At the Twilight of Harmony

by Rammy

On the Hunt

42 days from Secondclaw’s Choosing

Day 26 of the Nameless One’s escape

Early morning, City of Hourglass

---

“What the buck are you doing?!” Twixt’d grumbled as he was rudely awaken by being hung upside down by the tail.

“Waking you up.” He of Hourglass rolled his eyes as he let Twixt’d down. “I’m wondering why you are in his home.”

“I… uh…” Twixt’d sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He missed Knight a bit, but he was too ashamed to admit it just yet.

“You need to find your own place…” He of Hourglass thought for a moment then got an idea. “Have you tried the orchard on the east edge of the city.”

“I eat meat,” Twixt’d countered, crossing his arms, “not plants like He of Hourglass and He of Music.”

“I’m not talking about the fruit tree but the silos.”

“Silos?”

“It’s a circular, tall building used for storage of perishable items, usually grain.”

“I stand by my earlier remark.” Twixt’d eyed his claws. They seemed a bit dull to him. “Besides what is wrong with this place?”

He of Hourglass growled in frustration. It was too early in the morning to deal with this. One more thing I need to deal with concerning him… Very well.

OUT He of Hourglass roared.

Twixt’d scrambled out not wanted to test his limits with the Secondclaw of Hourglass. Once he was out He of Hourglass followed. He turned around and roared. He poured magic into the roar and the force of the magically enhanced roared tore apart the small home. Within seconds the small home that was once Harmonious Knight’s collapsed into a pile of rubble. He of Hourglass then breathed a such a hot stream of fire that the stones and plaster of the building glowed red and the wood vaporized instantly.

Twixt’d had an expression of pure horror mixed with rage. He of Hourglass slapped him with his trident “It is a BUILDING! Twixt’d nothing more. He is here,” He of Hourglass put a paw on his heart before he gestured to the rumble that once was Harmonious Knights home, “not there!”

“I know that you jerk!” Twixt’d snapped. He was still livid. He so wanted to attack He of Hourglass, but he knew he would fail before he could even make a move. “But did you have to do that!?”

“Maybe not, but I will stand by what I did with no regrets. As I said before, it was merely a place for him to sleep nothing more. As his kind would say ‘home is where the heart is.’” He of Hourglass looked at the rumble one last time before adding, “Come on, we have silos to look at.”

“Fine.” Twixt’d grumbled as he followed He of Hourglass as he flew towards the orchards on the eastern edge of Hourglass City.

---

The orchards no longer was neat and orderly. The ground couldn’t be seen under the thick canopy. He of Hourglass didn’t have any farming skills to be able to fix the orchard. No way was it healthy for the trees to be so close like they were. Just another thing in a long list of things needed to be done to restore Hourglass.

Up ahead they could see a line of a dozen silos of varying types and sizes. The two dragons broke off with Twixt’d heading to one end and He of Hourglass the other.

He Hourglass poked his head through a hole near the top the last silo on the right. The silo was one of the larger ones and it appeared that it could contain the hoard bed of a fully grown dragon. This one could do it if it’s not too damaged. The inside part of the structure looked sound so far with no visible signs of wear. I think this will work, but I will need to get Quartermaster in here to strengthened the silo and put in a floor…

“Okay He of Hourglass,” Twixt’d grumbled, peering down at He of Hourglass who was now inspecting the lower part the silo, “Why would you think that I would want a silo for a home? I would have to fly up and down. That’s when I find one with a hole in it.”

“I wasn’t thinking about having you sleep on the floor of the silo… See the large hole on the side of this one?” He of Hourglass starting to fly up back to the hole.

“Yea, what about it?” Twixt’d asked as he shifted out of the way to allow He of Hourglass enough room to climb out.

“It’s at the perfect height to take flight.”

“Yeah, but I still would have to climb up to take off…”

He of Hourglass slapped Twixt’d with the side of his trident. “A floor at this height will need to be built.”

“Oh, right, but how?”

“You are a part of my family remember?” He of Hourglass facepalmed. Twixt’d knew that They of Hourglass did this kind of thing all the time.

“I know… It’s everyone else…”

“They will come in time. It took a while for Quartermaster to accept him.”

“Really? How did he do it?”

“Save his life from a rage dragon… For you it should be a bit less life threatening...”

“Oh, no, you don’t mean…” Twixt’d moaned when he realized what He of Hourglass was wanted him to do and with whom.

“Yep, and if I have to I will order him to help with a smile.”

“That’s just plain evil…” Twixt’d smirked. This might not be so bad...

“A bit, but I better not find out that you took advantage of it. Or I…” He of Hourglass stopped as he heard a rumbling sound.

“I think, I should go hunt.” Twixt’d rubbed his stomach. He of Hourglass’ stomach then rumbled as well elicited a laugh out of the whelp. “Sounds like you could use some food too. I’ll see you later as I’m sure you’d rather have plants and gems instead of meat given your former self.”

He of Hourglass chuckled nervously. He actually was a bit indifferent. He wasn't not sure which way to go yet. It was a bit instinctual for a dragon to go one way or the other… And his hoard didn’t preclude him from meat like He of Music and He of Hourglass.

Twixt’d eyed him curiously. “Want to come anyway? I might come up with an idea for a new… title, right?”

“Title is correct and if anyone could come up with one it would be you Twixt’d.”

He of Hourglass let Twixt’d led the way even though he knew the way to the hunting grounds. He figured that as it was Twixt’d that offered for him to come along that he should stay back. He could see though that Twixt’d’s was deep in thought as he was not doing is usual tricks when flying. Most likely pondering what kind of title would fit him.

Whatever it will be I’m sure it will be perfect. A memory from him buble to the surface as he thought about it.

---

“You need a name that only you or I know.”

“Why?”

“I was a street urchin... it’s…”

“A street thing I know.”

“You are such a know-it-all.”

“Eh.” Harmony shrugged. “So about this name among brothers.”

“Oh, yes…” The black whelp eyed Harmony over for a moment. “You seem like Knight to me…”

---

And he didn’t know that it was part of his name. He of Hourglass chuckled.

This got Twixt’d’s attention for a second, and he looked back. When he realized that He of Hourglass must be reminiscing about something he just went back to his gliding. The hunting ground were quickly approaching and he needed to be careful from here on out as to not spook any of the animals needlessly.

Twixt’d landed silently in a clearing followed shortly by He of Hourglass. He of Hourglass nose twitched he could tell there was several delicious prey near by. Delicious? He of Hourglass wondered as he silently followed Twixt’d. After a few moments Twixt’d held up a claw and pointed He of Hourglass didn’t need to be told he could smell the deer on the other of the brush.

The deer smelled so enticing. Yes, prey smell good.... must eat now. He of Hourglass tried to shake the thoughts away but they were overpowering him. His tongue rolled out of his mouth at the anticipation of the kill. Must get prey now!

Twixt’d hissed out a warning as he saw him move forward. “He of Hourglass what are you doing!?”

He of Hourglass was too attuned to his task to notice the whelp. His prey was right before him, and he was not going to let anyone take it from him. Luckily the whispered warning didn’t alert the deer to his presence. He stalked a bit closer then pounced. The deer bellowed in fright as it was being pushed to the ground. He of Hourglass grabbed the deer’s neck in his maw and shook once. He heard the satisfying snap he drop the now lifeless corpse and began to eat with abandon. It tasted better than any gem he had ever tasted. He would never look at gems the same way.

Twixt’d jaw dropped at the sight of He of Hourglass pouncing on a deer killing it with a quick shake of his powerful jaws before he started to ravage the corpse. He must have been really hungry... I never was that sloppy even when I was starving… but how did he know what to do? You know what, I give up!

He of Hourglass’ mind and head suddenly snapped into focus. A piece of what appeared to be liver fell from his mouth. Something is not right as he could feel a sense of foreboding… A strange coldness washed over him and trembling fear stabbed him right in the heart.

Hourglass!

“Hey!” Twixt’d yelped as He of Hourglass rumbled past him, taking off. “He of Hourglass!” He took off after him wondering what got him in such a panic. He could tell that He of Hourglass was flying fast. He knew that he would have to push himself to his limits if he had a chance to catch up.

“He of… Hour… Glass… What is… going on?!” Twixt’d panted as he desperately tried to keep up with He of Hourglass. He was a naturally fast flyer but it seemed that He of Hourglass could one up him.

“I don’t... know…” He gulped out as he picked up speed and the telltale signs of an air cone formed around him. A boom sounded and he broke the sonic barrier. A rainbow shock wave went out from him nearly knocking Twixt’d out of the sky.

How did he do that? Twixt’d wondered as he quickly corrected his flight. I wonder if he can teach me that trick.

Soul Fire managed to get the rest of the way to Hourglass in seconds thanks to the Sonic Rainboom. He noted that none of the defenses were up but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong or would be very quickly. He went into a shallow dive as he angled himself along one of the main thoroughfare through Hourglass. Soul Fire skid hard in the street as he landed in front of the library. He didn’t slow down as he hurried inside.

“Whoa!” Golden DragonHeart explained as Soul Fire tumbling and panting into the library. He could see that his scales were stained with now dried blood. “What’s wrong!? You’ve got blood all over you.”

“Huh?” Soul Fire looked at himself and blushed. He had breakfast all over him still. “The blood was from a deer I had.” Golden DragonHeart stared in shock. He was not expecting Soul Fire to be a meat eater. From the looks of him he went into a frenzy too. Must have been his first kill… eh, whatever… what concerned me is his state of panic.

“That’s not what’s important right now though. Firstclaw, how far out can the defense sensors go?”

“About fifteen miles, any further and it becomes ineffective.”

“We need to extend them that far along with the clans wards.”

“Okay… but can you tell me why?”

“Just a feeling…” Soul Fire shuddered as he remembered what he felt. “Just a feeling… I’ll be in the Keeper Council Chambers if you need me. I need to figure out exactly why I had this feeling, and what it could mean.”

“Think he had it before?”

“Possible, and that is the only place I've found that I can meditate deeply…"

Author's Note:

What has got Soul Fire so panicky?
Any guessed on what Twixt'd might come up with for a title?

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