Aether vaguely comprehended the small cursing coming from his window as they walked into the forest. He knew that he should have said something before leaving, but knowing how the Frenzel household is, he knew better than to try. In all the scenarios he could think of, he would be dragged back into the mansion and placed under strict supervision until Nox was "dealt" with. Robbing him of the opportunity to see the creature.
And he just couldn't have that.
Nox must have also known that his family was coming after them. He walked at a brisk pace, only slowing down when he got too far ahead.
The trees around them had grown denser and Aether could no longer see his home when he looked behind him. Though, he did not worry about getting lost because Nox seemed confident in where he was going.
The time they spent walking was done so in silence. Although Nox was a couple steps in front of him, he would stop every now and then and glance behind him to make sure that he was still following.
Although Nox made no move to speak, the silence was not awkward, but rather comfortable. Aether found out early on that when he was in the presence of the other Princes he often felt suffocated if not repressed by their presence alone. Although bearable, the feeling only got worse when they used their abilities, but around Nox it was different. It was calming and relaxing, even when he was using his abilities, not once did Aether feel suffocated.
Aether let out a small gasp as he barely stopped himself from running straight into Nox's back. He wasn't sure when Nox came to a stop, but he was glad because that meant they were likely close to the creature.
Nox stood still, he looked both ways before turning right. Aether followed closely, watching as Nox kneeled down and began to remove foliage that was hiding an entrance to a small cave.
At first Aether stood a little bit behind him, but after some careful consideration he took a couple steps back. He wasn't sure what type of creature Nox had found and he was afraid that his presence would frighten the creature.
Nox lowered himself until his face was inches away from the ground and reached into the cave. He shuffled a bit and a small noise, like the sound of a kitten calling out, resounded in the small clearing. It wasn't loud and if he wasn't listening he would have easily missed it.
Nox shuffled a bit as he stood up. His arms bent in awkward angles as if it was his first time trying to carefully hold something so small. When he turned around Aether could see just how uncomfortable Nox was in holding such a thing.
Nox's entire body was stiff. His face was tense, with his nose scrunched up and his lips pursed. He gazed with concentrated eyes at the small creature wiggling in his arms.
'Has he never held a small living creature before?'
It was an odd thought because Nox had younger brothers and a little sister, giving him enough opportunities to hold an infant, but still watching Nox clumsily handle such a small living creature only confirmed Aether's theory that he had never held such small creatures before.
"Can I hold it?" Aether reached out, his eyes focusing on the small creature.
Nox didn't hesitate in handing over the creature. He stuffed it into Aether's arms and dusted off his hands.
Aether had never seen such a creature before, only reading about them in books. Its body was small just like kittens or puppies would be, but it had scales like a snake and small wings sprouting from its back. Immediately he knew it was a dragon, but the more he looked at it the more strange it appeared to be.
Its face was scrunched up as it weakly called out. Its eyes were a pure red color and no pupils could be seen. It had two rows of sharp teeth and with every breath it spewed a black translucent smoke. It had eight legs instead of the usual four and the spikes going down its spine and wings were dark red at the end. On its chest, just below its head was a spout of dark red fur. Overall it gave off a cute but deadly type of vibe.
The creature gazed up at him, its eyes eerie. Aether held his breath, his eyes wide in awe as he made eye contact with the creature. After a tense moment it mewed at him and curled into his chest.
Aether's heart melted.
"Its a dragon." Nox says. Without Aether realizing, he had walked behind him and was glancing over his shoulders at the creature in Aether's arms.
"A dragon." Aether repeated his eyes sparkling at the confirmation. "But, to be left alone at such a young age? Shouldn't it be returned to its kind?"
Nox shook his head, "Dragons are difficult to find. It may be years before another pack is found and even then it may not be seen as one of their own." He pauses, "It would be better for someone to watch over it as it grows."
"Then…the Professor at the academy could-"
"No." Nox said firmly, "A creature as rare as this would either be experimented on or locked away for observation."
The thought of the little one being locked away and experimented on was too much to bare. He pulled the dragon closer. He couldn't let that happen.
He gazed down at the dragon. It yawned and curled its head into his chest, purring as it did so. He carefully patted its head, letting his fingers glide against the scales. He thought the scales would have been cold, but they were warm.
Aether couldn't help but feel like he was holding a priceless creature in his hand. His hand stopped and without looking up he asked, "If a dragon is so rare, then why didn't you keep it for yourself?"
Nox went silent. His hands clenched and unclenched. "I am not good at taking care of living things." He finally said.
Aether frowned and tried to meet Nox's eyes, "You have siblings though? Surely you must have taken care of them at some point."
Nox met his gaze, an unknown emotion swimming in his eyes, "No. Father insisted that if we couldn't take care of ourselves then there was no point in us living."
"That's-that's horrible."
"Is it no different than yours?"
Aether froze and glanced away. "It…is." He whispers. In a sense his childhood was amazing. Everything any child could have asked for, but Nox wasn't asking about his childhood, but this Aether's childhood.
Avoiding Nox's stare he maneuvers himself to sit on the ground and places the dragon in front of him. It mews at him and walks towards him. Its front four limbs paw at the front of his shirt. He smiles at the dragon and reaches for a branch lying on the ground. He lifts it in front of the dragon's face watching as the dragon seems to latch onto the branch. It bends down, its tail flicking before pouncing up with its claws extended. Aether moves the branch up right when the dragon is about to reach it.
Aether pursed his lips. Not sure what to say. He didn't have a lot of memories regarding the original Aether and what memories he did had, floated in his mind like broken pieces of a puzzle. "Although my…childhood wasn't the best, I…"
[ He sat alone in a corner of the dusty room flipping through an old book. His gaze landed on the small image of the princess and her family, smiling at one another.
He looked up at the empty room, then back at the page. A small wet spot landed on the princesses face, staining her smile.]
Aether clamped his mouth shut and gazed away. He let out a small sigh, "The point is, that no child should have to suffer growing up on their own when their parents are there."
Nox stood silent for a while, watching the dragon pounce up and down for the branch. "Even if they are weak?"
Aether frowned, "Yes. Especially if they are weak."
Nox gazed up at him once again, but Aether avoided his gaze and kept playing with the dragon. "But power is everything." He walked over and sat down next to Aether.
Aether shot Nox a worried glance and passed over a small branch with a few leaves attached to the end. "Here. Hold it like this and drop it up and down, just enough to where the dragon could reach it if it really tried."
Nox took the branch and held it in confusion. Listening to Aether's words he lifted the branch above his head waving it up and down in front of him and the dragon.
Aether snorted and covered his mouth to stifle his laugh. "No, not like that, like this." He took his own branch and held it in front of him, waving it up and down gently. Smiling lightly as the dragon reached up with its front claws and snatched the branch after a couple of times.
Aether laughed, "See, now you try."
Nox gazed at Aether then at the branch. He held it up just slightly above his shoulder and moved it up and down in small motions. The dragon, still playing with the branch, stilled. Its face followed the moving branch. It couched down getting ready to attack. When it pounced, it attacked the branch and munched on the leaves, but unlike it did with Aether's branch, it refused to let go.
Nox frowned and waved the branch a little harder, trying to get the dragon to let go, but the dragon only held on tighter. Nox's frown deepened.
Aether smiled at the two antics, "It seems he likes you."
Nox's frown twitched and he let go of the branch, smirking as the dragon rolled back, hitting a rock behind him.
"Have you taken care of living things before?" Nox turned away from the dragon and faced Aether.
Aether smiled, "Yes, though not for long." Aether once took care of a small rabbit, but after his parents found out about it they took it away saying that the maids could take care of it and that he should be focusing on his studies instead.
He smiled at the found memories and reached for another branch, catching the dragons' attention.
"BRAHH!" The dragon let out a roar, though it sounded more like a toddler trying to scare a child. It let out a puff of black smoke covering the branch. When the smoke cleared, the branch that was once in Aether's hand was now gone.
Aether opened his hand, a few specks of dust laid on his palm. "What-how?"
"It's a dragon. Each sub-species of dragon is unique and holds different abilities. This one's smoke can dissolve what it wants." Nox threw his branch towards the dragon who was chewing on some blades of grass. Its head shot up, flapping its wings and lifting itself into the air. With a small roar it blew its black smoke dissolving the branch instantly.
"Wow." Aether smiled. Though the thought of the dragon being able to dissolve anything scared him, it also amazed him. "Is that why its scales are warm? Because-"
A knife flew by Nox and Aether's face, piercing the tree in front of them. Aether's eyes went wide and he turned around only to be faced with the angry faces of his family.
'Oh crap.'