I will be your reaper...

Saying goodbye

Erebus Haven's POV

This entire week had been a whirlwind. Our eighth birthday, meeting the Royals, getting beat up...Healed, making friends, opening gifts and receiving Royal titles, training...Seeing my sister in action really solidified that she was powerful. I was growing increasingly self-conscious. Dia being Dia, however, noticed my feelings. She reassured me that I'd find my calling one day and I'd excel beyond belief. It was nice to have someone that believed in me. I'd collected many of those someones recently. The training with Diagda had me exhausted. I struggled to activate the healing gift in the beginning, but I'm getting better at it. I definitely excel in knowledge, soaking up all of the knowledge in books I was given. Identifying herbs and poisons, fruits and spices had come naturally to me. Dia of course was very relaxed about it, having the upper hand when it came to Nature. The trees gave her answers and relayed information to her, guiding her to where she needed to go. It was a nice advantage to have. By the end of the week, our parents made us aware that we'd be gone for a while, hopping around and training with the Royals. They didn't state how long, so obviously they didn't know. They also told us that they couldn't go with us. It was sad to know our parents couldn't accompany us on our journey, but at least we could stay in contact over the phone.

We all packed up and said our goodbyes. We watched our parents leave first. Latla hugged us and within an hour, we were on a plane, ready to take off. I sighed, sinking into the chair. Dia nudged me, asking if I was okay "Mm. I'm Okay...Just, not knowing how long we'll be away from our family is a little hard..." Dia nodded but smiled "It's okay. It's not forever, Ere." I rested my head on her shoulder as she cradled both of the eggs she had been given. We both really wanted to know what was inside, but we were willing to wait for the mystery to reveal itself. Noros was settled into the seat across from us, dozing off. Latla was reading a magazine and Cal was on the phone to someone, mentioning he was on the way home. I sighed yet again, closing my eyes. Noros had the right idea to sleep, today had been just as exhausting as the week had...And the day had yet to truly start. I briefly awoke, Noros and Dia were asleep, Latla was reading a different magazine and Cal was scrolling his phone. Latla noticed me and smiled, whispering "Go hop in the cabin. We still have two hours to go" I nodded and shuffled out of the chair, taking myself to the cabin in the back of the jet. I crawled under the covers and melted into the mattress. My eyes gently closed and I drifted away into the depths of sleep, curled up like a squirrel under the duvet.

I was awakened by Cal gently shaking me. I slowly sat up, groggily rubbing my eyes. I really didn't want to be awake. I could feel myself dozing back off. Cal scooped me up and I made myself comfortable in his arms. As we exited the cabin, I saw Noros rubbing her eyes and Latla carrying Aradia who was still clutching the eggs tightly. I pouted and placed my head against Cal's chest, dozing back into sleep. Before I was out cold, I heard the giggle of Latla, no doubt watching me sleepily acknowledge everyone's presence before going back to sleep. When I woke up again, I was in a huge bed, snuggled between Noros, Dia and Dia's eggs. Part of me was really starting to be jealous of those eggs...I shuffled from between the two gently and exited the bed at the bottom. I looked around for a second, determining this room to be Noros'. I opened the bedroom door quietly and snuck out of the room, following the smell of food. At the end of the hall was a huge open space, Latla was standing making food in the kitchen while Cal sat in the living room with three other people. My belly grumbled and I went over to Latla, tugging on her apron with big puppy dog eyes "Oh my, a wild Erebus has appeared! Are you hungry, Moxt Torke?" I nodded at her "Mhm. My belly is empty...But what is that? The thing you just said" I heard a yawn come from behind me before Latla could answer. Dia came wobbling down the hall, eggs in her arms. "It means 'little angel' in Draconian, Ere". My mouth made a visible 'o' at Dia. I heard clapping coming from both the kitchen and the living room. Cal stood up and came to scoop up the sleepy Dia. "How'd you know that, Moxt Steco?" Aradia huffed at Cal "I got interested in Draconian after Christmas so I started reading. And I'm not a little demon!" she huffed even harder but practically deflated at her lack of energy. Everyone chuckled and Cal took Dia to the sofa, placing her on his lap as he sat. The other people looked at her as if she were the most beautiful doll they'd ever seen. A man, who obviously wasn't a Dragon by the horns on his head, cooed at Dia and sighed "She's so damn cute. I want to adopt her!" Cal hissed at the man playfully and hugged Dia tightly to him while I still clung to Latla's apron "You can't! She already has a father. Besides, I said I was going to adopt her first! I can be her Dragon dad!" Cal was shielding the sleepy Dia from the gazes of the people in the livingroom. I looked up at Latla who smiled and started to plate up lots of food "They're Cal's bandmates. They've all been very close for many, many years. It's okay, go sit with them. They're good people." I slightly hesitated before running over, climbing onto the medium-high sofa with a slight struggle. I crawled as close as possible to my sister, yawning. She poked her head out of Cal's arms to give me a sleepy, half-baked smile. I cackled a little - Dia was a sleep gremlin if there ever was one. Her attention was suddenly taken away by a plant on the table. She stared for a second and then turned to Cal "The plant is asking for some water. She sat in the sun too long today and the housekeeper didn't water her for two days." Cal frowned, placing Dia next to me and quickly grabbing a cup with some cold water. He tenderly watered the plant, laying a gentle tap on one of its leaves. He came back to sit with us and Dia yawned "She says thank you~" Dia flopped backwards onto the sofa. I lay down with her and yawned myself. Why were we so tired today? Maybe the training and events of the past week were catching up to us. Dia and I started to doze again before Latla woke us up, telling us to sit up and eat. Dia and I climbed into a sitting position, taking the plates and cutlery with a smile and a thank you. We dug into the food - steak, homemade fries and some salad. Sleepy Dia was having trouble cutting her steak so Cal helped her cut it up, offering to help me too, but I was fine. Despite the fact she had her eyes closed the whole time, Dia demolished the food pretty quickly. She wobbled her way to the kitchen, placing the plate on the side because she couldn't reach the sink. She yawned...Again. She aggressively flopped onto the sofa and quickly fell asleep. I watched in confusion as I ate my food "Why is she like a little piggie today?" I questioned, making the living room break out in laughter and yet Dia remained dead to the world. Cal patted my head "She probably has jetlag, plus all of the training and excitement you've had over the last seven days. It'd be best for the two of you to just sleep today and we'll start the day anew tomorrow. Whatchu think?" I just nodded, not really understanding. I peacefully ate my food, my legs swinging over the cushion of the sofa. When I finished, I placed my plate on the side and thanked Latla for the great food. She placed a kiss on my head and I smiled, running to Dia. "Hey piggie, let's go back to bed. You'll catch a cold here!" Dia growled at me playfully in her sleep, rolling over. I huffed, trying to take one or both of her eggs away in hopes she'd wake up but they were like statues, not moving an inch at all. "Finee~ I'm going without you! I'll feed my egg and then go back to sleep!" I huffed and pouted, storming off to the room. I fed the egg drops of my blood and then climbed into bed, yawning. I heard the door open and could smell Latla placing Dia in the middle of me and Noros. I instinctively drew myself closer, as close as I could get to my twin.

I dreamed of Aradia and I running through a beautiful field, laughing as people playfully chased behind us...Who those people were, I have no idea. But it was nice to dream of such a happy thing.