Fire
Stoneshine stopped in his tracks. The voice was deep and almost sounded like a growl. Turning around, he saw the three MudWings from earlier, plus two others. The two new dragons looked just as mean and had their own fair share of scars. The two MudWings that had fought Stoneshine, Azalea, and Beluga had no bandages covering their wounds, which Stoneshine was sure would cause an infection.
“Get it through your thick skull, leave me alone!” Beluga shouted.
A few surrounding dragons looked their way with venomous eyes, but most minded their own business. The bad looks seemed to only focus on Beluga and Stoneshine, he noticed. It didn’t seem fair, Stoneshine thought, since they weren’t the ones who had started the commotion. That drew up a memory of his mother. He heard his mother’s voice in his head telling him ‘the world isn't fair’, especially for his ‘kind’.
Stoneshine hoped the many witnesses would save them from another fight, but a deep sense of foreboding pulled at his stomach.
Smoke curled from the instigator’s mouth. “You. Shouldn’t. Exist,” he spouted with such hatred that Stoneshine had to take a step back, like he was punched. Azalea brushed her wing against his, and had a deep frown etched upon her snout.
“Says who?” Beluga shot back, seeming overconfident. Maybe it was the protection the witnesses gave.
“Says anyone smart. You sully the tribes you hatched from, and I’m here to tell you that the Association will administer your end.”
Beluga laughed. “Wow, such fancy words coming from such a bully. Do they make you feel brave and strong? Because I know fancy words too. You are avaricious, doltish, and in simple terms, an oppressor.” Below Beluga's anger, there was a small smile, as if he enjoyed riling the MudWings up.
Stoneshine didn’t know what avaricious or doltish meant, but by the way the MudWings bared their teeth, it was insulting.
Turning to one of the MudWings beside him, the lead MudWing, the one who had been talking to Beluga, said, “We should try to get hybrids banned from school and libraries, it's strange to see something so uncivilized speak to it’s elders like it knows better.”
Beluga thrashed their tail furiously, and Stoneshine understood. The way these dragons were speaking reminded him of his mother, except they sounded much creepier. It was like they weren’t hating on one specific dragon, as his mother would do, but were hating every single dragon hatched from two tribes. It made Stoneshine feel dirty, like there was dried dirt stuck under his scales, and he was unable to wash it off.
The specific use of ‘it’ also made Stoneshine uncomfortable. He was a dragon just like they were, yet they were treating him as an object.
“I bet it’s parents don’t even love it. I mean, how could they? It’s proof of their disgusting affair,” the MudWing continued with a vicious grin.
That was the last straw. Beluga began to stomp forward, until Stoneshine held a wing up to hold them back.
“Take that back!’” they growled. “What do you know? I bet that you’re going to die a miserable death all alone. And when that happens, I’ll laugh over your grave,” Beluga spat out.
The MudWing’s eyes darkened, like a flip had been switched. He stalked forward, leaning his head down to be at the same height as Beluga, Stoneshine, and Azalea, who were much smaller in comparison.
“It’s not me I’d be worried about,” he seethed, taking a few moments to look into each of their eyes.
Azalea pulled at Stoneshine’s arm, trying to drag him away from the mean dragon. Stoneshine, in turn, yanked at Beluga. Together, the three dragons left the verbal bout and treaded further into the pandemonium that was Possibilities streets, the eyes of the MudWings still lingering at the back of their heads.
“Let go of me!” Beluga shouted at Stoneshine, jerking away from the brown dragon. “Go away. It’s probably best if you leave me alone.”
Stoneshine looked at them with deep concern. “Leave you? What if they come back? You’d be alone and unable to fight them off,” Stoneshine argued. He knew all too well how useful it is to have someone by your side when there are dragons after you. He twisted his tail around Azalea’s, letting her know he was thinking of her.
“Exactly! If I’m alone, you won't be hurt and you two can continue on your life out of trouble, at least, as much as a hybrid can.”
Azalea was next to talk over the roar of dragons. “Stoneshine, they have a point.”
Stoneshine looked at her, hurt in his eyes. “Azalea, we can’t leave them to get beaten up, or worse!”
The SilkWing sighed and nodded her head. “Yes, you’re right. Of course, you’re right. I’m sorry, I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.” Her eyes held such sorrows that for a moment, Stoneshine didn’t truly know if he was doing the right thing. He shook his head. Although he didn’t want to stress Azalea out, he wanted to be a good dragon that helped others. He was going to be someone who was nice and caring, someone his mother wouldn’t recognize, even if they were standing in front of her snout.
“Wow,” Beluga interrupted. “No need to get all sappy on my account. Let’s just head back to the Healing Center and away from here. You can give Boreas the leaves and be on your way. Or stay and make the ointment, I don’t care. Let’s just leave before the creeps come back,” they said.
Stoneshine had to agree. It was like he could still feel the hateful glares on his scales, making his skin crawl.
Flapping their wings, the group of dragons rose into the air and hurried back to the comfort of the Healing Center.
“Woah, woah,” Boreas said when he saw them. “What’s got you in such a mood?” he asked Beluga as the dragon swept a cushion to the side in anger.
“Those MudWings! Why can’t they leave me alone?” Beluga sat down with a humph.
“Why? What did they do this time?”
“They called us names, like they usually do, and threatened me!”
“I could try to report them to the Enclave, again, or…”
“Or what?” Beluga prodded.
“We could leave here, go somewhere else.”
“What?!” Beluga expressed. “We can’t do that! This place is the safest- by far, and you have your whole life here! You have this job, and Gecko, and—”
“Okay, I get it, we’ll stay here,” Boreas said with his hands outstretched, as if to stop the dragon’s outburst.
Stoneshine had to note the two dragons’ relationship. It was more than friendship, it was like siblings protecting each other and bickering. A sad weight sat in his stomach. He hadn’t hatched with Sibs, another thing to single him out from the other MudWings, but he always wished he had. Beluga and Boreas was just another piece of evidence. Although the two dragons obviously hadn’t hatched from the same two dragons, they seemed incredibly close.
Stoneshine anxiously passed the bag of plants between his talons. He didn’t know what to say to Boreas, if it was the right time to change the subject, or what the dragon was feeling.
At that moment, dragons began to scream, and sharp pains flooded Stoneshine’s nervous system. Something set on fire whooshed past his snout. Out of fear, Stoneshine warped his wing protectively around Azalea.
Boreas yelled something to Beluga, but Stoneshine couldn’t hear what. The shrieks intensified as more fire bombs were thrown through the windows. The fire’s extreme heat burned Stoneshines scales. He needed to move but he couldn’t . Dragons ran past him, trying to get through to the exit.
The curtains were now on fire, as well, and the flames were spreading to every other flammable object in the large room, like fiery snakes hunting for prey.
Azalea lightly wacked Stoneshine, bringing him back to the present.
“We have to go!” she yelled, but Stoneshine’s ears were ringing. He could just make out what she was saying by the way her mouth moved to form the words. Together, they ran out of the Healing Center, coughing from the smoke.
Dragons had pooled outside and were gawking at the hideous scene.
Beluga and Boreas rushed out of the building seconds after Stoneshine and Azalea. Another Healer, a SkyWing, ran up to Boreas. She yelled something in his ear, making his face first drop with horror and then solidify with determination.
Another boom echoed from within the Healing center, but with one last word to Beluga, Boreas ran inside the burning building. Beluga tried to follow him, but the SkyWing held them back, stroking their wing. Beluga howled into the gray air.
Heavy smoke was flowing from the Healing Center’s windows, making clouds in the blue sky. Some dragons were still screaming, piercing the air. Crackling could be heard emitting from the burning building, and the heat wafted out like a huge bonfire.
One last huge explosion detonated, booming in Stoneshines ears, and cracking the clay buildings walls. The ceiling began to tumble inward, falling in huge chunks.
Beluga screamed again, ripping themself away from the SkyWing holding them. They rushed to the broken entryway, but the fire was too strong, and Beluga couldn’t get past the wall of flames. Sobs sourced from the Ice-SeaWing as they clawed at the ground in anger and desperation.
Flames flickered out of the windows, and Stoneshine had a horrible feeling throughout his whole body. His stomach was in knots, his head thumped, his muscles were tense, and his heart raced a mile a minute. He tried to take deep breaths, but he could barely think in sentences, let alone use coping techniques. The world was a blur, and Stoneshine had no choice but to try to swim in a raging sea of stimulus.
In the sky, dragons carrying buckets flew to the catastrophe. Stoneshine watched as they arrived and poured the water though the broken ceiling and in through the windows. The smoke now burned Stoneshine’s eyes, but he couldn’t look away. He was glad he could feel Azalea next to him, safe and alive.
When the fire was finally put out, and the smoke began to clear, Beluga still sat in front of the blackened building. Stoneshine and Azalea had taken out the thorns stuck between their scales from bombs used in the incident, but Beluga hadn’t let anyone touch them.
“Do you think—” Stoneshine began to ask Azalea.
“Do I think this was the doing of those awful MudWings? Yes, I do.”
It was just as Stoneshine feared. Nowhere in Pyrrhia was safe, nowhere on the planet was safe. “If that’s true, then Beluga is in a lot of danger. We have to get them out of here!” Stoneshine fretted out loud.
“That’s going to be difficult,” Azalea said. “Boreas— Boreas…” She couldn’t complete her sentence. Even though they hadn’t known the IceWing long, he was kept in fond memories. Boreas had not escaped the fire in time, and had died in the final blast, with a few other patients too injured to escape.
“Stoneshine shook his head. “We have to get them out of here,” he repeated.
“I think, if anything, he will want to get revenge,” Azalea told him. “It will be difficult to reason with him. We are all a little shaken up, still.”
“We have to try,” Stoneshine resolved.
They walked up to the light aqua dragon, who was staring blankly at the collapsed Healing Center. “Hey… Beluga,” Azalea said softly and hesitantly, not knowing how the dragon might react. Beluga showed no sign of recognition.
“Beluga,” Stoneshine said, “ We have to get you out of here. If this was the work of the MudWings, then you’re in danger. We’re all in danger.”
“I can’t— I can’t leave,” Beluga said, like his mind was off somewhere distant. “Boreas, Boreas is still in there.”
“They might come back and try to finish the job,” Azalea added. “I think Boreas would have wanted you to be safe.”
Beluga bared their teeth at Aalea, “Don’t ever pretend you’d know what Boreas would want! You don’t know anything!” they shouted.
Azalea took a step back, her face twisting in regret.
But, Beluga seemed to be out of their trance. “Why should I leave? They have to pay for what they did!”
“If you go up against them alone, you’ll die,” Stoneshine said, worried the dragon might actually fly off any moment.
“At least I won’t be alone, then,” Beluga muttered.
“You aren’t alone,” Stoneshine protested, “If you come with us, we can survive together, away from the hate.” Stoneshine knew all too well the feeling of loneliness.
“You don’t understand! The hate is everywhere. We have no place in Pyrrhia," Beluga shouted, still angry.
“Please,” Azalea said as she looked up at the setting sky. “We have to leave now, so we can get a head start.”
Beluga thought for a few moments, gazing at the wreckage. Tears worked their way out of their eyes, and Beluga furiously tried to wipe them away before anyone noticed. “Fine. But not because you want me too, but because I’m smart enough to know that you’re right.” Beluga got on all fours. “And I will come back and avenge Boreas. I will,” they said as they cast one last look at the Healing Center.
The three dragons rose in the orange sky, flying towards the horizon over the dunes of yellow sand, heading toward yet another attempt at safety.
Honorbringer stiffly walked into Falcon’s office. The large SkyWing with severe looking features sat at his desk, reading a scroll and writing on a separate piece of parchment. He looked up, noticing the scarred and injured NightWing.
“Ah, Honorbringer. Sit down,” Falcon instructed, letting no hint of emotion tarnish his face or words. He was as impassive as a gargoyle, chilling Honorbringer’s bones.
Honorbringer sat down in front of the desk, his tail curled on top of his talons; a comforting action.
“We have much to discuss,” the SkyWing continued on, setting down his materials. “Let’s start with your failure.”
Honorbringer looked down at his claws. Guilt ravaged his mind as he remembered the night in the rain. He recalled the hesitation in his muscles and the pain from the lightning strike. His face never changed, however. He stayed completely lifeless. He had taken years of training to perfect the act, letting no one truly know what he thought or felt. It had saved his scales more than once.
“My apologies, sir,” Honorbringer repeated from muscle muscle memory. He wanted to continue on, prove himself and prevent a punishment, but he knew better. He must wait for the Chief to address him before speaking.
“Do you know the amount of work your family has caused me?” Falcon rubbed his temples. “Your mother used her mate’s authority as my second hand, to convince me to allow your sister to come back to our ranks. On one condition. And you have just failed that condition.” His cold eyes stared at Honorbringer, like he was peeling apart his brain, searching for an act of defiance.
Honorbringer sat still, his shoulders back and his chin high. Not a muscle twitched, he was being good. Good, what did being good mean? Honorbringer couldn’t remember anymore.
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I can still complete the mission, I just need more time,” Honorbringer begged.
Falcon thought for a moment, the silence cutting through Honorbringer’s nerves. “Do you know what the punishment for a failed mission is?”
Honorbringer did know. The punishment was 20 lashings and public humiliation.
“Out of the goodness in my heart, I have made an exception. Your father did a lot for this organization, and I have felt that your punishment has already been served, with your little lightning accident.”
Honorbringer knew better than to be relieved. There must be a catch, there was always a catch .
“You will be allowed to continue your mission, but my son, Griffin, and a few of my highest esteemed members, will accompany you. Griffin will be in charge, of course, as he is highest in rank.” Falcon paused, gauging Honorbringer’s reaction.
Honorbringer’s stomach felt as if he had just made a steep dive in the air. Griffin . He hadn’t seen Griffin in years, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.
“I have sent letters to our posts in every major city, asking them to keep an eye out for your nephew, Stoneshine and his friend, the SilkWing. Griffin will collect you once we receive news.”
Honorbringer stiffly nodded his head once, in recognition of his orders.
“You are dismissed. Remain in the Healing tent until otherwise specified.”
Honorbringer turned to leave, letting out a quiet breath. The meeting could have gone much, much worse. Just as he was about to exit the wooden building, Falcon had one last thing to say.
“Do not fail again, Honorbringer. You will not like the consequences.”