Gremyne Sunsets

Zende sat on the rotting trunk of a tree. Her long green dress still had some bloodstains on it, beside various other stains of dirt she didn't even want to think about.
"Why did you do it?" she asked herself.
She'd love to fool herself by saying she had done it for Zonder. For the people. But in the end she knew she had done it for herself. Zende smirked. 
"Foolish girl."
"What are you doing?" Zonder asked.
"Telling myself I'm not as mature as I thought I was."
"It takes courage to kill."
"If you kill for a good purpose it does... I just killed for me."
"I was going to kill him for my own good." Zonder said, "Do you think I'm bad."
"No."
"Well, neither are you. Besides that's all behind us."
"What are we going to do Zonder?" Zende asked.
"Hide mostly... wait and travel until we are far from Vyver."
Zende left it at that. She had bugged Zonder enough with her questions about his life already. At least she wasn't alone. Zonder would be with her. Her brother.
"Why are you smiling?" Zonder asked.
"Because I have a brother!"
"And have you always wanted one?"
"No, I wanted a pet cat." Zende said maliciously.
"Well maybe I have something for you then..."
"What?"
Zonder walked off and told her to follow him. Softly he snuck closer to the nest. He had never seen the creature that laid such eggs but they looked pretty. Coloured in all colours of the rainbow. Zonder didn't have to think long about which egg to take. One was a bright orange that resembled Zendes hair.
"Here you go." Zonder said and hoped it would hatch a crocodile or something.
"How pretty!" Zende whispered and turned the egg around in front of her eyes with the suns warm rays shining on it. A soft crack sounded and a small creature crawled out.

"Ooooh! She's pretty!" Zende sighed.
"How do you know it's a she?" Zonder asked.
"Well, look at her, how can she not be?"
Zonder had to agree the critter was very feminine.
"What are you going to call her?"
"Diane."
"Why?"
"It's a pretty name, it doesn't need to have a meaning." Zende chided and hugged the little orange animal. Chatting and laughing Zende and Zonder returned to the little clearing in the woods they had set up camp earlier that day. Neither of them mentioned the things that had happened before. An unspoken arrangement had been forged between them. They'd never discuss the events of the past days with each other -or any other human for that matter.

"Ahem."
Zende awoke and looked up. The sun was still very low on the horizon. Zende could see light in the sky, but just a hint that made the stars fade. Why had she awakened? Zende turned around and saw a stranger at the edge of the clearing.
"Who are you?" she asked as she tried waking up Zonder.
"I've been the one who has been making sounds here for half an hour, trying to get your attention."
"Zonder." Zende whispered.
"What?"
"Company."
"Yes. Company. Very irritated company that was urged to wake you to get you back to Taineen in time for the hatching."
"Hatching?"
"Oh yeah, Firith is convinced you will impress at the citadel."
"I don't think we'd impress anyone in our present state." Zende remarked, looking down at her dress. Diane lifted her head and looked at something behind the stranger.
"That's an interesting creature."
"Her name is Diane." Zende said.
"She has quite a good eyesight."
"Why?" Zonder asked.
"Because she's looking straight at my dragon."

Zende huddled down as far as she could when they entered the planet the dragonrider M'kir called Taineen. He had warned them about winds, but Zende wasn't prepared for the winds that crashed into them. The dragon -Firith- didn't seem to bothered by them and landed flawlessly on a levelled piece of land, sheltered against the wind.
"This is it!" M'kir shouted and lead them into the impressing building he called 'the citadel'.
M'kir lead them through long hallways and finally stopped in front of one door.
"These are the hatching sands. Inside are the eggs, they'll hatch shortly so you better hurry with the classes."
Zonder stepped in the room first. Warm sand touched his feet, almost flying like the sand on the planet outside. The only difference was that this sand was being manipulated by a big golden dragoness waving her tail and snorting.
Zende came in behind him and was immediatly drawn to the eggs. "They are so pretty."
"They are." Zonder had to agree.

Zonder's impression
Zende's impression

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All images copyrighted to me except for the dividers. I got those from Dreslough.com