Written by Malice and TRP.
Prologue[]
A shaft of moonlight fell lazily through the window of the dark, dank room, vaguely illuminating half of the form of a hunched black dragon. His sunken violet eyes had a dull glow to them, under the glazed surface. He stared at the wall opposite to him, so still that I might have mistook him for a statue if I hadn't known that it was the asylum's most mysterious case, a NightWing we'd found a week ago.
He called himself Darktalon.
I slowly approached him, a thrill running down my spine. This was the NightWing that had puzzled many scientists, until they called me, their last resort.
"My name is Alpine." I said gently. "What's your name?"
Darktalon looked up at me with a quick, snappish movement of his head. "What do you want?"
"I want to help you." I said quietly.
Darktalon relaxed, leaning against the wall and into the shaft of moonlight. I could see his handsome, angular features and his long, bony limbs. His wings lay in an awkward, limp angle, flung across his back in an unnatural way. The expression on his face was unbelievably sad, which took me off guard.
"Do you really want to help me?" He asked. His voice was deep and raspy, as if he had breathed in too much smoke.
"Of course!" I told him, sitting down. "Do you think you could answer some questions for me?"
His violet eyes met my navy blue eyes. "If you really wanted to help me, you would bring her back." He growled, his voice low and dangerously quiet.
My mind flickered back to the notes that had been taken about this dragon, Darktalon. Dangerous and unstable. Delusional and very mentally ill. Use caution. Keeps talking about a dragon called Aqualine, a figment of his imagination. Claims he was her mate, and that she was killed by scientists.
I took a deep breath. "Bring who back?" I asked cautiously.
"Aqualine, of course." Darktalon said, never leaving my gaze. He gave me a lopsided grin that sent shivers down my spine. "My mate." His grin disappeared, dissolving into a dark, angry look again. "She was the love of my life. The kindest dragon I ever met. The most beautiful dragon in creation."
"Who was she?" I asked softly.
"You don't deserve to know. Not after what you did to her. Not after what you took from me."
"I'm sorry." I said, very gently. "Can I help you with something? Do you want to talk about it?"
Darktalon's expression froze, and his eyes moved slowly across me, as if studying me. "NO!" He suddenly screamed. "GET OUT!"
I stood up hurriedly, not sure what to do. Darktalon lunged at me, and I jumped out of the way. Darktalon made a low growling sound, deep in his throat. "GET. OUT."
I decided to take his advice.
On my way down the hall, I reviewed the notes the others had taken. Worries swirled through my mind.
Will I do any better? Can I unravel this mystery?