Obelisk was supposed to be powerful.
One of Obelisk's favorite tales was one that was told to her by her mother. Galaxy would bring Obelisk up to a high ledge on the side of the volcano, the two of them facing towards the continent in silence. After a while, Galaxy would tell whatever story she either made up or knew by heart while she stared off into the distance as if she was living the tale.
"Before we were forced to this volcano by fear of our own, we had a grand kingdom. Mountains surrounded us, holding us dear as we decorated the grounds with our lavish designs and visions. Too harrowed by the lack of scenery on this very island, the blank slate too dark for many's tastes, one of our ancestors returned to our lost kingdom with tales of old and despite warnings of the scorned.
"He explored with vigor, awed by the designs, knowledge, and views of our tribe. Even so, fear and horror clung to the walls, dampening the effect greatly. Nothing seemed to be safe, the ghost town of a kingdom empty and jaded.
"The very power that terrified and decorated the kingdom ran through his veins. Sickness rolled through him as he remembered that it was his family line that wielded the double-edged sword that our kingdom had fallen upon. That it was his ancestor who had accidentally cut his tribe open to breathe and suffer from the smog.
"After heavy consideration and depressing thoughts, he decided to do something not heard of before. He enchanted something to give those who touched it a complete version of the same powers that he held. Something that would allow someone beyond his family line to wield those powers, hopefully, better than it had in the past.
"Despite the sentiment, he gave the means to find it to his sister. He didn't give it to her himself, enchanting something to give the message instead. His death arrived as soon as he cast his spell on the object, his life force only strengthening the enchantment.
"The message he gave has been passed down in our family ever since. Some try to find it for themselves, some try to find it to lead someone else there. To protect against those who are greedy, he created a riddle to lead to it.
"It goes like so: Upon the gem from the past's center, you will begin your venture. No matter how true an intention, one must look in a different direction. Fear continues to flow from a past's tale, edge around it before you fail. Power and greed have their own language, choose your words to be outlandish."
There was only one story per night but it was enough for Obelisk's young mind. She always put herself into the story, making herself the hero. The relatively simple story always transformed into an epic about her, how she was smart enough, strong enough, and determined enough to make a completely impossible situation turn in her favor.
I'll be a hero, Obelisk thought every night, staring out past the trees and sea to the infinite horizons. I'll know everything that I need to. I'll be strong enough for those who need me. I'll hold whatever torch handed to me without faltering.
If only that were her reality.
{(:)}
NightWings were supposed to write others' stories. They were supposed to guide the other tribes along with a few 'accurate' words and ominous warnings. Lies, intimidation, and such were supposed to come easily.
It didn't.
Obelisk spent too long daydreaming in class to completely absorb all that was being taught. Outside of those classes, Obelisk spent all of her time just flying around. The scorn and such she got from her teachers didn't process, the dragonet blissfully ignorant of how much trouble she was going to get into.
In one of her classes, one about creating a believable prophecy, the teacher, Morrowseer, had enough. "For example, I foresee that someone in this room will soon be punished for their inaction," said Morrowseer, glaring specifically at Obelisk who was still too out of it to notice. He was by her side in a few sure strides, grabbing her wrist in his near crushing grip to finally jerk her out of her daze. "Obelisk, what did I just say?"
"I-I--" Obelisk stuttered, startled at the sudden and harsh address.
A claw suddenly dug into Obelisk's wrist, making her yelp at the pain. Morrowseer removed his talon, revealing a long and slightly deep cut that made the others gasp. "Get your head out of the clouds. Pay more attention, you aren't allowed to waste time," said Morrowseer, briefly growling before moving away with a scoff.
"Go to the infirmary, don't delay."
Obelisk didn't speak, simply giving a frantic nod before she was limping out of the small room that acted as their classroom. Panic seized her chest, speeding up both her breath and her pace as more blood spilled from the wound. Weaving through the torch-lined halls with her twisting vision, Obelisk almost rushed past the infirmary in her mad sprint.
The scrambling of claws brought the head of the dragon in the room up. A frown flit across her face along with several mysterious emotions but the adult didn't hesitate to wave the panicking dragonet in. Obelisk sat on a rock ledge, watching the other dragon as her lungs continued to constrict themselves. Most of her was a dark grey, dark green covering her underbelly and part of her snout. Dark blue eyes watched her patient carefully as bandages were gathered.
Obelisk was nowhere near as colorful as the healer, most of her body was black (a few purple scales peeking through every once in a while) and her underbelly was an unassuming dark grey. Black obsidian eyes took in her surroundings, avoiding glancing at the blood for as long as possible. Silver sparkling scales hid under weakly shaking wings, glinting in the torchlight every once in a while.
"How did this happen?" asked the healer quietly, her work starting with wiping the wound briefly with a wet cloth. Her voice broke Obelisk out of the moment of observation, cowing Obelisk without meaning to. Morrowseer's words and wound still ran fresh, still made Obelisk want to hide away from the responsibility she should be taking.
It happened because I wasn't paying attention. It happened because I was taking too much leisure. It happened because I didn't spend my time well.
Obelisk didn't say anything, only shaking her head to indicate that she didn't want to talk about it. The healer sighed but didn't push it, wrapping up the wound with Obelisk paying close attention. "You should be fine. Take it a little easy and don't try to lift too much," said the healer, tying off the bandage without anything else to add.
Simply nodding, Obelisk hurriedly exited the room. The other seemed to want to say something but the dragonet was already gone. Rather than return to the class, she searched for an exit to the outside world.
She ignored anyone she passed by, more intent on taking to the air than taking their criticism. The fresh air was welcomed, wind sweeping under Obelisk's wings to fling her into the skies. Circling over the forests of her home that edged the mountain, Obelisk took a couple of moments before aiming for a familiar rock ledge.
Landing with a slight stumble, Obelisk looked towards the continent like she always did. Like she always did when listening to one of her mother's stories. When she would place herself into the protagonist's talons. Just before her mother would wrap her wing around her and their tails would twine. Just before Obelisk would press her nose into her side.
I can't play around anymore. I can't delay anymore. I have to start doing my part. The fairytales and stories aren't helping me. They're only hurting me.
That wasn't exactly true. They taught Obelisk to be humble. They taught her to try her best (she hadn't really paid attention to that one in all fairness). They taught her to fight for what she wanted. They taught her that brawns aren't always better than brains.
No matter what lessons I have been taught, I need to use them for once. I need to use them as often as I can. I won't be the fool that the stories make fun of, I won't.
Her wings compressed to hug herself. Slight tremors worked through her body. A brush of her claws across the bandage caused her to still.
I can't stop. I can't delay. I can't waste time.
Those thoughts led her to throw her wings into the wind again. The others who had seen her fly out looked at her oddly for returning so soon but Obelisk ignored them. Retracing her steps, Obelisk headed for the infirmary rather than returning to her class.
There was something different about the attitude she normally had and the new one, more calmness and confidence obvious at a first glance. If that wasn't enough, Obelisk was doing something different mentally by taking notes and observing as much as she could. Time was of the essence and every moment could be used, she reasoned with herself.
The healer was sorting through something near the back of the room, a soft tapping of claws bringing her attention to the entrance. Her surprise at Obelisk's reappearance was slightly amusing, the healer leaving what she was doing to walk closer to the dragonet. What wasn't all that amusing was the worry that was on the healer's face.
"What do you need? Are you ok? Did you get hurt again?" asked the healer, looking Obelisk over slightly frantically.
"Nothing happened," said Obelisk, answering the questions yet not doing so at the same time. "I just want to make a request."
"Oh?" that interested the healer who met Obelisk's gaze. There was something... almost colder about the dragonet. Like someone had wiped away any emotion, good and bad, to replace it with a simple calm. "What is it?"
"Can you teach me about healing? Possibly making me an apprentice?" asked Obelisk, not saying a word more to explain herself. The less time taken up, the better.
Obelisk got a surprised look for her request, obviously asking something the healer had not expected. "Why the sudden interest?" asked the healer, frowning a little at the shift. Between that and the sudden calm, it was like something drastic had happened.
The healer glanced at the bandages on Obelisk's wrist, coming to her own conclusions. Conclusions that could be as far or as close to the truth as possible. There couldn't be much in between.
"I want to know more. Specializing in something such as healing would help with that," said Obelisk. Despite the lack of reaction from the dragonet, Obelisk knew that the healer was assuming things. It was to be expected after Obelisk shifted from panicked to calm in no more than ten minutes.
"Makes sense," said the healer, quiet for a moment to consider something. "If you answer my question, I'll start training you."
"What is it?" Obelisk asked, slight eagerness breaking through her calm.
"How did you get hurt?" asked the healer, slight suspicion in her voice.
Obelisk's eagerness immediately faded. "I wasn't paying attention," said Obelisk, once again answering the question yet not.
"Mm," the healer hummed, giving Obelisk a sharp look that conveyed more of her disbelief before letting it go. "Ok, we can start. Before we start, I'm Empathy."
"Obelisk," the dragonet responded, getting a small nod before Empathy launched into an explanation about how everything would work.
And if that night Obelisk shied away from the hug from her mother, neither of them mentioned it.
{(:)}
Every beginning has an end and every end a beginning. Something was always in motion, the start of something always around the corner. Can everything keep up?
"Obelisk," Galaxy's voice broke her daughter out of her musings.
Mentally, Obelisk cursed her wandering mind as she brushed her claws against the bump that used to be the wound that Morrowseer had inflicted. His words stuck with her and repeated like a mantra in her head every time she brushed across the scar. It wasn't the time. Never the time. Don't waste time.
"Yes?" asked Obelisk, placing the plant in her talon into its appropriate place before turning towards her mother. Galaxy awkwardly stood in the entrance to the infirmary, glancing around at the various ledges on the left side of the room rather than the shelves of supplies on the right with her daughter. "What do you need?" said Obelisk, prompting her mother before they wasted time.
"Where's Empathy?" asked Galaxy, stepping into the room while finally looking at her daughter.
That wasn't a sting to Obelisk's heart. It wasn't. "Getting food. If you need her, she'll--"
"No no, I wanted to talk with you alone," said Galaxy, moving closer to her daughter so they could speak comfortably despite the slight tension in the air.
"What is it?" asked Obelisk, a slight edge to her words that she didn't like. There was no use in anger. Calm is the best tool. Another mantra she had forced herself to live by and conform to.
"How..." Galaxy trailed off before clearing her throat to start again. "How would you feel about becoming a big sister?"
Unexpected questions were almost always answered by surprise. This was no exception. "What?" said Obelisk, her surprise clear enough in her voice that almost made her internally wince.
Be blank. Be calm. One more mantra she was attempting to embody. That she had to embody.
My surprise has no place here. It isn't the time. Never the time. Don't waste time.
"Your father wants more dragonets," said Galaxy, wincing a little at how bad that sounded. "I do too but Atmosphere is extremely excited. I wanted to give you notice and get your opinion."
"I can't control you two, you may do as you wish," said Obelisk, taking note of another wince from Galaxy. "I'll take care of my siblings when they're here, I promise you that much."
Galaxy was silent for a moment, frowning at her daughter with clear sadness. "Obelisk, why have we grown so far apart?" asked Galaxy, taking Obelisk aback with the amount of emotion in that question. "We could be a family again with your new siblings. Don't you want that?"
"The reason we have grown apart is no fault of yours," said Obelisk, guilt gripping her with its unforgiving claws. "The family that we had was just you and me. I've heard my father's name all of three times and seen him once. The new family that my siblings will have will consist of you, a disappearing Atmosphere, and a distant older sister.
"If they'll need me, I'll be there. If you need me, I'll be there. I don't want to hurt them how I've hurt you, please try to understand that," Obelisk ended her little speech with pleading eyes to her mother.
Galaxy's frown only grew and she let out a sad sigh. "Ok," said Galaxy, taking a step back and away from her daughter. "I guess I'll be going," Obelisk said nothing, making Galaxy turn on her tail and almost run out.
Obelisk turned back to the shelves, sorting the supplies with a little more vigor than necessary. She blinked back tears, grinding her teeth together as she shoved another piece of material back with a small slam. Her force decreased by a little bit, but it didn't stop her efforts against her tears.
It isn't the time. Never the time. Don't waste time. It isn't the time. Never the time. Don't waste time.
When Empathy walked in, she didn't say a word. She only walked next to her apprentice and brushed her wing against the younger's. Mindlessly twining their tails, Obelisk pressed her nose to Empathy's shoulder with a shudder and a single silent tear running down her face.
More stories to begin and be told. Can I keep up?
{(:)}
There was always some type of sorrow or sadness in a story. It could be from someone destroying a random flower, it could be from losing something, it could be from losing someone.
For Obelisk's story, it was the last one. After Galaxy gave her last clutch, she died when Obelisk was four. Galaxy was too weak to continue, passing a day after laying her clutch despite efforts from Empathy and Obelisk. Before she passed, she gave Obelisk a list of names for the clutch of four.
"I know you'll take care of them. I'm so proud of you, Obelisk. So so proud."
Four became two and two became one. A lack of warmth got the first two, the other hatching way too early and dying before Obelisk could so much as look at them. Two sisters and a brother lost before they could so much as have a sentence to their story wounded Obelisk, causing her to nearly obsess over the last egg.
By obsess, she meant to watch over the egg every day and night. Sleeping in the hatchery next to the egg was her new norm, efforts to remove her from Empathy or anyone were futile. Because she wouldn't let her mother's efforts be futile.
That meant that in the middle of the night when the egg moved, Obelisk was awake in an instant. Awed yet fearful black eyes watched the black object shift again. Edging closer, Obelisk didn't breathe in fear of breaking the spell that had fallen over the two.
Claws broke through first, peaking out of the shining eggshell with their little crescents. Then came the entire talon, cracking the eggshell that almost copied the color of their scales. The cracks expanded quickly, letting the rest of the dragonet fall through.
"You're perfect," Obelisk mumbled without a thought, her eyes fixed on her new little brother. He copied Obelisk's coloring to a near tee, dark green scales instead of purple separating them. Somehow, the dark green fit him so well, like moss growing on stone. Black met black, the siblings staring at each other for a few seconds that felt like minutes.
"Urr?" he 'said', the little sound only making Obelisk love him more. He crawled closer, reaching out to Obelisk with his tiny talons.
"Hello, Stonemover," said Obelisk, giving the little dragonet one of the suggested names without much thought. He seemed to like it, chirping as he grabbed Obelisk's claw. Obelisk shifted so she was curled around him, smiling at Stonemover with so much happiness it felt like Obelisk was flying.
"You're going to be someone they tell stories about. Even if they don't, I'll sing your epic to the end of time," Obelisk promised in a small whisper, Stonemover simply chirping again in response.
He doesn't have to understand me. It doesn't change my words. He'll do something important, I just know it.
Empathy found the two in the morning, Obelisk curled around Stonemover as much as possible with her wing covering him for extra protection.
"Obelisk," Empathy murmured, mindful of the dragonet that Obelisk was so keen on protecting as she shook the apprentice's shoulder. "Obelisk, wake up."
Obelisk half-heartedly grumbled out a sleepy and unintelligible protest, slowly opening her eyes to 'glare' at Empathy. "What?" Obelisk seemed to have forgotten that nobody knew that Stonemover existed yet.
Empathy was quick to remind her. "The egg hatched last night?" Empathy phrased it as a statement but it came out as a question, the NightWing staring at Stonemover as she spoke.
"It did," said Obelisk, looking at her brother with a small smile. "His name's Stonemover."
"I'll get you two something to eat. I have to tell the others," said Empathy, staring at the duo with an affection that branched from Obelisk's change in mood. It was rare that Obelisk was anything beyond calm and calculating, the shift was welcomed.
"But they'll want to take him from me," Obelisk grumbled, frowning a little at the thought.
"I know but I highly doubt they could," joked Empathy, getting an amused snort for her efforts. "I'll get food first so you have a bit more time alone. See you soon."
Obelisk didn't respond, too focused on watching Stonemover's sleeping form. She tried to curl up farther, resting her head so her snout nearly touched his. "You'll move mountains," Obelisk said with a slightly joking tone, not caring that she wasn't exactly joking and that no one could hear her. "You'll do something others have never seen. I know it."
That night in the dorms, Obelisk quietly told Stonemover one of the stories Galaxy had told her under the tent of her wing.
Every night after that, she did the same.
When he was finally old enough, Obelisk brought him out to the ledge that Galaxy used to use for her stories. She used it for the same purpose, pushing away the grief that suddenly hit her from her mother's lack of presence. At the end of her story, she twined her tail with Stonemover yet hesitated with wrapping her wing around him. He didn't mind, brushing their wings together as he pressed his nose into her side.
I'll tell you the stories that Mom told me. I'll be whatever I need to be for you. I'm here for you, Stonemover.
I always will be.