Reposted DoA literature: a bad memory - 751 words - Jul 25th, 2020

Three teen Aqrion swim to an underwater chasm; who will leave alive? For Dragons of Aquella Monthly Challenge, July 2020. Ulrin discovers his element, Mindbender.

 

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               Ulrin fidgeted with his front fins nervously as he kept glancing forward. A deep, dark chasm loomed not that far away from him. It hummed songs that did not make sense, told stories that twisted their own words and flowed out waters so cold that some rumored could give frostbites. Suddenly he heard happy chatter behind him. The young Giant followed two Aqrions with his eyes as they passed him; a brightly colored Polar with frills on his hide and an earthy toned Giant female with dark splotches running down her finless and membraneless back. Ulrin noticed the way they were heading.

                "Hey!" He yelled, successfully stopping them. The dark female turned her upper body and faced the red finned male with her bright green eyes. Her stare was piercing and intense, as if it could inject venom without touching. She made him anxious, but the thought of doing something right for once drove the young male forward with his intentions. He pulled his head back and brought his fins closer to his body, afraid.

                "Y-you can't go in there. It- it's dangerous!" The Giant female raised her brow and burst into laughter. The Polar followed the example a bit slowly. She poked him with her elbow.

                "You hear that, Ignire? We can't go in there because it's dangerous. And who are you to give us orders, birdbrain? Just go back to your friends", suddenly she covered her mouth with her fin.

                "Oh, but I forgot! You don't have any!" She said, turned around and laughed, continuing on her way to the chasm. A mere teen would not be bossing them around! Ulrin growled softly. Determined, he collected himself from the insult.

                "You're going to break your neck going down, or worse!" Chasms were dangerous, and he did not want anyone losing their life to them. The young male did not notice the reaction of his body, as the vents on his neck flared up and started to seep. As the bright hided Polar flinched, Ulrin's anger switched to confusion. The stranger's friend, Viper, didn't seem to notice, as she turned around again to face the dumb teen. She spat out insults, but Ulrin did not listen. His eyes were fixated to Ignire, who slowly swam towards the chasm. He stopped at its edge for a moment, before raising his body and straightening his neck. Only one command filled his mind, pushing everything else from its way like a storm.

 

break. your. neck.

 

                "…right, Ignire?" The female had finally reached the end of her monologue and started to look for her friend. She called his name again, but got no reply as she turned around. The sight of the bright colored male standing straight on the chasm's edge petrified her for a moment, before she started to approach him.

                "Ignire?" As if her voice triggered an action, Ignire started falling. He let himself fall into the chasm's shadows head first, neck as straight as he could. Viper panicked and lunged after him, shouting profanities in sheer terror at him. Ulrin watched as both of them disappeared over the jagged edge into the darkness of the deep, petrified. He didn't know what to do, what to say, who to call to. What even happened?

                Suddenly the red finned teen heard cursing, echoing from the chasm. His face lit up in relief. Viper's dark head popped up as she kept swearing like a pirate, insulting her friend, instulting Ulrin, insulting the universe and everything in between. She dragged Ignire behind her as she turned her eyes to Ulrin.

                "You're lucky that I caught him before he hit anything! What the hell is your problem?" The dark female kept spitting insults and did not hear a deep rumbling from her own words. Ulrin had no chance to warn her before a humongous jaw closed around her and Ignire. Ulrin's eyes widened in terror as its teeth clashed together, surrounding the duo in darkness. As the creature continued its movement, a huge, bright blue eye stared back at the petrified dragon. It blinked once and disappeared back to the chasm, dragging bulbs of light behind it.

 

                The light masked dragon yanked his head up as his eyes opened wide. His heart was beating out of rhythm and his breath was irregular and heavy. He glared around him, clearly terrified.

                "A bad dream?" A voice echoed in his temples, accompanied with an eerie, ambient giggling.

                "Not a dream." He replied with his voice trembling.

 

"A memory."