Taekwoon didn’t know how he was supposed to be in the wake of Jinki and Jonghyun’s passing. No matter how many times Jongup told him otherwise, he couldn’t just ignore what he felt – or rather didn’t feel. The feel of his dragon, his Jonghyun, was gone. And he’d physically lost his other half. The pain of it didn’t just go away either, even after waking or sharing it with Jongup. It just sat there like a dagger in his chest hurting with every breath.

            But like any pain, he started to get used to it. Oh, he always felt it, but it didn’t take up so much of his attention. Unfortunately, when his focus shifted, it freed his mind up for other thoughts. Memories. Visions and relapses of those moments. They were what he’d seen when he first came back to consciousness after all and now they haunted him whenever he closed his eyes.

            The horror of watching Jinki disappear as Bahamut took his place. The sensation of Jonghyun being ripped out from under him. The drowning pain of feeling the exact moment he’d lost him when the aching hole had appeared in his chest.

            Or they used to anyway. Jongup’s constant presence had done a lot to help keep such dark things at bay. It worked well when they were together, but it was best when he spent time in Trance. When he slept, it was in the circle of Jongup’s arms in the Trance space and in the physical space. So that was where Taekwoon stayed most of the time. So long as he was with or on Jongup, he could safely stay in that space without having to worry about his physical form. He knew his dragon would protect him without fail. Something about dragons allowed them to split their attention between Trance and the physical world.

            Can hear outside and stay here, Jongup had promised the first night as he pulled Taekwoon closer and curled around him in Trance.

            And as long as they were touching, it was almost easy to enter Trance with the blue. Jongup warned him if he needed to pay attention so he could shift to his physical form long enough to do what he needed to do and then return as he desired. But it wasn’t just that it hurt less in the Trance space.

            Don’t know, Jongup shrugged when Taekwoon asked him about it, turning his head and quickly dropping the topic as if there might have been something else but he didn’t want to say.

            Taekwoon didn’t press him either. He just gave a sad smile and leaned his head against the dragon’s chest once more. If Jongup was doing something to help him, he wasn’t going to complain. Especially since he liked spending time here. Not just in his dragon’s company, which the blue also seemed to enjoy, but there was something about this space… The fact that Bahamut and Tiamat’s interactions made it shift and change regularly didn’t bother him so long as he could feel flickers of… something.

            Sitting in the comforting embrace of his dragon, feeling the perpetually aching beat of his heart as time trickled by, Taekwoon was also listening for something. Searching. Waiting for another echo of what he was certain he’d felt just before the water wall appeared. “I don’t know what it was, but it felt like…” he trailed off, almost afraid to say his name.

            Mate? Jongup asked carefully, neck curved so he could look at his rider head on.

            Taekwoon nodded and tapped his fingers over his chest where his heart was. “It woke me up,” he admitted, eyes narrowed in a thoughtful frown. “The feeling… a warning?”

            Do you feel now? the blue asked hopefully, his eyes darting towards the distance once before coming back as he waited for the answer.

            This time, Taekwoon shook his head slowly. “Nothing,” he whispered, fingers curling lightly against his chest.

            Oh, was the sad acceptance as Jongup straightened his neck to lie down, his head facing the endless expanse of Trance. It was much like how Taekwoon felt: desperately hopeful but inevitably sad and let down. But even so, existing in this space was much easier than trying to rejoin a world of life - of people and dragons and daily happenings - that was missing the most important parts. Trance was simple and relatively easy to stay isolated.

            He’d never asked Jonghyun about it before, but Jongup explained when he was worried about other dragons – especially Gain; he just wasn’t ready to face her right now – coming to find him. My space. My… room, the blue nodded, satisfied with that description. I make room for us. Can let other dragons in if want. Can go to big space if want. Happy here, he practically grinned, curling his neck around Taekwoon in a dragon hug.

            “Good to know,” he hummed, circling his arms around Jongup’s neck as a tentative thought tickled the back of his mind.

            And so they spent a lot of time isolated in Trance, feeling the ebb and flow of the space as the dragon gods interacted. Granted, even with their continued exposure, he hadn’t expected the damning cry that tore through the space and broke against him like water on a boulder. It startled him more than anything, breaking into their isolation like thunder.

            Hearing the sound, it only conjured up rage and the desire for vengeance that ignored whatever the message was supposed to be. Jongup struggled briefly but since they were bound, Taekwoon’s emotions bled into him as well, holding the dragon fast. And for just a breath, carried on the wave of power that Bahamut sent, Taekwoon thought he felt the ghost of his inner dragon and he choked on the pang in his chest, losing his grip on Trance.

            Dazed and confused by the experience, he drifted along on Jongup’s back as they gathered themselves after the seeming attack. When it was obvious his wing mates didn’t need him and it was safe to do so, he returned to Trance to search for what he’d lost. Jongup nudged him to come out again as needed to listen to his wing mates – Chaerin kept checking on him in particular. Taekwoon recognized they deserved more attention than he was giving them, but he didn’t have the energy to care just yet. Especially when most were content with leaving him well enough alone.

            But it was because he was in Trance space, listening and searching, that he felt when another familiar presence joined him close by. Oh, they knew the dragons had gathered and were talking together – Jongup had declined the invitation to join in. But this was different. With Jongup’s help, he recognized the newcomer as Chaerin, her energy still discernable in his human form. Only, it wasn’t just her for long. Her energy shifted. Became stronger as something else drew near. That was also when he heard it calling.

            Where?

                        Both Taekwoon and Jongup’s heads swung in the direction of the voice and listened, seeing a strange silver glow in the distance. It wasn’t so much that he saw the glow appear as it was more like a veil had been lifted to allow him to see it.

            Child of my blood.

                He knew that voice. Had been the focus of its attention once before. Taekwoon’s skin itched and his fingers crooked into claws. He started running in its direction until Jongup reached out and stopped him with one large claw. Angrily, he glanced at his dragon only to see the same thing he was feeling in the blue: fangs bared and wings mantled but ultimately holding his ground.

            Found you.

            They growled in response to Chaerin’s scream and then jerked as she suddenly disappeared. Their heads darted quickly from side to side as they briefly searched from a distance. She was gone, along with the glow, but the shadow hadn’t changed. It stayed briefly where it was, almost like it didn’t know what to do, and then faded back into the surroundings, disappearing as if it had never been.

            “Chaerin,” Taekwoon inhaled, stepping out of Trance to stare at the woman just getting up from where she’d been seated. Jongup joined him in looking, feeling the same thing he did. That was Tiamat, he told his dragon.

            I know, was Jongup’s quick reply.

            Their focus did not waver when she noticed them staring at her. It was only the concern from Hyunseong and Jungkook that made Taekwoon aware his response was… not normal to say the least. He dropped his gaze and returned to Trance with Jongup.

            “The dragons don’t know what to think,” Insoo admitted when Chaerin and the others came over to speak with him. He thought she looked a little pale but Chaerin didn’t say anything to make him think something was wrong. Likewise for Hyunseong and Jungkook. He did glance at Taekwoon, almost largely out of habit, but the rider looked unchanged as well, face turned down and expression blank. Insoo sighed to himself and focused his attention back on the riders before him.

            “That’s not entirely correct,” Jinyoung clarified with a sidelong look. When the three looked askance of him, he went on, “They don’t know what’s happening but they are pretty sure what they felt was an attack of sorts.”

            Insoo shrugged and nodded in slow agreement. “From Bahamut. Not Tiamat.”

            “Was it supposed to just hurt the dragons or actually…” Jungkook trailed off, uncomfortable with the idea.

            Chaerin grimaced and she glanced at Gain who seemed to be listening in with half an ear. “Since it was Bahamut, it was probably meant to cause as much damage as possible.” From the look on her face, the words appeared to taste sour… “What about Tiamat?” she asked quietly, looking down.

            Jinyoung and Insoo exhaled at the same time, shaking their heads. “She seems to have disappeared. Not dead,” the wing leader cautioned with his hands, “but certainly missing.”

            “They think she’s either unconscious or in hiding,” Jinyoung explained with a hiss of breath between his teeth.

            “So it’s safe to say Bahamut won their fight?” Jungkook asked with all the energy of a dying man.

            “That’s what it looks like,” Insoo sighed, just as enthusiastic about the thought.

            As a group, they were silent for a moment longer. But then Hyunseong asked, “What now?”

            Insoo chewed his lip for a breath before he looked at Jinyoung. His second gave a shrug with a nod, so he bobbed his head once in mute agreement too. “We go home. Or at least try to,” he murmured, turning to look towards the horizon.

            “We don’t know if the water wall hit the Aerie but if nothing else… if there’s really nothing we can do…” he whispered, conflicting emotions of fear and sadness washing over his face.

            “Then home is a good place to be,” Wooyoung added in, joining the group with Taeyeon at his side. Both were wearing sad but thoughtful expressions.

            “We did promise we’d bring the dragons home if we could,” Taeyeon encouraged with a nod at the gathered dragons nearby.

            “That we did,” Insoo smiled, the first real one all day. Strange that the one who was at least mildly mad at him was the one to make him feel at least a little better about everything. “To going home,” he stated with a glance around the riders as he extended his hand, palm down, before them. “Come what may.”

            “To going home,” Jinyoung echoed immediately, reaching out to place his hand on top of Insoo’s with an expectant look at the others. Jungkook, Wooyoung, and Taeyeon nodded together and followed suit. Only Chaerin and Hyunseong delayed, sharing an uncertain look for a breath. But even they shrugged and extended their hands together to join the pile.

            Like a specter at the corner of his vision though, Insoo couldn’t help but glance at Taekwoon one more time. He honestly couldn’t imagine what he was going through but it still felt wrong… strange for him to be so disconnected. It had only been a few days, but he’d watched Chaerin fail to get him to open up several times and his own efforts hadn’t accomplished anything thus far either. With a look at Gain, he wasn’t even sure the Paramour would have much luck. But… he was his Wing Leader and it was his responsibility to check in with him. Whether either of them really liked it or not.

            Just… not today. Their future was likely bleak but in this moment, they’d finally come back together for at least a little while. Don’t let me back out tomorrow, he urged his dragon, holding the smile on his face as he removed his hand from the pile and looked at his wing mates again.

            Jongup is with him, the bronze reminded him. He is withdrawn too, but if there was real trouble, he would let us know. His words were reassuring but there was a hint, just a hint, of uncertainty there.

            Insoo mentally pursed his lips. Well, still.

            I will remind you, Gunwoo chuckled in amusement, a mental nudge accompanying the statement.

            Thank you, he smiled in response, directing his undivided attention to his riders once more.

            It was a strange day for Chaerin. The uncertain lingering feelings of losing her father; the almost desperate sense of underlying dread they all carried about what was to come; the bizarre dream she’d had that could have been Trance though that should be impossible; the unsettling look Taekwoon had given her right after that dream; and then the awkward sense of acceptance and camaraderie she’d felt with the other riders. They all added to the tension she carried and made it impossible to relax when they were finally ready to wind down for the evening.

            Most of the dragons turned in early to conserve energy and the riders had started to settle in relative proximity to each other. Hyunseong was warming up to Jungkook a bit more, which was good, but Taekwoon was characteristically distant. Physically and mentally. And yet, she was pretty sure she’d felt him watching her more than once today. It only further reinforced the strangeness she was contemplating.

            “I really don’t want to sleep tonight,” she admitted in a small voice as she leaned against Fei’s side. The gold dragon took a deep breath, making Chaerin rise and fall with it, and nudged at her with her nose. “I know you’re here,” she smiled, wrapping one arm around Fei’s mouth in a loose hug while she rubbed the smooth forehead with her free hand. “I’m just worried,” she admitted after a long pause.

            She felt Fei’s support through their bond and took another breath herself. No one else seemed troubled with the idea of sleep. Insoo was watchful but that was always the case before he finally turned in for the night. And the others seemed engaged in conversation or pleasantly drowsy and ready for bed. It was just… she almost felt childish but she really wanted her dragon to help her check for the monster in the woods before she tried to sleep herself.

            Firming her resolve, she took a breath and looked down to meet the golden eyes peering at her. “Can I talk to you?”

            Fei’s agreement was immediate, if curious. Chaerin fell easily into Trance, the familiar space mostly calm but still shadowy. “What’s wrong?” her dragon asked in human form, grabbing Chaerin’ hand and holding firm as she looked at the other woman.

            Chaerin smiled in response and glanced around quickly before answering. “I’m just a little tense,” she admitted with a relieved sigh when nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Looking at Fei again, she raised one brow and asked, “You don’t sense anything… unusual around, do you?”

            Perplexed now, Fei’s brows knitted together and she turned to view the landscape. It almost looked as if she was about to shake her head before she tensed up just a touch and turned to look at her rider. When she did, Chaerin noticed it too, a faint light shining under her clothes. “Rin?” her dragon asked before turning her attention outward like she was following something.

            She started shifting to her dragon form right when Chaerin stepped close, hands held against her body in uncertain fear. “It’s back,” she whispered, heart racing in her chest. The sensation of being watched returned swiftly. And so did the shadow.

            Back in her dragon form, Fei literally stepped over her rider and flared her wings, head hunkered low to the ground defensively. But then she followed the rise of the black mass in uncertainty and fear, leaning back like she wanted to retreat but stubbornly holding her ground despite the urge. She is mine, Fei stated simply, wings curling in front to hide her rider from immediate view.

            Both hissed in surprise as the shadow shifted forward, otherwise paralyzed by fear. But what stepped in front of them was not the massive obsidian skinned dragon. Instead, the shadow condensed into a human form as soon as it passed through a veil of sorts, wearing power like an unseen cloak around her womanly figure. Black eyes with silver pinpricks of light in the center glanced between them. The simple act alarmed Fei further until the female figure in front waved her hand and softly spoke, “Rest now.”

            Fei flinched as if she’d been tapped on the head and then slumped over, one wing knocking Chaerin down when she fell. “Fei!” the rider called, scrambling to her feet and collapsing at the gold dragons head before she looked at the newcomer. Fear warred with outrage and curiosity as she tried to position her body in front of her dragon’s head. She had a powerful suspicion about who was standing before her but it made no sense. Why would the dragon god be searching for her?

            The… woman looked so… human but also so very strange. Her skin was the same color as the dragon god Tiamat, but when the silver light from Chaerin danced across her skin, subtle shades of color shimmered like a hidden rainbow. That was odd enough but once the shock of her appearance and coloration wore off even a little bit, it became obvious her features were not average by any means. In the dim light from her own body, the woman appeared stunningly beautiful, but everything about her was just a little off.

            Her curves were too exaggerated, the waist too narrow, chest and hips too wide.

            Her legs and arms just a bit too long.

            Her eyes too big, face just a little too small, nose too strong.

            Her fingers too delicate and sharp with arching nails more akin to claws.

            Her hair… it was nearly impossible for Chaerin to wrap her head around the intricate mass of… art that defied all logic. It seemed as if lightning had struck sand, that a spider had woven an immeasurable number of threads together, that a field of flowers with thousands of petals had bloomed in the same space… Chaerin’s eyes and head hurt just from trying to make sense of it all, nearly wiping out whatever fear lingered.

            And when the woman spoke, it felt like an entire choir was hidden in her voice. “Human child of my blood.”

            Chaerin shivered as the sound washed over her, conjuring goosebumps that nearly hurt from the intensity. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head in confused denial.

            Tiamat, for there was no other person this woman could be, pursed her lips, the top part slightly too big and the bottom too thin to be natural. “You are the daughter of the priest and so you are my daughter as well,” she murmured, one thin and one slightly thicker brow furrowing as she pointed at Chaerin. Her unnerving eyes slid to peer over Chaerin’s shoulder and she frowned minutely. “Away,” she murmured, waving her hand again. As she did so, Trance shifted and solidified, becoming static like an actual wall.

            “I don’t understand,” Chaerin whispered, hands pressing hard to her dragon’s skin as she looked around in fear.

            Tiamat took a long breath and stared at Chaerin, obviously measuring and weighing her. Without a word, she stepped forward to close the distance between them and placed her hand on the rider’s cheek. It was surprisingly warm but it tingled against Chaerin’s skin. Sharp nails traced against her flesh and pulled away, drawing something else from within.

            Chaerin gasped for breath when she saw a transparent black dragon’s head emerge, connected to her but now separate, as if overlaid on top of her. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it felt harder to breathe. “What…?” she rasped, one hand pulling away from her gold to reach towards the black.

            “There you are,” Tiamat smiled with genuine affection, pearl-like teeth shining against the dark hue of her skin. “You have my blood and the spirit of a dragon in you,” she murmured, still transfixed by the ghostly dragon image, like a mother staring at her newborn for the first time.

            “How?” Chaerin blurted, torn between needing to know and outright fear. It would be so easy for Tiamat to hurt her here…

            “Back, my dear,” she crooned, guiding the black dragon into Chaerin’s form once more. When the dragon returned, it felt like she could breathe again, but she stopped entirely as Tiamat’s hand rested on top of her head. “I will say two things,” she explained, moving to kneel in front of Chaerin, though she still towered over the human woman. “The first, the priest was over two centuries old.”

            She ignored Chaerin’s immediate surprise and moved to further illustrate her statement. With her free hand, Tiamat traced a rune in the air that Chaerin instinctively recognized as ‘Life,’ but not the giving kind… And simultaneously, her obsidian body lit up with the exact array of silver threads that were on Chaerin’s body. Glancing down, she noticed that both illuminations were pulsing like a matching heartbeat, and another shiver ran down her spine.

            “The second, you will bring the other human with the spirit of a dragon to me.” When Chaerin frowned in obvious confusion, she added, “He is the man that challenged me before. Your protector.”

            “But-”

            “Bring him to me,” Tiamat stated again, the words an obvious command and not a request. “You will know where to go,” she instructed, placing her other hand over Chaerin’s heart.

            Briefly worried, Chaerin grabbed Tiamat’s wrists and tried to break the contact, but it suddenly felt impossible to move when she did. Her head and chest felt pleasantly warm as she stared into the woman’s black and silver eyes. The rider’s eyelids grew heavy and a wave of drowsiness overtook her.

            “Sleep now, child of my blood,” the dragon god whispered, pushing Chaerin back.

            As if in a dream, she fell in slow motion. And then kept falling. Down and down and down. Until oblivion embraced her completely.