18 Glimpses of The Past

After the Suns announced that they would lend their powers to the Delines, the atmosphere in the dining hall was at a high. The food tasted amazing and the conversations were never-ending. During the course of the party, some Delines marveled at the sight of the Suns mercilessly shoving food down their gullets. Some were fans of the Suns and mustered up the courage to approach their idols.

"Pardon me, Aurelios-dono," a male voice called out.

Solis yanked his snout out of the mountain of meat in front of him. To look more proper, Solis cleaned his visage and returned the Deline's gaze.

"Yes, is there something you need?"

"I, uh, I-I just wanted the privilege to t-talk to, uh, a-an idol of m-mine."

"Me? Your idol? How so?"

"My f-father was one of the Bellator that fought beside you when you helped Byakko wipe out the Caelgressi a-and he told me th-the stories of your power. I-I couldn't help but admire your strength."

"I appreciate your praise, but you don't have to be so nervous around me. After all, you and I are both Bellators, you deserve the same amount of respect I do."

The Deline's body seized up and he grew quiet.

"A-actually, I have yet to experience a true battle s-so I don't have the credentials to be called one."

"That's a surprise. Alright then, have you ever fought someone before?"

"Of course, Aurelios-dono, many times."

"Before we continue, please stop with the '-dono.'"

"O-oh, of course, as you wish."

"Now, if that's the case, you're more than qualified to be called a Bellator."

"Really?!"

"My definition of a 'Bellator' is simply someone who fights. Whether you've won or not doesn't matter, it's the fact that you're a warrior!"

"R-really? I'm h-honored that you think I deserve to be a Bellator."

"If you don't mind, could you tell me your name, young one?"

"I am the Bellator known as Katsu."

"Well, Katsu, I look forward to fighting alongside you."

"YES! The honor is all mine!"

He bowed to Solis as thanks and stepped away. While they talked, Katsu's friends conversed with Tenacity and Kalamati. Solis wasn't paying attention to what they were discussing but it must've been something nice as he saw smiles on both of the Deline's faces as they stepped away with Katsu.

"So, how's it feel to be the only ones who get to stretch their legs?"

Lunis surprised the three of them when she walked up in between them.

"Oh, Lunis. You're not going to change?"

"No, if I did, there wouldn't be enough space to fit all of us. And besides, I don't want to steal your guy's spotlight."

"Ha. Ha." Solis said sarcastically.

He turned away from Lunis and dug his face into his food once more. Of the three, Solis was first to finish and when he did, he licked off his maw and parts of his body that had meat stuck to it. Solis stood on all fours and started walking down the hall. His sudden movement spooked everyone in the dining hall.

"Please, everyone, continue. Don't pay any attention to me, I'm just going out to have a little stroll."

The Bellators who were stationed near the doors opened it for Solis to walk through. As soon as he felt the doors behind him close, he let out the burp he had been holding in.

"Sheesh, to think you're a Dragon. That was so uncool."

Apparently, someone decided to follow him out through the door.

"Quintessa? I didn't notice you there. I suggest you be careful if you choose to walk beside me because I won't know if I've stepped on you or not."

"Then I'll just have to move."

She hopped onto his tail and ran along it all the way up to his back.

"Now there's no chance for you to accidentally step on me."

With her settled on his back, he continued down the hall. Now that they were back in the courtyard, Solis felt a lot freer. He fanned out his wings a little and flapped them. Some of the Delines beneath him were almost swept off their feet, so he apologized for the tiny accident. Solis approached one of the towers in the castle and jumped all the way to the roof of it and sat down on his hind legs and let out a deep sigh.

"Hey, Solis? Is now a good time for me to ask some stuff about your past? I mean, we're not exactly doing anything."

Solis let Quintessa's words bounce around in his head for a little bit before he answered.

"Hmm, I don't see why not. You've caught me in a good mood, so I'll tell you a few things."

"Really? I bet this will be fun."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Just make sure you're comfortable."

She took his advice and moved to a better spot, which happened to be the top of his head.

"Surprising, I guess she's a lot more like Aya than I thought."

"Alright, I'm ready."

Solis started and Quintessa made sure to listen as hard as she could.

"As you know, I'm the first child of the former title-holder of 'Aurelios.' If I remember correctly, my birth caused a huge celebration because I was born from the union of two of the most beloved Dragons in Sol Regnum. My father was a selfless Dragon during his youth and it extended into his reign as 'Aurelios.' My mother was the most compassionate Dragon you could ever meet and, of course, that continued into her reign as 'Harlequeen.' They gave me the name 'Solis' because a stray ray of sunlight shined down on me when I came out of my egg. Growing up, I was definitely pampered, my first memory of my childhood was when Kalamati tried to teach me how to fly. It didn't end well because I wasn't even at the right age to do so, I mean, my wings weren't even fully developed!"

Solis chuckled at the thought.

"After that, it was a lot of verbal lessons from my uncle, Atrox, and my father about what my duty as 'Aurelios' would be when the time came. Actually, the title of 'Aurelios' didn't just belong to my family. Any Dragon family could take the title away from the Arcanas if whoever was supposed to succeed failed. In fact, that happened multiple times throughout the course of our race's history. Anyways, I never liked all the lessons they kept giving me but I grew accustomed to it. You probably won't believe me, but I was very timid when I was just a hatchling. I was what you would call a 'bookworm.' I took to reading because I was always fascinated by the stories of Aurelios past, but when I was of age, my uncle took it upon himself to give me my first taste of battle."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like the one on Oculi Nebul, the then Black Sun, Atrox, stood face-to-face with his nephew in a large colosseum. He looked down at the adolescent Dragon and smiled at his timid appearance. His tail was swayed nervously side to side across the ground while the rest of his body shook in fear.

"What's wrong, Solis?"

"U-uncle, I-I'm not m-much of a f-fighter, y-you know. I-I don't b-belong i-in a place l-like th-this."

"Nonsense! You are to be the new 'Aurelios,' remember?"

"B-but can't I j-just l-leave all the violent s-stuff to Tenacity?"

"Sure, you could..."

"Then, can I leave?"

"...But then what happens if he isn't there for you? What happens when you're actually faced with an opponent and you're isolated from us? Who will be there to protect you?"

Solis choked up and tried to find a reasonable answer to Atrox's scenario.

"Then! U-umm...I-I...W-well...u-hh..."

"See? You need to be able to protect yourself."

Solis used his tail to draw circles in the ground in embarrassment.

"TENACITY!"

"Oh no, please, Uncle, don't call him over."

A small, black figure flew in over the colosseum walls and floated next to Atrox.

"I'm here, father, is it time for me to help Solis?"

Atrox looked down at his son and nodded.

"Go a little easy on him, Tenacity, he's not a fighter like you are but we'll whip him into one."

"About time!"

Tenacity noticed that Solis was looking at him with hateful eyes.

"You got something to say?"

"-ut...-igg-...-ou."

"Speak up!"

Tenacity walked over to his cousin and stared him down. Even though Solis was taller than Tenacity, he was forced to back away and cower in fear thus allowing Tenacity to look down at him. Atrox took a few steps back and only observed the situation.

"I feel bad for Uncle Phaedros. I can't imagine how he feels, knowing that he has a son like you."

"Take that back..."

"Why should I? It's the truth! Our people celebrated your birth, Solis, they expected you to turn out great, and you did, but in the wrong way...you see, we need a leader, not just another Dragon. We need a special Dragon, and frankly, you don't fit the bill."

As Tenacity hammered the facts into Solis, he used the end of his tail to continuously tap Solis's chest. With each tap, he pushed Solis farther back.

"When it all comes down to it, and the day comes when a successor is chosen, will you be able to look into Uncle Phaedros's eyes when he finds out you've failed?"

That was the last push Solis needed to explode. He jumped at Tenacity but failed to grab his neck. His cousin spun around him, wrapped his tail around his neck, and threw him up against the wall.

"Is that all you have in you, Solis?"

Solis opened his mouth and a golden beam flew at Tenacity's face. He barely managed to dodge it and received some damage.

"Y-you can shoot Asteria?"

Tenacity was in disbelief at the fact. Normally, Dragons around their age wouldn't have any grasp on the technique of shooting Asteria, but Solis clearly did.

"I'll show you I have what it take to become 'Aurelios.'"

Tenacity regained his composure and told him, "Just being able to shoot Asteria doesn't mean anything. That's still not the 'special' we're looking for."

Solis broke away from the wall and the two of them fought once more. Their fight was long and seemed like it would never end. For the most part, Tenacity remained practically untouched by Solis, while Solis was completely battered and bruised. Tenacity made sure to never overdo it to a point where Solis would need medical attention. Ten hours later, Atrox stopped the fight between the two hatchlings. He took a look at his nephew and let out an audible wince.

"I am going to get an earful from Phaedros."

Solis's once-white body was splashed with a crimson red. His right wing had a finger that looked to be out of place and a piece of his claw was chipped off. Just as Atrox finished inspecting Solis, he felt something heavy land behind him.

"Now? Of all times? I wanted to clean him up at least."

"Atrox! Why are you out here so late?" His older brother called out to him.

"Ahem..." He turned slowly to face his brother, "I held a training session for Solis."

He held up the battered body of his nephew as he dangled between his fingers.

"Hand him to me."

"Of course, Aurelios."

As Phaedros checked his son's condition he asked Atrox a flurry of questions.

"How long was the fight?"

"Around ten hours, Aurelios."

"Did he fight or run away most of the time?"

"He was usually the one to engage Tenacity, Aurelios."

"Did he land a hit on Tenacity?"

"Once, Aurelios, but he was caught off-guard. After that, he didn't touch him."

"How well did he do?"

"In my honest opinion...a wyvern hatchling could've killed your son, Aurelios."

"Hmm...thank you, Atrox, that's all I needed to hear."

Phaedros turned around and was ready to fly away.

"You're not going to scold me, older brother?"

"No, I'm not, in fact, I'm glad you did this. I had plans to set up a sparring match for my son, but you beat me to it. Overall, he's lucky he had you to watch him because if it were me...."

Phaedros didn't finish his sentence and let his words float around in the air. Of course, Atrox knew what he was getting at.

"Tenacity!"

"Yes! Uncle Phaedros!"

He stood erect when his name was called.

"Thank you for helping your cousin out."

"Of course, Uncle."

With that, Phaedros flew out of the colosseum. Atrox walked beside his son and complimented his efforts.

"You did well."

Tenacity looked up at his father.

"Will all this training really help Solis? He really doesn't seem suited to fight."

"It will, Tenacity, it will. You don't see it but trust me when I say that Solis has what it takes to become 'Aurelios.' In fact, be prepared to see the most glorious era of our people. Your cousin will be at the forefront of this new era, this I'm sure of."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Every so often I look back at my first fight with Tenacity and I cringe. It was an eye-opener for sure and I will forever be in my Uncle's and Tenacity's debt, but I can never forget the fact that I was so meek as a young Dragon."

"Did someone say my name?"

Solis turned around and saw Tenacity come onto the roof.

"You decided to get some fresh air too, huh? Well, I was just telling my little companion up here," Solis used his tail to point at Quintessa, "a little about our past."

"Oh, yeah? Like how much of a weakling you were? HAH! I remember when my father said a WYVERN HATCHLING could kill you! I laughed my tail off when we got home later that evening."

"That was then, this is now."

"So? I'm never going to let you live that moment down."

"Really? Then I guess I should bring up how you were at Kalamati's mercy when she found out what you did to me."

"That doesn't count, Solis! She was stronger than me back then!

Quintessa was still on Solis's head while the cousins argued and she got more nervous as their argument continued to heat up.

"S-Solis, I'll leave you two alone for now."

Her words didn't register in Solis's mind so she left before she could get hurt. She jumped back down onto the castle grounds and looked up as their white and black figure clashed with one another. An audible boom resounded through the air and caught the attention of all the Delines. The cause of this explosive noise was the fact that Solis slammed his tail into Tenacity's torso, which sent him flying off the roof. The Delines gasped as they watched Tenacity fly off the roof, and some moved out of the way as rubble came hurdling down. Tenacity twisted his body and flapped his massive, black wings to face Solis, who stepped off the roof and met him in the air.

The commotion reached the ears of Byakko and he came out of the dining hall in a panic, "What's going on?!" He shouted.

"Solis and Tenacity are fighting!" Shouted Quintessa.

The rest of their companions made it out of the hall and witnessed the two Suns collide. Their clash sent a wave of air that knocked everyone off their feet. Kalamati was the first to recover and flew up to them.

"Why are you guys fighting now, of all times?!"

They ignored her as Solis bit into Tenacity's neck and swung him around in a circle. He managed to get Kalamati caught up in it as he let go of Tenacity and sent him into her. She got him off and flared out her wings to stop her fall. As she hovered, Tenacity zoomed past her and collided with Solis again. Everyone watched in fear as the true power of Tenacity and Solis slowly started to show. With each blow they landed on one another, their power output increased. They were only using a sixth of their true strength and it already felt like the castle would crumble.

"SOLIS! STOP, MOTHER AND FATHER WOULDN'T WANT YOU TWO FIGHTING!"

Finally, a voice reached Solis and he pulled back his paw before it hit Tenacity. Tenacity also managed to stop. Solis looked down and saw that his sister had tears in her eyes. He shook off his dragon form and floated down to meet her.

"Fera...I-I'm sorry, I got caught up again and I-I-I..."

"Not like before, Solis, don't let it happen."

Solis's heart seized up at her words.

"I-I won't, there's no way--"

"Really, Solis? 'No way?' Your actions don't reflect your words."

Solis felt an immense amount of guilt weighing on his heart. All he could do was grit his teeth and accept what he'd done. His mood was ruined so he decided to return to the room. Once he was there, he turned back into a Dragon and went to his bed. With nothing more he could do about the situation, he closed his eyes and slept.

Only a few hours later, a succession of knocking woke Solis up from his sleep. When he fully regained consciousness, he found out he was still the only one in there. He lumbered his way over to the door and opened it slowly. Before him stood the white tiger himself.

"Is the party over?"

"No, I decided to leave out of my own volition. There was something I need to show you, so please follow me out."

Solis moved out of the room and followed Byakko. As they walked through the courtyard, they were swarmed with Delines trying to talk with Solis. Byakko dealt with them quickly so that they could go to the left-most tower. They entered the wide first floor of the tower and Byakko talked to some of his Bellators to watch the door and make sure that no one was let in. Byakko walked over to a section of the wall and breathed on it. Slowly, an opening that led underground became visible.

"You've piqued my interest even more now, Byakko. I hope whatever it is you're going to show me is worth it."

"I'm confident it is."

When the secret passage was constructed, Byakko didn't account for the fact that Solis would be joining him. So, Solis had to turn back into a human to fit. Also, to keep up with Byakko's longer strides, he used one of his partial transformations. With each step they descended, lanterns bathed the walls in gold. It seemed to go on forever until they found themselves in a massive chamber. There were groups of Delines down there, working on a seemingly important project. Giant cylinders stood in the middle of the room and odd-looking containers were littered everywhere. There was a scent down there that tickled Solis's nose but he had yet to know what it was. Byakko brought them closer to the giant cylinders and stopped in front of them.

"Solis, I've brought you here to show you the fruits of our research. We spent many days and nights perfecting what I'm about to show you and I'm excited to finally show you the weapons that will help us bring down the opposition."

One of the five cylinder's metal screens opened up and revealed a liquid-filled glass tube. In it was a creature Solis had never seen before.

"Wh-what have you done, Byakko?"

"The Drakes made their hybrids, I found it only natural that I should do the same. After all, there's no power on Earth like a Dragon's."

This Draline, for the most part, looked mostly like a tiger, except for the white coat of fur. White scales wrapped around the forelimbs for both the front and hind legs. They had two blunt horns that sat on their head and a line of jagged, bony spikes that ran down their back all the way to the end of their tail.

Solis took a few steps closer to the container and unconsciously turned back into a Dragon. His transformation elicited a reaction from the Draline and caused it to wake up.

"Open up number three, please," Byakko commanded.

His Delines nodded and began the process. They drained the container of its green liquid and decontaminated the Draline inside before they lifted the glass barrier. It came out on its front paws and looked up at Solis. As they stared at one another, Solis couldn't help but notice a particular feature about the Draline.

"The one before you, Solis, is a Draline we've named 'Seiren.'"

Unexpectedly, the Draline started to rub herself against Solis.

"Oh, and, Solis, I'm assuming you've guessed already who's genes we've used to make her."

Indeed, Solis knew exactly who was used to make the Draline because her eyes were a color he was all too familiar with.

Seiren presented herself before Solis once more and formally introduced herself.

"Onii-sama, it's an honor to meet you."

Solis didn't know what to think of her. He was furious that Byakko used the genes of his dead mother but on the other hand, he felt happy to know his family had one more member, even though she was only half.

"How did you know we were related?" He asked.

"I do not know, I could just tell that you were my family."

All in all, it was an odd experience for Solis. He had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he was related to something that looked more like a Deline than a Dragon.

"Byakko, are the rest of your Dralines mixed with the blood of my mother?"

"No, Onii-sama, only I was created with her blood. Isn't that right, Byakko-dono?"

"She's correct, we only managed to gather enough DNA to make one Draline. The rest were created by the DNA of other Dragons."

Solis didn't take too kindly to their lies.

"If that's the case, then open up that container on the farthest left!"

"Solis, what are you talking about? I said no other Arcana was used in the making of the other Dralines."

"Open it!"

Byakko's body shivered at Solis's words. He had no choice but to listen.

"Do as he says," he commanded once more.

The container opened up and the Draline's all-black body fell to the floor. Solis walked over to them and picked them up with his tail. He sniffed the Draline a few times and turned back toward Byakko.

"This one is also an Arcana."

"Byakko-dono, h-he is right," added Seiren.

"What?! I was sure we had enough only for one! I don't remember my Bellators ever picking up more."

"This is an important matter that needs Tenacity's presence. Byakko, ask one of your Bellators to get my cousin."

He did just that and not much time passed before Tenacity was down there with them. The first thing he looked at when he entered was Seiren.

"That's odd, why does a Deline have the eyes of an Arcana?"

Solis quickly explained to Tenacity what it was he was looking at. Of course, he was extremely surprised at what Byakko had done, but like Solis, was conflicted with his feelings.

"Besides all that, I have something you need to see," Solis said.

He used his tail to take off the unconscious Draline from his back and showed it to Tenacity. His cousin was visibly surprised and quickly examined the Draline.

"I don't know how or where you managed to find my father's DNA but I'm surprised to know I have a half-sibling. Tell me, Byakko, what is their name?"

"The name we gave this special Draline was 'Tsunade.'"

"Well would you look at that, Solis? You got another sibling while I gained another cousin and vice versa for me."

"Yeah, it seems that way."

Finally, Tsunade woke up and found herself in the clutches of Tenacity. His appearance scared her and she swung her paw at his face. As soon as her attack landed, she immediately regretted it.

"I like your energy, you remind me of our father! Though I suggest you don't do that again, I wouldn't want you to have a broken paw."

"Put me down!" She screamed.

Tenacity did just that and let the Draline stretch out her limbs. Once she finished, she asked, "Who are you anyway? You don't look like us but you seem familiar."

Seiren answered her question, "That's because you share blood."

"With him?"

She looked at Tenacity with a doubtful gaze.

"Tell me, what's the name of the pretty, white one over there? Is she family too?"

"'He,' not 'she,'" answered Solis.

"Woah...sorry, I didn't think someone as pretty as you would be a male."

"I've never been mistaken for as a female, so that was a first but yes, I'm your family too."

At last, the secret project that Byakko worked on was revealed. Byakko claimed that the Dralines were the "weapons" they needed to take down their enemies, but Solis wasn't fully convinced. He needed to see if they had what it took to match up to a Drakon.

"Seiren," Solis called out.

"Yes, Onii-sama?"

"I understand we just met, but I would like to have a match with you."

Seiren's ears perked up at his request and she asked, "What for?"

"I need to gauge what you can do if we ever encounter the Drakons."

Since Seiren had obviously zero clues as to who or what a Drakon was, she had a confused look on her face. Solis expected this and gave her a quick explanation.

"They're hybrids like you and depending on the results of our match, I will deem whether or not you and other Dralines are fit for battle."

"Even if that is the case, won't we be useful to you anyways on the battlefield?" Tsunade abruptly joined their conversation.

"That's undeniable but your usefulness won't amount to much if we encounter those Drakons."

Tsunade was visibly angered and had a few words for Solis.

"So what?! Why do you act like these Drakons are so much better than us?!"

"You're looking too much into it, Tsunade. I'm just not sure what you can do and until I see what you can do, my doubt will remain."

"Even so--!"

"Say I do the opposite and reassure you that you're stronger than the Drakons, and I keep feeding your ego. What happens when the time comes and you find out that you're not as strong as you think? Will you give up? Will you feel despair? Will you run away?"

Tsunade choked up, unable to give a reasonable answer.

"Look...I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just thinking realistically. I want to make sure you don't die. You won't believe me since we just met, but I will do everything I can to make sure my family is safe."

Tsunade instantly felt guilty for getting mad at Solis. At that point, she had no choice but to calm down and apologize.

"A-alright...sorry for getting mad at you. A-and I appreciate you worrying about us."

Solis's tail slithered over and gently caressed the top of Tsunade's head. She swiped it away and scolded him for his actions.

"Hey! There was no need for that! I'm not some cub!"

He pulled his tail away and the corners of his mouth ever-so-slightly curved up, something that Tsunade didn't notice.

"Moving on, I would like all of your Dralines to be present for our sparring session."

He turned to Byakkko and made a motion with his head. He understood what Solis wanted from him, so he asked his Delines to open the last three containers. Each of them slowly hissed open and revealed the Dralines inside.

The first Draline to sloppily fall out had a pale coat of yellow, contrasted by the white scales on its forearms. Everything else about the Draline was similar to Seiren and Tsunade. Next, was a dark-green Draline with crimson scales on its forearms. Last, was a Draline with the most ordinary coat of fur. The last one was the one that looked most like a normal tiger, a vibrant orange coat of fur, paired with the black stripes of one too, and black forearms.

"I have to say, Byakko, I really am impressed with the effort you've put in these past 17 years."

"You're not one for flattery, Solis, so I appreciate that. Well... let me introduce you to the rest of our Dralines."

He walked over to the three Dralines and introduced them from left to right. The yellow one was Taida, whose chubby appearance worried Solis. Usui was the name that belonged to the dark-green Draline, this one was abnormally skinny. Finally, Akira was the name that belonged to the most normal-looking Draline.

"Hey, hey, Byakkoooooo, why'd you wake us up? I was having a nice dream about food."

"Your gluttonous mindset will be something I never get used to," he let out a deep sigh, "Look, you guys are awake because a friend of mine wanted to spar with you."

"Who? I'm assuming the big, white thing over there?"

The Draline who was referring to Solis was Usui. He and Solis made eye contact for a moment and he nodded.

"I am the friend Byakko is talking about and it was indeed my request to spar with you five. Since you're all present, I'll lead us to the arena above ground."

"Onii-sama, you know where Byakko-dono's arena is?"

"Of course I do, I was one of the Dragons who helped build this place. The only thing new was this room that was used to house you and the other Dralines."

Solis took one more look around the room before he turned around and climbed the stairs. All of them, Dralines included, were back in the main courtyard. Solis's siblings and friends were there too, which meant a lot of explaining had to be done. Everyone took to the news pretty well and Seiren and Tsunade were easily accepted into their family.

Ad and Fera greeted their half-sister and cousin and were met with kind words. Of course, since Dralines were about the same size as Delines, Seiren and Tsunade bent down to proper hear Ad and Fera. It was a funny sight to see for everyone but Akira stepped in and cut their conversation short.

"Enough with the talk, both of you! We're wasting time just being here."

"Shut up, Akira! I just wanted to get to know my new family!" Tsunade retorted.

"I. Don't. Care. We have someplace we need to be."

"Well. I. Care."

Akira confronted Tsunade and stared into her eyes.

"Back off, Akira."

"Make me."

Solis had enough of their antics and slipped his wing between them.

"Stop, both of you. Tsunade, Akira has a point. We have somewhere we need to be so let's not waste any more time."

Akira violently slapped Solis's wing away and stared at him.

"I don't need someone else to tell me I'm right."

The orange Draline walked away and jumped into the air. Solis folded his wing back in and beckoned to Seiren and Tsunade. Before they flew off, Solis told his friends that they'd see each other soon. Using their powerful legs, Solis and Tenacity leaped into the air and unfurled their wings. The crowd beneath them backed away so that they wouldn't get blown away by the gust of wind that would come from Solis and Tenacity flapping their wings. They quickly ascended and headed over to a circular-shaped cloud that served as the base for Byakko's arena. The walls of the arena were close now so they changed their trajectory and flew over them.

Waiting in the center of the arena was Byakko and the other Dralines, who got there before Solis because they decided to go on ahead when Seiren and Tsunade decided to chat with Ad and Fera. Solis and the others landed with a thud and walked across the arena's white surface over to Byakko. Solis looked at the Dralines beside him and nodded.

"Now that we're here, I'll ask which of you would like to spar first?"

"I would like to be the first, Onii-sama."

Solis looked down at Seiren, who stood beside him, with a smile on his face.

"It seems you have the spirit of an Arcana, Seiren. That's how someone of our family should act, always first to fight."

Solis looked back at Byakko and asked that he take the people who weren't fighting away to watch. Byakko did just that and summoned some clouds for them to sit on so they could spectate the match from above.

Soon after, Solis and Seiren situated themselves at opposite ends of the arena and warmed up a bit. Solis repeatedly unfurled and folded his wings in and carefully flexed each individual muscle in his body. Seiren stretched her elegant and powerful limbs, much like a cat would, and wiggled each toe. While she stretched, she sized up Solis, trying to discern if he had any physical weaknesses. It was going to be a hard match because she knew he was experienced, evident by the numerous scars on his body. As she stared, she saw Solis drop onto his right knee. She was confused at what she saw and her confusion only grew as Solis bowed his head and used his wings to cover himself.

"You should feel honored!" Tenacity shouted from the clouds.

Seiren turned her attention to Tenacity as he continued explaining.

"Solis is giving you our honorary greeting before a fight. His lowered stature shows that should he lose this fight, he accepts his loss with humility and that you've proven to be the better fighter. But know this, Seiren, this greeting is optional and not necessary before every fight. If Solis didn't do this then he didn't see you as a fighter and won't even consider this match to be a real fight."

Seiren looked back at Solis and felt an incredible amount of joy fill her chest. To pay back Solis's gesture, Seiren vowed to not disappoint her brother in their match. Solis retracted his wings and stood to his full height Then, Byakko walked to the edge of his cloud and looked down.

"Seiren Arcana!"

She stood at attention.

"Solis 'Aurelios' Arcana!"

He too did the same.

"...Show us how sharp your fangs are!!"

Seiren quickly moved from her position and bee-lined it to Solis. He saw her approaching and attempted to take her legs with a sweep from his powerful tail. Such an obvious attack was avoided by Seiren but she knew Solis would follow up with another attack. Using the momentum from swinging his tail, Solis rotated his body and unfurled his wing. Seiren was quick to react though and saw his wing coming at her. Seiren, with extreme body control, brought her hind legs forward and prepared herself to come into contact with his wing. With precise timing, she created air bubbles beneath each of her paws to cushion her impact and backflipped off of Solis's wing.

Now, Solis's back was to Seiren and, without missing a beat, she started her offense once more. She was confident that his large frame couldn't avoid her next attack and anticipated the moment her claws would land a successful strike to his backside. But, to her amazement, Solis moved out the way and completely dodged her attack. In the same moment she went to attack, Solis's right wing had unfurled. Then, he gave one strong flap and moved to the left, away from Seiren's outstretched claws. Solis didn't let his opening slip away and quickly slammed his tail into Seiren's side. Her body then flew across the arena at violent speeds. She dug her claws into the arena and managed to stop herself but she was heavily disorientated and struggled to remain upright. She let out a low growl and desperately tried to re-orientate herself.

At that moment, Seiren knew that she couldn't waste any more time and had to draw out her true strength. She took in a deep breath and filled her lungs with a supply of fresh air. The scales around her forearms crawled up her legs. More scales appeared on her head and encompassed both sides of her face. She had fully tapped into her Dragon blood.

From across the arena, Solis said, "Ah, that's interesting. Your presence feels more like a Dragon than a Deline, Seiren."

She was grateful for her brother's praise but she had to stay focused. Seiren was first to act again and this time, her speed managed to catch Solis off-guard. She almost dealt a severe blow to his head but he used his wing to block her. Her momentum didn't stop as she fell back to the ground and zipped back around Solis, trying to take out his back legs. Once again, she was almost able to hit Solis but she was blown away by a gust of wind from his wings.

Seiren had a frustrated look on her face as she stared at Solis's beautiful, white body. Her frustration was due to all the dangers that Solis had on his body. He was skilled, and very in tune, with his tail. He wasn't afraid to use his wings to attack or defend, even though they were massive, and used them to help maneuver his large body. That wasn't all because she had yet to make Solis use his jaws and paws, and she knew that those were his deadliest weapons. Though frustrated, she wasn't discouraged because she too had a weapon Solis had yet to see.

Once more, Seiren barreled straight at Solis with a wide-open mouth. Solis mistook her action as her trying to bite him but that wasn't her plan at all. At the last second, before Solis could bat her away again with his wing, she jumped up and back down by using air bubbles as platforms and let out a ball of Asteria. Solis went wide-eyed at her attack and reacted fast. He quickly retracted his wings and unfolded them to fling away the energy ball. It flew past the spectators and blew up, creating a huge hole in the sky.

Solis looked back at Seiren and saw that she had a smile on her face. It took a lot to impress Solis, but he couldn't help but have a grin on his face.

"Impressive...that really was. I never expected the Dralines to be able to shoot Asteria. Though I am impressed, it's clear to me..."

Solis let out a violent roar and made Seiren fall to her stomach. Her body was shaking and she was breathing heavily.

"...that your body isn't used to using Asteria. I'm assuming that attack is a 'do or die' type of attack and only meant to be used as a last resort."

Solis made his way over to her and watched as her transformation came undone, which was oddly satisfying to watch as the scales retracted.

"There's a lot that needs to be improved but..." in a softer tone, "that was a good showing, Little Sister."

Seiren was elated at his words.

"I-I am grateful for your praise, O-Onii-sama."

She passed out shortly after. Solis wrapped his tail around her and put her on his back. He flew up to Byakko and asked that a bed would be made for Seiren to rest on. Byakko did just that and made a bed cloud for Solis to set her down on. He hopped back down into the arena and issued his next challenge.

"Come! Whoever wants to spar next!"

Akira rose from his cloud and landed softly and gracefully onto the arena.

"I'll be next. I've gotten bored from watching such a weakling fight."

Solis would not take any slander directed at his family lightly, but he had to keep himself composed.

"I like your enthusiasm. We'll begin short--"

Solis was cut off by Tenacity's arrival. His cousin's black body obscured his vision of Akira, so he asked him what he was doing.

"Tenacity why--"

"Solis, I want the arena..."

Tenacity spoke in a powerful tone and Solis quickly picked up what message Tenacity was sending him.

"Fine. But if you fatally harm him, you'll have to deal with me. Am I clear?"

"..."

"Give me an answer, Asterios! Your Aurelios asked you a question!"

"Yes, Aurelios, I understand."

"Hmph."

Solis flew off and took Tenacity's cloud.

"Haaaah, took you two long enough. Can we fight now? I've been itching to see how strong you 'Dragons' are."

Tenacity's only response was, "Arrogance is deadly, Young Draline."

"Oh yeah? I could care less. When you're as strong as me the opinions of weakling don't matter."

"Don't give me talk about strength, brat."

"Don't call me a 'brat,' you overgrown lizard. I'll you know that I have yet to lose a fight with anyone. Had I been the white lizard's opponent, I would've beaten him in ten heartbeats."

Tenacity's anger was swelling inside him. Solis easily sensed his cousin's unrest.

"Tenacity! Do NOT forget why I asked for this sparring match."

Tenacity put Solis's warning to the back of his mind and readied himself to fight. Like before, Byakko walked to the edge of his cloud and looked down at the fighters.

"Tenacity 'Asterios' Arcana!"

Audible pops were heard as Tenacity rotated his limbs.

"Akira of Flame!"

Akira let out a snicker and bared his fangs.

"...Show us how sharp your fangs are!"