"Breath Of Life"

#sheith | draco lych taur Keith | trust me it works | witch Shiro | heavy angst | body horror | wound description | hurt and comfort | uh, implied nsfw cause I'm not sure how to tag a dragon lych fucking | bonding | character death

The beasts of the mountains never left their home, never left the safe haven of their forests and caves, a peace between humans and those creatures kept things in order and kept the territories separate.

Which is why Allura was so shocked when a dragon, barely alive

And struggling to move, fell from the sky in front of her home. Allura was still young, just learning magic, and had never come across the beasts of the mountains. She was about to scream for her father when the dragon spotted her, snarling and craddling something to its chest.

(( Allura is 8 years old right now ))

The dragon stared at her, eyes hazy and fever bright.

"I- I am- Allura Lionheart, w-witch of Altea-" she tried to stand tall, swallowing her fear, and attempted to recite the greeting her mother and father told her to say when

Coming upon a mountain dweller. "I, I mean you no harm-"

The dragon coughed, a deep, throaty sound, and a wave of golden blood splashed at its front foot. It hobbled closer to her, collapsing just before it could reach her, and slowly held out what it had held in its claws.

Allura gasped, looking at the small being within the dragon's grip.

"A....your hatchling...?" She stepped closer when the dragon rumbled weakly, not daring to touch the hatchling yet. It, had a human torso that became draconic below. It was pure white, a stark contrast

From the space black scales of its parent. But, as Allura leaned closer, she could see bone and torn flesh on the hatchling, as well as the cosmic glow of Quintessence.

"It's..." She didn't want to say dead, because that wasn't the case. It was alive, but just barely.

The dragon fully collapsed, its claws opening more to the hatchling within them. It huffed, eyes slowly going full, and with the last of its energy it moved the hatchling closer to her. Allura shuddered as she felt the life leave it, and the dragon's body slowly turned to

Stardust, twinkling out of existence. Allura said a small prayer for the dragon, and carefully gathered the hatchling into her arms. She quickly ran back to her house, a little shocked at the strong thrums of life within the hatchling.

"Father!" Allura pushed open the door, excited to tell her parents what had just happened. "I met a dragon!"

Alphor and Melenor turned, smiling, but immediately started to panic at the hatchling in their daughters arms. They tried to tell her it was dangerous, an abominations,

But Allura insisted she keep it. She didn't care if it was meant to be her familiar, it didn't deserve to die, and someone or something had killed its parent. Allura described the wounds on the dragon, how weak it was, and how it turned to stardust when it died.

Her parents looked to each other, startled, and quietly told her that the hatchling could stay as long as it was raised to believe that it was /her/ familiar. Allura frowned, not understanding the conditions, but nodded and carried the hatchling to her room for the night.

She watched it sleep, covering it with a blanket to keep it warm.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."

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*15 years later*

"Keith, come on. It won't be that bad." Allura sat next to the taur, giving him a lopsided smile. "Arus Tech will be fun."

Bed time

The taur huffed, but nodded slowly. Keith was a creature of few words, only really giving his opinion when he thought it necessary. He had grown, much to her father's surprise, and was now the size of a draft horse. His hair had grown down to his flanks, shaggy

And usually unkempt unless Allura demanded she braid it. She cleared her throat, looking over the bandages wrapped around the parts of him that were exposed bone and flesh. Keith had no idea what he was, convinced that he was Allura's familiar even though their bonds were

Temporary. Allura had to redo the bonds every few months, keeping Keith blindfolded while she did, saying that it was a different spell she was trying. She hated the lies her and her family created, but they were to protect him.

"You know, Shiro will be there too."

That got a response out of Keith. His face turned an interesting shade of purple, and his tail started to wag just a bit. "Shiro..?"

Allura smiled, and nodded. "Mmhm. I haven't told him that you would be coming with me, I'm sure he will be happy to see you."

Keith blushed a deeper purple, shuffling his wings a bit before nodding again. He liked Shiro, a lot, and Allura only knew because of their bond. She was certain that Shiro would be Keith's true witch, but her fear of Keith learning the truth about himself always held her back.

Her father always reminded her that Keith was special, created out of malice and greed to destroy everything he touched. Allura didn't want that for him, and it was unfair that he was turned into this so young, that at least one parent was slaughtered.

Who knew if Keith had a family still within the mountains, forever mourning the loss of one so young as well as another member of their clan. Dragons, from what Allura had learned over the years, were very family oriented. They would mourn a loss for centuries, and get revenge

For anyone who murdered one of their own. Allura feared for the day Keith's family found him again, knowing very well it could mean disaster for the peace between territories.

"Well, come on then. Let's get your hair under control before we go."

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Keith followed Allura closely as they walked onto the school grounds, keeping his head down to try and escape the looks thrown his way. Allura told him many times that he was normal, that he wasn't a freak among familiars. But the bandages that covered him never helped

First impressions of him. She claimed that they helped cover scars he had suffered as a hatchling that had healed poorly. Of course he believed her, she and her family were all Keith knew.

"Keith!"

He finally looked up, chest fluttering as Shiro jogged closer to them, smiling.

Allura and Shiro talked for a bit before Shiro turned to him, grinning. "Wanna go check the place out? Allura is gonna meet up with Lance."

Keith blinked, and looked to Allura for permission. He didn't really want to be too far away from his witch, but, she smiled at him

And waved him off. He followed Shiro closely, shrinking in on himself as the crowd became more dense.

"I got you, it's ok." Shiro took Keith's non-bandaged hand, leading him to a spot near the cliff the school stood on.

"So, how've you been, Keith?" Shiro plopped onto the grass, patting the spot next to him.

Keith settled in beside Shiro, looking out over the cliff and towards the mountains. "I've been alright. What about you?"

"Ugh, absolutely bored at home." Shiro rolled his eyes,

"Pop's was having me study every day for like, two months before I came here. There's gonna be a ceremony in two days to pair witch's with a familiar."

"....why?" Keith frowned. He was already paired with Allura.

"For others that aren't paired." Shiro shrugged,

"I'm sure you and Allura won't be participating."

Keith nodded, listening as Shiro rambled on about how his time at home was. He always got a warm feeling when he talked to Shiro, like just being next to him was meant to be. Keith never got these feelings with Allura,

And he was always too scared to ask her what they could mean. Keith almost squeaked when Shiro got up and hugged him, waving goodbye as the sun set. He touched the space above his heart where Shiro had touched him, and smiled, getting up to find Allura.

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I must bed. I hope everyone likes my undead dragon boy https://ko-fi.com/kibathecryptid