Back at the Castle, I sat in the quiet of my room, musing. I knew Pashnirix wouldn't have given me up that easily, and part of me was glad he put up a fight, even if it was against RaXi. But after acknowledging him as my mate...I was actually looking forward to spending some time with him.
I flopped back onto my rarely used bed, blowing out a sigh. "What's this, Tigress? Getting soft? What happened to solitary Rex, who didn't give a damn about anyone or anything?" I asked myself. I was changing, and I didn't know if it was for better or worse. Maybe this was what Pashnirix was trying to teach me...
I must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing I knew, a Dancer Nobody was tapping me lightly on the face. "Wha--what?" I grabbed at the thing's hand, halting its movement.
A meeting for the Elite, it told me, Leader's orders.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. Not another one of these... "Alright," I said. "I'll be there in a minute."
The Dancer left, and I was alone again. I wondered briefly if the Leader knew everything between me and Pashnirix, and if I would be receiving punishment for anything that went on. Hopefully, RaXi would uphold her end of our deal, though I didn't worry much about that. RaXi hated the Leader as much as I, and wouldn't hesitate to defy him if she could easily get away with it.
Creating a portal, I went to the Room Where Nothing Gathers, taking my seat gracefully. I was the first one there, and it was only me and the Leader in the room.
"Rexikat," he said.
"Leader," I said in reply, a polite half-smile gracing my lips.
We were silent for a few more moments, until he said, "I hope you aren't too tired from your little kidnapping to stay attentive during this meeting."
I shook my head. "Hah, takes more than a measly kidnapping to get me down," I said. My instinct were starting to tingle; my ears twitched and my eyes narrowed. It felt like he was toying with me.
The Leader nodded. "Yes. But I must ask: one of your power, why did you not escape at the first opportunity?"
I growled. "Unfortunately, the Dragon was able to use a spell preventing me from leaving the world unless he willed it," I said, hoping I seemed suitably angry. "I was working my escape when RaXi arrived, thankfully."
The Leader nodded. "I see, I see," he murmured, before falling silent again. I watched him carefully as we waited for the others to arrive.
_________________________________________________________________________________
(Pashnirix's POV)
He left his castle and returned to the Citadel, heaving a sigh of distress as he arrived in his room. So many people had breached his private world...Pashnirix was considering when he'd have the time to reinforce the high level cloaking spells he'd constructed himself.
And Rexikat...his number one treasure, taken from him, just as she had promised herself as his mate. Pashnirix grabbed a gold-encrusted dagger from his nightstand and threw it at the wall in frustration. He could feel his dragonish elements starting to show themselves; he longed for nothing more than to tear apart everyone responsible for him now being apart from his mate.
Unable to resist the urge, he pulled into his element and swished his tail across the room, knocking over his nightstand and cracking one of the posts of his bed. He smashed a fist into his mirror with a savage growl, delighting in the way the glass shattered. He raked his claws down the walls, tearing through the plaster and wood right to the stone foundation. Pashnirix tore into his bedsheets, reducing them to nothing more than tattered rags.
Heaving for breath in anger, he wished he were a dragon of the fire-breathing variety, if for no other reason than to cause even more destruction. Instead, he opted for destroying the glass of his window and soaring out into the night sky, powerful wings carrying him higher and higher. Higher, away from all the intrusions, where he would be alone, for once.
He alighted atop one of the towers, curling his wings around himself and holding onto the roof with his clawed hands. His hair had come loose, the black ribbon that usually held it back long lost, and the pale blue strands fluttered around his face and body. He gasped and held a hand to his chest, where his heart would be, feeling a phantom pain where the organ should have been. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the feeling, Pashnirix tilted his face to the sky, letting lose a frantic roar.
As he let his face drop, he didn't notice the tears until they were flowing fast down his face. "I just...I just wanted..." he whispered brokenly. "I just wanted..."
Standing unnoticed behind him, Marlex watched the broken dragon. "Pashnirix," he said in a low, hesitant voice.
The Dragon whipped around, ready to absolutely obliterate whoever dared disturb him now, even more ready so when he saw it was Marlex. The pink-haired Nobody to a precautionary step back as Pashnirix snarled at him.
"The Leader requires your presence," Marlex muttered quickly, hazarding a glance at the dragon's eyes. They were filled with fury and anguish, a combination of emotion Marlex had never seen in the man's eyes.
Pashnirix didn't say a word as he gracefully dove off the tower, and Marlex didn't bother following him to make sure he went to the Leader.
