Chapter Text
Anakin shouted with rage as he urged Lukka, his massive 6 winged partner, to pull a steep aerial maneuver. Sunlight glinted off the storm grey of the dragon's scales as his jaw opened and lightning began to crackle dangerously. The fight was nearly done, and despite his elation in the air, his mentor was injured and both halves of him needed to destroy the cursed thing that had done it.
The almost imperceptible sound of another dragon joined him, his student Ahsoka astride her sleekly feathered Morai, brushed wings with Lukka as the younger pair got ready to lend aid.
Four sets of eyes locked onto the twisted chimera that had attacked them before a twin stream of lightning and ice hit it in the chest and punched through, destroying its core and ending the battle.
Anakin banked to be able to speak with Ahsoka as they headed for where Boga and Obi-Wan waited for them.
"How is he?" His voice was worried. Obi-Wan was their small group's healer and leader; if they needed to bring him back to the Nest Grounds, he might not make it.
"We got him stable. We'll need to return to the Nesting Grounds though. He needs Lady Vokara and the Pools. And he'll need his Anchors," said Ahsoka, her blue eyes focused before her. She clenched her fists in the feathered crest of her dragon, earning a reassuring coo from her partner.
"Then we need to hurry. The Grounds are 3 weeks out, and I do NOT want Cody or Aurek to get mad at me." He tried for levity, but fear clenched his heart and chilled his bones. He had seen Bonds destroyed before, and those left behind were never the same. He couldn’t look at two of the men who had helped raise him and see broken remains.
Ahsoka nodded, her braids slipping from the buns she kept them in as they rushed for where Obi-Wan was. They saw the iridescent green of Boga, her long form glowing softly as her magic worked to keep her partner stable. Deep gold eyes swung up to meet the returning riders and dragons before she let out a concerned growl.
“We know Boga, we know,” said the blond as he jumped off Lukka’s neck as the massive dragon lowered his head towards the ground. He ran over to the saddlebags strapped on Boga’s bag and opened one, digging through to find the communicator back to the Nesting Grounds. His gloved hand finally felt the radio and he pulled it out with a sigh of relief. He left the dragons and Ahsoka with Obi-Wan as he walked a little ways off to contact the Grounds.
“Obi? I thought we wouldn’t be hearing from you for another week, when your patrol circuit was done?” The familiar voice of Kit Fisto grounded the scared man.
“This is Anakin. We ran into a chimera. Obi-Wan got bit. We’re three weeks out but we need to head back. Make sure Lady Vokara, Cody and Aurek are there. This… it’s not good, Kit.” Anakin’s voice trembled slightly. His brain was running through possible ways to get Obi-Wan back faster, but even pushing Lukka and Morai to their limits, it wouldn’t matter. They couldn’t separate Obi-Wan from Boga, the bond was likely one of the only things keeping him stable and straining it could kill him.
“Kid, I need you to breathe. I’ll get Vo to prep the pools with Cerata. Cody and Aurek are currently out of the Grounds, but they’ll be back tomorrow. We'll let them know so they can prepare whatever they need to. Get him home as quick as you can,” Kit’s voice over the radio pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Ok. We’ll get moving now.”
Cody cracked his neck as he and Aurek pulled the large sled behind them. They had gathered some herbs and other supplies needed in the Grounds. His ears twitched as they neared the entrance and saw Vokara Che standing there. Something wasn’t right.
“Cody, Aurek, come with me. I'll have Bev handle that," said the tall woman, her deep brown eyes carefully neutral.
Aurek glanced at his mate and his broad shoulders tensed before he moved to follow her. If they were being told to follow, something had to have happened to either Obi-Wan, their kar'ta , or to one of their ade . He could feel Cody hesitating but eventually moving.
"Who got hurt?" Cody's voice nervous, though likely only to those of their kind who heard.
"Your Scalebound. A chimera attacked them on the far south eastern patrol loop," Vokara said as she ducked under a large outcropping used by Yoda's and Yaddle's dragons to observe the entrance.
Cody's heart clenched with fear. The farthest edge of the south eastern patrol was weeks away. Their heart could well-
" Kote. Udesii ." Aurek's voice cut through his panic and gold eyes flew to deep brown and searched, seeing fear but also the need to protect. Right. The Goral'aad had formed their symbiosis with the Scalebound for a reason. They were halves of a whole, and right now, their partner would need them, their ade would need them when they got back.
“I’ll go with Lady Vokara. You go to our aerie and get what we’ll need,” said Aurek as he pulled Cody closer to press their foreheads together. He wrapped his mana around the younger Goral .
“Ok. I’ll meet you in the Healing Pools as soon as I can,” said the shorter man softly as he sank into the presence of Aurek, taking deep breaths. When he pulled back he headed for their aerie.
Their aerie was a mess, honestly. 4 Goral , 3 Scalebound and 3 dragons? Their home was chaos, though none would ever CHANGE their home either. His entrance drew the attention of Padme, who did her work for their Nesting Grounds from here.
Her brown eyes searched his, the tips on her ears twitching before she carefully stood, her just starting to show belly hindering her slight frame.
"What do you need, Cody?" She walked over and placed a reassuring hand on his forearm.
"For you three to not worry, for one. But barring that, you're the master inscriber. Can you prepare some blank spell anchors? And promise you won't overwork yourself again, mird'ika ." He knew she wouldn't listen. Her job in the Nesting Grounds was to liaise and keep their home running safely and with enough supplies. Normally she split that load with Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia, but Adi was at another Nest and Obi-Wan had been on patrol.
"Was it Obi or Soka?" Padme cut to the point, knowing one of their family had been hurt.
A shaky, weak exhale accompanied Cody saying Obi-Wan's name. Their girls were way too smart.
"Cody, phradello *, calm down. We can handle this. Gather your kit, I'll make the anchors, Aurek will be a gruff kulo * and Rex will panic. We'll survive, all 7 of us." Padme hugged the slightly younger Goral before she returned to her desk to work on the anchors, pulling out railroad spikes and etching tools.
Cody headed for their room, stepping over feathers, mechanical parts and random plants till he entered the largest sleeping room. It had a massive sunken in bed piled with blankets, furs and pillows because, despite Aurek and himself running hotter than furnaces, their Obi-Wan was always freezing. A fond chuckle escaped him before he went to grab the supplies they kept in their C-kit.
No Goral ever wanted to need their kit, but they always kept them meticulously stocked with antivenom, soul ties and other equipment needed to purge a chimera corrupting venom. In Aurek and Cody's also lived the needed spell piercings to prevent their kar'ta from rejecting the medicine. He closed it after triple checking it then hefted it carefully to bring to the Healing Pools that Vokara, Bev and Cerata oversaw.
The maternal leviathan who helped keep the pools working lifted her head and let out a slight call, beckoning Cody to the large pool they would use to try and save Obi-Wan. It was large enough to fit their perpetually underweight third as well as their own heavily muscled forms as they all worked.
"Well since Rex didn't follow you panicking, I'm guessing he wasn't in our aerie," said Aurek as he took the case, the gentle glow of Cerata's namesake back protrusions throwing his face into shadows. He couldn't think of losing Obi-Wan. If he let those thoughts take root, he wouldn’t be able to focus on getting everything set up.
“I think he’s still out with Fives and Echo being young, dumb idiots. Remind me why we adopted those three?” Cody asked as he knelt next to the taller man. Their hands began pulling out vials and the other supplies.
Obi-Wan’s breathing was shallow as Boga ran him into the Nesting Grounds, the shrill whistle and roar of Lukka and Morai having warned the residents of their return. The path to the Healing Pools was lined with dragons, riders and Goral , all radiating fear. Morai flew in after Boga, small and slender enough, even in her full tack, to fly in the massive cave system the Scalebound called home, but it took Anakin a few minutes to join, as he needed to let Lukka come in through the larger top entrance while he ran through the front which was closer to the Pools. Both riders looked like they had barely gotten enough sleep, and those who were close with Ahsoka and her feathered Scalemate could tell the convor had clearly not preened.
Luminara clenched her hands onto Barriss’s shoulders, who was trembling. Neon blue eyes searched for the dark brown of Quinlan’s, knowing he would be taking this far worse than her. He and Obi had been brought to the Nesting Grounds around the same time and their dragons were clutchmates. She spotted him trying to melt into the holds of his apprentice Aayla and his Goral , Fox.
Cody looked up as Boga barged into the area where they had prepared everything, the pool currently surrounded by Vokara Che, Bant Eerin, Padme, Rex, Aurek and himself who had made the intricate equations and seals needed to save the other man from the corrupting venom. They would get it done in time, they had no other choice.