First Demonic Dragon

Every Tathamet conflict always begins and ends the same.

The two parties sitting across from each other and glowering while everyone else in the house laughs and makes jokes.

This time, though, things were different.

There was no laughing. Abaddon and Asmodeus were alone and weren’t even looking at each other.

He had a cigar between his lips, and his father was babysitting a glass of draconic scotch.

The two of them were sitting in silence, ignoring the rainfall as if it didn’t bother them.

Neither of them had said a word even after five whole minutes of sitting out here.

Yara considered herself a woman of great patience. It just so happened that the woman she married was very much not.

“Kòmanse pale, nou tou de!” (Start talking, both of you)

Imani grabbed her son and husband by the head and smashed them together.

Abaddon and Asmodeus let out twin yells of protest as they held their heads.

“I don’t have anything to say!” Abaddon insisted.

“I do.’ Asmodeus grumbled. “Our son’s a thoughtless old fool.”

Imani raised her fist to hit him again.

Luckily for Asmodeus’ skull, Yara saved him from developing a new orifice spontaneously.

“You two… What is going on here?” She asked in exhaustion. “You never fight like this.”

Asmodeus met his son’s eyes for the first time since earlier. But it wasn’t a kind, gentle look like he was used to.

‘Go on. Tell them.’ His eyes seemed to say.

Abaddon thought that his father resembled Satan a lot more than he realized. They both knew how to be unlikable.

He took the cigar out of his mouth and thumped it lightly with his finger.

As he watched the ash fall between his feet, Abaddon told his mothers something that he knew they didn’t want to hear.

“Sif, Bekka, and I are going through the doors tonight. We talked it over and felt as if it would be the best course of action for us going forward.”

Abaddon waited for the yelling to begin, but it never did.

He looked up at both of his mothers and found them staring at him in confusion.

Only then did he realize that he hadn’t been specific enough. Yara thought he was talking about back-door play, and Imani believed him to be talking about entering the front door of their actual house.

“The doors.” Asmodeus clarified by pointing downward.

The mothers’ faces shifted to reflect clear shock.

Abaddon tried to get ahead of the storm before it fully struck land.

“It was Lailah’s idea!”

The intense lecture that was building dissipated. Everyone in the house tended to trust Lailah’s judgement more than even their own.

Yara and Imani were particularly vulnerable to this line of thinking, as they believed their daughter-in-law was the cutest thing since the teacup poodle.

But it seemed like even this time, her cuteness was not enough of a motivator to get them on board with the program.

“But even if it was Lailah’s idea, why would she suggest such a thing..?” Yara’s brow trembled.

“That realm is so dangerous. We don’t know anything about it, unless something has changed for all of you..?”

“No…” Abaddon rubbed the back of his neck. “But we are out of other options at present. That viral infection created by our enemies needs a key component for an antidote. It’s not interchangeable.”

“And this component is…?”

“Eldritch horrors.” He sighed. “The Blasphemies.”

Asmodeus rolled his eyes. “You’re risking everything for tweedle dee and tweedle dumb?”

“They are the Black Goat’s most potent children and they have the highest concentration of her essence. It’ll be the best way to make an antibody, since I’m almost positive that Percival will have hidden their mother away somewhere.”

Yara brought a hand to her forehead and winced. “And you’re sure there is no other way..?”

“None that we’re aware of, mother.” He sighed.

Yara and Imani glanced at each other.

They sighed and nodded, but it was clear that they didn’t feel the greatest about all of this.

“You’re joking.” Asmodeus stood up. “Neither of you has anything more to say?!”

Imani and Yara were surprised at just how upset Asmodeus still seemed to be.

They sat down on either side of him with their voices as low, and soft.

“Ashmodai… he doesn’t have a choice-“

“Of course he has a choice!” Asmodeus stood up. “Why aren’t we putting more resources into finding the Black Goat herself instead of going into a prison to look for her wretched children!”

“Because Kanami scoured the multiverse for hundreds of years after the last time that she escaped from Mira! And I’m quite certain that Percival is not foolish enough to keep such an asset far out of his reach! She’s probably in Gulban’s realm with the rest of them!” Abadon yelled back.

He stood up and tried to come face to face with his father, but Asmodeus turned his back on him before he could even get a word out.

“Dad…”

“Hmph.”

“It isn’t as if I’m going in there with all of my heads. I’m leaving a body behind.”

His attempt to ease his father’s mind didn’t end up working as well as he wanted.

“The fact that you are going AT ALL is the problem, Abaddon! Your mind was poisoned by that place three times when you were on the right side of it, so what do you think is going to happen to you when you step inside?!”

“Nothing, because I am not that young and naive dragon anymore. I have broken free before, and I can do it again if I need to.”

Asmodeus grabbed his son by the collar of his shirt. “But why take the risk if you don’t have to!?!”

“Because I promised my wife her sister back, what are you not understanding!?” Abaddon yelled back. “I have a responsibility to her, I have a responsibility to my people! Everything else must come secondary- and that includes the fears of an old man!”

“Boys, stop.” Imani stepped in between her husband and son to break them up. Yara was on the verge of tears.

As the rain fell, it was difficult to tell if Asmodeus was more upset over his son’s insistence, or his continual disregard for his father’s fears.

The look of intensity in his eyes hadn’t disappeared since the conversation began. It was the only thing covering up the ocean’s panicked fear beneath the surface.

“…Answer me this…” Asmodeus picked his drink up again and refilled it’s contents. “If one of my grandsons wanted to do something like this, then what would you say to them?”

Abaddon’s jaw set in place. For the first time since he was a child, he couldn’t meet his father in the eye.

“…I have to go, Dad. You have to trust that I will remain alright. That’s the end of it.” Abaddon said in a low voice.

Asmodeus didn’t say anything in response.

Instead, he turned around and started walking in a random direction that he picked.

He traveled around ten paces before his body blinked out of existence and he disappeared.

Abaddon watched his father go for a while before he turned away as well and went back inside of the house.

For a while, Yara and Imani stood outside in the rain- quite unsure of just whose back they should be following first.

“Perhaps…” Imani removed her shawl and wrapped it around Yara’s head and shoulders. “We should just let them be for now.”

Yara was glad that it was raining so that maybe Imani wouldn’t notice she was crying.

“It’s just… things have never been this bad before.”

Imani made Yara rest her head on her shoulder. Truth be told, she was worried too.

But she didn’t want to fully break down here, as she seemed to be the last one among her partners who was able to keep her head above water.

“…It’ll all work out. They’re just being stubborn, testosterone-fueled fools. We should have had more girls.”

Her joke didn’t end up landing all that well with Yara. Perhaps she hadn’t even heard her at all.

Imani gently started guiding her towards the house. “Come on, love. Let’s get you into something dry, yeah?”

Yara’s feet felt heavy, but she moved despite how terrible she felt inside.

As she walked, she stole a glance back into the forest as if she were hoping to see her husband coming back to make things right.

She wasn’t so lucky this time.

–

Everyone at home was hanging around in the living room during the whole ordeal.

They were trying their best to make themselves seem discreet, even thought they were desperately curious about whether or not they were going to be witnessing another family civil war anytime soon.

As soon as they heard the door slam, and saw Abaddon storm past them with his fists clenched, they knew things hadn’t gone well outside.

Abaddon’s wives stood up and followed him in his tracks. They sent a mental message to everyone there that they would at least keep them updated.

Meanwhile, Jazmine was leaning over the sink and doing dishes with a look of exhaustion on her face.

Thea slid into place next to her with their son Reken in her arms.

She smiled wryly as she held the boy out for his mother.

Jazmine took the boy, but she also gave her wife a wary look. “…I know what you’re doing, and stop it. I’m still telling them.” she whispered.

Thea huffed. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Jaz. I’m a grown woman with my own problems and my own family. If you’re worried about me, then take care of me yourself. Don’t worry my parents with everything going on.”

Jazmine bit her lip awkwardly.

“…Fine. But you have to tell me if you start feeling strange again, alright?”

“Of course.” Thea kissed her cheek.

“If you don’t tell me I’ll spank you.”

“Well now I don’t wanna-“

“Thea!”

“Fine…”

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