fluroite-moon:
Fai seemed to shrink away, wrapping his arms tight around himself and turning his eyes away from Kurogane. He regretted the words the moment they’d come out of his mouth and moreso with each passing second. The emotions that had flashed so briefly in the dragon’s eyes made his heart ache in his chest.
“Every time I use my magic, it hurts. More and more each time.” He remembered the first time he noticed it; after casting a spell it felt as though something cracked let loose a blaze of fire in his chest. It had stolen his breath away but he hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Perhaps he’d simply over-exerted himself. Then it happened again and again, growing worse each time.“I feel as if it’s burning me up from the inside out. One day I fear I’ll be nothing but ash.”
He could feel the other man’s eyes boring into him but he dared not look up. Fai doubted he could handle whatever he found in that gaze. “I could stop using magic outright, live my life like a normal man, but it would only delay the inevitable,” he said, putting great effort into ensuring his voice didn’t crack with emotion. “I’ve lived a great deal longer than any human should, yet I still fear my end.”
If he was honest, he didn’t know enough about dragons to know if they could die of natural causes. Would age one day wear away at Kurogane? Or would he remain ageless and eternal should no foolhardy adventurer with a sharp blade pierce his heart? Fai only knew that, as a human, he had lived far longer than he had any right.
The mythical creature could practically smell the sourness of anguish that was tangled in the magician’s aura, showcasing the pain he was trying desperately to suppress, like he was scared he’d break if he let it loose. The dragon couldn’t use magic like a wizard, but he could sense it and sometimes even conduct it at lower frequencies. It was how Kurogane was able to detect such powerful magic within the slender body.
Something was wrong. Kurogane has lived a very long time, long enough for humans to deem him immortal (which was hardly the case because Kurogane’s fate was to one day expire like every other living creature), and his intuition was telling him that something was missing from this situation. He didn’t think the mage was lying to him, not about something like this, but Fai was far from a wretched person and his magic didn’t feel malicious when it touched Kurogane, so it didn’t make sense for the magic to work against its host.
Unable to put a name or reason to the feeling, Kurogane filtered it to the back of his mind. For now, it was far more important to figure out a way to save his life.
There had to be a way. There was a way. Kurogane knew it in his bones.
Kurogane gently swiped his knuckle underneath fair eyelashes, collecting the bits of tears that had yet to fall. With a slow tilt of his head, Kurogane cradled his face and leaned in for a kiss. Words of reassurance failed to come to him. He didn’t know what to do, not yet, but he was certain of one thing: he wanted to hold onto this treasure for as long as he could. As a cave-dwelling dragon, Kurogane could never be close enough to protect him.
Maybe though… maybe he could just…










