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"You two enjoy yourselves?" A voice said as Agera stuck her head out of the shower unit to check if the coast was clear. Her head whipped around to find Italia leaning against the barrack wall, examining her claws non-chalantly.

Agera blushed hard as she just realized what she'd done, "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it, ma'am. I'd be happy to split that latrine duty with you. You know, to keep your head out of the shitter, you fucker..."

Agera stared at her wide eyed, "I..."

"Or perhaps you could pull duty the month after us..." Another voice. Agera turned her head to find Diablo approaching them with a big smile on his face, "Since you two can't seem to find some place private. We live here you know..."

Ronan was lovingly licking the back of her neck, hiding behind the door, and she shivered at the lewd feeling. However, as much as she loved the attention, she still elbowed him in the face...

"Or maybe..." Italia said, looking at Diablo.

"Just maybe..." Diablo said glancing at his mate, then they both turned to look back at her, "You could let us off the hook, we call it even, and we both promise, no more mating anywhere close to other people."

Agera paused, "You two have been waiting for this. This was to be your first morning of latrine duty. Italia, you should have been in here when I woke up."

"I would have been if two certain drakian weren't in a single drakian shower..." She said smiling, "What's it going to be, LT?"

"..."

"You're off the hook. Well played, you two..."

That wasn't the worst part though. No the worst part was when she walked out to the common room. And everyone turned and looked at her and Ronan. Agera froze like a deer in a pair of headlamps.

"How many of you heard?" She asked quietly. Venus smiled and blushed.

"Agera, you're a loud girl. Anywhere you go you're loud. So what do you think we heard?" Agera wished she could sink into the ground.

"I..."

"You're lucky Guin is out with Nero right now. Otherwise, we'd have to explain why you two were 'wrestling'." Agera didn't think she could feel any more embarrassed.

"I..."

"Agera." She turned to find Janus sitting between his two girlfriends, "It's ok. We make mistakes. Pancake?"

He held up a paper dish with a short stack smothered in syrup.

"Yes! Pancakes." Venus smirked at her, but didn't say anything. Agera grabbed Ronan's horn and twisted hard while nobody was looking.

"Next time, ambush me some place quieter."

"Owowowow let go of me you crazy!" He hissed, nearly spilling his own breakfast plate.

The barracks were a buzz of activity that morning into early afternoon as drakes and dragonelles got ready. Janus came back with a sparkling coat of scales, looking like he had just climbed out of the ocean. His two companions themselves had done themselves up as opposites, one sporting the red you would commonly have seen on a fire dragon and the other looking resplendent in the blue hues of a water dragon.

Agera and Venus talked back and forth as they watched Nero. Or rather, as Venus watched Nero, clutching her egg tight, and Agera watched Ronan teach Nero how to properly pounce on an opponent. He spotted Agera watching him and gave her a roguish grin, and unfortunately taking his eyes off the dragonet. Nero pounced as soon as he was distracted, and Ronan got a face full of red hatchling, making Agera laugh.

"Agera?" Venus called her attention back. Venus was smiling, "You look happy."

Agera stretched out lavishly on the ground, relaxing her muscles, "I feel happy. You're talking to me again, raising Nero has been more of a pleasure than I first thought, we're out of danger for the moment, and I finally am no longer alone."

"Is that what it was? Loneliness?" Agera frowned at her friend, "Agera, you didn't see it, because you're you, but I saw how you changed after Siberia. You doubled your visits to Ignus et Glacias. You talked less though. You were content to just let me chatter away."

"..."

"I know better than anyone what happened there. But I still don't think I got the full story. What actually happened out there?"

"...I" a wing was suddenly over her, as Ronan settled down next to her. His presence made her hesitate at first, but then he turned back to Nero and continued to coach him, "Venus. The only thing there were void. The only hope I had was returning to my horrid step-mother. I saw nothing but bleakness in my future. I needed someone who would talk to me without any judgement because of scale color, without anyone looking at me with a slight air of disappointment.

You had that already, and I was jealous. When I finally got comfortable with your family, when I was basically living with you, you found Vienzo. And suddenly you found far less time for me. I got jealous again. Then you joined the military, again with no problem, something I had been trying desperately to do.

Everything you do, Venus, you do successfully. I can barely keep my family safe."

"You were mad at me?"

"No. I was frustrated with myself."

"And you needed someone to vent to."

"I needed someone to understand me. To love me despite my stupid flaws. Venus, you learned every facet of me over those years. Ronan learned those facets in a couple months. So when we stopped talking, he was there for me. In a way it was loneliness, but that word doesn't do my feelings justice. I was surrounded by people, and yet I was all alone..."

Venus was quiet for a long time. They watched Nero try to surprise Ronan's tail and pin it in a pounce to no avail.

"So when I stopped talking to you, refused to even see you..."

"That hurt more than any bolt of lightning..." Agera said, rubbing a claw over the burn mark on her chest.

"Agera..."

"Don't. I deserved it. I thought only of myself."

"Even still. I'm sorry." They were quiet for a while longer.

"So what are you doing for Sorrowsday?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you doing yourself up?"

"I'm not." Venus frowned at her, "What? Gold scales aren't ostentatious enough?"

"Agera, you have innumerable scars on your hide. Little flakes of blood are stained into your scales. Half of your scales are malformed and distorted. And you've got a giant burn on your chest. You look like you just got out of the zombie apocalypse. You need to do something to make yourself more presentable."

"Bull. I look just fine."

"Agera, dear, you never look just fine." Agera sighed.

"Well fine then, what do you have in mind?" Venus grinned now, suddenly excited, and Agera turned to Ronan, "How long do we have till the celebration starts?"

"Four hours. Why?"

"We're gonna be a while..."

“Venus, honestly, I'll just wear my armor. Or something.” Agera said as her foster sister dragged her into her tent and pushed her in front of the mirror, and then started gathering various balms and pastes.

“Agera, when you go into battle, you wear your armor, right?”

“Right...”

“This is a battle as well. But if you plan on wearing the same armor for all your other fights, then you're doing it wrong. For this battle, you're going to need some proper armor.” Venus said holding up a tin of dark red scale paste, “This is my own mix of stainer. It works like a tattoo, except it simply just stains your scales.”

“What do you have in mind?” Agera asked, eyeing the tin warily.

“Well, you got clean this morning, didn't you?” Venus asked.

“As clean as I could...” Agera said quietly. As she remembered, it had been a little cramped in the shower...

“This is just the main course. We have a lot of work ahead before we're ready for this. Now what do you want? Beautiful, sexy, or fierce?"

"You can't manage all three?" Agera asked teasingly.

"I'm serious, Agera! This is important for tonight."

"No it isn't. Seriously, V, I'll just wear my armor." Agera said.

"You are NOT wearing that. You are putting some makeup on, even if I have to hold you down myself. Now hold still."

Agera bared her teeth at her, but relented, and finally, she saw how Venus got her looks spot on, even in the middle of a warzone. She was more than just an artist with the makeup. She was gifted with it. And she used more than just polish and paint. Dirt went into the mixture of paint thickening it, so it stuck to Agera's scales like glue. She used brush grass from outside the entrance of their tent to scrub Agera's scales cleaner than she could ever remember, and then used a piece of tent burlap to wax the polish in. Her claws and horns were sharpened with a shard of rough limestone. Elegant, flowing, spiked curves were painted into her scales around her horns, along her wings, and down her back and shoulders. Venus even placed a pattern under her eyes, something that made Agera think of warpaint. Her teeth were rinsed out and then polished with a special paste that left a sour taste.

By the time Venus was finished with her, Agera was cleaner than she could ever remember feeling. She felt better though. Much better. She felt taller and more graceful. Agera took only a short glance at the mirror at first, but before she could turn towards the entrance, she did a double take, not believing what her eyes had told her in that fleeting glimpse.

She was beautiful, sexy, and fierce. Graceful curves adorned her body from the very tip of her nose, to the point of her tail. Somehow Venus had managed to make the body markings both intimidating and inviting at the same time. In the space of a few hours, her best friend had managed to widen her hips, define her muscles, and fill in her chest. Gone were her broken or chipped scales, gone too were the marks of the Scourge, and she had managed to melt away the marks of the burn on her chest. Her horns were straight and flawless, her claws sharper than a razor blade. Her eyes sparkled like gemstones, and her polished scales caused her to literally glow. She had worked miracles in the few hours they had been in her tent.

"Girl, for once, I think you look better than I do." Venus said over her shoulder.

"Venus..." Agera said quietly rubbing her nose. She couldn't feel the joints between her scales, they interlocked so well. The creature starring back at her just couldn't be her. She turned to look at her best friend, at a loss for words. She meant to say something, like how she was honored to call her sister, how she enjoyed growing up with her. Instead, Venus said it for her.

“Agera, I'm sorry what I've done to you the past few weeks. It's not how I wanted to say good bye.” Agera couldn't stand it anymore, and she grabbed her friend and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I'm gonna miss you sister.” Agera said quietly, crying silently.

“Watch your six out there, girl.” Venus said, drawing back and looking at her.

“You too.”

The flap to the tent was suddenly flung back, and Agera looked towards the entrance to see Ronan standing there. He took one look at Agera, and his jaw dropped open halfway. Nero peered up over the top of his head and giggled, jumping off and gliding down to the ground where he bounded up to her.

“Mama, mama!” Agera brought her head down to his level and he placed his paws up on her nose, “You look pwetty mama!”

Agera chuckled at him, “Thank-you Nero. At least you said it.” She looked up at Ronan, and approached him, chest puffed out, swaying her hips from side-to-side seductively, dropping her eyelids, “What about you, big boy. You gonna say anything?”

“Uuuugh...” Ronan's face flushed red as her head approached his, and Agera kissed him lightly as his mouth still hung open. His eyes closed and he let out a long sigh as the female withdrew.

Agera giggled as her man flew off to la-la land. She looped her tail around his neck, and pulled him out of the tent, and he stumbled after her, “So why are you here early stud?"

"Huh?" Agera grabbed his horn and shook his head.

"I said, why are you here early, you lummox."

"Ach, gerrof a me!" He said batting at her paw, "We got a couple of things to do before Sorrowsday starts."

"Like what?"

"Well there's a short ceremony for our bonding. Just you and me." He said glancing at her, "I also wanted you to meet the lords under my command, who hold dominion over various lands."

"So where are we going first?" Agera asked, following Ronan. He glanced back at her, and Agera noticed subtle changes about him suddenly as he gave her a roguish grin. He hadn't used any paints, but he seemed... taller, broader. His horns and claws looked sharper, his scales seemed shinier and better defined. He looked younger, cleaner. And far more handsome.

"We're going to a pub first. The lords are currently getting drunk before the festivities start."

The pub turned out to be a dump in a corner of the Nexus called "The Whore's Tit". Agera frowned at the state of the front, and frowned even more at the name and sign.

"It's run by a human. Even still, it's popular. Mainly because of its excellent beer, but also because of its excellent wenches." He said, shrugging his wings and looking apologetic, "Don't expect fancy dinner parties here."

"Indeed." She said with a thin mouth. She was in for a bit of a shock when she entered though. The place was noisy and boisterous, as most pubs are, with a live band in the corner playing a song she actually recognized, an Irish pub song called "Sick Note", to which the crowd was laughing merrily at. She was surprised suddenly as someone fell into her, and looked around to find Janus collapsed against her.

He was absolutely hammered.

"Hey dere 'gera. Wow you look pretty." Agera smelled a strong hit of whiskey on his breath. Behind him lay no fewer than seven empty bottles on the table.

"Janus! Where's Enya and Lajeigha?" She asked, steering him back to the table and sitting him down quietly.

"They's jumped ship. Seems I'm doomed to be alone fer ever." He said, laying his head down on the table. He grabbed the nearest bottle and took a heavy swig. Fortunately, the bottle was already drained, but he seemed not to notice, "Firs ders Chell. I miss her. So much. And then there was you."

Agera reddened. Both in anger and embarrassment. Ronan watched her a short distance away. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Her friend was drunk, and what little bit of self control he had was gone.

"We never talk about that, 'gera. How come?" He asked suddenly, looking up at her.

"I thought I made that clear when you confessed you had feelings for me." Agera said quietly, "We wouldn't be a good couple."

"Dedication and love make a good couple, not compatibility." His head rocked over onto its side, and he stared off into the distance.

Agera grabbed him under the wing and heaved him to his feet. He didn't give much effort.

"Agera..." It was Ronan.

"He's family. I'm gonna take him back to the barracks. If your lords don't like it, they can deal." She said, stumbling under Janus's weight.

"Let me help you." Agera looked at him, and smiled to herself.

"Don't worry about this Ronan. I want to handle this. I'll be back in a bit." He nodded and turned away from her.

Agera carried the large drake outside, with him slung over her back, and realized the scale of the task ahead of her. The Nexus was about a mile high, but it was several miles wide. It's roads winded and twisted through rock and crystal. And she had only a vague idea of where she was.

"Agera." Janus wheezed from her back. He suddenly slid off her, arched his back, and vomited violently into the gutter at the street side, the slush hitting the pavement with a sickening splat. Agera only had enough warning to look away just in time.

"Oh, Janus." The male had a bit of spittle dribbling down his chin. She whipped it off with the leading edge of her wing, and then snaked back under his forelegs, half pulling and half lifting him. He seemed to give a bit more effort to support his weight this time around.

"Why do you do this to yourself Janus?"

"People all around me, but still I'm all alone." He mumbled. Agera stopped and looked at him, and he smiled at her. She felt suddenly incredibly close to him. Almost as close to him as she was to Venus. She saw him as more than a friend, and despite herself, she saw him as more of a brother. She suddenly realized he understood her better than even perhaps Ronan.

She thought about Janus all the way home. He did so many things while they walked and stumbled. He made her laugh, with stories of his family, and he made her cry, with stories of Chell. He made her mad with his opinions, and he made her blush when he waxed eloquent about her. But through it all he was never, ever boring.

As they got closer to the barracks, he got quieter and quieter.

Suddenly he stopped. Agera almost fell under his sudden weight.

"Agera." She looked up at him. He was blushing hard, "I love you. Damn I love you. You are beautiful, funny, and passionate. You have your faults, but that's true of all of us."

"Janus..."

"Just... listen. I don't expect you to return my love. I just want you to understand. I want you to understand why I've stuck with you all these years." His head slumped over onto her back as he drifted off to sleep, but before he did, he said something that tore her heart in two for the rest of her life, "It's cause I loved you, even though you've never loved me."

He fell asleep just as they reached the barracks. The room inside was empty fortunately, which was a good thing, because as she laid Janus on his cot, and watch him sleep, she leaned her head down, and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

"Were it not for Ronan, love, I'd have you now." She said quietly. She turned and left, his words and her actions weighing heavily on her heart.

Description
"You two enjoy yourselves?" A voice said as Agera stuck her head out of the shower unit to check if the coast was clear. Her head whipped around to find Italia leaning against the barrack wall, examining her claws non-chalantly.

Agera blushed hard as she just realized what she'd done, "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it, ma'am. I'd be happy to split that latrine duty with you. You know, to keep your head out of the shitter, you fucker..."

Agera stared at her wide eyed, "I..."

"Or perhaps you could pull duty the month after us..." Another voice. Agera turned her head to find Diablo approaching them with a big smile on his face, "Since you two can't seem to find some place private. We live here you know..."

Ronan was lovingly licking the back of her neck, hiding behind the door, and she shivered at the lewd feeling. However, as much as she loved the attention, she still elbowed him in the face...

"Or maybe..." Italia said, looking at Diablo.

"Just maybe..." Diablo said glancing at his mate, then they both turned to look back at her, "You could let us off the hook, we call it even, and we both promise, no more mating anywhere close to other people."

Agera paused, "You two have been waiting for this. This was to be your first morning of latrine duty. Italia, you should have been in here when I woke up."

"I would have been if two certain drakian weren't in a single drakian shower..." She said smiling, "What's it going to be, LT?"

"..."

"You're off the hook. Well played, you two..."

That wasn't the worst part though. No the worst part was when she walked out to the common room. And everyone turned and looked at her and Ronan. Agera froze like a deer in a pair of headlamps.

"How many of you heard?" She asked quietly. Venus smiled and blushed.

"Agera, you're a loud girl. Anywhere you go you're loud. So what do you think we heard?" Agera wished she could sink into the ground.

"I..."

"You're lucky Guin is out with Nero right now. Otherwise, we'd have to explain why you two were 'wrestling'." Agera didn't think she could feel any more embarrassed.

"I..."

"Agera." She turned to find Janus sitting between his two girlfriends, "It's ok. We make mistakes. Pancake?"

He held up a paper dish with a short stack smothered in syrup.

"Yes! Pancakes." Venus smirked at her, but didn't say anything. Agera grabbed Ronan's horn and twisted hard while nobody was looking.

"Next time, ambush me some place quieter."

"Owowowow let go of me you crazy!" He hissed, nearly spilling his own breakfast plate.

The barracks were a buzz of activity that morning into early afternoon as drakes and dragonelles got ready. Janus came back with a sparkling coat of scales, looking like he had just climbed out of the ocean. His two companions themselves had done themselves up as opposites, one sporting the red you would commonly have seen on a fire dragon and the other looking resplendent in the blue hues of a water dragon.

Agera and Venus talked back and forth as they watched Nero. Or rather, as Venus watched Nero, clutching her egg tight, and Agera watched Ronan teach Nero how to properly pounce on an opponent. He spotted Agera watching him and gave her a roguish grin, and unfortunately taking his eyes off the dragonet. Nero pounced as soon as he was distracted, and Ronan got a face full of red hatchling, making Agera laugh.

"Agera?" Venus called her attention back. Venus was smiling, "You look happy."

Agera stretched out lavishly on the ground, relaxing her muscles, "I feel happy. You're talking to me again, raising Nero has been more of a pleasure than I first thought, we're out of danger for the moment, and I finally am no longer alone."

"Is that what it was? Loneliness?" Agera frowned at her friend, "Agera, you didn't see it, because you're you, but I saw how you changed after Siberia. You doubled your visits to Ignus et Glacias. You talked less though. You were content to just let me chatter away."

"..."

"I know better than anyone what happened there. But I still don't think I got the full story. What actually happened out there?"

"...I" a wing was suddenly over her, as Ronan settled down next to her. His presence made her hesitate at first, but then he turned back to Nero and continued to coach him, "Venus. The only thing there were void. The only hope I had was returning to my horrid step-mother. I saw nothing but bleakness in my future. I needed someone who would talk to me without any judgement because of scale color, without anyone looking at me with a slight air of disappointment.

You had that already, and I was jealous. When I finally got comfortable with your family, when I was basically living with you, you found Vienzo. And suddenly you found far less time for me. I got jealous again. Then you joined the military, again with no problem, something I had been trying desperately to do.

Everything you do, Venus, you do successfully. I can barely keep my family safe."

"You were mad at me?"

"No. I was frustrated with myself."

"And you needed someone to vent to."

"I needed someone to understand me. To love me despite my stupid flaws. Venus, you learned every facet of me over those years. Ronan learned those facets in a couple months. So when we stopped talking, he was there for me. In a way it was loneliness, but that word doesn't do my feelings justice. I was surrounded by people, and yet I was all alone..."

Venus was quiet for a long time. They watched Nero try to surprise Ronan's tail and pin it in a pounce to no avail.

"So when I stopped talking to you, refused to even see you..."

"That hurt more than any bolt of lightning..." Agera said, rubbing a claw over the burn mark on her chest.

"Agera..."

"Don't. I deserved it. I thought only of myself."

"Even still. I'm sorry." They were quiet for a while longer.

"So what are you doing for Sorrowsday?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you doing yourself up?"

"I'm not." Venus frowned at her, "What? Gold scales aren't ostentatious enough?"

"Agera, you have innumerable scars on your hide. Little flakes of blood are stained into your scales. Half of your scales are malformed and distorted. And you've got a giant burn on your chest. You look like you just got out of the zombie apocalypse. You need to do something to make yourself more presentable."

"Bull. I look just fine."

"Agera, dear, you never look just fine." Agera sighed.

"Well fine then, what do you have in mind?" Venus grinned now, suddenly excited, and Agera turned to Ronan, "How long do we have till the celebration starts?"

"Four hours. Why?"

"We're gonna be a while..."

“Venus, honestly, I'll just wear my armor. Or something.” Agera said as her foster sister dragged her into her tent and pushed her in front of the mirror, and then started gathering various balms and pastes.

“Agera, when you go into battle, you wear your armor, right?”

“Right...”

“This is a battle as well. But if you plan on wearing the same armor for all your other fights, then you're doing it wrong. For this battle, you're going to need some proper armor.” Venus said holding up a tin of dark red scale paste, “This is my own mix of stainer. It works like a tattoo, except it simply just stains your scales.”

“What do you have in mind?” Agera asked, eyeing the tin warily.

“Well, you got clean this morning, didn't you?” Venus asked.

“As clean as I could...” Agera said quietly. As she remembered, it had been a little cramped in the shower...

“This is just the main course. We have a lot of work ahead before we're ready for this. Now what do you want? Beautiful, sexy, or fierce?"

"You can't manage all three?" Agera asked teasingly.

"I'm serious, Agera! This is important for tonight."

"No it isn't. Seriously, V, I'll just wear my armor." Agera said.

"You are NOT wearing that. You are putting some makeup on, even if I have to hold you down myself. Now hold still."

Agera bared her teeth at her, but relented, and finally, she saw how Venus got her looks spot on, even in the middle of a warzone. She was more than just an artist with the makeup. She was gifted with it. And she used more than just polish and paint. Dirt went into the mixture of paint thickening it, so it stuck to Agera's scales like glue. She used brush grass from outside the entrance of their tent to scrub Agera's scales cleaner than she could ever remember, and then used a piece of tent burlap to wax the polish in. Her claws and horns were sharpened with a shard of rough limestone. Elegant, flowing, spiked curves were painted into her scales around her horns, along her wings, and down her back and shoulders. Venus even placed a pattern under her eyes, something that made Agera think of warpaint. Her teeth were rinsed out and then polished with a special paste that left a sour taste.

By the time Venus was finished with her, Agera was cleaner than she could ever remember feeling. She felt better though. Much better. She felt taller and more graceful. Agera took only a short glance at the mirror at first, but before she could turn towards the entrance, she did a double take, not believing what her eyes had told her in that fleeting glimpse.

She was beautiful, sexy, and fierce. Graceful curves adorned her body from the very tip of her nose, to the point of her tail. Somehow Venus had managed to make the body markings both intimidating and inviting at the same time. In the space of a few hours, her best friend had managed to widen her hips, define her muscles, and fill in her chest. Gone were her broken or chipped scales, gone too were the marks of the Scourge, and she had managed to melt away the marks of the burn on her chest. Her horns were straight and flawless, her claws sharper than a razor blade. Her eyes sparkled like gemstones, and her polished scales caused her to literally glow. She had worked miracles in the few hours they had been in her tent.

"Girl, for once, I think you look better than I do." Venus said over her shoulder.

"Venus..." Agera said quietly rubbing her nose. She couldn't feel the joints between her scales, they interlocked so well. The creature starring back at her just couldn't be her. She turned to look at her best friend, at a loss for words. She meant to say something, like how she was honored to call her sister, how she enjoyed growing up with her. Instead, Venus said it for her.

“Agera, I'm sorry what I've done to you the past few weeks. It's not how I wanted to say good bye.” Agera couldn't stand it anymore, and she grabbed her friend and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I'm gonna miss you sister.” Agera said quietly, crying silently.

“Watch your six out there, girl.” Venus said, drawing back and looking at her.

“You too.”

The flap to the tent was suddenly flung back, and Agera looked towards the entrance to see Ronan standing there. He took one look at Agera, and his jaw dropped open halfway. Nero peered up over the top of his head and giggled, jumping off and gliding down to the ground where he bounded up to her.

“Mama, mama!” Agera brought her head down to his level and he placed his paws up on her nose, “You look pwetty mama!”

Agera chuckled at him, “Thank-you Nero. At least you said it.” She looked up at Ronan, and approached him, chest puffed out, swaying her hips from side-to-side seductively, dropping her eyelids, “What about you, big boy. You gonna say anything?”

“Uuuugh...” Ronan's face flushed red as her head approached his, and Agera kissed him lightly as his mouth still hung open. His eyes closed and he let out a long sigh as the female withdrew.

Agera giggled as her man flew off to la-la land. She looped her tail around his neck, and pulled him out of the tent, and he stumbled after her, “So why are you here early stud?"

"Huh?" Agera grabbed his horn and shook his head.

"I said, why are you here early, you lummox."

"Ach, gerrof a me!" He said batting at her paw, "We got a couple of things to do before Sorrowsday starts."

"Like what?"

"Well there's a short ceremony for our bonding. Just you and me." He said glancing at her, "I also wanted you to meet the lords under my command, who hold dominion over various lands."

"So where are we going first?" Agera asked, following Ronan. He glanced back at her, and Agera noticed subtle changes about him suddenly as he gave her a roguish grin. He hadn't used any paints, but he seemed... taller, broader. His horns and claws looked sharper, his scales seemed shinier and better defined. He looked younger, cleaner. And far more handsome.

"We're going to a pub first. The lords are currently getting drunk before the festivities start."

The pub turned out to be a dump in a corner of the Nexus called "The Whore's Tit". Agera frowned at the state of the front, and frowned even more at the name and sign.

"It's run by a human. Even still, it's popular. Mainly because of its excellent beer, but also because of its excellent wenches." He said, shrugging his wings and looking apologetic, "Don't expect fancy dinner parties here."

"Indeed." She said with a thin mouth. She was in for a bit of a shock when she entered though. The place was noisy and boisterous, as most pubs are, with a live band in the corner playing a song she actually recognized, an Irish pub song called "Sick Note", to which the crowd was laughing merrily at. She was surprised suddenly as someone fell into her, and looked around to find Janus collapsed against her.

He was absolutely hammered.

"Hey dere 'gera. Wow you look pretty." Agera smelled a strong hit of whiskey on his breath. Behind him lay no fewer than seven empty bottles on the table.

"Janus! Where's Enya and Lajeigha?" She asked, steering him back to the table and sitting him down quietly.

"They's jumped ship. Seems I'm doomed to be alone fer ever." He said, laying his head down on the table. He grabbed the nearest bottle and took a heavy swig. Fortunately, the bottle was already drained, but he seemed not to notice, "Firs ders Chell. I miss her. So much. And then there was you."

Agera reddened. Both in anger and embarrassment. Ronan watched her a short distance away. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Her friend was drunk, and what little bit of self control he had was gone.

"We never talk about that, 'gera. How come?" He asked suddenly, looking up at her.

"I thought I made that clear when you confessed you had feelings for me." Agera said quietly, "We wouldn't be a good couple."

"Dedication and love make a good couple, not compatibility." His head rocked over onto its side, and he stared off into the distance.

Agera grabbed him under the wing and heaved him to his feet. He didn't give much effort.

"Agera..." It was Ronan.

"He's family. I'm gonna take him back to the barracks. If your lords don't like it, they can deal." She said, stumbling under Janus's weight.

"Let me help you." Agera looked at him, and smiled to herself.

"Don't worry about this Ronan. I want to handle this. I'll be back in a bit." He nodded and turned away from her.

Agera carried the large drake outside, with him slung over her back, and realized the scale of the task ahead of her. The Nexus was about a mile high, but it was several miles wide. It's roads winded and twisted through rock and crystal. And she had only a vague idea of where she was.

"Agera." Janus wheezed from her back. He suddenly slid off her, arched his back, and vomited violently into the gutter at the street side, the slush hitting the pavement with a sickening splat. Agera only had enough warning to look away just in time.

"Oh, Janus." The male had a bit of spittle dribbling down his chin. She whipped it off with the leading edge of her wing, and then snaked back under his forelegs, half pulling and half lifting him. He seemed to give a bit more effort to support his weight this time around.

"Why do you do this to yourself Janus?"

"People all around me, but still I'm all alone." He mumbled. Agera stopped and looked at him, and he smiled at her. She felt suddenly incredibly close to him. Almost as close to him as she was to Venus. She saw him as more than a friend, and despite herself, she saw him as more of a brother. She suddenly realized he understood her better than even perhaps Ronan.

She thought about Janus all the way home. He did so many things while they walked and stumbled. He made her laugh, with stories of his family, and he made her cry, with stories of Chell. He made her mad with his opinions, and he made her blush when he waxed eloquent about her. But through it all he was never, ever boring.

As they got closer to the barracks, he got quieter and quieter.

Suddenly he stopped. Agera almost fell under his sudden weight.

"Agera." She looked up at him. He was blushing hard, "I love you. Damn I love you. You are beautiful, funny, and passionate. You have your faults, but that's true of all of us."

"Janus..."

"Just... listen. I don't expect you to return my love. I just want you to understand. I want you to understand why I've stuck with you all these years." His head slumped over onto her back as he drifted off to sleep, but before he did, he said something that tore her heart in two for the rest of her life, "It's cause I loved you, even though you've never loved me."

He fell asleep just as they reached the barracks. The room inside was empty fortunately, which was a good thing, because as she laid Janus on his cot, and watch him sleep, she leaned her head down, and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

"Were it not for Ronan, love, I'd have you now." She said quietly. She turned and left, his words and her actions weighing heavily on her heart.