Healed

Chapter 25.5

Flame lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. From outside his window the chirping of crickets in the long grass and frogs from the river bank roamed in, mixing with the soft snores of Umber. The MudWing was nestled beside him, head partly buried beneath his wing in a deep and peaceful slumber. The rise and fall of his chest and the occasional twitch of his talon were his only movements.

Despite the cool breeze meandering in the air felt heavy to Flame, weighing his chest down and making his breathes laboured. He couldn't stop thinking about his mother.

Needing a break from his anxious thoughts Flame turned away from the ceiling and rested his gaze on Umber, studying the angles of the MudWing's face as if it were a map to the stars. He just didn't understand how a dragon could be so perfect; or how such a dragon could ever like him back.

A deep calm overcame Flame and he let his eyes shut for a moment before snapping them open again. He tore his gaze away from Umber and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the desire to just curl up around the brown dragon and fall sleep.

Was he tired? Hell yes.

Did he just want to surrender to the warmth next to him and sleep? Absolutely.

Was he going to do any of that? No.

Ever since he had seen Ochre in town he hadn't been able to stop the nagging poison in the back of his mind, the black whispers that coiled around his brain, burrowing deep and refusing to come out.

Why hasn't she contacted me? Did she just send me here to forget about me? Does she even care anymore? What could be so important that she would just forget about her own dragonet?

Fury and pain pulsed through him as he recalled what Umber had said to him while they had been in the Capital: I'm sorry, Flame. I wish I could tell you what you want to know, but only your mother can answer those questions.

And at that moment, while he had sat in the market with tears in his eyes and a shattered heart, Flame had come to a decision right then and there: He was done waiting. If she wasn't going to come to him, he would go to her. And he was going to get his answers.

But he had to wait until night to leave. If anyone saw him going, especially Umber or Starf, they would have tried to stop him. In hindsight it had probably been a bad idea to invite Umber to stay over the same night he was planning to run away...but he didn't have any regrets.

Flame tensed as Umber released a snort in his sleep and shuffled closer to the SkyWing. After a few moments his breathing slowed again and the snores returned. Flame let himself relax.

He had to leave soon before Umber woke up. He blinked the exhaustion out of his eyes and gathered himself before slowly lifting the blanket off his body and sliding out of bed. His talon tip touched the floor as he finagled his way out of the tangle of bedding only to be yanked back at the last second. He jerked his head up to see what was holding him back and realized that Umber was lying on his wing.

Holding in an exasperated sigh he sloooooooowly pulled his wing from beneath the heavy dragon, shuffling it around while keeping a close eye on Umber for any signs of waking. Finally he pulled it free and froze as Umber began to stir. Flame held his breath while Umber flopped onto his other side and promptly fell back to sleep.

Flame exhaled his breath. He was lucky Umber was such a deep sleeper.

He approached the bed and pulled the blankets over Umber's body, tucking him in and giving him a small kiss on the nose.

I'm sorry, Umber, he thought. I hope you won't be too worried about me. I'll be back soon.

A moment of hesitation passed through the SkyWing as he looked down at the sleeping dragon. What was he doing? He was already in trouble for pretty much everything. What would Zephyr say when she found out he had actually left? What would Starf say? Would they kick him out? Or worse...make Ibis watch him again?

Flame clenched his talons and shut his eyes, steeling himself. No, he had to do this. He needed to find out once and for all what his mother thought of him.

Stumbling around in the dark he found his desk and pulled out a two blank pieces of parchment and an ink bottle. He couldn't risk lighting a candle so he took his supplies to the window so he could write in the moonlight.

He decided that he wouldn't be a complete shit-head and just disappear. He would at least leave a note. He dipped his talon and wrote down a basic letter.

Umber,

Sorry I left on such short notice. I'm going to visit my mother. Be back in a few days
- Flame

It wasn't all that romantic but it's not like he had a whole day to write this. He folded it up and put Umber's name on the front...and that's when he remembered Umber couldn't read.

Crap! He slapped his talon to his forehead. After several minutes of considering just waking the MudWing up and telling him Flame finally decided it would be best to let the MudWing sleep. Well I guess I'll just have to hope he takes it to Sora...although I would rather as few dragons as possible know where I'm going.

The only other dragon he wanted to tell was Starf. Flame was actually surprised how much he had come to care about the SeaWing; he didn't want Starf worrying about him or getting in trouble because of Flame. He took out the other parchment and quickly wrote the same note he had written to Umber with the intention of slipping it beneath Starf's door.

Hopefully his Healer would understand. If anyone knew how much he missed his mother it would be Starf.

Taking a deep breath Flame placed Umber's note on the nightstand by his bed but paused. As a last minute addition he scribbled sappy little hearts all over the letter. Now it was more romantic.

With everything in place he quietly slid open the door and slipped out. His next stop was Starf's office to drop of the letter, and then...he would see his mother.

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Author's Note:

A mini chapter!! So the update schedule might be a little wonky until January since I am home for the holidays hanging out with family. I hope everyone is having a wonderful and peaceful holiday season <3