Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 8: Decisions, Decisions

Thinking was exhausting.

Splinter's words constantly bounced around in my head, and though she told me to be patient, I still tried to figure out what she was hiding. I wasn't a patient dragon. Telling me to 'be patient' was like telling a fire not to spread through a forest. It just couldn't happen.

Dad had returned at some point with food, and I ate it without conscious thought. I did little else except sit where I was and think. I wasn't sure, but Myrkr might've tried to talk to me at some point. He wasn't here now, so I assumed it was my imagination.

What did Splinter mean when she said she knew a male would love my unnatural scales? How did she know? Did someone tell her? What about the weird way she looked at me? It almost seemed as if she knew what I would say before I opened my mouth. And why couldn't she tell me what was wrong? Was there something I should know about Myrkr? She said it wasn't a bad thing, but was she lying? I didn't know her that well, after all...

That had to be it. She had to be lying about something bad Myrkr was going to do. I knew that males couldn't be trusted. I had firstpaw experience with horrible males, and I've learned that they were always bad. Myrkr was just trickier than the others!

I shot a distrustful glance at Splinter, who was busily grooming herself. I quickly stood up and moved over to Dad on the opposite side of the room, then wiggled under his right wing to lie down with him.

"Are you okay?" He warbled, giving me a worried look.

I set my head on my forepaws, pointedly refusing to look at Splinter. "I don't trust them," I grumbled. "Myrkr is tricking me somehow, and Splinter is lying."

He cocked a brow. "Tricking you... how?" He asked suspiciously.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But he's doing something, and I don't like it. He stares at me and trips over his own paws and forgets stuff a lot. Splinter won't tell me why. They're hiding something."

The suspicion in Dad's eyes quickly changed to amusement, much to my confusion. He chuckled and licked from my nose up to my ears. "I agree that they're hiding something," he rumbled. "But you might be overthinking this."

I lifted my head to hit the moss below me with a forepaw. "I don't get it," I growled, frustrated. "It doesn't make sense!"

"Calm down," he hummed softly, giving my head another lick. "I understand that it's frustrating, but you're only going to burn yourself out over this. Take a break and look at the problem again when you're calm."

"It's bugging me," I protested. "I can't just stop!"

"Alright, alright," he hummed soothingly. "Let's start from the beginning, then. Myrkr is staring at you a lot and acting weird, Splinter isn't telling you why he's acting that way, and you're worried they're hiding something." I nodded. "But you haven't told me why it's bothering you."

"Males are dangerous," I muttered bitterly.

"So you think Myrkr is planning on hurting you," he surmised. I nodded. "I don't trust them either, little one, but I know not every dragon is the same. Have you wondered if maybe, just maybe, he doesn't want to harm you?"

I blinked, surprised by that idea. "Well, no... but... males are bad, right?"

He sighed, thinking carefully about his answer. "I know I told you that males are bad, but those were the males back home. Those males treated you that way because you are a mixed-breed. Myrkr is a mixed-breed just like you, so why would he abuse you for something he is as well?"

"Oh..." I hadn't thought of that.

"I'm not saying to blindly trust him," he hummed gently. "That would be foolish and dangerous. All I'm saying is to think about both sides. It is possible that he might be planning to hurt you, but I am keeping an eye on him. It is also possible that all his staring, tripping, and forgetting might just be who he is. I used to be very clumsy before you and Vaskr came along, you know."