.Darkling Dawn

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Ryokai, male / Ryoshin, female

meanings - Understanding / Family-Conscience

Ryokai seemed so much opposite from the others in the family. His magic it turned out, was very life-oriented instead of death. He was no necromancer - instead, he was a brilliant healer. The touch of his warm, furry fingers gave joy in addition to health. However, his stare with those sky blue eyes told anyone that he was more than just that. He was quite smart, as intelligent as his father and that's saying a lot. He would hang out with his father king Sapadt when they were allowed (the war to the north had taken much longer to quell than expected, and for years the family remained fairly split between House Domina and Gelgela) watching him read over maps and tactical charts.

Ryoshin on the other hand, seemed to take her name seriously. She played with dolls (and the occasional necromantic animation of a dead creature, that was within her abilities even from a young age) and cared for those around her with a passion. If someone had fallen she would first try to help them - and if they needed more than she could give she immediately summoned her brother to the scene.

Summoned: as in, brought him there, whatever he was doing. It was clear that Ryoshin would be popular with males of many species, and that she would blossom into womanhood even younger than her sister Saijitsu. Though neither of the twins would be as tall as their father, they were never going to need to look up at too many people. One quite noticible trait that they had was the lack of any facial markings like their Usagi kin. Their mother's bright blood-red markings were expected somewhere, Saichu had them in vivid yellow on his forehead, while Iji's were more of a blotch in pinkish red under her hairline. The twins carried whatever markings inside, on the ends of their hair, but not on their faces.

It was obvious that they were close, they didn't fight nor complain about each other - they did tear through the place and make mock war but by the end of any given day the two of them retired in a sleepy pile with smiles on their faces.

They were so very different from their new, younger sibling...

But that's his story. This is theirs.

At age 11, even though they were more mature than others that age due to their half-human half-usagi blood, they were tested for true magic. Not that they hadn't already been well known as lifegivers and protectors as well as knowledgeable in many other pursuits. But it was official: if they'd been fully human they would have easily been accepted to Hogwarts and sent off for 9 months out of the year. Britain was a horrible place that way - who would want to be apart from their family that long?

Even Sapadt could visit House Domina whenever he liked (which on occasion meant several times a week when he had a particularly bad day) and the parents made a very devoted effort to keep their family from being too distant.

So they decided to formally start their real magical education. Both were brought to a village where wands and supplies were sold, and both bought up whatever they required. Robes, hats (which didn't suit them very well, what with their ears), cauldrons and potion bottles, books and scrolls to write spells into, and an assortment of books which would make or break their school careers.

Sean loved seeing them in their robes - the other kids at House Domina were mostly human but they had a bunch of dragon kin, demons, vampires and gryphon-shifters, all manner of weirdlings that attended. It was apparently against the law to educate several of those species. But Zora didn't care, and her feelings were echoed strongly in her staff.

The fact that they had non earthly dragons living in the hills and in a large stone keep nearby was what kept any legal hassles at bay. If they had a bunch of local dragons, the magical ministry would have been on the place in a moment. Zora Domina and her staff were resolute in keeping themselves both above and outside the laws of that land.

After all they had ties to other dimensions - dozens of them - and were a part of something much bigger. The petty arguments of some wizards in distant cities didn't make a blip on their scrying glass.

The first year they were fully attending the classes, it became obvious who would excell in what subjects. Ryokai was great at arithmancy and astrology, as well as hex and hexbreaking spells. Ryoshin on the other hand was quite handy with charms, herbs and potions as well as flight.

She took on the post of Chaser in the non-dragon-riding Quidditch team, which actually only got to play some of the local teams because they were never invited to other schools' contests. The rest of the team would split up and play short games without Beaters, since eventually it was assumed that they would be on the big team - the Dragon Quidditch team.

Ryukai chuckled at his sister when she came down from the air, bunching her hair back from her face with a spell bound to a string. It hopelessly fluttered around trying to get at a loose patch that kept wandering over her eyes.

"Well, you almost had the win," he said.

"Yes, but I'm still not quite as fast as Nyli and his broom's all expensive anyway." She fluttered her fingers, the Seeker for the team would always have the advantage of a quick broom.

"You put in a good show, that's what counts. I have a question," Kai asked, "about this."

He held up a limp plant, it had been uprooted and was clearly not doing so well. Shin gasped and put her hands out. "My weeping pea! You found it!"

"It was sulking around in the dark, silly emo thing. Maybe you should put a cage over it." Kai laughed. They both instinctually ducked when a dark shadow came over head, but it was merely one of the local instructors returning on their dragon.

"Let's see who that is," Shin suggested. "After I put you back in your bed," she scolded the weeping pea, who sulked.

***

It turned out to be Lucas and his shapeshifter dragon companion Audeo, with whom Kai was more than a little enfatuated. The dragoness smiled kindly at them but indicated that it was best they left her bond alone. But on an impulse - and one rarely did such things around the man - Ryokai reached out to touch the tall dark-skinned man's elbow.

Immediately there was an exchange of magic so intense that it left Ryukai sitting on his bottom, almost literally blown across the hall by the force of his own magic, and Lucas standing leaning a little on the opposite wall with a shocked, tired expression.

"You... didn't need to do that," he said, "but... thank you. Perhaps some day it will help."

Audeo took her bond and mate down the hall toward their own wing of the House, she occasionally looking back curiously at the pair of usagi.

"What was that?" Ryoshin asked. Her brother was able to stand shakily a moment later.

"He's... broken, like bad, like what happens when you break a teacup, and try to put the pieces back together."

"He will be all right," said their sister Saijitsu who had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere (she did that a lot around them, keeping tabs), "you should leave him be. Audeo and Iris will take care of him."

"He took all the healing I could give," Ryokai breathed, "how can someone be that hurt, and still alive?"

Iji shrugged, "his will. Now, aren't you late to class?"

"Aren't you late too?" Ryoshin stuck her tongue out and they bolted away to their classrooms, as Iji did the same.

But that event stuck with the boy, and he became even more serious about learning protective spells and hexes to overcome curses. Ryoshin saw how hard he was working, and thought the better of dousing him with a bucket of popcorn, instead she continued her own studying.

***

It was when they were back at Gelgela's comfortable keep, when the twins started taking note of the other kids their age, around them. During a holiday break from House Domina, they ran around the courtyard under the castle and bought pastries, found a flower for Shin's hair, Kai got it into his head he needed a new mug or goblet for himself.

They both noticed how there were some folks that just outright stared at them, while they sped around the market, but they blew it off to simply being surprised to see the royal children out and about.

Eventually though, the one burlier half-Usagi boy came up, and wouldn't let them pass.

"Oi, why haven't you been in school wif' us?" He asked, tilting his head and making his long ears flop over. Shin almost giggled, but he was much too intimidating to do that just now.

"Because we attend school elsewhere," Kai assured him. "It's a special school for mages."

"Yer too young t'be a mage," the big Usagi boy said, "no one's a mage until they're older. Me da' says so."

"Well," Shin commented, "your father might be right for some people, but we're definitely mages already, anyone could be if they practiced early enough."

"You don' know what'cher sayin, I bet you have a special school a'cus you're stoopid." He even said it that way too, st-oopid. This of course brought ire to Kai's fists. He balled them up, but it was Shin who stopped him from outright punching the much bigger boy.

"Perhaps we could go there, and show you," Shin suggested. "We don't have our own dragons yet, but--"

"Oh an' now yer' on dragons!" The boy bellowed.

***

Up above, in the nearby castle's low balcony, Sean and Sapadt watched. Carefully, without being seen, they listened in with the wind favoring the conversation below.

"Do you think we--" Sean started, but her husband rested his furless hand on hers.

"No, let them sort this out. If they have to call our dragons in, they should do it themselves. I'm curious as to how this will play out, actually. That boy's needed a bit of taking-down."

"Obviously," Sean muttered. She leaned down again, and listened with her long red-tipped ears.

***

There were three other kids nearby. One was human in appearance, while the other two were clearly more Usagi than anything else. It didn't surprise either of the twins that the other three didn't interfere with their big friend's bullying, they could just as easily be on the receiving end of it too. But the foursome had cornered the twins, who were still maintaining a steady, sensible course of action.

Shin looked up, and gave a weird whistle. Kai rolled his eyes. "Aw you didn't need to do that yet," he muttered.

Shin glanced at him, "oh, yes, I did. I'm tired of this," she looked up at the other four. "Now, I'd like you to come along. We're going back to House Domina, and I'll show you what being a mage is all about."

The biggest of them didn't see it until the shadow fell over the courtyard. But lots of other people had, and had parted to let the huge copper colored dragon flew overhead and landed. He barely fit in the courtyard, in fact he didn't fit, but his lifted tail and high-held wings kept him from crushing anything.

Finally, the group of bullies turned around, stammering in awe.

"That's the King's dragon! Everyone knows that! What's he doing here!" Yelled one.

"It's our father's dragon, yes," Shin said very casually, and her brother chuckled a little. "What would you expect? I said we had no dragons of our own yet. I don't think my father will mind if we borrow Birth a moment or two."

"...." the bully stammered, lost for words. Shin and Kai strode up to the dragon petting his long nose and scratching what they could reach of his leg. Finally, the dragon took it upon himself to simply take the four others into his great paw, and with some difficulty put them on his long, smooth back.

His huge head-crest helped move some of the wind away from the kids, as he took off. They clung to his back, to each other, to anything to avoid being blown off.

And then, he teleported to the Nexus.

***

"Well that's going to wind up being fun," Sapadt chuckled. "Now... where were we before this?"

"We were chasing Shukuzu out of the summoning den," Sean reminded him, she didn't seem all that interested in getting back to that task, either. "But I'd much rather just stay out here. The air is fresh, the sky's clear..."

"Shukuzu can take care of whatever it is he's summoning," Sapadt replied. They both knew that the little demon child they'd last born could possibly be far more powerful than the two of them combined. There would be no point in stopping him from doing whatever it was.

So they went back to the higher tower they called their private den, and did what bunnies and handsome immortal necromancers did best.

***

Ryoshin and Ryokai instructed Birth to land in the Quid pitch, because it was empty. It was still a holiday, however there were always plenty of people still hanging out at House Domina.

"Hey teach," Shin called out to one of the adults, who waved and shouted out a question, "showing some friends around! We won't break anything much."

That seemed to satisfy the older woman, and the group went inside. It was clear that the Usagi and their human companion were in awe of the setting. It wasn't as big as the castle, but it was certainly bigger on the inside than the outside. What magical keep wasn't?

"And here is where the Animagus practice is," Kai said, helping guide their little tour. He peeked inside, but Lucas wasn't in just now. He was still bound and determined to help out however he could, but just now it would wait.

"What's ani-majis?" Asked one of the Usagi.

"Oh, it's the ability to shapeshift," said Shin. "Neither of us is in there, though, that kind of magic really doesn't seem to run in our lines."

After a moment, the only girl of the foursome meekly said, "it does in mine," and then nearly dove behind something when they looked at her in surprise.

"Really? Have you ever done it?" Shin asked. She peered around the big guy, and the lilac-colored ears of the girl were pinned back a little by her fear. "Don't worry, we've got lots of wizards and witches around here, nothing could go wrong, that couldn't be undone!"

That encouraged the girl enough to come out from around the big boy.

The girl was small, not tiny, and had faintly pinkish fur with soft lilac tips to her ears. Her face held a marking of what looked to be blush - but in that lilac they all knew it was a marking. Her hair was trimmed nicely, pulled back in a straight tail, and while it too had the faint lilac marks on the tips, it was a dark indigo shade. Her big eyes were red. She gave a weak smile.

"I tried one time, my mother and her mother both do it, I think I was too little." She gave a little effort, and almost surprising herself in the process, she turned from a Usagi girl into a pink and lilac-colored porcupine!

Shin and Kai clapped excitedly, while her friends stood in awe.

"But... I'thou'..."

"Your father was mistaken, or perhaps he didn't get the chance to go out and do his own magic. All of us, all our kind, have magic." Kai asserted. "Some of us show it earlier than others. Our little brother is.... well... dangerous with it."

"And I'm glad he's at the castle and we're here," Shin giggled.

"Well well, who have we here?" Said a man's voice, and they all jumped. Kai turned with a smile on his face, just the man he'd wanted to see earlier.

"Professor Kalkin, hi! We're... we're showing our friends around the school." Kai said, he avoided the 'against their will' or 'to show them up' part. It was pretty easily seen that Lucas knew those things just by looking at them.

"And your little friend here, she's an Animagus?" He asked, gently picking up the porcupine and balancing her on his long hands. She was indeed small enough that she fit, she would be a petite woman when she grew up.

"She is Usagi," Shin said, "The magic is a little different for us, I think."

"Ah yes, yes," Lucas said. "Well, the question is, will she stay this way or introduce herself as a porcupine?"

He set her back down, and within moments she'd returned to her original shape. She was breathless, smiling. "I've never done it! I've never done it before!" Her friends were in shock, still, but she jumped up and down. "You teach here?" She asked Lucas, who nodded. "Can I go here?"

That surprised even the twins. "Well," Lucas said, "there's more to it than just that... Though we do have some other unusual students." He glanced at the group. "So... Are you planning on introducing us all or..." He gazed at Shin and Kai, who suddenly realized that they didn't even know these kids names!

***

Read about the group of "Critters"

***

Ryoshin and Ryokai returned to the castle, Birth enjoying his time flying around with the hooting and hollering of the other kids. If there was one thing that dragon enjoyed more than fighting a good bold battle on a mountainside, it was the sound of children's laughter.

Sapadt and Sean stood waiting for the twins, who bolted over to them once they'd set their new friends down in the courtyard. "We made friends with them," Kai breathed, "it didn't look like we were going to but... I like them. They're fun."

"So, what did Domina think of them?" Asked Sean. After all, if they were to head to the school at all, she'd have to be the one to take them, as she was employed there.

"Well Zora wasn't there, but we talked to Professor Kalkin about them. Two of em are shapeshifters!" Shin said.

"Two?" Sean said, "that's unusual in such a small group, I wonder how common that magic really is."

"Not very, and it turns out..." Kai blurted out all manner of things - the group's story, Ui's weird abilities, everything. They gathered in the dining hall, where their big family was for once going to have a full sit-down meal together.

There was plenty to discuss, including one thing that Sean had learned about, a few weeks before. She'd managed to keep it from the twins, because neither of them did have shifting magic. However, both of them - and their friends - were Usagi. You couldn't get more bunny than that, really.

"There is a place, Darkling Dawn," Sean said, and the group at the table knew she was talking about a dragonry. "It's got a very unusual bunch of dragons hatching there. Zora did tell me about it, she's visiting while some other students are waiting for dragons."

"Oh - oh wait, Professor Kalkin said something about critter-dragons!" Kai said. "I didn't realize what he was talking about, is that it?"

"It is indeed," Sean said. "I think ... I should like to take you and the others there. Just to see what might come of it all. Two shapeshifter!" She repeated, still surprised.

They gathered up a few days later, knowing that their holiday could last as long as it needed to. Travel between worlds like that hardly ever resulted in anyone being late for class.

Ryokai, male, age 12

Learned Magic Skills: Arithmancy, Astrology, Hexes, Hexbreaking, Protective Runes

Mundane Skills: Tactics, Cartography (later)

Usagi Magic: Healing (very strong); Empathy (strong)