~ Vengeance & Corruption ~

Originally given the hatching names of Kalar and Cinna, now Vengeance and Corruption, respectively, were Ny'vene siblings. Their parents vanished one night, leaving them alone in their nest as hatchlings. They grew up together, forming a close bond. When Cinna was taken by humans and forced to fight in the terrible Ethernia Arena, Kalar went almost mad with grief and anger and vowed to get her back, no matter what. This is their story.
A.N. I know my pets Corruption and Vengeance are only half siblings... but for the sake of this story, ignore that fact. Enjoy,
- Nyx

~ Characters ~
Will add more as the story progresses
Vengeance
Corruption

"Kalar?"
The small black-and-red Ny'vene hatchling huddled in the nest, her wings over her head. The storm showed no signs of stopping. If anything, it was getting stronger. The rain was icy and the nest, resting on a narrow outcropping of rock of a sheer cliff face, had only a small overhang to shield it from the winds.

"What is it, Cinna?" The larger Ny'vene asked gently. He too was only a hatchling, but perched on the edge of the nest with his wings wrapped around his sister.

"I'm scared," she replied. "What if Mother and Father don't come back?" Cinna asked, her voice trembling. Kalar instantly stepped closer and wrapped his wings tightly around her shaking body. After a moment, Cinna returned the hug and some of the tightness in her body eased.

"They will," Kalar said, but his words carried a hint of uncertainty. It seemed as though he was reassuring himself of the fact as much as he was his sister. "Sleep, Cinna," he urged his sister. "The storm will pass by morning, and I'm sure Mother and Father will be back by then." Actually, he wasn't sure - a whole lot less than sure, but he kept that to himself.

Cinna looked up at Kalar with her big, innocent young eyes. They were a beautiful shade of orange gold, unlike Kalar's fierce crimson ones. This, along with Cinna's sweet, non-threatining personality, was a source of constant annoyance for their warrior parents. In their eyes, Kalar was exactly who they wanted for a hatchling. Cinna, to them, was anything but. To Kalar, however, she was perfection itself.

Presently she replied in a slightly stronger voice from before, "I believe you, Kalar." And with that, the curled up against Kalar, shutting out the wind, shutting out the storm. Kalar, troubled by her words, wished he could be as peaceful as her.

It was a while before he could fall asleep as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kalar had spoken true. The storm dispelled over the night, leaving the sky in the Ny'vene Empire a dark blue, shot through with the first dusky streaks of pink and gold when Kalar and Cinna awoke. A wing of red stars slowly unfurled, then another. Cinna blinked open her golden eyes, and shook raindrops off her snout.

"Morning, Kal," she said sleepily, poking her brother with the talon on one wing. "Get up..."

"Yo're hardly awake yourself," he objected, trying to bury his head under the darkness of his wing for just a bit longer. "Do I really need to get up right now?"

Cinna regarded the question for a moment, her head slightly tilted to one side. "Nah, not really," she decided, stepping onto the rim of their nest and off onto the cold stone ledge on which it sat. She closed her eyes and sat still, thinking. "Where's Mother and Father?" she asked, her voice worried.

Kalar came over and draped his wing over Cinna's hunched shoulders. They might not home back, Kalar thought.What if they don't? How will I tell Cinna? He sighed, trying to get his swirling thoughts in order. He was about to voice them, somehow, when Cinna spoke in a small voice.

"They're not coming back, are they?" asked Cinna, but it was more of a statement that a question.

Kalar sighed again, hugging his sister. Whispering the words into Cinna's ear, he said, "No, Cin, I don't think they are."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somehow, Cinna didn't break down like Kalar expected her to. Instead, she turned brisk and sharp, though there was an obvious aura or sorrow around her. "First, we need to know how to get down there," Cinna said, gesturing to the vvalley ar below them. Cinna technically could fly, but a sudden wind on her first flight, nearly resulting in Cinna falling to the valley below if not for Kalar's last-minute intervention, caused her to be absolutly pertified of heights and flying ever since. Kalar had already learned, but was still rather bad at it, wobbling all the time and not managing to stay in the air for more than a few minutes at a time.

"We could always just jump off and plunge, then snap our wings out before the bottom," suggested Kalar, but he could already tell it was hugely flawed.

Cinna took the liberty of pointing a few of these out. "You'd rip your wings out of their sockets if you open them wrong," she said. "And if you didn't get the timing right, splat. I couldn't do it anyway," she said with a shudder, giving the drop-off an apprehensive look.