The early morning sun shone in his face as he awoke from another dreamvisit, which mostly consisted of Flame checking up on Umber. But one thing every dreamvisit had in common is that they all ended with Flame's wings comfortably wrapped around Umber. He wanted to see Flame, but he didn't want to face Crane. But he couldn't have one without the other.

The search party kept going, and Umber kept running and hiding. Flame, in fact, encouraged him to run every night, because he believed he would run away again if he came back before he was ready. At least he hadn't had another close call like he did with Starfish — he still hadn't stopped feeling bad about that.

Flame told him that Manticore had been especially helpful, checking up on him every day to make sure that he didn't act out again — a friend to keep him afloat so he didn't sink, like a lifejacket. A lifejacket that was keeping him afloat during something that could be close to the size of a hurricane, just as Flame was doing for him. Without the dreamvisits, he didn't know what he'd do by himself. By then, maybe he would have even been dead like Starfish said.

Whether it be from a wild animal, starvation, or just having the lack of energy to move on, anything could've killed him by then if it weren't for Flame keeping him feeling sane.

He didn't know what to do when waking up, so he broke down his problems one at a time. First, hunger was on the table, so he decided to start with that. He hadn't eaten since his run-in with Starfish — not like he had a lot to eat, to begin with — and has since been hopelessly trying and failing to pounce on anything like he had then. The fatigue was wearing him down little by little, and he felt as if one more failure might push him underwater.

So, like he usually — and reliably — did, he stood still and allowed his nose to roam free throughout the forest. He let it pick out each scent and unravel them like a piece of string until he had about twenty or thirty different strings to choose from. From a deer to a bunny, he had a lot of options.

A deer would be too fast, a bunny would be too little to eat, a jackal would smell him before he even got close, a boar was too risky to fight in his state, and a bird was out of the question. But a fox, on the other talon, was perfect. Little risk, average speed, and a decent amount of food for how hard it would've actually been to get. But in his state, it would be a lot harder to catch anything.

He picked apart the scent before starting off in the direction he knew the fox would be roaming around. Through the trees and leaves and beautiful forest he had no time to admire, he walked. When in the forest mindlessly tracing a scent, he didn't have much to think about. So he thought about Flame. He thought about his wings wrapped around him like a cozy blanket, the feel of their lips touching that filled his heart with a warmth he longed for, and the soothing rumble of his voice whenever he said Umber's name.

The dreamvisits felt real; too real. But they were missing something he couldn't put his claw on. Maybe it was because he knew that the dream was fake like it was lacking something he couldn't feel out in the wild. Only in Flame's real-world warm embrace and with his snout filled with his scent would he know. His breath caught in his throat as his body relaxed at the thought of it.

The scent kept getting stronger and stronger as he walked, and it couldn't have been more than just a few minutes before he was staring down a bright orange-and-white fox as it dug its den. It was more than unaware of his presence, and he had the perfect opportunity to pounce on it.

He knelt down and slowly crept towards it, making sure to keep his tail raised so that none of the leaves and sticks on the forest floor alerted it. His talons slowly dug into the ground as he crept, centimeter by centimeter, inch by inch until finally, he struck.

With one leap into the air, it looked like he was about to have himself a meal, all until one branch that stuck out caught his broken wing and sent him tumbling. A shockwave of pain made its way through his body, all the way from the tips of his horns to the back of his tail. And as the fox ran off and officially became another failed meal, he was left with — yet again — an empty stomach.

He let his body lay there, defeated. A tear fell down his face as his stomach painfully rumbled, longing for Flame's cooking. He thought about getting up, but something about laying there and crying felt more appealing, coupled with the fact that fatigue was wearing him down. Maybe going back to the Healing Center wouldn't have been such a bad idea. No! He barked at himself. No going back to the Healing Center! I'm fine in this forest!

Deep down, he knew he'd have to face her eventually though. Why was he so scared of it then? He was always the type of dragon that ripped the bandage off and got the hard stuff over with quickly, so why couldn't he with this?

He let his eyes fall closed, but he knew he wouldn't fall asleep, not even with his crippling fatigue. If a predator were to find him lying there, he knew he wouldn't fight back. He was pushing through the fatigue before, acting as if it weren't there, but his resilience was faltering more and more after every failed attempt at solving hunger.

If only he was in control of his tear ducts, then he wouldn't have started crying. Light weeps cut through the forest air, but any dragon nearby that would be able to hear it would find that it was muffled from the constant chirping and rustling of forest animals. He cried as he thought of Flame. What would he think seeing Umber so defeated? He had just gotten done talking to him, and he was already breaking his promise to keep running?

He wished Flame were there to comfort him, as he usually had been. But Flame wouldn't always be there for him to hold onto whenever he felt like sinking. He would have to make his own lifejacket — with Flame's help, of course. Flame had Manticore, and Umber had Flame. But somehow, the thought of Flame wasn't enough for him.

He was sinking and gagging on water, and it was sucking all of his energy away like a siphon.

Every failed attempt sucked his energy away, and that had taken the last of it.

Time passed. Lots of time. At least until midday, if he were to guess. Distant dragons' voices echoed through the forest, but he didn't have the strength to get up and run. Instead, he lay thinking about Flame. Thinking about their future. Like how Flame might open a restaurant, and even went as far as to think about them adopting a dragonet. He knew he wouldn't be the best father, but it didn't hurt to ponder when he had nothing else to do except lay in his defeat.

He heard a distant crack in the forest, but he didn't move his head, or even open his eyes. He laid still and wished to fall asleep. If it was some sort of predator who was about to take the opportunity to have a feast, then so be it. He just wished it was quick and clean, for Flame's sake.

Everything was for Flame's sake. Not telling him about how hard it really was out in the forest was for Flame's sake. Not telling him that he hadn't eaten in days was for Flame's sake. Not telling him about how much hope he had been losing was for Flame's sake. Not telling him how much he wished they were together was for Flame's sake.

"Umber?" a voice said. It was a voice he recognized, but he certainly couldn't pinpoint it with the cloudiness of his mind.

His thoughts raced, and it wasn't long before he realized that a dragon was, in fact, staring at him. A dragon that fully intended to bring him back to the Healing Center and force him to face Crane. His muscles felt as if they had picked up a lightning strike, and with one 'quick' movement, he pushed himself to his feet and bolted in the other direction.

Yellow scales flashed in the light behind him as their movement picked up, quickly surpassing Umber's. It wasn't long before the membranes of each wing were pinned under their talons, and he was face-to-face with them. Light from the trees above obstructed them, but he didn't care who it was. He was going to escape.

He tried to build up fire, but not even a hissing sound managed to escape his mouth. He was too weak, like a dragon on their deathbed. He may as well have been. It was hopeless, and whatever the dragon wanted him to do, it wouldn't take much force in order to make him.

"Let go!" Umber tried helplessly. He hardly had the energy to yell, let alone squirm. But their grip didn't falter, as expected; they kept atop him.

He shifted his wings under their talons in an attempt to escape, but his efforts proved futile. "Umber, stop!" they said. "I'm not here to force you to come back, I'm giving you a choice." As a cloud obscured the sun's rays, he could clearly see their face. The RainWing membranes behind their ears were the only thing he needed to see before realizing who it was: Manticore. "Are you going to run if I let you go?" they asked. He had never heard Manticore's voice be so stern and serious before.

"No," he said, defeated. It's not like he could have run anyway — he was sitting in the dirt for who knows how long, he was so tired.

"Good, I don't like pinning other dragons down anyways." They let his wings free and wiped the dirt off of their scales, but Umber didn't get up. Instead, he spun onto his belly and laid down as Manticore looked at him. Even though he had the chance — and wanted to take it — to run, he could hardly stand up with his shaky legs. "We both know that Flame isn't doing well, right now, right?" Umber nodded his head, ashamed that it was true. There was a pause from Manticore. "Umber, I'm not a soul healer or anything, but you should really go back to the Healing Center, like seriously. You probably haven't eaten in days by the looks of it, and you were lying on the ground when I found you!"

"I can't-" Umber tried before being cut off.

"You can! Here- look at it this way. Would you rather die out here in the forest — a slow and most definitely painful death? Or would you rather go back to the Healing Center, face Crane head-on, and show how resilient you are, and get married to Flame at the very end? Isn't that what you want? Isn't that the happy ending you want?" Manticore asked. "Because we both know that the only way you'll ever be happy again is if you face her, and soon. Like possibly within the next few days soon?"

He couldn't help but think about how right Manticore was. He really would never be happy if he stayed in the forest. It would just be a constant loop of him waking up, killing himself over Crane, thinking of Flame, and then going to sleep hungry until either he died out there, or went back to the Healing Center. And staying out there forever wasn't an option either, because he'd eventually be found and forced back, and it would be ten times worse.

So why couldn't he bring himself to do the best option? Why was he so scared of facing Crane? Why was he doing everything he was doing when it could all be over with and he could be happy with Flame? It was like he was running in circles, mindlessly following the same routine without even thinking about why he was doing it. Wake up, fail to catch food, think of Flame, and dream of Crane if Flame didn't dreamvisit that night.

"Go win this war for me, alright?" The words echoed in his mind, as they were the last words Umber heard Crane say during his first dream of her, which quickly turned to violence and hate instead of forgiveness. Forgiveness… he thought. Is that what she'd want for me?

He didn't know — his head was scrambling for answers he didn't have, tying itself into knots. He was exhausted mentally. He just wanted for it to all be over, but there was only one way for that to happen. And it was the last thing he wanted to do. And that was to face her.

To face his greatest fear.

To face the nightmares that made him want to stay awake at night.

To face Crane.

Words and images filled his head as he read, filling his mind and leaving no space for anything else. That's the way he wanted it to stay, at least until Umber came back. Reading was the only thing he did, day and night, re-reading some of the graphicolls he was yet to give Chromis. The paper still looked brand new — he hoped that Chromis would keep it that way. After all, graphicolls and cooking were the only things that seemed to matter before Umber came along.

Umber… he remembered. His mind always made room for him somehow. His wings longed to wrap around him again, and his scales begged to feel his warmth against Flame's. He knew he would dreamvisit again that night — he couldn't keep himself away, after all. Not when seeing him was just inches away, lying on a table.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Thankfully, even the world didn't allow him to think about Umber for long.

Swiftly, he rolled up the graphicoll and put it into the beat-up box below the table from when Umber freaked out. He blew out the candle that served no purpose except to fill the room with a cinnamon scent — just another thing so he couldn't smell any traces of Umber ever being there. The smell of cinnamon got stronger as the smoke rose from the candle.

Rays of light were the only thing filling the room once the candle was out. He could see specs of dust floating alone in the light, kind of like him. He was alone without Umber, and as he was once one of the invisible particles of dust in the dark, hiding away in his house, he had moved to the light. Starf said he was doing better, but he didn't feel like it.

With a sigh, he begrudgingly walked over to the door and opened it, even though the only dragons he wanted to talk to at that point were Starf — because he had to — and Manticore — because they related to him. Starf helped, but Manticore helped more. After all, they did what Starf couldn't.

Red scales met him, and a stern gaze that only Zephyr herself could hold. The same glance she had given them during their Alpine discussion. "What?" Flame said. He made sure annoyance and boredom were held in his voice because frankly, he didn't care what she had to say. She had already taken half of their income, and after that month, paying rent would become impossible if his paid leave kept up.

"To my office," she said in her work voice. Zephyr at home versus Zephyr at work were like two entirely different dragons. He didn't blame her though, because, after all, she had to make everyone know that she was taking the Healing Center seriously. She was the second highest in authority there and she had to act like it.

"Zephyr, what is this shit about? I'm not in the mood right now," Flame asked.

"It's about Alpine, now to my office before I rethink what I'm about to do," she said. 'Rethink what I'm about to do'? Flame wondered. Rethink what? What is there to rethink? If it was anything bad, then she probably would've explained it differently. So what was it? What good thing could she be thinking of?

"Fine," Flame said. "This better be worth my time, or I'm not coming to another one of these stupid fucking meetings." He wished he could slam the door in her face and go back to reading his graphicolls and continue distracting himself from Umber. He wished it was nighttime so he could go and dreamvisit Umber. To tell him that everything would be alright. But night was far from there yet.

They walked through the Healing Center, down the twisting and winding halls. On the way, he even saw two soul healers trade a kiss between each other. He wished Umber were there to do the same.

Zephyr opened the door for him, before walking in behind and sitting at her front desk, as did Flame. "So, as you know, Nighthunter's files were stolen, and they were used to rile you up purposefully. We still don't know why exactly, though."

"Is that what this is about? I really don't give a shit if you're not giving my job back." Which he thought was highly unlikely, given the circumstances. Even if he did get his job back, Fennec would be on his tail about anything and everything that went wrong.

"Flame, you are to treat me with respect right now!" she warned as if she was his mother. "I have been helping you out to the best of my ability, and all you've given me in return is a barrage of swears! I've been lenient with you, I gave Umber one of our best healers, and I sent out a search party to look for him even after he threatened the life of Starfish! Moons, I'm even paying you after you almost killed your coworker! Anyone else would have you fired right now!" There was a pause where the tension rose high in the air. Zephyr dropped her voice to something more relaxed. "Look, Flame, I know you're hurting right now, but that does not give you an excuse to treat the ones that care for you like this."

He didn't have to think about it to know that she was right, he just was hoping that everyone would take it without question. He was using the excuse that he was hurting to let out all of his pent-up anger on everyone else, everyone he cared for. Just like before, except he was attempting to get help.

"Zephyr, I'm trying as best I can right now. I'm sorry for swearing at you," he apologized, and he meant it. "but these last couple of months have beaten me into my grave. I-I just want my Umber back. The Umber I knew before this. The Umber I-" He didn't dare say anything else, as his eyes had already failed him enough to send a shy tear down his scales. Any more words and he would break out into a full sob.

"And you will get him back, Flame," Zephyr said softly, reaching a talon across the table to run his shoulder as he squeezed the last remnants of tears out of his eyes. "We have so many dragons out there looking for him right now."

Oh how much he wished that would help, but it wouldn't. Umber would come back, he just knew it. He would come back when he was ready, rather than forcefully be dragged back by a squadron of SkyWings. Umber could hide well, proved enough by how long he had already been evading them.

He gave his head one last shake and composed himself. "What were you saying before? About Nighthunter's files?" he asked.

"Oh, right." She pulled her arm away. "So I have some good news, some bad news, and some more good news," she said. "After some questioning, I found out that Alpine hadn't been the one to steal the files. So right now, I don't know who stole them or why Alpine said what he said about Umber. They could be connected, or they could be completely coincidental and unconnected, I don't know. Most of the resources have been put into finding Umber instead of this. In any case, Alpine has been fired, and Massif has been punished accordingly for his involvement."

"What about the 'more good news' part?" Flame asked.

"The other good news is that you may now return to the kitchen whenever you see fit," she said, and a jolt of excitement amid the disappointment sparked. "I didn't want to send you back before I had a more firm grasp on the situation, but now that I do, I have no reason to keep you, and your pay, away from the kitchen."

He nearly lurched out of his seat and ran to the kitchen when he heard those words but held back. Instead, he kept a calmer demeanor, even though it was the opposite of what he was feeling. "Is that everything?" he asked.

"That'll be all for now," Zephyr responded. "You may go back to your room or to the kitchen — whichever you prefer." Flame stood up and walked to the door. "Oh, and if Fennec tries to give you crap about coming in late, tell him to come and complain to me about it. That should shut him up — he needs to get off of his high horse sometimes and realize who's really in charge. Honestly, the only reason I haven't fired him yet is because he doesn't ask for raises."

He wasn't hesitant to leave when there was a break in the conversation. As much as he wanted to hear how much Zephyr wished she could fire Fennec, she would probably go on about every mistake he made for hours, which he also would love to hear for a change. But the kitchen was already screaming his name, longing for him to distract himself and cook.

It wasn't long before he finally got to the kitchen, put his card in, washed his talons, and made his way behind the counter. Everyone was there — Gila, Massif, Sienna, Aquatic, and a NightWing he had never seen before. He didn't know how long ago Alpine was fired, but either way, it was quick that someone had already taken his position; the Healing Center cooking job must've been a hot location to work, though he had never heard anyone except Umber say anything about it.

They took a glance at him and their expressions heightened, but none of them stopped what they were doing to go over and greet him back, and bid Alpine farewell. Work must have been high, and the newbie sure had it cut out for them. He wondered if their cooking was any good.

After a quick check to see what they were low on — which was, unsurprisingly, just about everything — he began cooking away. First with Sienna's special, which didn't take him more than fifteen minutes to make a dozen of them. Then onto their chocolate-filled bread pastries, which he flew through with even more ease than Sienna's heartstopper.

He did that for the next couple of hours, lost in his work. It was as if nothing else existed around him except whatever he was cooking and cooking it with. That's how he wanted to stay — in his own world where nothing outside of it could touch him unless he allowed it to. It was as if it were thunderstorming outside and he was safely kept inside his comfortable home, and the only way it could come in is if he opened a window. Luckily for him, he kept his windows locked shut, airtight.

But that didn't solve the crack in the wall.

Flashes of lighting shone through the outside windows and water leaked onto the floor. Soon enough, water was flooding his house, and he was struggling to keep himself afloat. He tried to force Umber out of his head as he struggled to cook whatever he was cooking. Focus. He told himself, remembering a tactic Starf had taught him.

Five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I can hear, two things I can smell, and one thing I can taste. He looked around. Sienna cooking more of her special, even though Fennec would get mad. Aquatic struggling to turn on a burner with his lighter. The newbie burning a pizza. A small food fight that had broken out that the janitors would have to clean up. Gila as she walked towards him with a platter of food that was probably meant to be left out.

Four things I can touch. The knife he was using to chop up carrots for a stew. The cutting board he was stabilizing so it didn't slip. His talons that scraped against the floor as he desperately tried to distract himself. Umber's warm scales against mine… He shook his head, forcing the thought out of his mind and causing it to splat against the wall.

Three things I can hear. The sounds of dragons yelling for others to move out of the way in the kitchen as they rushed past. The constant chatter of the dragons sitting just beyond the kitchen, where their noise had become background music to him after so long. His heart beating through his chest as he finally had gotten his first break in hours.

Two things I can smell. The smell of perfectly cooked food as it made its way to be devoured by hungry dragons. The scent of Umber as we wake up next to each other… He stabbed the knife into the wooden cutting board as hard as he could. Flame, shut the fuck up! He screamed at himself.

One thing I can taste. He took a deep breath, but the words came to mind too quickly. The taste of Umber as he kisses me…

His talons moved for him when he threw the cutting board off of the counter with the knife still stabbed into it. It flew through the air before slamming against the wall, sending the carrots flying everywhere. He fell backwards as tears obfuscated his vision and dripped on the floor. His sobs cut through the noisy kitchen, and he knew everyone's eyes were on him without even having to look.

He didn't care.

He just wanted Umber back.

He was sinking and gagging on water, and it was sucking all of his energy away like a siphon.

Red covered his vision as his wings curled around him like a cocoon, creating his own house. In this one, he would make sure to seal every crack with plaster and glue every window and door shut. Except, before he could even begin, a familiar yellow face was already peering at him beyond his wings. And before he knew it, warm SandWing scales were taking him into their embrace, causing his house to crumble before it was built.

She didn't say anything as no words needed to be exchanged between them. She just knew what he needed and why, as she usually did. She was there for him, and that's all that mattered. He had no doubt she would've said something to him if they weren't so backed up. Her, Manticore, Starf, and Zephyr were all trying to help, but it was so hard for him to keep his composure when Umber's shadow was constantly weighing him underwater, like a weight tied to his ankle.

Gila gestured for everyone to get back to what they were doing, and they listened. She was the supportive one, after all, so what she said usually went by with no complaints.

"If I'm being honest, I truly have no idea what you're going through, and I can't imagine how much it hurts," Gila said. "If you ever need to talk to someone, or just cry to let it all out, you know where to find me." Flame nodded his head as tears dripped down his scales.

With one last attempt, he gained his composure and brought his wings back. Gila noted it as he took in a deep breath and stood up. "Alright," he said. "I'm alright now."

Gila let go of him. "If you need me today, I'll be twenty feet away at maximum," she said with a smile. He picked up the knife off of the floor that had come loose from the board when he threw it before it was quickly thrown in the trash once he realized the tip had snapped off.

He cleaned up the rest of the aftermath of his outburst before grabbing a new cutting board, knife, and carrot. He began cutting, and fast at that, as the stew needed to be cooked rather quickly. More and more dragons were entering the cafeteria and hungry ones at that.

Except, as he was looking ahead at the mix of scales, he swore he saw ones he recognized. He disregarded it at first, but as his eyes kept catching a glimpse of them over and over, he looked closer. Looking past the crowd in the doorway, his eyes were met with white on brown, and light brown on dark brown on their chest and neck. Their eyes locked.

His heart nearly jumped through his chest, and he had to double-check to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. But as he hadn't disappeared by then, he knew it had to be real. He knew that it had to be Umber staring back at him. The real Umber.

The knife clacked against the table as metal met marble, and his talons dragged along the floor faster than they ever had before. It hardly felt like a heartbeat when he was out through the kitchen door and shoving past other dragons to get to the entrance. It was as if his life depended on it. His future did, anyway.

He collided with Umber with all of his weight, nearly knocking them to the floor. Flame's talons pulled him close tightly, gripping his scales as he buried his head in his shoulder. He felt that if he let go, Umber might leave again, and maybe that was true. Tears dripped from his eyes as if he hadn't already cried enough in a week. "Never do that to me again," he sobbed.

Umber's talons moved from the floor to around his neck, hugging him just as close as Flame was. "I won't," he said.

Author's notes: UMBER'S FINALLY BACK!

Also, one quick thing. In two days (the 6th) it'll be Healed 2's one-year anniversary, and mine for writing! Hopefully, there's no fire this time, though. Also, the 6th is also one of my Discord server member's (Kappa) birthday that day as well, so happy early birthday! Along with his birthday, another one of my members actually had theirs yesterday (D4RKSH4D3), so happy late birthday to them!

Lastly, I want to shout out everyone who has joined the Discord server so far. I'll include their server nickname as well as their Discord username, along with any special notes about what they've done.

Jager black ice (Jager gay ice)
Kappa (Gayppa) - Has re-read Healed 2 about four times I think
GOLD_WING (GayWing)
Jewels Nightcap (Jewels Nightgay) - Turvar's OC creator
Zexter (Gayxter)
DarkPhoneix (GayPhoenix)
Book Junkie Rachel (Gayflight Incarnate)
Error_not_found_404 (Gay_not_found_404)
UltraKing (UltraGay)
Kaimyat (Gaymyat)
D4RKSH4D3 (G4YSH4D3) - Brings the server some life when it's dead
Axiomjejune (Axiomjegay)

Special mentions:
AlteredHeights (Sunglasses IceWing) - My best friend currently, and the artist of my pfp on Discord
Duolingo (Duolingay) - My friend and the artist of Flame and Umber on the cover
MegidoTheDragon (MegayDerg) - My boyfriend and Manticore's OC creator

and the background thumbnail artist
Sandshadow (Gayshadow) - Author of the original Healed

As you can see, there's definitely an interesting theme here lmfao. If you want to join, you can follow this invite code! It'll never expire, so you can use it whenever (DPZFp5gjK6).