Dragon trio

angst? now?

Tatum sat on their slimy dragon, staring into the sunset while focusing on the hands wrapped around their waist. They breathed in and out as deeply as their chest could expand just to feel their partner's head roll along the back of their shoulder. Nothing disturbed her, not even the rough beats of the small dragon's wings. Cadmeal hummed a soft sweet lulling melody, resting herself fully against the dragon's most frequent rider. "It's nice up here." She softly commented, face lightly stretched into her platinum smile. It had always made peace to Tatum that Cadmeal had no more than a nick on her face and eyes that were so far from dull that the sun set in jealousy. "It really is, not as nice as you though." Tatum almost purred out. They let out a soft 'oof' as Cadmeal lightly smacked them in the back. "You sap." She laughed, that soft and airy laugh that stood her out of the crowd and into the spotlight. "You're the one dating said sap." They joked softly, sighing softly as Cadmeal's grip lightly tightened.

"Yes, yes I am."

Tatum gripped their shoulder with a wince as they stared most probable death in its shiny sharp iron face. Painful salty tears rolled down their face as they tried and failed to force their left eye open once more. "You're lucky I refuse to kill children, even if they are stupid dragon riders." Their enemy spoke cold and distantly as the crossbow was lowered from their face. "Who are you calling a 'stupid dragon rider'?" Tatum pushed ignoring the frustrated and equally pained look on Cadmeal's face. "Tatum let's just get out of here." Cadmeal got a few steps away before the crossbow y turned towards them once more. "Foolish child, you'd rather run your mouth instead of accepting someone's mercy. I wonder, if you ran as much as your mouth does, would my arrows even reach you?" They laughed cynically as Cadmeal took her chance to hobble-run away. "And I wonder this, how lonely do you have to be to laugh at your own horrid jokes." Tatum shot back, only to take an arrow to their off shoulder. The young dragon ride yelled in pain as they held the new wound. Soon enough they were snatched from off the ground by familiar black talons. "Cadmeal?" Tatum asked as if they didn't already know, unlike usual there was no response.

Tatum sat, semi slumped against the coral wall glancing at their exposed shoulder. They nearly shuttered at the sight of the faux burn. Their eyes fluttered up as light filled the once dark aquatic room. "Tatum, we need to talk." The ocean dragon lead rider asked, standing tall and firm. Tatum could already tell what was gonna happen. "Not like I'm going anywhere." They weakly commented refusing to look the taller man in the eyes, let alone look at him at all. "Once you're healed you will be." He said with a scowl as his eyes darkened. "This was your last chance. Not only did you endanger yourself and your dragon but you also endangered Cadmeal and her dragon as well. You are a reckless renegade and are a threat to this world. You will be exiled the moment you are no longer at risk of infection or blood loss." He never stuttered, never bent, never stopped staring the younger in the eyes with all the malice in his peaceful heart. "You can't seriously mean that? You need all the hands you can get, you need me." Tatum tried to assert themself only to be stopped by his palm, out stretched to stop them. "I need peaceful people, you are not one and thus you aren't needed. In any worth, your destiny lies elsewhere." He spoke with scrutiny before pointing at the webbed scar looking mark on Tatum's shoulder. "You can't tell me what my destiny is and is not just based on a weird looking birthmark." They spat with all the fury their wounded body and mind could muster. "No, you have the mark of the dragon. You must leave and only return once you have taught everyone in the realms kindness to dragons. But in your case, I assume you will never come back being you never learn so it must be even harder for you to teach anything." Tatum nearly flinched at the scorn, glaring daggers at the man as he left.

Tatum pulled on the leather strap to be sure their pack wouldn't fall off Albatross' saddle. "Well, I guess this is it Albie." Tatum spoke solemnly, petting the dragon behind her frills. "We'll fly the winds, just like old times, but a little more permanently." They fought a tear as the dragon blinked to them with sympathy. "We'll be alright, we'll have each other and I think that's all we need." Tatum draped their arms around the dragon with a soft whimper. "I'm gonna miss this place Albie." They softly cried into the slimy dragon as it cooed and sheltered her rider with a wing. Tatum sat there for a moment before getting up. "I guess it's time to go." They spoke quieter, mounting the lavender dragon with one last look back at their home. "Up Albie." They commanded, flying off towards the sky light. The great dragon portal.