//------------------------------// // Results // Story: My Son, My Soldier, My Hero // by That_Random_Pony //------------------------------// Draco groaned as he felt his body healing once again, this time from his own regenerative Rite. But he could feel a hand on his leg realigning the torn muscle through healing. He cracked his eye open and watched Nimani slowly work her abilities, her eyes closed gently in focus. Draco heard a sort of fleshy sound as his wrist relocated and pushed bone and muscle around. Nimani realized his body was working to help him, and she placed her other hand on his wrist, gingerly running her fingers over his skin as her energy helped him. It was… strange, watching her touch him without any sort of awkwardness. She wasn't like the other healers since she was half their age… but she wasn't afraid to do her best in healing him. And for some reason… Draco felt normal… with her caring for his wounds. She looked very… peaceful, even though she was practically putting him back together. "Ngh." Her calm expression morphed into a grimace, and he felt her energy lower rapidly then stabilize. He grasped her wrist, surprising her, and slowly pulled it away. "I think that's enough for now," Draco said softly, still in their native tongue. Nimani nodded slowly, moving her other hand away from his leg. "How long have you been awake?" She asked with a slight laugh, moving her hair behind her ear. "I woke up a minute ago," he said lowly, his voice still damaged. "Are you okay?" She nodded, looking away in embarrassment. "I'm fine," she murmured. "That's not how it felt," he grinned, seeing a bit of her pride stop her from admitting it. "I don't have the energy of my mother, Reku'un," she reminded him playfully. "Are you feeling any better?" He sighed and sat up, grunting painfully. Nimani put her hands on his chest to ease him back, but instead he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Your stubbornness is going to get you permanently injured," she chided with a smirk. "And what about forcing yourself to heal me?" Draco quipped, earning him a slight shove. Nimani rolled her eyes as he laughed in a mixture of pain and mirth, then looked over the remainder of his wounds. "Your body's in place, at least," she said. "You may need more healing sessions to get the muscles in your arms fully restored, and there are still a few markings on your torso." "Um… Nimani…" She was going to ask when she saw him looking down. She still had her hands on his chest. With a slight jump, she moved her arms away from his solid upper body and rubbed her arm awkwardly, a slight hint of red in her face. "I… I was… rambling," she said, looking away. Her head perked up softly, and before Draco could ask, he felt the energies of his brothers and uncle. His uncle was the first to enter the room, and Nimani bowed respectfully to the leader of the League. Then, each of the five brothers limped inside, Jerosh needing help from Derekosh. Draco was nervous as he saw his presumed-dead brother walk into the room with the man who was forced to kill him. But Figanti only smiled at his nephew, then stepped towards Draco. "You all destroyed your father's training facility," Figanti laughed. "Renkan and Quarek felt your energy as well, but they knew your father well enough to keep this from the rest of the League. It's only a matter of time before everyone else in the fleet knows." He glanced to the brothers with another smile. "But I'm sure we're past traditions, aren't we?" He asked. The brothers sheepishly nodded, Agner gesturing towards Jaqeluu, who smacked his bruised arm with his battered hand. They laughed as both grimaced and grunted in pain. "It's good to see you survived Jerosh's final trial," Figanti said, placing his hand on Draco's shoulder. "And you did much more than that, I hear." Draco nodded. "I barely took down Derekosh before Jerosh finished me off," he chuckled softly, his tone bittersweet. The others noticed and came closer. "Reku'un. You defeated four of us and still managed to hold your ground against Jerosh for an entire day," Jaqeluu said, placing his hand on his brother's other shoulder. "Any other Signa could barely handle Fermot and Agner. You faced all of us." "And you're not dead!" Agner pointed out, laughing as he leaned on the bed. "You've proved yourself as much more than a Signa or an Alamonshuor." "You've proven yourself as Doshu'um," Jerosh said, standing beside Figanti. "When your Illness comes to pass, and Uncle trains you in the way of Ina… you'll be named Makti." Draco's eyes widened, and he did his best to sit up again. "But… but I didn't beat you, Jerosh," he reminded them. "I… I failed the test." The Alamonshuors glanced at one another, then bursted out laughing. The injured brothers grasped their sides and stomachs with every chortle and laugh, Fermot sitting down by the door as his ribs throbbed. Nimani watched them go, her own chuckled escaping as she noticed the Doshu'um's dumbfounded expression. "What's so funny?" Draco asked. Jaqeluu cleared his throat and composed himself as quickly as he could. "You… you expected to win?" He snickered, holding his side in anguish. "Well… I was trying to," Draco slowly answered, unsure as to what they meant. "The only Signa that could take us all on was Herod!" Agner told him. "Even Uncle couldn't defeat us all! No offense, Uncle Figanti." "It's fine, Agner," Figanti chuckled. "But you shouldn't have expected yourself to defeat them all. I'm surprised you lasted against Jerosh AND Derekosh at once." "You've shown us all how far you've come in less time than any Makti that has ever lived," Jerosh nodded, grabbing Draco's left hand and showing him his own mark. "You are an Alamonshuor and, more importantly, you're the next Makti. And we're all eager to see you once you complete your training and master your Ina abilities." A smile worked its way over Draco's lips that made his brothers just as happy. "So…" "Yes, Reku'un. You passed with soaring marks," Derekosh chuckled. Draco sat back down and… just smiled. You've done it, Reku'un. I knew you could. …thank you, Nyla… I… I'm… Minira damn it, I can't tell you how… happy I am. You don't have to, Reku'un. I can feel your emotions almost as well as you can. You have every right to feel as you do now. And now is the final part… Ina. Yes. We'll become stronger as partners, as allies… as friends. We're family, Nyla. And now we'll be closer than ever before. I promise, I'll train just as hard as I've always been. Especially now that we'll be training together. And I promise to train just as hard. We can do this. Right. "You'll need half a lunar revolution to recover," Figanti sighed. "And afterwards, the final step of your training will be at hand. So rest… you'll need all the strength you can gather." "Yes, Uncle," Draco nodded. The brothers each placed their hand on their youngest brother's shoulder, then made their way out to leave him. "Jerosh." The eldest stayed behind and came closer to him. "Yes?" He waited for Reku'un to say something, but his brother only stared at his own hands. Slowly, and a bit painfully, Draco moved his legs to the side of the bed and sat up, steadying himself by placing his hands at the edges of his mattress. Nimani came forward and tried to ease his movements as he finally came face to face with his brother. She stepped back slowly, and Draco looked at his brother with a neutral face. But his lips tugged into a smile, and Jerosh's eyes widened as Draco hugged his older brother. For a while, he stood there, shocked that his baby brother was hugging him for the first time. Eventually, he brought his arms up to return the favor, a smile of his own gracing his lips. "Thank you." Jerosh chuckled and shook his head. "I'm your brother, Reku'un," he said softly. "You should never have to thank me." "Yes, I do," Draco said, sniffling weakly. "You were all there for me, even when I didn't see you as my brother. When we linked… I felt how desperate you were for me to see you and love you as family. You wanted the best for me… even if it meant being seen as a teacher instead of a brother." Jerosh felt his brother shake, then a wet droplet moistened the cloth on his shoulder. "I'm thankful you never gave up on me," Draco whispered, his voice cracking. "That you and each of our brothers worked to see me succeed." Jerosh held his brother close, his own eyes watering. "Family never abandons family," he told him. "No one is ever left behind… or forgotten." Draco moved away, wiping his eyes and chuckling softly. "We've come a long way… and I want you to know that this isn't about me going home anymore," he said. "This is about me fighting for our people, for our family, and for each and every being in the galaxy. I promise, brother… I promise." Jerosh separated from his brother, keeping both hands on his shoulders. "And we'll all be there every step of the way… I promise you that." They nodded firmly, embracing each other one last time before Jerosh went to the door. "Get some rest, little brother. We'll be seeing each other soon." Draco nodded, laying back down with the help of Nimani. Very soon.