It started with a strange, subtle taste. Even before I could smell them, there was a strong flavor in the air that made my tongue feel like it was vibrating. I slowly licked my lips. This was something new for me, I’d never been able to ‘taste’ other kirins before. It wasn’t long after this that a smell was added to the taste. It was a strange but inoffensive shock to my senses, being able to detect the presence of other kirins now. No, of course I was able to smell others before, but not from this distance, and with this intensity.

Still, even with this influx of information, it would be an understatement to say I was a bit overwhelmed when I entered our little underground garden!

Can you imagine being greeted by the sight of over three dozen kirins, young and old, sitting or laying everywhere around your home? Some had made themselves comfortable in the grass, laying around like this was a completely normal occurrence, while others were hanging and sitting in the treetops. A few bolder ones had even taken up occupancy on the warm stones near the waterfall, where Nightflame and Dad used to nap in the afternoon.

It was a good thing that they had permission to enter the lair, otherwise Dad would have gone crazy by now. I could see as I passed him at the entrance to the inner lair that his tail tip was rising and swinging nervously back and forth while the rest of it swept over the ground, a sign he was tense, more than likely due to there being so many creatures in the lair, permission or not.

I mean, ever since Autumn Blaze founded the little town at the base of Mount Tail Tip at his request after my brothers were born, he’d gotten used to a few of them hanging around and visiting from time to time, but still.

Anyway… back to my story.

I took a deep breath and walked ahead, under the curious but respectful gaze of everykirin. Yeah, Fortuna had told me what was expected of me before she vanished, but still, I was more than just a little bit nervous. And everykirin’s reactions weren’t helping. Depending on our previous relationship, I was either greeted with a smile and purring, or, with kirins I didn’t like that much, looks of embarrassment and silence.

Be it as it may, as leader of the village, a mayor, it was Autumn Blaze who was the first to approach me. In contrast to her normally happy and chatty behaviour, she walked over to me slowly, with her head lowered slightly while somehow still managing to exude a ceremonious aura.

When she was still a few steps away, she bowed deeply, with her head nearly touching the ground, and purred submissively, not really daring to come closer.

I was going to say she should, but something held me back. I mean, I’d known her for most of my life, we’re friends, but still…

Instead of just telling her to come closer, I reached out for her with my own aura, letting it flow over her like a heavy blanket, soft, but at the same time preventing escape. When I reached her horn, a slight expression of fear or hesitation showed on her face. And in the next moment, I knew why. Like an explosion of feelings, I could suddenly see a glimpse of her mind! It was fascinating! I felt a mix of excitement, of curiosity, but also a bit of worry and insecurity. But they weren’t my feelings, they were hers!

Unconsciously, my claw raised up, requesting her to come closer. I didn’t really know what I was doing. My mind was still focused on the new experience, the stunning fascination of looking into someone's mind, or at least a part of it.

Autumn was quick to obey, and rubbed her head against my claw, purring. And there it was, the moment I could connect her mind to mine, making her my loyal subject. I reached out with my own mind once more, stroked carefully above hers and…

… something forcefully hit me in the side, not only tipping me over, but causing me to roll into the nearby bushes.

Ouch, that had hurt!

I bared my fangs and growled as I got back to my claws and hooves. But you would never believe what had hit me, it was Nightflame! My little brother now stood between me and Autumn Blaze, hissing loudly at me.

Oh boy, if he wanted a dominance fight right in front of everykirin, he was going for a ride! This time I would not hold back, all my future subjects were watching! I was going to attack him, when something unexpected happened! Autumn Blaze growled and bounced at my brother!

I can’t say who was more surprised, him or me. She is his godmother after all. My mental connection to her must really have had an impact! Her attack was more of a surprise than a real threat though, Nightflame is a dragon after all. Though, it doesn’t really matter at this point, since the loud and familiar roar of our father echoed through the lair immediately after Autumn’s attack. As you may have expected, he didn’t respond well to someone attacking one of us.

With just a quick glance, I could see him storming towards us already! And with a second glance, I could see the panic on my brother's face.

“You need to stop fighting!” I yelled.

Night just ducked under a strike from Autumn and parried her following kick with his wing. “Easier said than done!” he yelled hecticly. “Autumn, Stop!”

But she wasn’t in the mood to listen. She only growled in response.

“Stop it!” I screamed as I jumped on Autumn’s back, trying to hold her. “I’ll take care of her, you stop dad!” I told my brother. He was quick to move. Fighting Autumn was nothing he wanted to do. Downside was, I didn’t want to do it either!

Luckily, this turned out to be unnecessary. The moment I jumped on her, and my brother moved away, she calmed down. She even started purring and tried to rub her head against me.

I was totally baffled by her suddenly going from combative to cuddly in under a second, however, there were more important things to consider at the moment!

“What in tarnation are you doing?” I let go of her and grabbed her face. “Dad is going to kill you!”

She shook her head quickly. “I had to protect you,” she said as rubbed over her temples.

As interesting as that was, we had far more urgent matters! I let go of her face and quickly glanced in the direction of dad. “Move!” I yelled in panic and forcefully pushed her in the direction of the tunnel leading to the surface. “If dad gets you in his claws he’ll rip you to pieces!”

She threw a look at him herself before bursting into a full gallop.

I was unsure what to do. Should I help Night stop Dad, or should I go with her? The decision was made for me when Night and Dad collided. My brother jumped at Dad's chest with his wings spread wide to tackle him. It didn’t work. Like a doll, Night hit the ground. Dad had caught him by the chest mid-air with his claws before then using his own momentum to throw him onto his back.

Yep, so much for stopping Dad. “Faster!” I screamed, following Autumn and grabbing her by her sides, lifting her up and flying her up to the exit. It was only then that I realised what a crap plan this was!

She couldn’t outrun dad in the tunnel, and once she was at the surface, she would be easy prey! Pony Feathers!

Another roar from Dad followed. Far too close for my taste.

“What are you doing?” Autumn yelled. “Let me go!” She supported her demand with heavy struggling in my grip.

“Everykirin to me!” I demanded instead of answering. There were only two beings that could stop dad from killing Autumn now, and we needed time to let them do so. I tried my best to summon my authority and reached out for everykirin with my aura. “Stop my dad!” I commanded.

“I hope that will buy us some time, you,” I turned Autumn around, “you need to reach Mom or Oma if you wanna live! They are the only ones that can stop Dad!

“But, everykirin…” she started.

“Dad will not kill them, a few broken bones are far better than your head being ripped off! Move!”

But it was already too late. I felt a waft of air and the sound of flapping wings right next to me. Without thinking, I let go of Autumn and kicked her down the ledge.

Not a split second too late! Dad’s claw barely missed her as he flew by. He landed heavily on the ground, but was already using his claws to stop himself and turn around.

“Now!” I screamed. And without hesitation, a couple of Kirins jumped at him. I could see my friend Wind Root was one of them. “Be careful!” I yelled, afraid he could get harmed. But before I’d even finished my warning, Dad had already grabbed his leg and threw him into the garden.

Ouch! That surely hurt!

“Quick! Autumn, back into the lair!” I turned my back on my father and flew down the ledge and grabbed Autumn again.

And this was the oh so wonderful moment I realised that Mom and Oma may not be so willing to stop Dad. I mean, I am pretty sure mom would, but… not one-hundred percent sure, you know? After all, she did attack Night, and Mom can be very similar to a dragon when it comes to us kids. And Oma, well, Night is her grandbornling after all.

“Mom!” my brother yelled when he appeared at my side.

“No! Not mom!” I told him.

While we flew to the inner lair, he quickly threw a look of confusion at me, then back to Dad, before returning his gaze to me. “Why not?”

“Mom and Oma may not stop him!”

“But no one else can!”

“Yes, there is someone else!

“Who…”

With a mighty roar, Dad shrugged off the kirins he was fighting with and jumped into the air, making his way over to us.

“No time to explain!” I dropped Autumn in front of the inner lair right as mom was storming out.

“What in tarnation is going on?” she asked, startled. “Why is your dad so angry?” Without even waiting for a response, she spread her wings and hurriedly flew towards him to stop his rampage.

“Mom will calm him down!” Night said as he stopped to watch her.

“Maybe, maybe not,” I exchanged a quick look with Autumn, pushed her into the lair, and yelled. “Schimmernde Morgenröte! If you really want to be part of my adventure to claim the throne of Shakirin-La, you need to help me right now!”

“She may be an azure, but she is too small to fight with dad,” Night objected.

“She doesn't have to win, she and Dad just have to fight seriously enough for Oma to intervene.”

Night opened his snout to say something, but then stopped for a second. “That, that may actually work.”

“What is it that you need of me, my niece?” Schimmernde Morgenröte came towards us, obviously unimpressed by the previous roaring and fighting that was going on. “Though, be aware that my help will have a price when all this is over.”

“I know,” I said hecticly. “You need to protect Autumn from your brother!”

She threw a quick glance at Autumn, then over to said brother. “Before I agree, what did she do? Make it quick, he is nearly here.”

And indeed, a quick look over my shoulder revealed that he was already past Mom and on his way over to us again! Either Mom wasn’t able to calm him down, or willing to…

“My aura forced her to attack Night when he attacked me. Dad saw it and got protective.”

“I see,” was all Shimmernde Morgenröte said to that before she stepped forward and got in a defensive stance. “You should move deeper into the lair though, I may be able to hold him back, but not if Autumn is still in his line of sight.”

She didn’t need to tell us twice. We made our way over to the living room and closed the door behind us.

“May I know what happened?” Oma asked from her comfortable position on the couch. “It seems to be that there was some kind of trouble going on with my eldest?”

“Yes, what happened?” Illu bursted out, struggled free from Opa’s grip and galloping over, giving me a hug. “I wanted to check on you, but your Opa didn’t let me.”

“Uhm,” a loud roar followed by the distinctive sounds of two dragons fighting arose from outside. “Well,” I rubbed over my neck, “I kind of forced Autumn here to protect me against Nightflame, causing Dad to get angry with her.”

“And now you again asked someone else to fight your battles?” Oma replied with a raised eyebrow and a nod towards the source of the commotion outside while Opa returned to her side.

“I wasn’t sure if you or Mom would protect Autumn.”

“Of course Danger would protect her,” Daring piped up. She made attempts to go outside herself, but I hastily stopped her.

“I’m sure Mom will do her best, it just might take her some time,” I said. “Let her and Schimmernde Morgenröte figure it out before you go outside.” I gave her my best smile. “Please?”

The ongoing fight outside did not really support my point, and for a moment I thought Daring would go anyway, but then she just took a seat again. “Fine.” She crossed her forelegs. “But only because I have trust in your mom.”

“Which brings up the question, what’s taking her so long?” Oma rose up from her spot and approached the door. “Normally the influence of your mom on my son is immense, she should be more than able to settle a little incident of protective instinct. I better check on my children.”

“Are you alright?” Now Illu demanded my attention again. His hooves wandered over my neck and back, searching for injuries.

“I’m fine,” I stopped his hooves. “Thank you, but I was never really in danger. Dad is, even in his rage, very well aware that I, as well as my brothers, are his bornlings.” I looked around. “Now that I mention it, where is Kindling?”

“Here!” Kindling yelled and entered the living room. “Mom heard Dad roar and told me to stay inside.” It was clear from his voice that he was not happy with that order.

“Mom is just being careful.” Night said and moved over to rub his head against his twin. “Making sure you are protected.”

“I don’t need to be protected that much anymore.” Kindling huffed, but rubbed over Night's head anyway with his wing.

I took a deep breath and moved over to the couch with Illu and Autumn in tow. Now that Autumn was safe inside the lair, I could allow myself to calm down again too.

“What an interesting morning,” Opa commented when I took the place next to him.

“You can say that again,” I replied and hopped on the couch, laying down. But to my great surprise, it wasn’t illu who occupied the spot next to me, but Autumn. “Wha…”

She purred and rubbed her head against my chest, demanding some sort of caress.

“Hey!” Illu complained, which caused Night to look up and, once he spotted what was going on, to growl and rush over.

“Not this again!” I yelled and jumped up. “Stop!” I roared, not at Night, but Autumn when she made attempts to stand up too. “I’m handling this!”

“I have to…” She started, but was silenced when Opa grabbed her after seeing me give him a pleading look, holding her tight in his arms so she wouldn’t do anything stupid again.

“Mine!” was all Nightflame growled when he came to a halt in front of me.

I growled back. “She is mine now!” Unintentionally, my forehead started to give off a light blue light.

“My Godmother!” Night spread his wings and raised his tail tip.

“She still belongs to my subjects!” The words found their way on my tongue without me even thinking. Only the light from my forehead started to get brighter.

But Night wasn’t willing to accept that, he hissed, and would have bounced at me if it wasn’t for Daring and Illu, who both rushed between us.

“Stop it you two!” Daring demanded, while Illu just tried to push me away from my brother.

“What has gotten into you two?” Daring continued. “Autumn isn’t an object that you can just bargain about!”

“I think they have to,” Opa joined the argument, gaining everyone's attention.

“Huh?” Daring wondered. “I am very sure Danger would not approve of her children fighting about Autumn.”

“Mom would be mad,” Kindling agreed and hopped onto the couch.

“But this is a matter that should be taken care of,” Opa explained. “Little Autumn here is already halfway under Fiery’s spell, while NIghtflame has justifiable reasons to demand her as one of his belongings.”

“Are you kidding me?” Daring gave him a baffled look.

“Not at all.” Opa rose up and picked up Illu too.

“Hey,” my batfriend protested, but it was of no use.

“I will take care of him for you, Fiery, while you and your brother settle this.” Opa explained.

I nodded in gratitude and turned back to Night. Illu would have surely made a fuss about this otherwise.

“I will not allow this!” Daring once more tried to get in between us, Neither of us paid her any mind though. Night and I were more than ready to fight for our right to claim Autumn as our belonging. “You two…” Daring didn’t get any further. As if responding to an invisible signal, both I and Night stormed forward, going around Daring and crashing into each other.

“Stop!” Daring yelled and tried to seperate us, but she only got scratched for her troubles.

Dad had taught us both how to fight, and this was shown from the start! This was quickly proven, as well as the fact that there was going to be no holding back this time, when my brother’s claw scratched painfully over my side.

However, I would be damned if I let him have Autumn without putting up a fight! She belongs to me now! I hissed, half in pain, half in anger, and bounded forward. With my snout wide open and my fangs displayed, I faked an attack on his head, which he responded to by pulling it back just in time, only to open himself up to my true target, the side of his neck.

Once I bit down, I quickly grabbed his claws with my own, preventing him from striking back. I was lucky his wing spikes hadn’t grown in yet, otherwise this would have been far more dangerous! Though, I could barely maintain this position due to how much stronger he was. In only a few seconds, he would break free, but that was all I needed. I pulled my head back as hard as I could while at the same time kicking off of him. Doing this, I was able to rip out one of his scales.

In triumph, after gracefully landing back on my hooves and claws, I raised my head and spit the scale back at my brother’s claws.

Glaring at me with contempt while releasing a livid growl through his bared fangs, Night began to circle me. I reciprocated, walking to my right and matching his pace.

I growled in frustration, the fight had barely begun, and with one damn lucky strike, he was already in the lead. Ponyfeatheres!

I tried to hide it with my wing, though, the spot he got me at hurt a lot! I doubted he knew just how much he had injured me, but still, he was in the lead nonetheless. The only thing I had going for me was the thin red line of blood coming out of his neck where I had gotten him, but it didn’t bring me any comfort. One scale getting ripped out might hurt like Tartarus, but three claw marks down most of my side was far more concerning.

Not wanting to remain on the back hoof, I burst forward with as much speed as I could muster straight at him, bowling over a table on the way. Night responded with a quick growl before charging as well, causing the two of us to collide less than a second later and begin rolling over the ground, scratching each other and flipping over the love seat on our way. This gave me an idea! With a quick swing of my tail, I grabbed one of the side tables and threw it at him. Sadly, a quick strike of his claw turned it to splinters before it could do any harm.

This did give us both a moment to take a deep breath though. I growled at him and shifted my wing. The scratch I got still stung, and rolling over the ground hadn't made it any better. Also, I’d gotten a few more during our fight on the ground. Though, I could also see that even with his thick scales protecting him from nose to tail-tip, the blunt strikes I’d landed had managed to injure him. He might be protected from getting cut by my claws or from receiving a proper bite from me due to said aforementioned scales, but they only do so much against blunt strikes. Several of his scales were now cracked, and a fair number of them had fully spit, causing them to start bleeding.

Unfortunately, while my strikes seemed to be doing their job, as Night had begun to growl out in pain, this had the side effect of getting him to try biting me as well now. Getting bit by him was definitely not something I wanted to experience. He could not only bite a lot harder than me, but his mouth was filled with fangs significantly larger than my own, so a solid bite would immediately put me at his mercy.

As if he had just read my mind, after a clean blow to his chest near where I’d torn out his scale, I barely had enough time to register a wide, tooth-filled maw coming straight for my own shoulder. Without even thinking, I desperately threw my full weight into a punch to the side of his face. When it connected, I watched as he not only missed me, instead throwing his head back in pain, but saw as two of his fangs went flying off deeper into the lair.

I immediately froze up when my mind finally registered what I just saw. Dad had expressly forbidden us from attacking each other’s wings for rather obvious reasons, and was adamant we know how to control the amount of force we use when biting the other’s neck. While he had never said anything about knocking out the other’s teeth, this still felt like a foul on my end.

The loss of his fangs, as well as me not pressing the opening I’d just created, didn’t stop Night from repeating his attack though. Unfortunately, this second of distraction was enough for him to quickly snap forward in a way that made evading or deflecting impossible for me. The only thing I could accomplish was preventing him from landing the bite where he’d been aiming.

I roared out in pure agony as I felt Night’s fangs sink deep into my upper foreleg! I knew I had stepped over a line when I had punched out some of his fangs, but now I was furious! With another roar, this time in fury, I struck his nose with my claw, piercing through his scales and ripping some out.

How do you like to get your skin pierced, huh?

Obviously not that much, as he roared in pain and let go of my leg. Released from his hold on me, I kicked off of him and beat my wings a few times to put some distance between the two of us.

Night roared his displeasure at losing his hold on me. He looked towards where I was standing with a glare far more hostile than any of the looks he had previously given me throughout the fight.

“She is my Godmother,” Night spat out, “she belongs to me!” A few drops of blood dripped from his scales where I had gotten him.

“She wants to be one of my loyal subjects,” I countered as I lifted my injured leg off of the ground to keep from putting my weight on it and making the bite wound hurt even more. “I will claim her!” My forehead was shining brightly at this point, but this wasn’t of interest to him or me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Daring rushing forward again, but Opa was there to hold her back. “You two should hurry,” he said, struggling with three pony sized creatures. “I don’t know how long I can hold all three of them.” And indeed, it took his full effort to handle the three. Both Daring and Illu had been desperately demanding for us to stop this fight throughout our entire engagement, but Night and I hadn’t been paying them any mind.

“Let go of my godmother!”

“She is mine!” I countered, my voice was now deeper and louder than normal. “She belongs to us!” The last word was a dark and poisonous threat!

“Fiery!” Kindling jumped off the couch, rushed over and pressed his hooves on my chest. “Sister, what's wrong with you?”

I hissed at him, raised my claw to strike, and… came back to my senses. Terrified I lowered my claw and shook my head heavily. “Ki- kindling…” I stuttered. “I am so sorry! I…”

My moment of weakness was Night's chance, while I was distracted he snuck past Kindling and bounced at my side. Before he could do any harm though, he was grabbed by the neck by papa.

At first, Night hissed at him for interfering, but when he realised it was Dad who was holding him, his tune quickly changed. A little parental roaring convinced him to tuck his tail and get into a submissive stance.

“Fiery Leadership!” Now mom's voice cut into my mind like a shard of glass, causing me to flinch and lay my ears back. She didn’t give the chaos around us much attention, but she didn’t need to. I was well aware that due to the injuries Night and I had, it was kind of obvious what had happened here. “Nightflame!” Mom went on, and I saw my brother make himself even smaller than he already was. “What are you both doing! And, -” she gasped and rushed over to look closer at us, “- you both injured each other!” Her voice was an uncomfortable mix of care, motherly comfort, and the promise of the scolding of a lifetime for both of us.

“They had to settle the question to whom little Autumn here belongs,” Opa said and let go said mare as well as the other two creatures in his arms. “Unfortunately, that question is still up in the air.”

I guess if Opa wasn’t used to living with two azure dragons, he would have shrunk under the gaze mom was now throwing at him. Even Illu slowed down a bit in his attempt to get to my side. He still made it though.

“That looks painfu!l” he practically yelled, worried as he examined my side and leg with his eyes, not daring to touch them. “You need to be patched up! Where do you guys store your bandages?” He looked up at my mom, who obviously thought the same.

“Bathroom, little closet left of the towels,” she shortly said and pointed in that direction.

Illu was quick to move. Which gave my mom the chance to take a closer look at the bite mark I’d gotten while Dad began to lick over Nights wounds like a good dragon parent.

“You two are so grounded when all this is over,” Mom said after she’d grabbed some kitchen roll and started to clean my wounds. “What were you two thinking?”

“Night tried to steal one of my…”

“I did not!” he interrupted me. “You tried to steal her from me.” A deep growl from Dad effectively silenced the quieter one that had started to form in Night's throat.

At the mention of Autumn Blaze, Dad's head turned to her for a moment. Luckily though, the urge to care forNight overwhelmed his desire to rip off her head. He still growled at her however.

“First things first.” Mom dragged his attention back to her as she took the bandages Illu offered her as he arrived back at my side. Dad returned to caring for Night for the time being.

“If you don’t allow your children to fight this out,” Oma said as she entered the living room, “this problem will occur over and over again, Lady of the Lair. You need to settle this before you leave for Shakirin-La.”

“I say my niece should have her of course, she will be empress of the kirins soon enough anyway,” Shimmernde Morgenröte supported my right to claim Autumn. “Also, her azure heritage is far stronger than the one Night has in the first place.”

“No,” Dad simply said.

“Dad!” I protested. I also wanted to take a step towards him, but Mom sharply called my name, causing me to stop. “She is one of my kirins!” I tried to complain.

“Autumn Blaze is your brother's godmother, I will not allow you to steal your brother's stuff,” Dad made clear. “She is one of his personal treasures.”

Pony Feathers! That sadly settled things in his favor! We have a rule that we siblings have to share with each other, no matter if it is toys, books, the best napping spot, everything has to be shared fairly. Only a few very personal belongings, like my cuddly stone I had when I was a filly, were excluded from that rule. Those items were only to be touched by the one who possesses them, no exception! Declaring Autumn as one of my brothers ‘core’ belongings took her being one of my subjects off the table!

While I took a seat and made a defeated little growl, Nights head sprung up and he smiled in delight. When he was sure Dad would allow it, he even sprung up and rushed over to Autumn, rubbing his head against her in triumph.

“You need to set her free then,” Oma said to me while she watched my brother cuddling his godmother.

I sighed. “But I don’t know how…” I know it was a weak attempt to delay relinquishing my influence over Autumn, but it was a serious downer to have already lost my first loyal subject. Even to my brother.

“I can show you how to do it later,” Oma just said. “For now, some of your other future subjects seem to need care.”

“My other…?” With a suppressed ‘eek’ I stood up. “Right!” I could hardly wait for my mom to finish applying the bandages to me, and once she did, almost immediately, I stormed out of the lair. Wind Root and the others had fought Dad and therefore may have gotten injured! In the hectic dash to keep Autumn alive and the subsequent fight to decide to whom she belonged, I had totally forgotten about that!

Author's Note

Artwork : Clarke Otterton
Edits : Schattendrache
Pre-read: QueenChrysalisForever

Also, I should mention that the scene between Fiery and her brother towards the end of the chapter was at first only a few paragraphs long, till Schattendrache told me that needs to be extendet. Well, now it is over 1k words long and covered two pages in my google doc of the story I hope you enjoy!

***

Also I like to thank my patreons of course, who support my inchapter artwork with their donations https://www.patreon.com/azuredrache

And if you like to discuss this story or have a chat about my work in general, here is my Discord link:
https://discord.gg/rSkrqZgz