The Twin Islands-Wings of Fire

Mudpuddle

The Mudwing woke with a groan. Sharp pricks of pain traveled up her spine and down her wings to meet at her back. She cracked open sand dusted eyelids to have a good look around. She certainly did not remember entering a cave before she passed out. Mudpuddle peered around. Not a white one, either. With a quick glance behind her she could spot the steady rise and fall of her friend's chests. All but one.

The sand beneath her was cool and dry, bringing relief to her simmering scales. The air smelt strangely of warm cinnamon, and tingled Mudpuddle's nose. It was so cozy she felt like she was still dreaming. Struggling to her feet, she took in the details around her. The cave seemed to be in fact not a cave at all. But a giant dragon's skull.

This puzzled her to the point she had a major double take. One of the walls was simply it's teeth. pale, smooth ivory. The other was a hastily thrown up beige cloth, which could've been part of a tent at some time.

She shifted on her feet, peering at the charcoal sketchings on the tooth nearest to her. There seemed to be intricate interlocking gears and wires all crunched together. It gave her head the spins. She was about to explore some more when she felt a sudden pressure on her tail.

Whirling around and flaring her wings, which, strangely, were now unclipped, she became snout to snout with Potent. The Sandwing gave her an intense stare, like, quiet. Right. If they were going to sneak up on whatever brought them here, they'd have to do it a lot let noisily.

The Mudwing instead snorted and looked at Potent expectantly. He tilted his head and made some gestures that Mudpuddle recognized were used during the war. She knew other dragons, not just her and her siblings, had fought in it, but she hadn't expected Potent to be one of them. Probably where he got that scar.

She found herself letting the tan dragon slink soundlessly ahead of her and out of their pocket of safety. Following after, they discovered different things scattered amongst the sand. Random gears, lizard bones, and even cactus husks. The immense skull housed so many interesting little things. Soon, after skirting around some more curtains of cloths they could hear and see the faint crackle and glow of a fire.

Potent raised his tail, and kept his teeth bared. Mudpuddle also put on her fierce face, digging her claws into the sand with anticipation. The Mudwing was a little unsure, though. She was used to fighting with her siblings, and frankly, she didn't know very much of Potent's fighting style.

Speaking of the Sandwing, he was now preparing to draw back the final curtain. Glancing at Mudpuddle for a split second, he suddenly hissed and wrenched away the maroon sheet, revealing a shocking sight.

For one, she was big. Easily larger than any dragon Mudpuddle had ever seen. And she thought commander Lance was huge. At least, to the four year old her. She was six now. The dragon was glittering black and pale blue, and parts of her seemed to glow with a cold light. Kinda like metal. She was calmly stirring something in a stone cauldron that hung over a warm fire.

Her scales were simply littered in scars, at least from what Mudpuddle could see from the left side of her. Her legs looked to be sheathed in more metal, but she realized they actually were metal. She had a small bunch of spikes behind her head, and sorrowful eyes. She slowly looked up, and Mudpuddle found herself shivering.

"You're awake." She said, her voice slightly scratchy from the desert air. "Means I've done something good for once. It took nearly everything I had left to keep that spiky blue fellow over there alive."

"Who are you?" Potent exclaimed, his tail still curled in her direction. Although she remained calm, Mudpuddle could see anger dance in her eyes once she saw Potent's tail.

"Might I ask, who are you?"

The question hung in the air like an oncoming storm.

"Mudpuddle, miss." Mudpuddle cleared her throat. "This is my..friend, Potent. I'm sorry about all this; he's a little.."

"Tense?" The black dragoness mused.

"Tense." She agreed. Potent gave an angry snarl and glared viciously at them both. "We've been through a lot the past couple weeks, and just woke up in a stranger's home. I hope you can understand."

"Sure." She shrugged, and continued to stir whatever what was in the pot. "I've got some cactus milk, snake berries and desert mouse cooking up in here, should be done in a few minutes. Afterwards you and your friends should get some water. It's deadly to go so long without it."

"Yes, uh." Mudpuddle wracked her brain for a better answer, but it was hard because her stomach rumbled at the thought and smell of the food. "Why did you help us?" She blurted instead.

The black dragoness looked up with a slightly pained, slightly amused expression. "That's what I'm wondering, too." She stared at the fire. "Maybe I didn't want to see such young and hopeful faces waste away out in the desert. I had to keep you alive at least until the Rogues got here."

Mudpuddle blinked. Then blinked again. "Rogues?"

"You mean the Desert Rogues?" Potent arches a brow.

"You've heard of them." She gave them a sideways glance. "But, yes. The Desert Rogues. They took in a red dragonet I had with me for a little while just a few days ago. We often do business like this. I find them new recruits and keep them alive until they can come retrieve them. They make sure I have enough supplies in return."

"Who said we want to join these 'Desert Rogues anyway?" Potent snorted flame from his snout.

"You want to get out of here, don't you?" She smiled. "Even with your wings, you'll never make it without help. That's the whole purpose."

Mudpuddle groaned, slumping down on the sand with a defeated expression. "Of course." She mumbled. Potent growled again, but lowered his tail.

"Since you seem to know everything, can you answer my question? Who are you?"

The black dragoness' gaze suddenly became distant. "Brokenheart."

The air around her seemed to buzz with energy, but it gradually faded away. She heaved a sigh. "Alright. Please, sit down. I'm sure you're hungry." Brokenheart paused. "I suppose we can wait for the Rogues together. And I sure would like to hear your story."

So they did. Mudpuddle and Potent took turns telling their journey, while all the while Brokenheart listened on with so much intensity that Mudpuddle wondered if she'd ever been told a story.

~~~~~
Crazy, I know. Just preparing you for the feels in the next chapter :3. Haaaa. Brokenheart belongs to the one and only- RaindancerOfPyrrhia
Thanks for letting me use her! And if there's anything wrong with her character, let me know and I'll fix it.