Draconian Peril Ch.7
"Master?"
"Master Baku? Please, you must wake up now." The dragon's servant said in an urgent tone.
Baku opened his eyes and groaned, still so early in the morning. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before, and nightmares about the power his son had displayed had plagued him all night. Baku looked down, seeing the young human child looking up toward him. This had better be good...
"Do you realize what time it is child? You had better have a damn good explanation for waking me before dawn." He growled through clenched teeth as he struggled to stand.
Even though it had been near a month since Ryuu had left him with an injured paw, the welts and singe marks had refused to leave; it caused him great pain to even put slight weight on his front right paw now. Holding a grudge didn't even begin to describe his hatred toward his son right now.
Baku stretched out his back, spreading his massive wings and arching his spine as he heard the sickening crack of each and every vertebrae from his tail tip to the base of his neck.
"Well, now that I'm awake, I might as well hear what you have to say." Baku said tiredly.
The servant child nodded, and motioned for him master to follow him to the mouth of his cavern home.
"I think you should see this." The child said, as he pointed to the spiraling thunderclouds in the distance.
Baku limped toward the maw of his home and stared with renewed fury and fear as he heard the oh so familiar thunderous roar that only Serpentaurious was capable of.
Ryuu held out his hand, watching as small sparks of electricity jumped between his fingers. Unknowingly, he had unlocked the power of lightning when he opened the gate to the Abyss and released Ciel. Ryuu smiled, concentrating the energy into a small orb floating in his palm. Three elements obtained, only three left.
"Tonight is a full moon Styx. Are you sure you just want to sleep? We could go on a killing spree." Ryuu said, hoping to entice his mate.
Styx' ears perked when she heard Ryuu's suggestion, he very seldom offered to let her kill wantonly, so she tried to discover the reason for her master's offer.
"That depends on the occasion, my love. Why would you let me kill tonight, instead of any other?" She asked, suspicion evident in her voice.
Ryuu shifted into his draconian form, and pointed to a rather large town at the base of the mountain the were camping atop of.
"This village is one that my mother told me about when I was a child. A village of dragon slayers, your kin perhaps?" Ryuu asked taunted, referring to her profession.
Styx now understood Ryuu's reasoning, he held very little mercy for those who would harm his own race, she vividly remembered the beating she received when she revealed to Ryuu that she used to be a dragon slayer herself. That thought in itself made her shiver, both in excitement and fear.
Styx nodded to Ryuu silently, and after calling upon her own Shadow Flare, she reached out to take hold of Thenos. Just as she was about to draw the demonic weapon, Ryuu stopped her, telling her that these would be slaughtered by their hands alone.
The two guards standing watch outside the village stood vigilantly, conversing as they scanned the area for threats or visitors. The sound of soft footsteps alerted them to their presence. Both guards looked in the direction of the sound, smiling in hopes of a worthwhile hunt on the way to their village. Glowing red eyes made them think otherwise quickly though. The last thing the two guards saw was a tongue of black fire enshrouding them, death took them quickly.
"That was no fun, they were to easy to kill Ryuu. I knew I should have brought Thenos, then at least I could have hacked them to pieces." Styx began to pout.
"Oh, quit your whining Styx, you know there are many more victims inside these walls, just waiting for our talons, and flames to take their souls." Ryuu said, relishing his own words as he stared at the gate that was supposed to keep the like of him out.
Styx and Ryuu both looked at the gate, had it been any others attempting to enter, they would most likely have trouble.
"Styx, my love, would you like the honors?" Ryuu offered, gesturing towards the gate.
Styx blushed, and nodded slowly. Reaching out her open palm, Styx began to focus a torrent of power into her hand before unleashing it as a strong blast of energy.
As Styx' energy blast hit the frail wooden gate, the force and the heat of the blast caused the wood to explode almost immediately; within moments, a hail of splinters had begun to fall.
"Let us kill, Styx, let us kill." Ryuu said as he traced a talon over his mates throat.
Styx moaned in delight at Ryuu's touch, and nodded slowly. They both charged into the fray of slayers, slashing throats, severing limbs, and bathing in sprays of blood. In a matter of minutes, over two hundred were dead, leaving only the most skilled warriors alive by shear luck.
Ryuu and Styx both noticed quickly that these particular dragon slayers had a habit of taking prisoners, as was obvious by the many Wyvern chicks locked up in cages throughout the village.
Styx had disarmed, as well as disembody the guards that stood watch near the cages that housed several of the young Wyverns. As she stared at the young ones, Ryuu walked up behind her, and tugged gently on one of her tails to get her attention.
"Ryuu, what should we do about them?" Styx asked, pointing toward the hatchlings.
Three of the Wyverns in the cage before them stood as sentinels in front of its brothers and sisters, hoping to protect the others in case Ryuu and Styx turned out to be a threat.
Ryuu smiled, admiring the children's courage. With a gentle sweep of his arm, Ryuu pushed Styx behind him, and knelt before the child sentinels.
"You can calm down now, I have no intention of harming you or your kin." Ryuu said in a series of hisses and chirps, the natural language of Wyverns.
The children lowered their wings, and walked toward Ryuu, taking in the scent of human blood on the back of his hand as well as its owners. Another dragon, a friendly one at that. The child dropped its guardian persona, and called out for its kin to relax, that they were in the presence of friends.
"Hey! Get away from those dragon chicks, we found them, so we will use them as we see fit." One of the villages last remaining warriors yelled from across the town square.
Ryuu sighed, and turning to Styx, who was licking her lips in blood lust, motioned for her to kill the surviving humans. Styx eagerly complied, and dashed off to slaughter any that lay in her wake.
"I must remember to reward her tonight. Alright now, do you think you can fly to safety if I open your cages?" Ryuu asked the hatchlings.
One of the hatchlings nodded swiftly after examining its wings, the others soon followed and began chirping in earnest, nudging the door with their heads as if to open it themselves. Ryuu smiled, and after extending a talon, picked the locks open. He knew it would be much easier to open if he used his wrist blades, but doing so held the chance of harming the hatchlings. A price too risky for Ryuu to take, considering how few of his kind still lived.
As the tumblers in the lock finally clicked into place, Ryuu slowly opened the door and reached into the cage. He held his arm out to each Wyvern in turn, allowing each one to rest on his arm as he moved them from the dirty innards of their cage to the branches of a tree that stood nearby.
"I doubt I will be able to find you should you be captured again, so be careful you five." Ryuu said in a dismissive tone.
With that, he turned his back to them, and began to walk over to Styx. As Styx finished her task, she met Ryuu half-way in in a kiss, smearing a few drops of blood onto his lips after she had ripped out several humans throats, making her mate lick his lips appreciatively. They both walked throughout the village, releasing the rest of the different breeds of draconic heritage that lay trapped all around town.
"Don't let me forget Styx." Ryuu said offhandedly.
"I still need to give you your reward tonight." He said with a grin.
Styx pressed herself against him, resting her head on his shoulder, and stroking over his back with her claws.
"I don't need one, you letting me kill these humans was reward enough." Styx whispered in his ear, as she nibbled lightly on his neck.
A thought crept into his mind, making Ryuu smile. Without delay, Ryuu exposed his throat to Styx fangs and brought up a claw to begin scratching his neck scales. Such an unfair temptation.
"Oh my, and I was just thinking of what I could give you. But now that you said that... Oh well, guess I'll have to keep it to myself." He taunted, lightening his scales until his jugular became clearly visible to the naked eye.
Styx couldn't take her eyes from the pulsing artery before her, her species' survival called for the blood of those that she kills, but that of her mate was so much sweeter and filling. Styx' trembling fingers rose to caress her mate's clear scales, as she licked her lips. She knew then that she should never have said that shew wanted no reward, considering how rarely he let her drink of his blood.
"Styx, would you just drink already." Styx said as he rested his hand against the back of her head, urging her to take his throat into her maw.
Styx quickly complied, easing her mate's jugular under her fangs and bit down hard, drawing Ryuu's blood down her throat, and enjoying not only the flavor, but her mate's devotion to her. She took in nearly a pint of Ryuu's blood before she finally eased her fangs from his neck, gently brushing her tongue over the wound she had left on his neck before stepping away slightly. Ryuu sighed, and rubbed a hand over the quickly healing mark his mate had made over his throat; in truth, Ryuu enjoyed the feeling of Styx' fangs digging into his neck, the sensation of his blood leaving his body made him shiver in delight. Yet very seldom could he allow Styx to enjoy such an act, as he knew that the more she drank of him, the more powerful she would become. Under most circumstances, that would be very good, but considering that the Shadow Flare was not born to her, it would eventually corrupt her mind to the point of death if she became too powerful too quickly.
"Thanks Ryuu, I always enjoy the taste of your neck. Are you going to drink from me now?" Styx asked, brushing a hand over her throat, and parting the fur.
Ryuu smirked, exposing his slightly curved canines. He took a few steps closer to Styx, wrapped his lower wings around her waist, and coiled his tail around her thigh. The two met in a passionate kiss, their lips meeting for the briefest of fleeting moments, before Ryuu trailed a line of gossamer kisses down to the hollow of her throat.
"I think I'll indulge myself, if only for your peace of mind, my love." Ryuu whispered in a voice just loud enough for her to hear.
Styx moaned at the feeling of Ryuu's taloned fingers tracing over her shoulders, through the valley of her breasts, and ending his caress with a loose embrace which she returned wantonly, even as she felt Ryuu's fangs pierce her flesh. A gasp of slight pain escaped her while several beads of blood leaked from her wound, and trailed its way down her chest, staining her silver fur with a moist line of crimson. Styx' arms went limp in Ryuu's embrace, so consumed in the pleasure of her master's gentle grip and dominant clenching of his fangs.
The pace of Styx' breathing seemed to double as her knees went slack, forcing her to rely solely on Ryuu's arms for support. Truthfully, her mate hadn't taken much as of yet, yet the sensation of fangs at her neck was something she had grown to love since the first time he had tasted her, back when they had first met face to face, or rather, blade to blade.
Abruptly, Styx' world came crashing back to her when Ryuu released her, allowing her to fall to the ground in a dazed heap. As she came to, Styx looked up to her mate, only to to be surprised by the fact that someone had attacked him, having thrust a spear through his windpipe while he was feeding on her.
Styx sat there, watching as Ryuu fell to his knees, coughing up blood, and seeming to be in great pain. Amusing, she was probably one of the only people to know that such an attack would only serve to piss her mate off.
"It couldn't be that easy." Someone said as a group of odd warriors walked toward them.
Styx sat there, pulled out a damp rag, and began to dab at the stain on her fur. She knew that there was no way that a wound as minor as that could seriously hurt Ryuu.
Ryuu gripped the spear handle and pulled it out, causing a fair amount of blood to leak down his ebony scales. He stood, shaking slightly, as he focused his power to stop the bleeding, but not to heal the wound.
"Do you have any idea how much a weapon like that hurts?" Ryuu asked his opponents; his wrist blades flexing instinctively.
The warriors each smiled in turn, drawing their weapons and taunting Ryuu to jump into the battle that was sure to ensue. Styx looked at their weapons, recognizing the emblem that was chiseled into the blade of each one; these people were dragon slayers, familiar ones at that, and it seemed that they had their sights set on Ryuu.
"Ryuu, you might want to look out. Your attackers are dragon slayers, one that I used to work with no less." Styx said with a heavy sigh.
Ryuu's ears perked at the mention of more prey, and a twisted smile crossed his lips. Just before Ryuu started to turn toward the three that had attacked him, he felt Styx hand resting on his shoulder, stopping him.
"What are you doing Styx? Don't interfere with my hunting." Ryuu said in a tone tainted with malice.
"Ryuu, these are the humans I worked with as a slayer. They are my prey." Styx corrected her mate, a slightly challenging glint in her eyes, as if daring him to contradict her.
Almost without thinking, Ryuu stepped back and bowed his head to his mate, acquiescence for her to do as she pleased. Styx sighed, she was sure that she would be punished severely for defying her master when this was over, but this was something she had to do. At the very least, to truly break free of old habits. Styx calmed her nerves and began the slow process of shifting her form to that of the young woman that worked with her soon-to-be opponents.
Unlike the human form that Ryuu had seen his mate use on many occasions, this one was that of a fully grown and busty woman in the prime of her life. Long braids of blond cascaded from Styx' scalp, each one ending in a metal spade near her ankles. Her right forearm was encased in a silver gauntlet with each knuckle encrusted with sapphires and amethysts, and her right encased in a red leather vambrace. The rest of Styx' outfit wasn't nearly as enthralled in the art of battle as her arms looked though, as was obvious by the red velvet corset concealing her chest, and the slanting skirt about her waist, each of which was tied together with a set of chains in the shape of skulls and claws. The last change about her was the long halberd strapped to her back and the plain looking tiara set on the crest of her forehead.
Instant recognition lit the faces of her adversaries, some happy, some not so much.
"It been a long time Karen, I was rather hoping that I wouldn't have to fight you, but..." Styx started before she she unclasped her weapon and held it in a ready fashion.
Styx' former comrades frowned at her, their disapproval in her choice obvious. The one that Styx identified as 'Karen' stepped forward, her hand cautiously resting on the hilt of another spear. With an air of defiance, Styx' met Karen's challenge, stepping forward, face to face with her enemy.
"Is there any reason in particular, that you are protecting a dragon? Over three years we hunted together, and now you would raise your halberd against us? For the sake of a fucking drake!?" Karen asked in a dangerous tone.
Styx nodded solemnly, and looked over her back toward Ryuu, her love reflected in his eyes. Ryuu smiled at her as their eyes met, he knew that Styx would not betray him, and that this would be an amusing slaughter.
"The dragon behind me is my mate, Karen." Styx said with pride flooding her tone.
This news came as quite a shock for Karen and the other slayers, the youngest one though, merely held a slight blush on her face.
Styx nodded to herself, closing her eyes as she remembered the time they fought again, he had held so much of his strength back, and still beat her so easily. Even after she had followed her tribe's code, and submitted herself to him as his slave, he still let her live the way she wanted. The slaughter of those who held the desire to kill, their blood tasted the best when she licked it from her blade.
"I'll kill anyone who tries to harm my mate, my beloved master Ryuu." Styx whispered, as she plunged her weapon through Karen's chest.
With a quick twist, she severed the spinal chord, and watched as Karen's limp form slid to the ground with fear and pain writ in her eyes.
"Rest in peace bitch, your friends will soon join you." Styx said as Karen's eyes closed and her breathing stopped; never before had Styx killed a once friend with such pleasure.
The other two dragon slayers that had accompanied Karen rushed toward Styx, blades at the ready, intent on killing Ryuu's mate. Before Styx could counter their charge, she felt the blades of a rapier and a broadsword piercing her heart and stomach; effectively shredding her heart as it beat within her chest. Styx didn't move for a moment, simply standing with her halberd's blade resting in the severed spinal column of the fallen warrior she had known for so long.
"Stop playing coy Styx. Annihilate them, slaughter those two until there is nothing left. Rape their souls and resurrect them in their home towns, and set them on their families and friends. I know you have never created another of your own race, so let these break your virginity as a Nogitsune." Ryuu said in a chanting monologue.
Styx smiled then, raising her weapon and kicking the limp body from its silver blade, and turned her ruby slitted eyes on the two before her. With a simple nod, Styx stepped forward and went about following her master's order, lustily enjoying the pain and tortured screams of her victims. Ryuu as well sat back, watching with a twisted pleasure as he looked over the blade that Styx had dropped at his feet, Thenos.
Even as, in the background, shrieks of pained pleasure tore through the landscape, Ryuu grasped his mate's sword by the bone grip, admiring the smooth shift between pulsating flesh and razor sharp steel. The sharp fangs that lined the blade flexed back and forth as he ran his talon across the blood groove, as though his touch was an affectionate caress. Ryuu smiled at this, quickly appreciating how Styx could love using such a weapon. Ryuu raised the blade, and gave it an experimental swing, mildly surprised by the sounds that accompanied it, as the wind was cut seamlessly by the fanged sword.
"Your master was wise in having you crafted." Ryuu said under his breath, not expecting the sword to respond to his praise with a quiet rumbling purr.
Ryuu then noticed a thin groove that seemed to be cut into the Thenos' handle, he traced his talon across this as well, and flinched slightly, from surprise really, as the weapon's handle doubled in length before separating the ax-like pommel from its katana-like counterbalance. Ryuu took both halves of the weapon in hand, marveling at Thenos' adaptability, as he stretched the chain that connected the two, new links seemed to add themselves out of nowhere, exponentially increasing Thenos' range and power.
"I see you've come to appreciate my sword almost as much as I..." Styx said, bringing Ryuu out of his curious state of mind.
Ryuu looked up, back toward his mate, her face was sheeted in blood, it even trickled down her chest, running like a stream through the valley between her breasts, once again, staining her silver fur a deep exciting crimson. This sight made Ryuu smile.
"What did I tell you about keeping your fur clean?" He said questioningly.
"You above any other should know how much of a pain in the ass it is to get blood out of your fur." Ryuu stated in a matter-of-fact tone as he walked toward Styx and gently embraced her.
Styx rested her head in the crook of her mate's neck, sighing in pleasure at his simple, yet loving gestures. Despite the dark, bloodthirsty , and overall evil nature that many knew her by, Styx enjoyed the calm compassionate moments that she could spend with Ryuu, despite his similar persona.
"You know Ryuu, I really don't care. I feel so good right now, its almost unbearable." Styx said, after a gentle kiss to the hollow of Ryuu's throat.
"Tell me Ryuu. Is there something you forgot to finish? Before we were interrupted perhaps?" She said lustily, blowing gently across Ryuu's scales.
Ryuu smiled, revealing one of his many sharp fangs, and met her gaze, as he pulled her closer and leaned down to kiss her neck.
"Yes, I think so." He said before sinking his fangs deep into her flesh, roughly, quickly.
Styx sighed in contentment again, though she kept her ears alert encase any others attempted to interrupt them. Ryuu growled in a loving manner, sending pleasant vibrations coursing through Styx' body as he held her tighter to stop her from collapsing.
Without a sound, Ryuu slid his fangs out of her jugular and began a suckling rhythm on the slowly closing wound. Just as Styx' breathing started to become labored from lack of blood, Ryuu released her neck from his jaws and steadied her as she regained her balance. The two stated silently into each others eyes, crimson slitted gaze matched that of an emerald tinted glare; slight traces of blood lust clearly evident as Styx and Ryuu leaned in for a quick kiss.
"I think we've wasted enough time here. Remember, we have a deadline to reach Sedukyria before the end of the month." Ryuu said, impatience at such a long trip seemed to be grating on his nerves dangerously.
Styx nodded at his suggestion, and, after strapping Thenos back onto her waist, she and Ryuu left the village. They stopped at a small four-way intersection on the dirt road she and Ryuu walked along, and read over several signs, trying to decide what would be the fastest direction to go. In the end, they just decided to follow the moon as it hung in the eastern skies.
End of Chapter VII
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