Monochrome Lives

Chapter Ten

Arcus is flying above Castella when he spots the claw-like entrance to his home. She looks like she's going to continue on, so he drops from the sky above her, shoving her down onto the entrance. She claws at him and hisses, her huge fangs bared in a threatening snarl. He merely grins as his claws feel the muscles under her back bones, and he only gets off of her when Hurikan lands softly beside them. 

His blue and grey eyes take in the two of them, but his mind is on Cirro. They've been gone only for one day, but he's still very concerned. 

"What are you looking at, Hurikan?" Arcus bellows, his huge chest puffing out as he tries to impress an unwilling Castella. She looks away from him and then rolls her eyes, thinking, how stupid does he think I am? I am not falling for his acts.

"I was just off and thinking, Arcus. I wasn't staring, and I didn't mean to." Hurikan explains himself, just as the floor beneath them shifts, bringing them down a level, to the underwater cave. Everything goes silent as the fancy Castella is finally here, arrived and by Arcus. All the male eyes, whether with a mate or not, look to Castella with lustful hunger. 

Arcus sees the stares and wastes no time to roar, "She's mine! And if you lay a talon on her, I swear I'll burn you to ashes and then melt those!"

Their gazes immediately go elsewhere, and Arcus sits back on his haunches with a pleased and smug grin. Castella stalks away from him and marches up to Hurikan, asking anxiously, "Where is my mother?"

"I'm not sure, Castella." Hurikan responds as he scans the room, his black heads looking back and forth. Castella does the same, and she finally spots a flash of white. She launches off of her back legs and soars over the heads of some hydra dragons, landing beside the guard dragon, who is standing in front of Cirro.

"You shall not pass." He growls at her through a leer. Castella stands to her full height and looks the dragon in the eyes, snarling, "That's my mother! Do you think I'm going to kill her like you would?"

He's about to snap off a reply when Arcus says from beside Castella, having snuck up quietly, "Let her go by. She's not a harm."

Castella glowers over her shoulder at Arcus before shoving the guard aside, looking at Cirro. She is laying on the ground with her head on her forelegs, asleep. Castella takes a reassuring breath in, very grateful to see her mother still alive. 

"Is she alright?" Hurikan asks as he walks up beside Castella, who sits on her haunches and replies, "She's okay. For now, of course."

Hurikan sighs before sitting beside Castella, right before Cirro's silver eyes flutter open, widening before she surges to her feet, crushing Castella with a hug. Castella steps back from her mother, and sees hurt in Cirro's eyes. 

"What is wrong, Castella?" Cirro asks before Castella responds with a shake of her head, "Why did you trade yourself for me?"

Cirro's scaly eyebrows raise before she gets Castella's point, and she replies, "I couldn't leave you out there by yourself, Castella. You could barley survive when you went out by yourself."

"I don't need protecting!" Castella snarls as Cirro flinches from her daughter's tone. "You should've saved yourself."

"I couldn't, Castella. When your father died, I was surrounded. I couldn't do anything." Cirro protests before Hurikan stands in front of his mate and growls, "Stand down, Castella. Cirro is just trying to help you."

Castella snorts in rage and then stalks away, Arcus trailing her like a shadow. She senses his presence and hisses, "Leave me be, Arcus."

"No can do, Castel." Arcus says before Castella whirls around, raising her talons to bring them straight through Arcus. Instead of backing away, he lunges forward and tackles her to the ground, both of them rolling out of sight, and into the chamber where Mantla, Lithio and Atmos are.