Chapter 100: Grandmother
The rest of the day was spent with me lazing around next to Immy in front of the cave, all the while keeping an eye on Essie who was enjoying her flight alongside a bunch of different monsters and animals. Thankfully, only one more ended up falling and staining the ground red, after which Essie seemed to have finally gotten better with her control.
My mind however was plagued with worry, grandmother wanted to see me. I didn't know what type of dragon she was, nor did I know how was her temperament. My main concern stemmed from the fact that my grandfather had almost killed me when we just met.
Taking that into consideration, just what type of dragon was grandmother since she was married to someone with the title of the destroyer. I tried to convince myself that at least she couldn't be any worse than him, yet as I recalled the scar that my mother left on my father's side, I soon found myself questioning If grandmother was truly any better, for it seemed like the dragoness in our family were especially fierce.
And so with such worries haunting me, the day came to an end before I knew It. Immy did not move once from her spot, while Essie came down a few times to take different animals and monsters on their new 'experience' of soaring through the sky.
The sun settled in the sky as fresh colors brushed on a painting as if those rays were destined to create a great work of art. I raised my head and watched It slowly disappear, with my eyes steady to the horizon, face aglow with the last orange rays before twilight beckons the stars.
Staring at the beautiful scenery, my uneasy heart calmed down in my chest as I heaved a long sigh. 'No use in worrying too much about It, I'll find out what she's like in the morning. Besides, I survived the encounter with grandfather, and I even grew stronger than before, I should be fine,' I reassured myself.
I glanced at Immy who was still enjoying the final rays of the sun and then turned my attention back to Essie. 'They should be retreating to the cave soon,' I noted before I stood up and stretched my limbs. I didn't move much today, no, It was better to say that I didn't move at all.
Still, I needed that, a day where I didn't do anything and just relaxed. With my mood slightly elevated, I turned around and silently made my way back to the cave. Father was in his usual spot, though surprisingly he wasn't sleeping, instead, a small dark red flame danced gracefully in front of him while taking the vague shape of a dragon.
'He seems bored,' I noted before I turned around and walked to my side of the cave. I couldn't sense Sidus' presence anymore which meant he must have already left. I was inwardly surprised since I didn't even see him leave since I was sitting right by the entrance.
Throwing that to the back of my mind, I laid down a yawn escaping my mouth as I curled around myself in a comfortable position. Even though I did not do anything today, I was still quite sleepy. I had a feeling that I could easily sleep for days perhaps even weeks on end If no one was to disturb me.
'I'll definitely try that out when I get my own lair,' I promised myself before I quickly drifted to the land of dreams. Sadly though, the morning came a bit too fast as my father's voice reverberated in my head.
"Wake up Aether," He said. My eyes barely fluttered open only to be faced with his giant head a few inches away from mine causing me to instinctively jump out of fright. My sudden movement, however, seemed to have woken Essie up who had been sleeping next to me.
"Hmm?" She drowsily mumbled as her eyes glanced at me and then at father before she resumed her sleep without a care in the world. My father didn't say anything else and simply motioned towards the exit with his head before he slowly walked out.
Another yawn escaped my mouth as I begrudgingly followed after him. 'Just how early is It that even Essie is still not up yet,' I inwardly complained. Immy was still asleep as usual, and there was still no sign of mother and Ynos. 'Just what sort of rite of passage did that muscle brain have for It to take this long,' I wondered as I stepped out of the cave.
The cold morning breeze caused a slight shiver to run down my scales as I unconsciously shuddered. My eyes welcomed the sunrise as It illuminated the blue as If It were igniting the most perfect flame. Golden light dribbled over the mountain and set the birds into a chorus of melodies. Taking a deep breath, my eyes closed in satisfaction at the clear air and once again beautiful view.
It was then that father lowered his giant clawed palm towards me, silently ushering me to hop on. I didn't dare waste any time and swiftly settled on top of it before father calmly made his way to the edge of the floating mountain. I watched as he glanced at the sky with a serious expression, almost as If he could see past that blue veil and peer into what laid beyond.
He did not move for a few seconds, and I did not interrupt. After what seemed like a solid minute, father clicked his tongue in annoyance and jumped off the edge of the mountain. His voice carried into my head as he spoke with a sense of urgency.
"Close your eyes, I'm in a hurry so I'll quickly drop you off at your grandmother since I still have a few matters to attend to," He said. Before I could even question what he meant, father's wings flapped and we suddenly moved at a speed we never did before.
The world turned into a blur as I found myself turning dizzy and nauseous, I quickly closed my eyes as the roaring of the wind assaulted my ears. It was a terrible feeling unlike that I enjoyed while flying. Thankfully, after a few seconds or so, my father's voice calmly spoke causing me to open my eyes in shock and surprise.
"We are here," He said, to which I glanced about in disbelief, 'Here?! Already?! What the hell happened??' I inwardly mumbled as I glanced at the place we were at. The first thing that I noticed was the hills decadent with green vegetation and new-sprung buds, a sunlit and serene valley where the jubilant sound of a spring filled stream.
Sitting by the banks of the stream was a small silver dragon, with red strips on the side of her scales. Four proud horns were poking out of her head and curled backwards forming almost a crown of sorts. The dragoness was small in stature, almost the same size as I was, albeit a tiny bit bigger, still she was significantly smaller than my father and grandfather.
'Is that grandma?' I mumbled inwardly, just then the dragoness seemed to have sensed our presence as she raised her head to look at the sky, my eyes met her deep purple ones as a gentle smile made its way to her face.
'Wait, that can't be grandma? Right?'