Shortened deadlines were the bane of pretty much everyone's existence.
That fact didn't change when Stonemover's week was shortened down to three days.
"I understand why they did it," Stonemover had said when the siblings found out. "Dragons are stressing out and it's best that we don't get irrational."
"What's irrational is the fact that they're pushing this when you're the guy with the soul-stealing powers. You should be the stressed one," Obelisk had retaliated with a huff.
"More like you'll be the stressed one, between the infirmary and mother henning me," Stonemover had teased.
"Why you...!" that ended in a long tirade of teasing that took the better half of a day. Those who witnessed it were in disbelief. After all, they weren't used to Obelisk being anything other than eerily calm.
The night before he had to leave, Obelisk was anything but calm.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Obelisk, a hint of her desperation getting through to her voice. They sat on the ledge that had become a staple to the two, looking towards the mainland that Stonemover was about to travel to. Alone.
"I'm sure," said Stonemover, turning to smile at his sister. "I'll be fine."
"You say that but that doesn't help my worrying," mumbled Obelisk, glaring at the distant continent like it was the reason Stonemover was being ordered to leave. In a way, it was.
"I know," said Stonemover, his smile becoming nervous a second later. "That's why I wanted to give you something."
"Stone," said Obelisk in a warning tone, turning her glare to Stonemover, albeit with a lot less heat.
"You can't complain this time," said Stonemover, defending himself quickly as he pulled out two scrolls. Both of them were encased in leather, one of them with gray and the other with black. "Here."
Obelisk took the offered gray leather scroll, giving the enchanted object an incredulous look. "So what do these do?" said Obelisk, turning it over in her talons to inspect it a little more.
"They're connected. Anything written on one will appear on the other. You can clear what is visible by closing the case," said Stonemover while keeping his nervous smile. "I'll write to you every night to keep you from worrying."
"You didn't have to," said Obelisk, frowning a little at the scroll.
"And you don't have to act like the strong one 24/7," retaliated Stonemover with unexpected fire that made Obelisk stare at him in shock. "I know I'm the little brother but let me do this for you."
They stared at each other in search of answers to unspoken questions. Obelisk was quiet for a long enough time that Stonemover was worried that she would deny the gift. "Fine," Obelisk finally said, letting Stonemover sigh in relief. "Then let me do something for old time's sake."
"What?" asked Stonemover, raising an eyebrow at his sister.
She looked back towards the continent with a thinly veiled smile. "Once upon a time..."
Laughter followed her words but it quickly fell silent to give space for the story. At the end of it, with twined tails and his snout pressed into her shoulder, the two spent their little eternity in comfortable silence.
Morning brought back all of the doubts and worries but neither one of them voiced any. They didn't speak to each other as they left for the shore. Landing, they were greeted by Morrowseer, Greatness, and a couple of NightWings Obelisk didn't recognize.
Stonemover pulled out an oyster shell, giving it to Greatness while explaining the enchantments placed on it. The route would appear wherever the shell was placed once the partner of the shell was in place. It was lava proof, but placing the route in lava wasn't suggested.
Stonemover hesitated before he took off, glancing around at the others for a moment. Whatever he was thinking didn't seem to care for them despite the pause, Stonemover turning towards his sister to say that much. Obelisk barely got to raise an eyebrow at him before he was suddenly hugging her.
Sudden as the embrace was, Obelisk didn't hesitate to return it. They separated, Stonemover glossy-eyed as he took off. Also a little glossy-eyed, she could barely restrain herself from throwing herself into the sky after him.
Instead, she watched him go, keeping an eye on him until she couldn't. It wasn't very far into the distance that she could see, but it still did a minuscule amount to calm her. "I'm sure he'll be fine, no need to worry," said one of the random NightWings, trying to comfort her.
Her calm facade had broken the moment Stonemover had hugged her, letting her cold fury be open for the NightWing to flinch away from. "Thanks for the sentiment, but you can't tell his older sister not to worry," Obelisk hissed, narrowing her eyes to make both of the randoms flinch. "I need to be in the infirmary," Obelisk said to no one in particular, taking off in a rush.
In the infirmary, no one tried to talk to her much. Her presence was brooding and dark compared to her usual calm, setting everyone who knew her on edge. She ignored it all, burying herself in work to try to distract herself.
Sometime in the evening, Obelisk went to check on the scroll. Much to her relief, Stonemover's slanted scrawl appeared on the paper.
My first day out has been mostly fine. By that, I mean that the flight over here was terrible, it was so long! Now I see why you hate going to the mainland. For now, I'm spending the night in a tunnel in the SkyWing cliffs. I miss you and can't wait to be back, Stonemover.
Obelisk lightly chuckled at Stonemover's complaints. Dipping her claws into some ink, Obelisk wrote out her response.
I'm glad to hear that you aren't crazy enough yet to think that the flight is fun. The mainland isn't really worth the journey. Make sure that you stay safe, especially in SkyWing territory. That lot has a bit of a temper, I'll tell you. Miss you too and awaiting your return, Obelisk.
Storing the scroll again with a small sigh, Obelisk took a moment to blankly stare at the wall.
It isn't the time. Never the time. Don't waste time.
With that venomous hiss in her ear, Obelisk went back to the infirmary to try to silence it.
That night, after a brief visit to Empathy, Obelisk found another distraction. Food on the island was nearly non-existent, forcing the council to place everyone on a limit of only eating once a week. When Empathy's egg hatched, Obelisk was not forcing the dragonet to eat the carrion like the garbage that Obelisk had to choke down yesterday for their only meal.
So she went out to sea, flying high to lessen her shadow and not scare away her potential prey. Night vision helped pick out shadows in the water but the next thing was the most difficult. Catching the fish by dive-bombing the water wasn't going to be fun but it was the only thing Obelisk could do.
The first attempt was a complete disaster. Water got into her mouth and eyes, the cold was a shock, and it took Obelisk way too long to get back into the air again. She didn't even get a fish to show for it.
But she tried again. And again. And again.
It took too many tries to count before she finally got out of the water with a fish in her talons. The bass writhed around for a time until it suffocated, blood dripping down its scales from the death grip Obelisk had on it. Exhausted by her adventure, Obelisk flew back to the island with only a hint of triumph in her mind. The rest of it was occupied criticizing her attempts.
The fortress was practically empty as Obelisk headed for the hatchery. Empathy was the only one awake, much to Obelisk's delight. "Empathy," called Obelisk quietly, mindful of the various other NightWing curled protectively around their eggs.
"Obelisk?" Empathy responded in a whisper, giving Obelisk a once over before her eyes landed on the fish. "What...?"
"Here," said Obelisk, ignoring Empathy's question in favor of walking over and giving the food to the older. "That took me a while to get so eat up."
"How did you even get it in the first place?" asked Empathy before finally taking a bite of the fish.
"I fished," said Obelisk before elaborating. "I'm going to continue to fish for food. I hope the dragonet likes fish because that's going to be most of their diet."
"What?" asked Empathy, swallowing her current bite of fish to try to get clarity.
She gave it while looking at the egg. "I told you I'm going to give them the best life I can give them. That means not having them depend on carrion. If that means I have to learn how to fish, so be it," said Obelisk, humming a little at a new thought. "When Stone opens up the pathway, maybe I'll stalk the RainWings for good spots for fruit..."
"Wait, won't this get you in trouble? Feeding both the dragonet and I more than once a week?" asked Empathy, staring at the last couple of bites of fish like it was going to eat her instead.
"Then I'll deal with it," said Obelisk without much hesitation. "Still, try to keep quiet for as long as possible. The less the dragonet has to deal with, the better."
"Of course," said Empathy, hesitantly taking another bite of the fish. "Thank you again for taking care of them."
"I'm just keeping my word," said Obelisk, nodding before turning towards the door. "Good night."
"Good night, Obelisk."
I'll do what I can for them. The volcano won't take everything from them. I won't let it.
{(:)}
New characters were sometimes introduced at the weirdest times. It could be during a heist, in the middle of an argument, etc.
This just had to be one of those weird times
Three days into her little night fishing, Obelisk was confronted. Not by someone of her tribe, no no no. It was by a SeaWing.
On her some-odd-number-th dive, something rose out of the water she was aiming for. Startled, Obelisk pulled out of her dive and flew higher to get away from the sudden thing. The moonlight shined bright enough that Obelisk could see what it was but that didn't help out her confusion that much.
A SeaWing was blinking up at her, grinning a slightly goofy grin at the suspicious NightWing. "Hey! What are you doing?" he asked, acting like he didn't just nearly collide with Obelisk.
"I could ask the same," said Obelisk, narrowing her eyes at him as she hovered.
"And I asked first," he responded with a cheeky glint in his eyes.
Obelisk didn't respond for a moment because, honestly, is he playing this game? A sigh escaped her when she realized he was. "I'm fishing, you?" said Obelisk.
"Exploring," said the SeaWing. "I like mapping so I thought I would explore outside of SkyWing territory."
"In the middle of the war?" asked Obelisk, giving him a questioning look that more of questioned his sanity than his answer.
"I mean, who else other than other SeaWings and apparently NightWings will be this far out to sea? Why are you this far out, by the way?" asked the SeaWing, giving Obelisk a curious look to combat her questioning one.
"I'd rather not say," said Obelisk, flattening her expression out to look bored and uninterested in face of his curiosity.
"Fair enough," said the SeaWing with a nonchalant shrug that almost made Obelisk do a double-take physically, although she did do one mentally.
Seriously? That's it?
"Why are you fishing then? Tribes outside of SeaWings don't normally like fish."
Question for a question then. "My friend likes it, I don't question her," Obelisk said instead of 'Fish is better than carrion'.
"Why isn't she out here?" asked the SeaWing, his curiosity showing yet again.
"She has an egg," said Obelisk, giving the SeaWing a sharp enough gaze that hopefully signaled for him to stop poking around.
"Ah," the SeaWing nodded with a small hum. He also apparently got the signal. "Why don't you come down here and join me? I'm not going to hurt you."
Obelisk raised an eyebrow in slight doubt but got closer to him nonetheless. "I would join you in the water if I was any good at swimming," said Obelisk, hovering above the water in front of him.
"Oh, no need," he said before suddenly diving down. Obelisk could barely blink before the water parted and surged for the SeaWing. He was hovering in front of Obelisk with that same grin on his face, clearly enjoying the surprise on her face.
"While I'm in the air, do you want me to teach you how to dive for fish?"
That was a surprise. "What? Why?" asked Obelisk, giving him a disbelieving look.
"Why not? You haven't predicted my doom or read my mind yet. I think that's enough reason," said the SeaWing, giving Obelisk another nonchalant shrug that seemed to be a staple for him. "Can I know your name before I start my lesson? I'm Fin."
"Obelisk."
That night, Obelisk got to eat one of the fishes she caught. She gave the other to Fin and took the final one for Empathy. When Obelisk had asked if Fin was planning on sticking around, he just winked at her before shouting out a goodbye and diving into the sea.
Weird indeed.
After that, Obelisk just went through her new routine. Give Empathy the fish, talk for a bit, go to bed. Then work in the infirmary for as long as possible, check on Stonemover's message, talk to Empathy for a moment, and go fishing.
Fishing was once again accompanied by Fin who seemed set on befriending Obelisk. Not that she responded to his attempts that much but he tried anyway. It was both hilarious and endearing to see Fin jumped back from a hard shut down.
He's not going to give up, huh? Oh well, not the worst thing that's happened.
{(:)}
Supernatural things were, in a matter of words, not natural, not normal.
It wasn't normal to see a hole in space rip open where an oyster shell used to be. It wasn't normal to feel one's scales crawl the moment they went near it. It wasn't normal to have someone walk out of it in a matter of minutes of its opening when it took days for them to get to the island.
Obelisk couldn't care for what was normal or not as she hugged her brother. Her momentum made him stumble a little but Stonemover quickly returned it. Despite the warmth in her chest at seeing her brother again, the uncomfortable buzz in the air from the magic undercut the moment a little.
He wasn't happy when he made this.
The buzz from the tunnel didn't feel at all like the aura Obelisk got from the bracelet and scroll. It felt like someone was peeling apart her scales one by one. The bracelet tried to protect her by wrapping her up in a warm tingling blanket but there was still a hint of the tunnel's effect in the background.
Speaking of background, all of the dragons who came to either investigate the tunnel or congratulate Stonemover took a back seat. Instead of letting her little brother suffer through his awkwardness with social interaction, Obelisk led him away from the din. And instead of leading him to the fortress where he could rest, she towed him to their usual rock ledge.
They were in silence for a moment in which Stonemover fidgeted nervously while Obelisk looked south. "I know that you miss me and all, but is there any chance I could go rest?" asked Stonemover, finally too restless to let the silence sit. "I'm really tired from traveling and creating the tunnel--"
She cut him off while sharply looking at him, "You weren't happy when you made the tunnel."
He froze under her gaze, only confirming her words. The faint sound of the waves measured out the long seconds that Stonemover was quiet. "How do you know that?" he asked, his voice much quieter than it was before.
"The aura I get from the bracelet and scroll is much much different from what I get from that tunnel. All I can assume is that you created that enchantment when you weren't happy," said Obelisk, forcing Stonemover into eye contact. "Why weren't you happy?"
"It was after the volcano erupted. I was just... so scared..." said Stonemover, his eyes showing something beyond fear despite his best efforts.
"I can get that," said Obelisk, narrowing her eyes a little to pierce Stonemover's. "But there's something else. Something from when you activated the enchantment. What is it?"
Shudders passed through his body, making him break eye contact and instead stare at his talons. Stare at them like they weren't his. "I made the enchantment so that it wouldn't take the piece of my soul until I activated it. And when it did..."
The shudders and shivers seemed to encompass his whole being as he trailed off. Much to her dismay, Obelisk could only brush her wing against his and stare as he broke down. It was like his very scales had been chipped away by the activation.
"I felt so broken. I am so broken. Something in my head keeps saying that I can have more than this. I can be more than this.
"I don't want to give in to the voice. I know it's from my soul breaking apart and I don't want to make it worse. I just..." his shudders made him press his snout into her shoulder to try to calm down. To not break apart and shatter. To not cut his sister in the process.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"Shh, it's okay," Obelisk hushed soothingly, twining her tail with his and moving her wing to encase him completely. "It's okay. It's okay to be broken. It's okay."
"How do you know?" Stonemover let out a small sob at the end of his quiet and broken question. Tears weren't there yet but they were close.
"I know it's okay because I'm broken. I've been broken since before you were born," said Obelisk, her mind bringing up one of the broken mantras that still jabbed at her. It wasn't the time. Never the time. Don't waste time.
"I still manage. You can manage this. I know you can," she continued, pushing the mantra to the back of her mind despite how the jagged edges cut her.
"What if I can't?" he mumbled, an ugly sob at the back of his throat. He pressed closer to Obelisk, trying to gain some of her stability.
"Then I'll be there to pick you up," she said with absolute certainty. As if she could command time enough to tell it when her end could be. That end would be after her brother was okay. After she made sure he was okay.
"What if you aren't?" he rasped, his talons curling into tight fists at the very thought.
"I will be," she said, her tone leaving no argument. Not even from Father Time himself.
Neither of them knew how long they stayed there, finding their footing. And neither of them could stand to find out. For each other, they could've spent the rest of their lives trying to stabilize their sibling. Even then, would it be enough?
Would it ever be enough?