The morning sun’s warmth barely seeped through the clouds which were adding to the snow that blanketed the barren forest's floor. A den had been carved into a deep snowdrift, the entrance of which was maybe five feet tall. A black dragon’s head peered out from it, before his abnormally large front paws gained purchase on the snow and he pulled the rest of his stout, wingless body through. His sapphire eyes glanced briefly back inside, softening as he whispered, “I'll be back soon, Vilodia.” Then he tore his gaze away and left in search of prey.
The entrance to the den led down a slope into a twelve-foot-wide chamber housing a light green serpentine dragoness curled up in a nest. She stirred from the increasingly-familiar movement of the egg being incubated under her.
“You can't wait to hatch, now, can you, little one?” she murmured. Her sky blue eyes glinted with amusement. “We still have at least a month until you'll be ready, so just be patient, alright? Besides, I wouldn't want your father to miss your emergence if you hatch while he's out.”
As if calmed by its mother’s words, the egg settled. Vilodia stood on all fours and stretched her clawed, darker green wings as much as she could in the small space, before repositioning herself to incubate it once more. The shell was tough and could retain heat for perhaps a few days in warmer seasons, but in this weather it would only last perhaps less than five hours alone before its temperature dropped too much for survival, so she and her mate would take turns with their egg while the other fetched food.
Their nest was initially built on the forest floor in late summer, concealed by a thicket and the leafy treetops, which obscured them from the scorching summer sun and the sight of winged dragons passing overhead. But in this season, their branches were bare, leaving the family exposed both to potential predators, and to the harsh cold. The den itself was only a winter shelter.
Vilodia had previously lived amongst her fellow seer dragons in a more tropical climate, so despite her ability to foresee potential future events, she never predicted just how unforgiving the seasons could feel. Still, she adapted for the sake of her mate and their future hatchling, which was easy enough since their days had become routine and predictable without the need of her foresight. She trusted that her powerful mate would protect them regardless, and she was grateful for that, since her ability required energy that she'd much rather focus on her egg instead.
Unlike other seers, Vilodia preferred to live in the moment and discover the future as it came. The last time she had ever used her ability was to foresee how a relationship with the earth dragon would go, which was positive in nearly every future possibility–and to discover the chances of them having an egg, which was very slim given their different breeds, but still possible, and eventually their success became the true future. While she was tempted to foresee what their egg would hatch into–being a mix of an earther and a seer–she ultimately decided the wait would be worth it.
Vilodia heard a heavy thud on the ground from outside. “Trent?” the green dragoness called softly, expecting her mate to have returned. When he didn't respond or greet her, she warily slinked toward the entrance and angled her head up parallel to the slope to see out. The air flowing in carried a familiar scent, but it wasn't that of the earth dragon she loved. Instead, it filled her with a sense of dread as memories from her homeland invaded her mind.
Vesper? No… How could he have found me…? Instinct kicked in, and the blue-eyed dragoness found herself using her foresights to confirm her suspicions. Still through her own perspective, the first and most possible upcoming event played out before her:
She stepped out from the den and confronted the large dark purple seer, whose weathered wings tipped with claws were red to match the striations down his neck and underbelly. His golden eyes narrowed at her, and he spoke, but her vision had no sound. He then took a step toward her, but she held her ground.
After another exchange of muted dialogue, Vesper grew insistent on whatever he was saying, and this time approached her more confidently.
Vilodia attacked him, and at first he responded defensively, but as the fight went on, he fought back.
The vision ended in red, indicating her death.
The second likely event played next.
This time she remained in the safety of her den, praying he wouldn't discover her. Vesper soon went inside, however, and upon seeing the egg in her nest, he became visibly shaken. He shouted something at her, but before she could react, he roared, then attacked her.
The vision once again ended in red. She quickly moved on to the next one, which began similarly to the first:
He moved to take a step toward her, but she approached him instead. She spoke, and while there was no sound, Vilodia could presently feel her future self’s emotions: she was scared, trying to bargain with her potential killer.
Vesper seemed shocked by her words, and lowered his head over her shoulder to embrace her. She grew more terrified by the second, but her desire to live overpowered her discomfort. The two continued speaking until Vesper pulled away; something had distracted him. Vilodia followed his line of sight to see her mate had returned with a deer in his mouth. His sapphire eyes assessed the situation before they closed. When they reopened, Trent dropped the prey and left.
The vision ended. None of those outcomes were desirable. But although the scenes had only taken up mere heartbeats of real time, every moment she spent inactive increased the chance of the second vision becoming the true future. One good thing from the visions was the timing in which her mate came back. If I can stall Vesper until then, we can take him down together.
The green dragoness was tired from using her ability after months of adjusting to life without it. She felt the effect of each vision as though she had physically lived--and died--through them all in the span of seconds. But she didn't have any more time; she could hear Vesper nearing, and so stepped out from the den to meet his eyes, which narrowed.
“Vilodia, my love… So this is where you fled to?” he spoke. “Why? Our kind isn't meant to endure such weather.”
“...How did you find me?” she whispered.
“I foresaw this meeting as a rare possibility, and pursued that as the true future. It took me months to recognize this land from my visions, but I'm here now, so you're safe.”
Safe? Vilodia restrained herself from berating the other seer, and from revealing that she had left their homeland to escape him. She would never feel safe until he was gone. “Why did you come here? Why go to such lengths to locate me?”
“Because you and I are the most powerful seers of our land. We are perfect mates. No matter how likely events are to end in tragedy, we have the ability to pursue our own true future–together. And…I believe that is a future worth pursuing.” He began to approach her more confidently.
It was hard to read his intentions; was the motion a threat to force her into his desired future, or a plea for the closeness that he was deluded into believing they should share? Either way, she knew from her visions that both fighting and retreating to her den resulted in her death. Fleeing would fail for many reasons, namely since he was faster, but also because Trent would have a harder time rescuing her if she left the vicinity he expected her to be in.
It’s alright… I only need to buy time. I can do this. “Vesper, wait,” Vilodia begged. He hesitated, tilting his spiked head to eye her skeptically. “I may have once had powers on par with yours, but the months I've spent out here without practice have dulled them. If power is what you seek in a mate, then I am no longer worthy.”
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The purple dragon’s brow ridge rose, almost as if with interest. “The powers you're capable of exceed most others. I can work with you to hone them again.” He continued to shorten the gap between them.
She panicked internally, then decided on a different tactic. “Is my power the only reason you love me?” she demanded, trying to sound betrayed.
He froze, not expecting that reaction. “Of course not. You are gorgeous… Even now, seeing your scales dried by the cold air, and with your wings stiff from sheltering in such a small den…you are perfect. Once we get you home, you'll make a full recovery.”
She didn't have time to rethink her strategy, so instead she blurted, “What if I don't want to go back?”
“...Hm. Then I suppose I will stay here with you. We can start a family, and we shall reign over this land together.”
She almost cringed. He really has foreseen every possibility for him to end up with me. The hours of real time he must have spent going through every future until he came across the ones he wanted was concerning, considering each vision was ordered by how likely they were to happen…and the fact that she'd literally die twice before she'd consider giving him a second chance.
“What say you?” Vesper continued after a few beats of silence.
“I wish to be alone for now,” she said carefully. “Give me time to consider your proposal.” Just a little more is all I need.
“Time?” the larger dragon echoed. There was mockery in his tone. “You have had months to consider my proposal. Have you gone this long without me crossing your mind?!”
Yes! the dragoness wanted to scream out, but knew better. “Of course not,” she lied to deescalate the situation. More honestly, she added, “You're impossible to forget.” Just not for the reasons you think...
He chuffed. “That I am. Now then, you shall be coming with me.”
Three…two…one…
The sudden sound of large paws getting louder distracted him. One of the issues seers faced when pursuing a specific future, like Vesper, was when they disregarded every other possibility before it. Trent’s interference must not have been anticipated; when the black dragon dropped the deer to lunge at him, Vesper was caught off-guard…at first.
Using foresight during combat was risky since it took so long, but seers could also manipulate their own perception of time. They could ‘freeze’ the world to assess their surroundings or take aim, and ‘slow it down’ to predict their opponents’ moves, all the while the flow of time remained normal to everyone else. Judging by how swiftly Vesper was able to dodge, he was slowing it down.
"Hanging around earth dragons now, Vilodia? I never thought you'd sink that low," the purple dragon taunted her.
Vilodia and Trent had sparred in the past, and she had attempted to train him in the art of misdirection for this very situation. It was their only hope of winning against a seer. She would join in the battle once she had recovered from using her foresight; for now, she believed in her mate.
Trent proved himself worthy of her faith by feigning a bite, only to tackle. He was strong, as all earth dragons were, and the force knocked Vesper onto his back, where he was pinned by a single huge paw on his red striated chest. Trent didn't have time to prepare another attack, though; the seer stabbed his neck with the long claw of his wing’s ‘thumb.’
The black dragon’s scales were solid, but he was impaled by the precise strike directly into the fine line between them–where the claw got stuck. Trent was rendered paralyzed; any movement could worsen the injury. Despite this, his weight alone kept the serpentine dragon pinned, so they were at a stalemate. His sapphire eyes darted to the den, then to his mate, as if instructing her to take their egg and run.
By this point, Vilodia had recovered. In the back of her mind, the vision of Vesper killing her over the sight of her egg reminded her that she couldn’t risk their attacker finding out it existed. Refusing to flee without her egg, she had no other choice but to fight, and rushed to her mate’s defense by snapping her jaws shut on Vesper’s throat. A seer’s scales were softer, so her fangs sank in before she tore, letting go just to latch on to the same spot once more.
The pinned dragon let out a pained roar and writhed, managing to shove Trent off of him–out of the reach of his wing, so that the claw came free–as the dark purple seer rolled upright. Blood instantly flowed out of the stocky male’s neck-wound, which was simultaneously beginning to freeze over in the extreme temperature.
Vilodia bit harder on Vesper’s throat, adding slashes with the thumb-claw of her own wings, albeit blindly since his body was only visible in her peripherals. Unfortunately, most of them missed.
Vesper used both front paws to pry her jaws apart and force her head backward, away from him. “I didn't come here to kill you,” he strained. “Stop this foolishness and we can live together in peace.”
The dragoness growled with frustration. Flashbacks of her deaths in the visions haunted her. When Vesper finally tossed her, she could see her mate slowly crawling toward the den in a last ditch effort to bring their egg to safety. A trail of red snow was left in his wake.
While she was distraught by the sight, the other seer pinned her with her pale green striated belly on the ground by way of a paw on each of her wings. Icy droplets of blood dripped down from his throat onto her back, the chill of each one stinging. All she could do was wait with dwindling hope of her family’s survival. Without them, what did she have to live for…?
“This is your final chance, my love,” he warned her. “I will spare you if you accept me.”
“This…isn't love…” she managed to say. Once again her light blue eyes focused on her mate, who lied motionless at the entrance of the den.
For once, Vesper seemed to catch on to their relationship, and angrily pressed down harder on her. “You mean to tell me…that an earth dragon…is your mate…?!”
She winced but said nothing.
That made him angrier. “We are seers. We are above them!” His claws dug into her wings. “Breeding between different elementals is near impossible, anyway, so why would you ever choose him?!”
Silence.
“Unless…” His head whipped back to face the den. “Don't tell me…you actually managed to…?”
Instinct to protect her egg was renewed by his realization. She struggled violently to free herself, to stop him from harming it.
He took her actions as a confirmation. “You make me sick,” he hissed, lowering his head beside hers. “I thought we could make things work, but I see now that you don't deserve mercy. And neither does your abomination of an egg.”
“Don't you dare–” she snarled, but her voice was cut off as he punctured the thumb claw of his wing into her throat as well, ripping it out immediately before stepping off of her and walking toward the den as she bled out the same way her mate had. Given how long their fight had lasted, the egg would die from the lack of incubation within a few hours. With the shell as tough as it was from its earth dragon heritage, destroying it would be more trouble than it was worth. Instead, he collapsed the den and dug the egg out, leaving it exposed in the powdery remains of its former shelter. Then the purple seer spread his red wings and took flight back to his homeland.
A young water dragoness who had been forced to leave her lake territory in the plains due to it freezing over had migrated to the forest at the edge of it, searching for food and shelter, as was how she survived this time of year. The smell of blood and a deer had drawn her to the scene where she found two bloodied dragons’ bodies stiff from both the cold and rigor. She was horrified by the sight. Who could have done this…?
Against her instincts for self-preservation, the light blue dragoness searched the area for clues, fanning out the wide, purple-and-teal fins on her back to cast the blinding white ground under their poor excuse of a shadow from the meek afternoon sunlight in order for her to see better. The lack of a trail for the third set of footprints indicated that the culprit had flown off. She wasn't sure if that knowledge should bring her comfort or not, since she couldn't fly, herself. And without a way to track them, they were likely still out there, somewhere. She committed what she could gather of their scent to her memory just to be safe.
Then she recoiled when she spotted the reflectiveness of a light green shell scarcely visible. The clouds were crying crystallized tears of snow that were slowly burying an egg. The facultative bipedal dragoness hesitantly reached for it with her webbed hands, then risked a look back at the corpses, fearing they would spring back to life and attack her for being near it. Seers like the green female were especially dangerous, not to mention a rarity in this land, and the strength of an earth dragon was nothing to sneeze at.
After a moment to confirm they were indeed dead, she felt grief and a deep sympathy for the deceased family, despite being a stranger. Losing an egg was especially sad, since the hatchling never had a chance at life. She stood on her hind legs and cradled the freezing egg in her arms, holding it against her body for a time that seemed to last forever.
Just as she was about to set the egg down and move on with her life, she felt movement from within, and the shock nearly caused her to drop it. “You're alive?!”
As if in answer, the movement started again, albeit slightly weaker.
She panicked, then realized her body heat must have helped revive it. Her red irises, which matched the color of the gemstone embedded in her forehead, stared at it with amazement, and even respect for the fact it hadn't perished yet. “I don't know what you are, or how you survived, but… You're one tough little guy. My name’s Glacia. I guess it's up to me to keep you safe from here on out.”