“Fiery! Fiery wake up!” I was being roughly shaken by someone I couldn’t quite make out in my semi-conscious state. Despite how persistant they were being, the shadows before my eyes were reluctant to fade. “Hurry!”

Slowly, it seeped into my mind that that voice sounded kind of familiar. I tried to at least sit up, but a sharp sting through my claw halted my attempt, as well as cleared my mind most effectively. The fight! I had been fighting! At once I jumped up, only to collide with Bliz who had been the someone trying to wake me up.

“Bliz!” I instantantly enveloped her in a hug, ignoring the pain in my claws. “Bliz! I was so worried about you!”

“I’m fine,” she replied, reciprocating the hug, but just as quickly ended. “Just, our connection seems to be broken.” She stepped back. “But we don’t have time for a long reunion party right now! Can you get up?”

“I think so…” I pushed the blanket aside and swung my hooves out of the bed. Only now I registered the bandages around my claws and the one around my back. “What…” I plucked at them a bit. “What happened?”

“You got hit by that anti-azure magic these kirins are able to use,” Rythil, standing on Bliz’s back, answered. “Calamitous Blossom was furious at first, but now she’s extremely worried.”

“Rythil!” I hopped out of the bed and gave him a closer look. His claws were clean again and his fur seemed to have seen a brush not so long ago. “Good to see you are alright!”

“Thanks, I am also glad we both survived that encounter. What is with your merriment though, can you still feel them?”

For a second fear crept up my spine, but as quick as it had arisen, it vanished, as I could still sense my merriment out there. “Yes,” I said, “they are still there.”

“Then Sierra Bonsai hasn’t done any permanent harm to you.” He sounded quite relieved.

“Who is Sierra Bonsai?”

“The kirin who shot at you, Calamitous Blossom’s daughter. She hasn’t mastered the spell yet, so it was unclear how much trouble she had caused with her attempt.”

“I’m sure Calamitous Blossom will be happy to hear that,” Bliz said. “She wanted to speak with you as soon as you woke up. The fact that her daughter broke the rules of your fight caused a lot of problems down here!”

“Hades has cursed them with one of his plagues,” Rythil clarified for me. “From what I can tell, breaking the rules would have been bad enough given the hierarchy of these kirins, but Hades himself took great issue with somekirin attacking you while you had his permission to be here.” He jumped down from Bliz’s back when she excused herself with a nod to trot over to the door to talk to someone outside.

“What do you mean he cursed them with a plague?”

“They are sick now. Most, if not all of them. As soon as you were hit, the air darkened and began to reak like rotten fruits or a contaminated pond that’s been allowed to fester. Soon after, these kirins started to cough and some even vomited. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. Only Caustic Mercy seemed unaffected, along with Blizzard Silence and Heat Wave when I eventually saw them. Hades is very prudently when it comes to his punishments it seems. Some of the gods would have simply punished each and everyone down here, including you, Blizzard and Heat Wave.”

“Wait, Heat Wave, where is he? Is he alright too?”

“Yes, he is trying to help. These kirins didn’t do him any harm besides hitting him with the anti-azure connection magic. He is in their village, tending to the sick.”

“Is he crazy?” My eyes widened in shock. “What if he catches the plague too!”

“I told you, Hades is being very careful with his plague, it will not affect anyone besides the kirins he wants it to.”

“That is correct,” Caustic Mercy stated from the doorframe before fully entering. “Lord Hades punishes those who stood against his will and betrayed the pact that he and the ancestors of our congregation forged.”

I flinched back my ears. “Isn’t that a little drastic? Most of them didn’t have anything to do with what happened in the fight.”

I mean of course it was a bad move, and a huge one, but if Sierra Bonsai is Calamitous Blossom’s daughter, I can kind of see why she did that.

“And most of their ancestors had nothing to do with the pact forged with Lord Hades either, they simply benefited from it. It is naive to complain about them sharing the punishment of those who lead when they were more than willing to share the benefits.”

I opened my mouth to reply to that, but I couldn’t come up with anything. Fortunately for me, right behind him, Bliz and Calamitous Blossom entered, so I was spared having to answer. I did tense up a little bit though. Last time I had seen Calamitous Blossom, I had tried to kill her thanks to Roary, and she likely would have taken the opportunity if she’d have been the one at my throat.

“Fiery Leadership!” Calmatious Blossom intoned as she approach me. I shifted on my hooves and claws, preparing for our fight to resume, only to be taken by surprise when she dropping to the ground, laying there only a pace or two in front of me on her stomach. Her tail was also pressed to the ground and curled back around so that it was up against her side while her nose nearly touched the ground. “I admit my defeat in our duel. I take full responsibility for the actions of my daughter and offer you my life in penance.” She pulled a dagger out of her mane with her magic and held it up with the hilt pointed at me. The blade remained motionless in the air before me, until Hades’ curse forced her to begin coughing, causing the blade to waver.

My mouth hung agape. The last time we were in a room together, she’d tried to kill me, eradicate me from this world all because her ancestors had some sort of dispute with my kind. And now, she way laying down in front of me asking for me to take her life, in cold blood I want to add.

“We should…” Roary started before a burst of rage flew over me.

“You shut your darn mouth! You nearly got me to kill her! To rip open her throat! How DARE YOU!”

“I just…”

“Shut up! Don’t you dare speak to me till I allow you to again!”

“Fiery.” Rythil quickly stepped back as my back caught fire, with the rest of my body beginning to smoulder as I was very close to turning nirik. “Fiery stop! I know you two just fought, but…”

“It’s not about her!” I hissed, restlessly shuffling in place in an attempt to calm down. “It’s my advisor! He nearly convinced me to rip out her throat!”

“You are supposed to guide me, not to turn me into a killer, Roary! Don’t you dare to do that again!”

With effort, I suppressed my anger and stayed kirin for the time being. “I will not kill you, Calamitous Blossom, I didn’t even want to fight you! All I’d come here to do was rescue Bliz and Heat Wave. Put your dagger back.” I then made the appropriate gesture with my claw. As I did this, I caught sight of the bandages on my claw, and a pinch of annoyance crawled over my mind, but not for long. The bandages fortunately seemed to be fire resistant, otherwise the one on my back would have been turned to ashes.

“I.. can’t do that.” It was clear just how much effort it took her to say that. The aura surrounding her blade seemed to get brighter after she said this, and I watched her doing her best to suppress another cough. “You would have killed me in combat, if not for my daughter's failure. My life is forfeit. I lost to an azure. I failed. I brought shame to myself and my ancestors. Lord Hades is punishing my people for my and my daughter’s failures. I have to get redemption for our sins, by seeking your,” she nearly choked on that word, “forgiveness.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You can have my forgiveness by making up for it, or more accurately, your daughter is the one who needs to ask for my forgiveness, not you.”

“You seem very calm given the fact that she tried to split you in two with her axe based on what Rythil told me,” Bliz whispered to me. “I probably would have taken that more personally.”

“Roary nearly convinced me to sink my fangs into her throat and rip her apart. I think I’ve had enough rage and anger for one day,” I whispered back.

“No, not my daughter!” For a split second, Calamitous Blossom even dared to look up at me before lowering her gaze again. “Demand what you want from me, azure,” I could see the muscle on her forelegs tighten under her fur as she said this, “but not the life of my daughter.”

“I’m not demanding her life! What are you thinking?” I shook my head in bewilderment as I refolded my wings which had poofed open from the slight. “An apology, maybe a gift in the form of a bag of gems would be fine!” I raised a claw, waving her crazy idea off. “You are her mother, I couldn’t expect her to stand aside while I, well, while I, you know. An apology to calm down Hades so he spares your people and all should be fine.” My gaze wandered to Bliz for a moment. “And an apology from you to Bliz and Heat Wave along with some little presents should make everything alright again.”

“Lord Hades will not be satisfied with a simple apology,” Caustic Mercy said. “The millennia old pact between him and the people of this village has been violated.”

Calamitous Blossom raised the hilt of her dagger higher.

“And I will not be pleased with her or her daughter’s blood on my claws,” I said pointing at Calamitous Blossom

“Please!” Calamitous Blossom spat out before falling back into a coughing fit. “My people are dying! You must accept my life so that they can be spared!” She crawled nearer, her belly scratching over the ground before grabbing one of my forelegs and forcing the dagger into my claw. “I beg you, I offer my life to save my daughter and my people!”

Seeking help, I looked at Rythil. “There must be another way, something to appease the god of the underworld with. I am not, not, going to murder her!” I then threw the dagger away from me.

“Then my people are doomed!” Now she did dare to look me in the eyes. “Hades will eradicate us all if you deny killing me! Don’t you get that, child?”

“And he may not even spare you if she does,” Bliz threw in, dragging everyone’s attention to her. “Your daughter cheating in your duel with Fiery is the source of his anger as that broke your part of the, what, contract, deal, agreement you had? You may have angered him by challenging Fiery, but it was your daughter who caused the bigger issue. If you sacrifice your life that might, or might not, wash away that problem. Your people may remain dying and your sacrifice would have been for nothing.”

For a moment there was silence, before Rythil spoke up.

“I think she is right. The gods are very particular when it comes to this sort of thing. Your daughter seems to be the main issue. You challenging Fiery probably isn’t something your god approves of based what your own priest said, but based on the fact he didn’t respond as quickly as he did when your daughter attacked Fiery, that more than likely would have caused a ‘you’ problem instead of one for all of your people.”

“Lord Hades is not like Fortuna, Rythil,” Caustic Mercy slowly said. “Calamitous Blossom represents the kirins of this village for both good and ill. Her failure can count as their failure in the eyes of Lord Hades.”

“So instead of having one problem, there are two, but we don’t know which one is the bigger issue or if they are both fatal by themselves, great!” Bliz groaned as she lifted her hooves towards the ceiling. “Means even if you were to kill her, that either solves one problem, both, or none at all!”

“No one is going to kill anyone! Is that clear?” I shouted in anger. “Not her,” I pointed at Calamitous Blossom, “not her daughter, nor anyone else! What is wrong with you guys?” I grabbed Calamitous Blossom by her ear and pulled her up. “The only way for you to die today is if you run into my dad and tell him that you tried to kill one of his bornlings, and that is not going to happen!”

Dad! For a while, I had forgotten about the little detail that I had escaped his parental purring and he may be in full papa mode, still, we had bigger problems at claw to deal with.

“With her not being mad about what you or your daughter did,” Rythil started, referring to me, “we should speak with Hades about all this. If we’re lucky, that’ll be the main issue, and therefore, seeing that you forgave them, he may be in a forgiving mood.

“You make it sound like getting an audience with Lord Hades is no major thing,” Caustic Mercy commented, sounding rather displeased.

“I mean no disrespect of course, though, my goddesses godchild has proven to be very lucky when it comes to dealing with these kinds of challenges. In the twenty-four years I’ve been alive, Fortuna has only spoken to me twice, and I’m a priest, but in less than a day, I’ve witnessed the presence of three gods, Fortuna, Hades and Charon.” He jumped onto my back. “I am very confident that Fortuna’s Godchild is more than capable of getting an audience with Hades if she needs to.”

A quick flick of my tail, along with a little growl, reminded him that I was no simple mount, sending him flying off my back. The fact he’d been on my back during the fight seemed to have gotten to his head.

“Speaking with Hades does seem like a good idea,” I agreed, grabbing Rythil out of the air and swinging him around my neck. Looking back at Calamitous Blossom, I said, “I don’t want your people to suffer, I will do what I can on my end to set things right. But I will not kill you!” I turned my gaze to the others. “Alright, let’s get back to the temple. Should be the easiest way to get Hades' attention.”

“It may be wise to visit the confinement cave first,” Caustic Mercy advised in an atypically soft manner. “If you are going to speak with Lord Hades, having forgiven Sierra Bonsai beforehoof could be beneficial,” he then changed his tone back to his usual passive and uninterested one, “if he’s even interested of course.”

“The confinement cave?”

“Their version of a prison cell,” Bliz clarified. “They do not seem to have a real prison down here, so that was where I was staying before you came down here.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. The question though is if we both should trot around here more than absolutely necessary. I’m pretty sure my welcome here wasn’t much warmer than yours.”

“I think they have other problems at the moment,” Rythil threw in, uncurling slightly from around my neck and shifting up so he was at eye level.

“Let’s hope that’s the case,” I said while making my way over to the door. The bandages around my claws seemed to be done by an expert, while I could feel that I was wounded, it didn't bother me that much that I couldn’t propably use them. “I don’t need all that hostility again.”

*

“Wow, this place is far larger than I imagined!” It had turned out that the room I was in had actually been in one of those mushroom houses above the ground. After only a few steps, we were already on the suspension bridge leading to, what I was guessing, was the community house. And it wasn’t one of the mushrooms I’d seen before either, nor did it look like the throne room. No, we were in a part of the town I hadn’t seen yet!

“Where are we? I haven’t seen this before.”

“We are in the actual village,” Calamitous Blossom said. “The houses you saw upstairs are just a suburb, for the hunters and gatherers who work on the surface.”

“Upstairs?” Involuntarily, my gaze shot up to the ceiling. “How deep are we?”

“Several levels below it. Normally we would have patched you up there, but we,” she paused a moment to clear her lungs, “we weren't sure how much damage, my… how much damage my daughter had caused, so we decided to bring you down to the infirmary instead.”

“Hmm,” I threw an usure look back at the house we’d emerged from. What she said made sense, though, the house looked more like a home than an infirmary.

“That wasn’t the infirmary,” Calamitous Blossom explained, guessing my thoughts from my expression. “With all my people sick from the plague, we needed the space. So after we cared for your wounds, we brought you here.”

“They also freed me,” Bliz threw in.

“You should show her the infirmary,” Caustic Mercy suggested, earning him a look from Calamitous Blossom, but he, like his usual behaviour as far as I could tell, refused to provide any explanation.

“This way,” she simply said after a few seconds and trotted over the bridge, leaving it on us to follow her.

I gave her a bit of a head start before slowly following her. “Have either of you had the time to explore this village already?” I whispered to Bliz and Rythil, but both just shook their heads.

“I saw a few places on my way down and back up from the caves, but didn’t get a tour through the actual village.”

“I’ve seen the infirmary, it’s that darker building up there.” Rythil pointed towards the three connected houses hanging from the main mushroom in the centre of the village. “I was with you when they bandaged your claws. But like Blizzard said, I don’t know much about the rest of the village either.”

“You should feel honoured, you two are the first azures to ever see this village,” Caustic Mercy interrupted our conversation, walking behind us on the bridge. “From the very first day this village was created, no azure has ever set a hoof in here.”

“Doesn’t surprise me, this place is not only hard to find, but you guys make a real fuss about us being azures,” Bliz retorted. “What”s up with you anyway?”

“They fled from Shakirin-La, back when it was still an inhabited city,” I explained. “We saw their story on some engravings in the temple.”

“It was not Shakirin-La we ran from, it was the azure’s,” Calamitous Blossom clarified. “Slavery, oppression, war, all the things your kind is…” She gritted her teeth and forced her gaze to the ground. “My apologies,” she pressed out, “I mean our ancestors fled from the azures, not Shakirin-La.”

“You better get your emotions under control, Calamitous Blossom. If you want to receive a pardon from Lord Hades, this attitude will get in the way.” Caustic Mercy pointed with his staff over the railing of the bridge to the kirins down below. “It is your duty to protect them, not to drag them down with you.”

Calamitous Blossom just turned back to trotting forward. “I do what I can to protect my people, priest.”

“Hold on, I actually saw Shakirin-La back in the day. While it wasn’t the nicest place for other species, the kirins living there seemed to be happy and satisfied with their leaders.”

Both of them seemed to be surprised by that news. While Caustic Mercy raised his eyebrows in surprise, Calamitous Blossom’s look was more one of disbelief.

“Shakirin-La fell, hundreds of years ago. You couldn’t have seen it. It was consumed by its sins, and most of the kirins with it.” Calmatious Blossom spat out. “It also took most azures with it.” Her voice had a hint of satisfaction in it as she said this last sentence. “It was the azures who forced our ancestors into the war, and it is only right for them to have paid the price.”

“My godmother took me with her to see it, she showed me Shakirin-La before it was destroyed.”

“Fortuna…,” Calamitous Blossom seemed to be unsure what she should think of my godmother. She threw a short look at Caustic Mercy, then back to me. “If your godmother took you with her, she didn’t show you what the city was really like.”

“And what would that have been?”

Before Calamitous Blossom could respond, Caustic Mercy raised his staff warningly. “This is not be the time to start an argument with our,” he paused for a second, seeming to be rethinking the word he wanted to use, “guests.”

“No, I want to hear what she has to say,” I intervened. “You and your people have an immense problem with my kind, and I would like to know why that is. All I’ve seen so far is that you left Shakirin-La and that you’re still holding onto the grudge you brought with you from over a thousand years ago. Neither Bliz nor I had any clue about your people living here, nor have we ever even heard rumours about your existence. So why do you guys hate us so much?”

“Because you enslave all the kirins that you meet! Forcing them to worship you, and worst of all, even make them love it! You guys are even worse than slavers, a slave at least knows that they are a slave! Kirins that fell under your spell will admire you and see nothing wrong with you brainwashing them! That's why we hate you!” She stomped a hoof and growled, causing the bridge to swing. “It took a very long time, years of war, till my ancestors were able to see through it! Dozens of my family had to perish in the wars your ancestors caused! Parents, children, friends, all of them gone, till the influence of your slavery magic faded enough for them to see through and break free. They were the first kirins to flee from Shakirin-La before the tides of war even turned. They’d had enough of your tyranny, all they wanted was to live a peaceful, free life! And even then,” she stepped closer to me so we were eye to eye, “after all the deprivations they had to endure to get to this place, the azures followed them here, not willing to let a single kirin escape their domination!” She took a deep breath and coughed heavily. “It took the help of a god to set us free! And you dare ask why we hate your kind this much!”

For a moment I just stood there baffled. That had been a bit more than I had expected if I was being honest.

“What, what do you have to say to this?” Calamitous Blossom requested angrily.

“Well, first of all, they were not my ancestors. I am not responsible for their actions. I am a first generation kirin, my dad is a dragon and my mom a pony. I am not directly related to the azure-kirins of old. Seems like you don’t know, but an azure-kirin doesn’t need azure-kirin parents. It’s more than likely that most azure-kirin you meet will have no clue about Shakirin-La or have any connection to the wars they fought. All it takes is to have an azure dragon in your ancestral line. Second, we do not enslave or brainwash kirins! Yes, we do form a mental bond, and yes, we do guide our merriments, but we do not force anykirin to worship us!”

“Lies! If it wasn’t for Hades’ protection, you and your friend would currently be running around and capturing my people to worship you! It doesn’t matter if you are not directly related to the older azure kirins! You would do the exact same thing as them!”

“I would not! I didn’t even know I could collect kirins in my merriment till the call of Shakirin-La hit me! All I do is collect followers to support my right to claim the throne, not worshippers, I am not a goddess!”

“Your behaviour wouldn’t be any different if you were! We all,” she gestured towards her village, “know how the azure kirins of old liked to rule their land, that is the reason we are here! No matter which of your rotten kind rules, for the normal kirins it will all be the same! And it gets even worse, now you are telling me you are trying to reclaim Shakirin-La! The source of power for your kind! It was a blessing it vanished back in the days, breaking most of your influence over us!”

“It was no source of power to my kind! It was our species capital! A place for all the kirins! Of course the leaders would gather there, but that was not the reason it was so important! You should have seen it, kirins from all the lands, gathered in harmony!” Yeah,” I made a throwaway gesture with my claw, “the place had its issues, but I can correct that! No more slavery, no more war, just a place for all the kirins!”

“All the kirins under your rule is what you mean! You would be the new leader of the kirins, all the kirins!”

“And what would be wrong with that? You’re assuming I would be evil, that I would dominate and suppress everykirin else, but that is not what I am gonna do!”

“That is what you say now, the more power you get, the more dominant you will become! Just you wait till you gather enough kirins under your hoof,” she took a quick look at my claws and corrected, “claw! Under your claw! Just you wait, then you will see how the lust for power will take over!”

“I…” I started, but was interrupted by Caustic Mercy.

“You will not settle this in a few words on a swaying bridge. The hate for your kind,” he looked at me and Bliz, “is rooted deeply in our peoples hearts. And we have no time to waste, kirins are suffering as we speak.”

I still felt compelled to continue this argument, but what Caustic Mercy said was true, kirins were suffering, and it was on us to end this. “Fine,” I growled, and after a second, Calamitous Blossom also turned around to continue on our way.

As we ascended the mushroom up to the infirmary, Bliz came closer to me and whispered, “You know, she does have a point.”

“Not you too!”

“All I’m saying is that we do kind of brainwash the kirins under our spell. I got a first hoof experience when you claimed me. It doesn’t bother me that much, though, after their magic hit me, I came to wonder if I really want to be that clingy and cuddly towards you.”

“Hey, that is not a part of the connection! It was me who pushed you away, remember? You would whimper the whole night if I didn't let you rest your head on my belly.”

“Yeah, I know, still… “

“Look, as long as I don't take advantage of your clinginess, and you don't mind being part of my merriment, we should be fine.”

“It still supports her point,” she pointed at Calamitous Blossom. “We are friends, you and I, but for strangers, it may feel very uncomfortable. Furthermore, not all the azure kirins out there may be as good hearted as we are. Some may very well follow the old Shakirin-La practices and establish a tyranny as they see fit.”

“Only one more reason to claim the throne for myself, isn’t it?”

Bliz only threw a look at me but remained silent. Soon after she returned to her position in our little track.

“What?” I asked my silent scarf after I noticed the look he gave me.

“Nothing,” he changed his position so he could watch the path before us more closely, “nothing at all.”

*

When we arrived at the infirmary, the view of dozens of sick kirins awaited us. Every bed was occupied, and besides a scant few paths that had been made, the entire floor was covered in sick kirins. Every available space was being used. A few kirins rushed back and forth between them, doing their best to ease their suffering, but it was clear from a glance it was a hopeless battle. The whole place was covered in an aura of sickness, not to mention the smell…

“Heat Wave!” As soon as I spotted him I trotted over. He was holding a wet washcloth and dabbing the forehead of a sick kirin, though when he heard me call his name, he looked over to us. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, it’s you…” he then noticed Bliz and his gaze became displeased. He finished dabbing the kirin’s forehead and then dipped the washcloth back in the cold water to repeat what he was doing. “Yeah, I am doing fine, no thanks to you.”

Irritated by this cool greeting, I came to a halt next to him. “I was worried about you! As soon as we lost contact we came to rescue Bliz and you!”

“Yeah, we only lost connection because you sent us on such a dangerous mission in the first place, so if you’re expecting a thank you, no chance.” He pushed me aside and moved over to the next kirin, starting to care for them.

“Hey!” I protested. “I said we came to your rescue!”

“And I said that you were worried as it was your own fault. All these kirins did, by the way, is set me free from your azure magic, which is kind of nice.”

“You see,” Calamitous Blossom threw in with a gloating tone, “even your own followers prefer to be set free. No one wants to have someone brainwash them.”

“I did not brainwash them!” I yelled. “I welcomed them into my merriment!”

“Evil azure!” the kirin on the bed spat. I didn’t even know who he was, nor had someone introduced us, yet he still felt the urge to voice the contempt he felt for azure kirins.

“Without the ability you gained from that call, I doubt hardly any of your merriment would be willing to follow you,” Heat Wave said while attending to the kirin who had just interjected. “We were all living our happy lives in the village, and boom, your friend got hit by the call and all of us need to follow her, and then you, on an adventure to Shakirin-La. Compelled to be your loyal subjects for no other reason than your Oma happens to be an azure dragon. Doesn’t really feel like a choice to me.”

“It’s not like you really complained, you know,” Bliz countered. “You all seemed really happy with us leading you.”

“Is that so?” Heat Wave quickly grabbed Bliz's ear and pulled it. “And you think I liked laing in the mud before your hooves while you scolded me young lady? Huh?”

“Hey!” Both Bliz and I yelled as she struggled to get free. I pushed forward to bite his hoof, but luckily for him, he let go before I reached him.

“You two are barely adults and are already behaving as though you rule the world! And we are supposed to follow you?” He pointed at me. “Your mom was right when she said whoever decided some teenagers should rule over everyone was a featherbrain!”

Even without the influence of the call, this couldn’t stand unchallenged. The audacity! I’d already started to growl and present my fangs, with Bliz doing the same, when Rythil suddenly spoke up.

“Don’t you think we have more urgent matters to attend to? Fiery, these kirins are sick and need help,” he curled up and was staring me in the eyes again. “We want to help them, right?” He gestured to everyone around us. “We should end their suffering as quickly as we can. This should also prove that you are worthy of being in a position of leadership! Not that you have to,” he quickly added. “But it would show them nonetheless!”

“How are you supposed to help them?” Heat Wave snorted.

“They are sick because her daughter,” now it was my turn to point at somekirin for a change, “broke the rules down here.” It was nice to see that for once, Calamitous Blossom was the one who didn’t know how to respond to being blamed for something she wasn’t directly responsible for. Still, it was clear that she felt responsible for her daughter's actions. “Therefore, I will speak with Hades and try to convince him to not punish these kirins any longer.”

“Fiery and Calamitous Blossom had a fight, and her,” Bliz nodded towards Calmatious Blossom, “daughter blasted Fiery away with her magic when she was about to win.”

Those words brought about several murmurs among the inhabitants of the infirmary.

“Yes,” I said, “and that is why I will visit her in the caves, forgive her since no real harm was done, and, with a little luck, Hades may calm down again.” I shrugged. “At least that is the plan.”

“Wait, you want to speak with Hades, the Hades, lord of the underworld, the same god these kirins worship?” Heat Wave seemed confused. “I know you are the godchild of Fortuna, but Hades is something else entirely!”

“I already met him,” I replied while nonchalantly shrugging, “talked with him at the entrance and once more inside his temple. He is a bit of an emotional god I would say, but he can still be reasoned with.”

That statement silenced Heat Wave for a moment, just like I had hoped it would.

“So,” I went on, “I am a leader by my azure heritage as well as by my actions. You should be happy to have me!”

Heat Wave blinked a few times, then snorted. “Yeah, sure, because you stumble from one adventure into another, raising havoc every other time, I should be grateful, sure…”

Arg, his stubbornness infuriated me! Though, without my azure abilities down here, I wasn’t really sure if I could handle him in a hoof to claw fight. I mean, Bliz did take him with her since he was one of the steadier luftirins after all. So, instead of teaching him a lesson here and now, I simply growled at him. As expected, he hesitated to growl back. If there was one thing I had learned, no one wants to growl at the daughter of a dragon if they didn’t really need to. Dad may still be on the surface, but Heat Wave didn’t know that.

“I am leading my merriment, including you, and I will become empress of the new kirin empire eventually, so you better get used to taking my orders, Heat Wave!”

Bliz also rushed next to me and presented her fangs, supporting my argument.

It didn’t work though, instead of backing down and admitting my superiority, Heat Wave now had the courage to growl back.

That was the moment my new scarf piped up. “Uhm, even if you beat him, I don’t thing that will accomplish anything. If I’m not mistaken, you won’t be able to reclaim him so long as Hades is suppressing The Call, as well as your azure powers. So all this growling and hostility is just for your own egos. Could we maybe focus back on helping these kirins?”

“The priest of Fortuna is right,” Caustic Mercy nodded slowly. “There is nothing to gain by dragging this argument out for any longer. You are here to see how bad the situation really is.” He swung his staff slowly around, pointing at all the sick kirins. “See, Fiery Leadership, what your actions have brought.”

“Hey! This wasn’t my fault!” I protested.

“I never said it was, nor did I say it wasn’t. What I say is, this,” he looked at the sick, “was caused by your actions. If you are to blame for it is a seperate matter. Now, you have seen what you came here to see, let us continue to the caves.” And without another word, he turned around and left the infirmary.

“As much I am enjoying the sight of you being confronted with the downsides of your accursed azure abilities, he is right,” Clamatious Blossom said. “Heat Wave, you have our gratitude for helping my people, now I must request though that you do not interfere further as I take these azures with me.”

“The sooner you take these kids with you, the sooner I can go back to caring for the sick,” he replied.

“Kids?” Bliz and I growled in unison.

Quickly, Calmatious Blossom stepped between us. “The caves would be that way,” she pointed at the exit.

“Calamitous Blossom! Calamitous Blossom!” The hectic and exhausted voice of a stallion got through to us from outside. A moment later, said stallion burst into the infirmary. “Calamitous Blossom! The village is under attack!” He slid to a halt just in front of her. “We have intruders on the upper level, a black dragon, accompanied by a bunch of kirins. They broke through the ceiling and are now attacking the village! Several houses are on fire and we were unable to stop him!” As soon as he delivered the bad news, he broke down, dropping to his stomach and beginning to breath heavily between phlegm filled coughs.

“A black dragon?” She replied in shock. “It's been ages since we had a dragon in our swamps!” She needed a second to decide what to do, so I was able to spring in.

“That’s my dad!”

“Your Dad?!”

“First generation kirin, remember? I need to get up there as quickly as possible so I can stop him! He will not calm down until he finds me!”

“What the heck is wrong with you? Why is your Dad attacking our village? He can’t have known that we fought!”

“You foalnapped Bliz and Heat Wave! Not to mention we were attacked by one of your people on our way here! My dad worries about me!”

“But…”

“No, there is no time to explain! He will not stop nor be reasoned with till he has me back on his back, safe and sound! That’s how dragons work! Quick,” I pushed her in the direction of the exit, “show me the quickest way upstairs!”

“And what about my daughter and Hades?” She threw in, still galloping forward. “We need to lift this curse!”

“If I don’t stop my dad, there won’t be a village left to save!”

As it just so happens, this statement helped to her increase her speed by a good amount.

***

Author's Note

Schattendrache : Edits and Pre-reading
QueenChrysalisForever: Pre-reading
SweetStrokesStudios: The Artwork
Motivation and Feedback You