My son," the old dragon heard himself say.
The words fell into the cavern like stones.
Both cubs went very still.
"He made it," Elder Emberglow continued, the words coming from sowhere he hadn’t visited in centuries. "Before... before."
"Before what?" Ruì Xuě’s voice was barely a whisper.
The old dragon looked at him. At the tiny creature trembling but standing his ground.
"Before he flew too high," he said quietly. "And didn’t co back."
The cavern was silent.
Then Yòu Lín did sothing that would have gotten any dragon killed.
He walked forward, slowly, carefully—and, held up the carving.
"You should have this sowhere nicer," he said. "Sowhere with light. So he knows you still think about him."
Elder Emberglow stared at the tiny creature. At the offering in his paws. At the complete lack of fear in those amber eyes.
"You..." His voice ca out rough. "You don’t even know him."
"I know you miss him." Yòu Lín shrugged. "That’s enough."
~
Ten minutes later:
Sohow, Yòu Lín wasn’t entirely sure how, they were still in the cavern.
Elder Emberglow hadn’t eaten them. Hadn’t called the guards. Hadn’t even yelled again. He had just stared, holding the carving, while the two cubs made themselves comfortable on a pile of furs that were probably worth more than the entire Thousand Fang village.
"This is nice," Yòu Lín announced, sprawled on his back. "You have good furs, grumpy dragon."
"They’re cloud-whale silk. Extrely rare."
"They’re soft. I like them."
Ruì Xuě was sitting more primly, but his tail had stopped trembling. He was watching Elder Emberglow with those big purple eyes, studying him.
"What was his na?" Ruì Xuě asked quietly.
Elder Emberglow’s claws tightened on the carving. "Cinder."
"That’s a nice na."
"It was his fire. Small but warm. Always warm."
Ruì Xuě nodded like this made perfect sense. Then, after a mont: "My na ans ’sharp snow.’ Papa picked it. He said I’d need to be sharp to survive."
"And are you?"
"I am getting there."
Elder Emberglow’s mouth twitched.
Yòu Lín, anwhile, had found another treasure. A single scale, dark red, set into a simple leather cord.
"Ooh, pretty. What’s this?"
Elder Emberglow’s breath caught. "That’s....that was his first shed scale. He gave it to . Said I should keep it safe."
"You kept it."
"Of course I kept it."
Yòu Lín examined the scale with intense focus. Then, carefully, he set it back exactly where he’d found it.
"Good," he said. "You’re a good dad."
"I’m not—" The words stuck in Elder Emberglow’s throat. "I wasn’t. Not at the end."
"Why?"
The question was so simple. So direct. A child’s question, with no judgnt, just curiosity.
Elder Emberglow looked at the carving in his claws.
"Because I was afraid," he whispered. "Afraid to love him too much. Afraid it would hurt more when he left. And then he left anyway, and I’d wasted all that ti being afraid."
Yòu Lín considered this. Nodded slowly.
"That’s sad."
"Yes."
"You should try not being afraid now. With the new baby. Mama says that’s how you get better—you just... try."
"The new baby?"
"Our sister! Zhēn! She’s the best. She grabbed the big dragon’s snout and now he’s her grandpa. Maybe you could be her grandpa too. If you want. She likes grumpy people."
Elder Emberglow stared at him.
"She... likes grumpy people?"
"Loves them. You should see her with Hóng Yè."
Ruì Xuě nodded solemnly. "She fell asleep on him once. He pretended to be annoyed but he didn’t move for TWO HOURS."
The conversation that followed was... strange.
Strange for Elder Emberglow, who hadn’t talked this much in centuries.
Strange for the cubs, who treated him like he was just another grumpy elder, no different from the ones back ho.
Strange for everyone else, probably, if they could see it.
Yòu Lín told him about the hydra. About the monkeys. About the ti Mama made soap that made all the adults act weird. About how Papa Han Shān had been really scary but now he smiled sotis.
Ruì Xuě told him about Hóng Yè, about how he pretended to be tough but actually made sure they were always warm at night. About how Yòu Lín talked too much but it was okay because soone had to. About how scared he had been when Mama first ca back, and how weird it was to not be scared anymore.
Elder Emberglow listened.
He didn’t an to. He certainly didn’t intend to. But their voices were soft and warm and they filled the empty spaces in his cavern that had been silent for so long.
"—and then Mama said ’NO BITING’ and the hydra actually STOPPED—"
"—and Hóng Yè carried all the way back to the village even though I told him I could walk—"
"—and the shiny dragon danced in a FEATHER SKIRT—"
"—and Papa built a whole cradle by himself—"
"—and Zhēn grabbed the big dragon’s snout and now he cries when he thinks no one’s looking—"
Elder Emberglow blinked. "The Burning Sky? Cries?"
"Not cries cries," Yòu Lín anded. "When he holds her. Mama says it’s because he rembers sothing sad but also happy."
"Replacent grief," Ruì Xuě offered. "Uncle Yàn Shū has a scroll about it."
"You have.....scrolls? About grief?"
"Uncle Yàn Shū has scrolls about EVERYTHING."
~
The cavern door exploded inward.
Hóng Yè stood in the doorway.
His chest was heaving. His fur was standing in seventeen different directions. His eyes, those fierce amber eyes, swept the room, landed on two cubs, and did sothing that might have been relief or might have been the beginning of a ntal breakdown.
"YOU."
Both cubs flinched.
Yòu Lín recovered first. "Hi Hóng Yè! We made a friend!"
"A friend."
"Yeah! This is Elder Emberglow. He’s very grumpy but also nice inside. He lost his son a long ti ago and we’re helping him feel better."
Hóng Yè’s eye twitched.
"You.....disappeared... for FOUR HOURS... to do grief counseling?"
"We didn’t an to! Ti moves different here! Also the tunnels are confusing!"
"I THOUGHT YOU DIED."
"We didn’t!"
"I THOUGHT YOU FELL OFF THE MOUNTAIN."
"We’re good walkers!"
"I THOUGHT—" Hóng Yè’s voice cracked. He stopped. Took a breath. When he spoke again, it was quieter. Shaker. "I thought I lost you."
The cubs went still.
Even Yòu Lín stopped bouncing.
"Hóng Yè..." Ruì Xuě whispered.
"I’m supposed to protect you." The teenager’s voice was raw. "That’s my job. That’s the only job I have. And you just—you just left—"
"We’re sorry." Ruì Xuě was moving before he finished speaking, crossing the cavern to wrap himself around Hóng Yè’s leg. "We didn’t an to worry you. We were just exploring and then we found him and he was sad and we couldn’t leave."
"Exploration is important," Yòu Lín added, padding over to join them. "Also helping sad people is important."
Hóng Yè stared at them. Both of them. His brothers. His responsibility. His heart, walking around outside his body where anything could hurt it.
"I am going to kill you," he said quietly. "Slowly."
"That ans he loves us," Yòu Lín translated.
From his chair, Elder Emberglow watched the reunion.
"You should go," he said quietly. "Before more of your family cos looking."
Hóng Yè’s head snapped toward him, clearly only now registering that there was a dragon in the room. A very old, very powerful dragon who had apparently been hosting his brothers for hours.
"You—" He stopped. Swallowed. "Thank you. For not eating them."
"The thought crossed my mind."
"Multiple tis," Yòu Lín added cheerfully. "He was very conflicted. You could see it on his face."
"YÒU LÍN."
"What? It’s TRUE."
Elder Emberglow’s mouth twitched again. That almost-smile.
"Co back," he heard himself say. "If you want. To visit. The tunnels are.....confusing. I could show you the safe paths."
Yòu Lín’s face lit up. "Really?"
"Really."
"Can we bring Zhēn next ti? She’d love you. You’re very warm."
"...Perhaps. When she’s older."
"DEAL!"
Hóng Yè opened his mouth to object, but Yòu Lín was already dragging him toward the door, chattering about everything they’d seen and learned and how Elder Emberglow had the best furs and wasn’t it sad about his son and also did Hóng Yè know that dragons could live for like TEN THOUSAND YEARS—
The door closed behind them.
Elder Emberglow sat alone in his cavern.
For the first ti in eight hundred years, it didn’t feel empty.
He looked down at the carving in his claws. At the scale on its cord.
Then, very carefully, he moved them to a small ledge near the center of the room. Where the light from the crystals could reach them.
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