Chapter 34 – Home Sweet Cave

"…So, then that's pretty much everything"

At the moment, me, Minos and my party members are all sitting in the nest, both my parents are laying on the cave floor next to us listening to everything that's happened since I left the cave.

Mother looks excited hearing everything I've gone through but father looks slightly concerned over something I might have said earlier. Minos is just in his own little world cuddling up to my fluffy body right now, think he might be half asleep as well now.

<That was such an interesting story Ikarus!>

<Little one… that dragon you killed, were you drinking just before it happened?>

He's actually doubting me and saying I was drunk? That little comment he just made has pissed me off, why is that so unbelievable?

"I literally have two witnesses here father that can back me up, we all played some part in the battle that happened in the sky"

"It did happen Mr dragon, the Lord himself helped us with such a task"

"Y-Yeah although I didn't do much"

"You still provided some help Nat"

Father still hasn't said anything about succubus-sama, can he really not tell her species? He did say mother's nose is better than his but I thought he would've picked it up by now, maybe his senses are fading seeing that he's basically the same age as a dinosaur. He's not but I like it, I might start calling him a dinosaur, it's surprisingly fitting.

<I still can't believe you killed a dragon. Do you have anything to actually prove you did such a task?>

Why is he so sceptical about this? I do have something but it might prove a little sus. They shouldn't think into it too much hopefully.

"Here"

I get out the large cut of dragon tail I have stored in my ring and drop it in the nest, this should be enough to prove it.

<Wow, you actually… no, it's actually her!?... I really need to leave quickly>

I get slightly fearful when father telepathically said that, he looks like he's trying to hold something in, I can't tell if he's really angry or not though. Both my party members look confused but mother seems to know the reason.

"Why does he look like that? Did we kill someone he knows?"

<Just wait a second Ikarus, you'll understand then>

Waiting a minute for father to fly out of the cave, fly far away from the entrance and even further basically becoming a small dot off in the distance, a great amount of noise follows him up.

"PHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

Off in the far distance of the mountain range, a black poisonous cloud surrounds the laughing dragon. The force of his laughter was so strong, even the cave from way over here shook a tiny bit, he really couldn't control himself.

"Why is he laughing?"

<Just wait Ikarus>

Doing as I'm told, I wait for him to fly back and enter the cave again, he takes a seat back on the ground and then explains his reasoning.

<I'm sorry but I had to do that. To think a couple of humans and my own daughter could cause the death of that grumpy bitch, it truly is a day worth living. I've got to calm myself otherwise I'll laugh again>

<You already know what will happen if you laugh inside Dermak>

<Don't worry dear, I've gotten most of it out now. I'm good>

I can't help but get even more confused now, this reaction from killing a fellow dragon is surprising. It's a bit ironic father calling someone grumpy as well.

"Grumpy bitch? I know that dragon was a little off her rocker but still, she seemed crazier than anything else"

<Shydazir is, no, was your father's sister Ikarus, they never got on from childhood>

Wait a second? I was heavily involved in killing my aunt, I really don't know what to make of this, she attacked me first so I was justified but killing a family member still seems a little bad. I don't feel bad about it though, that's what's a little surprising.

Oh my God, I nearly did something disgusting and disturbing.

Thank fuck, I didn't eat that tail now, that would've been all kinds of disturbed and messed up, I would've needed counselling for the rest of my life knowing I did that. That actually gives me the shivers, dodged a serious bullet there.

[<Aesa did warn -user->]

'This is NOT the time for you, you didn't know she was family as well so don't start. I'm never going to try dragon meat knowing how close a call that was now'

"So father... care to explain why you have such a sibling complex?"

<Making that type of joke to a creature like that bitch holds no humour little one. As for my hatred, my evil older sister was the reason for this side of the family turning on each other>

Older sister? That low levelled dragon was even older that this two-thousand-year-old relic? Strength definitely has nothing to do with a dragon's age, the humans couldn't be more wrong there, I've repeated myself with that again.

<Your father's side of the family has a long and tragic history Ikarus, it involves a lot of battle, death and horror between siblings and the parents. His sister in particular caused the death of both his parents>

That's some deep shit. It for some reason reminds me of those old Greek tales about the Gods turning against their parents, the titans, it's not all that similar but having a family who likes to kill each other is the comparison I was making. I'm really lucky I hatched now and not in a previous generation, that wouldn't have been a fun journey having to kill all my siblings and parents.

<Huh, thinking about it, I'm the last sibling alive now. I've managed to outlast all those other wyvern loving bastards; it truly is a lucky day to be alive>

Damn it, he really, really must hate his side of the family to be calling them wyvern lovers. I'm not going to pry into it here, it could be an interesting story but with this old dinosaur, it will probably get overly graphic and gory. Some of the stories he shared with us about slicing wyverns apart when he first started his part time job were not for anyone's ears to listen to.

<Still… I can't believe she's actually dead, it really is something>

<I know you held hatred for her Dermak but still, pay respect to the dead, she is still your sister>

<That only applies to beings who deserve respe->

While those two all still talking about aunt, I need to have words with my party who are still in the nest. Minos is definitely awake now but he's just chilling up against my side, I'm surprised he's been this quiet during all this.

"You two don't have to stay if it's too much, I can hurry it up if you want"

They have basically been mute for this entire chat, I know it's my family reunion but still, I can understand them maybe getting slightly bored.

"It's all good Ikarus-sama, it's actually enjoyable listening to you three speak, or converse, I'm unsure what it's called"

"T-They call it telekinesis Lotte, w-we're more than h-happy to stay Ikarus"

"It's telepathy Nathan, the dragon's say it completely wrong. It still winds me up even now"

I have no idea why the knight knows what it's called, who would have told him that? Wait, did I tell him? I might have after we had just met on the journey to the capital, I'm contradicting myself now.

At least Charlotte is enjoying the whole experience, I guess listening to a dragon phoenix conversation is enjoyable? I wouldn't really know. Nathan looks a lot calmer now, as calm as he's able to be around dragons, so not that much really.

Then the conversation took a drastic change when father decides to say something to me, it's still related to family but involves the future this time.

<Little one, when you decide to start up a family, make sure you treat your offspring right>

<Oh yes! Your father is right! I want to see loads of little phoenixes and dragons running around the place! I wonder what would hatch from your egg though>

Hang on, where the hell has this come from? This is making me extremely uncomfortable.

"I think you two are mistaken or something, that ain't ever happening, ever, capiche?"

<Don't be like that little one, I never wanted any of you little ones, life just sort of happens>

"Cu?"

<Dermakvar!>

Mother gives father a strong whack behind the head from his comment, I don't know if that was deserved or not though. For some reason, I kinda got that feeling from him to begin with so it really isn't all that a shock, does he really seem like the type of person to have planned having children?

<What I meant to communicate, is that I didn't want children originally, that very quickly changed when you two little ones came along>

"Cu!"

<That doesn't make it that much better Dermak but still, it's better than nothing I suppose>

They're not mentioning my deceased older sister through this, I guess he means he didn't want children back then as well. It's obviously too depressing a subject for them to bring up again though.

Thing is, a legitimate question has come up from all that, how does that even work? With phoenixes I mean, I know I will lay eggs but that doesn't answer if I'd even be able to have kids.

'Aesa, you have any idea how a phoenix would have babies? Is it a phoenix-on-phoenix thing or can two different species like a dragon and phoenix work as well?'

[<Phoenix species are infertile>]

'Seriously? I guess that completely destroys that question'

I guess in the grand scheme of things, that should make sense, we are supposed to be extremely rare after all, I kind of thought it might be similar to the way I was born but in reversed so maybe a dragon would hatch from one of my eggs. It matters little anyway; I was never going to lay a fertilized egg.

"Heh, you two might be slightly disappointed… Turns out, phoenixes are infertile"

"Really Ikarus-sama?"

"I d-didn't know that"

<You sure about that little one?>

<Cu?>

<No! That can't be true!>

Even my party members respond to this, how is this so surprising that everyone has to respond?

"Have all of you decided to gang up together or something? Aesa just confirmed it with me, phoenixes are completely one hundred percent infertile"

<Well… you could always adopt little one>

<Yes! My preference would be dragons but if you want to adopt baby humans as well, that's perfectly fine!>

Both my party members give a little chuckle to my parents spouting crap, I'm getting tired of this and just want to relax a little, is that really all too much to ask?

I could have also told them I'm not straight but that really wouldn't make any difference to adoption. I doubt they would have a bad reaction to it, mother in particular would find a way of getting excited about it probably.

"Can we please just change the topic now; this is giving me a headache. Oh, I have something else… Father, what the hell did you promise that prince?"

I've got to try and ask even if I won't get an answer.

<Ah that, it really isn't all that much to worry over>

"Are you sure about that? He seems to treat it like the biggest deal in the entire empire"

<Of course, a little mortal is going to react that way to what I've offered. It seems a fair deal for having our little one cured. I won't be telling you because I know how much you stress out about such things>

Mother looks slightly stressed while me and father were conversing, she clearly knows it is a bigger deal than he's letting on.

I'm just going to keep getting annoyed so it's time to move on, he's going to remain a stubborn dinosaur so I'll give up for now. I would ask mother but I doubt I'll get it out of her, father does seem adamant on this.

"Well anyway… is there anything I should know? Any news to share or any developments?"

<Hmm… Oh, littlest one should be able to use telekinesis to you now>

<Yes! Minos, speak to Ikarus>

<Hello big sister! Can you hear me?>

As soon as I heard his voice inside my head, my heart skipped a beat. Seriously though, imagine the cutest childlike voice you can imagine and it's jammed right inside your brain, it's unbearable. It's too impossibly cute to deal with.

"Don't ever use that on me Minos, I can't handle it"

<Why not sister?>

He even tilts his head while asking that. Even if he's the same size as me now, his cuteness is still unbearable.

"Just stick with the cu's for now brother, please? It's too much for me to handle"

"Cu!"

"Phewww"

Both our parents give a silent chuckle to my heartache, I don't think my party members heard Minos voice judging from their reaction their so I think he might only be able to do it to a single person right now, excluding my parents of course.

<Oh, Ikarus, I don't want to start moaning but there is something I need to mention…>

'I bet this is about my drinking, she hasn't mentioned it yet and it's now overdue'

<Please try and be careful with alcohol, me and your father have both overdone it way too many times>

Called it, at least I'm not getting moaned at for once. It's probably because she knows she can't enforce her rules when I'm not here.

<Your mother is right though; human alcohol may be excellent but it really can be troublesome>

I know for a fact the priestess is happy with herself hearing the same type of nagging coming from my parents. She's visibly hiding it but I can tell what she's thinking right now.

"Fine fine, I already know I've got to be careful. I did want a quick drink tonight when I leave but I'll stop myself"

<You're leaving already!?>

Actual stressful mother incoming, didn't she listen to what I said earlier? The cure search is still ongoing after all, I can always check in every few months or so if I have the time.

"I did say this was only a quick check in, you don't have to look so down about it"

<You won't understand till you have children Ikarus, can't you please stay a bit longer?>

"Cu?"

<At least stay till the morning little one>

I'll have to make something up to get out of this, I do love my parents but, in all honesty, I just want to continue the cure search and meet back up with Petra right now.

"*Sigh*… I'd be happy to stay but you forget, I have two humans with me, it's not good for them to stay around dragons for too long"

"We can stay longer Ikarus-sama"

"Y-Yeah, a night s-should be fine"

<Great! There is more than enough room for all you younglings to sleep in…>

Damn it! That backfired massively, I should've anticipated that wouldn't work, was hoping they'd just remain quiet but they just couldn't towards my mother. Father also gives a small shake of his head towards me; I think he knows I wanted to leave as fast as possible.

<… Minos, you'll have to share the nest tonight, don't look at me like that! You used to do with your sister all the time!>

"Cu…"

All four of us sharing a nest, what could possibly go wrong? Maybe Minos might decide he fancies a midnight treat and goes to eat one of my party members. I joke but that might be a funny twist, my sense of humour is getting really twisted now.

'I'm sneaking a drink later… damn it, there's no chance it'll work'

__________

(Temporary Perspective Change)

'Finally back, it's been a while'

I've just returned to the cave where my 'family' live, I don't like having to lie to Ikarus but some things are better off not being known just yet. I'll take her to this place eventually, just these two might be a bit much, even now.

"Petra! You're back!"

"She's finally back?"

I'm greeted by Zeki and Ariza by the entrance of the cave.

I've never really understood how the DNA on these two works, you'd think these two would be female from first glance, both of them couldn't be more male if they tried. Well, that's not completely true since Ariza was female back on Earth, he doesn't really care about it that all that much now though.

Describing their appearances, both have very similar ear length medium hairstyles but Zeki has red hair and Ariza blue. It doesn't look natural in the slightest but it very much is though, these two have had that hair colour from birth.

As for the cave, it's as homely as you could get from a group of otherworlders living in the middle of nowhere. It's quite the decent size, so much in fact that maybe a small dragon could fit in here and is nicely decorated, these two have a very good idea on how to make a home feel lived in, even if that home is within a cave. It's more than adequate for human living, at least from what I can tell, blindness still plays a small part in many things.

(Zeki) "How did the scouting assignment go?"

(Arisa) "Yeah, how was she?"

These two really get excited hearing my stories from the outside world, they could just go out and experience human living themselves but they just won't though.

"She's fine"

"She's fine? Is that all you can answer after being gone for over a year, she's just fine!?"

I guess Zeki is annoyed with my loose description, he has always been more vocal of the two. And annoying.

"My point is, we don't need to worry about her"

"Doesn't that go against everything you've been told?"

He really isn't letting this go, I guess it is down to the information I previously gave them both though.

"Prophecies can always be interpreted in several ways Zeki, it wouldn't make any difference if I acted now anyway"

"Why not?"

"Because the second she hatched, the prophecy came to fruition. Whether it's directly or indirectly because of her, it makes no difference now. The future is already set in stone"

Both the boys look concerned from my answer, it makes sense why though, the fate of the entire world does rest in the balance. I really should stop calling them boys, they haven't been young for a long time, it's probably because I'm so much older than them.

It is a slight shame my mother couldn't ever tell full prophecies and could only give bits and pieces of the future. I'm getting depressed thinking of her now.

(Zeki) "This still makes me feel uneasy though Petra… You know, if you're wrong, the entire fate of the world could be at risk"

(Ariza) "Yeah Petra, you have changed your opinion on the whole thing slightly"

I love being lectured by these two know it all's who spend all day doing nothing, just because I held one opinion once doesn't mean it can't change when more information comes to light, Ikarus is not a threat.

"You two are boring me, heading for a nap now"

(Zeki) "Oh come on! Don't be like that, at least tell us some news"

(Ariza) "Yeah, you know how boring it can get in here"

"*Sigh* if it's that boring, then go out and experience the world"

Sometimes I feel like I'm a mother to these two, if they weren't able to feed themselves, I probably would be.

(Zeki) "We do, or we used to. It's just that cities are a little big"

(Ariza) "There's too many people there as well"

These two could teach a dragon how to become an even better hermit, I have no idea why I was even worried that they would stumble into Ikarus, such a pointless worry. The idea that the entire fate of the world rests in the balance and they still didn't go out to investigate and destroy the potential cause, couldn't have been more wrong if I tried.

"I'll give some information but I do want to get some sleep since I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning"

Both of them look disappointed from my reluctance to stay, wasn't going to stay long regardless.

(Zeki) "Why do you want to leave so quickly? You haven't seen us in ages"

(Ariza) "Yeah, has Zeki annoyed you that much?"

(Zeki) "I can be quiet if you want"

At least they're willing to calm down a bit but that's not the reason though.

"I agreed beforehand to hurry back, don't want to leave her waiting for too long"

Then, a small grin appears on Zeki's face, I unfortunately have an idea what he's going to say next.

(Zeki) "You agreed to go straight back? I think our older sister might have a crush. There's a bit of an age gap but we'll accept her into our family if she pays a huge dowry, how about a gold statue the size of a chimera?"

(Ariza) "Hehe"

I swear, these two are getting more and more stupid every day, I'm way too lenient on them. If they're going to start spouting nonsense again, I'll leave them to it.

"*Sigh*… change of plan, I'm leaving now. I'll check in maybe in another year or two"

(Zeki) "Petra! We were only messing! Honest!"

(Ariza) "Sorry!"