Prince Eis

He had no words for what they'd just heard, and it would seem none of the others did either.

'Why do I feel like the ice under my feet is beginning to shatter?' He thought with confusion, perhaps he felt that way because of the destiny unfolding before him?

'I guess we're about to figure out what to do now...'

CryoFangs was quiet, he had a guess as to why as she put the parchment back into the Book of Bloodlines, her expression was one of deep thought and preoccupation; he gazed at the others, EmberWrath and Slipstream were dead silent, they too were thinking about Shiverthorn's long message.

Eis sighed, breaking the awkward silence, "so... what now?" He wondered, the three dragons gazed at him.

"I was thinking that we immediately head for Wyrmwood Territory, but that doesn't sound like a great idea now that I think about it..." CryoFangs explained, "we don't know much at all about the SchattenSeele, we have no idea if these dragons are really there, and we have yet to unlock the true potential of our powers. So..."

Eis nodded in agreement, "you have a point about that, but who knows how to control our powers besides Shiverthorn? I don't think any other dragon can possess our abilities."

She shrugged, then a look dawned on her face, "what about the library in the Palace? Surely there's something there that can explain how to control them, right?"

He gave a thoughtful nod of his head, but felt like he should disagree, "I don't know if what is in there is, well, still there. That and we can't exactly fly to the Palace and back if we do find something, it's time-consuming."

"True... maybe perhaps we should head for Wyrmwood Territory after all." CryoFangs sighed, "those in favor of heading for Wyrmwood Territory say "I!"

"I!" Went everyone, though EmberWrath said it with less enthusiasm, 'is he just asking to be punched in the snout? ' Eis wondered with an inward look of flabbergast.

Eis watched as Cryo hoisted Nimbus onto her back, and though she tried to hide it, he could see that she was struggling to hold his weight as she positioned the dragon on her back.

As she opened her wings to take to the air, Slipstream stopped her, "wait Cryo... I smell rain."

"You're delusional!" EmberWrath sneered, "I don't smell anything!"

"That's because you've never smelt rain before, you oaf! And look- the clouds have darkened in the distance."

As Slipstream pointed a jade claw to the northeast, they all saw that, just beyond the Vile Mountain Range, the sky had darkened to a nasty grey color, Eis thought he saw the flash of lightning in the towering clouds.

"So, here's what I'm thinking," Cryo began as she picked up the Book of Bloodlines, brushing the sand off of it as the others turned to her.

"We can get a good head start on our way towards Wyrmwood Territory if we fly, but once we find ourselves in that area between the Mountain Range and the Sleet Sea, we'll have to seek shelter from the storm. Flying in a storm like that means a high chance of getting zapped." She explained, Slipstream and Eis nodded thoughtfully, EmberWrath looked indifferent, his orange eyes blank.

"That's a pretty good idea. Good job, CryoFangs." Slipstream smiled approvingly, and the HallowFrost's eyes sparkled.

As they all opened their wings, Cryo simply wondered: "is everyone ready to welcome their destinies?"

The deep, menacing rumble of thunder had signaled for the group to land, the scent of rain was strong and the wind had picked up, making for a slightly troublesome landing. Fortunately for CryoFangs, Nimbus had awakened, his only question being: "what happened?"

After a thorough explanation, Nimbus seemed a little more at ease; but, he seemed more distant than anything.

"We are nearing Aquaz Territory, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them were mad about something. Sometimes we can create storms with our emotions." Slipstream said with a small laugh, "It's not uncommon for an angry parent to yell and the sky rumbles."

"That is interesting, Slipstream, " EmberWrath smiled, "but could we please find a cave for shelter? I think I felt a raindrop."

The semi-aquatic dragon whipped her glaring gaze at him before gazing towards the Mountain Range, she shuddered. "I don't like the idea, but I think we'll either have to: seek shelter in a cave in the Range, or camp out in the rain. What should we do, Prince Eis?"

The four different pairs of eyes landed on him: silver, blue, and orange all gazing at the prince expectantly; he furrowed his brow as his tongue flicked over his lips, upon meeting those ocean eyes who looked at him they both looked away, Eis inwardly smiled.

"I think we should head for the caves in the Vile Mountain Range, yes it's risky, I've heard the rumors and it's creepy, but I'd rather fend off a cave of bats than get cooked by lightning."

He saw CryoFangs' eyes light up, "what rumors?" She wondered curiously, Slipstream gave her an earnest look as the wind whipped again, a fat raindrop splashing onto his snout.

"From what I had heard a long time ago, it is said that any dragon who dares climb or travel into the Vile Mountain Range is never to be seen again, brutally murdered, or... they return a frighteningly disturbed dragon who can't recover from what they'd seen."

She shuddered at his explanation, he felt a cold claw run down his back as the whispered rumors slipped into his ears, the very same rumors that had echoed down the Palace's hallways the day his father had disappeared.

The old king's broken body flashed in his mind, and he fought back the urge to scream. 'Don't go down that path right now, Eis.' He told himself, snapping back as Slipstream cleared her throat.

"Well, Prince Eis, lead the way, it's raining." She said simply, he got to it as the rain began to fall, the dragons ran for the mountains.

As his feet pound the grassy ground, the wind and rain swirled across his body as they trekked for a cave to stay in, his sharp eyes flicking about. Eis thought it weird that he found the rain to be a satisfying element, but he thought, deep down, that it was because he was so used to raging squalls and screaming winds that carried snow in their wake. The greenery that assaulted his eyes was also a new change, the smells and sounds were an oddity to his ears and nose. Everything was so... different outside of HallowFrost Territory.

'It's a nice change...'

Thunder growled overhead as the group ran, he caught sight of a somewhat small hole in the earth, it was big enough for a dragon to squeeze through... 'maybe that could work?'

"You all see that hole in the ground? Make your way towards it!" CryoFangs ordered, he took note that she had noticed it too as they all made their way to the hole.

As they neared, he realized it was a rather large hole, he approached it and slipped into the earthen tunnel, sliding to a stop on his rear as his eyes adjusted to the dark, the now pouring rain was muffled by the soil roof over his head.

It would hold them all nicely, but it'd be... cramped, "it's fine down here, come on!" He called up to them, and one by one, the dragons came down to join him.

EmberWrath brushed past him, his slick scales sliding against Eis' left arm as he retreated further into the cave, flopping down onto his deep-purple belly and staying there.

The others settled down in the cave and made themselves comfortable, Eis sat next to CryoFangs, whose eyes looked nervous and her body she had confined to only her small bit of space, he gently nudged her with his snout, she looked at him.

"You don't have to sit like that," he simply stated, she flicked her eyes towards the ground, as if guilty as she relaxed slightly. He brushed his wing with hers and she smiled faintly, "everything ok, Mistress?" Asked Nimbus gently, his talons shifting the Book away from her.

"It's such a small space, I feel like the walls are closing in... I-I'll just go outside," she muttered, Nimbus gripped her arm tightly and shook his head, telling her that she shouldn't.

Eis wanted to stop her, but she had this air about her that told him not to, and so he remained quiet, allowing her to leave his line of sight; he hadn't fully realized how close they were until she had left, the absence of her lukewarm scales made him shiver slightly.

An hour of awkward silence had befallen the group of dragons, and Eis broke the silence by clearing his throat, "I'm going to go check on CryoFangs," he said. 'I hope she's alright.' He thought to himself, whispering forth his ball of light as he crawled out of their cave, driving rain splattering across his face as he was met by the storm.

Eis was soon drenched in rainwater, his feet squelched on the waterlogged, muddy ground and he had to wipe his eyes free of rain multiple times over. "CryoFangs?" He called, his sharp eyes trying to see through the downpour, lightning shattered the Heavens and a ferocious growl of thunder reached his ears. He listened, only hearing the wind and rain, what if she isn't here?

'What if something happened to her?' "CryoFangs!" He exclaimed again, running ahead through the storm. "Where are you?"

Eis rushed about in the rain, searching for her, and as he sniffed the air, a scent hit him... a familiar scent. 'Of all the things I could smell in this weather...' he thought, sniffing again; a chilled, watery gust of wind brushed by him, the faint scent of Shivermint hit his nose.

Shivermint only grew in frigid weather, that could only mean one thing...

'Cryo smells like Shivermint? Aye, she must... it's a lovely scent...'

He blushed at the thought that his only close friend smelled like his favorite plant, but tucked the thought away for later as he followed her scent, the wind occasionally ripping it away from him when it got particularly strong.

He tried to call for her one last time, "CRYOFANGS!"

'If I don't get a response or she doesn't show up, I'm gonna-'

"Eis..." he heard her voice say just over the rain and gale-force winds, those sky-blue scales he desired to see made him smile, "what's wrong?" She wondered sadly, he was wondering why she looked so... blank.

"I've been worried about you, Cryo," he started, walking towards her, his light reflecting back in her blue eyes, the light dancing across their scales like the midday sun over the Sleet Sea.

"Why? I was going to come back..."

"CryoFangs, I worried about you, you've been gone for almost two hours and I couldn't bring myself not to come looking for you." He explained, the anxiety evident in his tone as he placed his talon on her shoulder.

She sighed heavily and softly pushed his talon away, she looked away as if something more interesting was over there, he blinked slowly as the rain cascaded down her body.

"What's wrong?" The prince asked, she still didn't speak or look at him. "...CryoFangs?"

"Nothing's wrong..." she sniffed, he knew she was lying, but why lie? 'Please don't do this, Cryo.' He begged mentally.

"Don't lie to me, just tell me what's going on," Eis said, seeing an odd shimmer in her eyes, he had a feeling it wasn't the rain that made her eyes like that.

CryoFangs took in a sharp breath before she looked at him, all of her willpower set on keeping her tears at bay.

But, it was no use, and Eis watched with a breaking heart as CryoFangs broke down in tears, her whimpers almost inaudible due to the downpour around the two.

Cryo tried to stop her tears, but there was no stopping the avalanche of grief that tumbled into his friend's body as she helplessly stumbled towards Eis, silently begging for a hug.

He reached out, arms open as she fell into him, her cries quickly manifesting into sobs and wails of heart-wrenching misery that only he seemed to understand. He wrapped his arms and a wing around her, her shivering body he hugged close to him, her head resting just beneath his own as tears rolled down her face.

He felt as Cryo's tail twined around his, her shaky breaths reverberated through him as he kept a hold of her. Eis vaguely remembered her saying that, when he put his talon over her heart, she could hear his thoughts and feel what he was feeling. 'Hmm...'

"Why are you crying?" He whispered in her ear, she whimpered and hiccuped.

"I've c-cried over their deaths f-for y-years." She stammered through the tears. "I w-wish they'd come back..."

He knew how that felt, he said quietly, gently: "they wouldn't want you to cry for them, Cryo-"

"BUT I HAVE! I CAN'T STOP IT, I WISH THE PAIN WOULD END AND THEY WOULD JUST COME BACK TO ME, I-"

Her voice cut out as she sobbed into the crook of Eis' neck, normally he would've been uncomfortable with such touch, but this was something different.

"I understand, CryoFangs..." he whispered, not caring at all about the rain and wind that whipped at them. "I cannot bring them back, but, you can try to move on..."

"I want to, but I can't..." he heard her say in the most pitiful tone, "it haunts me, Eis... I know it's probably s-stupid to cry over t-the d-dead this long, b-but it hurts... I just want it to stop..."

He soon sat down in the mud with CryoFangs still in his arms, listening to her speak of the pain she felt, of the hole in her heart, of the countless times she's mourned for her parents...

He rocked her gently back and forth, humming softly in her ear as he attempted to calm her down. It worked after almost ten minutes of doing so, her breathing steadied and her whimpers and cries quieted.

He felt as she sat up, her arms now loosely around his waist as she looked up at him sadly, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying.

As he lifted her chin, his light shone on something he was surprised he didn't see before as he looked at her face.

A crescent moon-shaped scar was on the right side of Cryo's face, it started just above her eye and swooped down to her cheek, he brushed his thumb over it and she flinched, as if it still hurt. He did not ask, he saved the question for a later time.

Eis slipped his talon over her faintly-glowing heart, he slowed his thoughts and allowed his affection, his sympathy for her to flow through her like the blood running in her veins.

She gave a sigh of relief as she snuggled close to him again, 'you're safe with me, CryoFangs,' he thought at her, 'I'll make sure you never feel this way ever again, I promise you.'

This broken dragon in his arms needed someone to love, someone to fill the void her parents had left. That VileHeart had left, he corrected. 'That SchattenSeele will pay dearly for what he's done to us, for what he did to her..."

CryoFangs needed someone other than Nimbus, someone who knew what she felt and someone who'd comfort her when the grief became too great.

Eis believed his destiny also involved delivering CryoFangs from the darkness of her past, he now felt it was his job to keep her happy, to keep her close.

CryoFangs had needed someone to love, and she had found him; Eis would love this broken dragon, no matter what.

'I just hope she feels the same way...'

Author's Note: "You: yeah, Officer? This lady right here *points at me* she's rushing a relationship!

"Me: I couldn't contain myself! >:)"

I really couldn't contain myself, so yes, Eis has major feels for Cryo! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and Chapter 9 is coming soon... I hope.