Soft Confession

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 Asund carried me down the stairs. He insisted on doing it because of my leg, and how (according to him and Itek), I did not need to be walking on it down five flights of stairs to the very bottom of the house.

The house extended into a network of unused rooms and cisterns carved centuries earlier in the rock. Strings with faint magical lanterns lighted the way, but the thick layer of dust and detris revealed nobody ever came down here. The path Ethat's body had left was so obvious even I could see it. Water squeezed out of the rock, along with trails of salt.

"I'll go the rest of the way on my own," I said quietly.

Asund set me down.

Ethat's trail led to a final, large room lined with half a dozen large cisterns. Tucked into the farthest corner, tail curled tightly, wings clamped, and burrowed head-first, was Ethat.

He had withered over night from a green dragon to a dying autumn, his scales like withered grass, his hide peeling back to expose delicate tissues underneath, and his wings were the fragile tissue of a dead bat.

"Ethat."

He flinched and tried to bury his head in the rock.

"Ethat."

He shuddered and clenched his entire body harder.

"Korr is much better," I said.

He trembled like each word struck him. Flies and dust drifted from his scales.

"I know you didn't mean it."

No response.

"Ethat, please talk to me. I'm not angry."

Quivering.

I approached until I could lay a hand on his haunch. He flinched. Black flies swarmed around my skin but didn't land. "We were able to pull thorns out of Korr's injury. He's so much better today."

murmmrph and he tried to shuffle away, but he was already squished into the corner.

"Korr told us about how there are worries the rot's affecting dragon pups."

He cringed and a swarm of black flies rose off his scales before abruptly dropping dead. He made a terrible noise of despair.

I walked towards his head, keeping my hand on his side. He cringed under my touch. "Ethat, please."

He uncurled his noodled-up neck and his withered head emerged from under loops of neck along the ground. His eyes were still a beautiful, soft green, but the rest of him had been left out in the summer sun for a few weeks.

Mrrmmmmmmmmm.

His eyes moved in their exposed sockets and saw the bruises on my arms. His head retreated back under the loops of neck and he shuddered all over.

He was crying.

"Don't cry. That's not going to do anything. I don't want you to cry. I don't care if the rot did something to your egg. You're still mine. Now will you shift into human form so we can talk? I don't speak dragon." I did speak Ethat. Sort of.

His head peeked out from under the noodle neck.

"There wasn't time to run after you yesterday," I told him. "We had to help Korr. And the others were furious. They needed to calm down."

Mrrph.

"They're still angry. Korr's upset. I'm not angry. I'm sad and worried. They're a bit mad at me. Tell me I'm making excuses for you. Maybe I am."

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