Knowing The End (SAA Book 2) ✔

23: Unlatched

Oren inspected the skull, noticing a large crack that ran along the parietal and frontal portions of the skull. The tightly shut mandible seemed to be something done deliberately. Something was needed to unlock the jaw, and Oren couldn't seem to find whatever that "something" was. He tried everything; pulling, tugging, yanking, twisting, biting, scratching, using his elven powers and anything else he could possibly think of.

For some reason, he felt like this oddity was a threat; an unwanted presence in a normal environment. It simply radiated negative energy and he wanted to know what was behind its clamped teeth. After fiddling with the bone for a little longer, he placed it to the side and huffed.

Hunter was next to him, playing with a large stuffed bear as his little hands rubbed against the plastic nose. He felt around the bear, pulling at the sewn ears and squeezing at the silky red bow that was tied around its neck. Its large, coffee button eyes scared Oren a little.

"Hunter," he muttered as the toddler looked up to him. Pale eyes glistened with curiosity as he let out a premature noise. Oren grabbed the skull and held it towards Hunter. "can you open this?"

"Papa?" The toddler uttered. He reached for the skull and felt the gemstones lodged in the eye sockets. Even as the child played with it for a while, the mouth was still locked up tighter than a drum.

Clayton was downstairs cooking, so that gave Oren time to spend with Hunter. He gently pulled the skull from the child's hands. "That didn't seem to work.." he murmured to himself.

"Papa! I wub!" Hunter barked, reaching forward excitedly as he gripped the bed sheets with little fists. He looked up with a cheery grin, cheeks flushing with a somewhat radiant green.

"I love you too, little tiger." the elf leaned down and brushed back his son's sandy hair, pressing a gentle kiss to the boy's slightly pointed ear.

"What could possibly open this then? I'm too impatient to wait for the right time." he asked himself aloud. Hunter jumped up from a slouching position and raised his hands pointing up as wrists pressed to his forehead.

"Da, da! Da!" he squeaked, wiggling his fingers. He bared his two teeth and made an intimidating expression. He tried to mask over a bright smile but it didn't work as he thought it would.

Oren looked down to his son, puzzled. "What?"

"Da," Hunter got on all fours and though stumbling a bit, he managed to let out a little screech that resembled a monster's. Oren mentally perceived that he was replicating Xenia's actions, who was always with him when he slept in his crib; always playing and wrestling with the boy and careful not to harm him. She was a motherly dragon for sure.

"Oh.. You think Xenia can open it?"

Hunter sat back down, looking back at the large stuffed bear. He aimed his gaze over to Oren one last time before resuming his play time with the toy bear.

Oren stood up and left the room, the skull in one hand and Hunter in the other. He carefully tread down the stairs, towards the kitchen as the smell of a homecooked meal wafted through the living room. He sighed with content and stepped into the dining room, following through the doorway to the right.

As Oren entered the kitchen, the sight of Clayton at the stove greeted him. He sat Hunter down next to Chip. The small dog cuddled closer to the child, nudging little hands with his nose.

"Ξενία, (Xenia,)" he called, "που είσαι? (Where are you?)" Looking around, he saw the obvious lacking of a familiar black dragon. He turned to Clayton and switched back to English.

"Where's Xenia?" he asked calmly. The human turned and nodded his head towards the window that looked out to the backyard.

"I let her outside for a bit. I think she's by the tree. Lunch will be ready in a few minutes, I'll come get you when it's ready." As Oren turned to retrieve the dragon, Clayton stopped him. "Make sure to dress warm. There's a snow storm coming within the next few hours."

"I will. Love you." he went to get his mud-stained boots and his thick white coat on.

"Love you too." he heard from the kitchen as he prepared himself for the harsh winter air.

_

The snow blew fast past his face, blowing back the hair that dangled from under the hat he wore. The snowflakes that fluttered from the clouds stung on his nose and cheeks. The winter atmosphere bit through the fleece of his gloves and the snow crushed and molded under his boots.

"Ξενία?" he called aloud, tracking himself towards the magnolia tree in their backyard. He swiped the snow from the tree branches and climbed without effort, gripping onto the chipped trunk before he reached mid-way up the giant plant.

In the woven cot of old branches and feeble leaves, sat the dragon, obviously larger than she was the last time she was up here. Oren crawled close to her, reaching forward to stroke her head as she let out a rumble. "Τι κάνεις εδώ; (What are you doing up here?)"

She turned her head towards the assortment of random trinkets and valuable possessions that the pair had collected from multiple dimensions. They were stacked up, surrounded by frosted-over morning glories, same as last time.

"Εντάξει ... μπορείς να κάνεις κάτι για μένα; (Okay... Uh, can you do something for me?)" he reached for the skull that was stuffed in his coat pocket, letting the dragon sniff it as she let out a snarl and her wings unfolded, arching up as her nose wrinkled with hatred. She launched forwards and ripped the skull from Oren's hands, using front claws to scratch at and pry at the gems lodged within the eyes.

Xenia continued to chew and scratch at it until she paused, eyes widening and pupils contracting, tilting her head as she scrutinized it cautiously. She seemed to realize something about the skull. Her jaw unhinged and she gently took the jewels between her teeth, twisting her neck and craning her head so that the gems came loose from the skull. First, the red one dropped to the bottom of the swelling cot, falling just between the cracks of two thin branches.

The amethyst gem soon followed suit, rolling by Oren's knees. With a few uncoordinated shakes, the skull's mouth soon unlocked, revealing something hidden at the roof of the mouth. Oren rolled his eyes at what was inside.

It was an ordinary gemstone at first glance but the more this trinket was analyzed, the more it seemed different than the others.

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