First Demonic Dragon

Inside of a rather large nordic longhouse, there was a young woman lying inside of a bedroom, tossing and turning underneath the covers.

Eventually, whatever nightmare was occuring in her dream seemed to have finally gotten the best of her, as she awoke with a yelp and immediately paid the price.

She winced as she brought her arm to her heavily bandaged midsection.

A subtle sickly feeling crossed over her face, ad she hobbled out of bed.

A small nightstand was stationed in her room with a mirror in front of it, and she could finally look at herself once more.

Even if sof the features she inherited from her father made her seem a tad bit masculine, she was still beautiful.

Fair skin that was twinged with splashes of rosy pink, thick and wild auburn hair that fell down her back, and a pair of crystal blue eyes that were inherited from both her father and mother alike.

As far as musculature went, Thrudd had attained a physique that would put men who'd been working out all their lives to shame.

That couldn't be hidden just because she was covered in bandages from the sternum down.

Eventually, she stood up and began the process she'd been repeating for the past few weeks now.

Ever so gently, she picked up a pair of scissors and began snipping away her bandages.

When the last of the wraps fell to the ground, she stood nude in her room as she stared into the mirror.

Beginning right underneath her left breast, almost the entire left side of her body was covered in scarred, unsightly, black tissue.

A few spots were oozing a gross yellow pus, and one or two were even bleeding.

Flexing her back muscles, one large brown wing emerged in all it's glory, and another half wing emerged beside it.

Looking at herself in full… she couldn't help but cry silently.

Because she knew that she was practically already dead.

The black flames of the death dragon didn't seem to heal with time, prayer, or even magic.

Day by day, more and more of her body was being consumed by the black burns running across her stomach and leg.

She was weak, feverish, and she hadn't been able to cast magic to do so much as light a candle.

Even when in diapers she hadn't felt this helpless.

She reached for a jar that sat on her nightstand and opened it delicately.

Inside was a green ointment provided by Panacea of the greek pantheon.

This was the only thing capable of slowing the spread of the necrosis, but it still wasn't stopping it completely.

Thrudd wasnt sure how much tshe had left, but this medicine was the only thing that she had that could give her more.

Ever so delicately, she rubbed the salve all over the burns along her body.

She winced a bit from the tenderness, but the moments of cooling relief that she felt were ensuring that she wouldn't stop.

When all affected areas were glistening from the gelatin-like concoction, she grabbed more medical tape from her dresser and began wrapping herself up like a mummy once again.

For the moment she was almost fine, even if she still couldn't move around too wildly.

She re-dressed herself in clothes that were not soaked through with sweat and wiped her face of tears.

Only when she was presentable did she finally step out of her room.

To keep her father in good spirits, she tried not to appear so weak in front of him and forced herself to put on a smile so that he wouldn't worry.

Opening the door to her room, she hobbled outside to the common area where she cold usually find her father drinking or polishing his hammer.

However, right now he was nowhere to be seen.

The house was cold, and she could clearly smell the stench of alcohol in the air from her father's grieving process.

Striking up a fire with two stones stationed by the opening, she sat in the empty chair by the fireplace and watched as the flames sparked to life.

With the room finally starting to warm up, Thrudd was actually beginning to feel rather comfortable.

She closed her eyes thoughtfully as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the arms of the chair she was sitting in.

This was her mother's favorite seat.

Sitting here like this... it was hard to keep hit all together.

So many narratives were flying around about Sif.

And naturally, she didn't want to believe a single one of them.

But day by day, the resentment she felt from being left alone in this dire twas fusing with mistrust caused by the harsh tales her father slung when drunk.

She just wanted to know... was it all true after all?

"Thruddie?"

Thrudd's eyes flashed open and she practically jumped out of her skin.

Whirling around, she found her mother standing right beside the dining room table; her hands shyly interlocked at her waist and an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Y-You really shouldn't be up, sweet-"

"Stay back."

Sif had only taken one step forward when Thrudd lunged for one of the short swords hanging above the hearth.

With trembling hands, she pointed the weapon at Sif as she continued to back away.

"W-Where... have you been all this time? A-And don't lie to me!"

"Thrudd... you know that you don't need that."

"I-I don't know anything! S-Stop avoiding my question and answer me!"

"I'm not avoiding anything, I just... I was in Abaddon's realm." Sif confessed.

No words could have done more psychological damage to Sif at that moment.

An unconscious tear spilled down her face as she stared at her mother in disbelief.

"T-They say... y-you have bechis baby mother and that-"

"I-I am no such.... I-It's complicated!" Sif yelled with a red face.

"Eh?" In all of the hundreds of years that Thrudd had known her mother, she had absolutely never seen her make an expression quite like that one.

Sif seemed to recognize that she had lost her composure and she straightened her hair as she tried to regain ssense of normalcy.

"A-Anyway... I have in no way broken my commitment to your father. Abaddon only kidnappedbecause we had a... mutual interest."

Now, Thrudd's eyes were on the verge of rocketing out of her skull.

"Y-You were kidnapped..? So the dragon god's reach extends even here?!"

Sif had gotten so used to living in Tehom that she had forgotten just how afraid people really were of Abaddon.

It was hard to see him as this big bad figure when she had watched him and his daughters sing 'Aladdin' as a duet and witnessed him take bodyshots off his wife.

"Thrudd... I would like for you to cwith me." Sif finally said.

"C-Cwith you..?"

"Yes. Abaddon can make you better and probably even give you back your wing if you'll only-"

"Y-You are askingto betray the Aesir.. to betray the alliance!"

"No, dear, I am not asking you to do anything of the sort. I just ask for you to cwithso that we can make you all better."

Slowly, Sif began closing the distance between herself and Thrudd while ignoring the gleaming sword being pointed at her.

"Please dear... remember who I am. Have I ever tried to steer you wrongly? Ever given you reason to distrust me?"

Thrudd didn't want to admit it to herself, but her mother was the most upstanding woman that she knew.

She could be slightly strict sometimes, and even a little vain, but most nordic gods were like that.

But above all, her mother had absolutely never tried to mislead her or steered her into making the wrong decisions.

Because of that alone, she wanted to trust her mother and follow her, at least to sate her curiosity.

And she also desperately wanted to be healed.

"...Please, mother... Don't makea traitor." Thrudd pleaded.

"I would never."

Finally, Sif got close enough to Thrudd to gently push aside the sword being thrust into her face.

Keeping her daughter's injuries in mind, she embraced her gently, but it was one of the most meaningful and warm hugs that she had ever been given in her life.

The sound of metal clanging to the floor rang out as Thrud dropped her blade and returned her mother's hug in kind.

'We need to go now.' Zheng reminded from the shadows.

"Ah, right!"

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing. Do you have anything that you need, my child? We're about to go on a little bit of an adventure."

"Ah... Will I need my mace?"

Sif smiled at her daughter beautifully as she cupped her daughter's face in her hands.

"My brave girl.. please know that I will never take you anywhere that you could fall victim to harm.

But if you would like to bring your weapon with you so that you will feel more comfortable, I will not attempt to dissuade you."

Thrudd wasn't sure how she was supposed to feeling this moment.

Somehow, her mother just seemed warmer, more compassionate, and… vulnerable.

Not to say that Sif was not those things before, but again, Nords are famously strict.

"...Are you sure you are my mother?" She asked suspiciously.

"Where in the world did that cfrom??"

"N-Nowhere."

Rolling her eyes, Sif started to head to Thrudd's room to retrieve her mace and shield when suddenly she heard her daughter ask a question that she wasn't prepared for.

"Are we taking father with us..?"

Sif immediately froze in her tracks; unable to look at her daughter.

For a while she wondered what words to use to get her point across, but eventually she just elected for the honest approach.

"I wish that we could, but… your father will not see reason where we are going.

He will act erratically and likely get himself killed in the process.

I'm bringing you and your brother because I believe that you two will listen and understand the frivolity of this war.

Perhaps then… can cback and try to convince him together. And spare many lives in the process."

Thrudd was loved by both her parents tremendously.

However, she was under no false pretenses about their relationship.

Her father was a rambunctious man, and saw her mother the sway that one might see a prized trophy.

And Sif was a textbook dutiful wife.

She did things for her husband because she felt that it was her role, not because she loved him.

Never once had Thrudd seen them being openly affectionate with each other, unless of course one counted the nights Thor drunkenly pulled her into their room.

But she certainly didn't see it as such.

Thrudd honestly didn't even know if her mother had ever even been in love before.

The combination of all of these thoughts made her remember Thor's latest series of drunken ramblings.

"Have you… broken your covenant with father? Have you lie in bed with our enemy..?"

Thrudd could not see it, but Sif's ears went red at the thought of lying in bed with Abaddon.

"I have no-"

"Please, be honest with me, mother."

Sif swallowed her pride and turned around to tell her daughter something that she hadn't had the courage to tell anyone before now.

"I truly have not slept with him, nor have I engaged in anything close to that nature with him… But there is not a day that goes by where I do not wish to."

"What..?" Thrudd asked hollowly.

"I hated him at first, the sas… well, everyone else. But through circumstances you will learn later, I ended up spending a great deal of twith him.

He is infuriating, at sometimes thoughtless, and at others a saint. He is intoxicating…carefree, gentle, and even amusing… though I will die before I tell him that.

I cannot begin to explain the strange impulses he fillswith, or the fantasies I imagine when he calls my naffectionately. (Or that stupid nickname)

But I can say that even though it is wrong and I never meant for it to happen, I have fallen in love with him. And I can't do anything about it."

- Inside of Sif's shadow.

"Ninja man, are you going to tell the master about this?!" Camazotz asked impatiently. "He must know!"

Zheng plucked the bat out of his hair and stuck him headfirst in the breast pocket of his vest.

"Not unless he should ask… I will simply pray that he forgivesfor my transgressions if he ever learns the truth."