Genius Seventh Prince 120 Reunion

*Hiss*
Gripping his wrist in pain, Greyson felt the red contract tattoo burn as it glowed red. Kneeling on the ground, he could feel his mana being pulled into the connection at a rapid pace.
"What's going on?" Panicking slightly, Greyson tried taking back control of his mana to prevent it from draining. Wracking his brain for answers, he tried recalling what Lucius explained to him initially about their magic contract. A vague answer started coming to him as he recalled a certain accompanying spell that might have been mentioned at one point. Granting control back to the spell, Greyson could feel himself dripping cold sweat. The devouring nature of this spell was getting to be too much, he might not have enough. Near his breaking point, it finally stopped. An intense light flashed and soon a familiar furry animal dropped into his arms. Only at this moment did Greyson realize how much he missed his friend during this time. Almost 10 years of being attached at the hip caused a dependence within Greyson. When they were finally back together, it was like a missing link was clicked back into place. In a way, it could also be the effects of their bond which literally connects their lives.
"Hey, stranger." Grinning broadly even through his exhaustion, Greyson stroked the silky silver fur he remembered. However, what he did not expect was a small paw to meet his cheek in a weak swipe.
"This idiot! How many times did I tell you that we could transport to each other once the distance was close enough? I sent out that distress call two weeks ago! You never listen to me when I speak, constantly a.s.suming it's just useless chatter." Clearly unimpressed with Greyson's rescuing efforts, Lucius' initial words were those of criticism.
Scoffing angrily, Greyson roughly dropped Lucius onto the ground. Suddenly eating dirt, Lucius hacked out the dust caught in his mouth.
"Rude!" He spat.
"Not as rude as lecturing someone who just rushed throughout this unfamiliar territory like crazy trying to help find and save you." Greyson shot back.
The two just sat on the ground glaring daggers at each other. Before long, unknown who was first, a snort of laughter broke out. Which turned into a fit of giggles for both of them. Theo and Snow, the confused bystanders, watched the two of them like they suddenly went insane. After a good long couple of minutes of stomach-gripping laughter, they pulled themselves back together to put their serious expressions back on. Finally noticing the elephants in the room, Greyson turned to introduce everyone to each other.
"Oh, Old Lu, this is a friend I made back in the Dragon Tribe, Snow. It's sort of a long story, but her race's plight is similar to yours. This is another friend from this area. His name is Theo."
"Daddy! Is this the Uncle Lu you talked about?" Snow's eyes sparkled happily as she looked over Lucius.
"Are you both friends or enemies? At this moment, I can't quite tell." Theo just looked at them questionably.

"Enemies." They both responded sardonically.
"Ah, so you ARE friends. Haha, well, it's nice to meet you Old Lu, I am Theo." Completely ignoring the shenanigans of the comic duo, Theo greeted Lucius.
"It's Lucius." Scowling with clear dislike towards his nickname, Lucius was swift to correct Theo in order to prevent the growth of any bad habits.
"So, Old Lu, how did you end up getting captured anyways? Aren't almost all Destiny Cats like experts at eluding enemies at this point?" Evidently taking no consideration for Lucius' entreaty, Theo started with his questions anyways.
"Hey, hey, Uncle Lu. Are you better at playing than Daddy? He said you were really fun!" Snow pitched in herself.
"How do you inevitably end up finding the strange ones? Are all my words just jokes?" Rolling his eyes, Lucius shot a displeased look at Greyson. His expression clearly reading: where did you pick up these weirdos? Greyson merely shrugged weakly. This could really not be blamed on him. Obviously, it was both of them who followed after him while somehow developing a strong obsession with him.
"Alright, alright. Leave the questions for later, I have a group of friends I am supposed to meet at the Wind Altar. They are going to get worried if I take too long." Breaking up the two, Greyson tried getting the two to leave. Leaping up to his feet, he actually immediately collapsed back down onto the ground.
"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy, this spell drains a lot." Lucius warned.
"Yeah, you're going to have to wait a second here, guys. I can't dig out the tunnels anymore."
"Lucky that none of us are uncomfortable in cramped and dark s.p.a.ces." Theo mentioned offhandedly.
"Well that's not completely accurate..." Lucius whispered. "But these are human sized tunnels so I will last long enough."
...
Shortly after some meditation, both Lucius and Greyson recovered their mana storage. Digging throughout the ground, many miles out they reemerged. Zephyr unwound himself from Greyson's waist and grew to his original size. Jumping onto his back, Greyson, Lucius, and Snow were ready to head out.
"Let's-" Just as he was about to tell Zephyr to go, Greyson turned around to discover Theo also aboard.
"Theo, it's time for you to go back now. I'm not going back in that direction."
"The least you could do is drop me off at home, right?"
"Uh..." Hesitating a second, Greyson finally relented. "Okay, fine. I'll drop you off on the way back."
Letting out a brief roar, Zephyr took off into the sky. Crystalline azure skies all the way to the Wind Altar allowed for a relaxing flight. No longer feeling any rush, Greyson felt the weight on his shoulders disappear. For a while it felt as though something was snapping right at his feet and he could not stop running.
From the top of the horizon, he could recognize a towering castle-like structure coming into view.
"Old Lu, you and I should test ourselves in the Wind Altar while we are at it." He still had to collect the rest of the keys. Thinking of this point, Greyson turned towards Lucius and realized he finally had someone who he could undoubtedly confide in again. Something about sharing your life with another person truly allowed for bare honesty. Holding in his exciting news and secrets felt rather suffocating. Perhaps, Lucius also needed someone to share with, and that was why he initiated this contract in the first place.
"No, actually, I already tested myself. I can just wait on the outside for you." Lucius yawned while taking his original spot on Greyson's shoulder.
"Ah, okay. You can probably wait with the rest of my friends. I know you will all get along."
...
Speaking of, with the flap of his wings, Cerul rapidly approached Greyson from the side. The group all called out to Greyson catching his attention. Everyone was back together again! After a round of hearty hugs and quick introductions, Greyson soon realized that the group of dragons did not seem very calm. Waves of anxiety rolled off their bodies.
"What's going on?"
"Grey, we need to head back to the tribe. Right now. We thought of just leaving without you, but you probably would never hear the news otherwise so we stayed to notify you." Rosalie directly started.
"The tribe? Is it the whole tribe or our grandparents that are in trouble?"
"Everyone is in trouble." Aeos interrupted. "There was an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Irumen. They nearly succeeded, too. He's apparently hanging on by a thread. Some of the witness say it was another dragon who did it. All the dragon tribes are under suspicion of the Dragon King. The situation is not looking pleasant. We have to go back to our respective tribes or else we could also look suspicious since we are unaccounted for."
Irumen. This name was heavy in meaning. Someone tried a.s.sa.s.sinating the Young Lord of the Dragon King Tribe? Greyson really had trouble imagining the guts on this person. This was not an ordinary act of violence, something this big could instigate the entire Dragon Tribe as an enemy. As one of the ruling forces in the Beast Empire, not many could confidently initiate a conflict. To think another dragon is a suspect was also shocking. Throughout the hundreds of millions of years of their existence, there have been almost no instances of this kind of inner conflict. Yes, there were battles and deaths. But these were all straightforward in the sense that it was above board and with their grievances clearly announced and thought over. Shaken by the news, none of the group seemed to be able to sit still.
"Alright. Let's go. We have to get back as quickly as possible." Greyson agreed. His Altar adventures would have to be placed on halt since more pressing matters appeared.