8- Clash of the Dragons
#10 of The Legend of Rift Book II: Resurrection
.Sithris dragged himself out of the lake, shaking the water off. He gazed up the hill, Rift's once home reduced to rubble thanks to a dragon Rift seemed to have too much history with. Walking over cautiously, Sithris moved toward the orange dragon who was now viciously tearing apart a tree. Deciding to wait till he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire, he sat and watched for the time being.
The black dragon placed a paw on Rift's shoulder once he was done, who in turn sighed and sat down. The two remained still for a few minutes, Rift simply staring at a scrap of bark. Not wanting to press his luck, but still concerned as to what he was dealing with, Sithris decided to question Rift.
"Rift, I know it may be a touchy subject considering the current situation, but... who was that?"
Rift growled angrily, his tail thrashing through the grass. "None of your business."
Sithris frowned, not fond of aggression, but pushed nonetheless. "Seeing as I'm kind of your caretaker currently, and i was nearly crushed in there as well, it does seem to be my business."
The orange drake tensed up, his tail stilling as he hissed; "Your services are no longer required blacky."
Sithris huffed. "Rift, listen! We've already been over this. I am staying with you until i'm convinced you're bet-"
Rift spun around quickly, with an angry roar, his paw connecting with the black dragon's face. Silver claws connected with black hide, creating red lines. Sithris collapsed to the ground with a yelp, causing Rift to snap out of his anger. He watched as Sithris slowly raised his head, the claw marks beginning to seep blood. Rift looked at the ground and felt his guilt skyrocket, seeing Sithris' goggles in ruined pieces.
Rift looked back up and saw Sithris' clenched eyes, the air growing static. Rift gulped nervously, speaking softly; "S-Sithris... I-I'm sorry..." The black dragon's eyes shot open a blood red, a bolt of electricity striking Rift. The orange drake was flung against a tree, the rage filled Sithris slowly walked torwards him. Rift groaned in pain, Sithris now face to face with him.
The black drake sneered before his eyes returned to their normal coloring, his mind regaining control. He sighed in defeat, speaking to Rift in a low voice. "I-I told you not to make me use that again. I told you what those goggles meant to me. I took you in when you were within an inch of death and brought you back. I fed you, healed you, and tried to keep you company. All you did was degrade me, treat me like worthless shit. And then you took away the only thing that made me me. I'm done wasting my time. You wanted me gone, well you can have it."
Sithris turned away, spreading his wings. "Goodbye Rift."
With a burst of energy, the black dragon flew off. Rift hung his head and suddenly his vision blurred. He struggled to stay standing, tried to shout, but only fell and slipped into darkness.
"What have you done young one?"
Rift sighed as he looked up at the Chronicler; "I fucked up... again."
Ignitus nodded "Not the terms I would have used, but yes, you are correct. I understand that you prefer to be alone after losing your mate, but you handled this situation rather poorly."
Rift hung his head, no longer hiding his shame. "I should've accepted his friendship. I wish I could make things right."
The elder dragon held up a book, opening it to a page close to the end. "Looking at his book young one; make things right you must, else he will die... soon"
Rift panicked, looking up to the elder dragon. "How? Who? Where!?"
"You find him and bring him with you, Rift. And time is not on your side..." Ignitus said, gesturing towards a large hourglass that had nearly run out. "Now go!"
Rift shook his head to try and clear the creeping fog, fighting the sleep in his mind. "No! Wait! What do I... do...."
Rift opened his eyes slowly, the lake of his home a few feet in front of him. He looked at the smashed goggles that once sat on Sithris' head and sighed, pulling himself up to get them.
"I fucked up huge. I just didn't think..."
A faint roar in the distance reached Rift's ears, making him whip around. "Sithris... hold on!"
He argued with himself for a moment, before leaving the goggles there and taking off through the forest. His body protested, battered limbs aching and burned wings stinging as he forced himself through the brush. Another roar sounded, closer, but it made him slow for a moment.
"That doesn't sound like him..."
Breaking into a clearing, he looked around in stunned silence, hundreds of apes lying lifeless along his current path. He gulped, a large amount of static in the air. Moving through the bodies confirmed his route, another roar ahead of him. He rounded the top of a hill, seeing his target.
Sithris was surrounded by dozens of apes, the drake's body bloodied and bruised. The blood however, was not the only red on him. Bright red runes covered his scales, a deep purple sheen adorning him. His eyes were red once again and face was twisted into a sadistic grin.
The apes charged at him, their suddenly lifeless bodies being flung back away. The almost feral Sithris had no remorse, attacking with claws, teeth and tail. Blood was spewing everywhere as each new ape was relieved of it's head via a quick bite, or their chests torn open by a swipe of claws. It was a few moments later that he spoke, the sheer tone of it making Rift tremble nervously. His voice was demonic, uncaring of the screams as he ended the last apes.
"You were all worthless wastes of air, deserving of painful demises. You should all be grateful to cease exis-" He started, halting as his gaze crossed the hill Rift was stood on. "Well well well, look what we have here; a certain orange reptile that I will be ending."
Sithris cackled, his laugh making Rift's stomach flip. The black dragon that had helped him earlier had lost it.
Rift shivered, forcing himself into a defensive stance. "Sithris, please don't do this. This isn't you."
"Like you would know!" Sithris hissed, small black orbs forming in the air beside him. "You never took the time to even act like you cared, you insolent fuck."
Rift yelped as the orbs flew at him, exploding on impact and sending him flying. The black dragon wasted no time and stomped Rift's head to the ground, before ramming his head into the orange's dragons gut. Rift groaned in pain, his body skidding a few meters away.
Quick as lightning, Sithris launched himself at Rift's throat and beginning to bite down. In a desperate attempt to escape, Rift slammed his paw against the other dragon's face. Sithris grunted at the impact, stumbling a few steps back. Rift jumped up and swung his tail around, only to be caught in the other drake's maw. The crazed drake used the momentum to swing Rift by his tail, slamming him hard against a tree.
Rift got up just in time to avoid the collapsing tree from crushing his body. He growled in pain, attempting to move again but only ending up with his face receiving a hard whip from a tail. His vision faded for a moment before clearing, but not fast enough to dodge as Sithris launched at him. The black dragon's claws rested on the edge of the chest shield, digging under it. Rift panicked, headbutting Sithris off. The opposing dragon was knocked away in a stumble, snarling in rage.
Think Rift, you can't kill him. You have to disable him somehow... He thought quickly, his eyes meeting Sithris'. Sucking in as much air as he could, Rift watched the black dragon closely. He saw those orbs of dark energy appear at his sides again, and knew it was his best chance.
Forcing as much energy into his sore limbs as he could, Rift launched himself upwards as the orbs flew towards him. His damaged wings provided little lift, but he didn't need much. Fire built up his his maw, and he roared as he shot it towards the tree that had fallen earlier.
A loud shriek filled the air as the high heat blew the tree apart, shards of bark flying everywhere. Sithris was forced to pull his wings in front of his face to shield himself, exactly what Rift needed.
Tipping himself forwards, the orange dragon fell from the sky; right onto the currently blinded Sithris.
Rift heard a loud wheeze as his weight forced the other dragon to the ground, knocking the air from his lungs. Moving quickly, he wrapped his tail around Sithris' throat, cutting off his means of recovering.
The black dragon shrieked as he tried to breathe. His legs pushed into the ground, but he couldn't lift himself with the orange dragon on his back. He desperately tried to think of a spell or anything to free himself, but the burning in his lungs and the blurring in his mind prevented it.
Rift felt Sithris' struggles slowing, making him tighten his grip a little. With a final grunt, Sithris collapsed and went quiet. Rift waited a minute before releasing his grip, cautiously pressing his ear to Sithris' chest. He sighed in relief as he heard a heartbeat and stood up, despite his body screaming in protest. He carefully pulled the unconscious Sithris onto his back and started carried him back to the lake.
Sithris stirred. He cracked open his eyes and winced. Everything hurt. Looking around, he the familiar yet different cave he was in. He grunted in pain, looking down at himself. His body was covered in bruises and cuts, though strangely enough, it looked as if most of the wounds were seared shut. It didn't however stop the pain, and he felt like he took a fall several hundred feet off the ground. "W-where am I?"
"In what I have rebuilt of my cave so far." Rift walked in, a large elk on his back. "I've got it most of the way back to it's former glory, and it's stronger since it's all heat sealed now."
Sithris nodded slowly, instantly regretting the action. "How did I get here? Why are you here? Why are you being so nice now?"
Rift tipped the elk off and sighed. "I'm really sorry, to say I was an asshole is an understatement. After I lost Kara, I became afraid of befriending anyone, as i couldn't bear to lose them. I went looking for you shortly after my outburst and met... whatever that was."
Sithris grimaced, the realisation sinking in. "...How did you survive him?"
Rift smiled slightly. "Surprise attack. Everybody gets one. Ended up having to choke you out."
Sithris rubbed his neck, the bruising making it tender. "You're the first to ever survive his attack."
Rift nodded. "I carried you back here and spent a week trying to fix things up... including, these..." Rift handed Sithris' goggles to him.
Sithris took them slowly and looked at them. They certainly weren't pristine anymore, but they had been carefully put back together and repaired.
Sithris put them back on his head as Rift extended his paw. "I understand if you decide no, but I would like to try and start over. And have you travel with me, if you would. The name's Rift, Riften Myclonis."
Sithris thought a moment before taking Rift's paw. "Sithris, Sithris Agon."