Flame left the room, taking a mental note of everything that needed to be cleaned. He looked around and saw the coffee table had graphicolls all over it from when they were practicing yesterday, the kitchen sink had dishes dirty dishes in it, there was a pot of old food from the day before, half-empty glasses of water on the kitchen table, and the few bags of decorations spilled on the floor from when he came in and heard Umber's sobs.
Umber walked out of the room and made the same observations that Flame did. He saw the bag of decorations scattered all over the floor and looked over at Flame.
"What are those for?" Umber said with a confused look.
"Oh, uh, my mom left those with me to hide from Chromis," Flame replied. "He's probably going to find them unless we hide them here." He finished with a laugh.
"So...where are we hiding all of that?" He questioned.
Flame and Umber's home was small and they'd never had to hide anything in their house before of course. What would they need to hide? He never even thought about hiding anything here before. They slept in the same bed, ate the same food, sat on the same couch, and spent most of their day together.
"We dont exactly have a mansion here, Flame," he said cheerfully. "We can't just leave all of this stuff on the floor, either. Our house is already cramped enough." he finished with a laugh.
"Oh don't worry. I already know where to put it," Flame remembered. "You remember that one space where the panel comes off the wall? Well, I figured we could just put it there. Chromis never comes over anyways so it wouldn't be hiding it more than it would be just getting it out of the way."
All of this stuff for a one-year-old dragonets hatching day he thought. They must really want to make this special.
Umber never celebrated his birthday with his mom. It was just him, his brothers, and his sisters that all got him some prey. Sometimes they couldn't even celebrate each other's hatching day because of how much they were out at war.
The war... he remembered. The place where I watched Crane die. The thing that caused Sora to go berserk...the thing that made me and Flame cross paths. Would I have never met Flame if it wasn't for her? Would she do it again if she knew what my future held? Would I let her do it again if I knew what my future held...
"Anyways, I think we should probably get to cleaning before Clay gets here." Flame reminded him.
"Oh...yea we should probably get to that now," Umber said looking up and snapped himself out of deep thought.
Flame went over to the table with graphicolls spread out all over it, rolled each of them up neatly, put them in a box, and slid it under the table while Umber picked up the decorations and put each of them in their bag.
There were many different types of graphicolls spread out on the table, including many new ones that they bought over the last few years with some of the money Flame saved. Umber loved reading them with Flame. He wished he could read them with Flame forever if food didn't exist...or sleep.
He was walking over to the panel with the bags of decorations shifting and thumping all around inside the bags when he heard Flame speak up.
"So...who's doing the dishes?" He joked.
"Who insisted on making dinner last night, you goofball." Umber responded sarcastically. "I can do the dishes in the sink, but you're doing the pot."
Umber finished putting the decorations away, then walked over to the sink, grabbed the glasses of water on the way, and started washing them while Flame grabbed the dirty pot and dumped the dried food in the garbage.
"Gross," Umber said.
"What? Do you not like a little dried out, old sauce with your chicken?" Flame joked.
On the way over to the kitchen again, he kissed Umber on the cheek and set the pot on the polished wooden counter beside him.
"I can do the rest from here, Umber. Go sit down and we can practice reading once I'm done with this," Flame said.
"Love you," Umber whispered after kissing Flame back and then went to sit back down.
Once Flame finished the dishes, he went over to Umber and pulled the box out from under the table and after a while of rummaging through the endless amount of scrolls, he pulled out a graphicoll named "Aftermath of Lord Evil".
Flame had gone through the entire series with Umber over the last year. It took way longer for them to finish since Umber was still considerably slow at reading, but Flame didn't mind. He would read every scroll 10 times over if it meant he could spend more time reading with Umber.
They were about to start reading when they heard a familiar knock on the door. Umber immediately knew whose knock it was since he had heard it so often.
"That must be Clay!" Umber said with joy. He ran over to the door and opened it and standing there was a massive brown dragon almost twice the size of Umber. He had an innocent-looking smile on his face and Umber wondered how a dragon could be so intimidating yet so not-intimidating at the same time.
"Hey Umber!" Clay said, excited to see his brother.
At this point, Clay was bear-hugging him and it didn't take long for Clay to put him down because of his bad leg. He had a massive scar where Peril had dug her talons into the wound and he would have most certainly died if it wasn't for her. Umber remembered being so sad but so relieved when he heard what happened to Clay. He was insanely grateful for what Peril did. He may not have liked her at the time, but she instantly earned Umber's respect when he heard. On one talon, his brother would be limping in pain for the rest of his life but he was alive. On the other talon, the great war was finally over and no more of his brothers and sisters had to die for Queen Morheen. On the third talon, his favorite NightWing aside from Moon was still alive because of Clay.
Flame rushed over to help Clay when he put Umber down and started stumbling.
"Woah, hey, calm down there, Clay," Flame said, grabbing Clay's shoulders.
Grabbing his shoulders didn't do much because of how much bigger Clay was compared to Flame. He looked like an ant compared to Umber's brother.
"I guess I'm still not used to not being able to move around like I used to," Clay said.
There was a long pause while Umber and Clay smiled at each other.
"Anyways, come inside Clay! We haven't seen you in so long!" Umber said with excitement.
"So, uh, you're anniversary...what's happening with that?" Clay said awkwardly.
Clay hadn't been around for a few weeks because things were getting hectic at the Jade Academy. He was able to write letters, but that was about the extent of it. He didn't have too much time to visit regularly as he did before so he didn't know much about the anniversary and Chromis's hatching day.
"Oh," Flame said, "Umber said he was going to do most of it while I helped with Chromis's hatching day party. He was actually out today setting it until..." he trailed off.
"Until what? What happened? Umber?" Clay shot a glare at Umber.
"Uhm..." Umber said hesitantly. "There was a SkyWing who I told about me and Flame..." he trailed off. "and he wasn't happy when he realized that me and Flame were...dating."
"Oh," Clay said quietly. "Do you...want to talk about it? I mean...you don't have to if you don't want to, Umber," he finished.
"No," Umber paused. "Uh, I mean it's fine..."
There was a long pause and Flame noticed that Umber was beginning to get uncomfortable. Judging by Clay's face, he noticed it too, so he tried to quickly change the subject.
"SO..." Flame interrupted. "Me and Umber are going over to my mom's today and we're going to start planning where we are going to celebrate Chromis's hatching day."
"Oh! Thats great!" Clay paused and realized something. "I...I won't be able to come though. The Jade Academy is under a lot of stress right now. A lot of changes are going through the school, and some of the students are really stressed out from it so we need to be there to answer questions and help everyone..."
This didn't surprise Flame, though. He could tell that Clay was stressed out by the way he was acting. It had been such a long time since Clay had come over, too, so he could definitely tell that there was something going on at Jade Academy. Despite all this, he still tried his best to come over and see his family. He knew Clay was strong, but he also knew that right now, he needed a break. Flame didn't know what to say though. He wasn't particularly good at speeches or giving advice.
"Clay," Umber finally spoke up. "I think you should probably take a break." he said sympathetically. "You know, from the Jade Academy. You've barely had any time for yourself and I know how much you've wanted to visit us."
"I should, but I can't. It's not fair to everyone else if I take a break and leave them with more work." Clay paused. "I'm still going to try and visit you and Sora as much as I can though!" he said optimistically.
He's right... Flame thought. It's not fair to everyone else if Clay is able to take time off and they can't. It's not like we can do anything about it, though. If he wants to keep working, we can't stop him.
There was a long pause before Umber finally spoke up. "Hey, do either of you want anything from one of those markets? I'm gonna go to a few of them quickly, I'm STARVING!"
"You're always starving, Umber." Flame joked.
"Make that the both of us," Clay chimed in. "But no, I'm good Umber. I don't have any money on me anyways!" He finished.
"Clay. You're the reason I'm not dead. You're the reason we're ALL not dead! You're a dragonet of destiny! I think you AT LEAST deserve something to eat. Besides, you're my brother and I won't let you say no," Umber protested.
"Ugh, fine, you win," Clay said in a sarcastic tone.
Wow. Umber must love Clay a lot. I guess that brotherly-bond thing that MudWings have is real. Flame thought to himself.
When Flame was growing up, his mom never asked him if he wanted anything special. That is when he saw her, which wasn't often. He always thought that his mom never even loved him growing up. He thought this was confirmed when he got the scar on his face. He remembered hating that SandWing for what she did to him. For completely destroying his relationship with his mother, sending him away at every chance she could. After he confronted Stonemover, he realized how much his mom loved him. That's all he wanted for most of his life. That was until he met Umber, and everything changed.
"Flame?" Umber said, taking Flame's gaze from the floor to his eyes. "Do you want anything?"
"Oh...uh no, no I'm fine," Flame said.
Umber gave him a quick kiss before leaving Clay and Flame alone together in awkward silence.
Once he was sure that Umber was gone, he looked up at Clay with a questioning glare.
"Clay, can I ask you something?" Flame said.
"Yea sure, Flame. What is it?" Clay responded.
"I want to make me and Umber something special for Chromis's hatching party," He paused. "But I don't know what to make. I'm torn between an apple pie or a chocolate cake. The first thing I ever made for him was an apple pie, but I'm sure he would like a chocolate cake more," he explained.
Clay looked up at him with a shocked face and Flame caught on to him quickly.
"What!? Can I not make a pie for the dragon I love?!" Flame said angrily.
"W-What? No!" Clay exclaimed "I'm just shocked by how much you've changed over the last couple years..." he said. "I-I mean, 2 years ago, you were trying to kill Stonemover...and now you can't decide between an apple pie or chocolate cake for one of the nicest dragons in Pyrrhia..."
"Yeah...I guess I have changed a lot. " Flame smiled, looking back down at the floor.
He remembered how hostile he used to be...how mean he used to be to everyone around him. He hated the world and everyone in it because he thought everyone hated him equally. But after he met Umber, everything changed. Umber showed him love and acceptance, despite the fact that Flame was still hostile and distant. Slowly but surely, Flame began to let down his guard and open up to Umber. He learned to trust him and confide in him, and Umber was always there for him, no matter what. As time went on, Flame realized how much Umber loved him. So much that he changed just to be with him. He began to see himself as worthy of love and happiness, and he started to let go of the anger and bitterness that had consumed him for so long. These were the reasons he loved Umber.
"So, apple pie or chocolate cake?" Flame reminded Clay.
After a minute of thinking, Clay carefully came to a decision.
"Apple pie, definitely. Umber is a sucker for sappy-romantic stuff," Clay finally decided.
Flame thought this was a good option, but did Umber? All he wanted to do right was make Umber happy.
He would be happy no matter what. As long as we're together... Flame quickly realized.
Umber walked towards the markets, his eyes scanning the various stalls and their wares. The smells of various spices, meats, and vegetables wafted toward him and he took a deep breath, enjoying all the different smells. He had never seen so many different types of food in one place before and he was excited to try it all, but he couldn't. He had to save his money to get something for Clay.
As he made his way towards one of the stalls, he noticed that there were several dragons crowded around it, eagerly sampling the food. Umber finally made his way to the front of the line and began to sample some of the food himself.
This stall had an assortment of stews, soups, and kebabs. He threw one of the kebabs in his mouth and instantly knew what he was going to get.
What would Clay want though? he thought to himself. I feel like he might like one of the stews here. Let's see... he paused and slowly read one of the options, sounding each of the words out in his head. P-O-T-A-T-O S-T-E-W...Oh! Potato stew! He'll love that!
Umber ended up buying a few kebabs and 2 bowls of potato stew for Clay and he started home. While he was flying back, he couldn't help but smile to himself whenever he thought of Clay. His legendary brother! A Dragonet of Destiny! He wished he could do more for him, though. He spent most of his life without Clay and they were only reunited a little under 3 years ago when he escaped the mountain.
A little under 3 years ago... he paused. When Crane died. I watched her die. I watched her die and I couldn't do anything. If only Clay made it back sooner. Then maybe...maybe things would be different. He thought but then realized something. Things would be different. I would have never met Flame or Jet and me and Sora would probably be back at the Jade Academy together and Flame would still hate everyone around him.
He spotted their house and started flying down as he approached it. He listened to the dragonets play on the gravel path by the multiple trees that were lined in between the houses. Their neighborhood was nothing special though. They always heard these dragonets playing outside together. It usually consisted of 2 SkyWings, a SandWing, an IceWing, and sometimes a small, green SeaWing. Umber and Flame almost never talked to the other neighbors since they were mostly out doing things together but he still enjoyed listening to the kids having fun without needing to worry about the war anymore.
Umber finally landed on the path near their house and went inside. Flame and Clay were talking about Sora and Jet, about how they first met, and how they got together.
"Hey!" Umber said when he walked into the house. "Glad to see you two don't totally hate each other already. I haven't left you two in a room since I told Clay about me and you, so...at least you're still alive!" Umber joked. "Oh also, Clay. I got you a couple of bowls of potato stew if that's alright."
"Oh Umber, you shouldn't have gotten me two bowls. I don't want you spending so much on me! You still have an anniversary to plan!" Clay said.
"Clay, one bowl of stew isn't going to ruin my plans completely," Umber protested.
"I've got to go visit Sora soon, so I'm going to eat these here then I have to go. I'd stay longer, but everyone at the Jade Academy are waiting," Clay explained.
Clay finished eating his stew at the table while getting into some last-minute conversations before he finished and left. They talked about most of the things that they've done in the last few weeks that Clay hasn't visited, what they thought they should do for Chromis's birthday, and teased each other about the anniversary.
"Alright, I should get going and leave you two love-dragons alone for now," Clay paused "OH! Before I forget. Umber, I wanted to give you something."
Clay then pulled a necklace out from his wing. The necklace had a sleek silver chain with a sizable brown-looking gem in the middle of it. He turned it around in his talons and the sun reflected on the crystal clear gem shooting brown streaks of light on the floor.
"For me?" Umber said gratefully. "I-I mean, where did you get that? Did you find it? Did you buy it? I really hope you didn't buy that for me! It looks so expensive!"
"It was a gift from one of the students at the Jade Academy," Clay explained. "They said they found it in one of the underground pools and that it matched perfectly with my scales. I thought that you would probably want it more than me, especially since I sit in a cave all day, and you walk around town all day."
"Umber, put it on! I want to see it on you!" Flame exclaimed.
Umber carefully took the silver chain out of Clay's talons, being careful not to smudge or drop the gem in the middle. Umber suspected that it might be some sort of brown topaz. He carefully lifted it up and over his head and dropped it on his neck. The crystal itself got stuck on Umber's snout when he was putting it on so he had to take it off and clip it on instead.
"That looks perfect on you, Umber!" Clay said.
Flame leaned in for a kiss while Clay stood there with a smile on his face as he watched them. Clay always only wanted what was best for Umber so watching him be with the person he loved is all he wanted. He was hesitant about Flame and Umber at first, but when he realized how much Flame changed, he was sure that Flame wasn't just using Umber.
"All right, well, I should be going now," Clay interrupted.
They both looked up, said their goodbyes, and Clay opened the door and shot into the sky, slowly getting smaller in the distance as they watched. Umber dangled the necklace in his talons while he watched Clay fly away in the direction of Sora's house, grateful for having such a good brother.
Author's note: Responding to "Just saying, I think you should directly credit the original writer that made Healed and ask for permission at least before doing anything else." I got full permission before writing this. Actually, they directly helped me with the storyline and are helping me with the first few chapters. Also, I did give them credit. Their profile link is in my bio and I gave credit in the prologue author notes so don't worry! It's been a long-awaited 5 years for this haha.
