The Mates of Dragons

She Can Change

Xerxes flew to their cave but came at it from a different entrance that was barely enough room for him to fit into and then through a mile or so of tunnels before coming to the main chamber. Zani moved off of him and landed on the floor stopping by the egg for a bit. His snout touching it and then bounding over to where he had some animal stashed to eat. Xerxes just plopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling thinking. More puzzling over what Kendra was, it was eating at him.

'You know, I think...' Zani paused chewing and thinking. 'I think she is either a mermaid or a um..' he was trying to think of the word. Her description really reminded Zani of a creature that Demetri talked about before.

"Mermaids have DNA I'm sure, but they do die after spending a human time span on land. I don't know if they come back."

'Right, or a um.. Huminckis.'

"A what?" Xerxes said, he was definitely unsure what Zani meant there. That was not a word.

'That's not right. You know an artificial human, alchemy dealt with them a lot. Homunculus that's it. Homunculus. Demetri mentioned them before." Zani mentally sad. Xerxes was silent thinking.

"There hasn't been a homunculus in over a thousand years as far as I know. At least not a pure one, homunculus can't ever be truly killed, unless they... unless they..." He'd sounded exasperated at first but then trailed off almost breathlessly. It felt like his stomach dropped out of him and through the floor. Holy fucking shit, was... was that why he was having this reaction?

'Unless they what? My memory is weak on this.' Xerxes sat bolt upright on the bed and jumped off running over the items in the room and jumping taller ones. He came to the far side of the cavern and snapped his fingers, flames shooting up to illuminate the wall. Along the entire thing was inscriptions.

He moved along it reading parts. Zani came over sitting and watching him. Zani thought Xerxes looked possessed for a moment. Xerxes used his wings to come up to the highest part and perched there for a moment. Zani felt his stillness, like he was on the brink of a great revelation.

"So light pushed back the darkness." Xerxes said with a motion of his hands, he mumbled reading on. His finger moving along the wall where the ancient writing was, and carvings. This was a history of what dragons had of the world becoming what it was. The magic carving it into the wall. "Unto the first he gave the gift of choice. He who would name them and know the gifts they possess, what was inside their hearts."

"What are you mumbling about?" Zani asked, lost at what he was doing.

"And unto him he was given the first she, made from the very flesh of his body.." He said. This inscription match a lot of different writings or even religions in the world. However it was still different. After all most legends were from a truth long forgotten and twisted. Xerxes said skimming the words on the wall.

"Here, here!" He nearly shouted and practically fell off where he was perched. "The gift of choice is handed to the pure being created by the highest power. For his transgression he shall be forsaken from the garden of life and light." He skimmed a few again. "The pure ones will walk among them a part, forever dying only to be reborn until they give up their choice. He will be known to hold the Human cursed life." He kind of snapped his fingers and smiled for a second.

"They just jammed the words together to get homunculus, human cursed life. Think about it, homunculus were used in alchemy because of their pure state. Not made by alchemy. What if their cycle of rebirth is really a curse and their way out is choice?"

'What is wrong with you? I don't remember that in there.' That seemed far fetched even to him.

"You never paid attention when learning the ancient glyphs. I'm surprised you even can translate." Zani gave a puff of smoke. "She's a homunculus, humans always screw things up, it became her kinds' name.

'Curse to live a human life forever and die over and over. Kind of sucks to be her.' Xerxes jumped down and grabbed Zani by the head and looked right at him. Zani was clearly not understanding what Xerxes was. Zani glared at him for grabbing his head and making him keep it there. He met his eyes and very seriously spoke.

"She can become us Zani." He said slowly to him. Zani froze on the spot, his glare turning to a blazing blue.

'You lie.' Zani never felt his heart beat so very fast. With such desire to believe.

"No. She has the choice Zani. She can be whatever she wants." Xerxes said turning and gesturing to the wall. "It has never lied before. It tells of all of creations, how creation made them and how they followed their paths. Old magic still writes it." He said gesturing to the far end of the wall where what looked like new inscriptions were.

'I.. can't hope for something like that Xerxes. It would hurt too much to be denied.'

"Think about it Zani." Xerxes said, looking over where Zani's gaze strayed. "She can become us, because she can choose to be whatever she wants to be. All she has to do is assimilate what we are into herself. It would change her from homunculus to our species. It's why she has no DNA, she has not chosen yet."

'Why would she choose to be like us when there are so many more species she could become? What would make her want to even consider us?' Xerxes looked at him.

"I'll make sure she does. I'll get her to agree somehow. It's not like she has to be stuck with us, she just has to become what I am, she can be her chi." Zani gaze was looking hopeful but scared at the same time.

'It's still a choice Xerxes. It doesn't sound like she can be forced into the choice. Plus the chance of her being chi to her is low if she is not a mate to you.' Xerxes sighed and sat down. He just wanted some kind of answer for Zani, for himself, but it was never as easy as it would seem. They had lived to see the destruction of their kind and others, they had no hope really and yet it was so hard to just let it go.

"Even if it isn't her that will change Zani, we know that someone can. If Kendra is still alive, there have to be others."

'Some would say the same of us.' Zani said to his words. 'Besides you and I both know that we have a better chance of burning alive than finding someone that can become what we are, be her chi, and not be your mate. It doesn't work like that, we are one and the same, her chi would be your mate.

"Then we will search the world until we find her. Perhaps Kendra knows of others, perhaps Demetri knows of others."

'Why didn't he tell us sooner? He would have you know if he was aware of others.'

"Perhaps he did know, and just didn't want to give us false hope like you said." Xerxes sighed moving over to where the egg sat. He looked down at it and reached his hand out but didn't touch it. The force there was weaker, losing the will to stay in this world anymore. Once she was gone, Zani wouldn't really see a point. After all that's what it all was. Finding that match, your mate and sending your children out into the world to shape it.

His father's silent prayer seemed to echo in the cave for a moment. Xerxes knew what his father had asked the stars for. Because he'd told Xerxes what he expected of him, that he live. That he live for them. When he passed, no one would be left to live for him. He couldn't pass that message on and neither could Zani. Xerxes was silent thinking. He would need to change his tactic with this Kendra. Xerxes was not good at subtle. How did you get someone on the other side to maybe change their way and then choose you? Fuck, this was going to be a pain wasn't it?

"We will just wait and see. We will see how trustworthy Kendra is and then proceed, just don't give up yet. This could be an answer." Zani slowly nodded, trusting in his brother and friend. In his chi as he always would. He just hoped that it didn't lead them down a path where the end was self-destruction, because the years were growing long and lonely.