Smolder

Chapter 20

Just when Russell was beginning to enjoy the flight, they had to land.

Don't get him wrong, he was more than happy to hop off the wyvern's back.

The ground beneath his feet was hard and filled with pebbles. Grass grew through the cracks. Large granite slabs littered the place. One big rock rose above them all. Setting Vivi down, Orpheus flew to it.

Arron slid down Fyl's wings, promptly on his feet. Elli came down walking, grabbing Arron and dragging him to a corner as soon as her feet touched the ground. Royals and their secrets, Russell thought tiredly.

And of course, they forgot Lupa. She sat at the edge looking down, confused. Seriously, this girl may be intellectually challenged.

Fyl was getting restless for some reason, maybe he wasn't used to having someone on his back once he landed.

Russell looked around to find Vivi staring at him with narrow judgemental eyes.

"What are you looking at!?!" He barked.

Vivi being Vivi," Why are you yelling at me?!?"

"You're making that face again!!"

"You better get used to it, 'cause this is my face!!"

"Well, it's ugly!!"

"Well, you should see your ..."

They could've done this all day, they would've done this all day, but right then Fyl suddenly let out a gutteral growl and stomped his taloned foot defiantly on the ground. Bones met stone with a loud knock as dust and rock flew. His gaze followed something in the woods. It reminded Russell of how sometimes, when he'd wake up at night, he'd find Marianda's  cat –tiger– looking at something right above his and Vivi's head, hissing.

"Um, Orpheus," Vivi called out," is Fyl supposed to do that?"

Orpheus peeked over the giant slab of rock to look at them, then he looked at Fyl and his eyes widened.

"No, no, he isn't," he took off in the air, but too late.

Something big and blue shot out of the forest and hurled towards Fyl, who  jumped up in the air with a deafening roar and let it collide with his claws. The big blue thing let out a cloud of transparent blue flames, Fyl's talons embedded into it's abdomen. One of Fyl's wings got caught in the cloud, it was burning in Orange flames when it came out. Fyl slashed and hammered his head into it's like a Savage despite it.

A bright flash of light illuminated the opening, along with a earth-shattering boom. The blue dragon let out a whimper and broke for the forest, on it's grubby paws because one of it's wings was broken. Now that it wasn't fighting Fyl, it looked like a bull with dragon wings and lizard-like scales and tail.

Fyl slammed down his wings, extinguishing the fire in the process, and flew above the trees and away. Orpheus flew after him, his sleeves still smoking from the lightning. But he couldn't keep up with a wyvern going in full speed, even if it's wounded.

At last, letting him go, Orpheus came down.

"I'm gonna go look for him. You kids don't leave this place. The food is in the bag." Orpheus gestured at the bags that had fallen off when the fight began," It'll probably take quite a while." And he took off again.

Russell looked back to see Elli and Arron looking at Orpheus go with their Jaws falling to the ground. Lupa was still sitting in the spot she fell, playing with pebbles like none of this concerns her. Why did they bring her again? Really, why?

Vivi poked him," so... Does Arron know you're cheating on him with Lupa?"

"The WHAT?!?"

"Nothing."