vienzo." He said quietly.

"To someone else, the letters mean nothing.  But she knew you would understand it was meant for you.  Or at least someone would.  It was a plan she told me ages ago..."

Vienzo extended his neck as long as he could trying to spot the next mark.  He looked carefully, diligently and was rewarded for his efforts.  Another mark lay on a tent post about a dozen feet away.  Agera and Ronan followed as he moved down the street at a slow trot following the trail of obscure breadcrumbs.  As they went the streets got quieter and quieter, and eventually they entered an abandoned residential district.

Vienzo finally came to the last marker.  He knew it was the last because of how it was written.  At the tail end of the second V, the line curved off and then squiggled down the post.  Vienzo sniffed at the ground and smelled blood, dried for a few hours.  It was carved on the wooden doorway to an abandoned hovel.

The house had a broken, run down atmosphere.  Vienzo pushed on the front door and it opened inwards with a loud squeak.  No one was on the ground floor, but they could hear subtle creaking from upstairs.

"You know this is a trap?" Ronan whispered to Agera.

"Of course." Agera whispered back, then proceeded inside.  They crept upstairs slowly, trying to minimize the sound they made.  But it was no good.  Agera heard a loud squeak from under her paw as a floorboard protested to her weight, and the movement and quiet whispers ceased as the occupants of the room listened carefully.

"DOWN!" Ronan suddenly shouted, and Agera hit the deck, her element going berserk as shadow bolts flew overhead in super slow motion.  Agera herself time weaved the whole house, slithering as if in water around the hostile fire.  She grabbed one of the shadowy Voidwing ghosts by the horn and gently twisted.  But even a gentle nudge in a very short time span becomes a massive application of force.  Her foes head was wrenched from his body in a spray of blood.  She kicked the second attacker in the chest, and his rib cage caved inwards, turning his hearts, lungs, and muscles into a soggy mash.  He flew down to the end of the hallway and cracked the wall when she released her element.

The severed head was still clutched in her paws, it's body fell to the ground with a dull thud and twitched spasmodically for about twenty seconds and then became still, blood still oozing from the neck...

Agera dropped the head and vomited violently over the side of the corpse.

"Sad to see a warrior who can't even stomach her own work." Came a voice from the room at the end of the hall.  Agera looked up to find a shadow dragon standing in the room, with Venus bound by chains.  She had rubber gloves around her paws in case things got dicey and she could use her powers.  She was bruised and beaten in places.  A black eye was nearly swollen shut on her left side, and on her right was a large cut running down her cheek.  Blood leaked from her mouth from a tongue that had been bitten open by her own doing.  Her fins were disheveled where the foul creatures had grabbed a hold of her.

"Venus!" Vienzo stepped Into the room, followed closely by Agera and Ronan, "Venus, are you OK?"

"Enzo, I..." the shadow dragon laughed.  Agera could see still unwashed gray paint on his scales.

"Your mate.  Oh, Vienzo, I envy you, to have that body every night..." He said quietly, running a claw down her flank.  The female shivered and tried to pull away, but she was bound too tightly for that.

Vienzo was shaking uncontrollably now, he half turned his head to Agera, "May I?"

"Have him."

"Oh there'll be no having anybody anymore.  I've already had my fun." He said, looking Venus up and down, "And you've already had yours.  Only there's someone whose been missing out."

Agera heard movement to her right, and turned to find Avila's consort padding towards her on silent paws.  He was huge for a Rasa, standing head, neck, and shoulders over Ronan, who was already big himself.

"Agera, contact, two, six.  I got them." Ronan whispered behind her.

"Two more, nine." Vienzo added.

Two final Rasani ghosts emerged from the shadows in front of Agera.  She watched Vienzo prowl towards the shadow drake guarding his mate, his shoulders hunched in a half crouch, teeth bared in a feral snarl, growling quietly, muscles bunched.

"I don't even have the advantage of knowing your names." Agera said quietly.  The two flanking void only leered at her, but the consort nodded.

"Takan." He struck then, and Agera was only just able to ward off the claw strike at her throat, deflecting it upwards with her foreleg.  The tail strike to the head made it through though, and she took a nasty gash under her right eye.  Her horn warded off most of the blow, but it left her with a terrible ringing.  Agera only had time to block before he was out of melee range.

Two things were apparent to her.  The first was that she couldn't control time like normal.  Whenever she tried to use her powers, there was only a faint buzzing noise, and a vibration in her gut, like something was trying to get out.  The second was that THIS Rasani knew how to fight.

"I was under the impression that a golden drakian's powers couldn't be blocked." She said quietly.

"The skill can be taught..." Takan replied matter of factly.  It was like they were talking about the weather.  Agera backed off.  One of her versus three of them was a fair fight if she had her element.  If she didn't, then the odds were in their favor.  She had to do something, fast.

One of the flanking void lunged at her, and she jumped back, biting at his head, but only scoring some shallow ineffective marks on the male.  She jumped back directly into Ronan.

"Any ideas, sweetheart?" She shot back over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on her foes.

"It's your turn, dear."

"I got this guys." Vienzo growled.  Fire burned in his eyes, "They're so worried about Agera that they haven't blocked me."

"So what're you going to do?" Agera hissed back at him.

In response, Vienzo lifted a paw and racked the ground with his claws.  He repeated the motion over and over, slowly digging wider and deeper furrows into the wood.  Suddenly his tail slapped the ground, and the wooden boards that made up the abandoned home began to rattle and shake.  The void glanced at each other nervously.

Suddenly, a thousand different spikes of crystal shot out of the ground, lancing towards the different void at the speed of a bullet.  Only Takan managed to dodge the attack, and he still took several long gashes along his side.

The shadow dragon who had been holding Venus took the full force of the dozen or so spears that pierced his body.  Each one was at least six inches wide.  Agera could hear hemorrhaging organs as the rods passed through his body and emerged on the other side.  Vienzo twisted a paw, his teeth gleaming in a savage snarl and the weapons glowed.  The shadow dragon looked at him with wide eyes, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Have your fun with this." Vienzo spat at him, and the spikes burst into a million different shards.

Nothing was left of the black drake except chunks of meat.  Takan turned tail and fled, brute forcing himself through the wall and taking off, making a beeline for the nearest tunnel.

"By the Ancient." Agera said softly, treading on bits of splintered bone, "Enzo, remind me never to piss you off."

Vienzo had eyes only for his mate.  Oddly enough though, she seemed more scared than he was.

"Vienzo, love.  Are you OK?" She asked quietly as he approached and nosed over her, checking for more harm.  He pulled back and looked at her.

"I'm... tired." He said quietly, "I'm...   just tired."

Venus grabbed his horns with her wings and pulled him down to her, kissing him gently, sensually.  She caressed his jaw and chin and ran a paw down the back of his neck as he leaned over her.

Agera blushed.  It was the most she had ever seen Venus get affectionate with her mate.

As much as she had envied Italia, she envied Venus even more...

"Come on lovebirds.  We need to get you back to camp."

"Where's the egg?" Venus looked down at the floor, over near the wall.  A small elliptical sphere lay in the corner, broken into chunks. Vienzo let out a strangled cry.

"Honey, relax.  That's not our egg." Vienzo picked up a fragment and held it up in the light.  Agera could see a gray interior, "I had that fashioned just after I laid.  It was a hollow stone that he took from our tent."

"Wait, so where's the egg then?"

"So let me get this straight.  My former number two comes to you with her freshly laid egg." Agera said, looking at Italia and Diablo, "She tells you that something odd is going on, and she wants you to hold onto and care for the egg."

"Yes." Italia said quietly.

"And you were fine with this?"

"Of course." Italia said nodding, "She was part of our squadron.  She's family."

Agera was impressed.

"I'm impressed." She said, raising an eye ridge.

"Does this mean we don't have to clean the latrines?" Diablo asked nervously.  Agera grabbed his busted horn and he winced, but Agera only twisted his head playfully.

"You're not getting out of it that easily, bozo.  But you can join us for breakfast." She said turning from the couple back to Venus and Vienzo.  Venus was clutching her egg now tightly to her chest.  Spider webs of blue and white ran down it in jagged patterns, making the tiny sphere look like it was made of crystals.  It was tiny.

"Venus, I..." Agera started, but her sister cut her off.

"Thank-you for the help, Agera." She said quietly, and she turned from her best friend.

"Venus, wait!  After all that, are you still going to be mad at me?  I thought..."

"You thought?  You never think, you just do.  That entire trap was laid for you, you know.  They knew that to get to you, they'd have to get to me.  You nearly killed more of my family today Agera.  Think about that..." She went to walk off, but suddenly Vienzo stopped and turned, and looked at her.

"Enzo, what..."

"That is enough, dear." He said looking at Agera, "I think she's suffered enough, don't you?  I think you've suffered enough..."

Venus turned around and looked at them both, and then bowed her head, "I never wanted anyone to suffer.  I just wanted to be safe. Agera, you wanted to make a difference.  Me, I could care less.  I just want to be happy.  I want to live my life with my mate and my hatchling.  I wanted my child to meet their grand-sire and grand-dame."

Agera approached her sister, tears running down her face now, "I'm sorry, V.  I really, really am.  You're right.  I don't think things through.  I didn't think any of this through.  I honestly thought that if I tried hard enough, I could get all of us through without issues. Now with Jiza gone, and your mom and dad..."

"Agera..."

"I'm sorry..."

Venus and Agera talked that night like they rarely had before.  They talked about everything, from Janus' new favorite companions, Enya and Lajegha, a pair of hybrids who lived close by.  They were both extremely bubbly, extremely chatty and extremely pretty.  Agera agreed to let them join in for breakfast the next day.  They talked about Guin, and her secret lover with hushed voices.  Agera didn't mind telling Venus.  Sisters always kept secrets.  As they cracked open another round of beers, the talk turned to Sorrowsday and what everyone was doing for the celebrations.  Due to her injuries, Venus and Vienzo wouldn't be going, so they volunteered to watch Nero, whom Venus had fallen in love with the moment he had opened his mouth and called her "Auntie V".

Janus left for fifteen minutes at around four in the morning, as the celebrations were winding down, and returned with a full sixteen pack of Corona's.

"Janus, how did you manage to get those?" Agera asked as he passed out bottles.  He gave one to each of his girls as they snuck up under his wings.

"I swiped 'em, from alpha squadron.  They've been siphoning supplies all month." Agera laughed as he passed her a bottle.  She took it and looked around at her friends...

Her family...

"I propose a toast!" She said, holding up her freshly opened bottle.  Everyone looked at her, even Nero climbed onto her shoulder and looked up at her with big eyes.  Ten dragons stood before her, and pride swelled inside of her.

"It's been a long road.  We've lost loved ones, family, and we might lose more.  But that's not important.  No one lives forever.  What's important is what you do when you're alive, what you do right now.  Remember this moment.  Because at the end of your days, whether that's tomorrow or two thousand years from now, moments and family like this is all that matters.

It's been a long day, friends.  And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

Salud de la familia."

There was clinking glass, "Salud."

The next morning, Agera woke earlier than the others, groggily rising from next to Ronan with a groan.  Her scales clung to her with sweat and dirt, and she intended to do a deep cleaning before Sorrowsday began.

She also had a big hangover, and the cold shower did wonders to clear her head.  The water running gently down her horns, beneath her scales and across her sensitive skin, trickling across her chest and dripping down her flanks.  It all felt so soothing.

The water suddenly warmed.  It didn't burn or scald her, but it soothed her aches and pains away.  A paw ran down her powerful wing muscles to her chest, ran to her stomach and firmly grabbed a hind leg, pulling its silver owner in towards her to breath on the back of her head with lust.

"Ronan..." She moaned quietly.  His presence surrounded her, the water running off his strong body to trickle against her slim athletic build, carrying with it the scent of his arousal.

"Ronan." She said his name stronger this time, reluctantly opening her eyes and looking up at him, "Not now.  Not with everyone just outside."

He didn't seem to want to hear a word of it.  He growled at her, running his paw down her body again, going lower this time, and she shivered.

"You want this.  You've been aching for this." He said quietly into her horn.  She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, relishing his words, "You've been wanting this for much longer than you would care to admit.  Ever since you started taking those occasional private 'walks'. Ever since you walked in on Kiesah and Pyrrus on one of the many visits to their home to see Venus.  They never knew, but you never forgot, did you..."

How the fuck does he know about that?!?!

"You're jealous too.  You want what Venus and Italia have.  You want to know their passion and joy.  You want to relieve all that anxiety and stress.  You want to rid yourself of this aggravation and aggression.

I can do that.  And you know I can do that.  Do you want it though?"

He was so close to her now.  Closer than anyone or anything had ever been before.  She had never known anyone like him, and no one but him would ever know her the way he did.

"Agera, do you want this?"

"Fuck yes..." She grabbed behind his head with her wings and pulled him down to her as her breathing stopped.  Her hearts skittered and pattered in her chest as he stole them from her.  The water ran off the back of his head and down her nose, making them both glisten and shine...

Someone snored loudly in the other room...

She reluctantly broke the kiss, but smiled up at her man.

"That...   has been a long time coming my love." Agera said half lidding her eyes at him, flirting heavily.  He smiled goofily back at her.

"Love?  You sound like Venus now." He said.  She leaned into his chest and he hugged her close with his wings.  They stood there, and Agera didn't think she could possibly get any happier.