In the eyes of Zahhak, both of them were already deeply connected as he came each day to Angra hoping to fill the hole in his heart that persisted due to his pain, and eventually, he bore it all.
Looking at the orb, Zahhak says, "You've gotten pretty fat?"
"Of course I have, your emotions are tasty, and unlike everyone else, I am getting them directly from the source."
"Am I really that tasty? I guess royalty is perfect in every single aspect of their existence, whether they know it or not."
"He who extends his tail too far will be unaware of when he loses it."
Rubbing the back of his head, Zahhak says, "I know not to be overconfident. You don't need to tell me that. Especially since I am who I am?"
Angra pushes its face against the Orb and says, "What's wrong?"
Smiling, he says, "Why would you think something is wrong with me?"
"Zahhak, I can sense your sour emotions. The same emotions you had when you first arrived here, those few months ago. You won't get past me. Now unseal your lips and calm my worries."
The young boys face paints a battle between the ideas of speaking or staying silent, and as one side dominates, he says, "I don't want to make you worry. A foolish disease has come over me, one that infects all thoughts in my brain constantly; it beats down on my soul like a hammer, even though there is nothing more I want than to be freed from it. I don't know if my family hates me or not. Maybe the reason my father, mother and brother didn't show up for my birthday is because I am some sort of disappointment. Like the very act of seeing my face would be seen as shameful. They are both amazing legends in our history who've lived beyond what most records have recorded, constantly battling and shaping our people's futures even to this day. Avesta is a part of them, and compared to that, I am nothing. Maybe they don't want the rubbish to tarnish their name. I sometimes think that if I train harder, I would be able to be accepted by them, but training can't embed me into this nation's very origin like it can with them. So maybe it is all pointless, and I should just give up on everything."
Zahhak grabs Jamshid at his side and holds him tight as he lowers his head, yet in that moment, a large voice moves through his head.
STOP BEING AN IDIOT!
Putting his hands against his head, Zahhak says, "Angra, you're too loud."
"And you're too stupid. You're Zahhak Mazda, a great warrior who stands at the apex of all Dragons. You train, you read, you hope, and you take all the challenges laid out in front of you with pleasure. You are not only an exemplary Dragon, but also an exemplary human being. Never think lower of yourself, because I am sure they are trying to prepare themselves to handle all your greatness!"
A smile erupts on Zahhak's face, and he jumps up, saying, "You're right, Angra. Even if they are part of our country's very soil, I will still mark out my path in it. Taking in everything and surpassing it."
Zahhak, full of energy, says, "I need to go back and do some training and studying!" Then he starts to run off towards the exit. Yet he stops before he leaves, and turns whilst saying, "Just so you know, now until the day I die, you'll always be my best friend."
A smile appears on Angra's fat face as Jamshid smacks Zahhak with his ear. "Don't worry, Jamy. You're my brother."
As Jamshid's expression improves, he dashes out of the room and screams, "SEE YOU SOON!"
Angra waves to him, and as Zahhak leaves his sight, his smile extends past the corner of his small rabbit mouth, circling his face.
-Break-
Location: Dragon King of Destruction's Temple, Bushyasta; Zahhak's bedroom
Walking to the front door of his bedroom, Zahhak says, "I need to start trying harder, so I don't embarrass anyone who believes in m-."
"ZAHHAK!" Garəbra's voice yells.
Turning his head, slowly Zahhak says, "Jamy, you don't think she found out?"
Jamshid uses his ears to gesture his head being cut off, making Zahhak whisper, "Please bury me under Rara's bed so I can make sure she never sleeps alone at night."
Zahhak turns to Garəbra and stretches out his arms as he closes her eyes, and says, "Make it quick."
She quickly uses her tail to wrap around his waist, and says, "We're running out of time, hurry!"
Confused, he asks, "Is this not an execution?"
"No! Right now, we have a concern that must be dealt with, or dire consequences will fall upon the throne."
"W-W-What is going on?"
-Break-
Location: Dragon King of Destruction's Temple, Bushyasta; Royal Chambers
Sitting on a circular table with Indrani, Paouruazi, and Garəbra at different poles, Zahhak looks at the tower of food in front of himself, and says, "What is all this?" as eyes gleam with joy.
Paouruazi, beside him, says, "We prepared lots of ingredients for your birthday celebration, and planned to store them for when we actually hand you off. But we had an issue."
"Were they going to expire?"
With a sigh, Paouruazi says, "I wish it were that simple," as she points her tail at Indrani with a face full of food.
Like a rampaging beast, Indrani forces food down her mouth without any hesitation, causing Garəbra to grab her and say, "Mother, slow down!"
With a tired expression, she says, "It seems my mother has been secretly sneaking into the pantries to eat raw, unprocessed ingredients due to her hunger craving."
With her mouth full, Indrani responds, "Stop saying that, as if it changes much, my stomach is strong enough to handle anything."
Garəbra, restraining her mother, says, "But our younger sibling is not! If you keep eating like an animal, who knows what damage you might cause it!!"
"YOU'RE ALL MAKING ME EAT ALL THESE WEAK FOODS FOR THE SAKE OF THE BABY! I CAN'T HANDLE THIS, I AM A KING, I DESERVE TO EAT WHATEVER I WANT, WHENEVER I WANT, YOU'RE ALL JUST A GAGGLE OF BUILLIES!"
"Is aunty okay?"
Paouruazi says, "It's just a sign the baby is coming soon. Unlike humans, who have the effects of pregnancy affecting them throughout the entire lifespan of it, we Dragons have it super condensed right before the baby comes out. For the next 2 to 3 years, she will be insufferable."
Indrani's eyes fill with tears as water bursts out, and she cries, "MY DAUGHTER IS INSULTING ME IN MY OWN HOME! AND WORST THAN THAT, SHE BROUGHT UP DISGUSTING HUMANS ON MY DINNER TABLE! WHY DO I DESERVE THIS! EVERYONE HATES M-."
Garəbra tightens her grip around her mother and bends her face towards her own, as hollow eyes full of despair and hate reflect into the king's iris. "Mother, I understand your pain, but if you think you can dress up as a woman full of despair around me, we will have problems."
Indrani closes her mouth and turns her head towards the other two, looking for support, but Zahhak and Paouruazi turn their heads away.
"Now, mother, will you behave?"
In a childish, yet quiet voice, she says, "I will."
"Good, now you can eat three-eighths of everything here, you got that!"
"Right!" Happily, they return to the table, and the four quickly engorge themselves on all the food.
Scoffing down food like a beast, Indrani says, "How amazing, how wonderful, how delicious!"
With a creepy smile, Garəbra says, "Maybe this will finally allow me to get some fat."
Zahhak, trying to fit as much as he can into Jamshid and his own mouth, starts to cry and says, "Everyone really prepared all of this for my birthday? I love you guys so much."
Taking a small bite of the meal, Paouruazi says, "Make sure to tell the cooks that after this. I am sure they will be delighted by a large belly on that adorable body."
Zahhak violently nods his head up and down, before saying, "Why aren't you eating more? Are you worried about getting fat?"
In that very moment, the expression that emerges on her face is that of a woman giving pleasantries to a man she has just poisoned, causing Zahhak to avert his head, and says, "Fat? Such a word doesn't exist in any dialect used to address you unless preceded by not fat."
"Good boy, and don't ask such questions again," she responds before taking another proud bite.
"Don't worry about my little sister, she is probably waiting for her future husband to propose any time soon. She's been wearing makeup every single day, so she looks perfect for it."
Zahhak's face lights up as he turns to her, causing her face to turn red as she says, "Sister!"
Indrani, with food filling her mouth, asks, "Weren't you waiting for that low-class reptile to become a Great Dragon? Did you give up on him for a better man?"
"I am not a loose woman, mother! It's the same Dragon."
"HUH!" Zahhak shouts.
"Inside voice, Zaza," Garəbra says as she strikes his back with her tail.
"Sorry, but haven't all the Deva's since the Command Dragon been Dragon's of noble lineages?"
Garəbra, with an unusually happy expression, says, "You are correct about that, but it seems his love was strong enough for him to overcome it, and it has only taken him around two millennia to reach this point."
"That's incredible, how amazing, so I am going to have another elder brother soon."
"Please, Zaza, calm down. I don't even know if he still plans on proposing. For all we know, he could've moved on, so let's not make a big deal out of this."
With a look of confusion, Indrani adds, "Wait, if I remember correctly, he has some degree of blood outside of Dragons, his lifespan shouldn't be that long. How is he even still alive?"
Garəbra, staring directly at her sister, says, "It's a wonder, isn't it. But let's say if maybe someone had constant physical intimate contact with a being that had the ability to enhance and boost life, they might have increased their life span a bit, but that wouldn't be possible, wouldn't you agree, Life Dragon Paouruazi."
With her eyes twitching, Paouruazi says, "I don't know what you're alluding too sister, but maybe you should use that tongue on your husband instead of me. Oh wait, YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!"
Garəbra slams her fist into the table and says, "YOU HUMAN! AREN'T YOU THE LEADER PARAMAISM? WHAT KIND OF BEHAVIOUR IS THIS! FATHER WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED!"
Turning her head, she says, "Father would be disappointed with his lack of grandchildren."
"YOUR LIFE IS FOREFEIT!"
Garəbra jumps across the table, but is quickly grabbed by Indrani, who says, "Stop picking on your little sister!"
"SHE STARTED IT!"
Indrani, turning her head to Zahhak, says, "On the note of bullying, I have been researching something interesting recently. Want to hear Zaza?"
"I do, I do, I do!"
"You see, the Beastkin have had a revival of sorts over on the other continents. Their numbers have exploded, and they have become the first race outside of the Dragon and Seraphs to stabilise."
"REALLY!"
"Yes, apparently, they formed a large empire and started keeping humans as pets. The rediscovery and development of their new civilisation is astounding."
"Then can I go make some friends with some Beastkin?"
"Maybe, but it would be hard."
"Why is that?"
"Because the humans have conquered them and taken over their empire, starting their own."
Suddenl,y a rumbling burst through every aspect of the home, and Indrani, with a face filled to the brim with disgust, says, "Do not, bring up vile, disgusting creatures on the dinner table."