The dragon looked at the offerings and used his whiskers to pat Luna's head gently. "Thank you, little one," he rumbled and opened the honey jar with his whiskers, scooping up some honey and tasting it.
Luna looked at Aaric and beckoned him over to her. Aaric approached and raised an eyebrow in question.
Luna took his hand. "Mr. Dragon, he and I have a place of our own. Would you like to come with us?" she asked.
The dragon sighed softly. "I am at my twilight and wish to nourish the land I was born in." Luna looked sad at the dragon's words.
The dragon seemed to sense her grief, and two scales on his body shimmered and detached themselves, floating in front of Luna and Aaric.
They were bright gold in color and the size of their palms. "I prayed to Bahamut not to be forgotten, and it seems my wish has come true at the cost of your grief," the dragon sighed.
"Take these scales, for I have no use of them," the dragon said gently and lay down, seeming tired.
Luna took her scale and hugged it to her chest, not speaking, fearing she might sob if she did.
A voice was heard from the side, and a three-foot-long dragon, red in color, peeked from a small hole in the cave.
It then trotted over to the gold dragon timidly, looking up and nudging him. Luna and Aaric could feel his grief as if it were their own.
"I am not dead yet," the gold dragon said and looked at Luna. "Take this little one. She is an echo of my kind; she will be a good companion for you. I know you will treat her well."
The little pseudodragon looked at Luna curiously and was picked up by her. "Would you like to come with me?" Luna asked her.
The little one nodded and sent out emotions of acceptance toward Luna.
A huge sigh was heard, as if the world had let out a final breath. "I love your company, but I have little time and do not wish to burden you with my final moments," the dragon rumbled softly, opening the books Luna had given and starting to read them.
Luna and Aaric bowed to the dragon. Luna had the little dragon on her shoulder as Aaric held her hand in support.
They both exited the cave, Luna being supported by Aaric and soothed by the little dragon.
Aaric looked around at the jungle after exiting and sighed. "It seems he was the only intelligent being in the area," he muttered.
The little dragon hissed at Aaric, who chuckled. "I mean, for most of his life," Aaric clarified, and the dragon just ignored him.
"Great, now I have to deal with two of them," Aaric muttered, giving a side eye to the dragon. He then noticed a well near them, as he did on every island.
There was something different about this one, there were two seeds floating above it, one gold and one red.
Aaric took them and looked at Luna, who still seemed sad. Aaric went in front of her and held her chin, making her look up.
"Do you wish to stay here for some time?" he asked her, and she shook her head. Aaric nodded, picked her up, and started flying toward their island.
The little dragon flew beside them. Luna did not speak and just rested on him, holding him for comfort.
"I just want to stay in one place... with you, for the time we have left," Luna said finally, and Aaric nodded.
Aaric went to a grassy area in the forest and waved his hand as the grass formed a comfortable bed for them.
He laid Luna down on it and Aaric stroked her head as she lay there, the golden scale in her hands.
"Is there a way for me to carry it with me in the waking world?" Luna asked him, and he nodded.
"Place it near the tree before we leave, and I will see to the rest," Aaric whispered to her.
The little dragon curled up beside her. Aaric observed the seeds in one hand and stroked Luna's head with the other.
He sensed a faint aura from the seeds; it felt like the auras of Hades and Persephone he had met some time ago, as if the seeds were divine.
'With enough worship, the wells gives birth to gods, right?' Aaric thought. 'What if there are just not enough people to form a god, but a very powerful being that worships one for thousands of years?' Aaric thought and looked at the little dragon.
Aaric patted the little dragon's head, making her look up at him in curiosity. He then gave her the red seed. "Take it. This is the gift from the gold dragon to you," Aaric said and placed the seed on her forehead, where it sank into her body.
The next day
Aaric woke up from his bed and sighed. He noticed Chaya sitting on his face as always. As he got up, she ignored him and slithered to his bed.
'Why is everyone always mad at me?' Aaric thought and held his head, as Dune flew over to him and looked at him.
"Dune is always the best," Aaric said, patting the bird and getting happy bird noises from her.
Aaric then went over to his desk, brought out a parchment, and wrote, 'I can't attend classes because I am sick.' He then handed it over to Dune.
"Put it on Dumbledore's desk," he instructed the owl, who disappeared with a flap of her wings.
"Let's see how painful it will be," Aaric muttered and lay on his bed.
Hades had told him he could transport things from the Dreamlands if he could form a spiritual connection with something there. He did caution that the process would be painful.
Aaric had formed a connection with the golden tree and was going to use it to transport the dragon scales from the Dreamlands to the waking world.
Aaric formed a magic circle of healing and containment around him. He then placed some Vitalis Bloom around it to facilitate healing.
"Here goes nothing," Aaric said out loud and focused on the link he had made with the golden tree.
He focused on the roots of the tree and felt the two golden scales they had left on its roots. He conveyed his intentions to the tree, and the scales sank into the tree's roots.
Aaric felt a sudden jolt in his chest as if something wanted to burst out of it. His chest bulged and stretched in the middle.
Aaric gritted his teeth as blood seeped from his mouth. He added some sound-dampening wards around him with a wave of his hand and screamed as his chest tore open and a golden scale shimmered beneath it.
Aaric held it and yanked it in one swift motion. Blood and flesh sprayed around him as the scale rested in his hand.
He was not done yet. Another scale peeked from the scar, and Aaric held it with a shaky hand. Shuddering and rasping breaths escaped his lips as he held the second scale.
'Just one more. This is the last one, for Luna,' he consoled himself, and in one swift motion ripped the scale out. A scream escaped him, and he collapsed on his back.
The magic circle around him worked to heal his wounds as green essence flowed through him. He looked at the ceiling and focused on breathing as he was being healed.
After fifteen minutes, Aaric opened his eyes and looked at Chaya, who was licking his face, while Dune had still not returned, as Aaric had sent her on a few more errands.
Aaric sighed and got up, looking down at his chest and seeing no scars. "Wouldn't have minded a cool scar," he muttered, and then thought of his mother. "Never mind." He shook his head with a shudder.
He cleaned up the magic circle and his blood before calling out to Nibbin, who popped in with a yellow flash and beamed at him.
"Take me to the island, please," Aaric asked Nibbin. He would have asked Chaya, but she was still mad at him.
A/n: Power stones and reviews please.