Everything hurt.

Pain was such a small word in the grand spectrum of things. 

Ixis had felt the aching pain of over exhaustion, the pain of grief and loss, the pain of a sharp, stinging hangnail. She had felt the constant agony drawn out over days of blistering, unending heat, freezing cold and torrential rain that still gave her chills at the mere thought of it. 

This was a different kind of pain.

Both numbing and all encompassing, she could feel the dull whine of conversation reaching her ears, the prick of unfamiliar heat and flaking ash crawling over every part of her like an itch she couldn’t scratch. But through it all, the comforting touch of sandpaper like scales kept her at ease long enough to say a single word.

“Hydra.”

The tight squeeze that normally made her feel a little uncomfortable now felt feather light, their voices intertwined together like diving into an oasis as her eyes struggled to open and adjust to the piercing light. 

"We're here. Right here."

Their aquamarine scales blended into deep blues and purples, far larger than anything else in the room but still making sure to tuck their tail in tight and keep their claws sheathed. After all, a sea dragon was a rarity, let alone one being stuck with a fire hazard like her.

"What in Hell's name were you thinking, blazing through so much of your Timekeeper abilities like that?"

Ixis wanted to laugh, but all that would emerge was a wheezy cough, eyes streaming as her body struggled to do even the most basic of movements to assist. 

"Are you alright, my Oathed?"

She recognised the calm voice of Hyde, the elder sibling attempting to hide the concern in his voice. Ixis could barely respond if she wanted to.

“Mmm.”

Ixis fought the urge to complain. She didn’t need any mollycoddling. They both knew that but the eldest brother would always worry and Ixis would be foolhardy not to allow it to happen.

With a growl of pure frustration, the younger sister snapped at her brother despite all the warnings otherwise about hygiene and safety.

“Of course she isn’t, Hyde! Just look at her! She’s burnt out completely and…we could’ve lost her. I could’ve lost you…I could’ve…died."

Ixis reached up to comfort the she-dragon but her arm barely lasted a second or two before it flopped uselessly to her side. The dragon's snake - like head gently nudged her hand, settling her fingers within the crevices just above Dra’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dra. I didn’t think. I never do."

Ixis' voice was slurred, immediately regretting how much she had taken for granted. Until now, she hadn’t realised how little she knew of the younger sister, her heart aching of the thought of her life being cut short because of her foolish mistakes.

"But you caught me, right? I remember. I know how important your scales are to you so…”

Ixis struggled to finish her sentence, her fingers gently tracing the edges of Dra’s forehead, comfortingly. They were dotted with jewels and crystals Ixis had never seen or noticed before, only noting briefly in passing how important her appearance was to her.

“No use having them if I’m dead, Ixy.” Dra said, her teeth far less sinister despite the bite of her vitriol towards Ixis’ initial sentiment.

“If you get me a nice new claw brush, I'll reconsider our offer not to call you out on your recklessness next time." She said, her Oathed gently teasing her young partner for every coin she had saved up.

All the Fire Traited could do was smile despite how sad she felt, her energy sapped from such a simple movement, but her heart ached for her dragon despite the chills making her shiver uncontrollably.

"Besides, Hyde here is worrying enough for the both of us.” Dra added, nudging for her undivided attention.

The entire conversation might’ve made Ixis laugh had it not reminded her of her own dwindling mortality. Then again, Dra and her brother Hyde were inexplicably tied to that fate now whether they liked it or not. It was the nature of a Traited. They could never survive without having another creature beside them to keep their abilities at bay.

“At least I know how to keep certain things a secret, dear sister. Or did you forget about not telling the whole realm about Ixy’s Timekeeper abilities?” Hyde bit back, lightly headbutting his sibling in an attempt to fight for Ixis’ attention.

Hyde had no choice but to remain beside his sister, the twin sea serpent heads sharing a body much like all Sea Screamer’s, but it was a rarity to have pairings be opposing rather than matching genders. But just like how different it was to see a water dragon with a Fire Traited; Hydra was anything but normal.

“How else were they supposed to heal her? Heck, if I didn’t know any better I’d say the whole Fire Trait healing herself thing was a fluke?” Dra blurted out, flopping down beside her as uselessly and dramatically as possible.

Ixis didn’t know whether she had been hit on the head too hard or whether the fuzziness in her head was from just trying to register what her dragon had just said.

“What did you say?”

Ixis had never heard the two so quiet. They had shrunk down to a reasonable size, no bigger than her arm and despite being so disruptive earlier, they now had nothing to say. They attempted to hide underneath her blankets, snuggling up tight but she shifted her body enough to block them.

“You didn’t notice?” Hyde replied in a small voice, barely able to stand the tension between the three of them.

Ixis narrowed her eyes at them, giving Dra the same glare she gave when she didn’t get the extra grooming time she wanted. She avoided the gaze of her Oathed and stared around the room absentmindedly.

“What is he talking about, Dra?”

The aquamarine dragon tried to catch his youngest sister’s eyes but she was too busy being distracted by the golden lights shifting across the room. Ixis hadn’t noticed how she had been left to recover in her own room unlike the usual infirmary. It was strange and somehow, eerie to know she had been segregated based on such an instant decision. 

“When we found you…there was something different about your Trait.”

Ixis’ stomach lurched. If she could even go through the motions of throwing up she’d tip herself over the side, but she couldn’t even scratch the itch on her nose let alone react to that information. 

“What was it? Was it my grimoire? Is it-“

“No, no. It’s fine. See? It’s right here.” Dra insisted, careful not to stand on her chest with her claws.

Ixis gingerly reached underneath the covers, brushing against the bandages around her chest. The breath she didn't know she was holding erupted in a rush of tears, clutching the raggedy old book with every ounce of strength she had left. Without it, she wouldn't have survived that fall.

“It wasn’t your grimoire, Ixis. It was your Fire Trait. It was…somehow it was healing you.”

She could barely hear Hydra's voice over the pounding of her heart rate, breathing slowly as she tried to regain her senses from the panic attack. Her hand gingerly opened the rust - red grimoire still emblazoned with a proud golden phoenix. 

Tearing through the pages, the sharp hiss of pain broke from her lips as a bead of blood trailed onto the crisp, white sheets nestled around her. Her Oathed remained faithfully at her side, innocently staring up at her even as the dull, amber glow confirmed her greatest suspicions.

"How…"

Everything she knew about the flame within her evaporated as she watched the small scratch reseal itself effortlessly. The bloodstain that had smeared her hand disappeared in a cascade of ash. Startling her, the Trait gently eased the fatigue she had felt for so long after waking up.

A knock at the door jolted her from her trance, the door into her room opening gingerly despite Hydra's growl of disapproval.

"Apologies for the interruption, my Regent. The Throneholder has asked to see you."