New Flames

Chapter 14

Flame felt the world shake around him.

His mother was just a few hours of flight away from him... and she hadn't come to see him. He hadn't seen her since he went to Jade Mountain Academy, and she hadn't reached out to him when he was put on trial for Stonemover's attempted murder.

"Mother... mom... do you resent me too? Why didn't you come looking for me?"

The pain surged through his neck and wings, and he bit back the emotions, as he nodded toward Coot.

A healer examined her tail, and she looked at him before saying, "look out for yourself, scrap. I'm sure you can make it." Then she fell softly backward, as a medic injected her with what Flame assumed was a RainWing sleeping dart.

"She'll recover, but the pain of this treatment would have been too much for her to withstand," a healer explained, shaking her wings to signal to the others to start working.

Flame nodded, walking backward, and Rail spread a wing to accompany him outside, thanking the healers as they left.

The SkyWing's mind was still spiraling. He thought Avalanche was his protector, the only dragon who would fight for him no matter what. She loved him when everyone else called him rebellious or destructive. He had missed her more than any dragon while he was on the NightWing island.

But apparently, she was better off without him.

Or was she?

"I need to go find my mother." Flame said it before he realizing and Rail, who had been walking in front of him, turned around to face the SkyWing.

"What?" They asked, clearly surprised. They blinked several times as they tried to piece together what was happening.

"She's at Gorgeside lake... we can be there before midday if we start flying now," Flame continued, not bothering to answer their question.

Rail insisted. "Slow down. Your mother... Avalanche right? Why do you want to go see her now? Did something happen?" They asked, curiosity seeping into their voice.

Flame didn't answer. He was thinking about the Talons of Peace, about the dragons he'd grown up with. They would surely be able to help him with his case. Why hadn't they reached out to him?

Was he not worth fighting for?

"Flame, are you listening? Why do you want us to go to Gorgeside lake? Can the dragons there help you?" Rail asked again, walking to face him.

Flame felt something inside his mind snap at the sound of their voice. "For the love of the moons, stop talking," he snarled, glaring at Rail, "can you ever just start minding your own sky-forsaken business..." he trailed off, as he saw the look on Rail's face.

The look of support and interest melted into one of shock, as the hybrid's eyes fixed themselves on Flame's. He could see the fear that he had caused Rail to feel.

"I..." he started again, staggering back slightly, "sorry," he mumbled.

Rail blinked, their green and orange eyes shimmering slightly in the sunlight that filtered through one of the windows. The dragon moved towards him but didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Ok," they paused, then continued slowly. "If you want to go to Gorgeside lake, then you will need someone who knows how to navigate these cliffs..." they paused, looking down at their talons, before facing him again. "Let me come with you."

Flame wanted to say no. He didn't want anyone around him right now, let alone a witty and investigative hybrid who was determined to get to know him.

But as much as he didn't want to say yes, he nodded at Rail's request, and they slowly walked towards the exit of Summit Central together, stopping only to tell Hurricane where they were going. The SkyWing scribe simply waved them off as she walked towards a group of angry medics, and so Rail and Flame flew off into the morning sky.