Elements of battle

Chapter 14

It was warm, and felt safe, gentle breathing creating a pleasant breeze on his neck. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to wake up. He'd never felt so at ease like this, it was nice. Although, something lingered in the back of his mind. Where was he? How did he get there? Why did he feel this way?
Whiplash battled an eye open to see his surroundings. It was a room, with posters on the grey walls. The smell was familiar, and so was the surface he was lying on. The dragon turned and came face to face with Ezra. With a yell, he lept up, but Ezra's arms were wrapped around his body, lagging his movements. With a thud, Whiplash hit the floor of the cabin, alerting Ezra awake instantly. He looked over the side of the bunk as Whiplash got up with a groan.

"Whiplash are you alright?" Ezra asked.

The reptile shook himself roughly before standing straight and looking over at the boy.

"I'm fine" he answered shortly, turning and heading for the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Whiplash looked over his shoulder at Ezra.

"Where does it look like? To start the day, obviously." 

"Yeah, okay, but did you want to go for a flight or something?"

Whiplash's wings twitched and a strange look came over his eyes, but it vanished as soon as it had come.

"No" he replied shortly.

He went to the door and opened it, moving from the room.

"Whiplash-"

"I said no Ezra."

The boy's eyes narrowed and he got off the bunk. He stood in the hall, Whiplash approaching the common room door. 

"Alright, that's it Whiplash."

Whiplash froze, noticeably flinching at the tone. He lowered his lifted paw, standing still and faced the door. Ezra stood his ground, hands balled into fists as he glared at the dragon.

"Six months, six months we haven't seen each other. Now we're both here and you're acting like it's nothing. I missed you everyday, wishing we could reunite. Now we have, and it wasn't how I wanted it to go. Why are you ignoring me? Do you hate me? Were you lying to me when you said you considered me your brother?"

The dragon's shoulders rose and fell as he exhaled heavily. Turning his head, Whiplash's midnight blue eyes locked with Ezra's.

"I wasn't lying, I'm not ignoring you, and I don't hate you" he said.

"Then what is it? What's changed that's preventing us from being the friends we once were?" 

"Everything's changed Ezra!" Whiplash yelled, turning to face the boy.

"I've changed, you've changed, hell even our bond has changed! No matter what happens from here on out, our connection will never be what it once was! We've grown up, grown out of immaturity and became what we are now. You may not realize it Ezra, but we're not the same anymore."

Suddenly a wave of nausea overwhelmed Ezra, his head pounding. In seconds he couldn't breathe, the room was spinning, he felt hot and cold at the same time. Staggering, he reached out for the wall to steady himself, his vision blurring. He felt something grip his arm and a weight pressing on his back to hold him upright. He could hear a voice but it was disoriented and unrecognizable. Panic started to take over Ezra's already stricken body but he felt calming waves through the Force, telling him to relax. Ezra swallowed and breathed deeply, his mind beginning to clear. After a few moments, the pain went away and his vision came back, allowing him to see Kanan looking down on him worriedly.

"Ezra? Are you okay?" He asked.

Ezra feebly nodded, his legs weak and shaking. He lowered his gaze to see Kyber crouching next to Whiplash who was on the floor breathing heavily. The younger dragon's face had tear stains down his blue muzzle.

"What happened?" Kyber asked him.

Whiplash shook his head, wiping a paw over his eyes.

"Bonding Sickness" he murmured.

Kyber looked over at Ezra and shared a look with Kanan.

Whiplash got to his feet and shook his dad's claws off him.

"Whiplash-" Kyber began.

"I'm fine dad" Whiplash growled, walking out from the hall.

Ezra swallowed back tears and got out of Kanan's grip.

"Ezra? Are you sure you're alright?" The Jedi asked.

Ezra nodded, not trusting his voice in case it cracked. He went to his cabin and opened the door, glancing at Kyber. The dragon was staring after his son before he exhaled heavily and looked back.

"I don't know what to do about him" he admitted.

"He's grown so much since Kabera's attack."

"We both have" Ezra mumbled, entering his room.

Closing the door, Ezra lent back on the cool frame. Exhaling slowly, he relaxed his tense muscles. That was the worst Bonding Sickness he'd experienced so far. It was getting worse, but the question was;

Would it stop?

What'd ya think of that? Bonding Sickness is horrid isn't it? I literally spent fifteen minutes trying to make the stage of Bonding Sickness as bad as I could make it.
Suggestions are open and appreciated.

Star-Wars-Dragons out 🐉