Chapter 7:Dalarius

XxX

(Templar Training Grounds, Codename: Playground)

Kai's world ground to a soul wrenching halt.

Sam and… and Skylar?

Kai stopped thinking for a moment, everything just stopped as the idea of them together engulfed his entire being and sunk in. The dragoness and the Templar. Sam wouldn't do that though she was… Well she just wouldn't. Would she? The more that Kai thought about it the more he realized that she would, Sam didn't care about what people said about her. In fact, she did her best to spit in the face of everything that was tradition for the Ignitus just to spite her family, human name, flamboyant mannerisms and… and a human lover, maybe even human mate.

No, no, what was Kai thinking it couldn't be, how would it even work? She was a dragoness not human they weren't even compatible, Skylar didn't have the-

Shapeshifting.

Kai remember how Tarth had partially changed his form and he admitted to not practicing. Skylar had him practicing his shapeshifting and he was getting passable at it, if Sam had been practicing hers and if she just… then Skylar could… But then she'd … and the redhead hated the Ignitus. Kai felt himself get hotter and hotter the deeper he thought of them. It was possible and if it was possible-

If it was possible then Sam would be okay with it, she'd be more than okay with it. A casual encounter with a human, no strings attached just to see what it was like. It was almost taboo and not something a 'proper' Ignitus would do. So, Sam would be first in line for it, that's the kind of dragoness that she was.

She hated Skylar now though, Kai would go so far as to say that she loathed him. So, she can't have liked it, not if she hated him that much. No Skylar seemed like he'd be an ample lo- Kai refused to finish that thought. The Templar probably earned her ire some other way, she wouldn't hate him for that, she'd tease him relentlessly… and chase him down for proper sex, that would be Sam's revenge for bad…

Spirits, there was the tension between them though and Kai remembered how the other Ignitus would dance with one another at the academy before they eventually mated. Some had fought each other for months before…

Oh Ancestors, she was trying to court him! They were dancing with one another! That was the only thing that made sense. How was he meant to compete against Skylar for Sam? Ignitus found strength attractive and Skylar was a Templar that could throw a dragon clear across a room. It was like he'd said, he was a hundred and Kai was less than one. She'd never see him as anything other than the clumsy whelp he was when-

“KAI!"

The dragon snapped his gaze up his brother's mental shout made him realise that he had put his head between his paws. The sting of humiliation was thankfully covered by his crimson scales, but Kai knew that all three of his companions would be able to tell, somehow. Could he have made a bigger fool of himself? Not only did Skylar have the advantage of strength against him but now this and they were just beginning to bond as well. The Templar had actually been nice when he taught Kai and Skylar was a gifted teacher.

“Are you okay?" Kai flinched as Ian's presence in his mind finally registered. He wanted to just push his brother out of his mind but knew that it wasn't a good idea at the moment. “Kai? Are you okay? You're distraught."

“I'm fine."  The dragon risked looking up at the Templar and to his shock found open concern on Skylar's face. “Why is he looking at me like that?"

“Because you're scaring us, I've been trying to get you to notice me for five minutes."

“Really?"

“Yes! What's wrong?"

“Ian." Skylar said, the redhead looked a moment away from jumping up to come to Kai's aid. Ian already had his hand on Kai's foreleg to try and comfort him.

“He's back with us."

“Kai are you okay?" There was a certain irony to this Kai thought. The Templar who hated the Ignitus so much that it scared him was being courted by the dragoness that Kai lov- “I was joking about Sam."

Again, Kai's entire world crashed to a halt.

“What?"

“Specialist Samantha and I have never had sex." Skylar repeated. “I was trying to lighten the mood and make a joke. I apologise I had no idea that you had such strong feelings for her."

“I… I don't have- “

“Oh no! You're not getting away with that." Ian snapped. “You don't get to deny it after almost having a melt down after a joke."

“IAN!"

“NO! You terrified me just then." Ian's fear slipped over into his brother and the dragon keened suddenly before nuzzling Ian. “I had no idea what was wrong, and you wouldn't talk to me."

“I'm sorry."

“Why didn't you say something?" Ian asked. “I knew that you liked her, but you actually want to try and dance with her?"

“Maybe." Kai still wasn't sure himself, he certainly hadn't expected to have such a strong reaction just because Skylar made a joke.

“So, are you going to chase that tail Kai?" Ray asked, a small smirk on his face.

“Samantha is a formidable female." Skylar conceded nodding to himself as he spoke. “She would be a worthy mate."

“But you hate her." Kai blurted.

“My feelings don't change what she is, and she is a gifted Ignitus." Skylar explained. “So are you going to try to… I believe 'dance' is the correct term for Ignitus courtship."

“The resident hot head, you've got an odd taste in scale Kai." The dragon wanted to snap at the comment but that wouldn't be fair to Ray, he didn't understand what Kai saw in Sam when he looked at her. “Oh yeah listen to that growl and see the way his lip is curling back for a snarl. He's horns over tail for Sam. Though I have to ask, don't the…"

“What?" Kai snapped, he didn't like all this attention on himself. He'd only just realized himself how much he felt for the dragoness he didn't want to have his feelings picked apart.

“Do the- well do they not bother you?" Ray rubbed up and down his forearms, talking about Sam's white scales. The Artificer wilted under the looks that he got from Skylar and Ian. “Sorry I just noticed how shallow that sounds."

“Looks can be an important factor in some relationships." Skylar said and even though the words may have been in Ray's defense his tone made it clear what he thought of the idea. Kai wondered if the Templar's scar had ever been looked at in that way. Ray almost curled in on himself and began picking at his leftovers while Skylar turned back to Kai. “They don't bother you then?"

“No. It's not her scales that I'm looking at." Kai defended, as much for his own sake as for Skylar's, he wanted the Templar to know that the scales, the scar didn't mean anything to him. Not that he wanted to try anything with Skylar, but he had to… Wait where was this thought coming from, did he just consider Skylar for…

“Damn it Ian!" Kai thundered across their bond making Ian flinch at the sudden shout. Kai was certain that thought was purely his brothers influence. Ian seemed to be attracted to anything that had a pulse.

“Maybe we should change the subject." Ian suggested still looking at his brother, Kai was in no mood to explain his outburst. “What's the plan for tomorrow?"

“Ian I'll show you a few advanced magical techniques for control and leave you with the books I have for illusion magic. Ray I want you to walk me through the Axanar first thing and then I'll show you another sword form for you to practice."

“And me?" Kai wondered aloud, was there a reason that the Templar had left him until last?

“Kai you and I are going to go all out with you in your Axanar so that you can get a feel for it's limits. Then you're going to run through some basic aerial maneuvers with me so that I can get used to them."

“We're going to fight one on one?" Kai asked, he was imagining a repeat of their first day here.

“Trust me there will be a difference with the armor." Skylar said, though all Kai could do was hope that the Templar wasn't messing with him.  “Now we should get some sleep."

Kai whole heartily agreed with that as he wanted to put this entire evening behind him, he wasn't even nervous about spending alone time in the air with Skylar far, far away from Ian and Ray. All alone.

This week just kept getting better and better. Kai settled himself down onto his bed of coals and was ready to drift off when he noticed that his brother wasn't here with him. Ian was still sat by the fire and didn't look ready to move just yet. Skylar noticed the odd behavior as well but merely offered Ian a cup of sweet-smelling tea and sat across from him.

“Ian?"

“I'm alright, just not ready to sleep yet." There was more to it, something that his brother was hiding from him and for a moment it burned that Ian wouldn't confide in him, but he let it go and sent a wave of affection towards his brother happy that he managed to get a soft smile from the human. “Sleep well."

XxX

(Templar Training Grounds, Codename: Playground)

"So, you're sure about this?" Kai asked, looking over at Skylar, after their morning routine the dragon had been equipped with his Axanar and was now standing across from the Templar who was ready for battle.

"You may have had the Axanar equipped before, but you haven't truly tested it in battle yet." Skylar explained. “You need to master the runes within it, learn how to transfer your magic across the armour to empower offense and strengthen defense. It needs to become natural to you."

"Right natural, just like I'm naturally scared that you're going to tie knots in my tail again." Kai knew what Skylar was talking about, every time Ray synched a piece of the armour to him it felt like a true extension of his body. It was so easy to push his magic into the armour and the arrays were called to him, not with words or feelings like his bond with Ian but something much more primal. It felt powerful but with the armour on Kai could sense magic more easily and Skylar still outclassed him. Skylar had always outclassed him, he could just feel it more clearly now that he had the armour on.

"Backing down?" Ian teased, poking at Kai's nerves through their shared link. Kai did his best not to bite back at his partner but still made sure to violently shove him back across to his side of the bond.

"Do you want to fight him?"

Kai focused back to the Templar just as Skylar flexed his magic, it was like a Tempest condensed inside of a human being. That flex was all the warning that Kai got before the Templar hurled himself at the dragon, sword cutting a path that would take Kai's head off. Kai only just managed to bring his paw up to block the sword and winced at the shrill screech of metal on metal... At least until he realised that he had stopped the blade dead in its tracks.

That didn't make any sense, Skylar had the physical strength to bodily throw Kai across the clearing and yet-

The dragon yelped as Skylar pushed through Kai's grip and smacked him across his muzzle with the flat of the blade. The subtle smirk on his face made Kai growl, was the Templar actually playing with him? This time Kai didn't let himself get distracted by the absurdity of matching Skylar's strength and even managed to push the Templar back with his next strike.

While it became clear that Kai had the advantage of strength with his Axanar Skylar was still leagues ahead of him in terms of speed and skill. The Templar danced around Kai's attacks, deflecting what he couldn't outright dodge. That didn't mean that Skylar wasn't still making use of him impressive strength.

"Karak!" Kai cursed as he plowed backwards from a punch to the chest, he'd almost lost his footing and ended up on his tail. The Templar let him recover, he stood there waiting for Kai to attack him again. Without thinking, his frustration at being beaten around again and again spilled over and Kai called upon his fire, unleashing a torrent of dragonfire at Skylar. He was tired of being underestimated by the arrogant human. The power he felt wasn't familiar, but it felt good, he felt like he could boil the oceans, burn the very sky!

"KAI!"

The dragon snapped his jaws shut at the same time as he snapped out of his nirvana. Where had that power come from? He'd always felt good breathing fire, every dragon did, it was primal for them, natural, euphoric but...

Kai looked upon what he had done in awe. The lush grass of the clearing had evaporated under the heat, it was just gone and the dirt and soil in which it grew had melted into a molten sludge. Dragon fire was partially magical which was why it was so powerful, but this was beyond that. Had he really done this?

Impossibly stood in the centre of it all was Skylar, sword held calmly across his body even as the blade glowed orange from the heat. The Templar's jerkin was gone, but the rest of his uniform was remarkably intact, both were covered in a thick layer of soot however.

"Skylar... Are you alr-"

"It's invigorating isn't it?" Skylar interrupted, lowering his sword to look at the dragon. "Everyone can tell you that it'll make you stronger, make your faster, more powerful but we never understand what that means not really. Not until we test it, until we feel it for ourselves and see what it can really do."

"So, you wanted me to get angry at you?"

"No, I want you to test your limits. Was that as hot as you can go? Can you push more power from the armour? I can take it remember?" Skylar explained. "And once you've found those limits you need to learn how to control them. Power without control is like wild fire, it'll destroy everything in its path." The Templar kicked a twisted clump of still steaming soil to illustrate his point.

"Right control." Kai could appreciate that concept but first he had to figure out how he had created a small wasteland in their comfortable clearing. All he'd done was breath fire like he'd done a thousand times before. Skylar was right about one thing though, the power of it felt good. To know that he could match the Templar and to see what he'd done to their field of battle, it made something deep in Kai thrum with pleasure. Maybe it was juvenile, but no one wanted to be weak and Kai had felt that way for far too long.

"Practice it, over and over. Repetition, repetition, repetition." Skylar said casually pacing out of the smoldering dirt. "Shall we see how durable you are now?" Kai flinched back at the sight of Skylar's smirk and flat out wanted to fly away as lightning began to form around the Templar's free hand. That wasn't a tremor.

"Karak." Kai squealed before Skylar launched the stream of magic at him, Kai threw his own magic into the layers of defensive arrays within the armour. The lightning deflected off the armour but Kai brought a paw up when Skylar kept the barrage of magic going until the dragon slipped up and a discharge arced off and scared a deep grove through the armour on Kai's chest.

"Good but you need to focus." Skylar lectured already running forwards, sword held ready to begin their vicious melee again. "Learn to anticipate your opponent and not waste magic. I wasn't aiming for your tail just then." The Templar jumped over a paw swipe and nailed Kai's jaw with a solid punch.

It was hours later that Kai finally collapsed to the ground, his limbs numb and the armour heavy from magic withdrawal. Ray was frantically trying to get it off while Kai struggled not to pass out, his only consolation for the day was that Skylar was breathing almost as hard as he was. Unarmoured Skylar might be able to pick the dragon apart with ease but with armour even he had to put effort into his attacks to be felt. Skylar could still tie Kai's tail into knots though and easily demonstrated it a few times during their sparing.

"You couldn't have tried not to damage the armour?" Ray asked as he ran his paws over the dents and grooves that had been hammered and burned into the metal. "This will take days to repair."

"Specialist Kai has to know the limits of his equipment to be able to rely on it in the field Artificer." Skylar admonished as he prepared their lunch.

"Of course, sir." Ray said though the tiger still muttered sourly under his breath as he pulled the armour off.

"I could have done without knowing those limits personally." Kai moaned, the armour hadn't saved him entirely, especially the longer they fought as Kai lost magic. He'd be feeling the bruises for a few days at least.

"Poor whelp." Ian teased rubbing his brother's snout with a smirk that was entirely immune to Kai's weakened growls.

"Rest up, in a couple of hours we're doing some basic aerial maneuvers." Skylar said as he dished out the food.

"I hate you." Kai whined.

XxX

(Templar Training Grounds, Codename: Playground)

That evening Skylar watched over the team as they slept, a lukewarm cup of tea in his hands. Kai had crashed almost immediately after his dinner, utterly exhausted by the busy day of training. Skylar couldn't haven been happier with the results though, Kai had taken to the Axanar much faster than he'd anticipated and was a force to be reckoned with once he got going. The Templar had been more than a little shocked himself when Kai stopped his sword dead in its tracks. Almost dislocated his shoulder as well. Still it was good to see all the talent that the dragon's instructors had spoken about.

With their day being far more relaxed Ian and Ray had stayed awake with him for another few hours and then Ian seemed reluctant to sleep once again.

Skylar was worried.

The one to one flight with Kai had been a confusing blend of encouraging and concerning. On the one hand the usual tension that he felt whenever he was around an Ignitus had started to dissipate somewhat. No doubt the extensive trail of Kai's Axanar was responsible for most of the relaxed feeling that he experienced but it was comforting to know that he had made some progress himself. Skylar also had no doubt that one conversation with Samantha would undo all of his progress. He couldn't believe that Kai wanted to dance with that aggravating female.

Still, Caleb was right about one thing, Skylar needed to work out how to deal with his issues. If he didn't or worse couldn't then Alastor had been right about him all along and if that was the case, then he might as well just kneel for the bastard again.

NO!

The ground cracked under the Templar as Skylar rejected that idea, he didn't even care that he'd lost control of his magic and revealed in the euphoria that the anger brought. Alastor would have to drag him half dead, beaten and broken over Caleb's dead body before he went back to him. Skylar had exactly zero issues with hiding behind the more powerful Templar with this problem.

The more immediate concern was what was happening across from him with Ian.

The rider had stayed up with Skylar last night for a few hours under the pretense of not being tired, but Skylar knew that was more too it than that, he knew, and he hadn't pushed. Tonight, he'd slipped something to help Ian sleep into the rider's tea and watched the young man. He'd hoped that it was all just his imagination. When Ian began to twitch and flinch in his sleep, he couldn't deny what was happening to him anymore. Kai had confided in him during their flight that Ian had been having nightmares since they arrived, but Skylar knew what they really were.

The protocol for this situation was clear, Skylar was meant to pack up the camp and evacuate his team at the first sign of influence. Ian would then be put on a register and never be allowed back into the Playground, because it wasn't just a training area Templar did not just set up training areas. That was just a convenient excuse for the order to keep a small garrison there full time and if anyone checked the records they would find that there was never any less than a dozen officer level Templar using the field at any given time. That number never changed, not even during times of war and they had very good reasons for that.

By not pulling them out now he was potentially putting them all at risk, Ian most of all. The Templar moved over to take the riders temperature. Ian was stone cold and shivering despite the dragon pressed to his back and the camp fire to his front. He'd been cold since their first night in the Playground and Skylar hadn't done anything about it then but now there was no doubt that this place was affecting Ian.

Maybe there was a way to stop this before Ian's safety was put at risk, if he asked nicely enough. He didn't dare go to the actual source, he had neither the strength nor the skill to do what needed to be done. Which meant that there was only one way though as Skylar rolled out his sleeping mat, he was loath to do it, he hadn't spoken to Dalarius in a few years and the pair of them hadn't exactly left each other on the best of terms.

He didn't try to fall asleep as he laid down but reached deep within himself, focusing on a bond far weaker than the one he shared with his partner but one that was still there all the same. If he could just follow it to the-

XxX

(???)

Skylar looked around, not at all surprised to find himself in an ice-covered cave, he imagined that this was what Dalarius' prison in the real world looked like. There was no opening, no entrance or exit to the cave and no skylight, the only light came from the ice itself as it glowed ethereally. It would have, should have, been breathtaking if only Skylar didn't know that it had the power to contain one of the most powerful Terrans to have ever lived. The Terran that was now standing over Ian's prone unconscious body.

Good, if Ian had been aware of this place in his dreams then Skylar would have dragged the Rider away without a second thought. Dalarius was too dangerous to just let him have access to someone outside of his prison, the seals keeping him locked away were remarkably fragile from the outside.

Skylar had a hard time believing that anything could ever be used to contain the monster. Even though he'd been there before and knew what to expect the sheer volume of Dalarius' presence was like a physical weight pressing down on the Templar. The frigid cold his essence radiated didn't help either. Skylar was considered by some to be a prodigy for his age and in most circles he was very powerful but comparing him to Dalarius was like holding a spark up to an inferno.

“Dalarius." Skylar might as well have been screaming for how his voice shattered the silence of the cave. He wouldn't let himself be intimidated though, not by the cave or by the white furred Terran in front of him. Dalarius was a seven and a half feet tall ursine breed with snow white fur, like all ursine Skylar had met his deceptively large size hid a small mountain of muscle. The tattered rags he wore did little to hide his physical traits and they alone were intimidating enough.

“Well, what do we have here?" Dalarius chuckled as he turned to face Skylar, he really hoped that Ian was unaware that this exchange was happening, having to deal with an annoyed Rider after all of this was not something that he relished doing. He also didn't trust how easy it had been for the bear to connect to Ian and wanted to keep him ignorant of that fact. “What are you doing here nephew?"

“I am not your nephew!" Skylar snarled, he refused to have any association with these relics, they should have both had the good grace to die millennia ago.

“As touchy as ever Skylar." Dalarius grinned and the Templar struggled to keep his temper at the smiling bastard. “I see you still haven't got anywhere with your search, or is it you're not strong enough to actually take him on yet?"

“Shut up." Skylar hissed. “I'm not here for your condescending attitude."

“Big words but if you're not here to see me then why are you here?" Last time you wanted to know so much that it warmed my heart to have some nice company but now you're being such a buzz kill little nephew."

'Buzz kill'? Skylar felt a chill go down his spin that had nothing to do with the cold, that wasn't a phrase that the bear could have got from anyone other than him. A glance down proved that Skylar was now alone with the bear, Ian for the time being was outside of his notice but that meant. Skylar subtly tried to put back from the link and failed, and the smirk on Dalarius' muzzle proved that he knew Skylar couldn't leave.

“Get out of my head."

“Didn't you just barge your way into mine?" Dalarius countered. “Anyway, family should be open with each other."

“I'm not a part of your family." Skylar shot back weakly.

“Close enough. What with you being big brothers pet and all that."

“Take that back!"

“Or what? You'll unleash your rage on me? I'd like to see the outcome of that fight."

“This is pointless I didn't come here to fight you."

“Wise but a bit irrelevant now isn't it? You came for the other cub, but he's gone now, so it's just you and me." Skylar flinched backwards as Dalarius started to close the distance between them.

“You leave Ian alone."

“Is that a threat?"

“Does it need to be?"

“You poor deluded cub, do you actually know anything about him?"

“He's my teammate and you will leave him alone!"

“Spirits, I was trying to goad you but your really don't know do you?"

“He's a rider- “

“He's so much more than that and you should know that. Why did you bring him into your team if it wasn't to use his connection to my big brother?"

“He has a connection to… That's not possible."

“But it's the truth, his connection is stronger than yours and you know what that means."

Skylar struggled to believe that, he hadn't sensed anything like that from Ian and he'd seen the rider use his magic, had forced his way into Ian's mind. There wasn't anything, even now that he was looking for it, he couldn't feel a connection with him, he'd only been able to sense and see him earlier because Dalarius was connected to them both.

“If you didn't know then why is he on your team? Coincidence?" Dalarius asked.

“I chose him and Kai for… For who they were not because of Ian."

“Fate has a funny way of bringing people together."

“You're lying." Skylar ground out, it had to be a lie. “The timings don't fit, Ian was here before me."

“Then Ian was with him before you. Are you really so arrogant to think that you were the first? That's some hubris you have there."

“It's natural then. You all had children before- “

“Human children?"

“Riders must have bonded with them and had kids of their own and that's- “

Skylar froze when the paw cupped his cheek, Ice forming across his face and neck as the bears magic spread into him.

“You're reaching and it's really quite depressing. You just can't stand the idea that maybe, just maybe after all this time and all the effort you've put into all of this that he's a step ahead of you still."

Skylar refused to believe it, he would not believe that the one responsible for everything that had happened to him was able to affect his life so much that one of his followers was in the Templar's own camp. There was some other explanation, some other reason as to why Dalarius was able to connect to Ian so easily. The young man was an exceptional rider, he could simply be sensitive to other people's essence, stranger things had happened. Just because Dalarius could connect to Skylar through the essence that the Templar had been scared with did not mean that he was connecting to Ian the same way.

He reached up to grip the bear's wrist pushing his own magic back against the other mans and as lightning shattered ice Skylar felt his resolve strengthen. They were both liars, both monsters and he wouldn't believe a word from either of them.

Normally Skylar wouldn't dream of engaging the bear like this, Dalarius was not a Templar, or a Sentinel or a Vanguard he was something far older and much more powerful. Even sealed away in the mountain of the training field this fraction of his essence was stronger than Skylar in his entirety.

“You've gotten stronger." Dalarius mocked.

“I've been practicing." Skylar pushed back with everything that he had and was gratified when the bear actually seemed taken aback. He couldn't win obviously but he just needed enough leverage to be able to break their connection and that he could-

“Ah so play time is over then?" Skylar's grip was broken, and his head grabbed in a massive paw and before the Templar knew what was happening ice was crawling down his neck. “So, if you're so desperate to leave a tip for your next visit."

“And what's that?" Skylar couldn't believe that he'd just been brushed aside like that.

“Don't ever threaten me again, you may be too strong for me to just take control of out in the real world, but I don't take threats lightly and I can still hurt you a great deal Skylar."

“Thought I was your dear nephew?"

“We're not family remember?"

Skylar snarled at the bear but couldn't lift so much as a finger before he was ejected from the connection.

XxX

(Templar Training Grounds, Codename: Playground)

To say that it was Skylar who came to would be a half truth. Skylar's body woke with a savage roar and poured magic into the people close to him but Skylar was being drowned inside of his soul.

The struggle against Dalarius and the backlash of being ejected like he had just sapped everything out of him and with nothing to keep IT held in check, IT raged out of control.

Skylar couldn't see, he couldn't hear, all his conscious thoughts were being crushed under waves of savage emotion until all that was left of him was fear.

'SHIRO!'

Somehow his panicked scream pierced through the maelstrom of emotion and an instant later Skylar felt his partners essence fall upon his like a hammer. Shiro grabbed the frail shards that were Skylar's mind and wrapped them up in his own essence to protect them before he eviscerated everything else in Skylar's soul without mercy.

It could have taken minutes or years, Skylar had no way to tell until Shiro lovingly put the pieces of his mind back together.

'Skylar? Come on talk to me. Tell me I made it in time!'

'Hey.'

'Sky!' The embrace might not have been physical, but Skylar let himself sink into his partners hold. As he slowly came back to himself, he could almost feel Shiro's arms wrapped around him. 'What the hell happened?'

'One-part Dalarius and three parts my own stupidity.' Skylar admitted, he poked into the depths of himself and was happy to feel that IT was as shredded as Skylar felt. 'Thank you Shiro.'

'Anytime. You weren't… gone for long. A few minutes at most.' The open concern that flooded into him had him wanting to do nothing but curl up into the Windragons essence and stay there but he had to make sure that his team was okay. He had to make sure that he hadn't hurt them and if he had… If he had then he needed to be a man and apologise. 'Do you need me to stick around?'

'I'd rather you not see me like this.'

'Sky.'

'Please.' Shiro sighed and left with another embrace but not before he dumped almost half of his own magical reserves into Skylar. 'Thanks.'

'Anytime. Talk to me later or I'll come find you and wring your neck.'

'Love you as well.'

'That's not an agreement.'

'I promise.'

The Templars sight came back as Shiro retreated from his mind and so did all of his other senses. His left arm was in agony, but the pain sharpened his vision of his team in front of him. They looked okay to him and nothing could describe the relief that he felt to know that he hadn't killed any of them because of his stupidity.

Ray was stood at the forefront of the three his sword held up in a perfect defensive stance, but the poor Artificer looks like he was about to void himself. Kai and Ian both had a few burns on them, no doubt from Skylar's lightning but other wise looked to be unharmed and there was no blood on any of them.

“Are you three okay?" His wasn't surprised by his gravely voice, he knew that he'd roared when he'd woken up and he's more than likely torn something in his throat with the screaming.

“Skylar?" Ian asked as the three of them visibly relaxed as he spoke up.

“I am so sorry." The Templar managed before his legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground. He'd lost his pauldrons somehow, his shirt was destroyed, and his left arm was in tattered. Where there wasn't a thick coat of ice the skin had been peeled away and was bleeding freely.

Skylar was nothing short of amazed when he felt gentle paws lift him up and press him back into kai's warmth and Ian crouched in front of him with gauze and bandages.

How in the world was he meant to explain all of this to the three of them?