Silence filled the chamber, broken only by the soft crackle of fire that burned in the corner. I stared at Kazlar, slowly losing my patience as time ticked by. Finally, I snapped, "What is going on?"

Kazlar stared at me blankly for a moment longer, before huffing out a sigh and laying down. I followed his lead, settling down on the padded floor of moss before expectantly facing him.

"It was a few months after my graduation when I met that Lyzian I told you about earlier. Remember her?"

I gave him a slow nod, although I was incredibly confused as to why she was important.

"I had never seen her before that night and assumed she was new to town, so I thought I'd show her around and get to know her a bit. One thing led to another, and, eventually, we both realized we wanted to be more than friends." His eyes grew saddened for a moment, before he cleared his throat and continued, "I loved her, and she loved me, so we decided to form a Hyratien."

A Hyratien is a bond created between two dragons through a long and complex process. It's similar to human marriage, except much, much more significant. Forming a Hyratien would bind you to that dragon until the end of your days, and it was believed to be impossible to break. Even if a dragon tried, the pain caused by years of neglect and abuse to their partner, whether physical or mental, would likely be great enough to drive both of them insane, if it didn't kill them first. If a partner were to die, then the other almost always dies with them. Should they manage to survive, they're likely to be driven insane, even if it takes over fifty years to manifest.

"What does any of this have to do with me?" I asked incredulously.

He gave me a look that said shut up and responded with, "We'll get there in a moment if you don't interrupt."

I gave him a halfhearted nod, which seemed to satisfy him because he continued, "We knew that forming the bond would put a target on our back, but we were so young and our love so strong we proceeded with it anyway. After all, it had been done before. It's only when an elemental hybrid is conceived that problems arise."

He sighed once more before speaking. "It had to have been about five years later when she vanished. I searched everywhere throughout Yavleth, but she was nowhere to be seen. None of the other dragons had seen her either, not that I think they would have told me. Over a year had passed since she left and to the rest of the town, I seemed to have moved on from her, a virtually impossible feat seeing how intense the bond is. But I had not. I made it seem as if I had, but that ache in my heart had been there that entire time. It only grew stronger the longer and longer I went without seeing her."

He paused, a distant look in his eye as if he was reliving the memory, and perhaps he was.

Just over 20 years ago...

I lightly descended on a smooth, reddish rock. We had come here all the time to get away from the town. To just find some peace, no judgment, no hate, just us, the earth, and the sky. This particular cliff had a sheer drop-off, making it seem as if you were at the ocean's edge, gazing out into rolling waves of brume and cloud. I had never truly grasped the joy of sightseeing, but she loved it, so I came here for her.

I frequently came to just sit and stare, to reflect. Had I done something wrong? Is that why she left? Questions always raced through my mind, but for once I was content to sit silently with a blank mind.

I don't know if I thought something would happen, but I stayed there for days. I never moved a muscle, just blankly staring into the clouds, sometimes dozing off to sleep, though never for long. The sun rose, the moon set; I alone remained constant.

The hunger in my stomach and burning in my throat were of no significance to me, having swiftly been dulled by the pounding ache of my bond.

How can she bear to stay away? Does she not feel this same pain as I do?

The soft sound of feathered wing beats warned me of an incoming dragon, but I remained unmoving, assuming it was a dragon from the town coming to convince me to return home.

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Within moments I heard the soft scratch of claws against rock, and I could feel a presence at my side. My bond pulsed ever more, the pain growing to be nearly unbearable. I squeezed my eyes shut, my claws chipping away at the rock as I tried to block out the discomfort. It seemed as if the longer I tried to block it out, the worse it got, so in my frustration I snapped my head to the side, ready to take my anger out on the dragon who had come to drag me back, when I saw who it was. It was her. As beautiful as the day she had left, sitting there, watching me carefully.

With a strangled cry I hurdled for her, bowling her off the rock and to the ground beneath us to press my forehead against hers. My bond gradually quieted, the ache replaced with feelings of tenderness and love. We stayed like that for a while, both of us silent while we reveled in each other's presence.

"Why?" I croaked out, my voice hoarse with emotion. I backed away as I said it, allowing her room to get to her feet. She did just that, and as she stood I saw the pain in her eyes.

It hurt her just as much, then.

"I-" She began, then paused. She looked around warily as if worried something might leap from the trees to harm her should she speak. Concerned, I stepped forward.

"What is it?"

She shook her head. "Not here. We need to go somewhere else."

I trusted her judgment more so than any other dragon, so I followed her lead off the cliff and into the clouds. We traveled for hours in the chilly white abyss, but while I remained completely disoriented, she seemed to know exactly where we were, guiding me in a twisting array of turns and loops that were impossible to remember. Finally, we seemed to reach our destination and she paused, hovering in the air, almost as if she were uncertain before she came to a conclusion and shot up into the sky.

I struggled to keep up, seeing as a Lyzian is fairly quicker than a Ryzinthin, but she must not have been going her fastest because I managed to keep her in my sights the entire time. We broke through the cover of the clouds, and my eyes widened as I spotted the small, at least compared to Yavleth, island. It seemed large enough to house a few dragons, but just barely, and while it wasn't truly floating, it appeared that way with how it jutted out from the clouds.

We touched down softly on the powdery snow in synchronization, and I glanced at her. "You've been living here all this time?"

She nodded gingerly, almost as if she thought I'd get upset with her for it, when the very idea was a foreign concept to me. Rather, I couldn't help but wonder if it was my fault, if I had scared her away, and the question came unbidden from my lips. "What did I do?"

The shock and guilt filled her eyes like a tidal wave. She had always been easy to read. She gazed at me, almost unbelievingly. "Oh, Kazlar." She breathed out, "That's not what you thought this whole time is it?"

My lack of a reply gave her an answer, and she flung herself at me, close enough I could feel her feathers against my scales and touch my forehead to hers once more.

"Silly male, you should know by now you can do no wrong in my eyes."

A purr rumbled through my chest at her words, bringing with it a feeling of pleasure that I hadn't felt once during the time she had been gone.

"So then what happened?" I asked her gently.

Her uncertainty gave me pause, and as the silence stretched on I took a step back to better see her. "What is it?"

"I-uh..." She trailed off into silence. "Promise me you won't be mad?"

"I could never be mad at you, little bird."

The old nickname lit up her eyes for a moment, and she continued. "I was gravid."

The small declaration shocked me, and I sat back on my haunches with a small thump. "Are you-? Are they-?"

My unfinished question was answered with a small nod, and I nearly bowled her over in joy once more, but I held back. "Am I the-?" A nod cut me off, and this time I didn't hold back. She was pinned beneath me once more as joy filled both of our eyes. Her feathered tail beat side to side like a wolf, and I bounced off and around her like a puppy, both of us happy the other was happy, and relieved the other wasn't upset.

Finally, we ended our play, panting in the snow from the exertion. I turned my head to her, and asked, "Where are they? Can I see them?"

She gave me a nod and bounded through the snow, leaving me to chase after her. I followed closely behind, and soon enough we arrived at the entrance to a cave. Had I not seen her vanish into it, I would have thought nothing was there, as the ivy over the entrance was so thick it was impossible to see through.

I followed after her, taking care to not rip any of the ivy out as I pushed through, and we descended into the tunnel together. It spiraled downwards for about twenty Avelth-lengths before finally evening out into a massive cavern.

I gazed around in awe. Fifty of our caves in Yavleth could have fit in here and still had room for more.

A small chirp snapped my attention away from the cave and to the ground. A miniature me stood there, gazing up with wide eyes. His sister, whom I assumed he had been playing with moments before, smacked into his side before looking up to see what the fuss was about. She was just like her mother, from the way she frowned at me and clicked her beak in annoyance, to the fluff and feathers that covered her body.

A purr rumbled from my chest, not loud enough to scare them, but just enough to let them know I wasn't hostile. I turned to Nytheri and asked, "What are their names?"

She gazed at them with fondness as she replied, "Remember when we stayed up all night to discuss the names our hatchlings would have if we ever had them?" She didn't wait for me to reply before continuing, "I chose from the names we eventually settled on."

"There were over ten names in that list because someone was very unwilling to settle on anything." I huffed out a laugh at her annoyed look. "Which ones did you choose?"

She hesitated for a moment, as if worried I might disapprove of her choice. A moment later, her eyes met mine, and any worry was replaced by love. She knew I would cherish them, support them, and do anything at all for them, no matter what her decision had been. Upon recognizing this, she proceeded to answer my question.

"Their names are Nemyra and Rylar."