Healed

Chapter 38

Umber had never considered himself much of a leader. That was Reed's department. Whenever bickering fell out between the sibs, or someone ate someone else's wombat, or took the good sleeping mud-patch, Reed was the one who stepped forward to keep the peace.

Umber, however, avoided confrontation with a deep rooted, unyielding panic. He'd rather be eaten alive by a riverbed of hippos than be in the middle of an argument.

Once he had gotten into an argument with Pheasant over whose turn it was for hunting duty. His easily riled up sister had stomped off in a huff. Umber had felt so bad he had offered to take up hunting duty for the next month. Luckily Reed hadn't let him do that.

Now, as Kinkajou strode forward, pointing talons and throwing accusations, Umber felt his whole sternum cringe and fold in on itself.

"I'm Kinkajou: member of the Jade Winglet, saviour of Pyrrhia, and defeater of Darkstalker, and you," she pointed a talon at Flame, "have some explaining to do, mister."

Flame merely yawned and scratched his cheek, uninterested. "Huh. Never head of you."

Veins of red spiked along her scales. She scowled. "Fine. Let me rephrase. I'm Kinkajou: the dragons that's about to shove a bunch of rocks up that arrogant nose of yours!"

Before she could even lift a talon off the ground Sunny, Umber, and Turtle barreled between the two quarrelling dragons, their voices clashing together in a chorus of outcries. Umber was at Flame's side of course, although the red dragon hadn't made any move to reciprocate Kinkajou's actions. In fact, beneath the thick veneer of annoyance he looked half-amused.

"No one's sticking rocks up anything," Sunny said with her talons firmly rooted to the ground. "We are going to settle this like adults. No fighting or threats. Got it, Flame?"

The SkyWing balked. "What did I do?"

"You know what you did!" the RainWing answered him.

"Same goes for you." Sunny swung her head back towards Kinkajou. Despite Sunny being a generally small dragon, she still had several inches over the other female. Kinkajou flicked her ears in annoyance but didn't protest. Instead she silently sat down with all the grace and chilly airs of a courtly IceWing.

"Good," Sunny breathed with heavy relief as if she hadn't expected that to work. Kinkajou and Flame were still staring each other down, sticking their tongues out at each other when Sunny wasn't looking, but at least no one was snorting stones. Yet.

Flame's cocky scoff nearly startling Umber with its grating harshness. "So now what? Are we going to make a friendship circle and talk about our feelings?"

"Maybe," Sunny snapped, warning Flame to not tempt her with the idea.

"Well I have some feelings I'd like to share," Kinkajou proclaimed and Flame rolled his eyes as if to say 'of course you do'. "First off, I'd like to know why you felt the need to come back and torment poor Stonemover. Hasn't he been through enough?"

"What!? I didn't come to torment him, I came to apologize," Flame protested.

"He's telling the truth, Kinkajou," Sunny's soothing tones joined the echoes of the chamber. "He came here to make peace with my father, and they were able to settle their conflict. I don't know where this misunderstanding began, but Flame did not come here to hurt Stonemover."

Flame crossed his arms. "Misunderstanding my ass. I think she just came here to start a fight."

Kinkajou released a squawked cry of disbelief. "You're the one that started this fight! Always being a bully and insulting everyone! Why can't you just admit you're being a jerk and say sorry?"