Hell Week (part 3)
When I started waking up that morning, it took me a while to remember things. I was lying on my back, and my wings were starting to ache. I tried shifting to my right, only to be stopped by a large weight on my shoulder. Oh. Right. Rock arm. Lame. I tried shifting to my left, only to feel something heavy and warm on my chest and side. Hmm. Did Maggy crawl into bed last night? I thought I was with-
I opened my eyes, only to find a beautiful Nightwing cuddled up beside me. My heart stopped. Panic took hold, and I remembered everything that happened the night before.
No. No. Nononono!
I tried to scoot away, only for my arm to work like an anchor to hold me in place. Greatness stirred, and I froze, closing my eyes and pretending to be asleep. She exhaled, and I felt a kiss on my cheek. "Morning, Xero." I held perfectly still, even as she pulled me closer and nuzzled my neck. I shivered against her touch, the comforting feeling only adding fuel to the fire of guilt.
"I don't know if you can hear me," She whispered, "But last night truly was amazing. You were everything I hoped you'd be and more. I just hope it was as good for you as it was for me."
It took every ounce of willpower not to cringe, as she twisted that metaphorical knife. But just as I thought things were getting bad, there was a knocking at the door, and I nearly had a heart attack. Greatness sighed, rolling out of bed to answer. I opened my eyes, quickly took an assessment of the room. Everything looked the same. The window was open, a breeze bringing in the scent of tropical flowers. What few sheets and pillows I had had been stuffed under my foreleg. By all accounts, there was nothing to indicate that anything happened last night.
"Oh, good morning, Maggy," Greatness chirped by the door, "Is it your turn to watch him?" I looked at the door - sure enough, my bodyguard stood outside, looking between her and me.
"Good morning," She returned, "It is, but before you go, can I talk to you for a second?" The Nightwing nodded, and she left the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as I was alone, I groaned quietly.
Xerophilous, you idiot, I thought, rubbing my face with my freepaw, What have you done?
Already, I was trying to rationalize what happened: No, nothing happened last night. It was all a dream! No, Greatness brought it up. Well, she took advantage of you, so it's her fault! No, I could've stopped it if I really wanted to. Well, you suffered enormous mental and physical trauma, so you were clearly not in the right mind! No, I was entirely of sane mind when we did what we did. Well, it was just a bootycall, a one-night stand. A bad move, sure, but not the end of the world. I mean, yeah she says she loves you, but you don't love her like you love Batty, right? ...
The realization hit me hard enough to actually make me roll over and fall out of bed. I fell onto the ground with a THUMP!, pain shooting up my shoulder from the impact. I groaned in pain, and at the sheer magnitude of my screwup. What kind of idiot falls in love with three dragonesses? What kind of scumbag goes and cheats on the mothers of his children right after they lay? What kind of drake was I, to be so smart, and yet continue making the same kinds of mistakes?
I forced myself to roll over, getting back up to my feet. I was just starting to drag myself to the door, when Maggy came in. Her normally purple scales were tinged with a fading yellow, and a happy smile turned into a serious expression when she glanced up at me. My heart stopped, as I instantly realized she knew. She knew.
"Maggy," I tried to explain, "It's not-"
"Xerophilous," She asked, stepping closer, "Do you still love me? Do you still love our egg?"
"Of, of course!" I replied quickly, "I-"
"Then that's all I need to know," Streaks of gold appeared along her spine and tail, "You have my love and my loyalty, as your guard and your mate. I will stay by your side, regardless of what you decide. But you need to decide what and who you want, My King," She placed a paw on my chest, right above my heart, "Whether you pick Batty, Greatness, both or neither, you need to figure out what kind of king - and what kind of drake - you want to be. And when you do, you must accept the consequences of that choice, and learn to move forward. Do you understand?"
I nodded weakly, and let her pull me in for a hug, but even as she did so, I felt myself falling mentally, the weight of every sin pulling me down like anchors. I broke my girlfriend's heart, scared a child into crippling me, and the first chance I got, I cheated on the mothers of my children. What kind of king did that make me? What kind of drake did that make me?
Not a dragon I'd like, I realized...
Have you ever tried flying with three legs? Have you ever tried flying while carrying a heavy weight? Have you ever tried doing both at the same time? Well, that's what it was like flying from the Jade Mountains, and let me tell you, it. Effing. BLOWS! It would've at least been a little more convenient if it got petrified folded against my body or fully extended, so at least I could flex my shoulder and wrap it around my body, out of the way. It'd suck, but at least I could hobble around and land without too much difficulty. But nope, my arm was half-extended in the most awkward, stupid way possible, making so many everyday tasks that much more difficult.
It's only because I didn't know about the reversibility of my condition (or the risk of medical complication) that I didn't have some servants go at the damn thing with hammer & chisel.
Even so, efforts were made to help keep my disability a secret. I was surrounded by my guards, as we made our way from the Rainforest to the Mountains. Maggy and Grandeur had given me a cloak made of interwoven furs and flowers, large enough to cover most of my body, and (more importantly) cover my petrified limb in a suitably innocuous and stylish manner. When I went to tour the various settlements, my guards kept dragons at a distance from me, and when I wanted to speak with the leaders and representatives, we'd meet in a large tent, with me lying on a large, pillow-filled couch to allow me to rest and support my shoulder discreetly.
All of which made what should've been a three-day journey into a week-long sojourn.
Most of it was a barely remembered blur, save for one small encounter. Three days after I got stoned, we were stopped in a rather large camp simply called "Jade Camp". Located on a plateau overlooking the river, several dozen tents had been erected in a rough semicircle facing the setting sun - the direction of home. Curiously enough, they were within recently built Nightwing Camp (called "Moonrise") and the brand-new Skywing Camp (just called "Camp"... Skywings weren't very creative back then).
I'd been fading in and out of lucidity as the trip had dragged on, and as the servants were clearing out the last bits of our working lunch, I'd just realized I didn't remember a single thing about it - not what was discussed, not who was there, not what we ate, nothing. Hmm, that's gonna be a problem, I thought idly, Oh well, that's tomorrow's problem, I guess.
I became vaguely aware of someone eating something crunchy off to my side. I looked over past the edge of the couch I rested on, only to find a Sandwing dragonet huddled up in a corner, chewing on leftover elephant bones and gristle. I stared at the child, until she finally felt my gaze and looked up. I raised an eyebrow. She held my gaze, continuing to pick away at the marrow.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"...'M Thorn," The child said, swallowing.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Xeroph-olus," She said, butchering my name as only dragonets can. "Momma said you worked for an evil Queen, but all the Rainwings say you're really smart and nice."
I nodded, both things being true. "And what do you think, little Thorn?"
She looked at me, then at the bowl of cooked fowl opposite us. "Can I have some?" She asked plaintively, "Momma says I'm too young to hunt, but all the Rainwings give is fruit. Yuck!"
I snickered. "Yeah, fruit's an acquired taste. Here, you can have some." She descended upon the bucket, ravenously devouring the little cooked chickens and ducks and turkeys.
"So," I asked, after she ate for some time, "Tell me how you got here, Thorn. What do you think of the Jade Mountains? Are the Nightwings and Skywings giving you any trouble?"
The dragonet chewed, thinking it over. She swallowed, and answered, "It's alright. The nights are cold. There's a lot of bugs and plants and stuff here. The Skywings are scared and confused, 'cause they think Scarlet's gonna come and get them, but they all stay in the camp across the river. Everyone says the Rainwings were lazy and dumb, but they've been really nice, and they've been helping us make the camp and feed everyone. And you wanna know a secret 'bout the Nightwings?" I nodded. She looked around quickly - as if one of those black dragons would suddenly appear underneath a table - and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "I don't think they can read minds or see the future."
"You don't say," I chuckled.
"It's true!" She continued, "All the dragonets have been playing with each other, and they lose just as much as we do! The adults like to pretend like they have powers but I think they're just like everybody else."
"How observant of you," I complimented, as she continued eating, "I dare say you've told me more in this little chat than I've heard in hours of meetings."
The little dragonet looked remarkably smug and proud of herself, taking another chicken. She was about to pop it in her mouth, when she noticed my foreleg. She stopped, looking warily between me and it. "What happened to you?" She asked.
I looked down at the half-stretched limb, and sighed. "I said some things I shouldn't have," I admitted, "And I scared a friend. They did this without thinking."
"Does it hurt?" She asked.
I shrugged. "It doesn't feel like anything, really. It's just numb. Like when you lay on your leg weird when you sleep."
"What happened?"
I sighed. "My friend and I had a miscommunication. He thought I was going to hurt him when I wasn't and did this. He's... in timeout right now."
She nodded, at least pretending to understand. "You should go talk to him, then. Momma says you should apologize to your friends after you have a fight with them."
I smiled wanly, patting her side with my wing. "Maybe I will," I told her, "It's the best advice I've heard all day. Now, why don't you go off and find your mother or your friends, before the guards come and find you?"
"Okay," She said, sounding a little disappointed, "Bye, Mr. Xeroph-olus." She took one more piece of chicken, and snuck out underneath the back of the tent. I chuckled, considering her words, wondering if I'd see that little dragon again...
By the time Hell Week was over, I felt like an absolute zombie. Parenthood, physical and emotional trauma, seeing the fruits of war, realizing the depth of my own depravity - it was like I got a perpetual concussion, leaving my mind in a thick fog, and my body on autopilot. I deferred most of my responsibilities to the Council, unable to focus on, well, anything. I was only ever half-aware of what they discussed, answering vaguely yes or no to questions asked of me. More often than not, my days were stuck in the routine of resting, limping to a meeting for an hour, and limping back to rest more.
Fortunately, the Kingdom and the war effort remained in good paws. I learned the details after the fact, but my Council of Queens performed admirably in my absence. Once Batty was fully recovered, she, Greatness and Grandeur essentially ran the country, overseeing ongoing developments within the Jungle and the Mountains, as well as managing the ongoing siege within the Sky Kingdom. Again, most of this time was a blur, but I sensed that something had changed between Fruit Bat and Greatness, and whatever tensions they had, if not fully resolved, had at least been put aside.
Things came to a head about a week later, as we were hosting another War Meeting.
"Has anyone seen or heard Tanwen?" Greatness asked.
"Hmmph?" I glanced up, looking around the table with distant, distracted eyes. Was there supposed to be another Sandwing here? It'd felt like a lifetime ago since Sparkling brought in my former rival in a burlap sack, and yet with everything that had happened, I'd completely forgotten about them.
"Yeah, she's been missing for a few days," Flying Fox added, turning to ask one of the guards that were now stationed by the door, "What happened to her?" The two guards looked at each other, each trying to think.
"I saw her yesterday," One of them said, "She asked to use one of the new bathrooms we built. I didn't see her again, but I figured she just went to bed afterwards."
"I saw her with a crossbow before dinner," The other admitted, "But I thought she was going to do some practice before joining us. Everyone who's worked with you has ended up joining you, My King."
Grandeur was quickly turning red now. "You mean to tell us," She growled, "That you let a prisoner go unaccompanied through the Village, and not only could they've escaped, but they might've also taken one of our King's prized inventions? And no one thought to tell us this until now?!"
"She's probably halfway through the Jade Mountains by now," Fruit Bat sighed, spots of orange appearing over her pink scales, "Another problem to worry about."
"Isn't she part of the Royal Family?" Greatness pointed out, "Now that Jerboa retired-"
"Jerboa retired?" I asked, glancing up.
"My King, we discussed this at our last meeting," Maggy reminded me, "Desperado of the Coven wrote a letter asking for a ceasefire and negotiations between Nightshade and the Coalition. Jerboa wanted to talk, but the other Queens didn't and so she just... well, she went back to her hut, leaving them without anyone to take the throne."
So all that talk with Mastermind was completely pointless, I thought bitterly, I lost my foreleg and my Animus for nothing. Figures. One more screwup to add to my growing list.
I looked down at the papers in front of me. Unable to focus, the words and letters seemed to twist and dance, becoming gibberish as my mind refused to focus. None of it mattered. None of this mattered. I was building an empire even as I was trapped in a cage of personal misery. I had ruined my relationships, caused untold pain and destruction for my Tribe, and now I was a cripple. I'd become a King of Ashes, and I was lavished in my spoils.
My self-loathing was interrupted when I heard Grandeur speaking again. "Maggy," I heard her say in a low voice, "I've been meaning to talk to you about... your little present."
"'Present'? ...Oh, you mean my egg."
"Yes, I'm afraid so."
"Are you sure we should be having this conversation now?" Batty asked, a slight edge to her voice, "He's right here."
"He's clearly not paying attention anymore," Grandeur whispered harshly, "And the longer we put this off, the more messy things will become. Girls, both of you have Xero's children, but only one can take the throne after him. As such, Maggy, I think it would be best for all of us if you dropped your egg off at the hatchery."
"Excuse me?!" She demanded, and I could feel her step closer.
"Fitness to rule doesn't always pass from parent to child. I made the deliberate choice to disown my offspring when they proved themselves unworthy or unwilling to wear the crown. More than that, having three dragonets will only make succession more complicated, as we're seeing in the Sand Kingdom now. As such-"
I tuned the rest of what she said out. Those words struck a chord with me, and I found myself thinking about all those orphans I knew back in the Den. All those dragonets who never knew who their parents were. They built hard, vicious shells around their hearts as they lived in dirty alleys, but their eyes always betrayed those buried feelings of anger, sadness and unworthiness. Why aren't they here? Was I not good enough for them? Do they even miss me? I pictured my children - little dragons with colorful scales and barbed tails - with the same look in their eyes.
A primal, protective fury sparked within me, something I'd never felt before. All of it became fixed on my advisor, so callously discussing removing my child from me. Without thinking, I was on my feet. My tail was arched, ready to strike. Smoke rose from my nose and mouth, as I felt my fire begin to rise in my chest. My fin stood up in a threatening display, as I started moving between Grandeur and Majestic.
"NO YOU FUCKING WON'T!" I shouted, "TOUCH MY CHILDREN AND I SWEAR I'LL-!"
You ever have a dream where you're falling out of the sky, and the moment you're about to hit the ground, you wake up as your entire body twitches? That's what it was like when I took my first step forward, forgetting my petrified limb, only to trip and stumble. I would've landed on my face, had Maggy's strong tail not caught me at the last second. I blinked, and it was like a cloud that had encircled my mind for days and days had evaporated. I blinked again, shaking my head, looking around the room with the same sober confusion of a sleeper waking from a vivid dream.
The entire council was staring at me. Fox and Splendor looked at me in shock, afraid they were about to see their king kill their former queen. Grandeur stared back at me, looking surprised. Fruit Bat and Greatness were wide-eyed and on the table, having jumped onto the table to either get out of the way or moving to stop me. Majestic looked down at me with protective concern - holding me like a dragonet trying to play with a dangerous animal.
I blinked, opening and closing my jaw, feeling like myself again. When I finally found the words, I said, "I'm sorry, everyone. I don't know what came over me. I'm feeling rather tired, can we adjourn early today?" Everyone nodded and gave sounds of affirmation, trying to hide how much my outburst unnerved them.
As we parted ways, Maggy helped me back to the Palace, thanking me for standing up for her and her egg. I wish I could've appreciated the sentiment more, but with the shock from before gone, once the fire of paternal instinct went back down to a smolder, all I had left was the unbearable weight of despair and self-loathing. When my bodyguard offered to keep an eye on me, I declined, insisting I just wanted to be alone for now. She eyed me with concern, but relented, and I crashed onto my bed, exhausted.
My dreams were a horrific mishmash of the past weeks, my actions weighing down on me like a herd of elephants. Bloody eggs and menacing stone claws. A night sky crackling an aurora of pink and purple. Scarlet and Burn cackling above me, as I laid strapped to an operating table. I woke in the middle of the night, exhausted yet too wound up to fall back asleep. I sat up in bed, my rocky limb serving as a crutch, trying to wake up even as I kept thinking about all the dragons I'd wronged. Majestic, ever-loyal and understanding, never questioning her role. Fruit Bat, heartbroken and conflicted, not knowing what to feel anymore. Greatness, a pawn in my foolish gambits. And Stonemover, a demigod dragonet imprisoned because he lashed out in fear. For all that I'd worked so hard to make the world see me as a good and noble king, my own world had dragged me down and reminded me just how monstrous and flawed I was.
And for what purpose? Why keep using the Nightwings as my personal attack dogs? Why keep bringing the unwanted masses to an empty spot on the map? What was my plan?
I sat up, realization striking me like a slap in the face. Project Technocracy...Oh shit, I never finished writing it down.
As best as a three-legged dragon could, I rolled out of bed, dragging my half-extended rock-arm as quickly as I could over to my writing desk. There, I wrote. And wrote, and wrote, and wrote some more. I dipped my claws in ink over and over and over, until my paw was black at the wrist, until my hand started to cramp and I had to switch to my barbed tail. When I finished, there were four scrolls filled from end to end. Two were entitled "Project Technocracy". The other two were "The Last Will of King Xerophilous". I took one copy of each and placed them under my pillow - an easy to find place in case I changed my mind later. The other two I placed in a satchel, hung around my neck, and took with me as I haphazardly flew out of my chambers...
It was hard enough trying to fly around the Village at night even before I was so heavily unbalanced. Trying to find a camouflaging, dark-colored drake in the midst of this darkness made it even harder. At least the settlement was being rebuilt on a grid, making things a little easier to get around.
It was only out of sheer luck I found Flying Fox within a minute of my search. I found him walking down one of the newly cobblestoned streets, with a pep in his step and the confident swagger of someone at the beginning or end of a wonderful night. He stood out against the scant torchlight with bright yellow and pink scales, lines of rainbow glittering along his sides. Part of me didn't want to ruin his night with my troubles, but what I had to do was so much more important, I wouldn't be able to sleep or move on until I knew it was done.
"Fox!" I called to him, "Fox! Hold on!" He turned to look at me, his colorful visage turning white as I landed hard, skittering to a stop in front of him.
"Whoa! Easy, Xero!" He said, rushing to my side, "Are you okay? You didn't lose any claws, did you?"
"I'm fine," I replied, giving a quick glance to my foreleg. All my digits were still there, but would I even notice if any broke off? Still, I pressed on, taking my satchel off and pressing it into his chest. "Fox, I need you to take this," I instructed him, speaking fast and insistently, "Hide it somewhere, keep it safe. Only show it to the Council if the worst happens."
"Xero-"
"Those are my plans for our future and my will. Don't let Grandeur get her hands on them."
"Xero! What're you-"
"And no matter what happens, Fox, I want you to promise me you'll watch over my kids. Promise me that you'll make sure they grow up safe and happy. Promise me you won't let them take away Maggy's egg, Fox! Promise me-!"
"DUDE, STOP IT!"
A tailwhip to the face cut me off mid-sentence. In the time it took me to gather myself, Fox had turned red and white like a poisonous frog, and just as irate. "I hope my king can forgive me for striking him," He snapped, "But as your friend, if you don't stop acting like a crazy person, I'm going to drag your crippled ass to Grandeur's place, and let her handle your crap! And believe me, she'll be a lot less understanding than I am! Now, calm down, focus on your breathing."
He sat us down on the road, holding me down by my good shoulder. He motioned with his other paw, up and down, calm and slow to match his breathing. I did the same. His scales turned back to his normal blue, just as my thoughts started to settle down. I guess I really was going through a manic episode.
"Now," He said, more calmly and quietly now, "I'm going to assume all that talk about last wills and worst-case scenarios are you just having a meltdown, and you aren't planning on doing something stupid like committing suicide-by-Animus. Because if you were, not only would you be traumatizing that poor dragonet in his cage even more, but none of us - your Kingdom, your friends, your kids - would ever forgive you. Do you understand?"
I blinked, furrowing my brow in thought. Had I really been thinking that? In the moment, I figured I'd just lost myself in the moment, just being purely focused doing things in a certain order. But years later, I think on a subconscious level, maybe I was. I'd screwed up so many things so badly, maybe part of me wanted to be punished, and offer myself to Stonemover as some form of penance. Fortunately, I never had to find out how deep my despair actually went.
"Now," Fox asked, "Tell me, what's got you so worked up? Why have you been acting like a zombie?"
I frowned, looking down at my limb. "...I made things worse," I admitted.
"How?"
"I had sex with Greatness."
The Rainwing snickered. I shot him as venomous a glare as I'd ever given him, and he held his paws up. "Sorry, sorry, that just sounds funny out of context. But seriously, what happened?"
I sighed, and suddenly it felt like I hadn't slept in days. "Right after..." I gestured to myself, "This happened, she climbed into my bed, cuddling with me and being all lovey-dovey. She said she loved me and wanted to kiss her, and when I looked into her eyes, I knew she meant it. She was being sincere and vulnerable and saying no would've hurt her as much as... I couldn't do it. I kissed her back, and things went from there. But the worst part of it all? I think I love her, too."
Fox nodded, looking at me curiously. "And why's that a bad thing?"
"BECAUSE!" I shouted, "I love Batty and Maggy, too! I loved them first! I broke Batty's heart when I got engaged to a stranger, and just as I'm making things right, I fall for another dragoness! I'm weak, and selfish, and I'm going to lose them all because I can't make a decision!"
"Xero, buddy- Hey, look at me," He placed his paws on my neck, forcing me to match his gaze, "What is the most important thing in your life?"
I thought for a moment, and quickly answered, "My children."
Fox flashed a surprised emerald. "Oh. That was quicker than I thought. Okay, cool, now, when was the last time all four of you were together? When was the last time you talked to just them, and no one else?"
"...I don't know. I don't think I have, not with all three at once."
Fox smiled, as if I just stumbled across the answer to a riddle. "Ah, well, as your friend and love adviser, why don't you gather them up tomorrow night and just try talking this all out? You say your dragonets are the most important to you? Tell them. You say you love them? Tell them that. If they have different ideas, then you can talk about it, but at least they'll know where you stand. And who knows? Maybe they're more open to the idea now than they were before?"
I considered his proposition. After the past two months, I was skeptical that Fruit Bat would tolerate being in a polyamorous relationship with Greatness after everything, but we all deserved to have this love triangle resolved, one way or another. For our children, if no one else.
"I can," I said, "I will. Thank you, Fox."
"Hey, I may not be the super-awesome-Spirit-touched genius you are, but I have my moments," He leaned in closer, and added, "And you should damn well know that if anything happened, I'd watch over those hatchlings like they were my own."
Emotion got the better of me, and I used my good limb to pull him into a hug. He was still for a moment, before returning it with gusto.
"Thank you, Fox," I said, "You're a good friend, and a brave and loyal little dragon. But now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to apologize to an Animus..."
By the time I reached Stonemover's cell, it was just past midnight, and I'd left a long trail of thin lines with my petrified claws behind me. As I climbed up the steps to the surrounding platform, I was announced by the sound of stone scraping wood. So much for being inconspicuous.
"Your Holiness?" One of the guards asked, as I entered the light of the torches, "What're you doing here at this hour? Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"It's alright," I told them, slowly climbing the steps, "I wish to speak with the prisoner, please."
The three guards all exchanged nervous glances. "Umm... Are you sure you want to do that, Your Grace?" Another asked nervously, "He's-"
"I'll be fine, Tangerine," I assured him, reaching the last step, "I just want to talk to him. It'll be only a few minutes, I promise."
The guards whispered among themselves, and hesitantly stepped aside. I shuffled forward, hobbling my way until I reached the most securely built prison ever built in the Rainforest. Layers upon layers of wood and iron bars, tin sheeting and spike traps were meant to keep any prisoner from escaping. Not that it would've done anything to the young dragonet within that cage - no, if Stonemover really wanted out, one or two enchantments and all of it would bend and shift out of the way, and he'd be free. This was as much a prison sentence as it was a self-imposed timeout and pity party.
In the darkness, I could make out the darker shape of the dragonet, huddled up in a corner, a single eye reflecting torchlight peeking from under a wing. I shamble my way to the wooden bars, sitting down with an exhausted THUNK!
"Hey kiddo," I sighed, staring out into the darkness of the jungle, "How're you doing? Are they treating you alright? Giving you enough food, blankets?" No answer. I looked down at my stone arm, idly picking at the living scales along the edge.
"This doesn't hurt," I continued, "If you're wondering about that. Doesn't feel like anything, really. My scales kinda itch around the edge, though. All this extra weight makes it a little harder to fly, but... you know, no biggie. I'll live." Crickets chirped in the bushes nearby.
"Listen, Stonemover," I continued, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said, talking with Mastermind about Animus defenses. I'm not angry with you, for... for what happened, alright? You heard two adults talking about dragons like you in a mean way, and you got scared, and you reacted as any other dragonet would. It was foolish and pointless of me to even bring it up. This 'Darkstalker' guy the Coven worships? He's just a silly myth. Jerboa? She's just a peaceful dragon who stopped being queen weeks ago. And you... you're on our side. You're young and sweet and wouldn't hurt a fly. But I guess even smart dragons can be insensitive dumbasses."
I shifted to a more comfortable position, my arm scraping across the wooden structure. "I've been thinking about all the other dragons that I've wanted to be mad at lately: You, Mastermind, Battlewinner. But when I break it down, I end up being mad at myself, because the things that make me angry are all my fault. If I didn't want Mastermind to say those things, I shouldn't have asked him in the first place. Now I've got a rock limb, and I made you cry. If I didn't want to be engaged with Greatness, I never should've mentioned her to Battlewinner, when all I wanted was a couple animated trinkets. Now I have to make things right with Batty - for her and our eggs - and I can't see a way out that doesn't have me breaking a dragon's heart. And that makes me feel worse than pond scum."
I sniffed, idly rubbing my face with my good paw. "That's the thing about adults, Stonemover. We do dumb stuff all time. We like to think we know what we're doing, that we have all the answers, but we don't, not really. We try to organize things and make plans, but my father once told me, 'When Dragons Plan, the Spirits laugh'. We think we can outsmart our enemies, or fate, but we end up playing ourselves just as often. All we can do is try to do better than yesterday, and that's what I want to do with you."
I sat up straighter. "So here's what's going to happen," I told him, "I'm going to come back in the morning, and I'm going to have you released. You can stay here with us, you can go back to the Nightwings. You can fix my arm, leave it alone, turn me into a scavenger, whatever. Spirits know I deserve it either way. I can't promise that things will be perfect, but I can promise to do better by you, so I can do better by those who count on me. And I promise never to make you feel unwelcome or unwanted in my home again. You're a good kid, Stonemover, and don't let anyone tell you different."
Slowly, I forced myself to get back up. I gave the Animus a little bow, and smiled. "See you in the morning, my friend." With that, I took flight again, making my long and tiring way back home...
A/N: Here's the rolls I received for April:
Military
NightWing Recovery: 59 + 30 (RP) = 89
Returning to the Forest: N/A
Mastermind's Permission: N/A
Personal
Majestic Gravid? (1-55): 12
(1-66 One, 67-99 Twins, 100 Triplets): 37
How does she take it? (Higher is better): 80 + 30 (RP) - 30 (Engaged) = 80
Batty too? (1-55): 32
How many? 74. Twins.
How does she take it?: 42 + 30 (RP) - 50 (Engaged, Eggs by Maggie) = 22
Making up with Batty: 69 + 30 (RP) - 50 (Everything Else) = 49
Making up with Greatness: 91 + 30 (RP) - 50 (Killed her mom and forced her to marry you) = 71
Talking with Mastermind: 51 + 30 (RP) = 81
Stonemover Finds Out? (1-30): 8
Befriending Stonemover: 20 + 30 (RP) - 50 (Betrayed) = 0
Lashes Out? (1-80): 63
How Bad? (1-20 Minor, 21-40 Tail, 41-75 Limb, 76-90 Large Body Parts, 91-100 Paralyzation): 69
Aftermath (1-5 Killed, 6-45 Captured, 46-100 Escaped): 23
Attitude: 88
On a minor note, has anyone noticed there aren't really any fatherly paternal figures in Wings of Fire? Going through the first two arcs and the wiki, all dads are either douches, absentee or dead.
