Where Smoke Bleeds Gold

Chapter Eleven - Frail

My wifi was acting up I've been trying to post this since yesterday, but here you go!

    The Viper Nest laid just beyond the horizon, behind me, Typhoon wheezed as she struggled to catch up. The sound of her hoarse throat echoed in my ears as I continued to pull her further from the ocean. My heart pounded as I walked even slower to let her catch up. Why did I make her walk so far? Stopping as my talons dug into sand, I turned around to see her dragging her wings and tail behind her as she barely managed to keep her head up. Up to this moment we had already taken many breaks, so many in fact, I was worrying if we would make it to the viper nest at all.
    In the middle of the Viper Nest, there is a well. It was dug by the first settlers of the Vipers, and that's how most of the Nest got it's water. Flicker had told me this a while ago. It took a lot to get access to the well, and I didn't have that. Flicker did.
    As Typhoon stepped onto the sand, she picked her wings up as the heat of it began to lick at her dry scales.
    "We just need to get to my home," I said, wrapping a wing around her to protect her from the sun. This time she didn't shy away from my touch as it shielded her away from the reflection of Sun's heat with the sand's glass fragments. This was, of course, the Glass Desert. Life shrank away from the blisters and boils its children left behind. Those who could not find refuge anywhere else were forced here. Those creatures left blisters and boils with a kiss too. Snakes, cacti, scorpions, FireScales.
    Heat beat down on my back, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Soon enough, we were at the gates of the Viper Nest. Ahead of us stood a DuneScale, the only dragon that was native to the harsh desert.
    "You don't understand, I have proof, they're inside your walls now!" She said, limping on a bandaged foot. They had a heavy accent, but I personally found it pretty.
    "For the last time, get out of here before we send a pair of guards to remove you," Said a gruff guard, standing on top of the wall. All around the wall stood dragons in pairs. Heavy, poorly forged armor pulling them down as they fumbled with wooden spears. I don't even remember how I would've gotten past them. After a moment, the DuneScale turned to leave, but not before getting an eyeful of Typhoon under my wing.
    "Reason for entry," The guard said once we stepped closer.
    "I'm...a," I began, "We need a doctor," I said.
    "For?" He asked, staring down at us through slits in his helmet.
    "A ssscor-snake bite," I said. With a flourish, I revealed Typhoon and her bluey purply scales.
"Creation's sake," He said, wincing back. "Why are you coming here? We don't have any good doctors," He said, peering down. Keeping Typhoon's tail covered with my wing and resting my head on her ears, I continued lying,
"She doesn't have any more time to walk somewhere else," I said with a wince.
"Do you have gold?" He asked, no longer sounding so empathetic.
"Yes," I said slowly, covering Typhoon with a wing again. Below him, the gate opened slightly, barely large enough to fit through.
"Wait one moment, I'll be down to collect an entry fee," He said. The moment he turned around, I sprinted through the gate hugging Typhoon close to me. I wasn't sure if he saw me, or if someone was pursuing us, but I ran as fast as my talons could take me. Eventually, my lungs grew tired and we stopped in the middle of a market, dragons pushing around us. Sand coated my tongue as I stood panting. Running had kicked up dust everywhere. I could feel it in my scales, in my eyes. It strangely made me feel at home. Typhoon pressed closer to me. I looked up to see a crowd beginning to form around us. I began walking again, trying to blend in as well as I could with a bright blue dragon under my wing. Stray stares bore into my scales as I tried to keep Typhoon away from the prying eyes. Whispers found their ways to us. Snippets of conversation between stall owners, fragments of stories retold many times, bets on how much the blue thing cost. I never had walked the streets of the nest before, but Flicker had recounted to me many stories of strange things happening out here. Crime littered the street almost as much as the homeless did.
"How much?" An old dragon asked, a bloody blindfold wrapped around her eyes. I ignored her, not knowing who she was talking to. She stopped me with a broken talon. "How much is that blue thing?" She smiled, pointing to Typhoon. A shiver ran down my spine as I stared at the bleeding bandage that wrapped around her head.
"They're not for sale," I said, trying to move past them. They stood for a moment, unbreathing.
"Poor thing," She said, cocking her head before stepping out of our way. "Selfish boy," She said, disappearing in the mass of dragons betting and bartering. Slipping into an alley, we weaved through sandstone structures, burnt wooden forts and fabric huts. After a moment, we made it to the wall surrounding the nest. Weaving in and out of alleys, I saw a glimpse of broken shingles. I ran the next few steps to see the house. It looked even worse on the outside. Next to the rock tiles that lined the roof, was another house that someone could walk on to get to and from. Standing down here, you could see the path Kindling took to get to my window.
My mother was never a wealthy dragon. Wealthy dragons didn't live in the Viper Nest. Yet to own a two story wooden house alone was a feat. At least that's what she told me. I pulled Typhoon through a thin alley between our house and our neighbors. Stopping at the wooden front door, I knocked my head against it, only hoping that Flicker was home. I listened closely, the streets eerily quiet. A face disappeared from the kitchen window. The only glass window that hadn't been replaced with fabric.
I waited a moment more before deciding no one was home. I pushed on the door, revealing a crack between the wall and the door. Sliding my tail in between the two, grasping the chair in my spikes. What else could lock the door? It took some effort, but I managed to move the chair far enough to let myself inside.
"Come inside," I told Typhoon, holding the door open for her. I watched the street for a moment, noticing a dragon on the far side of the lane. They were eyeing the front door, perhaps wondering how much they could get for selling an exotic colored creature. I wrinkled my snout at them, but I didn't want to irritate them in case that was all the reason they needed to break into someone's house. I shut the door, sliding the chair into place.
"Kindling?" Typhoon called, walking through the kitchen.
"We're not looking for Kindling right now," I said, prying up the board Flicker used to hide under. "Her name is Flicker," I explained to her. Typhoon popped her head out of the kitchen, stumbling to follow me.
"Flick?" Typhoon said as we walked up the stairs. The wooden boards below us bent under our weight. A quiet whistling sound from my room, making me wonder if Flicker was making it.
"Flicker," I said, brushing past the curtain to my room. The bed was thrown around, the entire room in upheaval. I stepped through the mess, finding a curtain window shredded. Wind blew sand into the room, making a tiny desert on the old wooden floor.
A knock sounded at the door just as I put my talon on the window frame. I looked to Typhoon who was already staring down the stairs.
"It's me, Flicker," Mom called from outside.
"Flicker?" Typhoon called to her, stepping down the stairs.
"No!" I hissed, grabbing her tail. "We've gotta go and find Kindling," I said, trying to drag her back to the window.
"Why?" Typhoon asked, looking back at me. I didn't know what to say.
"Just no," I said, walking back into the bedroom to escape out the window. Typhoon wasn't following. Suddenly a crash sounded downstairs. I ran back around to see the front door wide open, a tall orange figure standing above a small teal creature.
"Who are you?" She asked, stepping toward Typhoon.
"Typhoon," She said, not nearly as confident as she usually did.
"Hi mom!" I yelled from the stairs, getting her focus away from Typhoon. She stared up silently at me. Eyes wide, jaw relaxed.
"Flare?" She said, as if she needed to say my name to remember who I was. "Where did you go?" She asked, watching me slide down the stairs to them.
"I-" I began. "Can I get Typhoon some water?" I asked, stepping toward the kitchen.
"Flare," She said, obviously seeing the topic change.
"Just a drink?" I said, already in the kitchen.
"Flare, I just got the water," She said after I noticed the missing cauldron. Usually it sat by the table, up off the ground only to keep rats from getting to it.
"Oh," I said, trying to fill the silence with just as empty words.
"How has it been?" I asked, trying to smile. Mother handed me the cauldron with a stare. I slid the cauldron to Typhoon, keeping eye contact with Mother.
"Where did you go?" She said sternly, her snout beginning to crease. Before I could get a word out, Typhoon suddenly sank her head deep into the pot of water. I stared bewildered as Typhoon began to down the entire cauldron, her spine convulsing as she tried to drink it all.
"Typ-" I began, but she stood up suddenly, water dripping from her face. She smiled at me, finally looking comfortable in her scales for a moment before she scrunched her face up in disgust.
"Are you-?" I began but just as fast as she drank the water, it came back up drenching the floors. Not as much as she drank, but it was enough to make the floor muddy from dust and sand.
"Flare!" Mother yelled, whirling her stare at me.
"She didn't know!" I yelled back, finding my voice. I stared back at her.
"Water is the most expensive thing right now!" She hissed, straining her voice to be louder than me.
"I know that!" I yelled back, louder. She huffed, the fire between her eyes bright.
"Did you just leave to get more freaks to waste my time?" She screamed, her voice going hoarse as she stepped toward me.
"Where did Flicker go?" I asked, my voice cracking as I stepped back.
"Do you want to know why I kept you locked in here, snake?" She hissed, spitting on my face.
"Where is Flicker?" I said, unable to regain my volume.
"Those dragons will eat you up," She sneered, getting in my face. "Difference is weakness and you will never fit in with them," She said.
"Shut up," I said, legs weak. I fell back, sitting down as she leaned in closer, her teeth bared.
"I kept you in here to keep you safe," Mother spat, eyes narrowed. "Don't paint me as the bad guy," I stared wide eyed as she took a step back. "I don't care if you run away, Creation knows my sister would hate me saying that," She whispered under her breath. "Just know you're risking your life is your father finds you," She said, walking out of the house, grabbing the half empty cauldrun on the way out. She slammed the door, shaking the house.
I sat shaking, unsure what to do. After I finally managed to breath again. I looked to Typhoon, who was no where to be seen.
"Ty-?" I called, glued to the floor. My scales shook as I tried to figure out what was happening. I tried to slow my breath, taking a deep breath, but it ended in a sob. Typhoon's slick head popped out from the kitchen, her eyes wide and scared.
"It's okay," I said, trying to remember a word she knows.
"Safe?" She asked.
"Safe," I said, nodding.