<Sc'the> 

The stand-off between me and the Four Imperial Guard that were hovering before my Dragon Mother and Father continued as I thought about what I wanted to do. Sure, Dragon Mom's words were genuine, and they had a hint of care that confused me, but other than that I didn't really know what to think of this whole situation. 

Did I want to go with them to the Dragon Empire, my Home? Yes. No doubt there. 

Was I afraid of what my Blood-related Parents might do with me if I revealed myself, or if they discovered certain things about me that I haven't even shared with the Rulers of this Nation? Yes...Very much so in fact. 

But this was also the chance at an actual family that I'd been looking for ever since I answered that stupid questionnaire upon my death, and after all the struggles that I'd gone through thus far to reach this moment. The strength that I'd gotten in order to not be seen as a weak or worthless as an addition to any fighting party...I wanted a break, yeah, but I also wanted to be able to still grow in strength and make sure nothing like what had happened to Redline would happen to anyone else I'd grow fond of in the future. 

I looked up at Empress Eternal, standing on her platform of light all regal and goddess-like. 

I wanted that too. The ability to just stand there and let the strength that I naturally exuded speak for me, proving my strength without any doubt showing in response to that, but I knew that that kind of power was a long time coming, and I was only about a year old in this world after all so was there any harm in taking a few centuries just living...enjoying my new childhood without fear of those close to me getting merced or otherwise taken from me? 

I wanted that, so much. And the feeling that I was getting was starting to make sense now; It's been nearly a half decade since I'd felt something like this from someone, and I guess in my depression and all the chaos that I'd experienced thus far I may have actually forgotten how it felt...how it felt to be genuinely cared about. How it felt to be loved. 

I felt something sliding down the sides of my cheeks and wiped away wetness that I hadn't expected: Was I crying? Why was I crying? I couldn't afford to cry here. My tears were toxic. Dangerous. Everything below could potentially die because of it...

...But I couldn't stop. Every time I wiped my eyes the fur around my muzzle just got wetter and wetter from them. I used (Toxin Manipulation) to keep the ones I couldn't catch from straying too far away form me due to gravity, but that meant that there was a small pool of deadly toxic liquid pooling in the air just beneath my claws. 

I wasn't even thinking of anything bad right now. I was stressing and anxious, but I wasn't thinking about anything that would make me cry, so why wouldn't it stop?

I needed to get away from here. 
If the Dragons saw me right now there would probably be war. 

I needed to...my thoughts ceased as a wave of calm passed over my being. It was like a blanket had enveloped my being in a comfort that literally dissolved all the anxiety and stress that this body was feeling along with dissolving the pool of Toxic Liquid that had gathered underneath me like a wave of purifying energy. 

Even as I felt myself relax in the energy that bathed me I couldn't help but scold myself: I can't even handle my own emotions myself. I'd had to be comforted by something every time something like this happened and when I had run away to deal with it on my own I just ended up making things worse somehow. I hovered there for a moment just letting the Magic Calm my being before my curiosity won over my contentment: I was immune to Aura effects and it's pressure, so why was this able to effect me at all? 

Notice: User is under the effect of a Calming Domain; Like Auras, Domains have the ability to effect everything within a certain area due to Magical Pressure, but unlike Auras, Domains attune to the Natural Mana of their Area of Effect and shift that Mana to be under the being whose Domain is active's control for the duration that the Skill is active. 

Huh. How come I don't have something like that? 

Notice: User does in fact have A Domain and Domain-Attributed Skill: The Ultimate Skill (Warden of Tartarus) is a Domain type area of Effect Skill that effects an area according to the will of the user within a certain radius depending on how much Mana had been supplied. And the Skill (Strike of the Warden) is a versatile Skill that incorporates the Domain type control of a being's Mana to that of which becomes something that the User can temporarily control for a limited amount of time, of which can be extended through the use or Burning Mana. 

Wow. That's a lot of information about those, and pretty cool too actually. I'm guessing that it isn't very common for a being half-way to Level 300 to have a Domain Type Skill then is it? 

Statement: ...

T-that isn't an answer, or a statement either Voice. 

The little education moment about how Skills and Domains worked together was a nice distraction from the current events as I felt not only my mind calm a bit more from the enhanced effect of the Domain but also my body felt better from it too, it felt lighter...less encumbered by the emotions I'd been feeling and I was able to think a lot clearer about what was going on before me. 

Surprisingly no one had moved since my little intrusion, and I looked down and saw that Lor'leona, the Tiger-furred Drakess was looking better now and she was actually starting to get up with the help of the Wyrm-like Dragoness. I looked back at the four Dragonesses that were still standing in front of Empress Eternal, and behind them to where both Emperors were watching the whole thing with an interest that showed both of them know I was there, but weren't making any moves in favor of the Empress doing the work. 

And speaking of the Empress: My Dragon Mother seemed to be the one that was exuding this calming Domain, or Purifying Domain based on what had happened to the pool of tears I'd been keeping from gravity's pull...and by the glow of her eyes and the increasing intensity of her Aura and Magical Presence. 

This was also the moment that I noticed that the other six Dragonesses that had gone to defeat the threat beyond were also on their way back, and judging by the streaks of light that they were leaving behind I could only assume that they'd judged the current state of their other Sisters and had deemed myself as a threat, or something. 

That certainly wasn't making the choice about whether to reveal myself or not any easier...

As soon as I'd noticed them it seemed that Emperor Eternal had as well because he just glanced in their general direction and suddenly the six streaks of light that had been rocketing in this direction abruptly stopped, causing the very air around them to blast outwards in a reverberating sonic boom as the air shuddered under the collective power of six Dragons coming to an abrupt stop from having traveled at super-sonic speeds. 

They seemed as confused as I was at the action, but I was thankful for it and I'd have to say something about that later...maybe. 

I--um, thank you. I began, not really knowing how to start and I suddenly had the attention of a dozen plus pairs of eyes on the space I occupied at that moment, I'm still having a hard time revealing myself fully, so if you can't see all of my just yet it's because I haven't been able to practice much. 

The two Dragonesses that had gone down to the Earth were also frozen in place as I spoke and I swear that I could hear Empress Eternal's breath stop for a few moments. 

Here it goes I whispered, both aloud and to myself before reversing my Invisibility as much as I could, leaving pretty much leaving only the bottom of my feet invisible. I returned my entire self into the First Layer as I did so just to make sure that I didn't accidentally leave anything behind and checked myself to make sure that I hadn't lost a foot or my tail or something. 

I will admit that I looked kinda rough, the experimenting that I did earlier was a bit more impactful than I thought it would be on my fur, as I was missing a few patches here and there and the fur on the top of my tail and mane looked a bit singed, but otherwise I was completely fine...

I suddenly found myself being squished between two golden embraces. Freezing upon realizing that both of the Eternals were no longer behind their guard, but rather right next to me with nuzzling embraces. 

We've found you at last. The motherly tone of a parent that had found something they'd lost switching something within myself and I found myself nuzzling them back according to the way this body instinctually knew how. 

I don't know how long things were like that for, okay, I knew but it was too embarrassing to think about so I didn't pay much attention to it as both of my Draconic Parents pulled away and started to assess me in their own ways: Father seemed completely fine with studying me from afar, at short as that was, but Mother was a bit more intrusive: flying around me with a grace that no mortal being could ever hope to match and even going so far as to lift up my tail and smell the fur of my mane, deeply as I was asked a tonne of questions. 

"What happened to your fur, sweetie? It looks like you've been in a volcano...I swear if this was--" 

That's my fault actually, I was resisting Lor'leona's Skill trying to force me into the First Layer and ended up discovering something about my Skill that helped me escape from it...They seemed to freeze at that before looking at each other and having a silent conversation between them for a moment before Mother went back to her intrusive studying of my form. 

"Can you reveal your paws please dear, I want to make sure nothing's happened to them as well." She asked and I did so, but my tail disappeared as a result and Father noticed. 

"I understand what you mean by not being able to reveal yourself fully now..." I dismissed his note as Mother started to run her talons through my fur up toward my mane and twisted out of her grip before she got too deep. She followed my motions seamlessly and ended up getting a talon-ful of purple Toxic Secretion that my skin naturally exuded from beneath my fur. 

"Interesting." She commented, and one of her Skills must've activated because the Toxic liquid soon disappeared from her paw as it it were never there and she floated back to where Emperor Eternal was hovering. 

It was now that I noticed that both of them had shrink in size to become pretty much double of my current height and seeing the shine of their scales up close like this was much more mesmerizing than it had been when they were bigger, but further away. "It seems that despite the superficial spatial burns your body is in perfect health, other than the stress your physiology has accrued due to having far too many Points for your Size, Age, and Level combined. We will be having a long chat about stressing your body due to Over-attributing Points later, but right now we have a few things to take care of before any questions either of us can be answered...such as your remarkable level of Intelligence for your Age and the markings of A Guardian Title that you seem to have gained." 

I froze. Looking at them warily, and they just stared at me pointedly. 

Ah shoot, it seemed that they know already...Not even a half hour after meeting my parents and they already know I have something strange that I'm hiding. 

"Aside from that it seems that our business here has been settled. If you could please retrieve the other Hatchling for us and we will be on our way. Hopefully to never need to see this place again." Emperor Eternal concluded and I suddenly found myself being scooped up by a Silver Dragoness: the very one that had been eyeing me like some kind of lost responsibility. I found myself suspended in the air by two powerful taloned arms as she held me up in the air like a child.. 

"You're adorable, little one!" Gri'th'lysn gushed and I slipped out of her grasp with (Spatial Warp) over to where Lor'leona was rising into the air to meet everyone. I soon found that her fur was almost as soft as mine was and found myself splayed out on her head and neck as she rose up to meet the other ten Dragonesses. 

"You're getting a bit too clingy there Gri'th'lysn." Lor'leona warned, "He isn't like your hatchlings, and won't respond to your affections the same way." I hadn't realized that I'd sorta hurt her feelings teleporting away from her like that until Lor'leona said this, so I peeked over her head to look at the Silver Dragoness apologetically, Sorry I projected and she lightened up a little. 

"I may have gotten a little carried away there little one, I apologize for that." She apologized in turn, "If High Imperial Highness allows I'm sure that you would get along great with my hatchlings. They're not much older than yourself and I'm sure they'd love a friend to play with..." 

"Oh hush it, Gri'th." Another of the Dragonesses came forth, they were one of the ones that went and dealt with the creature that had attacked the Eternals and I found myself admiring their shining purple scales and eyes as she floated down to be a part of the growing circle. "Your hatchlings have plenty of friends to play with, and our (Young) Imperial needs to experience the rest of what's Home before being introduced to anyone new." 

"Yes. Yes. That is true...However after a few decades I'm sure they'd allow a hatchling-night with everyone to expand his social horizons a little." She wasn't dissuaded by the strikes against her, and everyone just shook their muzzles and sighed in turn. 

"I don't understand how you can go from an absolute monster of a Dragoness on the Battlefield, to a pampering mess of a Dragoness the second you're alone with Hatchlings of any kind..." Another, green Dragoness said and Gri'th'lysn just smirked at them. 

"Oh, I'm sure you'd understand why if you had a few of your own Ivy..." Gri'th'lysn's comment seemed to make Ivy physically recoil as if she'd been struck by her tail or something and she just drifted away with a glare of disgust. 

They then seemed to remember that I was there and laughed heartily at my confusion, likely mistaking it for something else, "Oh, don't worry little one, you'll understand what we mean someday." 

I didn't comment about it lest I make my situation even worse than it was currently and it seemed that Attention-time was over with as a familiar blindingly white-scaled Dragoness was being carried up in the talons of a Dragon I'd never seen before, and at their side was a light blue--almost transparently colored--dragoness. One who noticed me pretty much immediately and dashed forwards to tackle me from atop Lor'leona's head. 

"Mr. Fluffy!!" A familiar voice sounded and I remembered that I didn't have to succumb to the crushing grasp of physical beings, and promptly slipped out of her grasp by using (Planar Shifting) to float out of it. 

Thria? I asked and she nodded, looking like I'd taken away her favorite plush of something. When did you...?

"You're leaving?" She asked, the saddest look I'd ever seen her had bleeding into her features as she floated in the air despite not having wings. 

I nodded, hovering closer to her and nuzzling her reassuringly, Yeah, but do you remember what I said? She nodded, And do you still have the gift that I gave you? Another nod. I smiled, You have nothing to worry about then, I may be leaving, but I promise that I'll come over and play the moment I'm able to, okay?

"Okay." She nuzzled me again in a way I could only describe as sisterly affection and I returned it warmly. She then floated over to where her father was and shifted back into a little girl with the wolf-like features I'd met her with and held his hand as he kept her afloat with a platform of what looked like solid flame. 

I showed her a full-toothed smile as we started to pull away, Thria, just remember that this isn't 'good-bye', it's just 'farewell'...for now! And we were off to the Dragon Empire. My Home.