Misfits of Vernada ~Wattys2016~

XXIV

Zappy

By: creepakilla

Slash soared effortlessly over the forest that ran down the Stormriders' mountain, willing his aching wings to endure through the pain and take him as close to Moon before sundown as they could.

He paused curiously for a moment, seeing a limping black figure with a twisted wing hobbling up the mountain side.

What happened to him? he thought, and cocked his head. He looks a bit like Moon.

He shrugged the thoughts away and flew on again.

The size of Militia depressed him. It was so big he had been traveling almost without rest for two days and was only just beginning to see the tips of trees that grew in the WildWoods.

With a tired sigh he pushed on.

"Hey!" a yell startled him and he whipped around, frill raised.

"Firelily?" he asked in confusion, lowering his frill as two shapes, an orange and a brown, flew toward him, easily catching up with their larger wings. "Flamer? What're you doing here?"

He saw the grimace that distorted Flamer's snout; the tear-streaks down Firelily's.

"What happened?"

"Fang saw us rescuing you," Flamer responded heavily. "Obsidian was only going to punish us for killing her mate, but he convinced her to banish us."

Firelily couldn't keep back a sob.

Slash's heart melted. These good dragons had helped Moon, and himself—as well as given him hope. Now they were in trouble because of him!

"Come with me, then," he burst out impulsively. "We'll live with Moon and the Misfits in the WildWoods. Come on! I can't leave you alone to die after all you've done for us. Come with me. Please?"

A shudder ran down Firelily's length. "The WildWoods?" she quivered, staring with wide eyes at the vast expanse of forbidding trees ringing the horizon.

"Sure!" Slash assured them. "It's fine. My family's there; Mum, Dad, my little sister Snow-Fang; my friends—MetalClaws!" he cried in dismay, suddenly remembering. "Oh no, we've left him with the Stormriders! What can we do!"

Firelily smirked, her spirits rising. "You might've forgotten him," she said, "but we didn't. We managed to free him a few days before you."

Zappy only just resisted the impulse to hug the two of them.

"That's amazing!" he crowed, doing a backwards flip in mid-air. "Thanks you guys so much!"

Flamer smiled happily. "It was the least we could do."

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Flare paced back and forth anxiously, gradually wearing the wood floor of her den down.

Slash had been gone for over a week now, with neither hide nor scale of either him or MetalClaws. She and Vertigo had been tearing up the forest searching for them, but they had to take turns searching: Snow-Fang was too young to be left alone safely.

Flare growled impatiently.

Three years! she snarled to herself. Three years of waiting for him; a few months of actually getting to know my son—and he's gone again! Captured or killed or lost who knows where!