Oh, so no spoilers (except for how the tribes work a little, and the cure for SandWing poison)
Also; warning; a bit brutal... Sorry. I'll go edit this.
I stumble over a large flat boulder, and land on my side. Scrambling back to my feet, I look back. I had seen that rock, but when I had, it was at least three inches to the left from where it is now. “Weird,” I mutter to myself. Just as I’m shaking the sand out of my wings, the boulder scooches a few feet closer to me. I jump back and fling my tail up, holding it threateningly.
A light orange-tannish dragon head rises up from behind the rock, sand spilling over its horns. The dragon flicks its ears to dislodge any sand from it, and blinks open its shiny black eyes. This paragraph seems a bit rushed to me, maybe some slowing down, more description, or something.
The dragon’s forelegs come up and grab the rock. It pulls itself out of the hole, opening its wings and staring at me. I’ve tilted my head up to look at it; it’s obviously much older than me.
Without warning, it leaps over to me, expertly dodging my tail barb and knocking it out of the way as the dragon pins me down. “Who are you?” he asks.
“M-my name,” I stutter, my voice squeaking, “is Xylorhiza. Zie-lore-EE-zuh.”
“Who sent you here?”
I blink. ‘Who sent me here?’ “I… I wasn’t sent. I was just… going for a walk.” ‘I can’t tell him the truth, can I? That I was trying to find a place to hide from Peccary?’
“Lies.” He can tell in a moment. Is he reading my mind or my body language? “You can tell me the truth. I’ll be honest with you if you are with me.”
I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure he’ll stay true to his word. “I’m being chased.”
“Why.” He doesn’t ask; he demands. He knows that he has the upper talon here, and he’s not going to let me forget that. His tail stays hovered, right over my heart.
“I-I killed his sister.” ‘I had to. I wish I hadn’t, but I did have to. I’m sorry Peccary. I’m really sorry, Glochid.‘
“Why.” He says again.
“She’d gone crazy. I saved him, but I had to kill Glochid.” Images flash through my mind. My own tail smashing down into my own sister’s heart. I wince, trying to send away the memories.
“Ah. I’m Bajada. Come with me.” He says, getting off of me, but nudging me up and keeping his poisonous tail just above and behind my head. Bajada pushes me to the hole he’d come out of.
“Uh. Are we going in there??” I ask. “A straight drop doesn’t seem too safe to go into from the top…”
Bajada chuckles. “Take a closer look.” His voice is still deep, but less intimidating.
I peer into the abyss, to see that it’s only about as high as Bajada would be if he sat up on his hind legs. From there, there’s another drop, assumedly the same length. I slither into the tunnel. The sides are very well packed, and no sand crumbles off. When I reach the first landing, I pause, then slip down the next drop, which is surprisingly short. When I land, I’m in a large clearing. There are four other SandWings there. One is standing facing the other three with her wings up. There are dark chestnut freckles on the outer sides of her wings, and she stops speaking when she catches sight of me. “Bajada? Who is this?”
I whirl around to see Bajada’s lower half, as he does something above his head. I soon realize that he is pulling the stone back over the hole. “She saw me leave,” he explains, turning and stepping down behind me. “She was being chased. By him.”
Two or three of the other dragons gasp. “Why are they gasping?” I whisper to Bajada through the side of my mouth.
He ignores me. Instead, he introduces me to everyone. “Everyone, this is Xylorhiza. Xylorhiza, these are: Gypsum,” he gestures to a pale greyish yellow female in the group, “Dunnart,” he motions toward a dusty gold dragon with black diamond patterns along his back, “Coati,” a beige male, “and Creosote,” the pale saffron leader.
Creosote steps toward me, folding her wings in. “You are now one of us, kid. You can’t go back to whatever lame life you had before this.”
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My mind is a whirl. I do need somewhere new to live, and I do like Bajada, despite my only just meeting him. ‘Coati looks nice too, and Creosote doesn’t seem like a crazy leader like our queen. But they didn’t ask or anything, just decided. I’m not sure if I like that.‘
“If you try to run, you should know that my tail is inches from your spine, and you could be paralyzed and dead in a number of seconds,” Bajada threatens.
“Very well. I will join you--I have joined you. Tell me: what is our goal?” I ask formally.
Gypsum steps toward me. “Child, you mustn’t be so punctilious. We are all acquaintances
here, no need to act like an interloper.”
‘My, she sure has a large vocabulary! Good thing I do too!‘ “Ok. Well… what is your main aspiration? Why was your club assembled?” I ask.
“We prefer to call it a ‘consortium’,” Dunnart growls. ‘This guy’s gonna be trouble for me.’ “We’re rallying forces against Peccary, Singe, Scarab, and Fennec.”
“Wh-why?” ‘My brother? He may be obnoxious, but why is there a whole consortium that’s after him?’ “What did my--” ‘No, best not to mention.‘ “What did he do?”
“Hm.” Creosote considers me for a moment. “No, no. We cannot tell you so soon in your membership. We must know that you will be trustworthy.” She turns abruptly; if her tail hadn’t been coiled up, it would have sliced across my chest. “Bajada? You are dismissed.”
“Thank you, Cree.” Bajada taps his wing over my back for a moment, whispering, “You’ll be fine, Xylo. Watch out for Coati, and stick with Creosote. I’ll be back for the meeting tomorrow.” ‘Coati and Creosote?’ That wasn’t what I had concluded. ‘Just be careful of everyone for now…’
“Recently, Singe, Fennec, and Scarab have collaborated on a major oasis siege. They have recruited more dragons to their cause; including: Char, Drift, and Granule, as well as several SkyWings, including Chickaree, Snowflower, Marmot, and Chamois. A few others were involved, but presently unrecognized. In other news, Peccary has not been spotted since the mass murder last month. Has anyone figured out how that happened?”
‘Was that what happened to Glochid?’ “I believe it was the effect of Animus magic. They were all killed at the exact same time; but at differing locations. Have we resolved what the cause of death was?” Dunnart asks, sounding completely confident with his deduction.
“Yes… Coati, do you have the papers?” He wordlessly trudges up to Creosote and hands her the papers. “Thank you… Ah yes, ‘The surrounding dragons claim it to have been a freak accident: a large rock fell from the wall just above where the victim was standing.’” Creosote reads.
I feel horror encroaching over my calm expression even though I try to hold it back. “How many were killed?” I blurt, practically kicking myself for talking.
“5,” Dunnart says, uninterestedly, at the same time that Gypsum replies, “at least 15!” with a voice full of concern. ‘Who should I believe?’
Creosote just seems to recall that I’m there. “We forgot to give her the initiation. Gypsum? Coati?” She steps forward. Coati shuffles forward, sticking something under his wing. Gypsum paces toward me shakily.
“I’m sorry, kid. Regulations are regulations. But listen, you’ll convalesce quickly. I promise, we’ll fix you right up afterwards, but we have to test your trust and capabilities,” Gypsum reassures me under her breath. Coati sidles over to block the passageway.
“Turn to face me,” Creosote calls from the side. I turn to look at her, so that Gypsum is on one side, the side where my tail is coiled, and Coati is on the other side, blocking the exit. Creosote nods anticipatingly, an almost savage glint in her eye.
Just then, a flash of hot, searing pain waves over my body. I try to swing my tail around with a roar, only to find that it’s being held down. I can vaguely make out the sounds of Gypsum whimpering, and Dunnart yelling at me to hold still. My first reaction would be to stabilize my position, survey the surroundings, then attack. But as I begin to pull away from the intense agony, I remember what Gypsum had said before this: test my trust and capabilities. Dunnart told me to hold still… I stop pulling away and clench my talons to restrain the urge to fight back. Gypsum holds down my tail and pulls her own out of the tender spot. Coati takes the thing he’d been holding under his wing and throws it across my back. Gypsum catches it and immediately breaks it in half and presses the open side of one half against the puncture. A bit of the throbbing heat is relieved instantly. I howl as I push down my urge to attack. Gypsum ties the brightsting cactus to the wound on my tail and drapes her wing over mine. I notice that she’s weeping, tears running down her face.
“I’m sorry,” she swallows. “This was my first time. Before Ignite was killed, it was his job. I would just handle the cactus part. But now…” She shakes her head a little. “Are you okay, Xylorhiza? You look a bit wan...” I realize that Coati has left.
“You could’ve wa--” ‘maybe best not to bite anyone’s head off right now…‘ “I-I’m fine. Um, what was the point of that, exactly?” My head is floating about three feet above my body. I take a step forward, but my legs get twisted up with each other and I collapse. I open my eyes to almost complete darkness.
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I can hear muffled voices, as if they are underwater. I decide that the higher-pitched, worried one belongs to Glochid. The deepest one… that must be Peccary. And the deeper feminine voice… must be Mother.
“Did you get some water?” -Glochid
“Oh, good.” -Mother
“Weakling. We should kill her now.” -Peccary
My eyes open blearily. “Glochid? Mother??”
“Oh, the poor thing! Here sweetie, have some water. Coati brought it for you.” Coati-- everything comes rushing back into my mind. Wincing, I take the bowl of water and take a sip.
“Oh, quit pampering her. Some tough ‘love’ will do her some good right about now,” Dunnart mutters.
“Oh, put a sheep in it. She’s younger than anyone else we’ve done this to.. omitting Caliche, but she-” Gypsum clamps her mouth closed.
I’m not sure, but I can guess what she was about to say. Maybe she was going to say ‘left’ or ‘quit’ or something like that, but I have a feeling Gypsum stopped herself from saying ‘died’.
“I… I’d like to go outside,” I whisper. My wings feel heavy, and cold, like they haven’t seen the desert sunshine in years. My legs feel as if they’re made of sand that will crumble away if I put any weight on them.
“We can’t do that. It would be too hard to get you out quickly, we can’t run the risk of exposing our cover. You’ll have to stay in here for a few days.” Creosote turns to continue the meeting.
“Come here, Xylo. You don’t want to stay in the doorway.” Gypsum helps me over to a front corner. “I’ll stay here. Does the warmth help?”
I nod absently, drifting into another dimension.
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I wake up when I hear Gypsum and Dunnart arguing. My tail smarts like being set on fire and then stuck in the Ice Kingdom to die. I force my eyes open to see the flaxen dragon blocking me into the corner. Her tail is arched up angrily. “Wha-” I try to talk, but end up in a coughing fit.
Gypsum spins around and grabs me. “See? I TOLD you she was fine!!”
I can just see Dunnart roll his eyes and turn away. “I’m going home. You can stay here and take care of this runt if you really want to, but I see no point in it. Bye.” He clambers up and out through the tunnel.
“Is.. is anyone else here?” I ask hoarsely.
Coati slides into view. He smiles at me, eyes full of concern.
“I’m going to go get some more water for us all, Coati will supervise you until I return.” Gypsum bustles out with a large bucket.
Coati flaps his wings. I crawl forward, out of the corner, and stretch out on the floor. Coati walks around to look me in the eye. He lays down to be closer to my level. “Listen,” he sibilates. “You started wheezing in your sleep. Gypsum was worried, and Creosote figured you would be fine, but Dunnart wanted to ‘end your suffering’ if you know what I mean. This must be a lot to take in, but I beg you to trust me. Stick by me and Gypsum. Dunnart is a real psychopath, and Creosote can get a bit bloo-- Oh! Have to go.” He sits up, acting as if he hadn’t said a word, and I begin to wonder if I had dreamt it. Very soon, Gypsum returns, setting the water in first, waiting for Coati to take it, and then dropping down herself.
When she gets in, she looks over at my tail, then gasps. I pull it around to look at it and -- holy moons! The black has spread out, hitting the start of my poisonous barb, and reaching several inches closer to the base of my tail. “Great,” I moan, flopping down again.
“I brought something,” Gypsum says, unfurling her wing. A round, flattish plant falls out, thunking on the floor of the room. “More brightsting cactus!” She breaks off a piece, hands the large part to Coati to store, and comes over to me. She squeezes some juice out of the cactus and onto the injury. I feel a brief relief. Then the pain returns. I sigh.
Coati waves his tail, and I notice for the first time that the barb part is snapped off. I try to ask him questions with my face, and he gestures to Gypsum. “Uhh, Gypsum, do you happen to, um, have a lizard or something around here?” I ask.
“Oh, I’ll catch you one.” She races off.
“What is it?”
“Caliche. Gypsum was saying that she died soon after initiation from the infection. But she was weak, though older than you. You can survive. Also: what do you know about Peccary? I can tell you know something, but I don’t know what it is. Please tell me.” The look in his eyes, staunch, receptive, observational, tells me that he would never lie to me, nor would he ever spill a secret if he wasn’t asked to by the secret keeper.
“Peccary’s my brother. My sister, Glochid, had animus powers, and went insane recently. She hadn’t seemed at all out of sorts until one day when she suddenly snapped. I… I killed her.” I begin to bawl, and Coati comes to wrap his wing firmly around me. “Now Peccary’s after me, and- I don’t know what to do! I was running from him when I bumped into Bajada, and … well, I think you know the rest.” I bury my snout in my talons, shaking with tears. I feel the larger dragon lie down beside me, wing still draped over me like an animal skin. I wonder if he’s going to tell me something, but he hasn’t seemed very talkative. Eyes still covered, I feel my body tipping and swaying with fatigue.
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I waken again when Gypsum comes in. “Here you are!” she says too cheerfully, dropping a lizard by my talons. I pull it closer and gobble it down. After that, we all go to sleep in a pile, like a group of dragonets.
When I wake up next, Gypsum is not there, and Coati is back in the corner where I first saw him. Bajada is here, standing over me, frowning. Creosote seems busy riffling through papers up by the front. As I’m sitting up, Dunnart scrambles down the entrance, followed by a new dragon, this one shortbread, with fawn diamond patterns along its neck.
“Hello, Dunnart, Waxwing. Take a seat. We’ll start when Gypsi and Callie get here,” Cree promises. Callie? Waxwing? I surmised that Gypsi was short for Gypsum. I puzzle out that Waxwing must be the shortbread dragon who entered with Dunnart, and that Callie must be someone new.
Then, another new dragon enters, this one has a deep latte coloring, with lighter biscotti on the wing membranes. In their teeth, they carry a very small dragonet. “Caught this guy snoopin ‘round our ‘wasis. Brought ‘im here to be dealt with.”
Creosote marches up to the dragonet menacingly. “What were you doing at our oasis? Well?” She’s practically ready to smash his head in, I can tell.
‘Gypsum, please come now. Now would be a good time to show up. Please?’ The small blonde dragon is shaking so hard I think he might have a heart attack. ‘Now would be an ideal time for someone to butt in! Before that tail gets any closer to that dragonet’s skull.’ Gypsi isn’t here yet.
With a snap decision, I leap to my feet. Bounding over Bajada’s back and launching off his shoulders, I fly through the air. For a moment I’m soaring, like I’ve never done before. It’s bliss! But it’s coming to an end. Twisting my head ever so slightly, I aim for my shot. If I do this wrong, it could cost one or more lives. Mine, Cree, the dragonet, or Coati. Praying that this will work, my jaws open wide. Forcing my eyes to stay open, I vaguely remember that I have a poison barb on my tail, too. No time to turn back. I flap my shredded wings once, then it’s time. My aim was good, the tender spot of Creosote’s tail is between my teeth. I bite down and veer to the left, away from most of the dragons. Spitting the bloody tail out, I shout curses. “Do you have sheep fluff for a brain?! This youngster wasn’t trying to take your water! He’s dying of thirst. Look at his ribs. He hasn’t had a meal in months!” I turn to the dragonet. “What’s your name?” I ask gently.
“Um. Wulfenite, miss. You-you can call me Wulf if you’d l-like.”
“Ok, Wulf, could you please open your mouth?” He obliges. “Creo- no!” As I spoke, I turned, just in time to notice. I hurl myself just in front of Dunnart as he leaps at the yearling with his claws outstretched for a killing blow.
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“DODGE, KID!!” I screech. “COATI--” just then all the breath gets knocked out of my lungs as I collide with Dunnart’s shoulder. Gasping for air, I stagger to stand. Luckily, the blow seems to have gone both ways, and Dunnart looks almost as breathless as I am. I launch myself at him, rolling him onto his stomach. I stand over him, his tail in my teeth. I hold it over his head, accomplishing multiple things in one move. I pin his back legs with mine, and his front legs and wings with my front talons. “If you know wha’s bes’ fer you, you’ll hold SHTILL!” I threaten past his tail. Without looking up, I hear Gypsi slide in, replacing the rock after entering. I know she’s turned when I hear her alarmed squawk.
Without wasting time, she leaps at Creosote, meeting her chest to chest, talon to shoulder in the air.
“COATI” I howl with all my might. “HELP!” I hear a murmur of reassurance (I assume to Wulf) and then thundering steps as he thrusts himself into the battle.
“Our goal is to immobilize! Not to kill!” I shout over the ruckus.
“Of course!” Gypsi replies.
I look to Coati, and he nods firmly.
Bajada… I think I can trust him; in this situation anyway. “Bajada! Come help!” No reply. I turn to see his near-lifeless body collapsed in the corner. “No! NO! Wulfenite! Get the brightsting cactus! Help Bajada! The deadish one in the corner. Please? Please! Oh, by all the moons, I hope that worm-faced blob of camel-spit is okay - I haven’t found out what he’s up to yet,” I growl. I bite down harder on the tender spot of Dunnart’s tail. I’ve gotten through the scales now. The sandstone colored dragon beneath me vociferates in agony. “If you move one inch, so help me I will dig this barb into the CENTER of your SPINE do you hear? I am NOT joking,” I snarl. I lightly scratch his own tail through the scales on his left shoulder, just breaking skin. Enough to make him yowl again. Carefully I step off of him, tail still in teeth. Instantly he rears up to tackle me. “Sorry. Warned ya.” I swing my own injured tail around between his wings, then stab it in as hard as I can. I shut my eyes as he hollers bloody murder…. ‘literally’, I think grimly. The howls stop abruptly with a thud. Wincing, I pivot. “Where’s that cactus? WHERE IS IT? I need it NOW!” I know I’m panicking, and I don’t care.
“XYLO!” Coati shouts. I turn and reach up, catching the bulbous plant as it flies through the air to me.
Tears streaming down my face, I rip a small chunk off of the cactus. I press it to the hole in his shoulder. “Bajada. Please, please be ok.” I immediately notice the black stop spreading through his scales. His breathing stabilizes at a shuddering wheeze. I laugh through my tears. “WULF!” I bellow. He scurries around the battleground. “Please hold this here, and when it seems dry, break off another piece. I have to go. By the way, My name’s Xylorhiza. You can call me Xylo.” I flash a friendly smile before skidding off to block Waxwing from leaving. “No one is leaving. Until this is straightened out.”
The dusty shortbread SandWing shrieks and throws herself on the ground. She throws her wings over her head in submission.
I look over her head. Coati is deep in his combat with Callie again. Currently he is on his back, but still fighting strongly. Gypsum calls out. I rush over and knock into Creosote without losing momentum. She tumbles over, chipping a horn on a bit of rock jutting out from the sand wall. Cringing, I turn to help Gypsi up. She stumbles and I notice that her right back leg is a bit twisted. “Gypsi! Your leg! Go lay by Bajada…. But.. Not too close, okay? I don’t think he trusts you, and he might swipe you. … Now that I think about it, just lay down here, and keep your leg still.” Creosote roars a few feet away. “I’ll handle her.”
I bound toward her. She pounces, but I’m ready. I quickly crouch, raising my tail. I notice the horror fill her eyes as she heads uncontrollably toward her doom. At the last minute, as tears leak from her squinched closed eyes, I pull my tail down so it will barely graze her chest. She hasn’t prepared for landing, and her eyes are still closed so she won’t.
I grin. All going according to (my last-minute, probably horrible) plan. I whirl to watch as she thuds on the ground. Not wasting any time, I lunge onto her side. After a minute, Cree opens her eyes timidly. It’s amazing, watching realization literally dawn on someone other than yourself. She inhales audibly, and her eyes drift to me. They are filled with fear, disbelief, and terrified hope. Smiling, I step off...
Except for one talon, which I keep firmly placed over Creosote’s heart, just enough pressure that she won’t forget I’m here.
“What are you planning?” I gnarr. “Tell, and you live. Lie, and you die. Simple.”
Cree shudders. “I-we… I ...“ She gulps. “I tried to join the Dragonbites, but Peccary turned me down. So.. so I started this group, against them. I wanted to show them that I was powerful, but… I’m sorry. Please, please don’t kill me. I’m telling the truth.” She is shaking constantly now.
I growl, dig my claws in, scratching along her chest, leaving a few thin trails of beading blood as I lift my talon.
The saffron leader sighs.
“But you’d better not move. An inch,” I warn. “Gypsum may not be able to stand, but she still can and will move her tail with great strength if you try to do anything else.” I turn to help Coati. He’s bleeding heavily from a gash in his side, but still weakly attempting to defend himself.
I creep up behind Callie, and smack her tail right in the sensitive spot (where I notice she already has a scar. ‘Probably from her initiation.’), with my own tail barb. She turns with an enraged howl, “I had to live through that once. I AM NOT SWALLOWING IT AGAIN!” She whirls her tail around harshly, catching me by surprise.
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Neon fuchsia pain. That works.
In my head, I snicker. But that’s what this is. Hah. I wonder what narwhals taste like? I’ve heard about them in scrolls. Do sheep have feelings? Wait- does water have feelings? Or thoughts? Wow. Heh, is this what it’s like to lay on the beach? With waves washing over you? Hardly being able to breathe? I never knew there could be so many colors… I’m seeing navy oranges, light blacks, dark whites, yellowish purples. Has Wulfenite seen all these shades? Or Coati? Gypsum? My friends… I may never see them again. I may never tell them that they were my friends. Did they consider me one of their friends? Oh, I hope so. Maybe I’ll get to see Glochid again, at least. What did she think of me? Whoa. Reddish green? I don’t think that should even be permitted. YAH!
Lions? I heard they can kill dragons. Are they supposed to be purplish-yellow? Doubtful, that would’ve been mentioned in the scrolls.
Oh no. Gypsum’s immobile… Coati.. Coati might be dead right now, for all I know! I need to get up. Mentally holding back mental tears, I fight through the neon fuchsia Pain and pale black Darkness. A thread of the sticky Pain sneaks up behind me and latches on, quickly spreading. I spin around -- no gravity, I note, or physics -- lashing out with my talons. I slice through the thread, but the Pain that got to me is still there. I don’t have time to deal with this. I flare my tattered wings, flapping wildly to keep the approaching Pain at bay. It’s coming in waves now, waves of light magenta. Wait a second… No gravity… no physics… Maybe rules of survival don’t count here, either. I duck under a wave and breathe in. I start coughing. So much for that idea. I exhale a plume of fire, clearing a space in front of me for a moment. This’ll work. I breathe out fire, and run forward into the created space. Repeat. Hah, take that Pain and Darkness! Beating you both with one fell swoop! Oh, pain. Forgot. Waving my wings crazily, I dive out of the mass of fuchsia Pain, into a new area.
This one is bright green-purple. Great. Well, hey, at least I can still be sarcastic! Ok. Next challenge seems to be…. Grow 10 yards and explode your brain that way? Wooh nope, hope not. Maybe… Oh, obvious! Wake up.
I imagine myself gritting my teeth. Okay. Okay.. Holler. Shout. Scream. Louder than you can! “WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!” I screech, hurting my mental ears. And throat. What if… Oh, please don’t let me kill myself. I brace myself, then slam my tail barb full force onto my head. Just before it makes contact…. I jerk awake. I know I’m shaking, and shouting, and sobbing. I also know I’m alive.
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No time for joy though. I push myself to a wobbly stand, and step shakily over to Coati. “Oh,” I murmur. No doubt about it, he’s gone. I step back.
Flinging my sore wings over my head, I sit back for a good cry. Soon, I feel a warm wing wrapping around me. I hear another voice sobbing. A warm head leans on top of mine. I distantly hear another choking sob nearby. It doesn’t matter who’s crying with me. Our tears are many and one. Pretty soon, I’m in a blue-orange mindscape. I feel myself … dying? No! I push back, reaching the real world again. “Cactus..” I utter, before drifting back into the depths of my mind.
A large face looms in my line of sight. “Hey there! I’m your big sister, Glochid. I’m going to teach you and Peccary so much!” ~~~ “I hate you!” “Yeah? Well… I hate you too!! You’re a no good, mean brother and I wish I had destroyed your egg before you hatched!” I shout. “That’s it.” Peccary has me pinned down with my snout in the sand. I hear ripping, and the pain doesn’t register through the anger until he’s left. ~~~ A crazed look glazes her eyes over. She smiles deliriously, licks her fangs. I hear the hissing sound that comes before fire-breath, and I duck. Gulping, I plunge my talons into her chest.
I drift in and out of memories, imagination, and real life, often not being able to differentiate, for a week or two. When I finally feel up to eating, I’m starving. Gypsum is sitting in front of me, grinning ecstatically. She nudges a bucket of water to me, sloshing a bit on our talons. I smile gratefully, sitting up to drink down a few portions of the water. Waxwing clatters in, her mouth full with four desert lizards. Gypsi and I turn and laugh. She looks ridiculous. She stumbles over to us and drops the prey. We all grab one, and munch quietly.
“Bajada?” I inquire.
Waxwing nods to the corner and flicks a lizard his way. He’s sitting up, but hardly moving. He looks like a statue. “Is he okay?” I whisper.
“Fine,” Gypsi replies quietly.
“And… Callie?” I ask nervously.
“She won’t be hurting anyone else any time soon,” Waxwing chuckles.
“She’s dead?”
“No, but she has a terrible neck injury,” Waxwing answers mock-innocently.
Gypsi bursts out laughing. “Stop worrying her!” she chokes out to Waxwing. To me she says, “Calescent got a bad laceration on the back, as well as many burns along the neck and chest. She’s presently being counseled by yours truly.”
We spend the remainder of the afternoon laughing and chatting until I have to go to sleep. Gypsum and Waxwing curl up around me, making me feel secure and safe.
Thanks guys!! If you actually read that thing, please give me constructive criticism if you have any,
Quote... hm.
"Quote quote quote \ I need a quote quote quooote.
Quote quote quote \ singin' a quo-o-ote."
I did sing that. Out loud. So it counts. My chest hurts. Maybe I'm having a heart attack. O.O OH NO I'M GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE no I'm 13 It's not a heart attack. BUT IT COULD BE LEADING UP TO IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I'll keep you posted.
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