Where Smoke Bleeds Gold

Chapter Nine - Shouldn't Have

I woke up, blinking the sleep from my eyes. Around me two other scales surrounded me. What a bad dream. I shook the water off my face. I sat up, looking around myself. Typhoon sat in the water, her tail still there. There was no way for her to have legs, I realized. Not unless it was magic.
"Hey, Typhoon," I said, looking over to her. Instead of turning around to me, she shook herself dry of seawater. Hesitating to turn around before she stood up.
"Flare!" She said, I didn't remember her knowing my name. She suddenly jumped out of the water, wind and sand whirling around her. I flinched back as she stood delicately in front of me. On four legs. It must've really happened. All that from yesterday. I stood beside her, staring at the sand. Staring at her foot prints.
"Flare?" She asked quietly. I walked past her quickly, sitting ankle deep in the water. It took Typhoon a moment to sit beside me, wind stayed still, not minding her step in the water.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, watching the small waves crash over my talon.
"Why?" She asked. Light reflected from her wings, blinding in my eye. I turned to her. She looked off.
"I don't-" Know you. I looked at her. Her eyes looked wet, as if she was about to cry. As if she was just done crying. She had a giant smile on her face, her teeth hidden. It looked like an empty smile, but her voice was so steady, maybe I was wrong. Usually I was. Maybe I couldn't read dragons. Maybe I was overthinking it.
"Let's go," Quake said, behind us.

Avalanche slowed down, staring up at the giant mountains above us. Her eyes wide and uncertain. As if she was searching for something on the mountain.
"Maybe we go through the forest," Avalanche said, looking toward the forest. She didn't sound very sure. I slowed down to look at the forest.
"What do you mean maybe?" Quake asked, stopping beside her.
"I mean maybe," Avalanche said, raising her voice.
"Didn't you say you had the map memorized?" Quake yelled back.
"That was before you lost it!" Avalanche said, turning to her with a snarl on her face.
"That is not what memorized means!" Quake barked at her, kicking at the sand.
"Guys we already decided we wouldn't argue about this anymore," Starshine said, cutting in between them. I took a step back, not wanting to be in the way of their fight.
"Well I thought it was decided that we weren't going to leave stuff out at night!" Avalanche yelled at Starshine.
"It was late! You and him went to sleep without me!" Quake yelled, leaning down to look Avalanche in the eye.
"You could've put it away!" Avalanche snapped. Quake let out a growl, as if she was getting ready to jump her. Avalanche took a breath, "Look, it's fine," Avalanche said, turning back to the mountain. Her eyes grew wide again, and she seemed to lose her words.
"So," Quake said, calmer now. She crouched beside her to be eye to eye with her. "What did you do wrong?" Quake asked without a hint of care in her words.
"I don't remember this mountain," Avalanche said so quietly I thought I heard her wrong at first.
"What do you mean you don't remember this mountain!" Quake screamed in her ear.
"Do your ears not work!?" Avalanche hissed, pushing Quake away with her wing.
"We've been walking toward it for the past week!" Quake roared, eyes narrowing on her. "You think mountains just rise up out of the ground?!"
"Technically-" Starshine began, the only one that wasn't screaming who dared to be so close to the fight.
"We've just been going the wrong way, it's fine!" Avalanche said, turning away from her. She immediately looked at me, making me feel odd.
Don't drag me into this, I mouthed to her. Quake cussed, kicking sand up at Avalanche.
"Hey!" Avalanche yelled, voice sounding hoarse. She whipped her head back at Quake, teeth bared.
"That's another two weeks! What if-" Quake yelled at her, trying to start a fight.
"What if what? You think something's going to happen to your precious little play thi-" Avalanche began. Typhoon made a noise behind us, but suddenly;
"WE ARE IN CAVERN TERRITORY!!" Quake yelled, her voice cracking. Loud enough to drown the waves out.
"Why didn't you tell us then? Why not say something if you're so obviously right and know where we're going?" Avalanche spat.
"I didn't want to hurt your fragile ego, princess," Quake said, her voice sounding gruff.
"I'm not the one who pushes everyone away so I can go sulk in the forest!" Avalanche yelled back, getting in Quake's face.
"Don't even go there, little miss toxic!" Quake barked, pushing her back with her sharp talons.
"Typhoon!" I yelled, calling their attention, but it was too late. Typhoon had gone off sprinting on shaking legs.
"What did you do?!" Quake growled at Avalanche.
"Both of you are idiots!" Starshine yelled, turning around in time to see Typhoon disappear into the trees. I began taking after her, but before I could get very far Starshine sprinted ahead of me twice as fast as I was going. I stopped suddenly, feeling like I was going to fall over. How was he so fast? Why couldn't I be good at something? He was so much smaller than me, I thought I-.
No, this wasn't time to be a draggling. I began walking again, not nearly as fast as before. Already, Starshine was heading back from the forest alone and back toward us. I wasn't even halfway there yet.
A scream broke out behind us, finally breaking me out of my thoughts. I turned around expecting to see them fighting each other. Instead, they were fighting someone else. Four armored Cavern Scales were pinning Quake and Avalanche to the ground.
"Hey!" I yelled at the dragons. I began running again, not caring if I was faster or stronger than anyone. At least I thought, but if I'm bringing it up does it even count? I screamed, a bad, pitchy, draggling scream. It shook me out of my thoughts and it got their heads to raise. I pumped my legs faster and faster. Hoarse growls escaped my throat with each breath. I threw myself forward, leaping from the sand and at the nearest soldier. I crashed into their armor, jaws open and biting into the metal.
I opened my wings, feeling defenseless as I hung from their arm. I kicked my legs forward, but before I could hit them, they brought their arm up pulling me higher off the ground. Twisting around, they jerked me off their arm. I crashed onto the sand without as much as a sound. I sat up, fearing they'd come after me, but all they did was cuss in a deep voice, turning away from me.
I wanted to protest, but like a rock being thrown in a pool, I realized that they were soldiers. Trained professionals in patrolling their kingdom.
What was I doing to help? Another cry and my attention was torn away from them and to little Starshine darting through the four dragons and butting his horns into the dragon that had Quake pinned. Right behind him I ran toward them throwing my talons up and aiming for the thin slit in their helmets they saw through. Again and again I was batted away, but I refused to stop before Starshine did, and he wasn't giving in any time soon. I looked up at the CavernScale in front of me. Her big black eyes stared down at me, disapprovingly.
"Chain the other two, these ones shouldn't be any problem," She said, turning away from me. I hadn't even hurt her. She hadn't bothered hurting me. With a gasp, I looked over to see Starshine pinned under a different guard. I was the only one left uncaught.
"I'm so sorry," I said, so quietly the sound of crashing waves overwhelmed the small voice in my throat. After glancing up one more time at the CavernScale, I turned around so fast I almost fell over. Kicking up sand behind me, I ran into the woods. Run. Run. Run.
Run.
The sounds of my aggressor close behind me was the only thing that was louder than my rapid heart beat and ragged breaths. I suddenly took a sharp turn to my right, my wing snagging on a tree limb in my way. I didn't know where I was, or how far I had gotten, but I suddenly crashed into someone in front of me without a word.
Typhoon released a shrill scream as we fell to the ground.
"Shut up!" I said, clamping her mouth shut. I sat up and looked behind us. Silence. I looked back to her but she was already gone.
"Typhoon?" I whispered, looking around. She had vanished.
"Typhoon?" I called, risking being heard. Shoved against the ground, I prepared myself for what may come.