(Sidenote: Each -X- denotes a shift in POV, and also this is my first fic for the WOF series, so any feedback, comments, criticisms, etc are welcome! Enjoy!)
Sweet Dreams
-X-
I'm not a monster.
The two dragons stared each other down. Peril, against that murderous tyrant. The old SkyWing arena seemed exactly how it did in reality, her dreamscape replicating it spot on. The only things missing were guards, and the roar of the crowds. Of course, this just made everything all the more personal between the two.
"But of COURSE you are, how could you possibly not be!"
Even in her sleep, Peril couldn't escape her self conscious, firescaled haphazardous-ness. She backpedaled and stepped on a twig; as it burst into flames and reminded her how dangerous she was for the millionth time in her life. For a long while she felt like she belonged in Jade Academy, and still she did. Surrounded by oodles of dragons and dragonets who genuinely thought her to be her friend and family, she'd found exactly what she'd wanted in life: belonging.
But all this wasn't without her doubts, which is exactly what Peril hated the most. Especially in her dreams...
You're gone and OUT of my life, I'm free from you. You failed, and you will be FORGOTTEN like the rest of the worthless, tyrannical dragons in history. Peril spat at Scarlet in an attempt to ward her off and perhaps wake herself up.
Peril stood her ground in the dreamscape, the old arena she'd fought in countless times, and mercilessly slaughtered countless more. Staring her down was the deceased Scarlet, always a pleasure. Peril hadn't a doubt in her inferno of a brain that the dragon in front of her was totally dead, yet she still tormented her dreams like this.
Regardless, the dream dragon drew closer, not an ounce of fear in her steps; something uncharacteristic of Scarlet in this case.
"Then why am I here? More importantly," Scarlet almost drew nose to nose with the firescaled Skywing, showing no hint of fear of Peril.
"Why do you keep seeing me in your own dreams, if I'm so dead to you? I shouldn't even be here. Unless..." Scarlet seemed endlessly amused with herself, something definite of her personality.
It shook Peril all the more she spoke.
Nonetheless, Peril swiped at the dream dragon fruitlessly. Her talons simply passed through the heartless queen.
I WATCHED YOU DIE. You deserved every ounce of pain and suffering in your life you TRAITOROUS MONSTER.
Peril felt herself getting hotter and hotter, the fiery aura painting her surroundings red-orange. That harrowing doubt she hated and that scarred her mind, separated her feelings of safety and being loved, from the inescapable and all too relentless feeling of being torn apart and deceived, controlled and betrayed. This dragon in front of her, one she'd known for almost all her life, symbolized that divide and made it all the more real.
Scarlet drew her head back and laughed in that haughty and all the more degrading tone. "Monster? HA! I'm not the one who burned unborn dragon eggs and murdered countless dragons with your firescales."
Peril almost shouted out loud to shut her up, but felt her voice abandon her. Scarlet laughed again. "And traitorous! How delightfully ironic, considering you betrayed ME." Scarlet turned around and headed towards her throne, brushing off Peril without a care. "And to think..."
Peril, determined not to let her finish, lunged at the red SkyWing. But before she could reach her, the ground beneath her talons collapsed; her wings useless to save her. She heard but one last thing from her tormentor as she fell into the void.
"You almost forgot him entirely, just like he would forget YOU."
The next thing Peril laid her eyes on were another pair of emerald green eyes, the rest of the body holding her shoulders tight and whisper-shouting at her.
"Peril! PERIL!"
Once fully woken, her adrenaline kicked in as her claws almost throttled the SeaWing she now recognized as Turtle. He spoke calmingly and softly, a twinge of pain on his face and in his voice as a soft sizzle permeated the air.
"Hey, hey, hey! It's me, just calm down. You were having a bad dream, I think... It's alright, you're safe, everything's just fine... Alright...?" Peril's chest heaved breaths of panic and aggression, although now she seemed to calm down.
"Turtle... Right, I'm... I'm okay..." She took her claws off his shoulders and withdrew from him. "Sorry... You alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"
Turtle sat down and sighed, relieved and happy. "No, I'm okay! Impenetrable magic scales remember? It's just," He looked to the cave entrance, several sleepy yet terrified dragonets hung in the opening. "...You have a tendency to shout in your sleep."
Peril glanced at the faces hanging there in the hall, two she recognized to be Tamarin and Anemone. Peril heaved another sigh and waved a wing at them.
"It's alright guys... I'm really sorry for waking you. I'll make it up to yo-"
Before she could finish, Tamarin and Anemone sauntered in and sat rather close to her, Anemone guiding Tamarin into the empty room. The others simply slunk off.
"Don't worry Peril, we understand how rough nightmares are. I get 'em too, so does Tamarin..." A rather frisky smile emerged as she nudged her RainWing companion. "Although I imagine it's different with Tamarin since she hasn't seen much else."
Tamarin smirked towards her voice and bumped against Anemone. "Excuse me, that wasn't very sensitive your royal highness. You about have the manners of a spoiled clam." Her words were a jab in return, but laced with kindness and a sort of mischief to them. Anemone giggled and bumped her gently back as the two seemed to tussle very gently. Peril cracked a smile from the sight.
Turtle interrupted the silliness. "What they're TRYING to say, is that if you need someone to talk to, we're here." Turtle offered a sincere smile, as did Anemone. Tamarin did too, but she wasn't looking directly at Peril so she couldn't tell as well.
Peril let a soft expression of graciousness and kindness take over, one that she'd practiced over the course of these recurring nightmares.
"Thank you so much... I appreciate you coming to be my family, but I..." Another sigh of defeat took hold. Peril was incredibly grateful she had her own room back since the nightmares kicked in again. Several new scorch marks imprinted on the stone walls seemed to indicate sharing a room was out of the question.
Sadly...
"...You should go back to sleep. It's late, and I don't think I'll be sleeping any more tonight." Peril forced herself up and padded to the hallway.
Turtle followed behind, followed by Anemone and Tamarin. "You going out to fly this off?"
Peril nodded. "Yeah... I'll be back by class tomorrow." She started off again and stopped herself. "Oh and uh, Turtle?"
Turtle simply smiled and sauntered off with Anemone and Tamarin. "I'll tell Clay, don't worry. Go fly it off Peril, maybe eat something. We're always here for you." A soft yawn interrupted his sentence. "Night."
Anemone led Tamarin to her winglet's room, noticeably heading inside with her. "G'night Peril, hope your dreams get better." She disappeared into the cave.
Peril sat in the hallway, the night time silence and empty halls echoing her feelings. "Night..."
She quietly padded to the nearest exit, hearing the various snores, tossing and turning, sleep talking, and other sleep noises coming from the dragons/dragonets rooms. Peril couldn't help but smile.
They're all asleep... Must be nice not having maniacal psycho queens terrorizing your dreams.
"It's nice, but there's worse to be had in a dream."
Peril nearly hit the Stalactites above jumping out of her scales. Moon held back a smile (not very well) and moved away a little.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you... It's just, you woke me and, I wanted to check on you. Y'know?"
Peril wanted to throttle the NightWing mind reader.
No, she's family now. No throttling family, at least not the ones who aren't fireproof.
"Preferably." Peril shot Moon a rather fiery look. Moon held her forepaws up in compliance. "Alright, I'll stop. Promise."
The SkyWing sat besides Moon, regarding her with a warm smile. "Thank you."
"Although... I did hear your thought conversation with Dream Scarlet." Before Peril could express anything of her displeasure, Moon again spoke.
"Mind you I wasn't prodding in! It's just you have really loud dreams sometimes. It woke me up and I couldn't keep it out... So I'm sorry, but... more so about having to deal with those nightmares..." Peril could tell Moon wanted to show some form of physical assurance, but refrained from doing so. Somehow that hurt worse.
"It's okay... I mean, no it's not, but you shouldn't have to worry about it Moon." Peril wanted to make sure her problems were her own, and not have to leave any burdens on anyone else.
Moon cut in her train of thought. "Peril that's what family is for. Real family is there to support each other, always. You were there for me when I wanted to talk about Qibli, Remember?"
Peril did remember. She thought it was absolutely adorable how they were together.
"aHEM. What I'm saying is, I'm worried, and that's okay. I want to be worried for you, and we can figure this out together if you want." Moon offered a sincere smile, a mix of familial affection and friendship. "And again, I'm so sorry about these nightmares Peril."
Peril regarded her with the same smile.
"Moon, you have no reason to be sorry... You're the sweetest mind reader I've ever met." She regarded Moon with a more understanding grin. Moon returned it in kind.
"Am I not the ONLY mind reader you've met?"
The two shared in a light hearted laugh, but quietly as the other students snored away. Moon yawned to herself. Peril nodded to her room along with the rest of her winglet.
"Moon, you should go back to sleep… I'll be fine, I promise."
Moon nodded and padded back to her room. "Alright. Let me know how you're feeling tomorrow, okay?" She looked back with a knowing smile. "G'night Peril."
Peril waved her off. "Sweet dreams fortune teller." Moon turned around fully and whisper/hissed back at her playfully. "I'm not a fortune teller!"
With that, the two parted; Moon to her winglet's room and Peril to the night sky with nothing but the clouds and her own thoughts.
At least up here nothing can hurt me...
The Next Morning
The MudWing's heavy footsteps echoed in the halls as he padded towards the Library.
Peril's nightmares have been getting out of hand, Clay thought to himself. The past week or so half the dragons in the mountain have been woken up and deprived of sleep, including me...
Clay felt a pang of guilt, knowing Peril's history. I hope she's okay.
As he neared the Library, he could hear the conversation inside from where he was. Peril was in there alright, as was Starflight unsurprisingly.
"It should work, the resin is fairly fireproof. You should be able to touch the scroll without damaging it." Starflight's voice seemed hesitant yet hoping.
That's right, I forgot Starflight was working on fireproof scrolls for Peril.
As he turned the corner, Peril held in her talons a shiny, thick scroll. For the moment, it stayed intact.
"Hey! Starflight that's amazing, It's not b-" Before she had a chance to finish her thought, the scroll started burning ever so slowly. The flames burst out and licked along the surface.
"...burning." Peril sighed and laid it on the stone table, her voice carrying a concealed sadness. "Well… it didn't work too well..."
Starflight sensed her disappointment. "That's alright, it was a prototype anyways. I'll just have to perfect it." Starflight sensed Peril's heat and tilted his head towards her. "Me and Sunny will keep trying, okay?"
Peril smiled. "Okay, but if it doesn't seem possible, don't fret too much. It's not that big a deal anyways, but thank you so much Starflight! You're awesome by the way." Starflight blushed ever so slightly.
Clay noted how absolutely everyone treated Peril differently, in the best way. She was family, and her firescales weren't a problem or a threat, but a gift and one that shouldn't be feared.
I'm so glad that she has a family now, especially one that treats her so well.
Before Starflight had a chance to finish his thought, Clay interjected.
"Hey Starflight, can I borrow Peril?" Right away Clay took note of Peril's excited reactions, her eyes widening a bit, her expression more positive with a twang of an anxious smile on it. Her azure eyes were now trained on his, following them around as if they were shining jewels to her.
Clay already felt his head grow hot, even though she wasn't in his proximity. Three moons I'm always shocked at how beautiful her eyes are... They're gorgeous.
Starflight interrupted Clay's train of thought. "Oh hey Clay, sure thing!"
Before Starflight could react, Peril thanked him, whirled past and took her place staunchly besides her favorite MudWing. A grin that permeated deeper than it seemed lay plastered on her face.
"Hey Clay. How're you?~" Peril's sweltering aura grew a bit hotter, something that always meant excitement. Clay nodded and returned with a soft spoken smile.
"I'm well, just a bit tired." Clay nearly immediately had regret saying that, seeing Peril's face drop a little.
No, no! Happy dang it!
"I woke you up too, didn't I...? Sorry Clay..."
In an attempt to get her smiling again, Clay put his paw atop Peril's. Her first reaction was to take it back, but then remembering it was Clay's she let it back and let a soft smile show again.
There she is... Phew.
Clay spoke softly and padded with her to the Prey Center. Usually it was mostly empty this time of day, so they could talk there. "It's alright Peril, I'm more concerned about you..." He met her gaze, and regarded her in a more serious manner. "Are they getting better or worse?"
The look in her eyes betrayed her smile which slowly faded again. Her gaze drifted off to the ground, and as she shook it off again she met Clay's once more.
"That doesn't matter now, what matters is that they can't hurt me." Peril sat down on one of the lower ledges in the middle of the prey center, her hardening gaze looking towards the water. Under her breath she muttered a few more words that made Clay suddenly understand.
"She never will again..."
Scarlet... Of course, she plagued her dreams for years, I bet! That's gotta leave a negative effect on her mind, Clay said to himself mentally. Poor Peril... That has to be awful.
Clay planted himself firmly besides the SkyWing, nudging her shoulder softly. "Peril... Even though Scarlet did die..." As soon as Clay mentioned Scarlet, Peril seemed to go into defense mode. Her pupils widened ever so slightly, her entire body tensing a fraction of what it usually did.
Clay sighed and fully turned to her. "Even though she's dead and gone for good, she can still hurt you by the scars she might have left... I still have painful memories I'd rather not get into as well."
The simple memory of Cattail casually brushing Clay off as her son, the feeling of getting cast off by her own mother and feeling like he was worthless to nearly everyone; these things stayed with him and might never leave him.
"But..." He felt himself fill with hope, something he very much wanted to convey to Peril. "These scars don't define us, rather they help us get to the better part of our story." He nudged his nose to her shoulder. "This is the better part of our stories."
Peril's glance back at Clay spoke volumes about how much his peptalk was working. She seemed to loosen up and calm down. Seeing her react to his heartfelt words made Clay melt a little inside.
...Peril. You were always my family.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right." Peril leaned against the larger MudWing, a soft sizzle coming from the contact. Clay chuckled ever softly as the sound emanated from them.
Peril on the other hand seemed a bit disconcerted. "Clay, this doesn't hurt you does it? Does it burn or anything?"
I mean, a little but if I told you that you'd never touch me again...
Clay shook his head enthusiastically. "No, of course not! It feels rather nice actually." He let a reassuring smile down at Peril, letting her know she could do this anytime.
The reaction he got wasn't what he expected though. Instead of happiness, he found guilt. Peril pulled away and turned to him.
"Clay I-"
SPLOOSH
Before Peril had a chance to speak a wave of water hit them both. Shaking themselves off, it was revealed that Tsunami had pounced on a fish and caused the water to hit them. She seemed proud of herself, as Peril was annoyed and rather flustered.
"TSUNAMI!"
The SeaWing poked her head above the water with the biggest fish Clay had seen a long while. Tsunami mumbled between the fish in her mouth.
"SCHOWRRY!" She swam out and began wolfing down her fish as she left the prey center.
Peril sighed and turned to Clay again, wanting to say something but couldn't bring herself to say it. She laid down and rested her head near Clay's body.
"Nevermind... Wasn't important anyhow."
Somehow I doubt that.
Clay wasn't about to let her slump into defeat like this, and nudged her head as he hatched an idea.
"Hey, you uhm... Wanna go fly together? I've been wanting to fly with you for a while now… shall we?"
Suddenly the whole mood shifted. Peril lifted herself up at the proposition and almost hopped around. "Absolutely! It's always fun flying with you!" Peril hardly seemed concerned with her classes at this point.
She needs a mental health day anyways.
Clay nodded and pointed to the entrance nearby, sunlight streaming in.
"Well then, lead the way! I'm right behind you Peril!"
Peril wasted no time in blasting off to the open sky, freeing her wings and letting out a joyous roar. Clay again felt himself melt a little inside.
She's so happy... I have to make sure she always like this. I have to.
"TSUNAMI, me and Peril might not be back until later! Just make sure Peril's winglet knows!" Clay wasn't even sure if Tsunami heard him, but regardless he barreled after Peril in the sky.
Nothing could stop them as they flew side by side into the horizon.
-X-
The time flew by all too fast, the duo chasing each other in the sky, hunting a few wild boars near the rainforest, and each little nudge of the wing or brush of the shoulder against each other sent a smile on both of their mugs.
In other words, the two dragons were having a positively delightful afternoon. In fact, by the time they realized they should be heading back they were on the outskirts of the SandWing kingdom.
"Think we should head back now?" Peril nudged Clay with her wingtip, the two high in the clouds.
Clay surveyed the area, an outcropping on the edge of the dunes and the edge of the forest caught his eye.
"Actually... I think it'd be safer if we stayed around here for the time being. By the time we would get back it'd be the middle of the night." The two descended to the spot in mind, a nice little alcove that seemed to suggest it had been used many times before. "I suggest we stay here for night and leave in the morning so you can make class tomorrow."
Peril had the biggest smile adorning her snout about that moment. "Sounds good to me.~"
The two settled into the small open space. Peril easily started a good fire, and Clay managed to hunt another two Boars for them to enjoy. All the while, the sunset faded into the horizon; the MudWing and Skywing felt a wonderful sense of calm wash over them as they watched the day come to a close, night soon to caress the sky into an ebony black. Clay lounged next to Peril, Peril laying her head on Clay's wings.
"Hey Clay?" Peril half mumbled. Clay glanced to her.
"Yeah?"
Clay felt his big ol' heart jump into his heart momentarily, seeing Peril's grin and heartfully contented expression. She leaned her head onto Clay's.
"Thank you... Today was amazing, and I owe it to you."
Clay thought he might burst into flames as well, his snout burning up not from Peril but from her affection. He nosed her back and grinned from horn to horn.
"You're absolutely welcome, and thank you as well Peril." Together, the two watched the sunset into the sand dunes, tails intertwined as their hearts.
-X-
Night had fallen, and the two stayed up studying the stars. Clay was on his back looking up, Peril sitting down switching her gaze between the cosmos and Clay.
Clay pointed up at the moons. "Hey look, they're all at the halfway point!"
Looking up, Peril noticed each of the moons were half lit half dark.
"Starflight always theorized that since hatching on a full moon or two meant you got powers, that a half moon meant you got half powers or something." Clay let his forepaw flop back down to the ground. "What would half powers be? Reading half a mind? How does that even work?"
Peril couldn't help but giggle at the thought.
He is SUCH a goofball. Three moons I love him...
Clay continued to gaze at the stars and moon, while Peril kept her gaze on Clay. Glancing over his features she remembered the scar on his thigh and how she saved his life. All those memories flooded back, including her true father... she couldn't help but wonder about Clay.
What kind of father did he have? What's his family like?
Peril sat herself besides the MudWing, regarding him with a curious glance.
"Hey Clay?"
The warm and fuzzy look Clay always gave her made her melt in a way that fire never could.
"Yeah Peril?"
She laid on her back besides Clay, emulating his position.
"What's your family like?"
At first Clay seemed confused, but answered anyways.
"Well you know them already! There's Sunny, she's really nice and always positive and-"
The look Peril gave Clay, that sort of 'Not like THAT ya doofus' look, made Clay stop.
"OH! You mean my blood family?" Peril didn't stifle her giggles this time as she bumped into Clay playfully.
"Yes your blood family! Tell me about em!" Peril planted herself besides Clay again, giving him her rapt attention.
Clay nodded and scooted closer, the two still on their backs. "Alright, well... You remember Umber?"
Peril thought to herself for a moment.
"Yeah, I know him." The idea dawned on her as she looked to Clay. "Is he your actual brother?"
Clay nodded. "Yep! He's one of my sibs!"
Before Clay could finish explaining, Peril tilted her head. "Sib?"
Clay nodded and glanced back up at the stars. "Yeah, like a sibling." He wriggled a bit to get comfy and continued explaining.
"In MudWing culture, the parents don't usually do much with the eggs. That's why I don't really talk about my mother that much... " Peril noticed Clay's shift in expression. "When I was younger, before I knew any of this, I went to the MudWing kingdom to try and find her, and I did!" Clay stopped there.
Peril looked to him semi expectantly. "...and?"
Clay kept looking up. "She… sold me to the Talons of Peace. And she never thought she'd see me again. Worst of all she truly didn't care if she DID see me again. When I said I was her son all she cared about was if the Talons wanted their two cows back or not…" Clay's somber and almost embittered look almost made Peril want to cry, she hated seeing him like that. "And my father? Who knows… apparently MudWings have regular breeding nights so I'm just another one of the kids born in the fray to her."
Peril wasn't sure which was worse: "just another MudWing born in the fray" or "regular breeding nights". She nudged Clay and motioned for him to keep going.
"But," Clay seemed to smile again. "Something good did come out of it. Again, in MudWing culture, the parents don't interact with the eggs, so the dragonets form a tight knit group." Clay sat up, keeping eye contact with Peril. "However, usually the first one to hatch will start to help the rest of them to hatch too! Since that dragonet helps the rest, they form parent like instincts toward the rest and become the leader." He sat up straight, acting regal and proud. "They're called bigwings! And they make sure to take care of the rest of their sibs, leading the hunt, taking naps with them, making sure everyone is happy, stuff like that." He puts his forepaw to his chest.
"Of the original group, me, Sunny, Starflight, Tsunami, and Glory, I was the bigwings!" As he explained, Peril suddenly realized something profound.
"So you weren't a killer, you were trying to help your brothers and sisters hatch!" Peril felt herself get as excited and riled up as Clay was. Clay nodded and almost bounded up and down.
"Yeah, exactly! Once I visited my sibs, they taught me all this and I felt RIGHT again! Like I had a renewed sense of identity! My sibs: Sora, Pheasant, Umber, Marsh and Reed, all were so glad to see me and… even asked me to be their bigwings." Peril again saw the MudWing's expression shift, this time melancholic.
"I couldn't… at that time the prophecy was just beginning and I had to help save all Pyrrhia. Reed was acting as their bigwings so… I let him continue doing so. I know they're in good hands."
Interestingly, Peril could tell right away Clay was leaving something out. What it was, she couldn't tell but something told her she should leave it alone.
He wouldn't keep secrets from me, I know he wouldn't.
Clay seemed more melancholic now, and Peril really wanted him to smile again. Thusly, she took her place besides him again and glanced at him.
"Hey Clay…?"
Again, that meltingly handsome look he always gave her never ceased to amaze. "Yes Peril?"
She could feel her heart pounding as the words ran through her mind, and then stutteringly through her maw.
"W-would…" She put her head against Clay's shoulder.
"...Would you be my bigwings…?"
Peril thought she was going to explode, seeing Clay's reaction to her question as his face conveyed surprise and yet such pleasant happiness. Throwing herself out there like that wasn't very common for her to do, so she felt incredibly nervous, almost expecting him to say no.
Clay remained silent for a few seconds, before taking Peril's forepaws in his own and putting his head atop hers protectively.
"Peril, bigwings means family… I want to be something more. Instead of your bigwings… can I be your mate?"
A soft gasp escaped her maw, and after a huge sigh of relief blew around her as she proceeded to almost tackle Clay into a dragon sized hug, her arms and wings around the MudWing.
"Of course! Of course you can, forget about bigwings that's so much better! Thank you Clay, thank you so much…"
Feeling his heart beat faster and harder, Peril couldn't control her own but rather let it match his. Clay wrapped his wings and arms around her, the two wrapped together in a hot and tender embrace.
A soft spoken simmer rushed over everything, the wind in the trees accompanying it. The two dragons stayed like this for a long while, with nothing but the rushing of the wind to fill the air.
Peril was the first to yawn, nuzzling Clay's shoulder. "Mmmh... " Clay met her gaze with a compassionate smile.
"Getting sleepy yet? I sure am…"
The two let go and laid besides each other. Peril's thoughts immediately went back to the nightmare last night.
Clay noticed her expression shift and nudged her. "Hey… Don't worry Peril, I'm right here. Come Scarlet, come whatever, when you wake up I'm right here… Your boyfriend will be right here." Clay nuzzled her head gingerly and yawned himself. "Hoo… man I'm gonna dream of COWS toNIGHT. And maybe camels, possibly those boars we had. Those were good too."
Peril just chuckled and planted a soft spoken kiss on Clay's cheek. "G'night cow-for-brains. Sleep tight..."
Clay's head stayed upright for the moment, staring at her with the most contented smug grin in the world, and soon after laid his head on her shoulder.
"Night Peril… sweet dreams."
He hesitated for a moment, then nuzzled her ear.
"Love you…"
But by then, she was already asleep.
-X-
What did I expect…?
Peril stood in the exact same spot she was in last time. The arena barren with no other dragons besides her, and of course Scarlet in her throne overseeing it all.
"Yes, what DID you expect? As long as we're here we might as well talk." Scarlet seemed bored, inspecting her claws. Peril took a step forwards, testing the ground.
"You don't have to worry about falling into nothingness, the ground is quite stable today, no thanks to your "mental stability"." Scarlet's keen and fiery ice gaze shot through Peril. Peril on the other hand, didn't flinch or back down in the slightest.
You always preyed on my insecurities, my weaknesses and my loneliness. You pretended to be a mother, and led me along like a puppet on a string. If anything, my mental stability will be the end of you, your highness. Peril made special note to emphasize that. Oh wait, not your highness anymore. Not since Ruby is queen now. What a shame.
To Peril's satisfaction, Scarlet became deeply enraged by her retort. She rose and pounded her forepaw to the ground. Immediately, several charred skeleton dragons dug their way up from the ground.
"Since you seem so cocky, what say we do this again? Been a while since you've fought for me." A dirty trick Scarlet always used was pitting dragons against her that she'd killed before, simply for guilt's sake.
However, Peril just let the dragons advance and burn themselves to ash. In the time she'd spent studying her firescales, she'd learned of a way to make herself so hot that merely being around here could cause objects, even dragons to melt on their own.
Of course, being in a dream helped tremendously.
It's over Scarlet, Peril advanced towards her. You can't hurt me anymore. I'm free. Peril stamped her foot, signifying her resolute determination to push even the thought of Scarlet out of her mind.
Easier said than done. Scarlet sat back down, and glared right past Peril.
IM FREE YOU SLIMY SEA SNAIL OF A DRAGON! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS TO ME ANYMORE! CLAY CARES ABOUT ME MORE THAN YOU EVER DID IN YOUR LIFETIME, AND NOW THAT I HAVE HIM I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET THE BETTER OF ME!
Scarlet squinted, not regarding Peril anymore. It took Peril a few seconds to see her gaze was not at her but behind her.
And as she turned to look, there was the handsome MudWing himself.
"Y'know, you really should listen to her."
Clay?
-X-
Clay stirred softly as he heard his name whispered aloud. He tilted his head up and saw Peril standing in a full on battle pose. Clay stood up as well, coming up besides her in attempt to be comforting.
"Peril… are you alright? Everything okay?" After a few seconds he noticed her eyes were tightly shut.
Nightmare… that's not good.
Clay took a few steps back and waited to see what she would do. Suddenly she let out a fierce growl, and clearly spoke:
-X-
"You're not real. You're not the real Clay."
Peril said that out loud to assure herself but it only made her less sure. She took a few steps back in disbelief.
It's bad enough she's here, but now even Clay is against me in my own dreams… Why?!
"Perhaps you're just that desperate. Desperate for something you don't deserve, murderer." Clay's talons nearly hit the ground each time he took a step forwards. It took tremendous willpower on Peril's part not to pedal back.
"See? Even he agrees. You're the murderer here Peril, always have and always will be." Scarlet casually reinforced dream Clay's statement.
Peril growled even more ferociously, steeling herself to face down the imposter in her mind.
"I, am NOT a murderer. That's not who I am, nor will it ever be." She stared Clay dead in his cruel gaze, reaffirming herself this was just a figure in her mind and not her actual crush.
"And you are NOT Clay."
-X-
"Peril I don't know what's going on, but if you can hear me you're dreaming… I don't know if you know you are or not either. Clay, the real one, is right here. I'm here Peril, you can wake up!" Clay half whispered/half spoke out loud, while maintaining his distance.
He sat down, watching her stand still and seem to track something around her, as if her dream was happening in real life too.
Oh Peril… I really wish I could be in there with you…
Clay's thought was cut short by Peril's tackle onto him.
-X-
SHUT UP. SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!
Peril slammed herself into dream Clay, trying to choke him out. Scarlet laughed all the while, cackling wickedly in her usual manner.
"Look at you! You're just as bad if not worse than before! And to think," Scarlet paced around. "It could've been as easy as this to make you kill your precious newfound family."
The dragon underneath her talons seemed to slip away almost effortlessly. Peril seemed to only watch as her body now flew after dream Clay. This apparition she chased showed no emotion, no pain, nothing that exhibited any character whatsoever. It just seemed so surreal, and before she knew it she had him under his talons again. But something felt off, like gravity was turned around.
-X-
"Sorry Peril, I don't want to do this!" Clay had her pinned down by her shoulders and chest, making sure she couldn't hurt herself again. His right shoulder and wing still ached from her slamming into him full force, but he wasn't about to let her do anymore damage to herself or him.
I gotta wake her up… What do I do?
-X-
The cacophony of voices from everywhere started to hurt her ears, but still she was determined to snuff out this fake Clay.
Beneath her talons his uncaring and dead face glanced up, and she couldn't take it anymore. She let loose a vicious torrent of fire, but even that felt off. Like her body wasn't in control and nothing she did was her own action.
"You're just as pathetic as you were under my command, perhaps I SHOULD have gotten rid of you at birth, make EVERYONE'S lives easier."
Suddenly everything came back into focus, her body regaining will and her intent clear.
Tear her head off. NOW.
-X-
"PERIL! MOONS ABOVE, PLEASE WAKE UP!"
Clay was genuinely surprised she was asleep this long and wasn't waking up even as he was yelling directly at her.
What do I DO?!
Suddenly in a matter of seconds he was flipped around in the same position, Peril snarling at Clay with her eyes shut tight.
Oh cow poop.
-X-
Peril had her claws at Scarlet's throat, that same smug look on her face.
I don't care if it makes me a murderer again, I'm killing you MYSELF, ONCE AND FOR ALL.
"Oh I have no doubt."
Surrealistically, Scarlet's scarred face morphed into Clay's face; not dream Clay, but the real one. One that held fear, sadness and most of all disappointment.
Clay! No… no, no no no!
But before she could take herself off the dragon, Scarlet's wicked cackle came back, sneering in Peril's face.
"DO IT, STRIKE ME DOWN YOU PATHETIC WHELP."
Every ounce of her conscious mind screamed not to, as did a voice elsewhere, but in that moment conviction took hold in her heart.
I have to.
-X-
As Clay was pinned down again, he tried shouting at the top of his lungs at Peril with no result.
"PERIL STOP! WAKE UP, IT'S ALL A DREAM, JUST WAKE UP DANG IT!"
But before Clay could do anything else, Peril opened her maw as orange light filled it.
She's going to blast me in the face with fire.
-X-
In the split second Peril started to blast fire from her maw, three things happened.
Clay rolled out of the way, a good two feet from Peril.
Peril shot the hottest fire she had ever mustered at the boulder in front of her. As she did, slowly her surroundings slowly came back into focus.
And as her fire died off, the two dragons saw eye to eye; their gazes filled with horror, fear, disbelief, and most of all…
Pain.
-X-
I almost blasted Clay with fire…
Peril replayed that over and over in her mind's eye.
"Peril…" Clay got up slowly and approached her.
I could've killed him…
Scarlet's face hung in her mind.
"Peril look at me." Clay stood in front of her now, a face of almost terrified disbelief met hers, but with the unmistakable twang of loving concern.
I almost did.
Peril couldn't make herself look up at Clay but he did for her, his forepaws forcing them eye to eye.
"Please… what happened?"
...I don't deserve him.
And all at once, Peril fell into a slump, her snout buried in her forepaws as she began grossly sobbing her aching heart out.
I never will.
Clay bent down to meet her, and picked her up in his arms. He wrapped his arms under hers and around Peril's chest, as he wrapped his wings protectively around hers as well. He laid his head on top of hers, letting her practically bawl her heart out.
"Hey…" Clay nuzzled her cheek. Peril, still sobbing hard, looked into Clay's eyes. Clay could see her expression was broken, hopeless and defeated. He put his head to hers, horns to horns.
"It's over, I'm here… Clay's here for you Peril..."
Before Peril could decide whether that made her feel better or worse she embraced him in a hard hitting hug, desperately clinging onto him with everything she had. She squeezed him as tightly as she could feeling like a lost little dragonet again. She took a deep breath and nearly wailed into her mate, letting everything she had been building up inside, out.
Clay toppled backwards and landed against the boulder behind him. As Peril practically scream-cried into him he squeezed her as tight as he could without hurting her.
Peril continued letting loose into Clay's chest, hot tears dripping down and coating Clay's thighs. Each breath she took resulted in her letting out anguished, scared and oh so painfully childish cries and wails; she let everything out in her bawling. Peril didn't even attempt to bring herself to use words, just incoherent and forceful sobbing and bawling.
Clay hadn't much experience with things like this, so he was at a loss. This didn't particularly make him feel any better.
How can I help her? Think Clay think… you love her don't you?!
Panic almost took hold of his speeding mind, fighting to maintain a cool head. Then, Clay looked down, seeing the dragon that spent so much time occupying his mind made something click in his head.
Let her cry… that's what I did whenever Sunny got like this, right?
Clay caressed her head, stroked his wings down her back, and hummed a soft tune that he heard play in the music room one day.
Just… be a shoulder to cry on. Let her know she's not alone, keep reminding her that I'm here.
Peril didn't seem close to stopping, hard and bitter sobs wracking her body every time she took a breath. He just hummed a bit louder.
Let her know her everything is here.
This carried on for a short while, until Peril calmed down enough to use her words again. She looked up with her cheeks tear drenched with salty hot stains. Clay had a soft and warm smile just for her.
"Hey… think you can talk now?"
Peril sniffed and stifled a harsh sob.
"Nnh… mm-mhmm…" As she nodded, another soft spoken sob burst forth as she let her head down on Clay's chest.
"...Clay it was… it was awful! I-it was worse than anything that's ever happened, worse than any nightmare I've had before and… a-and worst of all I-I…" Peril felt her voice falter as she broke down again. "Clay I at-ttacked you! I'm sorry I'm so sorry I don't deserve you she… she was right Clay I'm just a…" Self hatred and wallowing anguish saturated her voice. "Murderous traitor… she's always right, I should've just died and then…"
Clay stopped her right there, stroking her head gingerly and nosing her cheek affectionately.
"Peril stop! None… None of that's true at all. You're not a murderer, you're not a traitor, and she was wrong about everything she's ever said about you Peril. You…" Clay felt the words in his head become clear, as his gaze met Peril's pure sky blue eyes.
"...Peril, you deserve every happiness you can think of in life… you deserve love, family, peace of mind, and everything else too. No one should ever take it away from you." Clay nuzzled her eyes, wiping away the tears gingerly. "As for the dream, I know you were confronted with a dragon that walked and talked and looked like me… And I know you know it wasn't me. I trust that and I will never, EVER hold it against you that you accidentally blew fire at me in real life. I know you didn't mean it Peril… I ask that you don't hold that against yourself either."
Clay's dreamy and compassionate eyes disarmed Peril's self hatred, but something else still haunted her.
"B-but Clay-" Another sob wracked her lungs, and she looked down almost in shame.
"Y… you're all that I want…"
Clay, almost taken aback, blinked to himself.
"What…?"
Peril suddenly made very clear eye to eye contact with Clay, her desperation and sobs welling up again.
Let it all go… Tell him everything, he has to know.
She faltered for a second but steeled herself again.
Everything.
Peril took a deep breath and stayed snout to snout with Clay.
" ...you said I deserve every kind of happiness I want in life, and everything else. Well, all I really want... Is you! Clay it's you and there I said it!"
Peril's eyes still felt full, almost about to let forth a gush of broiling tears.
"Before Scarlet died, she approached me. She had my birth father working with him, and he had the animus scroll that Darkstalker was looking for and… Clay, he gave me what I was always looking for…"
Peril's gaze fell down, down to the floor as she let a sniffle and sob ring out again.
"He enchanted a necklace… it was enchanted so that when I wore it... I... " Peril gulped and met Clay's confused gaze again. "...I could have normal scales. He gave me the ability to be normal… Clay do you know what that's like? To be born a monster and be given the chance to be normal? It…" She shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I finally felt free… I felt like I found a part of me that was taken from me so long ago and it was the greatest thing I'd ever had…"
Clay was intently focused on Peril's words. "...what happened?"
Peril looked down again. "He betrayed me… the enchantment also made me loyal to Scarlet, and… Worst of all it made me completely forget you. I couldn't have it if it meant losing you Clay, it… it would all mean nothing!" She felt her voice getting constrained and desperate again. "Even if I had the ability to be normal again I would give it away in a heartbeat if it meant I get to be with you…"
Peril laid her head on Clay's chest. "Clay I had the chance… I had the chance to be normal, be with ANYONE! And… And I gave it all up for you!" She made eye contact again, unceasing and meaningful. "That's what I mean when I say that you're all I want. Clay I… you…"
Peril finally let her emotions break her down into a sobbing and sniveling dragonet again. Eyes on fire with tears, body quaking with unceasing sobs, she held Clay's shoulders. "Y-you're my everything! I can't li… I'd…" Breaking down all the way she simply embraced the MudWing with everything she had.
"...I love you… I love you so much and I can't live without you… you mean everything to me and I just want you to be safe and happy, even if it means we can't be together… I want you to make me whole again Clay, I… I-I…"
In a haze of miserable self exposure to her love she looked back up at him.
"I don't know what you must think of me now… Clay I just wante-"
But before she could finish her sentence, Clay silenced her.
With his mouth.
On hers.
Clay was kissing her.
-X-
Two, three, four…
Clay kept a mental note of how long he was going to keep the kiss up, lasting just until Peril seemed confused and shocked enough to let Clay talk and respond in kind to her outpouring of her soul.
Finally Clay pulled back and squeezed Peril to him again, this time softly and with his head to hers.
"...Peril… may I speak now?"
Peril nodded with an understated confusion, mostly dejected with a hint of hope in her glittering teary eyes.
She let everything out, now it's my turn.
Clay's eyes were misty, Peril's exposing herself emotionally like that brought Clay nearly to tears.
Let her know everything. She needs to hear it all.
Clay's voice faltered at first, but once he found it again he spoke gingerly.
"Peril I'm…" He blinked away tears. "I'm sorry…"
Peril nosed his tears away, the soft sizzle fading with the rushing wind.
"Sorry for… what Clay?"
Clay met her eyes again. "Whenever you touch me, it does hurt. It hurts because I feel a truth inside that I neglected from first meeting you," His paws placed themselves on her shoulders. "I put you through so much pain without realizing it, by not giving you what I wanted to all along, it hurts because I can't give you more…"
Clay guided one of Peril's paws to his chest. As a minor simmering undertone came forth, Clay's expression became increasingly desperate. "Peril, whatever burning sensation I feel on my scales cannot compare to what burns beneath them… It… I…"
Clay gently nuzzled Peril's cheek, a pained and soulful sigh coming from him. "I feel it even now… whenever we touch I am… overcome with the intense urges to protect you… To nuzzle you reassuringly, to make you laugh and wipe away your sadness, to… to keep you safe and happy." He squeezed her again tighter this time. "Maybe it's the MudWing in me, I just care for everyone in my family. But with you…"
The expression Peril wore grew more hopeful and overjoyed, tears in her eyes turned to tears of happiness.
"...I want to be more than that… as you are for me. I want to be the one thing you can't lose because I can't lose you! I would never eat another cow again if it eating it meant I lost you! You're…"
Clay stopped and reassessed his heartfelt expression. "Ok, forget the cows but just…" Amazingly, Peril cracked a shy and meltingly cute smile, the kind that made Clay's thoughts melt.
"I just… You… I…"
As Clay yammered uselessly, Peril's scales reflected the moons light and glowed brilliantly. Clay could've sworn he could fly into those azure and perfect blue eyes. Her heat generated a steady feeling of blazingly passionate touch-lust, aching to be as close as he could and yearning to see her joyous and filled with life. Clay stopped talking again, his breath quickening and his heart pumping hot MudWing blood harder and harder yet.
"...Clay?" Peril couldn't help but notice her charming heroic crush seemed transfixed by something. Clay found his words again, this time using them sparingly.
He wrapped his arms around Peril one more time.
"...you're perfect to me in every way I can think of… you're my everything and I wouldn't have it any other way…" Finally he drew closer to her maw again.
"...I love you too Peril… I love you so much it hurts… I… love you…"
Before Clay could close the gap, Peril pushed forwards to met her maw to Clay's.
And before they knew it, the two were engaged in their first broiling, fiery kiss.
Clay and Peril's minds both spun at several million miles an hour, both their thoughts collided with each other in a mish mash of raw emotion that could only melt away into nothing but overjoyed peace.
Clay pushed into the kiss, Peril pushing him back to the boulder again. The two sort of slumped together in a hug/embrace purely eliciting romantic, tactile pleasure from each other. Peril tilted her maw, Clay got the signal and did so as well allowing for a deeper connection between the two. Eyes closed and maws gingerly engaged, all their fears and doubts evaporated in the intense passion.
Peril sidled up around Clay, her scales crawling with a need for his presence. Her arms flung around his neck, her wings tucked themselves around his, and her tail twined itself around Clay's thicker and longer tail. Even her hindpaws intermingled with his spread hind talons.
Clay made sure his body touched Peril's everywhere possible. Chest to chest, wings to wings, wrapped up in a dragon hug so tender and passionate the kiss paled in comparison. He massaged her wings and back lovingly, letting out soft and breathy moans of absolute ecstasy.
Peril couldn't help but give way to a gentle and joy-infused sob of happiness, tears flowing freely while her emotions ran free in overjoyous contentment. Clay felt all of this, every single movement reaffirming his identity and solidifying his purpose. He truly felt like he knew who he was again, and every part of his body screamed to keep her safe and happy.
Mission accomplished.
As incredible as this all was, Clay pulled back from the kiss momentarily, meeting Peril's sky blue gaze. Her smile seemed more intensely beautiful than her scales hot. She didn't seem to mind, Peril didn't say a word she grew so lost in Clay's gaze in return. Clay however had one last thing to reveal.
"...I still have one last thing I would like you to know Peril."
Peril nodded, and rested her head on Clay's shoulder. "Anything… I'm here for you Clay."
He nodded in return, taking a deep breath. "Thank you… truth be told I'm actually terrified about losing even one dragon who I care about. I've already lost half of the people who raised me… including Kestrel." Peril's expression grew a tinge sad, just as Clay's.
"But something that made me really evaluate myself... " He stopped and nudged Peril's nose. "I told you about my sibs, the ones waiting for me in the MudWing kingdom. My true siblings…"
Peril nodded once more, growing curious seeing her suspicions were right about Clay leaving something out.
"...That wasn't… there was…" Clay looked up at the starry night sky again. Resolve filled his mind.
"...Her name was Crane. And I never got to meet her."
About now, Peril's head shot up and regarded Clay with a slightly worried look. "...was?"
Clay closed his eyes and nodded.
"Was. She died before I met my sibs… the war took her life before she got to meet her real bigwings brother." He forced himself to look at Peril again. "She died because I wasn't there for her… I could've saved her had I just…" Clay trailed off in bitterness. "...it haunts me still Peril."
In his mind's eye, Clay traveled back to that scene of destruction and death, dead dragons littering the battlefield.
I didn't even know what she looked like… she didn't get a chance to see her sibs unite after all this time.
He drew a deep breath, released into a disappointed and regretful sigh. "She never got to see her all her sibs together… And I could've prevented that… and I guess I just, don't want to see myself in that situation ever again. Seeing you as my family just makes me think I could let it all slip through my grasp, and that… that's…"
Upon glancing up again, he half expected Peril's expression to be somber and downtrodden as his. Instead, her smile couldn't be wider and she seemed almost at the point of tears again.
Her nose prodded Clay's again. "Clay… That wasn't your fault at all! In fact your coming back to find your true sibs even when you had your family already, makes you the most caring and genuinely loving dragon any MudWing could ask for." Peril drew a bit closer.
"...Regret can't stop you from loving your family, and it shouldn't ever stop you from acting on your feelings and surroundings, especially not you…" She put her forepaws on either side of Clay's snout, her still zealous smile lighting up his eyes. "And especially not with me… If anything I fear for losing you, and I'd… well, you've seen what I'd do for you… but even if it meant I'm never to harm another dragon again," Her tail again coiled tighter around Clay's. "I would be happily besides you no matter what…"
Clay met her gaze in return, unable to keep himself from tearing up once more, no longer in control of the grin across his face. The two fire struck lovers intertwined with each other, nose to nose and practically breathing in each other's breath. Clay finally broke the silence as their gaze drew so intense all they were really aware of was the eyes of the other.
"You really… mean that?" Words seemed to transcend themselves as raw emotion itself conveyed a lifetime's worth of stories through Clay and Peril's intensely connected gaze into each other's very being. Peril almost forgot the world existed, all the dragons and animals and scavengers seemed to fade out of existence if not for just her perfect and loving Clay.
"Of course…" Her words faded out, conveyed from nothing but her inner being.
Clay, still as lost as ever in Peril's freeing baby blue eyes, felt control of his body relinquish to his innermost instincts, his grasp around her pulling closer ever so gently. Peril acknowledged this by growing closer to him in return, chest to chest as their hearts beat as one in time. Peril's breath grew deeper and softer, longer and slower, a wave of calm washing over them both.
Clay tilted his head ever so slightly, Peril's soft touch weighing his mind down into a calming bog.
Peril…
Peril tilted ever so slightly the other way, pushing forwards his maw.
Clay…
And in that moment, a new and raw, intense burst of longing opened itself up as the two pressed together again, maw to maw with everything they had.
Peril's life of longing for another's touch was over, finality had set the SkyWings soul free from her life of lone desperation. Clay felt every part of himself untense and held Peril loosely now, his conscience clear and his heart on fire with every thought and emotion shouting the joy his heart couldn't contain. The sense of renewed identity and released guilt only skyrocketed into the heavens above; the stars nothing in comparison to the shining hotness of the touch starved SkyWing, and the endless love to give from the MudWing.
All this expressed in a single moment, and yet the two pressed deeper into their passionate meeting, emotions bared and hearts all but one and the same.
Clay let sparse and soft groans of loving contentment into Peril's maw, Peril's breathy and light moans melding along into Clay's. The kiss itself came undone when the two pulled apart after a lifetime of moments, the contact never ceasing while they continued to nuzzle and rub their snouts against each other.
"You're my everything Clay…" Peril nosed the MudWing's neck intimately. "I love you so much."
Clay's snout rested upon Peril's ear, a huge sigh of total contentment and pleasure rushing by her ear. "You're my everything too Peril… I love you more than anything… cows included.~" The gentle chuckle elicited from Peril only furthered the smile on his face.
She placed her maw besides Clay's and nodded. "I love you more than anything… You'll always be my everything, Clay. And my mate. Especially that," Feeling much better and a bit frisky, she glanced up at him. "Or else.~"
Clay, recognizing her playfulness snorted and kissed the side of her maw quickly, before pulling her back into his arms and snuggling her into his slightly bigger body.
"Mmmh… Any other emotional revelations to share, Peril?"
Peril nuzzled into her mate's shoulder, yawning softly to herself. "Nope… you?"
Hearing Peril yawn set himself at ease at first, then into a slight worry.
"Me neither… are you still worried about nightmares?"
The SkyWing didn't look up but rather shoved her snout in Clay's chest, right before it became his neck, the nook right there becoming her pillow.
"Not anymore… I've got my big, strong, cuddly Mudwing boyfriend to keep me safe… Right?"
Clay's worry passed without any hesitation. He curled around Peril and smiled to himself.
"Always… sleep tight Peril, you'll have good dreams tonight. I know it…" He planted a gentle and loving kiss on her snout. "I love you… so much…"
Peril slowly lifted her head up to Clay's and pressed her maw to his for a moments being. Once she pulled back her snout rubbed against his. "Love you too Clay… sleep tight."
They curled into each other once more, snuggling tightly and letting out a synchronous sigh of contentment.
And before long, both drifted off into a sleep that felt better than any they had before.
-X-
Oh goody...
The dreamscene hadn't changed a bit. Scarlet on her throne, Peril in the ring. Except… this time she had no fear. The arena seemed emptier than usual, even though it'd only been her and Scarlet each time. And even Scarlet seemed displeased.
"Do you think this changes anything? I'm still your worst nightmare! We'll be here night, after night, after NIGHT!" Scarlet asserted herself with the ferocity that she reserved for torturing her prisoners herself. The few times she witnessed this terrified Peril, but here in the dream, everything rung clear.
No. Peril stepped forwards. You're just a nightmare now. And nothing more than that.
Now totally enraged, Scarlet stamped her foot down. Up popped around a dozen or so charred husks, playing the same card as last night. Instantly they burned to a crisp, Peril not even breaking eye contact with the wicked queen.
That it? Come on, HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT TREASURE BREATH!
And with that, Scarlet threw herself onto the field. In slow motion, the queenly figure grew to almost 5 times her normal size, and landed with a ground shaking KRASSCHH. Peril took a step back and let out a fierce and lowly growl.
Okay, bad idea.
-X-
Clay's dream of Peril and him, and their orange and red dragonets suddenly cut off, the night sky settling back in. The cause of his waking he discovered, was Peril snarling to herself.
Slightly worried again, he nuzzled her shoulder. "Peril, it's a dream... Just…"
He stopped for a second, pondering a fresh idea in his sleepy, dream addled head. He laid his snout atop her ear, and whispered one little phrase.
"Clay is here…"
-X-
Before Peril had a chance to retaliate in her dreams, a figure from behind cast a shadow on the ground in front of the two. Once Peril glanced behind, the figure revealed itself to be Clay flying down from above.
"CLAY IS HERE!" As he descended, the firescaled SkyWing heard another voice in her head.
When I land, blast her with fire! 3, 2-
With a hard THOOMP, Clay landed in a battle pose facing Scarlet, and suddenly the two let loose a massive blast of their combined fire.
Once the smoke faded and the flames died down, all that laid before them was a giant skeleton; smoldering and burning with no trace of Scarlet.
Ha! Take THAT you stuck up murderous crone!
She bounced all around Clay and sidled up besides him. Clay in return nuzzled her head. He spoke to her in his thoughts.
Hey you, thought you could use some help. Did I help?~
Peril laid a gentle and tender kiss on her hero's maw.
More than I can express.
Something about him seemed much different than the dream Clay in her previous dreams. When she met this Clay's eyes, they wavered with such intense emotion as they did in reality. This little detail gave her such renewed hope and vigor in her dreams, her very being shook with joy.
She simply embraced the dragon again, all in passionate contentment. She spoke out loud, at least in her dreams.
"Thank you Clay… I love you so much…"
-X-
Unsure if she was awake or not, her response did catch him off guard. As she snuggled into him again, Clay smiled ear to ear and laid his head on hers.
"Love you too Peril… so much."
And with that he drifted back to sleep peacefully.
-X-
"Love you too Peril… so much."
As he nuzzled her head and laid his head atop hers, she felt his smile even from her forehead. Once his head came back down to meet her gaze, Peril nosed his snout.
Hey, Peril looked to the open sky, a few clouds dotting the open blue. Coming back to see Clay, she noticed his gaze never left Peril. She found this all the more reassuring.
...you wanna go fly around some?
By the way Clay flexed his wings up and around, Peril knew he was asking for a race.
Thought you'd never ask. To the rainforest?
Peril let a sly smirk run across her face.
Definitely.~
Before she had a chance to react, Clay was already in the air. Race ya there! Loser has to hunt for dinner!
And with no hesitations, no forethought or thinking it through, she bounded after him.
And all through her dreams she found nothing but happiness.
The Morning After
"Clay!" The half asleep MudWing flopped over and shielded his head.
"Mmmnfh…" Having woken up last night he really didn't want to wake up yet. Peril didn't take the hint.
"Get UP cow-for-brains! Look at this!" Obviously, Clay did not want to look at whatever "it" was. He pawed Peril's face away gently and wrapped his wings tighter.
All he heard next was an annoyed sigh, before he felt an intensely hot sensation between his legs in a particularly sensitive spot. He immediately shot up and put his forepaws around it.
"haAAOWCH! whY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" Peril gave him a smug and fun smirk.
"Don't tell me ya can't handle a little heat, Mister Fireproof.~" Clay smirked back and nosed her snout.
"Well of course I can, just not used to... Um... heat right THERE." Clay felt his face turn a lot more red than usual. "Well um… Not yet anyways…"
Peril just giggled to herself and nosed Clay in the direction of the forest. "You absolute dork. Anyways, look!"
Clay's glance shifted to the scene of the rising sun shining over the nearby evergreen trees, dew sparkling and refracting the light over everything. It honestly took Clay's breath away.
"Three moons… It's… it's been a long time since I've seen anything so beautiful…"
As he turned back to Peril, her scales glowed more intensely than he'd seen almost ever, the shades of orange fading into red painted Peril akin to a gleaming gemstone.
"Actually I take it back, it's only been a few seconds since I've seen anything as beautiful as you."
Peril, totally not used to this level of flattery, ducked her head and smiled shyly, the more orange parts of her snout melding into red.
Clay's head simply stuck on the comment. "Wait… did I just say the sunset was as beautiful as you, or you're as beautiful as a sunset? Dang it, I messed up didn't I? Maybe if I-"
"Oh hush you!" Peril shushed him with her wing tip, and laid her maw to his, the two now kissing happily. Clay shrugged, closed his eyes and went with it, pressing into it with a sleepy passion.
As the sun rose higher, he couldn't help feeling that he was forgetting something. Peril's presence reminded him even more so, and in an instant, it snapped back to him.
He pulled back from the kiss and frantically exclaimed:
"WE'RE GONNA BE LATE"
At first, Peril seemed confused and a little worried, but soon after the realization nearly slammed into her as well.
"RIGHT! I TOTALLY FORGOT YOU'RE A TEACHER AND I HAVE CLASSES!"
Clay hopped around her still shouting.
"I TOTALLY FORGOT TOO, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA BE TOTALLY LATE! I BET TSUNAMI NEVER EVEN HEARD ME OR TOLD ANYONE WE WERE GONE!"
"WHY ARE WE SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER?! LET'S GO!" Peril shot into the air, followed by Clay as the duo hightailed it back to the mountain.
-X-
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! NOT TELLING ANYONE AND JUST LEAVING, YOU HAD US WORRIED SICK!" Sunny stamped her paw in an effort to be intimidating, her fury already doing an impressive job for her size and stature.
Clay stood besides Peril, the two in the opening of the main entrance. He sighed and interrupted. "I DID tell someone, I told Tsunami."
Sunny stamped her paw again. "EXACTLY! You told TSUNAMI of all dragons!"
Tsunami cleared her throat. "Ahem, I'm right here."
Sunny stamped up to Clay, sticking her snout to the MudWings rather angrily.
"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!"
Peril butted in the conversation, feeling like a dragonet getting scolded like this again. "Hey! Listen… it's our bad for not telling you guys properly, but I can promise you it was for a good reason."
Clay nodded in unison. "Yes, exactly! Peril really needed a mental health day, so that's what we did. We talked and just relaxed and…" The two met each other's gaze again, a faint smile lighting up their faces. "...We're both feeling a lot better now."
Sunny's snout lit up a bright orange in contrast to her yellow scales, totally realizing the situation in full now. Meanwhile Tsunami didn't react at all.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it." Tsunami still seemed miffed. "But WHY did you-" Sunny's forepaw hushed Tsunami for a moment.
"Anyways, th-thank you for filling us in, we completely understand now. Clay, the Copper winglet is waiting for you in Herbs and Healing, Peril your winglet is in Art. Glad you two are back safe and sound!" Sunny smiled with a deeper meaning behind it, something like "I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU TWO I AM SCREAMING INTERNALLY OUT OF JOY" but Tsunami's outburst cut her off.
"YOU'RE LETTING THEM GO JUST LIKE THAT? At least give them extra chores or something!" Sunny motioned for them two to head out, while she stood in front of Tsunami. Clay and Peril took the sign and escaped the room. Peril smiled and bumped into Clay.
"Well, that went well."
The two chuckled and stayed side by side, their wings brushing together softly. The art room came up besides them, the room inside noisy and filled with dragons painting and sculpting and such.
"Go ahead Peril, I'll see you tonight okay?" Clay nosed her maw, a tender and affectionate smile aiding his gaze to hers. She responded in kind with a gentle touch to his maw as well.
"Okay, gotcha. Oh and Clay?" Clay was halfway turned around, but turned back to face her. Before he could, Peril embraced him in a tackle hug that nearly bowled them over, Peril's head on Clay's shoulder.
"Thank you again… So so much…"
Once Clay got his bearings again, he squeezed her back tightly.
"Of course Peril… Anything for you."
She looked up and kissed his snout quickly. "I love you."
Clay gave her another quick nuzzle back and looked to the Art room.
"Love you too Peril… now hey! Go, your winglet is waiting for you."
Peril nodded and padded off to the nearby cave, watching with a grin as Clay head off to teach his class.
"PERIL!" A cacophony of voices shouted out as she entered. The four different dragons present, Moon, Kinkajou, Qibli and Turtle, all ran to greet her, but only Turtle ran to hug her. After he did he joined the rest of the gang. Kinkajou seemed most happy to see her.
"WHERE WERE YOU?! WE WERE WORRIED YOU GOT KIDNAPPED OR SOMETHING! I mean, I don't know how someone would kidnap you, but STILL IT COULD'VE HAPPENED!"
Qibli shifted besides Moon, curious and slightly anxious to hear her answer. "Yeah, what happened? You're okay right?"
Turtle sat besides her, knowing she'd been flying the day before. He and Moon sat quietly.
Peril raised a paw to appease her winglet. "Guys, guys, I'm fine! I just took a… mental health day. I really needed it, and Clay helped me too."
At mentioning Clay, Moon perked up and tilted her head. Seeing her reaction, Peril thought as hard as she could, containing her excitement.
ME AND CLAY ARE FINALLY OFFICIAL AND WE HAD OUR FIRST KISS AND MOON IT WAS SO AMAZING!
The small "eep!" of joy attracted the attention of everyone, all eyes now on Moon. She composed herself and sat up straight.
"She's telling the truth, nothing else." Moon's smile almost reached the silver scales besides her eyes.
The gang shrugged and continued to prod her with questions, all surrounding her while giving her enough space. Qibli kept on sculpting his dragon from clay, Kinkajou painting a mango (with shades of blue for some reason) and Turtle writing in a rather fancy journal. Moon held a few tools for Peril who was casually half telling everyone what happened half sculpting glass with her firescales. At the same time she gave secret details to Moon who couldn't hide the smile on her snout to save her life.
And for the first time in a long while, Peril felt totally at peace.
I'm home…
-Epilogue-
I'm here.
Moon sat up in curiosity. A voice whispered in her mind, even more curiously from Peril's room. Stepping quietly over the other three snoring away, Moon padded silently over to the lone cave where Peril slept.
She peeked her head in, only to hear a faint whispering inside, surprisingly not in her head.
"Clay is here… I'm right here..."
Inside, Peril lay snuggled inside Clay's arms and wings, the two intertwined happily. Peril let a soft murmur of contentment into her personal snuggle buddy. Moon swore she could throw a rock between Clay's eyes and Peril and he still wouldn't break his gaze off of her.
Moon felt her face cramp up from smiling so hard. She reached inside Clay's head, just wondering he was thinking.
Clay's thoughts all collided with each other, but all shared a single message:
She's so beautiful asleep…
Clay soon after laid his head atop hers and drifted off to dreamland. Moon thought it best to leave the two alone to their sleepy devices.
Just before she could get back to her room, a single, pure thought filled with nothing but loving intent crossed her mind, coming from Clay. All it had across it's intent was Peril, and the intense feeling almost made Moon well up with tears.
Clay thought one last thing before he fell asleep into Peril's embrace:
Sweet Dreams.
-END-