Flame was not fine.
Well, he wasn't full blown panicking but he was pretty damn close.
With every stroke of his wing and every mile crossed his chest tightened. It was like a giant talon wrapping around his rib-cage and squeezing until his lungs felt pressed against the walls of his torso.
Alright, Flame. Calm down. He gave himself stern shake. There's no need to panic. Just remember what Starf told you. As long as you follow his advice everything will go perfectly fine...probably.
Flame tried not to focus on the 'probably' part and instead forced his attention on what he remembered Starf telling him during the last minute session before they had left. Luckily it had only been an hour ago so the whole conversation was still pretty fresh in his mind...
~ One hour ago ~
"Now Flame, I just want you to understand that it's OK to be nervous," Starfish spoke in soothing rhythms, his glowing scales in sync with his words. "I know this isn't easy for you."
Flame nodded, sitting stiffly in front of the Healer's desk. There was no point pretending to be brave; the blue dragon could see through him as if he were made of glass. Still, Flame tried to muster some sort of dignity as he spoke, "So, um, what should I even say to them? I mean, I wasn't exactly their best or most liked student."
Beside him Avalanche snorted angrily. "Well that's hardly your fault. How were you expected to perform your best at school when they could hardly run the place!? Honestly, one day there's explosions and the next Scarlet herself shows up throwing decapitated heads all over the place!"
"That's a bit of an exaggeration," said Flame. "It was only one decapitated head."
"How charming," Starfish dryly commented, his lips pulled back in mild disgust. "Anyway, I think it would be best if you didn't criticize their teaching abilities as soon as you walk through the door."
"OK, then what should I do?"
Starfish looked Flame square in the eye. "Apologize to them."
Both SkyWings reacted with furious hisses.
"Apologize!?" Flame repeated in seething disbelief. "What for? I haven't done anything wrong!"
"Weren't you listening to me, SeaWing?" Avalanche joined the fray. "It's the teacher's fault, not Flame's. If anything THEY should be apologizing to the students for their poor planning and lack of forethought."
Starfish folded his talons together and calmly leaned back in his seat as if he had been expecting the out lash. "I am not denying what you say. They were attempting something no one has done before and mistakes were made. Dragons got hurt and lives were lost. But," he fixed Flame with a stern look, "that's not the point of this visit. You want to show them you've changed, right?"
Flame nodded sourly.
"Then apologizing will show them you're serious about wanting a second chance. Besides, is there nothing you feel sorry about? Nothing you want to apologize for?"
Flame looked to the floor to hide is ashamed blush. As annoyed as he was with everyone at Jade Academy, he couldn't deny that he had pretty much been an ass the whole time he was there. Sure, his volatile personality had been partly due to the fact that he had thought, at the time, that his mother didn't want him and that he was a horrible, disfigured freak. But that wasn't an excuse for how horrible he had acted, and Flame cringed at how immature and self-pitying he had been at the time.
"Well now that you mention it," Flame began, "I miiiight have been a bit of a jerk while I was there."
Starfish's face went deadpan and he raised a skeptical brow in the red dragon's direction.
Flame held the SeaWing's stare until it was too much to handle. "OK, fiiiine," he admitted. "I was a BIG jerk. Now just tell me how to apologize to them so they don't kick me out!"
"I still don't think Flame did anything wrong," Avalanche complained, folding her arms across her chest and blowing a cloud of smoke from her nose.
Starfish stood up and walked around his desk to stand before the mother and son. "This isn't about pinning blame on anyone. The important thing is that we get Flame in to do what he needs to do, which is speak to Stonemover. Besides, I think it would be therapeutic to make amends with Sunny and the other teachers." He turned to face Flame directly with a proud smile. "You're not the same dragon you were when you first walked into this office. I know how much you've changed, but now it's time to show the rest of Pyrrhia."
Flame sighed, feeling at itch of self-doubt. "I don't know...what if I just end up making things worse? If you haven't noticed I'm not the best at being friendly."
Flame's head jerked up as Starfish rested a talon on his shoulder. His Healer wore a confident smile that reached his eyes in a tender twinkle. "You'll be fine," Starfish declared with complete surety. "I'll be there to guide you every step of the way. You have nothing to fear."
Although Flame wasn't a fan of touchy-feely conversations (unless they were with Umber), Starf's words put him at ease. Flame took a breath and returned Starfish's smile.
"OK, let's do this."
Alright, so all I've got to do is apologize and everything will be fine. Flame repeated that in his head several times to push out all the doubtful thoughts. Starf knows what he's doing. As long as he is there I'll be OK.
He took a few deep breaths. It helped to remember he wasn't going to be doing this alone.
Umber and mother will be there also, he reminded himself. Everyone who cares about me is going to be by my side and will be there to help me. Flame grimaced, stealing a quick glance at him mother. Well, so long as my mother doesn't start a fight with someone then I should be fine.
The scarred dragon was taken out of his thoughts by a gently nudge of wings. He turned to his right and smiled as Umber glided next to him.
"How are you feeling?" the MudWing asked with a sympathetic expression. It was a little hard to make out his voice as the harsh mountain winds were beginning to pick up. It meant they were getting close to their destination. Flame's heart gave another alarmed lurch.
"Scared shitless," Flame admitted with a laugh. Umber's expression softened further.
"Me too," the brown dragon spoke so quietly the wind nearly took the words away before they reached Flame's ears. Before Flame could ask what he meant Starf's voice sounded ahead. Flame couldn't make out what the SeaWing had said but he didn't need to.
Looming ahead the dark mass of Jade Mountain grew larger and larger until it almost took up the entire sky. The colossal shadow seemed to absorb every drop of sunlight that hit it, leaving it a cold husk of a shadow.
Flame couldn't help but feel like a naïve hero flying right into the villain's lair. Of course, that thought certainly didn't help to calm his nerves.
The four dragons circled around the mountain until they came across a familiar platform leading into an opening along the face of the peak where a crooked sign read 'Welcome Students'. Sitting at the entrance were two figures that were mere specks at this altitude; one was golden and the other a deep blue.
Sunny and Tsunami, Flame noted with a gulp. Even though they had only communicated with Sunny he wasn't surprised to see that the Head Mistress was joining them, although he REAAALLLY wished she hadn't.
He had already been nervous enough dealing with Sunny, and she was the nicest person he had ever met (except for Umber).
Tsunami, on the other talon, was probably the dragon he had butted heads with the most while at Jade Academy. Bossy, always had to be right, loud and obnoxious; she had gotten on Flame's nerves from day one and she had made it clear numerous times that he was wearing her patience thin as well...the small amount that she did have.
In addition to his own baggage with the SeaWing princess, Flame recoiled at the thought of how his mother would get along with the Head Mistress.
Well, Flame pursed his lips tightly as the group descended. Nothing to do now but get this shit-show over with.
At length they landed at the entrance, both parties stuck in a few second of confused limbo, unsure where to go from here. It was Starfish, bless his soul, that was the first to break the ice. He approached the small golden dragon with an enthusiastic smile. "You must be Sunny! It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"
Sunny responded with equal excitement. "Oh my gosh, Starfish! I can't believe I'm meeting you in person! Welcome to our school. I'm so excited to show you around and –"
"Hooooold up," Tsunami intruded the conversing duo, stepping between them in one confident stride. "We're not here to give a tour. We're here to talk about him." Her eyes locked onto Flame in a severely unfriendly manner. Flame's body clenched as orange eyes met blue. Part of him wanted to shrink to the size of a pebble to get away from the harsh stare while another part wanted to tell her to stick that snotty attitude where the sun don't shine.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, his mother stepped in to fill the silence. "Don't you talk to my son like that!" she hissed, towering over the younger SeaWing. "Oh, and by the way, I'm his mother and since we're already wasting time with pointless conversation I'd like to make a few comments myself, particularly about how this school is being run."
Tsunami balked, her gills flaring. "You have a problem with how I'm running things?" she asked, although it was not in a tone that suggested she was opened to constructive criticism.
Flame sighed. They had been here less than five minutes and already the air crackled with tension. Thank the Moons Starfish was there to act as the peace-keeper. The brazen Healer stepped between the two bristling females to politely, yet firmly, push them apart.
"Sorry, Head Mistress Tsunami. My guest didn't mean any offense," Starfish said, dipping his head at the skeptical Tsunami.
"I don't need you to speak on my behalf!" Avalanche growled.
"Now is not the best time for this conversation, Avalanche," Starfish murmured through gritted teeth.
The red dragoness merely huffed out smoke and rolled her eyes, seemingly exasperated with the slew of morons that surrounded her. Meanwhile Sunny had appeared at Tsunami's side. She was speaking sternly at the SeaWing but Flame couldn't make out what was said.
"Well this is going well," Umber whispered sarcastically into his ear. Flame snorted in agreement. At least they were too busy to focus on him.
When Flame turned his attention back to the drama he found that his mother and Tsunami had backed off to different sides of the platform while Sunny and Starfish sat in the center exchanging exhausted expressions.
"My apologies about all this," the Healer stated while rubbing his gills awkwardly. "I was, uh, coerced into bringing a few unexpected guests."
"Likewise," Sunny replied with sympathy before sliding her eyes towards Tsunami.
"Wait, a few guests?" Tsunami asked, clearing missing Sunny's implication. "I only see one. Who else did you bring?"
It didn't take long at all for all eyes to fall on Umber. Sunny and Tsunami cried out the MudWing's name and quickly swarmed him.
"Oh my Moons! Umber! How are you! How is Sora?" Sunny asked with heartfelt concern.
"I-I've been fine, Sora's good too. She's doing much better," Umber replied looking a bit uncomfortable. Before he could continue Tsunami had swung an arm around his shoulders.
"Clay and Turtle are gonna be so excited to see you! You have NO idea how worried they've been about you. Not to mention ME!" she shouted, her scales flashing with each yelled word. "I WAS SO WORRIED! But anyway, I think Clay's teaching right now but Turtle should be hanging around somewhere."
Flame tried to smother the spark of jealousy that blossomed in his chest as Umber's face lit up in excitement. Why was he feeling like this? Clay was Umber's brother, of course he'd want to see him. As for Turtle, well, they had been good friends. Nothing more.
It would make sense that Umber would want to spend time with some actually NICE dragons instead of mean, grumpy Flame. What could Flame offer that Umber couldn't find elsewhere?
Flame thoughts screeched to a halt when he looked up to see Umber's eyes on him. Their gazes met and Umber smiled.
The MudWing looked to Tsunami. "Maybe some other time. For now I'd rather just stay with my boyfriend." Umber strode forward and confidently sat beside Flame, entwining their tails.
The looks on the gold and blue dragons faces were priceless.
Sunny's brow was lowered in confusion and her lips kept moving as if she wanted to ask something but didn't know what. Meanwhile Tsunami was gaping at them as if they had just transformed into a four headed goat with chicken wings.
"BOYFRIEND?" the blue dragoness finally bellowed. "OVER MY DEAD BODY. Umber, you can't be serious! You just wait until I tell Clay about this –"
"I'd hate to interrupt," Starfish popped in, obviously changing the subject before things got out of talon again, "but I'd really like to get this discussion underway. I don't think I need to remind you why we came here to begin with so if we could get this matter settled sooner than later that would be greatly appreciated." He smiled at them charmingly but his words sobered the group.
Indeed, they didn't need reminding as to why Flame was here.
He had tried to kill Stonemover and now wanted to speak with him.
Flame unconsciously leaned towards Umber as all eyes fell on him. He gulped, waiting for someone to speak. Sunny and Tsunami exchanged looks before the golden dragon cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry, Flame, but you do realize we can't just let you walk down there and see him. We have to make sure, that, well –"
"That it's safe to let you near him," Tsunami finished. Sunny nodded apologetically.
Flame nodded in understanding, although their apprehension about him stung. He knew he deserved it but it still hurt.
"So why do you want to speak with Stonemover anyway?" Tsunami asked, her scales glowing inquisitively. "What's so important that you have to go and see him?"
Flame glanced to his right to see Starfish giving him and encouraging nod. Flame took a deep breath.
"I just wanted to apologize to him for, you know, trying to kill him and all." He was going to leave it at that, but the expectant expressions on the teachers' faces indicated they were looking for more of an answer. Awkwardly Flame obliged. "I- I regret doing it. Honestly I do. I don't know what came over me that day – "
But he did know. It had been rage. Dark, burning, suffocating rage that had compelled him to act. A rage that had been growing ever since he had come back from the NightWing's Island. Mutilated, humiliated, and then tossed aside by all those who loved him, he had come to Jade Academy a broken dragon full of hate.
But that's not who he was, at least not anymore.
"Listen," Flame started again, his tone frank, "I was dealing with a lot of issues when I came to the Academy, and I know it's no excuse for what I did, but, well, I wasn't myself at the time. I mean, I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't always the calmest, nicest guy, but after the war I was just full of so much rage and hate – but I'm getting better now." He looked up from the ground to see Sunny and Tsunami listening to him intently. He sighed. If he was going to spill his guts he might as well let it all out. He let his shoulders slump. "I'm just tired of living like this. I just want to move on and let go of the past, so if you could let me go apologize to Stonemover so I can put this miserable experience behind me that would be fucking fantastic."
"Flame!" his mother scolded reflexively.
Flame rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I meant it would be REALLY fantastic." Beside him Umber stifled a laugh.
He returned his gaze to the two females before him. Sunny looked contemplative and sympathetic. Not that he was any good at reading faces, but if he had to guess he would say the small gold dragon was already convinced. Tsunami, on the other talon, still looked rather skeptical, although much of the aggression had receded into thoughtfulness. Her blue eyes scanned over him as if trying to find the detonation button that would turn this seemingly harmless dragon into a deadly weapon.
"So you're saying you no longer have the urge to kill anyone? Ever?" Tsunami asked.
Flame rubbed his neck, shrugging helplessly. "Uh, well I have my good days and bad days but, in all honesty, I do feel terrible about what I did to Stonemover and I never want to feel like that again."
"If my word counts for anything I'd like to say something as well," Starfish suddenly pipped up, approaching to stand behind Flame. "I have been Flame's Soul Healer since he first arrived at the Healing Center. I've gotten to know a lot about him over the past month, working with him to get to the root of his anger and helping him to overcome it. He's made excellent progress and it is my professional opinion that he is ready to confront Stonemover. The animus will not be harmed."
"Yeah, Flame's super sweet!" Umber chimed in with a smile. "He helps prepare the meals at the Healing Center AND he's teaching me how to read!"
Flame looked away bashfully at the undeserved praise. He had only really given Umber one reading lesson but he was sure there would be more in the future.
The Head Mistress still looked unconvinced.
"Oh come on, Tsunami," Sunny urged. She swished her golden tail impatiently back and forth. "Give him a chance! Can't you see he's making an effort here!"
At that Flame felt a nudge from Starfish followed by a significant stare. He was about to snap at the Healer for distracting him at a time like this, but then he remembered. OH RIGHT! That amazing apology I'm supposed to give them. Ah crap.
This was probably the most embarrassing thing he was ever going to do: grovelling at the feet of the Dragonets of Destiny. But, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew, deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep deep DEEP down, that it was the right thing to do. He internally groaned and steeled himself.
"And, erm...it's not just Stonemover who I wanna say sorry to," be began a little reluctantly. "I – Moons I can't believe I'm saying this - I also wanted to apologize to you guys."
Finally that infuriatingly skeptical glare on the SeaWing was shed, quickly replaced by balking, wide-eyed surprise.
Flame recalled what he and Starf had rehearsed. "Like I said before, I was pretty hateful when I came here and I was a huge ass – er- I mean jerk, to you guys and everyone else. I was mean, rude, obnoxious and didn't appreciate the opportunity I was given to come to this school in the first place. I know it's not much but I'd at least like to offer my sincerest apologies and thank you for putting up with me as long as you did." He gracefully bowed his head, hoping Starf would appreciate the dramatic flair. Maybe it would earn him some pity points from the intimidating dragoness before him.
Flame stole a glance up at the Head Mistress, holding his breath in anticipation.
She didn't look surprised anymore, but at least she didn't look defensive either. Her softened eyes regarded him thoughtfully before she released a long sigh through her nose.
"Well that's great and all but how does this prove we can trust you?"
"Are you serious!?" Avalanche shot up, smoke puffing from her mouth. She pushed her way into the circle of dragons to glare down at Tsunami. "What else do you want from him!? He's already said he regretted what he did and apologized to you; just let him in already so we can be done with this!"
Whatever sympathy the blue dragon had formed for his case vanished. She matched the red dragon's fiery glower. "Look, at the end of the day your son tried to murder someone and no amount of 'I'm sorry's is going to change that. I'm the head of the school and my decision on the matter will decide what happens."
Sunny shot Tsunami a hard look. "Your decision?" But the golden dragon's complaint when ignored.
Avalanche wasn't having any of this. "You certainly think highly of yourself, don't you? You think being a princess and a Dragonet of Destiny make you something special, huh? Well guess what? You're nothing but a spoiled brat that flaunts her power over others by making their lives miserable."
If Tsunami could spit fire she would have. Instead she released a low growl, her gills pulsing. Instantly Starfish and Umber sprang into action to calm the snarling females while Flame stayed at a safe distance.
"How DARE you!" the blue dragoness snarled. Umber was at her side keeping her from lunging forward, quickly murmuring calming words that were being completely ignored. "I'll have you know I saved Pyrrhia! And what have you done, hmm? What significant thing have you done with YOUR life to warrant respect and praise?"
"How about the fact that I was part of that pathetic group of dragons tasked with the oh-so-simple job of KEEPING YOU MISERABLE WHELPS ALIVE!" Avalanche pushed against Starfish's outstretched talons.
Over the din of the fracas Sunny and Flame met eyes. Flame quickly looked away but that didn't stop Sunny from walking over to him.
"It seems we're the odd one's out," she commented with amusement. The SkyWing nodded in turn, flashing a taut smile. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He already apologized, what else was there to say? Starfish was supposed to be handling the conversation, not him.
Sunny observed the scene thoughtfully for several silent moments before flashing a triumphant grin. "I doubt they'll notice if we slip away. Come on, let's talk. Just you and me." She made her way towards the mouth of the cave with the expectation that he would follow. Flame's confidence faltered.
He didn't want to talk to Sunny alone! By the Moons, what was she going to do to him? Was she going to yell at him for what he did to her father? She didn't come off as the type to attack him but, then again, as he had learned from past experience he was a very attackable person. Flame looked back to Starfish for help but the Healer very much had his talons full.
"B-but, what about – I can't just leave them I – shouldn't we wait?" Flame glanced back and forth between the small female and the mob of arguing dragons.
Sunny sat down at the entrance, waiting for him to catch up. "Don't worry about them. Tsunami and Avalanche won't kill each other; the boys will make sure of that. They'll probably just be arguing for the next hour so we might as well put that time to good use! So come on! We made some changes to the school that I think you'll like!"
Tsunami and Avalanche maiming each other were the least of his concerns. He didn't know WHAT Sunny was up to or what in Pyrrhia she wanted to talk about but the whole situation had a foreboding air. Without his consent Flame's talons remained rooted to the stone floor. Sunny looked back to see what was holding him up and soften her expression. "Hey, it'll be OK. The students should all be in class so we'll have the place to ourselves. I promise you won't have to talk to anybody else."
Flame relaxed a little bit. With all the excitement that had been going on he had nearly forgotten his other fear of running into his old winglet or really ANYBODY who might recognize him.
The small dragoness turned around again and entered the school, this time not waiting for him.
Not really seeing any way out of it, Flame cast one last helpless glance behind him before entering the villain's liar.
Author's Note:
(Looks at calendar and realizes its almost been a month since I've updated) Sorry for the long wait! I had the flu for a few weeks and that put me behind in a lot of projects ;W;.
Also, I am toying with the idea of Umber meeting with a few dragons from his old winglet in the next but haven't decided yet. Let me know if that's something you guys would like to see!