NO POV
Error glances over, seeing Reaper with the boys on the side of the cave entrance. The trio freezes up, seeing Shino on his head. He lowers his head as Shino climbs off.
"Found Papa while you were arguing over which tent to search!"She says
Then before more can be said, a distant roar is heard. Error frowns, somehow understanding it as more than a roar. To him, he hears a familiar voice screaming for help. He shakes his head, already confirming in his mind that Shattered struck another victim. His wings unfold, soaring after the roars as they turn into whimpers. He sees lime green tentacles shoot up with yellow tips before shrinking back down. He flies lower, seeing Shattered choking a different dragon and trying to force a collar onto it. He dives down, grabbing Shattered and tossing him away. But the collar already weakened the smaller dragon, putting him in a trance and its power also charges into Error Error when he grabs the collar to rip it off. It isn't reversed when the collar is thrown away since the code is already in their systems. Error lands beside the smaller dragon, who leans against him. It is significantly smaller than him and upon seeing this, he wraps his wings around the dragon to provide some security. He checks the soul, learning that it's Palette. He frowns, picks Palette up by the neck, and flies back to the cave, finding it empty. His family left. He shrugs it off, going inside once checking for intruders. They cuddle together and he shares his food with Palette. He smiles once Shino tracks him down again and reveals her smiling face.
"Goth! Your boyfriend is here! With Papa!"She shouts
"Palette? What is he doing with Papa?"Goth's voice echoes into the cave
Palette lifts his head up as Error gently folds his wing over him to keep him from shaking. His body is still shaking as he recovers from Shattered's attack so Error's protection is reassuring.
"Just got a call from Nightmare. Apparently Dust and Killer lost him at a park. I guess Shattered got to him."Reaper says
Shino notices the two dragons staring at her as she steps closer to them. She kind of found it cute, like a dog's begging stare with a wagging tail when the family returns home. They put her back in the nest as Palette goes toward the cave entrance, sitting patiently as his tail wags.
"Palette? Are you okay? Papa? I'm coming in!"Goth shouts, marching in
He freezes up at the sight of Palette, who drops his head to get closer to him. Goth hesitantly reaches out, petting his head. He cannot believe that this dragon is what has become of his boyfriend. Palette purrs as Goth gently pets him. Then he writes a simple message in the dirt for Goth.
"I'll be good....? We'll be good....?"
Palette nods, curling up around him.
"Palette? What is that supposed to mean?"Goth asks
Palette only smiles almost proudly as he leaves the question unanswered. Then he lifts a claw, pointing deeper into the cave. He picks Goth up with a tentacle to lift onto his back as he heads deeper into the cave and smiles at Error. Error and Shino smile at them. Raven and Reaper walk in, looking shocked at seeing the four of them. Error digs his claws in the ground once noticing them and laying down, still intending to avoid scratching them by mistake. Reaper and Goth notice their lovers' dilated pupils that seem to fog over in a daze. They glance over curiously at each other, giving a knowing nod of understanding.
Reaper reaches out, gently petting Error as Palette gets the same treatment from Goth, both dragons loving it. The two dragons purr with rumbles in their chests and Reaper loves the sound.
Palette writes on the ground: We'll be good....Don't want to face trouble or get hurt....Don't want to be punished or sent into markets.
"We'll never send you away, Palette. What markets are you talking about?"Goth asks
"Shattered also streams about illegal markets for anything he can steal and sell. That's probably what Palette means. Also I find code injected into theirs meant to enforce obedience through fear. It's restricting them from being themselves instead of a wild animal."Shino says after checking their code
Error and Palette lower their heads at the mention of the markets.
"Well we can help them. But staying in this cave won't do much. Wanna go home?"Goth suggests
"How do we get them home? There's no way they'll fit in the house."Raven asks
"Uh, Dad? I just got an alert that Gaster passed a new law. Coincidence that it is passed now against any wild dragons found near homes? Any without collars or leashes will be taken for him to handle apparently. Perhaps he is working with Shattered this time to get control."Shino says
"Uggh, great....Wait, that gives me an idea...That could help us..."Reaper says
The three kids look at him and they grin. Shino zips away with Reaper while the two boys keep the dragons company. A few minutes later the pair of dragons watch the four huddle together, working on something they can't see. Then Goth flies up, locking a shiny collar around Palette's neck. Palette glances at it, holding the star-jeweled tag hanging from it. Goth kisses his cheek and he smiles. Then Reaper quickly locks a collar onto Error's neck, surprising him as he was too focused on Goth to notice. He glances at it, seeing how it shines a dark blue like his scarf with a shining blue tag. What he and Palette don't know is that the collars are coded to protect them from harm.
He notices Reaper's awestruck gaze full of affection and glances away, his face burning up. Even now he can only imagine what Reaper may say or think and part of him loves it. Reaper sees strings dangle from his horns, making hearts. He finds it adorable.
"It looks wonderful on you, darling. Anything does, really. You're so majestic and magnificent that-"Reaper coos to him.
"Eww, Dad! Can we go home before you start simping for Papa as a dragon?"Raven asks
Reaper's face burns up at getting called out, making Error laugh.
"*Sigh* I'll get a portal ready."Shino says
TBC