Healed

Chapter 34

Flame was not fine.

Well, he wasn't full blown panicking but he was pretty damn close.

With every stroke of his wing and every mile crossed his chest tightened. It was like a giant talon wrapping around his rib-cage and squeezing until his lungs felt pressed against the walls of his torso.

Alright, Flame. Calm down. He gave himself stern shake. There's no need to panic. Just remember what Starf told you. As long as you follow his advice everything will go perfectly fine...probably.

Flame tried not to focus on the 'probably' part and instead forced his attention on what he remembered Starf telling him during the last minute session before they had left. Luckily it had only been an hour ago so the whole conversation was still pretty fresh in his mind...

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~ One hour ago ~

"Now Flame, I just want you to understand that it's OK to be nervous," Starfish spoke in soothing rhythms, his glowing scales in sync with his words. "I know this isn't easy for you."

Flame nodded, sitting stiffly in front of the Healer's desk. There was no point pretending to be brave; the blue dragon could see through him as if he were made of glass. Still, Flame tried to muster some sort of dignity as he spoke, "So, um, what should I even say to them? I mean, I wasn't exactly their best or most liked student."

Beside him Avalanche snorted angrily. "Well that's hardly your fault. How were you expected to perform your best at school when they could hardly run the place!? Honestly, one day there's explosions and the next Scarlet herself shows up throwing decapitated heads all over the place!"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," said Flame. "It was only one decapitated head."

"How charming," Starfish dryly commented, his lips pulled back in mild disgust. "Anyway, I think it would be best if you didn't criticize their teaching abilities as soon as you walk through the door."

"OK, then what should I do?"

Starfish looked Flame square in the eye. "Apologize to them."

Both SkyWings reacted with furious hisses.

"Apologize!?" Flame repeated in seething disbelief. "What for? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Weren't you listening to me, SeaWing?" Avalanche joined the fray. "It's the teacher's fault, not Flame's. If anything THEY should be apologizing to the students for their poor planning and lack of forethought."

Starfish folded his talons together and calmly leaned back in his seat as if he had been expecting the out lash. "I am not denying what you say. They were attempting something no one has done before and mistakes were made. Dragons got hurt and lives were lost. But," he fixed Flame with a stern look, "that's not the point of this visit. You want to show them you've changed, right?"

Flame nodded sourly.

"Then apologizing will show them you're serious about wanting a second chance. Besides, is there nothing you feel sorry about? Nothing you want to apologize for?"

Flame looked to the floor to hide is ashamed blush. As annoyed as he was with everyone at Jade Academy, he couldn't deny that he had pretty much been an ass the whole time he was there. Sure, his volatile personality had been partly due to the fact that he had thought, at the time, that his mother didn't want him and that he was a horrible, disfigured freak. But that wasn't an excuse for how horrible he had acted, and Flame cringed at how immature and self-pitying he had been at the time.