Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 67: Sacrifice

-This chapter is a little shorter than the last one, and you will soon see why. Things are about to get interesting! Mwahaha!

-NFD

~~~

"Don't. Make. A. Sound," I whispered. If we were quiet enough, we might trick Mom into thinking we weren't here. Then again, with Myrkr's injuries, that was a pretty flimsy plan.

"I know you're in there!" 

We cringed. Yep, flimsy plan.

Really, the only reason we weren't getting reamed right now was that Mom simply couldn't fit into the tunnel leading to us. At least, not without possibly getting stuck. The tunnel wasn't straight; it had several bends to prevent seeing all the way through it, which just so happened to make it harder for a larger dragon to squeeze through.

"Shouldn't we go out before she gets angrier?" Myrkr whispered nervously.

"Do you want to get mauled?" I asked rhetorically. "Besides, you're in no condition to be moving around." Even if I agreed, there was no way I'd let him out there in his condition.

"I... guess you're right."

"I know you haven't eaten, Aurora! You can't stay in there forever!" Right then, my stomach decided to remind me of my earlier concern with a low grumble. Mom was right, I couldn't stay here for long. 

Nana Astra's muffled voice barely reached my ears. "They could be sleeping."

"Sleeping? With all of this yelling?!" She had a point there.

"In case you've forgotten," my grandmother growled, unexpectedly raising her voice. "Myrkr is heavily wounded, and Aurora laid that egg barely more than a night ago. Both of them need rest." Myrkr and I shared a surprised look. Was Nana Astra taking our side? Why? "And that's final. Come back and punish them when they've recovered; it'll be more satisfying that way."

Mom didn't answer right away, but I doubted she'd left without saying a word. My suspicion was confirmed when I heard an irritated snort. "Why are you defending them? This behavior can only be handled with discipline; you know that!"

"Of course," she replied, her tone lacking emotion. "It is as simple as punishing your hatchling for something she did wrong. However, discipline shouldn't be carried out using anger. That's how you make mistakes and lose respect because you acted irrationally. I believe they deserve punishment, but not when you're angry, and especially not for a hormonal female that just laid an egg and a thrashed fledgling lucky to survive an explosion. You know I'm right."

I winced. Okay, she's not on our side. We need a better plan. Thankfully, Nana Astra had given me the answer.

"Myrkr," I whispered. "Can you stand?"

He hesitated. "I don't think so..."

That was a problem, but it wouldn't dissuade me. "Can you... crawl or something?" I'd rather not have to try dragging him, as that would risk worsening his injuries, but he had to be moved somehow.

He eyed me strangely. "I could try. Do you want to go out there now?"

"It's not like I'm going to kill them!" Mom snapped. "I'm not that angry. Just a little mauling will do!"

I shuddered. "Definitely not. We're gonna do exactly what Nana Astra says we should be doing, but it would be more comfortable in my—"

"You... want me in your nest?"