Draeyer Academy (First Ver.)

Chapter 23-Two is Company, Three is a Crowd

"Hey, what's wrong?" he said. The Draelings moved closer to him, and each bit into one of the sleeves of his school jacket, tugging him toward the direction of the hay cluttered with empty eggshells. Whines escaped their mouths, as they let go and ran back to the makeshift nest.

"What's happening?" Gael said, said as he walked next to him. Alec looked up at him, before he stood.

"Something's wrong," he said. Right after he said that, he jogged after the two Draelings. He reached the pile of hay in no time, and watched as the babies went behind the egg they hatched from. He stepped on the hay, and looked at what lay behind.

"Holy Kosmos," he whispered. He took off his jacket, just as Knox, Solana, and Gael stood before him, watching his actions. He folded the jacket once before setting it on the dry grass. As carefully as he could, he placed his hands under a small grey body, before lifting and placing it on his coat. He wrapped the clothing around the baby, before he picked it up. The absence of horns gave him enough reason to deem it a she.

"She's not breathing," he said. He looked up at the three, as he walked towards them, with the Draeling in his arms.

"What?" Solana spoke up. She pushed Knox aside, and went to Alec, peering down at the small grey head which lay motionless in Alec's jacket. She reached out, and ran a hand on top of her metallic head.

Alec saw how the joy from earlier vanished from her eyes and replaced by sadness, as she casted a look down at the other two Draelings. He bent down and lowered the Draeling's body close to her brothers.

Whimpers escaped them as their snouts nudged their sister, in attempt to wake her up. Alec sighed, as he felt the emotions of sorrow coming off them in waves. Partly because of his power, and the other because he understood what it was like to lose a sibling.

He knew he was exaggerating but, he felt his heart crack a bit when they let out wails up at the sky. They continued bumping on the grey Draeling as their wails grew louder with each passing second. He freed one of his hands, and reach out to the two.

"Shhh..." he stroked each of their heads. "It will be alright." The Draelings' cries dwindled down, and moved closer to him. Small sounds came from them, as if similar to humans' sniffing.

"That's the risk of Draes when they're born as twins or more," Donovan said. He stopped walking and stood next to his grandchildren. "They fight over the special food the yolk provides for them during incubation and most cases of twins, only one survives."

"These are the first triplets born after 200 years," Gael said. "It's just sad." Alec looked up at them, before looking back at the two hatchlings. They hopped onto his knee, and used it as leverage to perch themselves on either of his shoulders. They were so light he barely felt their weight on him. They leaned down toward their sister, this time watching her quietly with sad eyes.

"I think it's safe to say that you're their chosen Draeyer," Knox said. Alec glanced at the two Draes as they tucked their heads on the crooks of his neck. A small smile both of happiness and sadness formed on his face, as he gazed at the body in his arms.

"I already lost one, and now I lost another," he said. A pang of pain he tried so hard to suppress the past few days resurfaced as images of Crimson and his death flashed in his mind. With slight pants, he stroked the lifeless creature's neck, and wiped away the remaining yolk that the sun hadn't dried the same way as her brothers.

"It can't be helped," Gael said.

"This one, yes," Alec said, "But with Crimson's I could've...."

He took a deep breath before his voice could crack. He didn't want to break down in front of Knox and the others. Gael reached out and squeezed his shoulder, the same way his brother used to. It added to the growing longing inside of him. He resumed stroking the grey Draeling's body, until Solana spoke.

"Alec," she called. He looked up at her, and saw her holding a yellow cube with blue dots, the size of her palm. A small stem with a tiny leaf stuck out on one end. He recognized it as one of the fruits found on some of the trees in the orchard. Looking closely, he could see a faint glow coming from it. She handed it to him, and he looked to the side. The other students who were chosen by the hatchlings were also given fruits from the orchard. He saw them bit into it, and fed it to their Draelings.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's Drae's Vigor, and comes in different appearances," she said. "A special fruit created long ago to quicken the bond formation process, the Drae's growth, and strengthen their immunity to sickness, all in one bite."

Alec nodded and turned the fruit over his palm. His sharp sense of smell caught in the scent of flowers and oranges. He followed the others' example and took a bite on the fruit. It tasted fine, a bit bland at first, before a tang of citrus flavor fell against his tongue. He set the grey Draeling down on the grass, as the other two hopped off his shoulder. He lowered it to the pale blue one first, and he bit into it. He did the same to the dark blue one. His shoulders jerked when they abruptly grew, looking the same size as the other hatchlings. They were still smaller though, because the other babies also bit into a Drae's Vigor.

With widening eyes he stared at them as an incomplete circle formed on the blank side of their necks. He looked down on his left palm when he felt heat coming from it. The skin-colored mark now also lay on his palm.

"It's incomplete," Donovan said, with a sad smile. Alec sighed, knowing the answer why. But before he could pull back what's left of the fruit, the dark blue Draeling snagged it between his teeth, and bounded over to his sister. He watched as he set it down in front of her face. He nudged her head, and pushed the fruit forward.

Alec's shoulders slumped at the sight, and reach out to take the fruit. The pale-scaled one gave a low growl at his hand, causing him to pause with widened eyes. He watched as he made his way over to his brother, and stared at their sister. Moments later, he reached out with a front paw, and lifted the grey one's snout open. As he did so, his brother pushed the remaining piece of fruit.

"That won't work―" he was cut off. A sudden grey light filled the clearing, causing him to cover his eyes. He heard yelps from behind him, coming from the others. The light suddenly disappeared, and his eyes adjusted bit by bit.

When he could fully see, he saw the grey light from earlier, hovering over the dead hatchling's body. The other two Draelings sat silently on their hinds. Ice crawled over the grass where their sister lay, as the light crawled over her body, before vanishing.

The clearing filled with silence, with the exception of the leaves' rustling against the wind. Gasps filled the air, when the grey female's wing moved. They fully stretched out, showing off her inborn armor covering the bony areas of her wings. It glinted against the sun, causing Alec to squint. Next the creature stood on all fours, stumbling in the process. Her brothers came, and placed their heads underneath hers, and steadied her.

"She lives!" Donovan yelled. The entire clearing filled with yells of joy, as the students ran forward. Their steps sounding like drum beats over the ground. They surrounded Alec and the others. Alec watched the triplets curling and purring against each other with their teeth peeking out from their gums. He couldn't stop himself, and scooped the trio in his arms, engulfing them in an embrace. They stared at him with big joyful amber eyes.

When he looked at his hand, a smile formed on his lips when the circle was finally complete.

It was a strange feeling to him. It had not been more than 10 minutes since he saw these three. But it baffled him how much they already mean to him. A resounding thought echoed in his mind, causing him to enter a gloomy state for a few seconds.

They would be your only company once your business here is finished.

Solana's voice snapped him out his thoughts.

"What are you going to call them?" she asked.

He looked down at them, and smiled as he set them down on the grass. Right at that moment, he knew exactly what to call them.

"Leyan," he pointed at the pale blue one.

"Midnight." Next he fixed his gaze the dark blue one.

"And Entiny," he said. He picked up the grey baby, and rubbed he neck. "Though, sometimes I would like to call you Lucky."

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WHOA! At last I finished the second arc! Next chapters are the start of new beginnings!