Scales to Skin

XIV

Moonwatcher

I had only gotten to show Turtle part of the memory before he woke up. The crucial part was the part he had missed, and now he and all of my other friends were going to stay up, trying to puzzle out what it meant. I silently pleaded for it to work out better the next night as Kinkajou gathered us all up for class.

Qibli had started to do the deed, but had clearly decided against it after the stunt he pulled yesterday. I don't know if he was just trying to scare them to call Grizzly's bluff, or if he would actually have eaten him, but I know that either way, Carnation would've been safe. 

Still, the fear he had sparked in Carnation's mind was overwhelming and inexcusable. 

"What do you think they're going to have us do today?" Fern asked with a smirk, nudging me in the side. He was the only one who seemed to stay calm during the whole incident, and he was certainly keeping his cool head now.

"I would personally love to go swimming again, but I don't see that happening after Carnation tried to escape last time," I sighed. "Maybe they'd let us explore some other part of the school. I really miss it."

Fern was silent for a while, and when I turned my head, I caught him studying me. 

"What?" I asked, running a hand through my knotted, tangled hair.

"I'm just wondering what it was like," He admitted, scooting to the far corner of the cage as it jostled and bumped against Kinkajou's side. "Y'know, starting out life as the most powerful creature on the planet, then suddenly being... this. Any dragon out there could easily just pick us up and swallow us whole."

"They wouldn't," I whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at it for a second, then placed his on top.

"I don't know. What Qibli did yesterday... that was scary. And I know you trust him and all, but did you ever think about what would happen if you were wrong? Carnation would be dead, and it would be all because you told her she could trust him," Fern dropped his hand down to the side of his arm, rubbing it a few times before standing back up.

"Wow," I muttered, because in reality, I never did look at it quite like that. "I guess death for dragons and scavengers isn't as different as I thought it was."

"Humans," He corrected with a smirk. I laughed, but it was cut short when Kinkajou placed our cages on the ground and Qibli reached in, grabbing me tightly.

Clay was growling with Turtle in the corner, but the rest of the dragons were in the back of the classroom, exploring the different meat options on the table.

Qibli picked up an uncooked rabbit and held it towards me, and I finally understood why scavengers were so resistant to raw meat. I gagged at the stench and covered my mouth and nose. There was just something about all of it that seemed so... inedible.

Qibli grumbled, setting it down and moving towards the other end of the table, covered in cooked meat. I eagerly pointed to a pair of crispy, skinned lizards. Lizards were one of my favorites when I was a dragon, and they were just as delicious as a scavenger.

Clay roared for attention when I was about halfway through the second one, and I begrudgingly set it down. All of the dragons came together in the center of the room, and Clay began explaining the lesson of the day. There were some grumbles and snarls after he was done, but for the most part, everyone agreed. Then, a moment later, the others had made a circle around Qibli and I, and he set me down in front of him.

I realized what was going to happen a moment before it did. Still, the roar he let out was so loud, I fell to my knees. When he was done, I stood up and took a step towards him. He look confused, but roared again. He let out three more earsplitting roars, and on the third one, I was able to look into his throat and see the damage that Grizzly's sword had caused. None of them were bleeding anymore, but there were five scratches that looked like they were once pretty painful.