WangXian Forever 6

Chapter 62 Dragons

Daden Yaonu + Daden De Long: Janka

Venator was still unconvinced so Daden Yaonu transformed first into a red fiery dragon. She soared into the air, always the first reaction whenever she changed.

Venator watched, his eyes unblinking, following her flight. Hope bloomed inside his chest and he smiled, narrow lips resting against pointed teeth. His tongue slithered out, testing the air again.

Daden Yaonu returned, just when he made his mind up.

"Alright. I will trust you. But how are we to remain upon your backs?" He asked. "It is fine for me, I can hold on, but Dashi has lost the wits to look after himself, and I...cannot stand it if something were to happen to him."

Daden De Long pondered over this. His gaze wandered to the man in question, who was singing under his breath, clapping his hands to some imaginary beat. He hopped and skipped at times too, unpredictably.

"What if we tied him to her back? Secured him so he wouldn't fall off?" He suggested to the lizard.

"Good idea. Let's try." Venator was all too willing now.

They coaxed him to sit upon the red dragon, which he did at first. But when they tried to tie him down, he didn't like that at all, straining against the ties, which was his barely staying together belt.

Daden De Long became so frustrated, he knocked him out with a surge of spiritual power.

The three of them heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, how's that? I suppose it could have gone better, but let's get going. We don't want him to wake up mid-flight." Venator said, quietly.

"Agreed." Daden De Long burst into his dragon form, writhing in ecstacy for a few seconds.

He hadn't transformed for a while and it was exhilarating. When he settled, he invited the reptile to climb on top of him. Venator sneezed before he sat down, looking for something to hold onto.

"You may squeeze your knees. If you are still frightened, you may lean down and wrap your arms around my torso." Daden De Long told him, his lips pulled back to reveal sharp fangs.

"I'll do that from now." Venator grinned back.

"As you wish." The red dragon waited for him to make himself comfortable, and then with a roar that shook the boulders up above them, they took flight.

Red ribbons of fire streaking through the grey clouds, the dragons flew high and far, keeping an eye on the landscape below, waiting for a change in the scenery.

Venator was right, for the swampland went on for miles. The clouds were not happy to be woven in and out of, and a steady drizzle began falling, forcing them to rise up and fly above them completely.

Venator began singing to himself, and Daden De Long was pleased, for it made the monotony of their flight a little better. He would swoop down now and then, looking for the end when the greens and browns would change.

Finally, around two hours from when they first set off, the dragons were tired and wanted to rest for a bit. They flew down, and when the clouds dispersed, allowing them to see ground, they were pleasantly surprised.

A patchwork of yellow and green greeted them, farmlands stretching as far as they could see. Little buildings were scattered in between, and they continued until Daden De Long spotted what he had been looking for, for a while now.

A shimmering blue body of water called to them, and they landed on the edge of it. Venator rolled off, his legs aching for remaining in the same position for such a long time. He jumped up and down, trying to return the blood flow to normal, and then he untied Dashi from Daden Yaonu.

Once free, both dragons dived into the water. They swirled together, revelling in the freedom that the water gave them, that was missing from the air, for they were sea dragons first and foremost. The water rejuvenated their tired bodies and they drank their fill, happier now.

When they emerged, wet and dripping, they returned to their human forms and lay on the embankment, the grasses hiding them.

"Do we have any idea where we have to go?" Venator asked.

"None at all." Daden De Long answered, sighing in contentment.

"At some point, it would be good if we can join up with our fellow travellers. Other than that, we cannot leave until we have found the people we came here for." Daden Yaonu became pensive.

"Master WuXian will have a plan, he will know what to do." Daden De Long reached across the grass and held her hand.

"Yes, you're right. Perhaps I'm overthinking our situation." She smiled at him, not elaborating.

But in both of their minds, the uncertainty of their situation was wearing them down. What if they were unable to find the people they needed to? They could not leave here until those people were accounted for, and there was no telling how large or expansive the Nether world was. Even if their fellow searchers looked in all directions, would they be successful?

Persistence, strength of heart, and patience was what would be needed in spades, if they were to continue.

The sky remained blue, but the red sun began to dim ever so slightly. And then, to their amazement, two moons rose. One as black as charcoal rose high up into the sky, and on its opposite side, a white moon rose, filling them with peace.

"That's so unusual." Daden Yaonu remarked.

"There is a legend about them." Venator said.

He was lying down in grasses not far from them.

"What is it?" Daden De Long asked, curiously.

"They were two brothers who loved each other very much. But one day, the white one fell in love with a constellation of stars. While he married all of them, one was favoured more than the others, and they went to complain to their father. Their father was upset at the unfairness of his treatment of his daughters, and threw a powerful curse at him. His brother heard of this and intercepted the curse, and that's why he's burned from the poison of vengeance."

"That's such a sad story." She replied.

"It is a story of brotherly love. The ties that bind us can be made from different threads, but it is love in all its forms."
Venator kept his eyes on all three shining forms.

If these dragons hadn't convinced him to leave the swamp lands, he would not have gotten the chance to see them again, not in this lifetime.

He had much to be grateful to them for.