Chapter IV • Orken
The moment they were in the center of town, Orken felt like he had made the right choice.
At first, he had been a bit nervous. Fenne had been around Possibility, of course, but that was with Diamondback around and in the safer, tamer parts of Possibility, where there wasn't any gangs or someone trying to pedal you into buying a tiny, stale scorpion for twenty gold coins.
As he, Mercury, and Fennec weaved through the bustling Possibility streets, Orken had almost been able to let go of the tension he had carried around with him at the thought of Crystalline seeing that they had decided to bring Fennec. The bright afternoon sun beat down on the busy city, which could have been almost unbearably hot if a cool breeze wasn't gently billowing through the streets, giving the day a pleasant feel.
Orken's talons were already itching, his eyes darting around in every direction, looking for anything edible or valuable that wasn't properly tied down. Quick as a flash, he managed to reach over and nab a loaf of bread from a tall SandWing's stand while her back was turned, stuffing it in his bag. Just feeling the warm food in his talons gave Orken a rush of pleasure, the same pleasure he felt every time he was out. A thin smile split his lips; he knew he made the right choice.
Mercury, however, didn't seem to agree. The hybrid's face kept getting more and more anxious every time Fennec paused to stare at a display of something or Orken had to pull her away from something that looked sketchy or dangerous.
"I hope you know this is a terrible idea," Mercury said casually as he reached over and took what looked like a small piece of goat meat and placed it under his wing as of nothing had happened. "And Crystalline will think so too."
Orken merely scoffed and rolled his eyes, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole ordeal, but he couldn't keep his stomach from turning at Mercury's suggestion. He had nearly forgotten about Crystalline. The young IceWing was one of the only girls Orken could talk to without getting tongue-tied that wasn't in his family, but he wasn't sure she counted as a real girl.
For one, most girls he knew didn't carry around blades the size of his foot. "It's self-defense," she would say constantly, but Orken was half certain she carried it around to look tougher. That wasn't saying she wasn't tough, though. The one time they had actually fought, she had beaten Orken in talon-to-talon combat, pinning him to the floor and grabbing his tail barb, rendering it useless before he could even get a few words in.
The IceWing was the opposite of the way Orken often thought of IceWings, being all snobby and stuck-up and having that weird circle system that Crystalline had told him about once, and instead reminded him more of a grizzly bear. In fact, he had actually met her in one of the rougher parts of Possibility, the parts where he usually didn't even go.
The memory was so vivid, it was almost like it was tattooed in his brain. He still remembered three-year-old him, wandering around and separated from his parents.
"Who are you?"
Orken practically jumped out of his scales at the voice, resonating from deep inside the alley. The warm summer rain pattered on the stones and dirt; running off of his scales in rivulets. The shadows here seemed longer, and the pair of black eyes, deep blue iris peering out at him, only heightened his nerves. "W-Who are you?" He muttered, trying to hide how nervous he had actually been. Where were his parents when he needed them?
The eyes suddenly moved without warning, shifting so smoothly and silently Orken almost thought he was being stalked by a ghost. However, as he saw the multiple horns sticking out of her neck and moon pale scales, he drew slight comfort from the idea that it was an actual dragon. Still, her hardened expression still made his stomach turn; like she had seen more things than any dragon that young should ever see. She appeared to be about his age and looked at him with mild curiosity.
"I asked you first," she said, frowning slightly. Orken swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to speak.
"I-I'm Orken," he managed, and the IceWing girl cocked her head as if evaluating him, seeing if he was trustworthy.
She must have decided he was, for a moment later she said a single word. "Crystalline." She said. She reached out her small, scarred talon. Slowly, Orken took it.
Orken quickly shook the memory out of his mind. Even then, when they were both so young, she had seemed hardened and scary, especially to a three-year-old. For some reason, he got the feeling that now, at six years, she wouldn't take a liking to dragonets who weren't even a year old.
Stepping back for a moment, Orken gently grabbed Fennec's talon and pulled her aside, crouching down so they looked at each other eye-to-eye. "Hey Fennec," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "You have to be on your best behavior right now. No wandering off. No throwing a tantrum. Don't talk to strangers. Don't take any food offered to you. Just stay close to me. Do you understand?"
Fennec bit her lip for a second as if trying to process her brother's request. "Yeah, Orken, I understand," she said in a tiny voice, and Orken could tell from the way she looked at him that she would try to hold up her deal. Not because she understood the request, but because she didn't want to disappoint her big brother. Still, Orken could see from the way she was bouncing up and down that wasn't going to be easy. Patting her on the back, Orken shot her a faint smile, trying to regain the feelings of confidence he had felt earlier, and stood up straighter.
"Hey, where are we supposed to meet Crystalline?" He asked Mercury, whose wings were now noticeably bulging with stolen goods.
"She's by the old plaza," he said, turning a corner into a dirtier section of town, where the buildings started to look noticeably older and the dragons rougher. Orken made sure to keep a close eye on Fennec. Giving a small nod, Orken curled his tail barb in as he, Mercury and Fennec marched through the streets of Possibility, trying to stay out of the eyesight of anyone that looked important, like police officers or wealthy dragons too far to pickpocket.
Finally, the three of them emerged into what looked like a large plaza, that had probably once been nice but years of time and poor care had reduced it to a shell of its old self. Slowly crumbling buildings surrounded the plaza; whether or not anyone still lived in them was Orken's guess.
A large fountain with the stone ducks on the sides and two tiers sat in the center, and though it had probably at one point gurgled lively with water, it was now dry to the bone, slowly filling with dust. Sitting beside the large foundation, a small IceWing girl with moon pale scales sat, small beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Orken recognized her instantly, from the small scar underneath her left eye to her hardened eyes and the long blade sticking out from her bag around her neck.
Still, even being as tough as she was, beads of sweat formed on the IceWing's forehead and scales as her mouth hung open in an almost pant, and Orken couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for her. Although Crystalline had been born and raised in Possibility, IceWings were made for subzero temperatures. Even though she had lived through six summers in the Sand Kingdom, she never seemed to fully get used to the heat.
Mercury, on the other talon, seemed undeterred by Crystalline's obvious discomfort. "Yo, Crystalline!" He called out, racing up to the IceWing. In the heat, Crystalline responded with a murderous glare, sweat dripping from her snout.
"What took you so f*ing long?" Crystalline growled, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits as she practically melted off the fountain.
Squinting his eyes, Orken looked up. From the position of the sun, it was at least high noon by now. He wondered how long Crystalline had been waiting, but from the furious look in her eyes and the sweat on her face, he would guess it hadn't exactly been a short wait.
Mercury shot a small, nervous smile, rubbing the back of his head. "See, there was a little issue with Orken..."
"I got grounded," Orken interrupted flatly, not wanting to drag the story on any longer than it needed to be. It wasn't exactly a moment he wanted to relish in.
For a moment, Crystalline was silent. Then, without warning, Orken saw the corners of her mouth twitching, and her face starting to flush a pale blue.
"Are you laughing?" He asked, and Crystalline shook her head.
"What, no? Loser, I'm not laughing. You're just being really paranoid, thinking that I would laugh at you for being ground—uh, ground—"
Suddenly, Crystalline burst out laughing, her body shaking as she clenched her sides. Orken just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Very mature, Crystal," he muttered, kicking the ground with his foot, and Crystalline looked up, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Sorry it's just...well, only you could manage to be a six-year-old dragon and still get grounded," she managed, and Orken merely sighed. He knew how Crystalline saw him; even though they were the same age, she saw him kind of as "the baby of the group", which had for some reason always got on Orken's nerves. He figured it was because in her mind "he was soft" or something, though compared to Crystalline or even Mercury he probably was.
He wasn't willing to get into a fist fight like Crystalline, or able to talk and charm his way out of a situation like Mercury. There was one thing he was good at; high tailing it the heck out of there. He was small for his size, very flexible and looked like every other SandWing in Possibility (save for the small sprinkling of freckles across his snout) which made it easy for him to maneuver out of tight situations. If he was caught snatching something from a store shop, he preferred to choose the non-confrontational way and race out into the streets, where he could easily get lost in the crowd, or, if possible, make it back to the house.
He made the mistake of telling Crystalline the reason he did this was that "he didn't like confrontation", and by that point, she was already convinced he was pretty quiet. So apparently this non-confrontational way of handling problems was like frosting on the cake for her and innocent-little-Orken. So hearing that he of all dragons had probably just made her day.
"Hardy har har," he mumbled rolling his eyes. He felt like he should be bothered by it, but honestly, he had become desensitized to this kind of stuff a long time ago. "Can we just—"
Suddenly, Orken's suggestion was cut short when Crystalline's laughter suddenly stopped, like a faucet abruptly turning off. It happened so quickly, Orken almost thought she had choked or someone had stabbed her, but when he heard the tiny voice resonating from her feet, she realized it was much worse.
"Don't you dare laugh at my brother!" Fennec cried, pounding her tiny fists against Crystalline's hind leg. Fennec was only a quarter of Crystalline's size, if that, but from the way she hit her you would think she expected Crystalline to collapse to the ground. The IceWing however, only looked annoyed at discovering the tiny dragonet, a small frown crossing her face. Wordlessly, she reached down and picked up the dragonet by the back of her neck in one talon, Fennec still swinging.
"What the f*** is this?" She hissed, looking Fennec dead in the eye. Orken instinctively stepped forward, his brotherly instincts kicking in, but Mercury held out a massive wing to hold him back. They both knew that Crystalline most likely wouldn't hurt the tiny SandWing, but Orken was still a bit weary.
Mercury opened his mouth, about to explain, but Crystalline obviously got it before he could say. "Wait...Orken's sister?" She said, her face dawning with understanding. Fennec crossed her arms. "My name is Fennec," she huffed. "And you said a bad word!"
Crystalline ignored Fennec as she turned to face Orken, putting Fennec down on the ground. "What. The. Hell." She growled, looking Orken dead in the eye.
Orken rubbed the back of his neck. "Well...Diamondback was at work and...I couldn't just leave her home alone all day..."
Crystalline groaned, putting her face in her talons. "Are you kidding me?" She cried. "We already had plans for today! BIG plans! I don't want to go around watching some dopey—"
"She's not dopey," Orken interrupted.
"Yeah, whatever. Sorry," she grumbled under her breath, which was the closest she would ever get to an apology.
"But anyway, I wouldn't think you would bring some random dragonet with us on the days of the freaking Summer Festival! Orken, you know this is the best time of the year, and motherf***er Orken, I don't want to be watching over some baby dragon the whole time!" Crystalline yelled, flapping her wings furiously.
Fennec, however, didn't look the least bit deterred by this. "I can take care of myself! I promised I would!" She announced as if she had just invalidated everything Crystalline had said.
Mercury raised the arches above his eyes, looking at Orken in an I told you so way. Orken merely lowered his head, kicking at the dirt, but his eyes hardened. "Look," he began. "I know this isn't ideal or whatever, but this was my best decision. Diamondback won't be back until later, and I couldn't just leave her at the house all day, so..." his voice trailed off sheepishly.
Crystalline looked at Orken for a moment, then sighed and rubbed her temples, muttering an unsavory word under her breath. "Motherf***er...fine, whatever. Whatever. I don't even care at this point, but she's your responsibility. I think you knew good and well that the Summer Festival is by far the worst place for a super young dragonet to be, so whatever happens, it's all on you. Don't expect me to come rushing after her if she gets into trouble," Crystalline huffed, spreading her moon pale wings and hovering in the air.
Orken felt a tug on his wing and looked down to see Fennec gazing up at him with big, brown eyes. "She's mean," she said in a loud whisper.
Crystalline shrugged. "I've been called worse," she said simply, raising up higher into the air and hovering in place, looking down and waiting for all of them.
Orken leaned down so he and Fennec could look at each other eye-to-eye. "Don't worry, she's not usually this mean," he whispered. Mercury merely shrugged his shoulders and made a small face. "Eh," he said, moving his talon in a kind of wavering gesture. Orken rolled his eyes at Mercury, taking to the sky and gesturing for Fennec to follow.
Not even a minute in the air, Mercury flew up to him, a smug smile on his face. Orken released a long, suffering sigh. "Just say it."
"Say what?" Mercury said as innocently as possible, which to Orken, made him seem even more demonic.
"I told you so."
"Nah, I would rather savor the moment of being right right here, right now," Mercury said, licking his lips as if he were eating that goat he had stored in his wings, which was now safely tucked away in Orken's bag as they flew.
"You weirdo," Orken said, shoving Mercury with his wing, but even still he was smiling."
"Admit it, you love me."
"I bet you're gay."
"That could also be accurate," Mercury said with a shrug.
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?" Crystalline cried from ahead. "You're both gay, move on!" Mercury managed to stifle and snicker as he punched Orken with his massive wing, which nearly bowled him over. Crystalline not-so-discreetly mumbled "idiots" under her breath and continued.
"Besides, I want to get to inner Possibility and still have time to do our thing." She said, looking straight ahead, her eyes locked on the center of Possibility. Orken shrugged his shoulders; he could see why she wanted to get there, they had all planned this a week before. The inner center of Possibility was where the dragons with all the money lived, in their large houses and perfectly manicured gardens. Perhaps it wasn't as nice as some of the richer parts of the Sky or the Ice Kingdom, but it was the nicest city Orken had seen in person and the best place for a dirt-poor dragon to be during the summer festival.
Occasionally glancing behind him to make sure Fennec was keeping up, the four of them flew, but even in silence, Crystalline's words couldn't help reverberating in Orken's skull: the worst place for a young dragonet to be. Of course, he had heard stories about super young dragonets getting lost or kidnapped in the big crowds, with strange dragons from every corner of Pyrrhia flooding in, but this was different. He would be a good brother; he would protect her.
He thought about that girl, his pen pal Princess Auklet, who went to that big school Jade Mountain Academy. He imagined an immaculate school so much different from his own school, or rather his own town, run by the Dragonets of Destiny themselves. Even though he had only been alive during the last year of the SandWing War of Succession, he barely remembered his parent's hushed discussions about how the war was going and the so-called "Dragonets of Destiny" who would put an end to all of it.
Just for a moment, he allowed his mind to wonder what it would be to live in a place like that: a place where he didn't have to steal to survive, a place where everyone was so accepting and loving, where you didn't have to worry about your naiive little sisters getting kidnapped or something in large crowds. Just for a moment, he allowed himself to think of what that would be like.
Suddenly, Orken was yanked out of his thoughts by a tug on his wing. "Orken, you alive in there?" Mercury said, and Orken realized the hybrid had been saying his name. "What?" He said suddenly, jolting to attention.
"We're here."
Hey guys, sorry for the long delay with the chapter! I'm going to try to update much more frequently, and though I'm still kind of planning out the whole story, I've got a basic idea of what you want to happen, which means I'm going to be writing this much more often. If you liked this chapter, please leave a review! I love reading through what you guys think; you guys are basically the spirit that keeps me writing. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and keep in tune for more!
