#caphir

Although weeks had passed, traces of the damage the beast of the Shade had done to the clan's den, remained. Some of the decimated nests had been left abandoned, or torn apart for materials to rebuild others. The grounds between them were, at least, no longer scattered with debris. Any traces of black and blood had been cleared away by Hadir's water magic.

But now, a majority of the clan had gathered in the meeting hall. Heading it, as usual, was Alshain. What was unusual, was that even the clan leader himself was present. At the front, sat Alshain. Before him, and behind a podium, stood Caphir.

"My friends, and family," began the Fae. Although his voice was monotonous, it carried weight with it. Silence fell in the hall. Even the fiercely tempered Beid had lowered her head in solemn respect. "We are gathered here today, not only to pay respect to those who we have lost, but to hear our comrade's story."

All eyes turned to the Pearlcatcher, whose head was bowed, teeth bared at nothing, and black dripping between their gaps. Even if he was a dragon that previously kept to himself, everyone in Clan Cygnus now knew the name Kraz. The Guardian at his side, fixed a gaze on the room that dared anyone to speak out against him, before he could even have a chance to speak.

Kraz drew in a breath, lifted his head, and began.

"I remember, now." For a dragon that was previously well-known as an amnesiac, this made a few of the others shift anxiously. An announcement like this, after the Pearlcatcher had seemingly been sought out during the attack by the beast of the Shade, was no doubt related to his past, and whatever he had to say next. And it certainly wasn’t going to be good news.

"A long time ago, I lived in Light territory. There, I was the ruler of a smaller kingdom. I couldn't tell you all of the details. I don't remember everything. But I remember enough for it to make sense."

More, and more eyes turned to look at him. Their gazes were a mix of impatient, and anxious.

"I led an expedition across the Sea of a Thousand Currents. With me, I had an Imperial, and a Guardian. Something attacked us. They went down before I did." As if to make a point, he tilted his head down, and allowed a small amount of the black sludge to drip from his jaw. When he looked up again, his eyes were tired. Somewhere in them, was guilt, and regret. "I know now that it was the Shade."

"Do you- mean to tell us, that you've been Shade-touched this whole time?" Stammered Sterope. He was wringing the cloth around his neck endlessly, and the nearby Caphir turned his head to steady him.

Arguably, the Nocturne had more of a reason to speak out than the rest. He was responsible for building a mechanism that was supposed to pick up signals from the Shade itself. A mechanism, that never reacted, unless it malfunctioned, even when Kraz was nearby.

Kraz nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "That seems likely."

"We suspect it is the reason the liquid meant for his pearl is produced at an increased rate," Hadir added. His tone was stern, but in a professional way. They had spoken about it at length. "Prior to this, and especially when exposed to the Currents, it seemed to have been sending signals to the beast of Shade, attracting it to him."

Immediately, there were uneasy murmurs, and shifts.

"Is it still attracting the Shade?" "Is it safe here?" "Should he be...?"

Above the rest, one small voice stood out. Vin, who had travelled a long way with his boss, looked a little puzzled. "I thought..." That he was just sick, most likely. The other Pearlcatcher had been known to bring him soothing remedies and easy meals on numerous occasions.

"Let's stay on topic," Caphir urged. All eyes shifted forward again, and silence fell for a moment.

Kraz continued. "I don't know why the Shade targeted my expedition group. Maybe we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It probably could've happened to anyone."

Again, Vin looked stricken. He seemed like he was suddenly in a place far away from here, and his eyes stared distantly at the floor. "I heard about it," he began uncertainly, and looked back up to him. "About an expedition that went down over the Sea of a Thousand Currents. That's why... I walked here. That's why I didn't fly. But I never would have guessed..."

"That it was me?"

"Never..."

"None of us could have." Lesath stepped forward, and a stern air surrounded him. Since his comrade's death, he hadn't been around much. But today, it was his turn again to speak up. "But it does not change the fact that Kraz is still our clan mate. I want that to be made clear."

To further make his point, the midnight Coatl swept a gaze over the dragons remaining. "He is not our enemy. No one is to treat him any differently than before. Is that understood?"

A resounding "Aye" echoed through the room, and Lesath nodded approvingly.

"Very good. Dismissed." Caphir concluded. Uneasily, dragons began to move from their places.

Cynosura was one of the first to leave: They still had work to do. Vin stopped at Kraz's side, to give him a sombre look of apology, and a promise to still bring him things on occasion. Sterope swore to his mentor that he'd try harder, and excused himself to tune up his mechanism.

In the end, it was only the clan leader, Alshain, Kraz, and his Guardian left in the spacious room. The Pearlcatcher watched Caphir expectantly from a lowered head, and finally, he moved.

"Never feel as though you are not welcome," the Fae said. He rested a thin hand on Kraz's shoulder, and his fins twitched thoughtfully. "Just as Lesath said, you are still our comrade. Take care to get some rest."

With that, he left too.

In the evening, back in Kraz's still-damaged nest, he and Hadir sat together solemnly. "Are you still worried?" Hadir asked.

"No..." The Pearlcatcher began, but he didn't sound so sure. He sighed in resignation, and lowered his head. "I'm guilty. I regret what I've done. If I hadn't left my old comrades behind, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"You are no longer the dragon you were." The sureness in his voice, lifted Kraz's head again. He focused on Hadir as he continued in a low, soothing tone. "Your former guards are now at rest. Your current family has forgiven you. Your past is behind you, much like your old pearl is."

"Family..." The word sounded foreign to him.

Hadir nodded, and smiled. "That is what a clan is meant to be."

She turned, fangs exposed, and snarled viciously at the target of all of her frustration and anger.

"This is YOUR fault!" The Mirror was not the most tactful among the clan. She lashed out immediately, without thinking, at Lesath, amidst his grief. "Had you not invited that repulsive creature into our clan, none of this would have happened!"

Behind her, Hadir snorted in disdain. That was his charge she was insulting, much less putting the blame on. "With all due respect, lady matriarch," he rumbled, in a tone that was just barely critical. "But like many within this clan already, he was in need of a home, and a place where he felt safe."

Beid roared, and snapped her jaws shut at the end of it. Her anger was seething. She whipped around to face him, as she screeched in retort. "You mean what's LEFT of this clan. And who are YOU to criticise this situation, when it is HE that put this place in danger?!"

Lesath, who had already been taken aback by her initial outburst, moved away from the cooling body of his fallen comrade. His steps were slow, and calm, and he came to a stand before her. His eyes, as dark purple as the mournful sky overhead, were sharp, and offended. 

"And you, lady matriarch," he began softly. "Are breaking one of the most sacred rules of this clan: That we are to coexist without strife."

She had nothing to say to that. But the Coatl wasn't finished. 

"When I found him, he was washed up on the shore, without any memory of where he had been, or who he was. We all well know this by now. It is for this reason, that I will continue to stand by my decision to bring him here, and give him a home. It is what this clan stands for." 

To make a point, he raised his head a little higher, standing tall, and proud. "We protect our allies. Kraz is no exception."

Beid opened her mouth as if to argue, but a flat voice came from behind all of them, and stopped her short.

"That is enough, Beid." The voice belonged to Caphir, the clan leader himself. The Fae sat on his back legs, a scroll of healing held in one arm, and his other hand on his knee. The fins on the side of his face twitched as he thought. 

"Lesath is correct. He is our comrade, and I will not tolerate your accusations. The threat has passed. Kraz himself was, and is not, our enemy. Return to your den, and cool your head."

The Mirror was unable to argue. But she didn't have to like it. She only bared her fangs in disgust, and turned away to do as she was told.

Once she was gone, the clearing between the nests, some destroyed and some not, finally seemed to relax. Lesath returned to Adhara's side, to give him one final, silent farewell. Hadir saw himself to a lay beside Kraz, who had by now passed out, due to pain and fatigue from his struggle. Far overhead, perched on an outcropping of crystal, Cynosura looked on with a dim, interested smile.

"We have quite a lot of work to do, don't we, my dearest Caller?" They cooed. The Tengu huddled beside their back leg crooned in agreement. Eight bodies in all. One was even an Imperial, which required special care to dispose of. So it went.

But the stars had returned in the night sky, and the eerie darkness from earlier had receded.