Return to Constancy
Sunset sighed, lying limp in her bed. In all truths, she missed Lacyus dearly. She just didn't show it. Nephilla's angry tirade three days ago was entirely true. She was shallow not to see that Lacyus put up with her for fourteen years. But Lacyus was probably still angry at her.
The door opened and Mira walked in. She seemed to be the only one that understood.
"Hey Sunset. Lunch's ready."
Sunset nodded sadly. "I'll be down."
Mira frowned. "Either I'm seeing things, or you've tested some new shapeshifting technique, because your eyes have changed color." She set her hand on Sunset's shoulder to comfort her. "If there's anything you need to make this easier for you, I'll-"
Sunset sat up. "Thanks. I'll take a look at them."
Mira patted her on the head and left. Sunset rummaged through her bag and pulled out a compact mirror. She opened it and looked at her eyes. They were no longer purple like normal, but a rich golden yellow. Frowning, she examined them again from a different angle. They were still golden. Both of them.
Sunset left the room and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Nephilla and Rykuu were eating their grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Sunset gave them a hopeful look. However, both Nephilla and Rykuu shot back a look of pure hostility. Sunset slumped even more, took her plate and brought it up to her room. She set it on the desk that was intended for Lacyus. There was even a huge bookcase full of literature, encylopedias and the latest in fiction. All intended for him. Thinking for a moment, she left her plate untouched on the desk and crawled back into bed, pulling the blankets over her head. Mira came through the door and sat down on the bed.
"Go away. " Sunset mumbled. "I don't feel like eating or talking."
Mira tried to gently pry the blankets off of Sunset's head, but she held fast. "Listen Sunset. I'm starting to get worried about you. You're no longer really social like you used to be. Lacyus will take you back."
"Hah.." Sunset laughed sarcasticly. "I doubt that. After what I said."
Mira tried again to pull the blankets down and this time Sunset gave up. "You need to at least find someone else to love then. You're the kind of dragon that can't live without a mate."
Tears ran down Sunset's muzzle. "Lacyus has probably spread rumors about me. Serves me right."
"As a matter of fact, no."
Sunset sat up, the tears quickly dissapearing. "Really?"
"He's living with the Phins right now. Rumor has it that he's currently going out with a dolphin named Feydra. If you want, I can show you the guy hot spots around town."
Sunset's face lit up. "Just let me have lunch first."
***
"Come home with me Sun."
Sunset blushed and playfully pushed Kantos away. "Not so quickly!"
Kantos was a large, muscular dragon. He was orange with blue elemental marks. Sunset had gravitated to him first in the group of about ten really cute males.
"No seriously Sunset. You and I are going to be mates."
Sunset dropped her cheerful exterior. "And I said not so quickly. I'd like to know you first."
Rage filled Kantos' eyes and he grabbed Sunset's wrists. "Listen sweetie. You are going to be my mate and you will like it." He growled.
"LET ME GO!" Sunset howled, wrestling against his grip.
"Not in a hundred-URK!"
A black tentacle wrapped itself around Kantos' neck. He released Sunset, fighting for air. It lifted him into the air. Sunset heart leaped at was was controling the tentacle. Lacyus.
Lacyus was wearing a grey t-shirt and blue sweatpants. He had a bandiolier over one arm. He lifted Kantos high into the air, then tossed him in the direction of the docks. Sunset surged forward, squealing in delight.
"LACYUS! LACYUS! IT'S ME!" She screamed.
She reached him and tried to hug him, but he dodged it deftly.
"Excuse me ma'am, but should I know you?" He asked.
"What?" She blurted, baffled. "It's me! Sunset!"
He frowned. "Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell."
Sunset grabbed his hand. "Please! You've gotta remember."
Lacyus angrily yanked his hand out of her grip. "I have absolutely no idea who you are!" He hissed. "Now leave me alone!" Lacyus walked away, obviously angry.
Sunset could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She pulled her sweater's hood over her head and ran back to Mira's house.
***
"Checkmate." Mira declared triumphantly.
"Dammit!" Rykuu growled. "Best 7 out of 13?"
"Nope!" Mira chirped, pleased with life in general. "Pay up!"
Rykuu grumbled and pulled out his wallet. He handed Mira a bill for 50 dollars. For the last several hours Rykuu had been trying and failing to beat Mira at chess. Mira, being a skilled tactician, could see his strategies easily.
Suddenly the front door burst open and a highly distressed Sunset ran up to her room. Mira followed up.
Opening the room door, Mira saw Sunset sitting on her bed, head and wings held low, her eyes devoid of any life at all. She wasn't crying, but the look on her face was worse than seeing her cry.
"Sunset? What's wrong girl?" Mira cooed.
"Lacyus doesn't reconize me."
Mira was taken aback. "What? What do you mean?"
"This guy, Kantos, was going to abduct and rape me. Lacyus stepped in and delt with him. I tried to ask if he could remember, but he got angry." Sunset sighed. "What next?"
"What do you mean, 'What next?'"
"I dunno." Sunset reached into her bag, pulling out a tiny box. She opened it and took out an engament ring, slipping it onto her finger. "Maybe I should just get rid of this."
Mira stared in horror. "You're kidding right? Get rid of it?"
"I'm seriously considering it. My attachment to Lacyus has brought me so much pain so far. Maybe I should just break my last link to him."
***
Nephilla gasped, listening to Mira and Sunset talked. She never knew the two were engaged, but now Sunset was planning on getting rid of all traces of him. It was too much too fast. Nephilla ran down the stairs and knocked over Rykuu, the two tumbling down in one tangled mess.
"Sorry!" She chirped and quickly got up.
Rykuu grabbed her ankle. "What's the hurry?"
Nephilla shook him off. "Not now! I gotta see Lacyus!"
She ran out the door and quickly took to the air, flying at maxiumum speed, scanning the coastline for the Phin camp. Finding it, she came down at maximum speed, her knees kocking the wind out of herself as they pistoned into her chest. Gasping for the air that wasn't there, she got up and ran full tilt for Lacyus hut. She burst in the front door.
Lacyus laid in his hammock, sleeping peacefully, a physics textbook sitting on the ridge of his muzzle. His right foot hung off of the hammock, occasionally twitching.
"LACYUS! GET UP!"
Lacyus sat bolt upright, howling in fear. He lost his balance and tumbled over, falling out of his hammock. His eyes were wide in sheer terror. He relaxed when he saw Nephilla.
Getting up, he brushed sand off of his scales and straigtened his boxers. "Please refrain from rousing me like that again. It's rather unpleasant."
Nephilla stifled the urge to laugh at his choice of elegant words. Then she focused on her message. "Sunset wants to throw out the engagement ring you gave her."
Lacyus suddenly became angry. "She what?!?! That takes the damn cake!"
Nephilla waved her hands to calm him. "No no no! It's not that! She just thinks her memories of you are causing too much pain for her. What did you do to her in the city?"
"Me?" Lacyus said baffled. "I did nothing! I wasn't in the city.... Unless..... DAMMIT!"
"What's wrong?"
"I sent an imperfect copy into town to pick up some groceries for me and Feydra. Unfortunately, I never extended it's memory beyond directions, a shopping list and it's name. No personal memories."
"So it was you, but not you in the flesh?"
"Exactly." Lacyus went over to his desk and scribbled on a piece of paper. "Give this to Sunset. Tell her I'm sorry."
"Right. I gotta go before she does something stupid. Bye!"
Nephilla ran out and took flight. She opened the note and read it. As usual for Lacyus, the writing was very messy, but still legible.
"Sorry. It was a copy in the plaza area. Not me. Please do not throw your ring out. If anything, use it to remember me if we seperate totally."
***
A few hours later
***
Sunset walked along the eastern side of the Cobalus beach. She avoided the western side because Mira told her that was where Lacyus lived. Confronting him was out of the question. She did too much damage too quickly.
'He's wrong.' Sunset thought. 'I don't want to remember him.'
Slipping her engagement ring off, she cocked her arm back, preparing to throw it into the sea. Suddenly, a hand seized her wrist.
"What are you doing!?!? That's a beautiful ring!"
Sunset turned to see a neon green and red dragon standing behind her. He frowned.
"It's an engagement ring, right? Why throw it away?"
Sunset let her hand fall to her side, her head drooping. "I've done too much damage to my mate. I don't deserve to be with him."
"What kind?"
"Well...." Sunset let her voice trail off. "Sorry. I don't really want to tell you. No offence meant."
"None taken." He gave an enigmatic smile. "I'm Helios."
"Sunset. So why are you here?" She said, slipping the ring back on her finger.
"Same problem but reversed. Mate and I got into a fight. I said some pretty nasty things to her." He lowered his head. "I'm regretting it all now."
Sunset lowered her head too. "I see...." She gave a hopeful smile. "Well. Why don't we just sit here and wallow in our self pitty, shall we?"
Helios laughed. It was exactly the same as Lacyus. "Yeah." He collapsed onto his butt with a loud thump.
"So how's life been for you Helios?"
"No too good. Abandoned when I was one. Had to fight and hunt for myself. Found myself a mate. Then she chewed me out when she found out I was a shapeshifter." He suddenly flushed red. "I-I-I mean, she found out I was having an affair."
Sunset gave him an evil look. "Stop lying. I'm a shapeshifter, so feel free to speak freely."
Helios sighed happily. "Finaly, someone of my kind. But yeah, she broke up with me because I was a shapeshifter."
"I was nearly hunted to death until my mate found me and gave me a wing to stand under. My parents abandoned me so they could delay some hunters and I could live on."
"Do you know where they are now?"
"No. I don't even know if they're dead or alive. All I know is my friend might possibly be my long lost sister."
"That's gotta be a morale boost for ya!" Helios said happily.
"Not really. My mate is the only one with the DNA knowledge to even tell if we are remotely related. And he's gone."
"I see."
"He's supposedly living among the Phins right now. He's found a new mate, a dolphin by the name of Feydra." Sunset gave a genuine laugh of happiness. "I dunno if I should be happy for him, or jealous of the dolphin."
"Choices, Choices." Helios started blushing a bit. "Not meaning to force anything on you, but when I can talk to someone like this, it, well.... To put it bluntly, it feels like you're my mate. Not that I consider you to be! I mean, you're really cute and all. But I wanna see if I have a chance of being back with my mate first before I go looking."
Sunset nodded. "No problem. Maybe I should do the same thing. But yeah. About me and my mate splitting... He's a Shadowdragon and I accused him of being a darkling."
Helios winced visibly, shifting uneasily.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No no...." Helios laid on his back. "It just sounds like you're a bit shallow."
"I kinda figured that out. My friend-sister got real mad at me.... Took that to convince me I was wrong."
"Yeah...." Helios got up. "Sorry, but I have to go. My shift's in about half an hour."
"'Kay. See ya later."
Helios smiled. "Actually, I was thinking we could meet here at about 10:30 tonight. To talk some more. Maybe go swimming a bit?"
Sunset grinned meekly, feeling a bit jittery and nervous. "Okay!"
Helios walked away out of sight. Sunset sighed loudly. She already had a crush on him. He was so much like Lacyus, but the shapeshifter aspect made him more.... Likeable to her. Someone who she could talk freely about their personal experiences. Lacyus never really cared about how she felt about the past, which bugged her a bit. But Helios was better. He could listen and return any comment with a relation.
***
Nephilla jumped when the front door flew open. Sunset rushed through, a bright ball of happiness. Nephilla scowled.
"What with you? I thought you were miserable that Lacyus left you?" She said sourly.
Sunset sighed happily. "All I know is that life's good right now!"
Nephilla was taken aback by the comment. "What? What do you mean?"
Sunset laid down on the couch adjacent to the chair Nephilla was sitting in. "I met this guy Helios. Really nice guy, and a shapeshifter too. And welll....." Sunset blushed. "I kinda have a crush on him right now."
"So what about Lacyus?"
Sunset held up her left hand. On her ring finger sat her engagement ring. "I'm sure he'll take this okay. I'll still keep the ring as a symbol of our friendship. I really want him to be my friend though."
Mira suddenly appeard behind Sunset. "See! I told you you'd feel better with someone to love."
Sunset closed her eyes, grinning from ear to ear. "Wake me up at 9:30. I'm meeting Helios at 10:30 to talk and possibly go swimming."
Nephilla frowned. "So that's it? That's the last of your relationship with Lacyus?"
"If anything, I'm gonna try and comfort him if he takes it too hard."
Nephilla smiled. "Good to see you finally gave up your grudge."
***
Sunset ran to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Nephilla forgot to wake her up and she was running a bit late. She was wearing a baby blue bikini and a red sarong with a matching baby blue bottom underneath. Mira stepped in and Sunset turned towards her.
"How do I look?"
"Great! Have a good time!"
Sunset bolted out the door and ran down the street to the docks. She passed a moaning Kantos on the way. He was covered in seaweed and sand and his clothes were torn and tattered. She bolted down the boardwalk to the sandy beaches and ran as fast as she could. Images of Helios galvanized her, making her run even faster.
Getting to the beach, she stopped, skidding slightly. Helios was asleep at the base of a dune. Sunset walked over and gently shook him.
"Helios? It's me. Sunset."
Helios stirred and sat up. "I was worried that you forgot." He looked Sunset over. "You look really hot in that bikini."
Sunset blushed. "Thanks. So what do you want to talk about?"
"I dunno. I guess I need tips on how to get my mate back..."
Sunset's heart dropped a bit, but she was still hopeful. "Maybe an apology?"
"I've tried that already. Didn't work." He said sadly.
"Hmmm. How about gifts?"
"She isn't much of a person that likes gifts. Only on Christmas and her birthday."
"I see."
"What if I shapeshift into another dragon and talk to her that way... How would you react to that."
"I dunno. I probably would take it as an act of desperation. It would really show you wanted to be with her no matter what."
Helios sighed and smiled. "I'm glad you think that way. I can drop this damn cloak then."
"What do you-"
Sunset gasped as Helios's scales began to coalesce into a seething black liquid. The liquid drained away into the sand, revealing a black and red scaled dragon. He smiled. "Hi."
Sunset stared for a moment. "L-Lacyus?"
"Hi."
Sunset hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much. I'm so sorry for what I said. I suppose you can't forgive me right? It's okay if you just want to be friends."
Lacyus kissed her. "Unfortunately, you're right. What you said is unforgivable to me. But I still want to be with you."
Sunset gripped him tightly. "You mean I have a second chance?"
"Don't screw it up this time." Lacyus teased.
"Well ain't that a heartwarming sight."
The two quickly broke their embrace. Feydra stood on top of the dune.
"Listen. I'm sorry but you and I are just friends now." Lacyus said apologetically. "I'm so-"
"What did I say before?" Fedra snapped. "You go off with Sunset. I'll find a mate myself." Feydra pointed in the direction of the Phin camp. "We're having a party tonight, if you want to come. A clam bake.
Lacyus looked at Sunset. "Feel like some seafood?"
***
Mira paced around the grand room. Rykuu's eyes followed her murderously.
"Stop it. You're making me jittery. I want to kill something now."
Mira sighed and sat in a chair. "Sorry, but I'm nervous about Sunset. This Helios guy sounds too good to be true."
Nephilla nodded in agreement. "Let's just go check up on them."
The three headed down to the beach. In the distance of the west side of the beach, there was a bonfire going. They headed in that direction.
Music blared out of a stereo. It was obviously a party. Bottles of beer and soda were being passed around. Mira spied Gailus. He was playing what looked to be a little game with his mate.
"Hey Gailus?" Mira asked. "Have you seen a orange-beige and purple dragoness go past here?"
"Ohh yah. She headed off with Mr. Helios. Really nice man."
"Thanks." Mira started off in the direction of the logs by the bonfire. Then she saw Lacyus and she could not be any angrier.
A turquoise-purple dragoness sat on his lap. They laughed and kissed. Two mates dumped. It was too much.
"HEY LACYUS!" She barked. "Where the hell is Feydra. You should be damn loyal to your mate."
"It's okay Mira. Were just friends now."
"PIG!" Mira barked. She wound up to slap her little brother.
The dragoness caught her arm. "It's me Mira. Calm down."
"Sunset!?!? I though you hated him?"
"It took Helios to talk me out of it."
"Where is he? I wanna meet him then"
"Actually," Lacyus said sheepishly. "I was experimenting with artificial shadow scales. Very good disguise."
"So you two are back together?" Nephilla asked. Sunset nodded happily. "That's great."
Rykuu looked around. "Umm, sorry, but I don't think we're invited, so ummm, we'd best be going."
Gailus approached with his mate in hand. "Stay and have some fun buddy. Any friends of a Phin is welcome."
So the group enjoyed the party, laughing and joking. Mira had a drinking contest with Gailus. Because dragons are nearly unaffected by alcohol, it ended up with a drunk orca and a laughing dragoness. After that, a water fight ensued and Feydra and Nephilla teamed up and won. Lacyus taught Sunset some spells that allowed her to 'bend' light around her, rendering herself invisible to the naked eye. Rykuu was playing pranks galore.
After the party, the exhausted group made the short trip over to Lacyus' hut.
"That was one hell of a good party." Mira smiled. "You pick the best people to hang out with Lac."
Lacyus opened the door to his hut, then blushed. "Umm, just don't mind the mess."
They all stepped in and gaped at the scattering of note, textbooks and encyclopedias on the ground. Lacyus' desk had two weird little contraptions on it. And in the corner, to Sunset's horror, sat Lacyus' ebonite claymores, well polished but in pieces. One of the blades was split in half lengthwise and detached from it's hilt. The other had holes drilled in it. Sunset grabbed Lacyus's neck.
"What the hell did you do to my gift?"
"I'm modifying it. I'm putting in an MVS system."
Sunset released him, relaxing. "What's that?"
"You'll have to see when it's done.
Lacyus began gathering up notes and organizing them into piles. Rykuu went into his cooler and pulled out a bottle of water, offering some to Nephilla. Mira leaned against the wall and slid down it into a sitting position.
"I dunno about you guys, but I'm getting some sleep." She closed her eyes, curled up into a ball and wrapped her wings around herself for warmth. "Wake me up when I have to leave."
Lacyus kissed Sunset on her cheek. "You want to sleep here tonight?"
Sunset smiled. "Of course. I haven't slept with anyone in three weeks. No sex though. I just wanna sleep with you."
Lacyus turned to Rykuu and Nephilla. "You two can crash here as well."
Rykuu yawned. "Thanks. Neph?" He laid down and Nephilla laid down facing him, pressing her body into his. The two fell alseep quickly.
Lacyus gingerly reached into his dresser's bottom drawer and pulled out some blankets. He draped some over Neph and Rykuu. He then pulled out a larger hammock and replaced his single hammock with it. He draped some blankets over it and beckoned for Sunset to lie down.
"Ladies first."
Sunset giggled. "Just give me a sec."
She undid her bikini and bottoms, standing naked before Lacyus. Lacyus just gaped.
"What? Swimwear isn't really comfy for sleeping in."
Lacyus smiled. "I just forgot how damn beautiful you are."
Sunset blushed and giggled even more. She sat down gently and swung her legs up onto the hammock, causing it to rock gently. Lacyus laid down beside her and pushed off against the wall, rocking the two some more. He draped a warm quilt over the both of them. The combined rocking motion, the warmth of the quit and the sound of the waves had an adverse affect on Sunset. Her eye lids drooped and her pupils defocused.
"I can see why....you....like.......... it............" She fell asleep in mid sentence, breathing quietly.
Lacyus smiled and stroked her neck affectionately. The rocking was doing the same thing for him. He drifted off to sleep, his arms around Sunset.