Starter for @aheartofgoldandasoulofsilver
Plot: Very long. Please reference Messenger convo.
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He was gone again - their father.
Ever since the death of their mother, Shay had been more and more absent at home leaving Lucas to play parent to his own little sister. He didn't mind Brooklyn so much. She was well behaved, respectful, everything that they were taught to be. She gave him no trouble at all.
But Lucas was fifteen. He wanted to go hang out with his friends and play video games until he crashed at ridiculous hours of the night. Instead, here he was, sitting on a lonely back porch watching the barely five year old make random shapes with sticks, shovels, and buckets in the sand box.
He sighed, pulling out his phone. Still no call from their dad. Brooklyn had swim classes in an hour and Lucas did not want to have to walk her there.
There is, however, a text from one of his friends. Lucas opens it to see a wall of text. Probably mad about not being able to hang out again. He closes his phone, shoves it back into his pocket without reading it.
Welp. There goes another one.
It's a scream that makes his head jerk up, though - a horrible, bloodcurdling scream that Lucas is sure he will never forget. He looks to the sandbox first but Brooklyn isn't there.
Shit.
It doesn't take him long to find her. Or rather, the puddle of blood pooling in the overgrown grass, the spindly black legs beside it. His gaze follows them up to a spider-like body, pale flesh, and so many beady little eyes. And then, there, perched at the end of an upturned leg, was Brooklyn.
No. No, not perched. Impaled.
The demon had run her through the chest with one of her own legs, most likely covered a a razor sharp exoskeleton.
Lucas stood but didn't move further. His muscles tensed, eyes widening. He barely kept himself from throwing up, his stomach churning painfully at the sight.
"B-Brooklyn," he called moments later when he found his voice.
Her eyes were on him, the deep blue-green color distorted behind the tears that pooled and spilled over. Her mouth moved and Lucas had the vaguest idea that she was saying his name but if she made any noise at all, it did not reach him.
The demon just laughed, a horrible high-pitched cackle.
"Children of the Dragons' Child, hmm? We'll see about that..."
And before Lucas could even convince himself to move, she had skittered her way into the underbush, the child in tow, and disappeared into the darkness there.
Lucas is still shaking as he takes a seat next to his father, his fingers curling in and out of the fabric of his jeans. He couldn't erase the sight of the demon from his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, every time his mind wandered, he saw it's leg sticking through Brooklyn's small, limp body. He saw the red of her blood in the corners of his vision.
Above everything, though - above all the terror and grief - he felt anger, a powerful rage burning and writhing in his belly like the fire he breathed. And hate. It was not a foreign emotion but he felt it so strongly.
He hated the demon for what she did to his sister, he hated Brooklyn for wandering too far, he hated Shay for not being there to protect her, he hated the fact that he was sitting here on this couch while his sister suffered and died....he hated himself for not moving, for not rushing to protect her, for being so completely useless.
Shay's words went in one ear and out the other without Lucas even processing them. He wasn't here, not mentally. Instead, he was back in their backyard, crouched in that puddle of Brooklyn's blood, hating himself for letting it happen.
One glance at his son's face and a peek at his aura told Shay all he needed to know about what his son was feeling. Hatred. He knew Lucas blamed and hated himself for letting his sister get kidnapped. He knew Lucas blamed and hated Shay for not being around to protect them. He hated the demon for attacking and taking Brooklyn. In short, Lucas seemed to hate everyone involved. But Shay said nothing. The last thing he wanted was to invoke Lucas's ire any more.
After a few more minutes, the elder Jade returned, with two tea glasses in his hands. He handed one glass out to Shay, but set the other one on the side table next to Lucas. "Now, my boys, what seems to be the trouble? Better yet, where's Brooklyn? She's usually with you two whenever you visit."
Shay looked away, but still spoke up after taking his tea. "Brooklyn... was attacked and kidnapped right in front of Lucas. We don't know what took her, so all we have to go on is this." He held up the black armor-like piece that fell off the demon. "We need either of you to examine this and tell us who is responsible for taking her. Once we know, we'll head out immediately to go save her."
A quick nod later, he took the piece and said, "I understand. I'll take it to my wife, and I'll have her meet you two out here with what we find. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. I would go with you two to help rescue dear sweet Brooklyn, but I'm afraid my combat skills have gotten rusty in my old age. But I know you boys will get it done."
The elderly dragon walked up to Lucas and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now you listen to me, young man. I know what you're feeling. Your anger is valid, but don't let your rage control you. It will only slow you down in the battles ahead. And more importantly, don't blame yourself for what happened. Everything is going to be okay. It may not seem like it right now, but I promise you Lucas, you and your dad will rescue Brooklyn. I believe in you two." When he finished speaking, he left to find out who the armor-like scale belonged to.










