"Get up! Y'all are lazier than RainWings!"
Avalanche's voice was like a chunk of ice being dropped on Crystal's head. She slowly opened her eyes to see Avalanche pacing around the room, shaking Torrent awake.
Her wings were sore when the IceWing tried to move them, as if they knew her long journey of flying had come to a pause, and decided to take a break. Even with the interruption, this was the longest straight night of sleep she had gotten, not having to serve a watch for SkyWings. She groaned, and pulled herself to her paws, lifting her body off the floor.
"What?" Torrent grumbled sourly as he raised his head. "Are there SkyWings after us or something?"
"SkyWings?" Avalanche screeched, practically choking. "You think SkyWings are why I'm getting you up? No, I need you to go to the market!"
"Market?" Torrent asked in confusion.
Avalanche snarled angrily. "What, you think you're just going to stay in my house for free, is that it?" Torrent tried to shake his head in response, but Avalanche was too quick. "As part of your . . . boarding fee, you're going to go to the market and buy food and supplies for me, and for the rest of you if you'd like."
"Part of?" Schist quickly asked.
Avalanche nodded, and pointed to Griffin. "Since he obviously can't go out into the city, he's going to start by cleaning up the house. We'll see what else there is when he's done."
"Look," Torrent protested, clenching his teeth a little, "we'd love to help you out, but we're looking for an animus nearby, and it's urgent."
"Urgent?" Avalanche laughed. "If it was urgent, you should have slept in less. This 'animus' can wait another day if you want to be sleeping here another night."
"Fine," Crystal crisply agreed, cutting off whatever Torrent had to say. "We'll go out and get your food. Torrent, you have a way to pay, right?"
Torrent thought for a moment. Yes, he still some jewelry from the Sea Kingdom; if he could pawn it off, it would be more than enough. "Yeah, I can," he said, "but —"
"It's fine," Crystal quickly told the SeaWing. "We've waited through the winter already, our animus can wait another day."
Torrent grumbled unhappily. They had already waited so long in the Sky Kingdom, and the flight had felt like forever. Now, they finally had gotten to their destination, but they just had to wait more? He gave Avalanche a quick glare, to which he received a smug face in response. The SeaWing then turned away to his bag, to pull out a small necklace with rubies, diamonds, and pearls inlaid within it. Avalanche's eyes opened wide at the sight.
"You coming with us?" Crystal asked, turning to Schist.
Schist squirmed uncomfortably. "No thanks," he replied, "I'll just help out Griffin and Avalanche."
"Really?" Crystal asked, surprised. "I thought you'd want to check out the cities?"
"I don't know," he muttered, "I don't want to attract too much attention."
"He's embarrassed 'cause he's ugly," Avalanche rudely commented. "He doesn't want to scare the poor dragonets with his looks."
Crystal bared her teeth a little at her. "He's not ugly," she hissed at Avalanche. Sure, he had some bad burns and scarring, but it wasn't the worst she had seen. Well, maybe it was, but it probably wasn't the worst in Pyrrhia. "And you're one to talk, your scales look like a red RainWing threw up on them."
Oops, Crystal suddenly realized, closing her snout tight, maybe I shouldn't be insulting our host.
Avalanche gave her a long stare, before a toothy grin appeared on her face. "So, you have a little gusto in you after all, do you?"
Crystal gave her a quick hiss, then looked over towards Schist. He tensed up at her look. "Avalanche is right," he quietly murmured, "I am ugly."
"And I'm an overgrown bird," Griffin commented, walking over to Schist. He took his talons, and put them around Schist's head and moved it up to look at him, directly in the eyes. "Look, it doesn't matter if you're ugly, alright? You got those scars from saving all our lives, and you were willing to die for us. I don't think I could have done what you did, running into a burning dragon just to save a SeaWing you barely knew. And if some eel-brained SkyWing says that you're ugly, then remember that even if you were the ugliest dragon in the world, you're better than she could ever be for it."
Schist smiled weakly, while Avalanche just rolled her eyes. "You're adorable together, you know that?" she said snarkily. "It's deplorable. Now, get out of your happy little 'you saved my life' friendship circle, and back to real life, where dragons will judge you for a mismatched scale, and toughen up. Are you going with Crystal, or not?"
Schist gave Avalanche a glare. "I'm staying here. But not because you think I'm ugly, because my wings are tired and I want to rest."
"You're not going to rest, believe me," Avalanche grinned. "But if you don't want to go prancing around the city, fine by me. You and the bird can help me clean this dump. Maybe scare away a few cats while you're at it." She turned to Crystal, and Torrent, who was standing by her with the necklace he had grabbed. "Well?"
Crystal nodded with a glare. "Quick question," she asked, steadying her voice, "the SandWing who brought me here before, do you know his name? Where he lives?"
Avalanche was in thought for a quick moment, tapping a claw on the scales of her jaw. "Nope, no clue," she answered, turning back to Crystal. "I don't keep track of the street urchins, they all just look the same to me. Stand around long enough and I'm sure one of them will rob you, just like any other one of the lawless SandWings who live here." She pointed to the necklace Torrent had in his claws. "You might want to hide that," she suggested.
Crystal gritted her teeth. What is wrong with her? she angrly wondered. Griffin, Schist, and now the SandWing who helped me find her? Can't she just close her snout for a moment, or at least not say something awful every time she opens it?
Crystal turned to the door. "Come on, let's go," she muttered, irritated. Torrent quickly followed, and shut the door to the blue-shingled house behind him. He took the necklace and crumpled it up within his left claws, so not to let it be seen.
"Do you know which way to go?" he asked Crystal.
"I think so," she replied. She pointed a talon towards the west. "The market I saw was in the SandWing city, and I'm sure there's a jeweler or a pawn shop somewhere along the way.
Torrent nodded, and followed Crystal. They walked to one of the larger roads, where a horde of SkyWings were heading to the west, towards the bridge spanning the Five-Tailed River. A few dragons of other tribes joined the SkyWings in the migration, a small number of SandWings were there, in addition to a MudWing and a weird dragon Torrent couldn't tell the tribe of — she had what looked like a miniscule barb, but no frill and the long curved horns of a SkyWing.
Crystal and Torrent pushed through the crowd, Torrent towering above them and holding his necklace tightly. He looked over to Crystal, who still appeared a bit miffed.
"Wow, who doused her wounds in seawater?" Torrent asked, referring to Avalanche.
Crystal looked over to Torrent, startled out of her thoughts. "I know, right?" she replied, half laughing, half grimacing. "I'm beginning to doubt my brother-in-law's taste of friends right now; she has absolutely no redeeming qualities, out of all the dragons in Pyrrhia, three moons, why would he go find her?"
"Go find her?" Torrent asked in confusion, not sure what Crystal meant.
Crystal nodded. "Yeah. At least according to Avalanche, Fracture, my brother-in-law, apparently found Avalanche, my sister, and few other dragons to form some anti-war society or whatever. I met one of the others back in the Sky Kingdom, before I found you." A look of disgust crossed her face. "It was a NightWing."
For a moment, Torrent was wondering what was so wrong with NightWings, then quickly recalled his Arctic and Darkstalker legends. Of course. The two kingdoms had hated each other for the last few thousand years. Why would he be surprised that Crystal didn't like NightWings? Still, it was even weirder that this Fracture had sought out a NightWing. Torrent wondered how Fracture had found one, the only NightWing he'd ever seen was Sunscorcher, and apparently the location of the Night Kingdom was so well-kept, no one else had been there in two thousand years.
The two passed over the great bridge spanning the river, dragons shoving each other aside to get past each other. Loud shouts of vendors in stalls hurt Torrent's ears, this place was a mess compared to the underwater silence of the Deep Palace. A SandWing on the front suddenly pushed against Torrent, causing the large SeaWing to stagger back. He gave Torrent a glare, then turned back to his business, buying some sort of lotion from a MudWing selling various herbs and homemade remedies, who boasting to the public about how effective they were, particularly in comparison to the quack doctor SkyWing selling mass-produced junk on the other end of the bridge.
"Well, that was rude," he muttered to Crystal, suddenly turning around to see a young SkyWing in her place.
The SkyWing gave him a strange stare, then shoved what looked like a toad (or perhaps charcoal in the shape of a toad) on a stick in front of Torrent's snout. "Toad-on-a-stick, great for a morning snack. You want to buy?"
"Er, no thanks," Torrent replied, taken aback. "I prefer my food raw."
The dragonet quickly turned away, running up to a pair of grinning SkyWings behind Torrent and giving them the same offer. Torrent turned back, and looked around, peeking over the horns and wings of the dragons crowd front of him for Crystal. It shouldn't be that hard to find an IceWing within this crowd, a spot of light-blue would stick out easily.
He saw her a few paces ahead, then pushed through the mass of scales and wings to get to her, drawing some growls and sharp remarks. She glanced up when he got there, "Oh, that's where you are," she said. "Look, I think that's what we're looking for."
She pointed her talon over the side of the bridge, to a small shop not too far from the store. A wooden sign was atop it, reading "Oryx's Jewelry and Pawn." The letters were painted on in a thick blue paint, and the sign was slightly lower on the left end than the right. "C'mon," Crystal said, pushing further down the crowd, now heading down the other side of the bridge.
Torrent quickly followed, trying to keep up with the smaller and nimbler IceWing. When he turned the corner to get out of the main roads and onto the riverbank, she was already there, waiting for him. The two walked up to the entrance of the pawn shop together, and opened the door. The shop itself was miniscule on the inside: the walls were covered in various cheap junk, and at the back of the room was a small counter with a bored looking SandWing crouching down behind it, most likely Oryx. A small staircase ran up the back of the counter, leading up to what could be Oryx's home above the shop.
Oryx looked up and flicked out his forked tongue with a hint of interest. He stood to his full height, looking up towards Torrent defiantly. A random pattern of orange scales speckled his backside, interspersed between the pale yellow scales most common among SandWings. "An IceWing and a SeaWing together," he snorted with a tiny chuckle, "that's not something you see everyday, even here. What's the story?"
"We're not together," Crystal replied with a feigned smile. "I mean, we are together, but not in that way. I'm traveling with him and a couple other friends, that's all."
Oryx nodded, and looked over the two suspiciously. "Well, welcome to Oryx's Jewelry and Pawn. Best pawn shop in both cities, although I'd have to admit I'm slightly partial. You here to buy or to sell?"
"Sell," Torrent answered, opening his paw and showing Oryx the necklace.
He nodded, flicking his forked tongue in and out, then held out a claw. "May I take a closer look?"
Crystal clenched her teeth in a bit of worry, but Torrent dropped the necklace into Oryx's claws. He examined it for almost a minute, then set it back down on the counter. "SeaWing craftsmanship. Not bad."
Oryx ducked his head beneath the counter for a second, his horns and sail waving back and forth. When he came up, he pulled out a small pouch, and dropped it on the counter, half-opened. Torrent peeked inside to see a cluster of silver pieces of various sizes, stamped with the images of SandWing and SkyWing queens.
Torrent reached a claw out towards the pouch, intending to take it, when Crystal suddenly wrapped her talons around Torrent's forearm and pulled it backwards. She scoffed at Oryx. "We're going to need a little more than that," she demanded. "Three of those pouches, filled to the brim with gold, might be barely enough."
Oryx chuckled heartily. "Are you trying to bleed me dry?" he asked with slight disappointment. He went back under the counter and pulled out another one of the pouches, half-filled with gold pieces. "How do you expect me to feed my dragonets?"
Crystal gave him a cold stare. "Not my problem. Now, do you want this necklace, or not? I'm sure you're not the only shop nearby."
Oryx sighed exaggeratedly, then pulled out another pouch similar to the second. "This is the best you're going to get, you know. What more do you want, my entire shop? My mate and dragonets?"
Crystal brought her eyes up to his, and gave him a cold hiss, then grabbed the three pouches on the counter. "We're good," she said, then turned around, exiting the shop.
Oryx quickly snatched the necklace from the counter, then looked up at Torrent. "Anything else you want to sell?"
Torrent shook his head, then went out of the shop after Crystal. He glanced over at her, quickly scanning over the coins she had gotten. She handed one of the pouches to Torrent, and he looked at it carefully. "I hope we didn't take too much," he muttered.
Crystal looked at Torrent and almost choked on her. He gave her a look of confusion. "Believe me, he's going to be fine," she explained, "we could have gotten five times this for that necklace, and he'd still make a profit."
"Oh," Torrent replied with a frown, "is it really that expensive?"
The IceWing nodded vigorously. "Half the dragons in the city would've killed you to get that, maybe more. You really don't know anything about money, do you?"
Torrent fidgeted his wings in embarrassment. "Whirlpool didn't really teach River and I about stuff like that, that was more what Orca learned."
Crystal rolled her eyes. "Then what did he teach you?"
"History, writing, science, stuff like that," Torrent replied. "Although half of it was just him bragging about everything he'd done for the Sea Kingdom and Pyrrhia and all the scrolls he'd written."
Crystal snorted. "That sounds awful. Living in a huge underwater palace where your primary job is listening to a boring old SeaWing tell stories," she teased Torrent. "C'mon, let's get going, we've still got a little more walking before we get to the SandWing market."
The two continued on into, deeper into the western city. As they continued on, the architecture became distinctly different than that of the SkyWings'. Instead of the sharp, triangular roofs of the SkyWing buildings, these buildings had flat roofs, with the occasional dragon peering off them at the procession of SandWings and SkyWings below. The buildings had square or rectangular bases, and were made out of a yellowish-orange stone, although many of the ones closer to the riverbank had a strange mix of the grey SkyWing stone used on the other side of the huge river.
Crystal was scanning the crowds, quickly turning back her head back and forth. Torrent glanced over to her. "What are you looking for? Thieves?"
She shook her head, her faint blue scales flickering in the harsh sunlight. "No, there was a SandWing I met my last time through, and I was wondering if he was still here."
"Oh," Torrent replied with a hint of dismay. He looked around the market square. "What did he look like?"
"He had golden-brown scales, and his horns curved slightly outward," she answered.
Torrent frowned a little, and looked around at the river of SandWings and SkyWings pushing past. There were plenty who fit that description. "Anything else?"
Crystal thought for a moment, then shook her head. "C'mon, let's get to the market, maybe he'll be there."
The two pushed through the crowd and reached a large square in the middle of the SandWing city. Various stone buildings bordered the open area, usually consisting of some sort of shop on the bottom floor. A tall square clocktower rose at the other end of the market-square, with the hands of the clock moving slowly. In the middle of the square was a raised platform, just large enough for a single dragon to take off in flight or land. A number of SkyWings, along with a few MudWings, circled above the area, impatiently waiting for their turn to land, as a yelling SandWing below signaled to them that it was their turn.
The rest of the square was filled with small stalls and a mass of dragons. A few looked like they might have been at one time been arranged in rows, but apparently they had somehow broken free of this arrangement, and were now randomly strewn around the stone square. Wafts of smoked meat hit Torrent's snout, and he had to take a step back. Shouts of vendors filled the air as more dragons pushed past the two, trying to get in or out of the marketplace.
"Follow me," Crystal said, grabbing Torrent's wing with a claw and pulling him along. The bazaar was like nothing Torrent had ever experienced. Sure, there were markets in the Sea Kingdom, but they were quiet, serene, placid. The bright lights of furious flashing in Aquatic was the most overwhelming thing that went on in there.
Crystal pulled Torrent up to a vendor on the edge of the square. "I'd like two of the spiced mutton legs," she shouted over the roar of the crowd. She pulled out one of the coins from a pouch, and handed it to the SandWing vendor, who returned two golden-brown lamb legs and a few smaller coins. She put the coins back her in pouch, then put the mutton leg in Torrent's talons.
He put his snout up against it and took a breath in, his belly gurgling. All they had been eating for the last two months was salted goat and yak meat, and he had gotten pretty tired of it by now. He quickly pulled off a large portion of the mutton with his sharp, shark-like teeth, and instantly regretted it.
Crystal laughed as she bit into a much smaller piece. "Spicy, isn't it?" she asked, chewing on her bit. Torrent nodded, his eyes watering up.
"Yeah," he muttered, after mustering enough strength to swallow the rest of the piece he had bitten off. It stung in the back of his throat. He stuck out his forked tongue, as if that would help.
"Sorry, probably should've warned you," Crystal smiled. "Northern SandWing cuisine is some of the spiciest in Pyrrhia; it takes a bit of time to warm up to."
Torrent nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I can tell," he snorted. "Is IceWing food as bad?"
Crystal shook her head. "Definitely not. It's mostly seal, polar bear, penguin, and fish. Salty, fatty, and bland."
"I know the taste," Torrent replied, "we ate a lot of fish back in the Sea Kingdom, with the occasional shark. Is that a RainWing?" He pointed over towards a stall closer to the center of the market. Dragons of all tribes were crowded around it, forming some semblance of a line. Behind the stall was a slim green dragon standing up on his hind legs and a huge grin. His wings were stretched out wide, with bright colors swirling across them to attract the attention of potential customers. Fruits of all shapes and sizes were placed across the counter, along with a series of small wooden goblets.
"I don't know what else it would be," Crystal replied, "let's go check him out!"
She walked to what might have been the end of the line for the RainWing's stall, Torrent following. The SkyWing in front of the two gave them a strange look as they got behind her, but quickly turned away.
"Want your fortune while you wait?" a voice quickly asked.
Torrent turned to the left to see a small stall. Pumice rocks, chunks of volcanic glass, and strangely colored crystals lined the counter. The stall's owner was a small dragon of a kind Torrent had never seen before. His scales were a strange dark yellow, and small dots of white stood out in a line of scales along his neck. He had short spines along his back-ridge, but with a small sail between them, sort of like the webbing between Torrent's own spines. "Well?" he asked.
Crystal glanced over at him and gave the dragon a little squint. "A NightWing?" she asked, with a hint of disdain.
"Only half," the hybrid smiled. "Don't worry, I don't sting; I've got no barb."
"Can you actually tell fortunes?" Crystal asked skeptically. She didn't trust NightWings much, even only half of one.
The hybrid tossed his wings back and forth. "Sometimes. If I don't get anything, you don't have to pay me."
"Yeah, no thanks," Crystal snorted. "I'd prefer to use my money more wisely."
"How about this," the hybrid said, turning to Torrent, "I'll give you two readings for the price of one, it's not much."
Torrent debated a little. It's not like it could hurt much. "Sure, why not," he replied, looking over at Crystal. "C'mon, it'll be fun."
Crystal sighed and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, then pulled out a few coins from her pouch and placed them in the hybrid's claws. He grinned and set it down to the side. "Now, put your talons in mine."
Crystal did so hesitantly, and the hybrid closed his eyes, breathing softly. "I think I see something," he murmured quietly. It's totally fake, Crystal mouthed over to Torrent.
"I see a statue of you," the hybrid replied, "in a room of clear ice. You're not alone." He took another breath in. "There's another IceWing there too, his wings are tucked in. He has a small golden bracelet around his left forearm, a dark purple stone inlaid within it."
Crystal suddenly took her claws back from the hybrid, and he opened his eyes. She gave him a glare. "Well?" he asked. "Are you satisfied?"
"Yes," she muttered, a little nervous. She had left the Darkstone back in Avalanche's house with Schist and Griffin, it had to be safe. And she was a traitor, why would there be a statue of her in the palace? Unless . . . what if the Darkstone had worked, and she'd used it to become a true animus. Was that even possible? And if she had . . . Crystal turned to Torrent. Torrent's dagger could turn animus dragons to stone — what if he'd used it on her?
"Your turn?" the hybrid said, turning to Torrent. The large SeaWing placed his large webbed paws into the hybrid's, as the hybrid closed his eyes and hummed.
"I see an island," the hybrid spoke, "but with no water around it. Instead of an ocean, there's just sand, with dead and decaying fish all around it. There are sharp rocks sticking up from the dry sea all, and there is a large cliff around every side of the island. The top is a dead forest, the trees all burnt stumps."
The Summer Palace? Torrent wondered, recognizing the description. Why would it be burnt? And why would the ocean have suddenly dried up?
"Red and yellow dragons are circling around the top. SkyWings, I think," he continued, "and a crown is lying in the sand, split in two. There are lights dancing in the sky, green and purple."
"An aurora?" Crystal asked. The hybrid nodded.
"A what?" Torrent wondered.
"Colorful lights appear in the Ice Kingdom sky occasionally," Crystal explained, "you wouldn't get them in the Sea Kingdom, you're too far south."
Torrent frowned a little. "Maybe the SkyWings win the war?" he asked with a little worry.
The hybrid smiled and shook his wings back and forth. "I'm just the messenger, I've got no clue," he admitted, "but good luck to you both." He turned away from Torrent and Crystal to the next dragon in line for the RainWing's stand, a elderly SandWing. "Fortunes told at cheap prices here!" he shouted.
Torrent and Crystal turned away, and continued walking forward. Crystal normally didn't trust prophecies and visions (or NightWings in general, for that matter), but if he had described the Darkstone, then it had to be legit, right? It seemed like it was too much to just be a coincidence. Yet, it's not like the vision made much sense — Crystal was a traitor to the IceWings, there's no way Queen Glacier would create a statue in her honor. Maybe a future IceWing queen would pardon Crystal and induct her as a hero for preventing Glacier from causing a MudWing genocide? Possible, but unlikely. Blackice was the only daughter of Queen Glacier, she'd been banished for her war crimes, and she didn't seem like the type who'd take kindly to Crystal taking the Darkstone. Glacier didn't have any living sisters or female cousins, though maybe Prince Narwhal would have a daughter in the future if he married. She supposed Glacier would probably have another daughter, eventually.
Torrent was slightly less concerned about his vision than Crystal. Sure, it would be pretty awful if the SkyWings attacked the Summer Palace, but it wasn't like it would involve him if they did. He had left the Sea Kingdom for good, and didn't even know if he could still breathe underwater. All of that — Orca, palaces, queens and kings, the salty waters of the Bay — it was far behind him now, half a continent away.
"Well?" a dragon asked, interrupting Torrent and Crystal's thoughts. "You don't seem like you're from around here."
Crystal turned to attention. They had reached the front of the line, and the RainWing was grinning at them. "Sorry," she murmured, quickly reaching into her pouch to pull out a few shining coins. "Are you a RainWing?" she asked.
The RainWing snorted, and a quick succession of spirals flashed across his scales. "I sure hope so," he replied, "else I'd need a doctor to check me out pretty quick. So, have anything in particular you're looking for?"
Torrent looked closer at the stand. There was a wide variety of strange fruits on it, probably directly from the rainforest itself. He glanced over at Crystal, who pointed to a small obloid one with a skin of orange and green hues. The RainWing nodded, and grabbed it. With a quick stroke of a razor-sharp claw, he cut a circle around the middle of the fruit, and peeled away the skin a short distance. He handed it to Crystal, who poked the soft orange insides. The only fruit they commonly ate in the Ice Kingdom were berries, and although she had gotten a little more variety while living on the SandWing border, it wasn't something she'd ate a ton of.
"Mango. Good choice," the RainWing explained. "Would you care for some cacao? It's extremely popular."
"Sure?" Crystal asked, unsure what it was. The RainWing grinned and passed over two of the goblets. Crystal in return handed over the coins she owed. She and Torrent took the goblets in their claws and backed away from the stand.
Torrent took a large sip of the drink in the goblet, a thick liquid the color of a dark wood. He grimaced a little. "It's bitter," he muttered.
Crystal laughed. "I'd have thought you'd have learned your lesson on taking big samples already." She took a sip. It was like nothing she'd ever tasted, extremely rich and bitter, like Torrent had described, but with hints of cinnamon and a strange flavor she couldn't describe. "I like it," she commented, quickly finishing off her drink and returning the goblet to the RainWing, who by now was serving the next customer.
Torrent drank a little more, swallowing the rest of it down. Not really his favorite. "It's . . . interesting," he commented, placing the goblet on the counter.
Crystal cut off a piece of the orange fruit with her claw and handed it to Torrent. It was uncomfortably sticky, and fruit juices dripped down his talon uncomfortably as he grabbed. He took a small nibble, finally realizing his lesson, and nodded in enjoyment. "Sweet," he judged the fruit. He quickly gobbled up the rest.
Crystal took a bite of her piece, and licked her forked tongue across her sharp teeth. "Wow, you're right," she replied in a hint of surprise, "I think I might be looking forward to more of this when we go to the rainforest."
Torrent nodded, trying to pick out a strand of the mango that had gotten caught between his teeth. There was an animus in the rainforest, if he recalled correctly. He supposed that was where they would go next. He looked around a little at the crowd, and tapped a claw on the amethyst in his dagger. It was cold; there was no animus around.
"Ugh," he grumbled in frustration, "we should be searching for the animus here, not buying fruit from a RainWing."
Crystal grimaced a little. Torrent was right; they were ignoring their purpose. "Yeah," she sighed unhappily, "but a little bit of fun can't hurt, will it?"
Torrent shut his mouth, not wanting to argue with Crystal, even if he disagreed. Every moment wasted could mean another dragon being hurt.
Crystal easily noticed his expression of confliction, and wrapped her claws, sticky with mango juice, around his own. "It's alright," she said, looking directly into his eyes. "Animus magic or not, dragons will get hurt, and die. You can't stop that, and you don't have to; what we've done, and what we will do, is good enough."
The idea of dragons dying no matter what didn't particularly make Torrent feel better, but he smiled a little for Crystal. She wrapped a wing over his backside and pulled him a little closer, her scales slightly cold to the touch. He moved a little closer, welcoming her embrace.
She nuzzled him on the neck, her frigid breath steaming slightly against his scales. "C'mon, let's get our stuff for Avalanche," she suggested, breaking free and pulling Torrent towards a stall selling copious amounts of overpriced meat.
After buying a large cooked pig, the two headed back towards the blue-shingled house, claw-in-claw.