'ιт тσσк σиℓу α мσмєит σf мємσяу вєfσяє ѕнє ∂яσωиє∂ ιи тнє тι∂є σf вℓυє σи¢є мσяє.'
She's over him. Right?
...
Not everyone can be an S-rank.
E-ranked Dae jong-in is the failure of her family. The younger sister of the 'ultimate soldier', she serves...
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(BLACK)
☆★☆★
∂αє fσℓℓσωє∂ ¢нιи-нαє ιитσ тнє тяєєѕ.
She cocked her head to the side with a frown, a question in her eyes; "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere where the death boy won't hear us."
A blink. "The death boy?"
"He'll tell you when he's ready."
Dae sighed, but when Chin-hae told you to wait, you waited. Dae knew from experience that needling the dragon would get her nowhere. Soon enough, they reached a clearing and Chin-hae stretched out her wings and sat in the centre. Dae mimicked her.
"Before we must leave, I would like to give you something, Dae."
With one claw, Chin-hae reached for the one large golden scale that nestled behind the crown of horns atop her head and tugged at it. Dae blinked. Watched as the scale slid free with a small, metallic clink.
Chin-hae dropped it into her hand unceremoniously.
"Uh-"
"This is an item that any dragon acquires when they reach ten years old," Chin-hae started, "When removed, it holds half of my power, and when I die, it will hold all of it."
An emerald eye met hers.
"It is customary that we gift these to our children as we only grow one every hundred years once it is removed."
Dae knew what Chin-hae was going to say next. She held her breath nevertheless.
"But I have the strange feeling that you are going to need it more than they will."
She nodded and bowed her head. "Thank you, Chin-hae-"
"I trust that you will use it to protect the ones you love."
There was a knowing glance towards the trees. Dae frowned.
"But to do so, you must learn to use it. That is what we will be working on from now on until the day we leave. You must not let anyone know- if you must, your brother and the boy that waits for you, but no-one else." She paused. "Especially not your mother. Mothers are dangerous things, Dae, and you will come to know that all too well, I believe."
☆★☆★
Li-ra bumped Dae with her nose sadly. Kae-rin scowled, her gums pulling from her fangs, and Dak-ho wrapped one of his wings around her, silent. Jin-woo had left without a word after she returned from the clearing.
Chin-hae spread her wings. "Do not spoil the little time we have left, young ones. Come. I have found something worth eating in this forest, unlike those strange leaves from last night."
She lifted the body of a large monster from behind her, its blood dripping from her teeth. It was an orc, and not one of the first monsters Dae had seen roaming around this immense park. She had concluded that this was the place where the monsters that were captured were kept for some sort of study, perhaps. The answer provided her no solace. She would not let anything happen to the dragons, she vowed once more.
Chin-hae butchered the orc, discarding its intestines with an easy movement of her claws. The major danger the orcs had posed to the dragons in the caves was their overwhelming numbers, but now that they were split up and solitary they made for easy prey. Kae-rin, Li-ra and Dak-ho had been learning to hunt as well, but most of the time they ended up returning with very little. As stealthy and sinuous as they were, the growing dragons were still the size of large elephants, so it was difficult to sneak up on prey in a forest this dense.
Dae pulled a piece of meat off the carcass and began to eat. As bland as it was, it reminded her of one of the positives of staying in this world- not eating raw monster meat for breakfast and dinner.
Li-ra poked at her portion listlessly. "Will we get to see you again?"
She wished she could lie. "I don't think so."
"We will," Kae-rin growled. Dae shook her head but said nothing. When Chin-hae saw that no-one was going to eat anything, she let out a long, huffing sigh and unfurled her wings, beckoning for them to come and curl up like always.
But something feels final about it. In the gesture, she senses a premature goodbye, a warning of what is to come.
And curled up, squeezed between her family, she allows herself to cry, the golden scale weighing heavy in her pocket.
☆★☆★
Jin-woo wakes.
He wakes and he worries and he pushes those worries away because they'll do him no good.
☆★☆★
UNEDITED
Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't updated for ages- I haven't had any internet whatsoever for two weeks so there wasn't really anything I could do about it. Anyways, I hope you have a great day/night, and I should be updating more regularly!
