Charades
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Full moon,
Sun in the Northern Serpent,
Year 404,
Kreon's Era
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Gleyssier's cave overlooked Pharoan's Bay like a gryphon peering at its reflection in a pond. Hess was careful to avoid the giant potholes on the bridge connecting the hanging cave to the cliff face. Through the holes, he could see the green waves of the bay racing towards the shore with shining crests. He wondered how his sister-in-law kept their hatchlings from falling into the water as he walked forward. Surely the stunning view of the sunset wasn't worth losing their babies.
His brother's voice grew clear when he neared the first chamber, sending a shiver up his limbs. He recognised the higher pitched voice talking to Gleyssier as his young nephew and instantly wished he had brought something for him and his three sisters to eat. His footsteps had by then evoked a little gasp from within the cave.
"Uncle Hess," came an excited squeak and a body bumped into his front leg, making him wince. The thirty-year-old hatchling crooned and laughed as his uncle licked his face.
"How is my little tadpole doing?" Hess nuzzled the hatchling's stomach, making him giggle and curl up into a ball.
"I'm not a tadpole anymore," protested the hatchling, opening his maw to show his uncle his set of newly sprouted egg teeth.
"My, my, what big teeth!"
"Uh-huh, I'm a bi-iiig dragon now!"
Hess could feel the intensity of his brother's gaze on his mane-scales and hide. Though his eyes were on the stubs on his nephew's gums, counting the four teeth that had grown over the winter, his mind could see the hatchling's father sprawled in the dark cavern indent behind him. His ears could accurately tell where his brother's talons and tail were from the lightest of scratches or rubs againt the rough stone. Each careless sway of Gleyssier's tail tensed a stray muscle in Hess's neck or limbs, but he knew they were never careless. Gleyssier was always in control.
"You might be getting an aunt soon, Anthus."
Galanthus, the hatchling squealed just as an invisible jaw clamped down on Hess's neck in a chokehold.
"Babies! When, Uncle Hess?" he cried, his tail wagging ecstatic at the suggestion of having new playmates much to his uncle's dismay.
Did the Head Cleric plan the Caelior courtship with you, Gleyssier?
The hatchling's father had a laughter that echoed through the rocky chambers with the sounds of the waves. The tips of his mane-scales trembled ever so lightly as Gleyssier brushed past him to nuzzle his heir.
The upper part of Hess' muzzle joined in on the throbbing with the lower part of his jaw. The lash he had received from his brother on the temple incident still felt fresh. He quickly slid his left folded wing under the cover of his right on his back as he felt his brother's gaze lingering a bit longer on them than usual. He pushed his chest forward and arched his neck to make himself look more presentable to the dragon passing him by.
Gleyssier Aleunor VI laid down on the stone floor of the cavern and scooped the protesting hatchling from his uncle's side into the safety of his arms. He was gentler while playing with the hatchling and licking him, much kinder than what Hess had remembered him to be in his childhood.
"Darling, give him some time. He has to court the lovely lady first before they can settle down and have babies."
Gleyssier lifted the giggling hatchling into the air with the thumb talons of his wings. Galanthus spread his tiny wings and fluttered them as his father moved him around. It would've been a lovely thing to watch if hadn't reminded Hess of all the times their siblings had received broken wings because a fledgling Gleyssier had insisted they were ready to fly. There was a part of him that was glad that Gleyssier had matured into a loving father, and another that held onto the bitterness of his memories each time he saw him.
"Hess?"
He looked up and saw his nephew trying to reach him with his extended arms. The dragon laid down beside his brother and took the hatchling up with his wing talons. Gleyssier seemed to be in a rather good mood.
"Hrrmph," Hess groaned as he lifted the little one into the air, "You've grown heavy, tadpole. Maybe you'll lift me up one day."
"Uh-huh," Galanthus agreed as he extended his wings, pretending to swoop and glide.
A clap of leather on air followed by a whooshing sound somewhere to his right signalled the arrival of his sister-in-law from her hunt. The smell of seal blubber mixed with blood quickly pervaded the air, making Gleyssier lift his head from the cool stone floor.
"Dianthe's back," he murmured.
"Mamma," Galanthus cried as his uncle lowered him to the ground.
Hess heard Dianthe dragging the carcass into the cavern from the cliff outside. From the size of the bull walrus, he could tell that she had had a brunch at sea and that this was Gleyssier's evening snack. The hatchling's mother greeted her baby with a nuzzle and right on cue, he heard the chirps of their three female hatchlings from their nesting room. Dianthe whistled back a tune in the hopes of calming them down and looked visibly relieved when they went silent.
"Hello Hesperion, when did you arrive?" she asked between heavy breaths on seeing him. Galanthus had taken up a comfortable position on her back, snuggling into the nook between her two folded wings.
"I've fed them," Gleyssier whispered into her mane when she craned in for an embrace. He left a trail of licks on her muzzle and touched her forehead with his. Their tails intertwined with each other with the passion of a pair of snakes in season, making Hess look away from embarassment. Dianthe laughed as his brother launched into humming a corny serenade.
"You've given me five hatchlings already, Aleunor, there's no need to puff your feathers for courtship."
"Oh, I'm just teaching certain clueless fledglings on how to do it right. Take rest my love, you look exhausted."
When Dianthe Nivalior pulled back, her blue eyes met Hess' in a silent understanding before she walked away. A split second exchange, Gleyssier had barely even noticed it. Hess was to call her immediately if Gleyssier decided to take his anger out on him lest he ended up like Argyrar had one day. Dianthe did have her ways and her ways had perhaps changed her mate for the better.
Once she had left, Gleyssier laid down on the stone and tapped a spot near him with his tail.
"I ran into the Imperatrix today. She is expecting a brood."
He didn't seem to be fazed at all, making Hess wonder if he had been too late.
Gleyssier closed his eyes and asked,
"How did your meeting with the Caeliors go on the waxing crescent day?"
Hess cleared his throat before he started.
"It went well, Matriarch Livia was all ears and so was her sister. None of the elders had rejected against the idea infact, most of them seemed glad that I had suggested an overthrow. They didn't demand much in advance- no land, no caverns, no water bodies, they said that just an adult blue whale from our seas would suffice. They said that they'd state what they wanted after the deed was done. One of the youngsters was silenced for suggesting a truce with the Hellebors. Perhaps there is a faction within the Caeliors that supports them, we would need someone within the clan to keep an eye on them. Livia's approval of the alliance felt too easy till the other half of the deal came from the Head Cleric's tone and tail. And from you."
"Hmm, interesting," Gleyssier said playing innocent with a still, unreadable tail. "What other half of the deal?"
"I believe she hopes to have me court her daughter. I plan on turning her down with an offering of a plot of my land if such a question rises."
"Livia's child would be Ianara, correct?" he asked with a twitch entering his tail tip. "Lovely dragon, smart, sharp as a thorn and quite the the orator too from what I've heard. Dianthe thinks Livia did a great job on raising her. She'd make a good match for you, not to mention that she would succeed her mother-"
Hess' talons slipped across the stone ground, stilling Gleyssier's tail again.
"You will have to let me turn down her request, Gleyssier."
His brother's tail tip rose into the air and arched, mimicking a stomped tropical snake. Hess felt it set his throat on fire with each expectant flick. He was waiting for an explanation and Hess was more than glad to provide him with one.
"Is my mate bond that expendable to you?" Hess whispered. His tail lashed against the ground as Gleyssier slipped into a dreaded silence, shutting him out by turning his head away. The flicking of his tail tip stopped at that sentence.
Something within Hess hated being ignored and throbbed within his throat, eager to burst out.
"I know you believe mate bonds to be sacred, Gleyssier. A commitment with a lady dragon to last a lifetime of a thousand years," The sentence rose from his syrinx without a hitch, an unaltered repetition of what he had been taught by his Governesses and his brother. "But dear brother, you of all people would know how far the word has strayed from its meaning over the years."
His brother's tail did not move.
"We do not live in a perfect world, big brother. We do not know that Caelior dragon's alliance. For all we know she could become a liability, it could make me easy prey for her if she were siding with the enemy."
Gleyssier seemed to have turned to stone, his dull white scales merged with the shadows to blend into the stone he laid on. The longer he kept mum the more it felt like a snake had slithered into Hess' rib cage and was constricting his lungs and heart.
Hesperion snapped.
"Alright, fine, I'm wrong," he said, baring his fangs at his brother.
"Took you long enough" muttered Gleyssier. His eyelids opened and his cerulean eyes regarded his brother with smugness. A smirk skirted the edge of his lips, letting a tooth slip out.
"What should I do if the Caelior dragon asks to court me?"
"If Ianara asks you for a courtship, accept it gladly and use it as an opportunity. Court her, fool around for a bit, relax and enjoy her company. Use your courting moments to understand how she thinks- if she's an enemy you will pick out her weaknesses, if she's a friend you will find out what would make her stay on our side. You can scout out her clan, educate yourself on its members. Love cannot be forced so you might as well get something out of it."
"What about mate bonds being sacred?"
Gleyssier laughed and sat upright.
"Youngsters these days... I respect mate bonds not the silly courtships that precede them, little brother, and I never said that you had to consummate the courtship immediately. You don't have to claim her as your mate right away."
Hess shook his head slowly.
"You want me to put on a charade then?"
"No, I want you to use the courtship to make the Caelior heir and the Matriarch feel right at home with the alliance. Make them think that the both of you have a future ahead of you. It would keep the majority of the clan from bucking and switching sides."
Gleyssier stroked Hesperion's forehead with his calloused hand and cupped his lower jaw, lifting his face up.
"You must keep the Thalassine and Clymenosian clans in line for me, brother, till the war is over. The Northwest isles are our homeground and we cannot fight this war without it. I trust no one but you with its safety and I know you will never let me down. You would never betray me like she did."
Hess rubbed his jaws and cheek against the palm of his hand, reveling in the attention he was given. He held his gaze and repeated the fact that he loved him over his swelling heart.
How wrong he was to think that Gleyssier didn't care about him.
Gleyssier loved him, he loved him more than any of their siblings, he had taken care of him when his mother and father hadn't and he had loved him like Hess was an extension of him.
He would die in a heartbeat if Gleyssier wanted him to. He would've have hatched if it weren't for his older brother, who had watched over their brood when he himself had been a hatchling.
"I would never betray you like Pruina did, Gleyssier," he said as his brother ran his talons through his mane-scales. He crooned and cocked his head as the talons found a spot behind his horns and scratched it.
Gleyssier has nothing to worry about, Hess thought. The Caeliors were the last I had to invite for the alliance meeting tomorrow. The alliance will see Thalassus and Clymenos coming together for a common cause for the first time in three thousand years.
What about the temple wall?
Hess pushed the thought away just as Gleyssier let go of his head.
Maybe later, he thought as he laid down on the floor. Sleep was quick to draw his eyelids down and send him to sleep.
The sea breeze ruffled his mane-scales, lulling him to sleep with its whistles and whispers. The elders had often told them that the stray sounds it carried came from the souls lost to the sea.
Callous, it said. Disrespectful.
A sharp screech from a seagull startled Hess from his sleep. The stone underneath his body had somehow powdered into soft beach sand. Seagulls hung in the sky like flowers dangling from their stalks, watching the sun set in the grey sea. A brilliant orange sky had replaced the roof of Gleyssier's cave.
Bleary-eyed, confused and more tired than ever, Hess scowled at the sea and the sun as he slowly rose from the sand. Gleyssier's cave stood a good hundred paces away from where he was and the beach between them had held no footprints.