Anubis:
"Look, that's him!"
"The guy who's dating Alstroemeria?"
"Look at his scales!"
"Look at his eyes!"
Never in his life had Anubis been followed by so much attention, so many whispers behind his back and around him, everywhere. Even his Clawmates, Koi and Ferret, looked at him with an air of awe whenever he brought up the topic, as if they didn't beleive someone like him could date someone like her.
He didn't care, though. Nothing mattered, as long as Alstroemeria was with him. She was like the beacon that kept him going, recently - forget the 'like', she was his world. Never before had he looked at someone with such intense care, admiration, and - dare he say it - love.
There was a loud thud at talonsteps entered his dorm, and Anubis looked up, shocked out of his daydream. Koi paced in and sat down, a thunderous expression on his face.
"Something keeping you down?" He asked politely, imprinting off some of Alstroemeria's recent enthusiasm.
Koi grumbled unintelligibly in response. "Just because everything's sunshine and rainbows in your love life, doesn't mean everything is in mine." Anubis heard him say under his breath. He realised, with a sigh, what Koi was referring to.
"This is about Princess Alaska, isn't it?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I just don't GET it!" Koi exclaimed. "I've loved her for SEVEN YEARS, Anubis, SEVEN. YEARS. And she's showed absolutely NO signs of affection!"
"Maybe she just - doesn't love you back?" Anubis offered, trying to support his friend without hurting his feelings.
"Then what am I doing wrong?! I protect her, I compliment her - what more could she want?!"
"Y'know, some... Real love? You can't force that upon her."
Koi paused, dropping the pottery he was caressing - which Anubis saw to be an ornate pot they'd made the other day - and looked up at him incredulously. "You - you can't?"
"No! Koi, did anyone ever teach you about relationships anyway?"
"No..." He admitted, annoyed. "But that's not what it is. The princess is just too stubborn to realise it. She's deluding herself with that ugly blue RainWing." He growled. Anubis realised with a jolt that he was referring to Allure.
"I... Don't think that's it..."
"It IS. But don't worry. I'll get that little shrub out the way, one way or another." The determined quality in his voice made Anubis worry that he'd get into another fight, when Allure was most likely harmless. But before he could voice his opinion, there was a gentle knock at the wall of the cave.
Anubis got up immediately, recognising the knock and dismissing Koi's angry mutter of 'go off and ignore my issues, whatever.'
He stepped outside and gazed into Alstroemeria's lime green eyes for a long second, getting lost in those irises, until she batted him away playfully. "Hey, lover boy." She said, smirking. "Want to go to the tree?"
Anubis smiled, feeling like he was taking shining golden hours out of a joy that didn't belong to him. "Of course."
She grabbed his talons and they took off, only stopping when they came to rest at the trunk of an old secluded tree on the outskirts of the grounds. Alstroemeria laid back, giggling, outstretching her silver flecked wings. Anubis nestled by her side, glancing over at her smiling face and feeling its positivity radiating through them.
Moons, I love her. I love her more than anything I've ever loved.
She rolled over and stretched out, her tail twining around his, and brought a shy smirk to his face.
I must be the luckiest dragon in the world.
"I want to know more about you." Alstroemeria said to him, a curious look in her eyes. "More than just your name and history."
"Like what?" He asked, tilting himself to tent his wings over hers and look up at the rising sun.
"Like, your favourite colour?"
"Green." He smiled, the answer coming instinctively to him. "A certain shade of lime, to be specific."
Alstroemeria blushed. "What about - do you have a hobby?"
"Do you?" He countered. Alstroemeria laughed, the sweet sound of it filling the air entirely.
"You got me there. Alright, I'll admit I do like architecture. I know, it's a bit lame."
"No, I don't think it's lame." Anubis pursued, intrigued. "What sort of architecture?"
"Well... Sort of... structures like palaces and schools and stuff. I've always wanted to build a palace - not for myself, but just to build one would be awesome."
"One day, we'll build your palace." He smiled. "And I can fill it with artifacts from all over the world."
"Like a museum." Alstroemeria giggled.
"Exactly like a museum. We'll make it our museum."
"You think we'll last that long?" She whispered shyly, hopefully, in a way that told him it was something she'd wanted to say for a while.
"As long as you love me." He settled on saying. Because I'll keep loving you no matter what.
Okay, that was cringy, but true.
"Cringy but true." Alstroemeria echoed, even though she couldn't hear his thoughts. Their moment was interrupted by a loud clutter as a vibrant red SkyWing fell through the canopy of the tree, and landed inches away from them. Anubis looked up in shock as Sunspot brushed herself off, completely past- caring of the strange looks she was getting.
"Alstro! Hi! Hi." She nodded. "And Anubis!"
'Sunspot." Alstroemeria said, her voice verging on laughter. "Why are you hiding in a tree?"
"I'm not anymore, am I!" She winked jubilantly. "Alright seriously yes I need your help with homework."
Alstroemeria burst out laughing, and Anubis joined in, unable to resist the moment.
"Dayfly couldn't help you?" She snorted, referring to their third Clawmate, a HiveWing called Dayfly.
"Dayfly was too busy with her friends to help her Clawmate with her homework." She rolled her eyes jokingly.
"Yeah, so go and badger your other Clawmate who's currently hanging out with her boyfriend, of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Alstroemeria giggled.
"Well I did! Please please please can you help me? Do you want me to fail my exams and live out my life as a beggar?" Sunspot clasped her claws together and fell to her knees dramatically.
"Luckily for you, I'm always ready to help a friend." Alstroemeria smiled apologetically at Anubis. "Mind if I go with her?" She asked.
"Mm, not at all." Anubis nodded, a little regretfully. But it's okay. She has a life, and friends, who am I to keep her from that? And Sunspot is a really nice dragon, anyway.
Anubis watched them go, and then laid back against the tree trunk, sighing contently and watching dragons go past throughout the morning, and counting them off when they did.
Tide and Grapevine.
That AllWing, Dawnbreaker, was it?
Two MudWings.
Then Mahogany.
Upon second glance, Mahogany looked like he didn't want to be seen... Glancing about, making sure no-one was around - Anubis ducked behind a tree, too interested in what he was doing to be spotted.
Then he held out his claws, where a silver ring encrusted with a ruby lay gently there, belittled by his giant talons. Anubis heard Mahogany speak, and it sent chills down his back as he realised.
"Enchant this ring to put the wearer completely under my control."
Flipping moons - holy Clearsight - Mahogany is an animus?!
I have to tell Alstroemeria! Or anyone! That did NOT sound like a good spell, NOT AT ALL!
But as he was rushing to get out of the tree, his talons caught on a root and he tripped, faceplanting into the mud below. He heard talonsteps approaching quickly, and a hissing growl by his ear. Mahogany - he knows!
"What did you see?!" He growled, a tone of panic in his flustered voice. "Did - do you know?!"
Anubis shook his head in the mud, and attempted to say 'nothing!' which came out as more of a "Muff'n!"
"YOU LIE!!" Mahogany screeched, dragging him up with a claw on his scruff, so he could stare right into those blue eyes.
"I could end you, right now... But that would be too suspicious... No... And I can't have you under my control either..." He mused. Anubis realised with a sickly jolt that he was right - he was at the complete mercy of this secret animus.
"I know." He grinned, dropping Anubis back down again and pinning him so that he couldn't get away. "I know exactly what spell to use."
Anubis closed his eyes. Please don't let these be my last moments. Please let me see Alstroemeria - and life - and my friends - more than just before now. Please let me live.
"I enchant this dragon to never be able to speak about this event - never to tell anyone about me, my magic or my intentions, and never to warn anyone of anything you heard today." He grinned evilly, hissing to Anubis who was still on the floor.
"May it come back to bite you later and with any luck, get someone you love killed."
Written by StarvioletFury