Wings of Fire: Nightfall

Part Five: Aberration

"Watch out!"

With a crash and a bang, the basket of grain the SandWing had been carrying went careening into a stack of crates, sending them toppling, spilling the contents of every container into the sand. Kestrel was the first to recover, immediately flaring her wings and turning on the SandWing that ran into her.

"Wipe the sand from your eyes, and watch where you're going you sorry sack of goat dung!"

"Moons blast it," Asha muttered under her breath before throwing a foreleg and wing around the bristling SkyWing, dragging her away from the stunned SandWing. "I am so, so sorry about that. Are you alright?" She offered a claw to the SandWing, but he frantically scrambled away from her reach.

"Keep your pyscho friend away from me!" he cried. "That was a month's worth of grain! Do you have any idea what you've cost me?"

"You have plenty left to lose, simpleton," Kestrel snarled. "Why don't I pluck your eyes from your skull too? Clearly they're not doing you any good!"

"Hush!" Asha barked sternly at her before reaching into a pouch slung under her wing. "Here, will this cover it?" She produced a small bag that clinked with the capacity of gold coins.

"Uh...sure," the SandWing blinked his confusion, tentatively stretching his talons out to receive the pouch. Once he secured it, he cast one last terrified look at Kestrel before darting off in the opposite direction.

Asha sighed with relief before turning to Kestrel, who shot her with a look of incredulous disgust.

"That was the last of our gold you just gave up," she growled, whipping around to continue walking.

"I wouldn't have had to if you would stop picking fights every ten steps," Asha retorted, catching up to her. They had been in the town of Possibility for half a day, and already they had burned through all their money smoothing over confrontations instigated by the ornery SkyWing. Granted, they didn't have much to begin with.

"It's not my fault so many dragons here are blind as bats," Kestrel grumbled, snapping at yet another dragon who nearly bumped into her as they walked the bustling and narrow path.

Possibility was just as lively and hectic as Asha remembered, and if it were up to her, it's the last place she would've brought Kestrel to. Stalls lined the road on either side, the vendors behind them chiming advertisements for their wares. Dragons of all tribes stepped and ambled around them, most doing their best to keep clear of the large females. The air carried a buffet of varied, edible scents, blending with the din of idle chatter, shouting, and even occasional laughter to create the emblematic motif of populated civilization. After so many years spent underground, it was refreshing to once again walk amongst dragon society. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by the constant worry creeping in her gut since the dragonets left. Not to mention Kestrel's hostile attitude.

"Please try to behave," Asha begged in a low voice. "It won't do us any good if we're thrown out before we can learn anything."

"Speaking of, you said you knew a place to find information," Kestrel said. "But we've been mucking around all morning, and we're just as clueless as when we got here."

"Yes, well, if only the locals had responded better to your method of 'polite questioning.' This way." Asha ducked into a shaded side alley between two buildings.

The pair came out the other side into a wide road leading to a densely populated cobblestone plaza at one end, which Asha made for. Weaving through the crowds ambling around the markets, Asha came to a stop near the center in front of a large, wooden board mounted between two posts dug into the ground. The board itself was obscured by several layers of flyers and posters tacked to the wood.