The Curse's Breath

Chapter Twenty-Five

"You were right."

Lunar snorted. "What took you so long?" The gray dragon was leaning over a small, adolescent dragon and wrapping his wing in a bandage made of some sort of yellow vine.

"I didn't believe you." Celni stepped fully into the Elemental cave, curling her tail as she sat down. "I didn't want to believe you."

"That was certainly clear." Lunar tied the vine and then snapped the end off with his teeth. "Go on," he told the young fire dragon, giving him a shove with his paw. "You're done." The dragon got up to leave, but Lunar stopped him with a glare. "Don't move that wing while it's healing, you hear me? And for goodness' sake, don't play fireball near cliffs! You could have set the whole forest on fire, much more break your neck," he grumbled.

The dragon nodded and then scampered off.

"Now then," Lunar said, turning back to Celni. "Where were we? Oh yes, you were telling me how you're sorry for being such an idiot." He gave her a sarcastic look before flicking his tail to call her further into the cave.

"In my defense, it's not such an easy concept to believe," Celni retorted, following him to a section at the back of the cave.

Lunar looked back at her. "What, that everyone around us is succumbing to mindless fits of rage that get worse and worse with each passing day?"

Celni rolled her eyes. "Well, when you put it that way..."

"I know, Sotira. Believe me, I struggled with it too." Lunar let out a sigh. "But I'm an Elemental. It's my job to see what's hurting my people and work to fix it."

"So how do we do that?" Celni asked. "Fix what's happening to them."

He narrowed his eyes. "You want to help?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Lunar's gazed at her for a moment, his golden eyes thoughtful. "You sure are."

Celni frowned, puzzled at that. But before she could ask what he meant, Lunar spun around, ducking through a split in the cave wall. She followed suit, making sure to tuck in her wings so she could fit in the tight entrance.

"Is this your den?" she asked, looking around the dark room. It was a small area. Two nests were on opposite sides from each other. Herbs and various plants lined one wall and scrolls of some kind lined the other.

"Yes. Mine and Yatia's." He gave her a look before she could say anything. "We're not together. If another Elemental was alive, they would be in here too."

"You'd better hope not. This place is already small enough as it is."

He snorted. "You're telling me." The Elemental padded over to the corner with the scrolls.

"What are those?" Celni questioned.

"These are scrolls containing the history of this land." Lunar shuffled through the collection, searching for a certain one.

"Why do you have them?" Celni peered over his shoulder, watching him.

"Elementals do more than just wrap bandages around dragons and feed them medicine, Sotira. We also are tasked with recording important information, events, and revelations." Lunar found the scroll he was looking for, and turned around to meet Celni's gaze. "Now. This... change in temperament, for lack of better words. It could just be something local—something in the water, or perhaps a fungus intoxicating the air. But if I'm right in that the humans are experiencing the same thing, then this could be something else entirely. Something much larger—and something much, much more dangerous."