In the end, Agenor and Fenek had to bandage my wings, while Atheros stubbornly refused to be out of sight of anyone who was armed, mainly me.
Outside, people were already at work clearing the carcass, and cleaning the blood, which seemed to be corroding any surface it touched. What was left behind almost always turned pitch black. Hence, my house now had black polka dots, a grim reminder of what had transpired... Agenor and Silvera had gone to help, leaving the children in the care of Fenek, who was fending off questions about what actually happened.
I simply sat at the table, half-dazed and turning my still empty pistol over in my hand. The slider had been locked back automatically, as one would expect of an empty pistol. Atheros had fallen silent, almost seeming to expect me to say something.
I sighed and put the pistol aside. "Atheros, you're bursting to say something, and waiting for me to start first will get us nowhere."
He hesitated still, while I tried and failed to find a comfortable position that did not involve putting any weight on my wings, and by extension, my back.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and spoke, "Why did he use me as a shield? We were both dragons, how can he....we're of the same kind! He's supposed to protect me! I can't even fight...."
I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed a little. He had evidently never seen war. "Look, kid. When war come round, people do crazy things, stupid things, especially if they don't know how to handle the enemy. Sometimes, they're dumb, other times, they're outright heartless and cold. It happens. there are examples of things like this happening in human history too. It's just that...people moved beyond these things."
he shook his head. "No! The council has their morals! They teach us about them, and teach our soldiers! This is unheard of! I...I...don't believe it..."
I looked him in the eye. "Looks like they've lost them." I then took the pistol and pressed it into his hand. "You know what this is?"
He looked down at it, "A...weapon?"
I nodded. "I'll teach you to use it. When morals go out the window, you trust your self, your own morals, and the weapon that you hold, because like it or not, morals cannot stop a bullet, nor can they block a set of claws."
He loosed a long sigh. "I...I don't know anymore... I was taught that we had the highest standards, that we were superior..."
I shrugged. "Education can be twisted to spread propaganda. It's normal. Trust your eyes and ears, because sometimes, the truth may vary. Thus are the fortunes of war."
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[Fenek]
While Keane busied himself with calming the oldest hatchling, Atheros, I had to deal with the other three, who had been hidden away, and did not see most of the fray. They had only heard some of the talking, and most definitely the sounds of fighting.
I had been told not to give them too many details, but being bombarded with questions about everything, and even more when I gave them the vaguest answers that I could think of didn't help, not even a little bit.
In fact, it gave me a headache. I turned to my Rider for help, but he seemed to have his own things to settle, namely a very shaken Atheros... He had very obviously been shielded from outside events, and that was not turning out well for him.
I could already sense Keane making a mental note to have words with Silvera later.
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