In Which Jerboa III Makes a Slightly Different Decision

(or: a small setup-sort of thing for my AU, Stalker of Dreams. this page was written by yours truly, Mythic, though obviously some of the writing is from The Dangerous Gift, so spoilers ahead if you haven't read that yet !!!)
"Does Pantala have animus magic?" she asks. 
NO.
What if the animus dragons here decide to take over Pantala? They could do anything to them, with all that magic over here and none over there. 
Jerboa can fix everything — perhaps this is finally, finally her purpose. She’s been preparing it; writing it out and rewriting to get it right. Her eyes dart to her missing talons. 
Wait. 
Something itches in Jerboa’s mind. She’d already asked if Luna needs help. There’s one more thing, just before she makes this final. 
“Is there anyone in Pantala who cannot be saved without the use of animus magic?” 
LIZARD. 
Jerboa crinkles up her nose. “Who is Lizard?”
And the scroll begins to explain. 
By the end, Boa’s unsure of what to do. 
“Does she deserve to be saved?”
THAT ANSWER IS NOT AVAILABLE YET. 
Boa growls softly in frustration. “What will happen to her if I don’t do anything?”
SHE WILL DIE. 
Boa blinks. She wasn’t actually expecting to get an answer, not that it really matters; she looks at her talons again, then at the floorboards, then pictures what lies beneath them. 
The scroll could’ve told her just about anything. She knows her mind has already been made up. 
It’s time to use her spell. 
Time to fix everything. 
Dragons can’t be trusted with animus magic. And dragonets should not be treated like objects to be used by those who hold power. Jerboa knows that better than anyone. 
She lifts a small glass candleholder down from a shelf. It’s curved and glittering, and she loves it, but sacrificing it will make the spell more powerful. 
“I hereby enchant this candleholder,” she whispers. “When I shatter it, I shatter the power of all current animus dragons. From now on, no new spells cast by any animus dragon alive today will ever work again. Also, from this point forward, I will grow old and die, like any normal dragon. And finally,” she’s not willing to stop and take a breath — besides, perhaps including this in one spell will cause less to be taken once it’s cast, “at the moment exactly the length of one dragon heartbeat before she is supposed to die, Lizard will be transported to my hut safely, wholly, and physically as she was before her exposure to the breath of evil. I make this spell irreversible by any animus, including myself.” 
She cups her talons around the candleholder, then hurls it at the floor. 
It explodes into a million shimmering pieces, and Jerboa screams with pain. 
Not just her tail barb, but her entire tail is gone. She guesses the price for such a big spell was necessarily higher than all the others she’s cast, but it’s hard to think through the agony. 
Jerboa drags herself outside, trying to stem the flow of blood and get to the pond. 
I did it. I think. I hope it worked. She is in too much pain to test it by trying another spell right now. With luck, that was my last animus spell ever. 
Tomorrow I will find Luna, bring her back here, and keep her safe until the NightWing comes for her. 
Then they can figure out how to unite the continents safely, without any magic at all. Then Lizard will arrive here, far away from Cottonmouth and the breath of evil and the othermind and her own prison. 
And neither of us will have to be afraid of someone controlling us. I don’t have to be scared of what animus magic can do anymore. She can have her mind to herself and feel the breeze under her wings. We’ll be free.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Alternate Universes