username: mango marmalade,,
which one are you trying out for: western
partners form: TrashFanname: Allister
gender: male
relationship:bittersweet brotherhood
The woods were quiet, a hushed Spring gently arriving to Kulaeh. Birds twittered softly, and the occasional cry of an animal echoed through the lush valley. A deer stopped to look around, her ears pricked, before letting her head drop down to graze on the newly sprouted grass. Butterflies lazily floated about, landing on the occasional flower before taking off again. The quiet was serene, with animals basking in the soft rays of sunlight that filtered through the canopy of budding leaves overhead.
xxxxxThe cracking of a branch shattered the peace, and all havoc broke loose among the animals. The deer immediately took off, leaping forward and bounding away. The crashing of leaves could be heard in all directions as the woodland creatures frantically dashed away to avoid this unwelcome noise. Finally, the animals quieted down, beady eyes peering out from underneath logs and behind branches. A brown komo slunk out from the trees, his shifty eyes darting around and surveying the area. A large bow was slung across his arm, and a dagger in a sheath around his waist. The komo paused, sniffing the air, before giving a sly grin. He turned around, his eyes laser focused on something that was sending up beams of light.
The komo moved quickly, sending birds flying once more with annoyed squawks. He peered out from under the dark hood he wore, then slung the quiver off of his shoulder and grabbed one arrow. He quietly loaded his bow, letting one finger drag across the taut string. The komo left the quiver on the forest ground, and moved forward until he was peering over a steep ledge.
Below him, an entirely new ecosystem flourished. A waterfall crashed into the river below on the other side of the canyons, sending a fine mist to cover the saplings in a rainbow haze. Wildflowers were everywhere, throwing out bright splashes of color amidst the green landscape. And, amidst it all, was the most gorgeous thing the komo had ever seen:
xxxxxThe Golden Elk.
xxxxxA majestic creature, it was a normal deer at first glance. But when your eyes drifted upwards, you would see a pair of glittering golden antlers that sat upon the male deer's head. The sun was reflecting off of one, sending a sharp glare at the side of the canyon. The deer himself was posed tensely, his ears pricked and his eyes alert. He was ready to run, one hoof in the air and the others behind him, muscles quivering and ready to spring him forward. The komo grinned with glee, before a determined frown fell upon his face. He slowly rested the bow on his shoulder, before drawing the string back until the bow was quivering with anticipation. He grit his teeth.
Three
Two
One.xxxxxHis fingers let go, releasing the string from their sweaty grasp. The arrow flew forward, a straight shot of death. It took no more than one millisecond for the arrow to hit its mark, plunging deep into the deer's chest. The elk gave a mighty bellow,rearing up on his hind legs. He screamed in terror, before falling down on his side. There he lay, never to move again.
xxxxxAnd despite this anguished sight, the archer himself was giddy with glee. He pumped his fist before quickly slinging his bag over his shoulder and scampering down the cliff face in a rush. The komo arrived at his prize, kneeling down besides the Golden Elk and carefully removing the antlers. There he left him, laying on the ground, an arrow sticking out of his chest, dead.
SEVEN MOONS LATER
xxxxx"BROTHER!" The green komo roared, sending spittle flying across the room. His fist slammed down on the oak table, splintering it.
"You. This is your fault! THAT WAS MY DEER!" He yelled again, this time pointing an accusing finger at a red dragon komo that sat across from him. The red komo flinched, then covered his eyes with his hands.
xxxxx"You know I didn't do it intentionally!" The red komo pleaded, his eyes weary and tired from days of arguing with his brother. "I had no control over that archer, he was new! I didn't know he was going to kill your deer!"
xxxxxThe green komo scoffed, clenching his fist. "You left out the worst part,
brother. It was on my land. He killed MY SACRED DEER on MY TERRITORY!" The green komo's face grew red with rage, and he resumed yelling. "It doesn't even look like you care! Sure, you can start a war when my servant tries to steal something from your manor, but you don't care when YOUR archer KILLS MY sacred deer?! The nerve of you."
xxxxxThe red komo pinched the bridge of his nose with one paw, and gestured weakly with the other. "Allister, look at what we've done together. Do you really want to lose this over one silly deer?"
xxxxxAllister, the green komo, glared at his brother before angrily looking around. His gaze softened as he saw his kingdom through the giant window of the manor. He huffed out a breath, and crossed his arms. "Kyro, you made a promise. Nine springs ago you grabbed me by the shoulder, and told me 'Let's never put our brotherhood over what is right for the kingdom'. I've always looked up to you. You were my father figure, you cared for me, you were my big brother and my best friend. And now? You try and destroy every value we had just to avoid going to war," Allister paused, his sorry expression growing hard, "Because you're weak? I pity you, Kyro. You've forgotten everything our mother taught us already?"
xxxxxKyro's expression morphed from the weary one he had had earlier to a furious one. "You dare bring our MOTHER into this? When it was ME who stayed home from school EVERY DAY to care for her? You're disgusting, Allister."
xxxxxAllister rose from the table, knocking the chair underneath him aside. His brow lowered onto his eyes, and he seethed. "Shut up. Don't play the sorry card now."
xxxxxKyro rose as well, challenging his younger sibling. "And? What happens if I
do play the sorry card, Allister? Are you gonna tell on me? Tell your guards to kill me so you can sulk in your room?"
xxxxxAllister's lips slowly pulled back from his teeth, until he was practically snarling out the words. "Shut UP Kyro! Just stop talking!"
xxxxxKyro smirked, striding over so his snout was inches from his younger brother's. "You could never be an older brother."
xxxxxAllister's face contorted, and his jaw quivered. He gritted his teeth, breathing out heavily from his nose. Smoke began to wisp out of his nostrils, and Kyro took the tiniest step back. Allister stepped forward, now seeing he was in control. "This. Means," He paused in between each word, trying not to let the heat that was building in his throat escape. Sweat poured down his brow as he tried to hold back, "WAR!"
xxxxxA blast of flames escaped Allister's mouth, hitting Kyro in the chest. The red dragon flew backwards, smashing through the tall stained glass window. The manor that the two dragons lived on was on the edge of a cliff, overlooking their city below them. Allister knew that Kyro could levitate, but still cautiously, poked his head though the hole.
xxxxxKyro plummeted downwards, before gritting his teeth and forcing his body to levitate. He looked upwards, and saw Allister's face peer through the jagged hole made by Kyro's body. Kyro growled at him, then turned away and floated down the the ground below.
xxxxxOnce the red komo landed, he collapsed on the soft grass, groaning and rolling onto his back. His chest was throbbing, and the scales underneath his neck were twisted and peeling off. Kyro breathed out a painful sigh, his chest rattling with the wind still knocked out of him. The dragon examined his arms and legs, running a finger over the deeper cuts and trying to gauge how bad they were. The glass had cut him pretty badly, as he had put his arms behind him instinctively to brace himself for the impact. Gritting his teeth, Kyro managed to carefully extract a few of the colored glass shards out of his palms, but some of the smaller ones still peppered his forearms like multi-colored freckles. Pushing himself up into the air, the eastern dragon slowly hovered for a few moments before heading off towards town. Although there was a giant team of skilled surgeons and doctors in his palace, Kyro still preferred to go to the local doctors to get healed up. Heading off, he completely forgot about his brother, who was still stewing up in the palace.
Allister paced back and forth, his breathing short and forced. "He always gets the last word." Allister grumbled, seemingly completely overlooking that it had actually been him who got the last word. "He thinks that just because he's three years older than me, he can just push me around and not expect a consequence. And then," He grew louder, almost shouting, "He gets all upset when he finally gets a taste of his own medicine!"
Allister stopped short, looking around at the empty room. He sighed, letting his head hang back in an empty gesture of defeat.
There's no way I can win this fight, he thought, his eyes falling,
he always wins these fights. Groning, Allister turned and plodded off to his private quarters. Although the castle the brothers shared wasn’t split apart, the two komos’s rooms had been built into the opposite sides of the manor to try and curb the constant bickering between them. Although the fighting and teasing didn’t slow down one bit, at least the servants who worked in the large estate could have some peace and quiet just by going to the other end of the house they were fighting in.
llister slowly walked down the long hall, his heels clicking against the marble loudly. He sighed, letting it bounce off of the walls around him and fill the hall with noise. Allister stopped at the end of the hall. His head hung, and he closed his eyes. Lifting his neck, he looked at the portrait ahead of him longingly
In the photo posed a tall, wizened komo with strict eyes and steel grey hair. She was staring off into space, as if looking at someone behind the painter. Allister sighed softly, reaching up to try and touch the surface of the painting. He swallowed, feeling the large lump in his throat as he blinked back tears. Allister took a deep breath, trying his hardest not to show a weakness, but despite that tears pricked his eyes. The green komo began sobbing, crumpling to the floor and holding his head in his hands.
"Why'd you have to leave us, mother." He sobbed, talking to the painting. "We needed you.
I needed you."
Allister felt the tears stop, and he breathed a deep, shuddering breath. Turning around, he put his back to the wall, and slumped over in defeat. Holding his head in his hands, he whispered softly. "I love you, mom."
xxxxxMeanwhile, on the opposite side of town, Kyro was not thinking about his mother. No, he was thinking about his brother. And they weren't nice thoughts. Kyro and Allister had locked heads before several times in the past, and this was fairly normal. However, in the past, Kyro almost always won those little spats. But this time? It had been
Allister who got the last word, and
Allister who won the fight. Kyro wasn't used to losing, and this sinking feeling in his gut was not at all welcomed by the older komo.
xxxxxGrowling, Kyro continued to pull the shards of glass out of his palms, fighting back the urge to wince every time. The eastern komo was lying in a small, secluded section of the woods near the town. As soon as he had stepped foot on the pebble path leading to the hospital, he had decided against going to the doctors. He didn't need, and didn't want, to talk to civilians. Although he used to be in a semi good mood flying into town, it was as if all of that whisked away with the thought pf having to socialize. Kyro gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the heavy feeling of defeat that sunk in the back of his mind like a crumbled cinder block. He was in a worse and worse mood as the minutes passed, from the pain in his arms to the pain in his head. Kyro had forgotten the awfulness that came after a fight, as he and his brother had matured enough that they only had small arguments from time to time. Those arguments hadn't escalated into full on brawls in decades, and Kyro had forgotten about the physical toll it took on his body.
If only mother could be here to sort things out. Kyor thought, as memories of his past swamped his brain. Closing his eyes, he floated down a trip on memory lane.
xxxxx"Mother! MOM!" A shrieking voice rose above the house's bustle, reaching a large door at the east end of the house. A tired komo stepped out, and called to her sons across her house. "Yes, Alli, what is it?"
A sob rose again, this time louder. The komo braced herself as two young dragons came racing down the hall, one after another. the first one, lli, sat in a heap at his mother's feet. He wailed, clutching at her ankles. "Kyro...Hit me!" He yelled, bursting into tears once again. The old komo shook her head in disapproval, raising her eyebrows at the eldest son. he was hanging back, looking shameful. "We were only playing..." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't mean to hit him, truly."
Their mother leaned down, talking with each of the boys individually. What she said they each hold private, but as soon as she stood back up the two brothers hugged each other and raced back down the hallway. xxxxxKyro opened his eyes, and was surprised to feel that his cheeks were wet. He swallowed, remebering the good times.
Mom, I wish you could be here to help us out, he said in his head.
I need help being the older brother. Kyro stared off into space, hoping his mother could here him, wherever she was.
I need you.xxxxxA gentle, white light filtered through Allister's eyelids and he opened them. Groggily, he stretched out his arms and let loose a big, sleepy yawn. The green komo blinked a few times, trying to remember where he was. He saw the long hallways before him, and the events of the night before came rushing back to him. Allister scowled, trying to push himself off of the wall. His back hurt, and he couldn't turn his neck without feeling a sharp tinge of pain run down his spine. The marble was cold on his paws, and he shifted to avoid tapping his numb feet on the ground. He tried to stretch his arms above him, but his spine crackled with displeasure and he winced. Standing up, he shakily regained his ground and woke himself up.
xxxxxKyro
xxxxxx
header art - mango marmalade,,
writing - mango marmalade,,
plot development - Trashfan & mango marmalade,,
title font -
Day Roman 
