Braving the Flames

Chapter 16: The Dragon Flu

The next morning, Inferno awoke feeling like she was hotter than normal. She shivered violently and curled her wings tighter around her small body.

She had just curled back up to sleep when the sound of her mate calling her name made the young Fire Fury slowly raise her head from her and Aggro's nest.

"Hey, Fern, come on! Get up, it's time for breakfast." Aggro called out to her from the entrance of the sleep cave.

Inferno slowly peeled her eyes open and stood shakily to her feet. "O-ok, I-I'm c-coming, A-Agg." She stuttered out as her body was once again racked with shivers.

Aggro stared worriedly at Inferno and patted over to sit beside her mate. "Hey, are you alright, Fern?" She asked her mate with a worried frown forming on her face. "You don't look so good."

"I don't feel very well, Aggro." She said before sneezing and losing control of her fire.

Aggro's eyes went wide and she quickly ducked as a fireball went flying right over her head.

"I-I'm s-sorry, love," Inferno moaned softly in apology as she curled into a ball and looked up at her mate with fever-glazed eyes.

"H2-oh no!" Aggro muttered, examining her mate before paling and raising her voice and calling for Summer. "Hey, mom? Could you get some help kelp? Inferno has the dreaded dragon flu." The Fire Fury shouted, making Inferno wince and cover her ears with her wings. "I'll stay here with Inferno and keep an eye on her." She added in a quieter tone, not wanting to make her mate feel even more uncomfortable than she already was.

"Wait, what?" Summer yelled, poking her head in. "Oh no! I'm on it. I'll get some for you, too. With how close you are to her, you might catch it as well."

With that she quickly dashed out of the sleep cave and hurriedly told Monica and Dak to keep the other dragons away from Inferno just in case they were to catch the flu as well.

After she was gone, Aggro thought for a moment before reducing size to very small.

"Hey, Fern? Can you open your mouth please?" Aggro asked, and seeing Inferno's confusion, she clarified. "We helped burn out the sickness from Riptide, now I'll help burn it out from you."

"You don't need to do that," Inferno said, not wanting to impose. "I know you did not enjoy it the last time we had to do it."

Aggro smiled softly and gave her mate a small nudge on the shoulder. "It wasn't pleasant, but it helped, and as rescue riders that's what we do." Aggro said before entering Inferno's slightly open mouth and turning to water to get down her throat.

"Please be safe," Inferno muttered to her mate while holding her stomach before having another fit of sneezes.

Inside of her mate's stomach, Aggro was bounced all around from the sneezing fit.

"Oh man... this isn't going to work." She said as she slammed into a wall, and turned back before flying in midair as things calmed down. "Those fits cause so much bouncing that I can't help her at all." Aggro sighed sadly and flicked her tail anxiously from left to right.

Luckily for the two fire dragons, this wasn't the first time that Summer had gotten help kelp. And because of that fact, she knew exactly where it was, even better the eels were currently elsewhere for eel breeding season, and so the path was open, and she returned, and fed the help kelp to Inferno.

"Hey, Inferno? Where is Aggro?" Summer asked, not knowing that the kelp had landed on her and forced her to quickly take water form before being digested.

"She wanted to try burning out the sickness like we did for Riptide," Inferno said before coughing up water that turned back into Aggro.

"Well that didn't work," Aggro sighed softly and shook out her wings. "Those fits made everything bounce around too much to help. Stil I'm glad mom got the help kelp."

"Me too!" Inferno said as Aggro ate her own dose, after growing back. "Thanks mom." She replied after swallowing the kelp.

"You're welcome, my daughters." Summer smiled before nuzzaling them both. "Now come on, let's go see what the others are up to."