castor and pollux

"Castor? Castor, wait, you're going too fast..."

The guardian swivelled his head slightly, squinting to peer through the fog. He had thought his twin had been right behind him, but he had lagged behind, again. Sighing, Castor crept his way over the fallen logs and through brambles, ignoring the way the thorns caught at his limbs and snagged his wings as he passed. The only light in the darkened woods was coming from patchy clumps of glowing fungus, and it was near impossible to see more than shadows and outlines. The light spell Pollux had conjured had since petered out, and the smaller guardian was too weak to reignite it for long.

"Pollux?"

"Here," the weak voice came from somewhere to his left. Some feeling around rewarded castor with the feeling of his twin's warm, soft scales under his paw, and he felt along until he discovered his jaw fin, checking his head for injuries. It was too dim here to see him well, but he could hear the other's ragged breathing, familiar enough with his sounds to know something was wrong.

"Pollux, can you do the light spell? I can't see you. Just for a moment."

"Maybe... My legs hurt, Castor. I don't like it here anymore," Pollux wheezed. He shifted heavily on the mossy ground, managing a wisp of ice-blue light at his clawtips; nothing impressive, but enough.

Squinting in the sudden light, Castor examined his brother better, paying special attention to his legs. Pollux had been born weakened, his limbs slender and wobbly as they clawed their way out of the egg they hatched from together, relying on the bigger, stronger Castor to break the frostbound shell. He always relied on Castor, even now. It was frustrating sometimes, having to do the larger share of the work, always covering for Pollux. It was why they had left the Icefield; the weak didn't last long on the frozen earth. Not that the Tangled Wood was much better, but Pollux had insisted on coming here as they searched for their charges.

"Dizzy hatchling, you just stepped in a hole. Your leg is fine. It's not broken," Castor chided.

"But it hurts..."

"Your legs always hurt," Castor grumbled, harsher than he would have normally, but he was in a bad mood. Pollux just whimpered.

"Sorry," he added, mumbling.

Castor shuffled his paws a little, working out the best way to lift his twin. He wasn't heavy, really, but his wings were abnormally wide, and it made him quite bulky. He eventually decided to try and prop him up first, squinting in the weak light of the spell until he found an appropriate log. Turning it over sent beetles scattering into the brambles, but it suited his purposes well enough.

"Hold onto this, we'll get you upright."

"Okay."

The light flickered as Pollux used the log as leverage to get to his feet once more. He was favouring the left one, but could walk again, if slowly. Good enough. Castor let his brother lean on him as they continued, pushing aside the brambles with his horns, jaw fins, and claws. It was gruelling work, but they were making some progress; the fog soon lifted, making it slightly easier to see their surroundings.

"Stupid forest. Stupid thorns. Stupid Shadowbinder," Castor grumbled as they picked around brambles and crumbling ruins. Pollux whimpered again.

"Don't say that, what if She hears you?" He whispered, looking around as if trying to see hidden watchers. "They say nocturnes are Her ears, they tell Her everything they hear in the woods. She'll curse you if you speak bad about Her..."

"Don't be silly, Pollux. She's not real, none of them are. They're just old stories."

Pollux made a faint sound in protest, but said nothing. He knew his brother could be snappy when he was in a bad mood, but didn't mean it, not really. He just kept his eyes out for lurking things, wings quivering. There was more and more rubble around them the more they walked, stonework choked with vines and festooned with glowing mushrooms, making sight easier, but also making them easier to be seen.

"This is a weird place," Castor mumbled, peering around and shaking tangled vines from his wings.

"Be quiet..." Pollux whispered, creeping through the ruins with his shaking legs. Castor huffed, but didn't speak. No point in upsetting his twin for no reason.

It was only when they were a good distance into the ruins did Castor realize they were being watched. He swivelled his head, trying to see the source of the tingling in his scales, but each time he was left only with a flicker of light in the corner of his eye. He put a wing around Pollux and tried to urge him to walk faster, but his legs were unsteady. Castor readied himself to fight if need be.

"Pollux. Do you see that?"

"Yes... She must be watching us," Pollux mumbled in reply, making Castor huff. Not this again.

But as soon as the sound left him, a chill wind kicked up, swirling the leaves thick on the ground and whistling through the ruins. The smell of rot was thick enough in the air to make Pollux cough, coming from seemingly all around. Castor growled, using his shimmering wings to reflect the light of the mushrooms enough to see better, head whipping around. He didn't have to look far, though, a great form tearing itself free from the earth to his right, casting the area in a sickly blue glow. Pollux yelped and stumbled, but Castor didn't hesitate, throwing himself between the monster and his twin, wings flared to shine the light back at the beast.

The first blow was easily telegraphed, Castor dodging a flailing, skeletal arm as he lashed at him. The next few were harder to read, narrowly avoiding talons and teeth as he dove and whirled, scales flashing purple in the light as he drew the monster's attention from his sickly brother. He was quickly tiring, though, the strikes getting closer and closer to hitting him each time despite Pollux's cried warnings.

A vicious lunge was too fast for the guardian, claws digging deep into his flank and making him cry out, a deep bellow that vibrated through the ruins, scattering insects and nightbirds, drawing curious spirits from their holes. A clatter of claws on stone signalled Pollux's frantic scurry into the fray, using his wings to make himself move faster than he was used to. he flared his fins and wings, hissing and growling as he stood between the beast and Castor as the other had stood between it and him before. But he had no hope of fighting, not crippled as he was. The skeletal monster rattled its teeth and drew back to strike. Pollux closed his eyes.

He opened them again when a flash of light lit up the world beyond his eyelids, dissipating into darkness as fast as it came.

What he was when he opened his eyes once more made him stumble and fall into a heap at his brother's side, wings trembling; a dragon draped in silk was dancing artfully around the monster, crystalline blades strapped to her wings slicing pieces from the monster's body and drawing its attention. A nocturne, one of the children of the Tangled Wood. She was beautiful, and he couldn't stop staring.

Castor's groan at his side finally shook him out of his stillness, and he turned to nuzzle his brother gently, pressing a paw to his bloody flank to try and staunch the bleeding. The larger guardian was also watching the nocturne as she fought, but his gaze was one of suspicion, not reverence as his brother's was.

The sound of splintering bone signalled the end of the fight, the nocturne's crystal blade slicing the monster's skull in twain in one final strike, sending it crumbling to glowing dust. She landed near the twins, tilting her head curiously as she regarded them with bright purple eyes.

"Are you okay? It got you pretty badly," she said. Castor grunted.

Pollux nudged him with his muzzle again, making a soft noise. Castor hissed in a breath, but spoke up finally.

"I'll be fine. I just need to bandage this. It's not too bad."

The nocturne moved over and started to examine the wound, her tiny claws easily getting places Pollux's could not. Castor watched in silence despite the pain, an odd look on his face.

"It'll heal, yeah. You'll probably have a scar, though. Shade monsters leave them pretty often," she said, looking from Castor's wound to his face, then to the blood on the ground. She made a clicking sound.

"...This, though. I heard a legend from one of the clans here, that if you spill your blood in the Tangled Woods, part of your soul belongs to Shadowbinder forever. Wild stuff, huh? They sure love their spooky old dragon's tales here."

"...Yeah. Wild." Castor replied, still watching her curiously. Pollux knew that look, and he knew he wore one similar on his own face. He had seen it back home, the look on a guardian's face when they found their charge. Interesting indeed; they shared an egg, and now they shared a charge.

"Here, let's get you out of this trash heap, huh? I bet you're sick of mushrooms. I'll escort you out to the Sunbeam Ruins."