Wings of Honor: Deciding Destiny

Chapter 2: Consolidation

"Grace?"
I was startled awake from the shouting.
"Grace!"
I recognized the voice. It was McManis.
"Over here!"
I rolled to my feet. Realizing I had unconsciously camouflaged into the bleached tan of the desert. The morning sun warmed me up as I changed back to my classic black. Looking around, I saw McManis carefully working his way down the sand dune.
How in the world did I lose a full-grown dragon? "I must've passed you like six times." He walked up to me, looking me over. "Look. I talked with Travers already. But I'm more worried about you. Are you alright?" He started around for my wings.
I took a shaky breath, remembering last night. I hid it best I could. I don't think McManis noticed.
"I'm fine."
McManis looked my war-torn wings over, then met my gaze. "And your wings?"
I hung my head, sighing. "I'll tell you back at camp."
I started making my way back. McManis trailing behind and to my right.
We didn't exchange anything else. Neither of us wanted to risk anything until we were consolidated, and knew where each of us stood.

I must've run in circles, or I ran way shorter than I thought I ran.
The thin but noticeable tongue of smoke rising in the rapidly growing desert heat over the dunes into the clear, blue, sky. Needless to say, we arrived back at camp shortly after.
As we descended down the final dune, me and Travers spotted each other. He instantly stood up, straightened his uniform, dusted it off, and saluted the two of us as we made our way down.
"Grace." He let his hand fall to his side. "I'm sorry. I snapped. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It wasn't you, it wasn't your fault." He sighed, throwing up his hands. "I have just been going through so much. Getting stranded on Pyrrhia, Marvin getting exiled, me getting exiled, then fighting Goldman, getting the squad back, fighting the enemy, then dropped in the middle of nowhere and being forced to live by yourself for almost a month. Then you guys found me, and we were together again for just a little bit." Then he gritted his teeth, balling his fist. Travers fought back tears, choking his words. "Then Marvin had to be a damn hero."
Then Travers looked up, looking at me. He met my unrelenting eyes, and I saw him tear up further.
"Why do I even bother?" He threw up his hands. "Who am I kidding? You can tell what I'm thinking, you probably already saw it in the future how sorry I am." He hung his head, revealing his open palms to me in surrender. "What do you want me to do?" He sniffed.
I felt his brokenness, his sadness, his pain. I fought back tears myself. But I was still mad at him. But it wasn't his fault. None of this was his fault. We all have our breaking point, and he just reached his.
He asked me what I want to do. I took a breath, looking at his figure in surrender. I don't know what I would do. "I don't know."
He looked up at me with tearful but confused eyes.
I saw McManus hang his head.
But just then, an answer popped into my mind.
"But what I can do... is forgive you."
Travers met me in disbelief, a tear running down his face.
I sniffed., letting one roll down mine as well. "It's what Marvin would have done." I hung my head. "It's what he always does to you."
I felt Travers hold his breath, opening his mouth to speak... But then he just hung his head, nodding.
I took one of my claws, drawing it in the sand.
No particular picture. I just... I just couldn't.
It's what Marvin would've done. Kept ringing through my mind. It's what Marvin would've done.
"It's what Marvin would've done," I whispered under my breath.
"Mmm hmm."
I was startled by McManus.
He looked up at me, then motioned his head to the dying fire.
I nodded, getting up to follow him back to the fire.
McManus sat down on one of two logs I guess they found.
He settled in. "So." He looked past me, motioning with his chin. "How are you?" You're our mobility. If your wings are hurt, we're kind of fucked.
I sighed. Tearing up a little as I felt the faint stinging take the forefront once more. "My wings are all cut up. I got a few tears in places." I didn't dare extend them to show him. "I saw them open up a little while we were flying. And I don't want to risk flying right now. It hurts too much. And, if those tears open up while I'm in the air-"
"Then you... and everyone on you is kissing dirt."
I nodded sadly.
McManus sat back, adjusting himself. "Fuuuuuck." He growled.
He leaned forward, thinking.
I just looked over to Travers. He was busy digging out three ration tins out of the remains of the fire. He opened them, hissing as the heat kept biting him. Eventually, he set everyone together in portions, passing them out.
"Supper's ready." He set the warming carton on McManus' lap.
"You realize super is after dinner, right? This is breakfast."
Travers looked him in the eye. He turned the package, looking at it. "Then blame Patton Food Products out of Chattanooga."
McManus gawfed.
Travers gingerly set another ration set in front of me.
"I know it's not much for you, but we all should be fed something. And I have everything already unpackaged for you... as sorry."
I nodded. "Thank you, Travers."
He nodded, returning with his carton to his log.
I carefully punctured the can with my claws. I held up the opened tin, letting the little cylinder of meat slide out onto my tongue. I opened up the rest of the meat to eat the rest of it. It was small, but it was warm meat, better than nothing at all.
That begged the question: how lean can I go?
I mean, I haven't necessarily been eating well, to begin with. Besides the deer I caught back at camp, I haven't eaten really anything that fills me up.
I looked up to see McManis throwing the remains of his meal into the fire. Same as Travers a little while after.
"So. What do we do now?" Travers asked McManis.
McManis took a deep breath and an equally long exhale. "We're low on men, materials, room to maneuver. We left most of our supplies, and even if these K rations are enchanted, we're liable to exposure out here in the desert." He put his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun.
I nodded in understanding.
"We need to get more and better supplies." He took a sharp breath, looking in the direction of the Lost Kingdom Of Night. "Our camps are probably compromised if Goldman managed to get in Marvin's head."
"They won't." I found myself saying.
Travers and McManus just looked at me, waiting for me to elaborate.
"I-I enchanted him to basically have the same enchantment as his jacket."
"Wait. This jacket?" Travers pulled from behind his log.
I squinted. "That's his! Why do you have it?"
McManus and Travers both signed in relief.
"I thought he was completely vulnerable without this." McManus walked up to Travers.
Travers offered it to him.
He hesitantly took it, brushing the dust and sand and splinters out of it. "Knowing him, Marvin's an all-or-nothing guy. If he could stop Goldman from getting an enchanted item, he would've." McManus held the long trenchcoat up, just looking at it. Then he looked at me. "It's good to know he's protected."
We all nodded.
Then McManus set his jacket next to his log. "It still doesn't help us much in the supplies department. The pockets are pretty much empty."
Travers spat up some of his coffee.
Then I realized. "We might actually have some friends nearby."
I stood up, walking up the dune. I felt both of them looking after me. I don't know what I was expecting looking into the clear sky, but regardless, I had a rough idea of where we were. Smiling, I made my way back down the dune back to camp.
"The Scorpion den is not too far away!"
McManus looked up, Travers put his cup down.
I closed my eyes, trying to get a rough image of where we were at. "Don't quote me, but maybe a day's match away? Definitely less if we flew."
Travers looked excitedly over to McManus.
He just nodded, hand at his chin. "I'd try my hand at a hostile city than die from exposure."
"And Grace has got friends there! We can kill multiple birds with one stone!"
"Then that's it then." McManus threw his hand up. "We'll start for The Scorpion den at sundown tonight, when we aren't fighting the heat."
We all nodded in agreement.
"And now that we're all here, we can finally do a full fucking inventory."
"Oh." I started taking off my pouches. "I don't have anything interesting. Just stuff I grabbed from camp, and my usual equipment."
Suddenly, McManus's mind lit up.
"Oh, you best be shitting me."
"What?" Me and Travers perked up.
McManus revealed the object from one of my pouches.
"Is that-" "Marvin's compass!" I exclaimed. "Wha... How-"
"The bastard must be snuck it in while we were retreating!" McManus looked the thing over, Travers came up behind him. Crafty bastard. He flipped it open, mumbling the engraving. "Until you find your way back home. Love, Ignacio?" He looked up at me.
I nodded. "It's a long story. But his Grandpa was named Ignacio. Marvin's middle name is Ignacio."
McManus nodded slowly, closing the compass and placing it in his own pouch. "Useful nonetheless."
"Damn, he just threw his whole equipment pouch in here. Everything's here." Travers dug through my main pouch.
"Everything? What-his enchanted stuff? The binoculars?"