Just Checking Up! Part Sixty-Five: Pushing limits and finding New Friends!

Silks:

Pokes woke me up, my dark self waving at me. Mumbling under my breath with an irked tone, an honest hurt dimmed her welcoming smile. When would I stop hurting her unintentionally? Desiring to wake up, not one part of me wanted a single conversation to pass between us. Parting my lips several times, a befuddled Rip stumbled in from in between one of my book shelves of memories. Shooting him an odd look at the same time, our mental connection threw him right into my mental chaos. Please stop crowding my private space, damn it!

“Welcome to the inner workings of my mysterious head space.” I chirped cheerfully, uncertainty writing itself all over his features. “I suppose the true question is what is going on out there. No offense, your presence here means that whoever is fighting on our side is alone. Alone is hardly ever great, given our track records tend to be laced with bad luck. Approaching me cautiously, his scaly palms brushed against my cheek tenderly. Untying my mask, his thumb lifted up my chin. Scarlet flushed our cheeks, love brewing in our eyes. Basking in the warmth of his affection, his adorable smirk relaxed me further.   

“Must you rush in blindly, my Queen?” He teased playfully, an earned concern lining his tone. “Then again, how could I expect anything else from you?” A flick to the back of our heads shut down the romantic moment, the dark version of me receiving the brunt of our death glares. Leaning onto our shoulders with a wink, a brisk apology slipped from her lips. Relaxing our features visibly, a bit of life returned to her features.  

“Sucks to break up a cute moment but chaos is reigning on the outside. Bye, bye!” She chirped cheerfully, a shove tossing us out of my head space.  

Groaning awake, Rip rolled over to face me. Looking beyond him black bricks greeted me, a long sigh drawing from my lips. Scents of our friends tainted the air, yet they couldn’t be seen. What fresh Hell was this? 

“Seems that our friends have been swiped.” Rip pointed out stiffly, a quiet fear hiding underneath the nervous grin twitching underneath my mask. “Shall we conquer the evil ahead of us, my dear Queen?” Bowing in my direction, his open hand waited for mine. Lingering in my spot, guilt ate at my soul. Averting my gaze to the floor, a peck to my forehead whipped me out of a tornado of dark thoughts. Cupping my chin, his scales felt rather nice. A summery heat swirled around our fingers, curiosity mixing with love in our eyes. 

“Worry not, my Queen!” He announced in a comforting tone, his lips hovering over my mask. “Would a kiss cure your sorrows?” Untying my mask, his thumb traced my dry lips. Pressing his lips against mine tenderly, most of my stress melting away enough for me to think properly. Releasing me from his spell, his steady hands tied the mask back over my dazed grin. Sniffing the air, not one soul remained. That was except for our crew and ourselves, the place feeling like a graveyard. Running my finger along the wall, soot coated the tip of my fingertip. The ground quaked underneath me, claws scraping along the wall sent chills up my spine. Shadows darted around the corners, anticipation permitting my shards appearing in my eager palms. Thank goodness for this gift from a missed pal.

Shoving me into the closest crack, dragon magic flames shot past us. Examining my mask obsessively, relief wrote itself onto his features upon discovering no cracks. Sadness bit the air, another dark energy rushing past us. The shadowy form glitched in front of us, a blast of energy knocking us through the floor. Covering me with his body, a scratchy nest of branches caught us. Wonder rounded my eyes, dragons of all kinds played freely in a lush forest landscape. Rip couldn’t stop grinning, a bulk of younger dragons gathering around him. Explaining the situation, a gentle terror replaced his joy. Walking over to me, his fingers intertwined with mine.  

“Seems a base level dark elemental has been torturing these poor guys.” He whispered dejectedly, a couple of tears staining his cheek. No one harmed a citizen of Hell under my watch, a new goal presenting itself on a silver platter.

 Cutting my palms on the closest rocks, orange flames crackled into dual curved blades. Dragons watched on with curious expressions, a sweet wave settling down any doubt about me. A disc of air hissed to life underneath his dress boots, the cool air floating onto the previous floor. Hopping off, a trail of dragon magic provided us a pathway. Chasing the scent, twists and turns became blurs. Fire lilies bloomed with every footfall, inky lightning sparking to life.  

Skidding into a rough scene, two angels and a certain dragon demon hung several hundred feet in the air. Glowing bars kept them in place, a seven foot shadowy elemental twitched irately beneath them. Noting the dragon behind him, a worn expression shattered my soul. Inky black scales shimmered away, a stunning burgundy dragon eye meeting mine. Matching colored wings fluttered a couple of times, Rip beginning to chew on his lips while figuring out his next move.  

“Such a young pain in my ass!” He cursed venomously, an eye roll on my part pissing me off. “Were you not the one who kidnapped a good chunk of our supply?” Shrugging my shoulders, the further annoyed expression threatened to make me giggle. The corner of my lips twisted underneath my mask, his sharp eyes almost picking up on it.  

“We don’t have time for this!” He screamed into nothing, befuddlement furrowing my brow. Charging at me, time needed to be bought. Steam curled into the air, every violent clash throwing both of us around. Recognizing his immense level of power, something had to change. Switch tactics, each twirl doubled my speed. Rip caught up, his own dual blades of silver and jet black dragon flames burning strong. Picking up on a third energy, a leap off of his back permitted me to smash my heel into a carbon copy of our newfound thorn in our side. Time slowed down, Rip and the original breaking out into an intense battle. Focusing on the second thorn in our side, another one popped up. Flipping over a few piles of rubble, a teasing smirk had them nipping on my heels. Kicking up the lilies that had bloomed earlier, the barrage of petals cooked them into ash. Steadying my breathing, a key clattered inches from the closest brick wall. Scooping it up, a wall of his copies gave me pause. Stumbling back, bad luck seemed to find her mistress. Sensing a huge wave of dragon magic, the chance of survival wasn’t on my side. 

“As much as I would love to chat, such an opportunity won’t be in the stars this evening. Good fucking luck.” I uttered anxiously, a leap into a random room threatened to jumpstart my heart. Thick black wooden doors slammed shut behind me, a massive wave of heat shot down the hall. Silver flames flickered to life in a silver room, the reflection blinding me for a few seconds. Did this place belong to Kaw’s past? Yanking out random books, a secret book had to be around here. Books thudded across the floor, nothing working. Glancing behind me, a single statue of a dragon stood out. Approaching it with cocked brows, the energy of the elemental faded away. Yanking it back, a bookshelf creaked open. Hopping into the cobweb infested space, the flames of my blades cast shadows onto smooth ivory marble walls. Placing the key in between my teeth, the way out had to be somewhere around here. Scooting down the way with my back against the wall, a turn had me falling on my ass. Exhaling a pissed off breath, claws clacking down the marble sent me popping to my feet. Raising my blade to the attack position, the cutest baby burgundy dragon leapt onto my shoulders. Snuggling into the nape of my neck, the tail pointed to the right. Trusting the tiny thing, the tunnel system led to another soot-covered brick chamber. Wagging that a mile a minute, hot breath bathed the back of my neck. 

“Give me back my kid!” A deep voice thundered ominously, my hands raising in the air as I spun on my heels to face the formerly trapped dragon. “Hop on my shoulders now, young one!” Leaping onto his head, his stunning burgundy wings stole my breath away. Shutting down my weapons, a passed out Rip hung off of his neck. Stepping backward to create enough space, respect was deserved at this moment. 

“That little scaly dragon came upon me in some sort of marble tunnel system.” I explained myself calmly as I could manage, burgundy lightning snapping to life around his mouth. “Trust me when I say that no harm would befall any of you.” Staring back at his kid, a silent conversation occurred via eye contact. Waiting patiently, his head bowed until his burgundy horns nearly took off my mask. Bowing in his direction, the scent of dragon magic reminded me of how dangerous Rip’s magic skills could be. 

“Is Rip okay? He is my mate after all. Well, we would call him a husband where I hail from.” I queried softly, his kind dragon eyes meeting mine as the key dropped into my opening palm. “Can you help me get to my friends? They became collateral damage in your struggles. Forgive me for wanting to take them home when he wakes up.” Lifting me off the ground, a brilliant smile illuminated his features as he placed me at the base of his massive neck. Flashing me a devious expression, a quiet fear lingered in my bright eyes. Taking off, hot air blew my hair back. Swerving down the halls, freedom mixed into the fear healthily. Holding onto Rip, the young dragon bounced onto my lap. Petting it blithely, that darn thing was too damn adorable. Spinning up to the cage, his powerful wings pumped away as I finagled the key into the lock. A click had it swinging open, the bodies falling into my arms one by one. Backing off from the cage, a release of his breathtaking lightning spoke of what mine could be. Zooming into a lower level, the dragon community came into view. Roars erupted around us, all sorts of elements began to swirl in the air. Sliding off, a giant claw held me in place. Must he be so imposing!

“Giving you the power to speak to us is not one to take for granted, your Majesty.” He huffed tiredly, his other claw keeping his child in place. “Please do me the honor of manifesting those magnificent domes. We can line it from the inside.” Nodding once, all eyes flitted over to me. Sinking to my knees, gasps echoed as fire lilies blossomed into crackling flowers. Sending out a layer of black lightning, my new friend provided his own. Knocking the closest one into the air, petals fluttered away before burning into ash. Forming a dome, relief wrote itself onto his features. Helping the others down, his face hovered inches from mine. What was he investigating now, I thought internally.

“How curious, you aren’t frightened in the slightest. One breath and you are as good as dead down here.” He mused playfully, his claw helping me up. “My name is Burgund, the king of these dragons. Granted it is a position far below your crown. It must be tough to be the queen of Hell.” Crashing onto the closest log, a wave of my hand shut him down. Resting my chin on my palms, a twinkle returned to my eyes. 

“At first, the very thought of it ticked me off. Something about my position feels cozy. Helping people and finding the right council or whatever you guys call it helps you out in the long run.” I returned honestly, a genuine smile hiding under my mask. “Call me daft for finding joys in such trivial responsibilities. How about you? Do you enjoy hiding down here?” Laying down across from me, a bunch of raw fish were placed at his claws. Offering me one, a polite no thank you shut that down. 

“One would think that but no. Peace finds me here. Hell grants me sanctuary when Earth defies what we used to have. Would you care to keep us? Come time for a b-” He began to confess, a raise of my hand stunning him into silence. Fussing with my destroyed dress, none of that would ever be fair for them in the long run. 

“No such thing would ever occur. Serenity is owed to you. Count on me to protect your slice of paradise. Hell would be honored to have you.” I assured him proudly, Rip waking up gruffly cut the conversation short. Yanking me down next to him, his arms clutched me close to his chest. Scanning the space, his eyes darted up the dome. Panic set in, both of knowing how toxic the air was currently. Beginning to fret over me, my palm covered his mouth. 

“Danger often comes with great reward, my King. I am not going to abandon my new friend because of a deadly allergy. Call me daft or stupid but I desire to get to know everyone.” I pointed out simply, a brisk fine escaping his lips. Sitting up together, Burgund and him began a pleasant conversation. Zoning out, baby dragons found their way to me. Playing with me, they played away. Showing off their miniature power shows, a warmth heated up my soul. How could anyone hate such stunning creatures? 

“Silks! Silks!” Rip called out, a short huh escaping my lips. “How about we get you out of here before the fumes get to your head, please?” Every part of me desired to stay, his frustration laced expression telling me otherwise. Excusing myself with a bow, Burgund tapped my head a couple of times before shooting out a bolt of lightning. 

“Keep striking true, Bold One.” He uttered happily, electricity dancing along his body. “Never let the light die in your eyes.” A door appeared in front of us, the wavy texture in the wood unsettled me. Tropical wood would be the sole way to describe the door, the doorknob opening itself. Creaking open, a beach waited on the other side. Glistening black sands shimmered in the most enticing manner, burgundy waves crashed away. Rip cleared his throat, a cute smirk wiggled away. 

“Stress seems to devour you whole, so I kind of made you a beach.” He admitted shyly, his palms sliding down to my chin. “Someone who works as hard as you deserves the greatest escape. Please check it out.” Crossing over the threshold, Burgund passed our friends through. Shutting the door with a wink, scarlet flushed my cheeks. Snaking his hands around my waist, violins played gently in the background. Tears welled up in my eyes, his kindness knowing no bounds.  

“How about we make it our place?” I suggested while turning a deeper scarlet, his fingers untying my mask with grace. “What do you think? Enjoying things alone isn’t exactly my thing.” Pressing his forehead against mine tenderly, our breaths became one. Joyous emotions trickled off my chin, his level of love and affection doomed to throw me off in the best way. 

“If it pleases my queen.” He laughed through a wall of tears, his palms cupping my cheeks. “Call this our little slice of paradise. Too bad I couldn’t make it before. Sorry for not being there in your childhood.” Guilt should never have haunted him, part of hating that the memory got lost in the fog of trauma. Twirling around once more, the guy had to realize he had protected me back then.  

“Rip, the past is the past.” I comforted him affectionately, his hand dripping to his side. “Thank you for always being there for me. Lord knows what I would do without you!” Kicking off my boots, he did the same. Socks flew into the air, water splashed about. Laughter rang out, both of us forgetting our troubles for a second. Lifting me out of the water, a spin had me landing into one of his bear hugs. Sobbing with pure bliss, images of our family running around here played out in my head. Lowering me down, concern flashed in his eyes. 

“Are these tears of joy?” He choked out awkwardly, his lips pressing into a thin line as he wiped away my happy emotions. “What brought this on?” Struggling to come up with the words, my lips parted several times. 

“Please stop stressing about everything.” I sniffled through a wave of embarrassment, a deep ruby flushing my cheeks. “My heart belongs to you and only you.” Abrupt exhaustion weighed on my eyelids, his arms catching my limp body. What was going on with me, the scars from that doctor beginning to pulse. What medical issue was heading my way? Apologizing sincerely, a rough darkness stole me away.