TW for fictional deities/religion, fighting, yelling, mentions of d3ath, and sharp objects Mango stood, shocked, at Miasma's offer. It was such a huge offer, given without warning, that he was struck speechless. Both Miasma and Morpho looked at him expectantly, but Morpho was the one who realized it was too much pressure for him to answer alone. "Are- are you sure?" xey asked shakily. "Stay with you? In the immortal realm?" "Yes," Miasma answered. "Veneen is meddling with death. It's far beyond his understanding. The only way to stop him from succeeding is by taking you with me, Mango." Wingbeats sounded outside the temple. The sound of more than one dragon landing could be heard. "Get behind me, QUICKLY," Miasma hissed, eyes narrowing. She took a defensive posture. "Morpho, get out of here. NOW. You can't be seen with us." "But-" Morpho protested, looking torn. Xey raised an arm as though to... what? Hug Mango? Wave goodbye? "NOW!" Miasma ordered urgently. Xey glanced apologetically at Mango and rocketed out into the rain outside. Almost as soon as xey disappeared, Veneen burst into the room, followed by at least twenty other dragons, all holding spears with curved glowing blades that seemed to crackle with electricity. Veneen's face twisted with hatred at Mango, who had, in the chaos, forgotten to get behind Miasma. "YOU!" he growled. "How did you manage to summon Miasma?! You little- you little know-it-all! Stealing everything from me, my respect, my position, my own child!" He let out a snarl of fury. "Not that I cared about xem anyway. Pathetic worm, always in the spotlight, even though xey never deserved it." Anger was building in Mango's chest. How DARE he insult Morpho?! His feet curled in resentment. "Mango, don't," Miasma whispered warningly. "He's way bigger than you. Let me handle him." Veneen flicked his impossibly long tail, and the soldiers advanced, launching into the air towards Mango and Miasma. Miasma grabbed Mango and shoved him under her enormous wing. The Lightning spears bounced right off of her dark pink scales. Veneen roared with fury. He yanked a spear from the nearest soldier. He stormed towards the goddess with a wickedly pleased expression. Mango shrank back a little at the sight of him. "I've been waiting a long time for this," he said, looking hysterical. "You've tormented me for years, and I finally get my chance!" Miasma looked bewildered. "I haven't done any- UGH!" She let out a yelp of pain as the spear pierced her foreleg. "How did you-?!" "MIASMA!" Mango shrieked. "We have to get out of here!" "I can't leave the temple!" she cried back. "And now that Morpho's gone, I can't return to the immortal realm!" "What?!" Mango's eyes began to fill with tears. Was he going to die here, now? Veneen pulled the spear from Miasma's leg, and raised it to stab again. She winced at the pain, then brightened. "Hey Mango," she said, grinning. She dodged a stab from Veneen. "Wanna see why they call me Miasma?" Before he could react, she beat her huge, heavy tail against the stone floor three times. The room seemed to darken drastically. Miasma's eyes glowed like blazing pink suns. Mango backed away quickly, terrified and amazed at the same time. The cracks under Miasma's scales shot rays of pink firelight all over the cavern. The soldiers shrank away. A loud BANG sounded and a strong wind blew through the whole temple. "Hold your breath, Mango!" Miasma said. He did, and she thumped her tail against the ground again. Clouds of pink smoke filled the room. Suddenly, Veneen and all the soldiers collapsed. The smoke faded, and Mango released his breath. "What was that?!" he whimpered. She stood, panting. "Oh, you didn't think a goddess had cool magic powers?" She grinned again. "I can make poison gas! I just put them to sleep, don't worry." She waved a talon and they all disappeared. "I just sent them back to the palace. They'll wake back up in their beds in a few hours." Mango's ears were ringing so loud, he could barely hear her. He sat down, dazed. "How come Veneen was the only one who could hurt you?" he asked quietly. She paused, her grin disappearing. "I don't know. He shouldn't have been able to. I'm a divine being, and mortals shouldn't have any power to harm me at all." She shook herself and smiled again. "Now, you can get some rest. All we need to do now is wait for Morpho to come back." Mango laid down and tried to sleep, but he couldn't. Too much had just happened. What had Miasma just done? What did Veneen mean, when he'd said Miasma had been tormenting him? And if Veneen could hurt Miasma... did that mean he was a god as well? This story is collaborative with , follow him or I will eat your socks >:3
